DRIVING IN CAMBODIA

 DRIVING IN CAMBODIA

9/22/25

This is an area that needs a category all by itself!!

Whoa!!!  Is there a system in the chaos?!?!  Motos (little motorcycles) and motorized tuk-tuk carts are everywhere!! (as well as cars!) Probably a 10:5:1 ratio. Need to turn left?  Just cross over three lanes and do it now!  Need to go around someone slower than you?  Cross into the oncoming lane or pass on the dirt on the right!  No problem! Need to merge?  Don’t wait, just edge in with confidence! Lanes? Nonexistent! Two marked lanes become 6 at a light! Barrier in the center of the road or need to go a short distance the other way? Just drive against the upcoming traffic on their side! A red light? May or may not be observed! Need to turn right on a red light? Don't wait - just join the dozens and dozens of others going through the gas station lot on the corner!

The loads on the motos and in the tuk-tuks are an amazing feat - large loads of produce, wide building supplies, precariously placed boxes, people and more people all crammed in. Many motos also have trailers pulled behind them, too, or even a cart at the side. On one moto I saw a family of five - 2 little children in front, then the father driving, then the mother at the back side-saddled with a newborn baby in arms!  This is a common sight!

Surprisingly, after just a week of driving in the traffic, there is a method! I think it feels like being in a crowd of people where there is this “dance” of interaction, weaving in and out.  It is a slow and deliberate flow, as a river winding its way. The traffic rarely stops; it just keeps merging in and out. The motos are like little honeybees working their way between any empty space. And there is no road rage; if you hear a honk, it is simply a warning that they are passing. Even in this area of daily living, they are courteous. The driving DOES make sense in its own crazy way!!!