Packing my things and getting ready, I spent the morning on the internet since the bus to Anlong Veng wasn't until 1:30pm. After a few hours on the good old PC, it was up to the restaurant for lunch and then check out. I really loved it here and hate to leave, but I have really high hopes for what awaits me. Heading down stairs, the owner was waiting to drive me to the bus station and was all to easy. Arriving at the station, I sat down, had my ticket checked and then grabbed some waters for the journey. Sitting down since I was a half hour early, I started chatting with an fellow from England in 40's, and we just went on about Laos. When the bus came and we got our bags on and settled in our seats, we kept the chat going for a bit. The ride was only 2 hours, and to my surprise consisted of a perfect paved road the entire trip, passing beautiful countryside. I went in and out the entire ride, sleeping here and there, so arriving in Anlong Veng felt like no time at all. I had every intention of staying overnight here, and going around to the few local sights. However, upon stepping off, me and Tim, the English gentleman, saw the only other foreigner on the bus talking to someone about getting a private car to Preah Vihear. We both immediately looked at each other and knew we had to join him, since it was both of our destinations anyway and 3 people splitting the Toyota Camry would be very cheap. So we got a price set and we were off, all very happy that it worked out so nice. I will simply hit Anlong Veng on the way back. 


       We all chatted away about the  wonders of Angkor, and how crazy it was that we were on our way to see another temple. I knew Preah Vihear was not that accessible, but the road that we hit was one of the most interesting I'd ever done. Although in the middle of being paved, it's currently a mass of dirt and piles of stones, making cars tilt halfway over going through these piles. Only room for a single lane with cars going both ways, its gets hairy. Pulling into the village of Preah Vihear, the reality of just how out of the way I was really hits. Not another foreigner in sight. Just a simple village with a small market at its heart, no more than 2 blocks in all.

      We find our way to our rooms, having only 2  places to chose, I opt for the cheaper $5 room. After we were all settled in, we just went about the town looking around, eventually settling somewhere to eat. Tim had a great Khmer vocabulary which came in handy since there was no English here, so eating was a challenge. But he was able to get his order done in Khmer, while me and Caleb just pointed to a noodle dish that was already made and got something similar back. Dinner went really great as we all got know each other and as it got later conversation changed to news and politics etc, which made for a great time. Around 9pm we decided to turn in, but not beore wondering the town looking for bread or cakes we could quickly eat in the morning. Having gotten what we needed, we all headed back to our rooms and relaxed before calling it a night. It was going to an early one, as we arranged for 3 motorbikes to meet us at 5:30am for a sunrise at Preah Vihear....