#35: Ready for the Island

19.02.2020

Today we wake up at 6:30 am, an hour before the alarm clock. Unusual, but it turns out to be quite convenient, as we will see later.

The plan for today is as follows: wake up at 7:29 am, pack everything, have breakfast on the beach, check out, and be ready to leave for Phu Quoc at 10 am. Well, that's the plan.

After waking up early, we quickly realize that Vanessa's mosquito bites have become much worse overnight, despite the mosquito net. The bites are appearing all over her body and are extremely itchy. Martin, on the other hand, only has a few bites, but they itch a lot. Since there are no mosquitoes inside the net and the net itself is in perfect condition, these 'bites' cannot be caused by mosquitoes. After a quick google search, we find that the linear pattern of the bites suggests bed bugs. And sure enough, we find a bug sitting on a pillow, about 0.5 cm in size, that looks remarkably similar to a bed bug. We quickly catch the culprit with the cap of the sunscreen and safely keep it as evidence.

After overcoming the initial shock of the disgusting bed and taking thorough showers, we decide to confront the landlord with the new findings. However, we want to pack our things first to facilitate a quick escape.

So, we pack our things and go down to our landlord. 'Good morning, we have a problem, I'm afraid.' 'Wow, you have so many problems.' Okay then. Our French landlord is slightly annoyed, but he immediately comes with us to the room. We explain to him that despite the net, Vanessa has bites in a typical pattern. We also show him the bug and the typical 'sweet' smell of bed bugs in the bed. He is skeptical from the beginning about our evidence and calls his local employee to identify the bug. She comes, crushes the bug, and declares that it does not bite. She also claims that the bug would only bite once, which is not true. As she cleans up the now dead bug, dark red blood remains on the paper, probably Vanessa's. However, this does not convince our landlord. He sends us to the local pharmacy to ask about the origin of the bites.

The pharmacist immediately points to bed bugs as the cause and even notes down the name of the possible species. With this completely new knowledge, we return to the landlord, feeling more confident. Surprisingly, he asks us in front of another tenant what we found out. He wants to google the species of the bugs. Meanwhile, we, slightly agitated by the morning's events, go to the beach for breakfast. Here, we also distribute the last Cambodian riel and try to receive only US dollars as change.

We return to the hostel at 9:30 am, where the landlord is already waiting for us, triumphantly: according to the pharmacist, the species of bed bugs she mentioned could not be the cause. We try to explain to him that we don't really care what Vanessa was bitten by. The cause is definitely in the bed. Besides, we don't care about the bed anymore since we are about to leave anyway. We then show him our suspicion of another species of bugs and collect our things. Meanwhile, our landlord's face has turned very red and he alternates between genuine and feigned friendliness, along with open annoyance. The atmosphere of the conversation, however, remains relatively diplomatic. Only the two local employees seem openly hostile towards us.

We let him keep our suspicion and Google it for himself while we gather our belongings. The farewell from the room is quick and cool, and we are glad that the door finally closes behind us for the last time. Now it's time to pay for the accommodation. The day before, we agreed on two nights and a cancellation fee of $20, which we thought was a very accommodating offer considering the deplorable condition of the room. However, we didn't know at that time that the bed was infested with bugs and was the cause of all the bites. Therefore, we are no longer willing to pay for the cancellation. But we want to wait and see what he offers us in light of the new facts.

He doesn't offer us anything. He doesn't even apologize for the disgusting and unpleasant circumstances. We believe that he wants to convince himself that everything is fine, even though he doesn't seem fully convinced. When we tell him that we don't really think it's fair to pay for the cancellation after all the trouble we went through, the conversation becomes heated. He thinks it's unfair that he has to pay the commission to Booking.com for five days but only gets two days' rent from us. And now we don't even want to pay for the cancellation. It becomes clear that he takes the whole thing very personally. Our diplomatic thinking begins to fade as well, and we are slowly getting frustrated by his ignorance. His face becomes even redder, and he starts sweating as he makes a suggestion: pay half. We should only pay $10 instead of $20. We don't find this 'compromise' really acceptable since Vanessa is not only 'half' bitten and the room is not only 'half' uninhabitable. We also have the unpleasant feeling of the two nights spent here and the unpleasant departure from Cambodia. We tell him that we don't think it's okay, but we'll do it that way anyway.

