Bus from Poipet to Siem Reap
Scene 3
Darkness descended on the land and the bus screeched, like a demonstrative mechanic, past houses and huts on stilts. In the dim light of oil lamps he could see men, women and children lying around – not asleep, but as if they had been immobilized, as if they were waiting for the morning light to bring them back to life. There were no signs of electric light anywhere; the generators were evidently used only to run TV sets.
The smell of acrid smoke wafted through the air, reminding a little bit the scent of some kinds of black pepper. Then dogs materialized on the scene, quite like pins in a bowling alley, trotting around intrepidly in front of the bus, gazing at its passengers with big, inquisitive eyes, seeming astonished at how these intelligent creatures from another world had turned up as clients in their territory.