Cambodia Not "Same Same"

The trip from Laos into Cambodia was a long one, as we chose to jet as quickly as possible from Pakse (Laos) to Siem Reap (Cambodia). Although we were told that we'd arrive in twelve hours, the 'three bus' excursion took us 15.5 hours.
The border crossing was a treat. It's just what you'd picture from a spy novel, except the overabundant guards and officials are all sitting lazily in the excessive heat of our afternoon arrival. The paperwork, like the heat, was also stifling but we had loads of officials to help us get through it all. All of the officials were very helpful. I had read some worrisome accounts of crossing this border and had my antaennae up - but it all seemed very legitimate.
Crossing into Cambodia I starting to see if I could identify any significant differences from my window seat. First and foremost the vegitation seemed to go from dense tropical green to dusty scrubland with very few mature trees. I only assume this is due to a dryer climate. The other significant difference was that the homes and small buildings, which were often bamboo in Thailand and Laos, were made from hardwood, or grass. I commented to Lana that it seems a little like Cambodia has all of Thailand's second hand scooters - they were really beaten up compared to what we'd seen elsewhere. We also began to see a lot of cattle carts along the roads. You could easily compare these carts to Canada's Metis Red River carts except they are much more refined in their production since they've been used in these parts for thousands of years. Finally, the poverty here is more apparent. This is something I'd heard was the case, and now could see first hand.

Greg