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Published: June 15th 2008
Elaine beside Chaopryha River
Right where my camera was lost!!Righty then it's been a marvellous few days here in the tropical heat and humidity of SE Asia... I can confirm that the road between Siem Reap and the Thai border at Poiphet is indeed worse than any road that you can even imagine... In fact to call it a road is being unjust to all the fine stretches of tarmacaddam reaching out to motorists throughout the world, offering them a hassle free trip between destinations... This was in fact definitely not a road as such... Now "dirt-track with large cave-like potholes and a large prescence of various wildlife with deathwishes" I think would be heading in the general direction of the truth so I suppose I shall leave it at that...
Our transport was a fine 30 passenger minibus with A/C all for the pricely sum of $10 ir the like... Cheapness comes at a price we learnt... Harsh... Now as bad as the road was to the border at Poiphet, this was ok... We could deal with some bumps and bruises to our gluteous maximus... The wait at the border at Poiphet was worse... After sailling through immigration we were beckoned to wait in limbo-land between countries for
our onward connection... And wait we did, for 2 hours or so!!! In a lovely waiting room with cakes and pimms of course I hear you say... Nooooo!!! On the kerb with 5 year olds carrying 2 year olds and generally hassling the face off you.. Now I can take kids coming up in Asia and selling things or even asking for money... well you sort of have to really... but here it was kinda sad as they were trying to use their brothers/sisters as reasons to give them things... Sad really and not great in about 40 degree heat with little shade... A can of random green fanta cheered me up and some peanuts I had been stashing away for a rainy day also came in useful in passing the time... result...
Finally an orange sticker with a number was stuck to our t-shirts which had to reach 45 before we could go and after more people came through customs the magical number was reached... I think I'll change my lucky number to 45 after this!! Anyhow back on the road we were and in a larger bus which was fine... I should mention at this time if
anyone ever hears the words Poiphet and holiday you should immediately destroy the person and not let them take you there... If you look the word shithole up in the Oxford English there is a picture of this place... Casinos, border, crap.... Complete dump... Thankfully we were "out a here"!!! or so we thought...
Now the new bus warranted considerable joy throughout the travelling legions... The bus driving some 100 metres into Thailand and then stopping for a "break" did not... Much grumbling was done and it was time for a cornetto or 2... Staple diet at rest stops througout SE Asia... Hmmmm... Stop over back on we got and it was remarkable how different Thailand was to Cambodia... Almost like going from the 3rd to the 1st world really... Very americanised but this was fine for the time being I was happy enough being somewhere where you could feel slightly more westernised for a change... All was well and thebu drove us grandly into Bangkok and deposited us at the Khao San Road - world mecca for backpackers for some reason I'm sure but that reason I cannot tell you... Answers on a postcard...
Now on the
bus we had again met the lads from the Champions League final in PP. You tend to meet the same people throughout the trip if they are heading in the same direction and this is fine as loing as they are ok and not axe-murdering types... I could see no weaponry on these folks so they were deemed suitable as travel companions and we set off with them to a suitable lodging for the night... This was found at the Rambuttri in on Soi Rambuttri, slightly off the Khao San backpacker ghetto but still with the same vibe really of cheapish bars and chilled out restaurants... It was a wee bit over our budget at $25 a night between us but it had a swiming pool on the roof and Elaine was going to kill me if I said no after the trip we'd had... It was a winner!!! Off we went to the pretty basic but dead on room and it was agreed that we would all meet up at 8pm for drinks and food...
8pm came, we met and off we went to the ubiquitious Khao San Road, which was athrong with people selling their crud, drinking
and generally having a good time... It was a nice change to the laid back charm of PP... Now food consumed it is normal to head to a "bucket bar". These are makeshift bars on the side of the street which basically sell you a bucket full of Whiskey, Red Bull, coke and ice and two straws.. No spade but if you have more than a couple you might need one to dig 6 foot down... pretty lethal but all were happy to consume one so we agreed that it would be a good decision... During this time a building site behind the bar offered the sight of a small child crawling across a girder about 30 foot above us with no worries and his family watching as it did so... They have a slightly different way of doing things here in Thailand I thought... We moved on from the bucket bar to a more selubrious location and then onto more bars before hittting the hay in the erly hours... I think we did anyway!!!
It was up early doors the next day for some pool action and then a trip into the city centre on the Chaoprhya river
express which seemed the best way to get into town... We bought tickets, waited for the boat, the boat arrived, we got on, my camera stayed on the seat at the dock... D'oh!!! We went back but it was long gone and so were some of my photos, mainly of Angkor Wat. What can you do eh... Lesson learnt hopefully. So now it was out with tourism and in with camera purchasing so there really is only one place to go... The MBK centre in Siam Square in central Bangkok... A massive shopping centre-cum market which sells everythiong really... Many hours of haggling with the same people over the same things were finally finished with a new Casio camera with memory card for 90 quid and 2 new pairs of "diesel" jeans. not a bad days shopping and Elaine got nothing.. haha
We had now decided to head off to Laos in the next few days so more shopping was incurred as was more getting to know the city... I was starting to quite like the constant fun and madness that is Bangkok... Sure we would be back through it in the comign weeks on the way South to
the islands... Grrrrreat!! One other point of great note was a visit to the rooftop bar in the Banyon Tree Hotel in downtown BK. Not any old rooftop but one up 60 floors. Arriving at 430pm we were advised that the bar woudl open at 5pm no problems as we sat looking slightly out of place in a plush hotels lobby... We were obviously too well dressed of course!! Well 5pm came and off the elevator whisked us to the 60th floors in record time... Out we got, greeted of course by the most friendly person on minimum wage in the world as ever in Asia and were then informed that flipflops and shorts were not the order of the day in this establishment... Harsh words for flipflop and shorts wearing tourists at lofty heights... Perhaps another bucket!! No not here, not in Asia... If you don't have the correct clothes then they shall provide you with them... Genius!! A quick change later I was donning a rather fetchign pair of school trousers approximately 13 sizes to big for me never mind the poor scrawny thai workers who wore them all day along with a pair of black slip-ons made
I presume for big foot himself... Elaine on the other hand duisplayed a lovely black wrap around skirt last seen when the motor car was a twinkle in Mr Fords' eye and a computer consisted of a wooden frame with balls on different levels... We were happy indeed with our new fashions... The bar itself was a cracker with amazing views(and prices) over central BK and the suburbs also.. Sunset was watched and we departed smugly knowing that there would be a million Thais trying to replicate our styles in bars and clubs across Asia that same night....
Off to Laos it was... Of course there are comfortable, air conditioned minibuses leaving the Khao san road every hour or so at night whcih will ferry you magnificently to the Laos border town and capital of Vientiane... A slightly easy and normal way to do things was my thinking... Elaines eyes were so far pointing into teh sky that I thought that they might actually turn round 360 degrees and become entangled... It was ok in the end and it was agreed, sort of, that a public bus made much more sense.... It was off to the local bus station
in a taxi for us and a cheap bus to the Northern town of Nong Khai was the requirement... no idea if it would actually materialise and I was quite well aware of my long-cherished and well proven ability to completely destroy such trips by trying to save about enough money to buy a grain of rice... Surely this one would be the triumph I had been waiting and praying for...
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anonymous
non-member comment
Put your foot down King, don't let her push you about! Save for that bowl of rice.....