The slow Boat to China

Seroiusly, I believe I have done my fair share of rediculously long and stupidly disasterous bus trips. Apparently not! We borded our bus. Well, Mini bus, that usually seat about 25 people, and we set off on our way. Not so bad I though, particulary after the previous days journey. Well,what a fool am I. Hadn't I learnt that a bus filled to capacity and beyond is not a full bus? Supposably not. We stopped regularly piling more and more people in to the bus until I thought that people would have to sit on the roof. Eventually there was not physically enough room for a flea, yet alone a person, so the bus driver started on his way the the border.
The road has to be up there with some of the worst that Cambodia has to offer. This was the Bastard Daughter of Satin Himself! We flug around the back of the bus like crash test dummies testing a new series of high impact vehicles. I seriously thought it couldn't get much worse. Well, until I hit my head several time on the window! We had to disembark several times for visa checks and Loo stops and we were relieved to get out of the bus to stretch our legs. I never thought mine would work again since they had been crushed up near my ears for several hours.
I was the talk of the bus, at one stage, when I took an opportunity to pee roadside. Myself and a Chinese lady were off to find a toilet when all we could find was the side of a building next to a river. It bearly sheltered us from the roadside and my bum was in full view of some old codger across the river. I didn't care.I was busting and sitiing in a bus, bouncing along, was not my idea of fun. When I returned to the bus, the lady had announced my little adventure to all on board and they were congratulating me like I'd won a Oscar. Seroiusly. Western's Pee too you know!
Back on the bus and a few excruciating hours later we arrive at the Chinese boarder. It was my turn to pass over my passport and get my stamp of entry. When the offical took my Italian Passport (Long story but that's where my visa was) he looked at it as though it was a fake and ran his finger all over the fold and the photo. My heart was pounding and I was trying not to look guilty. Even though there was no reason for me to feel so. It's always how you feel you come across. After several questions and a few times where offical and passport disappeared, all was good and I was allowed to enter China. Phew!
Back on the bus from Hell and we possibly went down one of the worse roads I have ever come across in 30 years. I was really wondering if this was going to be the end of me and I was going to die here. Thankfully,our bus driver was skillfull and didn't drive like he was posessed. We made it throuh unscathed and eventually we ended up in the city closest to the border. This is where we were to board the next leg of our already long and exhusting journey in to China.