I Heart Bangkok/ Poipet

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Waking up at 6.30 in the morning for a 3 hour ferry ride and 5 1/2 hour bus trip isn't what I would exactly call fun. And apart from a hillarious bathroom sign on the pitstop I wasn't exactly wrong. After all that we arrived in Bangkok around 8pm, to find the first couple of guesthouses totally booked out (it was getting as ridiculously fruitless as a search for havainas in Koh Phangan...)

A day in Bangkok revealed the good parts of the city: cheaper prices than even Koh Phangan, the biggest statue of Buddha in the world, and the huge weekend markets (with over 15,000 stalls, with the cutest kittens in the world, and a T-Shirt with the lyrics of Killer Queen on it, my new favourite posession). It also revealed, well I guess the elements that make it such a bustling city: everybody is trying to sell you something, and usually at a bad price. This is probably the downside of there being a backpacker district- the only relationship you can reach with the locals is that of buyer/seller.

The vendors on the street had a bit more of what you might call a sense of humour than in Koh Phangan. A guy laughed in my face when I ordered a 'gay power' cocktail from a bar which also happened to be a volkswagon van. To try and grab your attention, the vendors will make up names- Roger got called Mr Pad Thai, I just got the rather disappointing 'lady', but some kid nearby got spiderman boy. He wasn't even wearing a Spiderman costume. Some kids get all the luck.

The train to the Cambodian border left at 5.55am. With the time to get up, check out and take the 1/2 hour trip to the train station this meant waking up at 4.30, in the morning. On the bright side: 48 baht. A trip to the cambodian border, a 5 hour train ride- less than $2. And the seats had cushioning- so much for 3rd class.

Arriving at the border (Poipet) we discovered first hand the corruption of the Cambodian government. First, despite arguing for 10 minutes, we were forced to pay an extra 200 baht to the official price to get our visas. Then came through and was approached by a man that said that it was impossible to catch a taxi from where we were, so the government had provided free buses to go to where the taxis were.

It had scam written all over it. But as we really couldnt find a taxi anywhere, we were forced to take the offer, and were driven to an ágency offering to call taxis for us, for a mere $60 for both to Siem Reap (a 3 hour taxi ride). Yep, scam.

So we went walking down the street to try and find some food and then some more backpackers to share a taxi, and were practically stalked by a taxi originally offering to take us to Siem Reap for a total of $40 (for both), gradually getting down to $25 as we kept ignoring him. Anyway, long story made slightly shorter, we found some Korean people but ended up going in seperate taxis anyway, for $25. 'The road was like a really bumpy, really long rollercoaster with a view. It is rumoured that Bangkok Airways bribe the Cambodian government to keep to roads dodgy so more people will fly. That wouldn't surprise me.

Our taxi driver explained to us that only a month ago a certain agency of taxis had received exclusive power to operate by paying off the government, meaning they could charge really high prices by making all other taxis illegal. That's why we couldnt find any taxis at the border, there were police around so no illegal taxis could approach us. So that man hadnt been lying, the bus actually was provided by the government, just a really corrupt one.

The coolest bit about that though, is that we found out about a scam before the guidebooks had. And a tip to anyone trying to get a cheap taxi in Cambodia- walk away from the border, and then back towards it- we got approached heaps of times on the way back. And try hard not to get followed by an official- no one will come near you.

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Photos

Tuk-tuk
This a picture of our tuk-tuk driver. Shortly after this he was pulled over by the police and the tuk tuk impounded. No idea why. True story!

It's So Big!
Roger's head is considerably smaller than the toenails...

The World's Largest Buddha Statue
Solid gold, so cool.

A Cool Statue
This was at the Grand Palace at Bangkok. I thought it looked cool, so I took a photo.

Ladies
On the road to Poipet, this was the sign to denote the ladie's bathroom.

Men
And if your male, this sign would greet you as you walked in the restroom. Classy.