The Concrete Jungle

Welcome back readers, hope you are all doing well! To those of you newbies out there please scroll down and read my first two posts before or after you are finished reading this one. Today I will be talking about transportation especially in regards to my current situation. I am staying in a Church and working at an office about 7 Km away from each other. The interesting part I have found so far about these two places is that Tuk Tuk drivers and Moto Drivers don’t seem to know where either of these places are. So far the past couple of days have presented various transportation snafoos… Let’s start from the beginning…

An example of a Cambodian Tuk Tuk.

It was Monday morning and I was ready to head to work on my new bicycle. I woke up with a good amount of time and was out the door in no time. When I got downstairs to my bike I figured I would check the tire pressure and was surprised to find out that my front tire had very little air in it. I decided to disregard this fact and press on with my decision to bike to work, somehow forgetting how difficult biking is on a flat tire. I started out and made it close to 1 Km weaving through traffic and mud when all of a sudden the sky opened up and started pouring rain. Along with this rain storm came gail force winds which presented a larger issue of trying to move along. After pedaling a half a block I realized that I could actually walk faster than I was biking and decided to explore other options. (Another interesting note about my bike is that the seat doesn’t stay at the height you adjujst it to. Every time I would put the seat higher it would quickly sink back down to its default position after a few pedals. I am relatively tall and these bikes are not meant for someone as tall as me, especially when the seat is at its lowest setting… My knees hit the handlebars.) I pulled my bike over underneath a nearby awning and decided to call my country coordinator and ask for advice, in hopes that he would take pity on me and bring his truck and give me a ride to work. He agreed and said that he would have to get into a Tuk Tuk to get to his truck and then he would be by to pick me up. I agreed and decided to try and call my supervisor at my work site to let him know I would be late. I looked at the card he had given me and tried the first number… No dice. The number appeared to be disconnected. So I tried the other number on the card assuming it would work better. Nothing. Same operator response telling me that the number was disconnected. As I stood underneath the awning I thought to myself: “Ryan, this is your first day without your country coordinators, you should be able to problem solve this situation yourself without their help.” So I did, I decided to call my country coordinator back and check with him on the plan and make sure he didn’t go too far before realizing I was suddenly going to be independent. After he approved of my plan I flagged down a Tuk Tuk and told the driver I could direct him to my work. This was after he looked at me like I was crazy when I told him LWD (the name of my organization) and the street number several times both in Khmer and English. This was the first time I realized that no one knew where the heck my office was. I was successful in telling the Tuk Tuk driver to turn right (bot sdam) and turn left (bot chvang) and got to my destination only a few minutes late for work. A rough start that turned out alright in the end.

I went thorugh my morning of work quite well and was able to meet a lot of new people at the office. After my shift was over it was time for me to head home. So I walked to the curb where the security guard was and flagged down a Tuk Tuk passing by. Little did I know that was not how this worked. The security guard shooed him away and got one of the Tuk Tuk drivers from the corner. They hang around and take anyone who works at my office where they need to go (from what I can tell.) I then realized that I had very little money, not enough to get me all the way home. So I attempted to bargain for a ride as close to home as I could get. For me there is a few landmarks near where I live but remember I have no actual address for my house so I cannot just say that. After discussing for a little bit where I was going a second Tuk Tuk driver came over who understood a little more English and he was able to decipher where I needed to go. However he could not take me all the way there for the money that I had. I said that is fine and just said get me as close as you can. He did a great job in bringing me quite close to where we agreed on. I paid him and took my bike back out of the Tuk Tuk and started walking down the road. One thing that I noticed was people were looking at me strangely. I assume it was because here I was, hauling a bike around in a Tuk Tuk and walking a bike around when I clearly should be riding it. The bike wasn’t visibly flat tired until I sat down on it and then it became very clear. However with no pressure on the seat the tires looked like they had air. None the less I pushed my bike home and made it just before the rain came again. Something I’m sure my waterlogged shoes and clothes were happy about. The only problem was the length of time made me late for lunch and I had to go find a random street market and order in Khmer. Something I was more successful in than I thought I would be.

