Final Day - Coming into Cambodia

Tuesday, December 14

Since our Mekong Melody only cruises to Chau Doc, Vietnam, the last city before the Cambodian border we had to take a speed boat shuttle that goes to Phnom Phen, Cambodia. We boarded the speed boat as it pulled up next to our boat at 7:30am. Full throttle to Cambodia.

There was nothing too exciting about speeding further up the Mekong to Cambodia for four hours (actual time 6h) in a loud, covered, old, kind of dirty jet boat.

At least the windows opened

Two hours after departing the lovely Melody we pulled off at the Vietnamese border so every passenger could be processed out of the country. After 45 minutes we all got back on the boat and stopped two minutes further up river in Cambodia and filed out of the boat to get our visas for Cambodia.




Leaving Vietnam


We knew ahead of time that the fees for 5 visas would be $50.00USD. Since we have been gone from the U.S. over two months now we didn't have much USD. Thankfully I stashed $50 in my wallet as an emergency fund when we left home and I had USD in birthday cash from Mom and Frank. So we were set. I pulled out my cash and gave it to the agent. He looked at all our passports and documents and then asked me for another $50 bill.

I was confused. Was he asking me for a bribe? He asked again. I was certain he was asking me for a bribe. He asked again using the word "trade". It was then I realized he was not asking for a bribe, he didn't want one of my $50 bills and wanted me to "trade" that one for another but I didn't have another to give. What could be wrong with my $50 bill?
There was a man from Ireland traveling with his daughter that overheard the conversation and offered to front us another bill. We accepted his offer and realized we had the boys Christmas cards from Pop and Grandma that had cash stashed in them so we used that to pay him back once on board.

Still not sure what the bill swap was all about I began inspecting the rejected $50 bill. The more I looked at it the more I became convinced it was a counterfit! Uneven borders, the feel of the paper was different, slightly off color, missing blue and red threads, my guess counterfit. I'm not an expert but it doesn't look good. Robert agreed. No wonder they didn't accept it.

Now I'm left dredging my memory as to where I could have possibly been given a counterfit $50.00 bill. It's not working to well, actually not at all. My counterfit $50 is once again tucked into my wallet where it will remain until we are back in the states. And thanks to Grandma, Pop and a nice Irishman we were able to get into Cambodia.



Access granted into Cambodia. Heading back to the boat.