Day 4: Bangkok so many choices, so little time

---

Today I would start in Bangkok and by the late evening I would be in Siem Reap Cambodia. I had until 4pm in Bangkok and I had a few options for the day. I could have taken a well reviewed food tour or do some shopping and go to chinatown to try the wolfpack trail. I decided to eat first before I made my decision.

This hostel did not provide breakfast but the 7 Eleven nearby had various baked goods. So my breakfast that morning was a orange bun with some fanta drink. Not the healthiest breakfast you can have but what the hell I am on vacation. Over breakfast I opted for to do some shopping and Chinatown. I couldn't book the food tour through the hostel and that was a disappointment because hostels are usually good for booking tours for you.

I went looking for a market where I could buy some sandals. It had been so hot that I had been wearing my flip flops, which I only wear indoors before, everywhere. Hoping I could find some cheap sandals in Bangkok I set out. First stop was the MDK mall which did have a wide selection of sandals but the prices were too high for me. I was also discouraged by the signs that said non negotiable. I went instead to some markets in Bangkok. Besides the big markets near the palace and in Chinatown there are a number of small markets scattered around the city. I went to a number of them but could not make a decision on which one to get. Ultimately I figured it wouldn't be a good idea to buy new sandals and try to break them in on vacation.

So I made my way to Chinatown. Chinatown can be reached by bus but i prefer the boats. If you are going get off at Ratchawong pier and within about 5 minutes you will be in Chinatown. There are a few signs but you just mostly follow the flow of people traffic and you will find it. You can find basically anything you want in Chinatown but I just browsed and ate random street food as I went along. I was looking for the wolfpack trail. FYI the wolfpack trail refers to the places in the movie Hangover 2. It was hard to navigate Chinatown because there is so many people and so much traffic. There were no real signs outside the location to tell you found the right place. I think I found the roundabout where the monkey scene occurs and the hotel where the wolfpack wakes up in the beginning of movie. Since I was not certain I was probably should have taken one of the tours that actually take you around instead of stumbling around for 3 hours.

Even though I had not completed the wolfpack trail I still had a good time in Chinatown. If you are looking for an interesting walk around than this is the place to go. It was getting close to the time of my flight so I went back to the hostel to relax before heading out. Not a lot of people were in the hostel in the middle of the day but this hostel actually has some blankets put out and a number of people who were leaving that evening were taken naps on it. This is helpful because you have to check out at 10AM and you lose your bed at that point. If you are tired it gives you a place to sleep without taking up couch space in the common room. I chatted with a few other people waiting in the common room and got a few more ideas for future trips. I will say it was a large number of Europeans and especially Germans I ran into at this hostel. Usually in most hostels I have been to it is majority Aussies.

Anyway time had arrived and my taxi was here. I booked taxi earlier in the day and it only cost $15 Canadian. I could have gotten there cheaper on the bus but I was too weaken by heat exhaustion to do that at this point. Flight was with Airasia and was out of the other airport in Thailand, Don Muang. Airasia is one of a number of budget airlines that have been popping up in Asia. The flight from Bangkok to Siem Reap only cost $70 so it was an affordable alternative to the train and taxi option I had.

Upon boarding the flight I noticed something odd about the planes. They were actually Malaysian Airlines and the planes were simply repainted with Airasia colours. The missing plane is a hot topic in the common rooms and I will say confidence in Malaysian Airlines is not that high. It was too late at this point so I boarded my flight. Seats were narrow and not that comfortable and had no entertainment system but it is not as bad as Ryanair. Airasia also employs very attractive flight attendants and just to be shallow I will say they are as attractive as the women who are employed on Air France 😊.

Ok enough being shallow, the flight only took 1 hour to get to Siem Reap and I was off the plane and walking on the tarmac to the terminal. Siem Reap airport is not large but handles a lot of passenger traffic. I went into immigration and I paid 800 BAHTS for my 30 day visa. You can either pay for an evisa beforehand and pay $20 + $8 processing online or just pay the $20 when you land. You will also need a passport type photo to put on the visa card. They had a lot of people to process but it went quickly and I got my luggage and went looking for a sim card. Once you step out of luggage collection there are 5 or 6 cellphone companies that call out to you to buy their service. I chose the first one that raised their hand. It was only $3 for the sim card and 2GB of data plus 30 minutes of calling back to Canada.

Exiting the airport you will be confronted by a large number of Tuk Tuk drivers and it can be confusing. I avoided the need to choose one by arranging a tuk tuk from my hostel. The guy was there with a sign with my name on it and I took my luggage to the tuk tuk. Tuk Tuks are carriages where 4 people can sit that are attached to a motorcycle. In Cambodia is the most practical way to get around for tourists.

Most hostels and hotels will arrange for a driver to pick you up at the airport, bus station, boat docks etc. It does not cost you anything and the tuk tuk drivers are not paid by the hostel either. Most of the time the tourist will use the same driver for the tour of temples and this where they make their money. I did tip my driver a few dollars once I got to the hostel.

I was staying a hostel called THE SIEM REAP HOSTEL in Siem Reap. Creative name but as always I chose based on reviews. I was exhausted at this point and just wanted to sleep. I introduce myself to 2 Dutch ladies who were my only roommates in a 8 bed room. Tomorrow would be off to the temples at 5am for the sunrise.

---

Photos

Hostel Sign
We Bangkok had a sense of humour