The next day I took a moto to work and was able to direct the driver once again, becuase remember no one knows where my office is… However all was well. I cannot describe the feeling of being on a moto in a city where traffic lines are mere suggestions. Sitting on the back of a moto as the driver goes over curbs onto sidewalks and weaves between trucks and buses and cars as they drive on any side of the road they want is exhilerating to say the least. Mom don’t worry I’m safe. I love you! One part about this city as well is that for as big as it is and as many streets as there are the road signs are very small and very rarely even put up. Thus driving around is more about remembering landmarks than it is looking at street signs. After work it was time to go home once again. I got out of work and knew once again I was in for a magical mystery tour as I discussed with the moto driver and security guard where I needed to go. We agreed on a place that didn’t completely sound right to me yet I assumed since our conversation yesterday with the Tuk Tuk driver ended ok I would get to the right spot. I made a mistake. I realize now one major thing about myself. I tend to laugh, nod my head and say “yeah” or “ok” a lot when I am either confused or don’t know what else to say. In this case I had a chance to correct my driver and tell him where I should go however I just did my usual and hopped on the back of the bike hoping for the best. As my driver took a completely different way across town, I knew there had been a large miscommunication between the two of us. We came to the spot where he thought he was taking me and I attempted to get him back to where I was needed to go. As we went along I kept saying the only landmark around the area I knew, Ratana Plaza, and he kept getting confused. After driving around for a bit he pulled over and called someone on the phone and handed me the device. I answered and told the person once again “Ratana Plaza” and he answered back “yes.” What a relief! The moto driver then hopped back on the bike and we went off again. During our extended moto ride it rained twice. A testament to the length of my journey. I made it home safely and tried to learn from my mistake. I went to the Pastor and asked him to help me figure out how I could tell Moto drivers where I needed to go. He gave me a few ideas that I wrote down in my notebook that I was going to try the next day.

Morning the next day, I walked down to the street determined to make it to work in the normal amount of time with no detours. I took out the business card that I had received from one of the people I was working with in my office and walked down the street asking moto drivers if they knew where it was. After asking two with no luck I came to the corner where there were 3 or 4 moto drivers all sitting on their bikes. I asked the first one if he could take me to the place on the card and he handed me off to his friend. He then handed me off to his friend and finally he agreed to take me. He wasn’t completely sure he knew where to go however I told him I could tell him where to go. I forgot how to say that phrase in Khmer so I just told him “I tell go right, go left.” He may have taken this too literally and with one quick missturn completely put me off the only route I knew that could get me to the office. I knew that I had to go northwest from my starting point however we went too far north and we were unable to go west anymore due to a large string of schools and offices that blocked the way through town. We ended up going very far north and had to work our way back southwest. Upon getting in the general area I told him to stop, then I pulled out the card again and showed him. He nodded and off we went. After going a few blocks he pulled over and asked a couple moto drivers if they knew where to go. The moto drivers responded and pointed out some directions for him to follow. We then once again hopped on our bike and drove a few more blocks before he realized those directions were wrong. We did this a few more times until we ended up back at the first moto drivers and for whatever reason the second time with these guys was the charm. I don’t know who was more relieved to finally make it to our destination. Regardless we had finally made it.
After finishing up work I mentally prepared myself for the next ride and brushed up on the phrases my pastor had given me to use. I then walked outside and was pleasantly surprised to see the security guard waiting for me by the gate with a moto driver right next to him. He pointed to the driver and said “Ratana Plaza” with a huge smile and 15 minutes later I was home. I got mad love for my new security guard friend. Today I am thankful for that security guard who now has my back. I am thankful that I didn’t get lost once again on my way home and I could make it in time for lunch!

A few things I have learned from these last few days of traveling around the city. One, I need to get better at speaking in Khmer so that I can better understand my moto drivers and vice versa. Two, it is important for me to continue to use every sepearte moto trip as a chance to learn more about the layout of this city. I do not have the luxury of signs that tell me where I am so I must remember streets and intersections and areas of town based on landmarks and visual memory. Three, I need to continue to laugh at myself for getting lost with my moto driver and realize that is ok sometimes. Four, I need to find out the name of this security guard at work and also find a way to thank that security guard for saving me today. Hopefully he has my back in the future and we can continue with our relationship. Overall the traffic in Phnom Penh is a wild and crazy thing. The streets are pretty confusing and the people don’t speak my language. However I need to remember I am the foreigner and they don’t owe me anything. They are the ones graciously offering to give someone who doesn’t speak their language a ride to somehwere they don’t even know about. They are putting just as much trust in me as I am in them. I have been humbled over and over again in the matter of a few days of trying to maneuver this city and this is just the beginning. If I learn from my mistakes each moto ride will get easier and easier. I look forward to each and every day of getting to know this wonderful city. Here’s to getting lost a few more times before I find my way!

A good example of the ratio of vehicles. Lots of Motos a few Tuk Tuks and very few cars.

Photo credit: The Cambodia Herald