Well, here it is.
It was Tuesday morning and we had booked a wake up call with reception for 5.30am as we needed to be ready by 6.30am for the boat to take us from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, a 6 hour journey of which we had little idea about what type of boat or conditions we would be encountering.
As I slowly opened my eyes, to my horror I realised it was already daylight. Right at this point the phone rang and the lady on the end of the phone said rather perplexed "didn't you book the ferry for this morning - the bus is here waiting for you?"
Ahhhhh!!!! "kids - quick - get ready - quick - ahhhhhhh"!!!
The bus waited and we received a few disgruntled looks from other travellers as we finally boarded the bus for the docks.
Then it hit me. My Camera!!!!!!
I had left the camera in the room and it's not one I really wanted to lose. I did however have the battery charger and the camera case???!! What good that was going to do me I have no idea, but hey, I'm not a morning person alright.
I asked the bus driver if we could call the hotel, so they could meet us at the dock with the camera (clearly it was their fault) and he seemed to nod and look like he had done this, however I soon found out this was not the case.
Ian, a fellow traveller who we picked up along the way, heard my plight and offered to help through friends/colleagues he had in Cambodia.
A ray of hope I thought.
Now the boat was not the relaxing ferry I had pictured, imagining myself catching up on blog writing, a spot of ready and kids listening to ipods. No, there was no way I was sitting down in the bowels of that boat without any fresh air, tiny windows and the smell of engine fuel. The steel roof was a much better option as a few of us decided, including Ian who had gone ahead to check it out first.
As we got talking I was handed a travel alarm clock to ensure this day didn't happen again as well as his smaller digital camera for the rest of the trip just in case I didn't get my other one back for awhile. Only on the condition I post it back to Perth on my return home.
Wow, how generous I thought.
As the day progressed on this steel roof I began to feel quite ill, more so than just the bout of gastro I had been suffering already.
Ian suggested I have a lay down and he would mind the kids (don't panic - he has children of his own etc, and by this stage knew he was someone I could trust).
At first I declined, but then realised it was probably a good idea.
By the time he came back to say we were nearly in PP, he looked at me and said "you're really not good, are you?"
Ah, No!!
Feeling absolutely terrible, Ian told me he would help us off the boat, staying with us until I was in some form of transport to get us to the hotel.
He then handed me his travel first aid kit complete with antibiotics and electrolyte satchets.
As he put me in the taxi that he organised and paid for (the docks are crazy on arrival, so this was a huge help) he just told me to get some rest and waved us off.
I got to the hotel and was quite ill, so after an hour or so popped the antibiotics and sipped Hydrolyte slowly. After a few hours I felt a bit better and concluded it was Giardia as the antibiotics had a pretty quick effect.
2 days later, my camera arrived safely in Phnom Penh.
How I would have made it through that day without this angel I do not know. Maybe had I been on my own, but with 2 children to entertain and organise, it could have been disastrous, but was turned into something quite wonderful.
So, thank you Ian. The world really is full of good, kind and generous people.
And thank you to my wonderful children for being so understanding and such great travel companions.
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