Lena and I caught an early boat to the mainland, then waited about an hour for the rest of the group to arrive. When we had enough to fill a minibus, we piled in and headed to the Cambodian border. Met two Canadians, Catherine and Sharon (who is yet another Guelph alum I’ve met on this trip, but we think we may actually have been in a class or two together, as we were there at the same time – plus she looks really familiar), and a Kiwi, Jessica. The three of them were travelling together. Also met Julien from Marseilles, France.
The minibus drove us to the border. We filed out at the Laos exit, and had our exit stamps applied to our passports. We each had to pay $2 U.S as a “holiday fee”, which is pretty typical at southeast asian borders. From there we walked about 100 metres down the road to the Cambodian border. Paid a $1 holiday fee there as well. There was a Liberian on board who had a business visa, and was forced to pay an extra $200 U.S, so the $3 I paid didn’t seem so bad.
We switched buses, and drove for about half an hour when the bus broke down. The driver flagged down a motorbike, and left us at the side of the road. 10 minutes later he came back with a can of petrol, and fueled up.  On our way once again, we stopped in Strung Threp for an hour to eat. I had deer roti which is nothing like the roti we get in Canada.
Switched to yet another bus, and picked up some more travellers before heading on our way. An Argentinian and a Mexican that were travelling together broke out their guitars and regaled us with some music (including Celine Dion at one point). The road was very bumpy, and at one point two people in the backseat, Julien and Jessica, hit their heads on the ceiling at the same time that we got a flat tire at the front. The tire must have been redundant, as the driver yanked it aboard and soldiered on.
Stopped for dinner briefly, and a good 14 hours after we’d departed, finally arrived in Pnohm Penh.  We all tried to go to the same guesthouse that Lena had recommended, but of the three tuktuks we had, only one made it. We eventually made it to the right place, but they were booked solid. Only Lena and the Latin boys were able to stay. We headed back to the guesthouse our driver had taken us to originally, and checked in there.
I was exhausted from travelling, and felt like I was coming down with another lovely stomach bug, so I headed to sleep pretty early.