That pushes him over the edge. He becomes quite angry and even starts trembling. It also becomes increasingly difficult for us to remain objective in this agitated state. As we become more frustrated, the communication in English becomes more difficult. He becomes sarcastic and angrily asks several times if he should just pay our entire bill. Our explanation that he is responsible for his hostel does not help calm the situation. Finally, he gives up the entire cancellation fee, completely offended. We pay for the two nights and the transportation to Phu Quoc that we booked with him, sit down in the hostel garden with heated feelings, and wait for the transportation for about 20 minutes.

When we arrived two days ago, we witnessed our landlord carrying a guest's suitcase and saying goodbye with a handshake. Surprisingly, when our transportation arrives, he is nowhere to be seen. We prefer it that way.

We have been on the road for almost five weeks now, and before Kep, we only stayed with Asian landlords: no problems at all. Once with a European: a catastrophe.

Intermediate quiz question: One of us woke up in a fighting mood and with the intention not to pay a single dollar (except for transportation). However, after a peaceful resolution of the conflict was discussed, this person hardly spoke up. Who was it?

That's it for the first three hours of the day. On to the remaining twelve:

The transportation to Phu Quoc is again by minivan, and again it's overcrowded. We drive on small dirt roads and gravel paths, feeling like we're being smuggled across the border. After three-quarters of an hour, we arrive at the border to Vietnam. The check-out from Cambodia is conducted properly. We then have to walk on foot across the border to check-in to Vietnam. However, before entering the country, we have to fill out a medical self-declaration form and have our body temperature measured with an infrared thermometer. Thanks to Corona. This extra procedure costs $1. Despite the oven-like temperatures and a little stress, we pass the test with flying colors and receive a 15-day stay. We continue with a new Vietnamese minivan.

From the beginning, Vietnam seems much more developed than Cambodia: the roads, buildings, and people. At the same time, there is also much more going on. Finally, we arrive at the ferry that takes us to Phu Quoc Island in the Gulf of Thailand. The journey is very enjoyable as we spend the approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes in the air-conditioned seating area as well as on deck in the sea breeze. After the very stressful morning, this is very relaxing. The many islands passing by are also very beautiful to look at.

When we arrive at Phu Quoc, the ferry is already surrounded by taxi and minivan drivers. However, we manage to make our way through the crowd without accepting any offers. As we leave the pier and enter the island, we take a taxi for 150,000 Vietnamese dong. Since we don't have any dong yet, we make a deal for $7 for the approximately 17 km. After a short drive, we arrive at the hostel. The hostel doesn't look very inviting from the outside, but it is nicely and modernly furnished, looks clean, and is very bright inside due to its open construction. The area around the hostel is very green and lined with palm trees. So far, we really like it here.

In the hostel, we settle in quickly, explore the immediate surroundings of the hostel, and withdraw a whopping 2,000,000 dong (about €80) from the ATM. Nearby, we find a (very) cheap supermarket and a restaurant that looks good and affordable. However, today we are tempted by the unbeatable offer of the hostel restaurant's rooftop bar: free beer from 5:00 to 5:30 pm every day. Since it is already 5:02 pm, we hurry up. From up here, we have a beautiful view of the city, the palm trees, and especially the sea. We each have two beers, have dinner, and enjoy the sunset. However, throughout the day, we keep thinking back to the eventful morning.

We really liked Cambodia. The nature and cultural monuments are very beautiful and impressive. The people are generally very nice and friendly. At the same time, you can feel that the mentality here is much rougher, and the country is poorer than Thailand. This results in unpleasant smells, especially in the cities, and it's best not to step into the puddles as they consist mostly of something other than water. You also have to get used to the many piles of garbage. However, Cambodia was a great experience and an exciting adventure that we enjoyed a lot.