Michael Batson

The Wonder of Wander: From Cambodia to Thailand By Tuk-Tuk, Plane, Bus, Train, Bus and Baht (shared) Taxi or Songthaew.Yesterday I travelled between Phnom Penh to the beaches south of the Thai capital Bangkok in a morning and was there by mid-afternoon. On other occassions I’ve done this entirely by road from Cambodia and it’s taken up to 12 hours. For the uninitiated, for those wanting to give it a go and those wondering what wandering about in countries where you’re alone, here is how you can spend your time – it’s the wonder of the wander. I have to confess to not being a novice at wandering about countries filled with millions of souls I do not know, whose language I do not speak, in climates at odds with my norm and yet, amongst all that I can still feel at home.At 4:30am Phnom Penh is dark but not dead. I walked from my hotel to Riverside along Street 130. The doors to my hotel were wide open, the night security guard fast asleep on the couch. A barang (foreigner) backpacker slept with one eye wide open and watched me leave. A Khmer woman carrying two infants stood at an intersection two blocks down. Her face revealed a recent severe beating; her eyes blackened, her cheek gashed and a large white plaster covered her entire forehead. Ice merchants transferred the first of the day’s product between vehicles. Others about were finishing their night, like a group of bar girls still heavily made-up tottering on impossibly high heels, giggling.On Riverside, the