Initiated by the state government of
Guangxi Province, the primary objective China-Asean International Touring
Assembly (CAITA) is to promote the overland connectivity between China and
ASEAN countries. Dubbed as the
harmonious modern “ Silk Road ” as well as the “largest, broadest and longest
automobile assembly race in Asia ”, it is one of the main events leading to the
annual China-ASEAN Summit that will be held in Nanning City , China . (Official Website of CAITA:
http://carally.org/)
The following is a daily account of Leslie Chang who is the Singapore
representative for the event.
Day 4, Pattaya to Siem Reap 31st Aug 2012
She was
driving quite fast but she never failed to slow down and smell the flowers.
Thanks to
event pre-arrangements. Little time was wasted at the crossing when we
arrived at the border. As the picture
below may suggest, this marks the beginning of our journey in left-hand drive
countries.
Commuting
time from the Poipet Customs to Siem Reap has been drastically reduced
since the completion of Cambodia Highway 6 in 2008. The road seems endlessly flat. Looking
out from the rear window of my car, this ‘runway’ is lined by miles of padi fields and
blue sky.
After our
lunch, we took a boat ride and visited Chong Klneas - an unique town floating
on the Tonle Sap Lake. This community
consists of several sundry shops, a school and a hospital serving more than
1,000 families.
Fishing is the main source of livelihood. However, the unusual living conditions have transformed this town into a tourist attraction. There are a couple of floating restaurants to cash in the tourists’ dollars. Unfortunately, the landing area of the restaurants attracts many beggars, both young and old.
Some even gave chase alongside our boat, inviting us to touch their pet (snake) so to earn some money.
It is noteworthy that majority of the people living in Chong Klneas are seemingly carefree.
Above all, their
children are not spoilt by the latest gadgets.
