Bangkok

After Siem Reap we traveled to Bangkok by bus. In my day I've had a couple of interesting border crossings and interactions with police but this one sure tops them all.

We waited for our bus pick up in our hostel at a grueling 7 a.m. after having shoveled down yet another meal of rice and pork. At 7:15 the bus we were expecting turned out to be a tuk tuk much to our surprise and somewhat dismay. We climbed in not knowing what to expect but fully hoping that we would reach Thailand safely.

We were whisked away and driven to a meeting point where we were met by a full bus and two impatient drivers. They informed us that the bus was all full and instead packed us into what appeared to be a personal car. As we started driving feelings of apprehension bloomed but we trusted in our driver as he drove us out of town along Highway. Not that I (Paul) can attribute much more to this part of the story since I passed out as soon as the wheels started turning, but I was informed that it was a hot, bumpy, and uncomfortable ride.

We arrived at a bustling hub of tourist buses, scooters and commercial trucks which we only assumed was the border crossing. We received a red sticker on our front shirts and were told to start walking through the gates without much more guidance than that.

We got our passport stamped by the Cambodian border guard and then entered what we called no man's land. It is about a 1000 foot stretch or longer in which we were in no country at all; having left Cambodia but not quite entered Thailand yet. Surprisingly there were still vendors selling cheap goods, food, and drinks all along the route as well as immense amounts of trash and dirty looking water.

Cambodian side.

Thai side.

We then got to the Thailand border guard where hundreds of Cambodian people waited to get approved to cross the border. Luckily for us Americans, they appreciate our truest dollars and allowed us to bypass all of the waiting and had our passport stamped without a second glance.

Cambodian and Thai toilet. Notice the lack of seat and toilet paper.

After crossing the border we had no idea what to expect since we no longer had a guide or driver in sight. However, we were ushered over to a man who had seen our red stickers and we waited with him for about an hour. He then told us that we were going to get in the back of a pickup truck and be driven to a rest area to wait for the bus. We enjoyed lunch there, except Hunter who went out on a limb and got the "padkapow", one of the spiciest Thai dishes around. After playing soccer in the parking lot for another hour, our luxurious double decker bus showed up to take us to Bangkok, in which we were given the in-bus movie of Fast and Furious 7.

Close to 11 hours after we had departed that morning, the loud, bustling, and smoggy city of Bangkok sheened through the endless stretch of brake lights. We had made it to our 4th country of the trip.

Moments later I my face looked like a tomato and I
was dripping with sweat. With no bread or milk I had
to ride out the pain. If all that wasn't enough, I got to
experience it all over again the next morning.

The locals mock the efficiency of the highway builder's 4
lanes by forming 7, and then going really really slow.

Wild tuk tuk ride to our hostel.

We arrived in Bangkok not knowing quite what the plan was but with tired buts and minds. After a quick drink of the country's beer, Chang, at a bar on Khao San Road and some live music, we were ready to rest. We took the first day to explore our little neck of the woods as well as rest. We walked around, explored some vendor stalls, including several fake ID stations, and of course ate incredible Thai food. During dinner we had an unusual occurrence. We found a man from California who had worked with Manny Paquiao (the boxer) and had a general booky vibe about him. This just so happened to be a good thing considering he gave us a cheap adventure for the next day: Ayutthaya.

If anyone needs a fake ID let us know.

Paul tipping the talented 80's american music cover guy.

The next day was used as a recovery day. Hunter had reached the full effects of Dengue fever and Paul and Nola did not feel pressured to walk around the dirty and smoggy streets of Bangkok. After a day inside we went out to check out the famous Khao San road which has bars and shops and everything backpackers and travelers could want and even more that they do not.

Hostel lounge

Casual beer on the streets

This ancient city, about an hour drive outside of Bangkok, is filled with ancient ruins, temples, and statues of Buddha. We were shown around to many of these famous sights and seemingly given information about them from an elderly Thai man. I say seemingly because his accent was so unbelievably thick that for the first several stops we did not know he was speaking english.

Hunter and Nola started to get bored of temples.

A statue fell apart hundreds and hundreds of years ago
and this head was brought up above ground by getting
tangled in the growing trees roots.

Some 4000 year old rocks held together
by 500 year old rocks.

Biggest Buddha statue around, I'm not even as tall as
one foot down on the right side.

After a full day of withstanding more heat and humidity in the shadeless ruins of ancient Thailand, we found ourselves on a stifling and turbulent bus ride home. It's good to have cultural and historical elements on a trip, but this will probably be one of our last temple or palace days, sorry!

That night, we slammed a quick dinner of KFC (yes, how unadventurously American of us) and boarded a night train for Chiang Mai.