Cambodian Taxi Chaos - a Leaf, a Radiator and a MacGyver Moment
The roads in Cambodia are vicious, angry slabs of asphalt
filled with potholes that would qualify as valleys in some
countries. Fortunately, I had it made traveling from
Sihanoukville to Phnom Penh. Or so I thought.
Cambodian Taxis
Having spent two weeks in the relaxing beach town of
Sihanoukville, I was getting bored and so were the three chaps
traveling with me. It was time to head to the supposed chaos of
Phnom Penh and eventually Angkor Wat. Despite the legendary
reputation of Cambodian roads, the owner of our accommodations
told us the road to Phnom Penh was smooth as glass. For twenty
U.S. dollars, a local taxi would get all four of us to the city
without incident.
Around noon, two Australians, an Englishman and myself crammed
into a Toyota Camry with our backpacks and miscellaneous junk.
Our driver was a good guy, smiling constantly. We did have a
communication problem since he spoke about two words of English
and we only spoke English. The road, however, was as smooth as
promised and we congratulated ourselves on our stroke of luck.
For about an hour, we cruised through the placid Cambodian
countryside. It was difficult to imagine the chaos that must
have occurred when the Khmer Rouge was in power. There really
wasn't much to see beyond the occasional village. About half way
through the trip, the lack of any sizeable towns became a
concern.
In the proverbial middle of nowhere, our driver pulled over to
the side of the road and turned off the car. Since we couldn't
verbally communicate, much finger pointing was undertaken. Were
we lost? Did he want more money? Was he going on strike? What
the heck was going on?
Eventually, we foreign idiots were able to decipher that the car
was overheating. Lest you think us complete idiots, I must
mention that the temperature gauge wasn't working. Regardless,
our driver popped the hood and our smooth trip came to a cracked
end. Steam poured from a half-inch crack next to the radiator
crap.
Road site assistance seemed an iffy prospect in the middle of
Cambodia. I mean, you couldn't really call your car insurance
company.
Me: "Hi. My car is broken."
Operator: "Okay, we will send someone out. Where are you?"
Me: "Um, somewhere in the middle of Cambodia."
Operator: "...[hysterical laughter]... Click."
The driver looked at us. We looked at him. Simultaneously, we
all started laughing. What else could you do? We were in the
middle of nowhere, the radiator was shot and it was 60 miles or
so to Phnom Penh.
Looking back, I can tell you that Cambodian taxi drivers are a
committed and creative group. We sat on the side of the road,
contemplating the fact that we were about to have a much more
authentic Cambodian experience then any of us had planned.
Mysteriously, our driver had gone off into the brush on the side
of the road. After a few minutes, he returned with a dark green
leaf and a big smile.
Putting MacGyver to shame, he proceeded to patch the crack in
the radiator using only the leaf and tube of superglue. We all
moved back as he applied the superglue to the boiling hot
radiator, but nothing went up in flames. After allowing for a
suitable amount of time for drying/praying, all we needed was
water.
Although admittedly not a car expert, I do know pouring cold
water into the radiator of an overheating engine is a bad idea.
MacGyver, err... our driver, didn't bat an eye despite our
extensive arm waving. With a big smile, the water went into the
radiator as we watched in horror. The only question was what
would happen first, the leaf patch bursting or the engine
seizing up?
Well, you can guess how it turned out. Not only did we make it
to Phnom Penh, we later learned the radiator had two other leaf
patches on the bottom. The road had been smooth, but my nerves
were still shot. At least I had ample ammunition to mock
MacGyver fans.