Right after we returned from our Tonle Sap cruise, Jam, his friend and I went out for dinner. We had BBQ Steamboat at a stall by the road side not far from our hotel.
After the pretty good meal, we went to the Siem Reap Night Market. There were really nothing much to shop there as most of the things there could also be found at the Old Market (Phsar Chas).
Since it was almost 10.30pm, we decided to go for a two-hour massage at one of the massage outlets in the night market. The massage was not fantastic but it was good enough to soothe our tired bodies after a whole day out.
Besides, it rained heavily halfway and it was so nice to hear the sound of heavy rain while being massaged that I dozed off. By the time the massage was over at around 12.30am, I was all refreshed. But the rain continued to pour outside and although our hotel was not very far away, it was quite impossible to walk back to our hotel in the pouring rain!
Luckily, the massage lady helped us get a tuk-tuk driver. We had agreed on the price, which was USD2. This is how a tuk-tuk looks like - basically it's a two-wheeled carriage pulled by a motorbike.
Image courtesy of Cambodia Uncovered
Because of the rain, the driver had covered all four sides of the tuk-tuk to prevent us from getting wet inside. So there we were, inside the tuk-tuk, happily discussing about our massage experience just a moment ago.
Jam and his friend was sitting next to each other directly opposite me. My back was facing the motorbike driver in front. And then it happened.
I did not even know what hit me! It was over within seconds! I found myself lying on top of Jam and his friend. I remember thinking, what the hell happened? Where am I? What am I doing here on top of my friends?
Then slowly it dawned on me - Oh my God! Our tuk-tuk had overturned! It's incredible that I had no recollection whatsoever of that moment when the tuk-tuk flipped over. One moment I was chatting with my friends, the next moment I was on the ground!
And then I remember asking how to get out? How to get out of this thing? Help!
Slowly I crawled out. There were some local people helping us. The driver came to us and kept saying sorry. Once outside and standing on the wet ground in the rain, we saw exactly what had happened. The tuk-tuk had ran into an oncoming motorbike in the opposite direction. The motorcyclist was still sitting on the ground, groaning in pain.
I think I was still in a daze. I checked my backpack to see if everything was still intact. I hoped I did not break my camera. Please no! Luckily, my camera was inside the backpack at that time.
Then the most funny thing happened. It was the most hilarious thing that happened, according to Jam and his friend. After the local people helped the motorcyclist back on his feet and helped get the tuk-tuk back up, I quickly handed USD2 to the driver. I thought he was about to leave and so I paid him.
But guess what? We have not even reached our hotel yet so what the hell was I doing paying him the money? Much later, Jam and his friend told me they were shocked by my action. In fact, Jam had even thought of not paying the driver at all after what he did to us!
I did not know why but at that time, I thought we had already arrived in front of our hotel! But the fact is, we were only halfway there. The driver then proceeded to take us to our hotel on his tuk-tuk. It must be quite a miracle that his tuk-tuk could still carry us after what happened! Up to this day, I still do not know why I thought we were in front of our hotel. I must have been suffering from some kind of post-accident trauma!
Jam was bruised below his right knee and his friend slightly injured his toes. I was left relatively unscathed. Probably because I was lying on top of them haha! Anyway, thank God all of us were safe!
Thinking back, we had been very lucky to hit a motorbike. Had we hit a car instead, I am quite sure the outcome would have been much, much worse!
Coming Up Soon : The Case Of The Missing Slippers in Phnom Penh (A Ghost Story)
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