Cambodia. The name conjures up memories of massacres from the Khmer Rouge in the 1970's, mass poverty, land mines, and the occasional visit of Angelina Jolie to do some volunteering. It's a place that I came to wonder about when I arrived in Korea to teach English as a foreign language. At that time, there was a commercial on CNN International picturing the mysterious Angkor Wat and a few other things to see all accompanied by a nice theme that made me feel 'awww cool!' inside. Since then, I've done my research on the place, watched to Globe Trekker series about it, and decided that this was just one of those places that I just had to go to. I mean, who goes to Cambodia? A lot of people, actually. It's becoming quite the tourist destination, but nothing like Thailand, China, or Japan. It's a very unique place to visit and get to know.
Moving forward to 2012, I found myself flying into Bangkok, Thailand with immediate plans to bus all the way to the Thai/Cambodia border, which I did, after a crazy journey to the bus terminal. From the airport I took the Skytrain and subway to Mochit Station and from there a taxi to the bus terminal. After thirty minutes of gridlocked traffic, I paid the taxi guy and got my bag and started walking. A minute down the road, a motorbike stops and asks me where I'm going. After saying the bus station, he said he'd take me there for fifty baht (1.66 USD). With my travelers backpack strapped tightly to my back, I agreed and found myself at the bus station in ten minutes rather than waiting for another hour as the taxi driver had told me. It was a sketchy move, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
From the bus terminal, I boarded a bus and found myself sitting with the only other foreigners there. They were from Italy and a were a cordial couple travelling on to Siem Reap, Cambodia like me. It didn't take too long to put 2 and 2 together before I asked if they would like to travel together from the border. They agreed and before I knew it, I was speaking Spanish and trying to understand Italiano with Valentina and Fabio.
The bus ride to Aranya Prathet was a grueling five hour journey on Thai roads and various stops in small towns. Numerous people got on and off the bus and we didn't know exactly where our destination was. Once it was made clear to us that we had arrived, it was late and the border was closed, meaning that we had to spend the night in this little Thai town that used to be known as a refugee city during the Khmer Rought regime . It was here that I experienced my first Tuk Tuk ride, a three wheeled motor cart contraption that acts as a taxi. They run on diesel and are obnoxiously loud.
The next morning, my new friend and I Tuk Tuked it (yes, I made a new verb) to the border and walked across the land bridge to Poipet, Cambodia. I was ecstatic! The feeling of being in a distant foreign land hit me as I saw the droves of Cambodians coming from the Thai side accompanied with the smell of incense from the local temples. As you walk into Cambodia, you walk underneath a replica of Angkor Wat, the megalithic monument that I was to visit on my journey.
Prior to coming, I've read several scary stories about crossing this border. There are many pick pockets and dodgy people that try to hassle you out of a few dollars. It's also known that if you cross in the afternoon, it will take you hours due to the crowds of people trying to cross as well as the slow pace of work that goes on in this part of the world. However, since I crossed in the morning when it opened, I was through in no time and only had to wait for my Italian friends to get there visa. I did my eVisa online prior.
Once through, we boarded a free shuttle bus to the bus terminal and hired a private Toyota Camry taxi to take us to Siem Reap. The total cost between us was 48 USD, or about 16 dollars per person. The bus would have taken longer and I was tuckered out and just wanted to arrive. Along the way, we passed through very flat land that was once war torn. We drove by rice fields, oxen, and villages so poor it made you rethink why you had actually come to a place like this. Alas, this is all part of travelling, to get to know a place regardless of whether or not it's pleasant. I often find myself shaking my head when people go and stay at fancy resorts in other countries, many of whom stay there and don't venture out of their bubble that they live in at the Ritz Carlton or the Hilton. They're nice places, but venture out and see the real place you came to visit. Okay, enough ranting.
While on the path to Siem Reap, our driver made one pit stop, not knowing why, we were watching him as he went over to a fence and did his business there. No public toilets in Cambodia, apparently. Welcome to life in the third world! It was just another reminder of where I had come and the beginning of an eyeopening adventure that I had laid for myself.
After two hours of sightseeing pleasure, we eventually entered the city limits of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Not knowing where the bus station was, the taxi driver stopped at a Tuk Tuk place to try and get us to rent one of them (typical as they get a commission for business). We refused and he dropped us off in the middle of town. I bid farewell to my companions and threw my bag over my shoulder.
I was in Cambodia. I had arrived.
Moving forward to 2012, I found myself flying into Bangkok, Thailand with immediate plans to bus all the way to the Thai/Cambodia border, which I did, after a crazy journey to the bus terminal. From the airport I took the Skytrain and subway to Mochit Station and from there a taxi to the bus terminal. After thirty minutes of gridlocked traffic, I paid the taxi guy and got my bag and started walking. A minute down the road, a motorbike stops and asks me where I'm going. After saying the bus station, he said he'd take me there for fifty baht (1.66 USD). With my travelers backpack strapped tightly to my back, I agreed and found myself at the bus station in ten minutes rather than waiting for another hour as the taxi driver had told me. It was a sketchy move, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
From the bus terminal, I boarded a bus and found myself sitting with the only other foreigners there. They were from Italy and a were a cordial couple travelling on to Siem Reap, Cambodia like me. It didn't take too long to put 2 and 2 together before I asked if they would like to travel together from the border. They agreed and before I knew it, I was speaking Spanish and trying to understand Italiano with Valentina and Fabio.
The bus ride to Aranya Prathet was a grueling five hour journey on Thai roads and various stops in small towns. Numerous people got on and off the bus and we didn't know exactly where our destination was. Once it was made clear to us that we had arrived, it was late and the border was closed, meaning that we had to spend the night in this little Thai town that used to be known as a refugee city during the Khmer Rought regime . It was here that I experienced my first Tuk Tuk ride, a three wheeled motor cart contraption that acts as a taxi. They run on diesel and are obnoxiously loud.
The next morning, my new friend and I Tuk Tuked it (yes, I made a new verb) to the border and walked across the land bridge to Poipet, Cambodia. I was ecstatic! The feeling of being in a distant foreign land hit me as I saw the droves of Cambodians coming from the Thai side accompanied with the smell of incense from the local temples. As you walk into Cambodia, you walk underneath a replica of Angkor Wat, the megalithic monument that I was to visit on my journey.
Prior to coming, I've read several scary stories about crossing this border. There are many pick pockets and dodgy people that try to hassle you out of a few dollars. It's also known that if you cross in the afternoon, it will take you hours due to the crowds of people trying to cross as well as the slow pace of work that goes on in this part of the world. However, since I crossed in the morning when it opened, I was through in no time and only had to wait for my Italian friends to get there visa. I did my eVisa online prior.
Once through, we boarded a free shuttle bus to the bus terminal and hired a private Toyota Camry taxi to take us to Siem Reap. The total cost between us was 48 USD, or about 16 dollars per person. The bus would have taken longer and I was tuckered out and just wanted to arrive. Along the way, we passed through very flat land that was once war torn. We drove by rice fields, oxen, and villages so poor it made you rethink why you had actually come to a place like this. Alas, this is all part of travelling, to get to know a place regardless of whether or not it's pleasant. I often find myself shaking my head when people go and stay at fancy resorts in other countries, many of whom stay there and don't venture out of their bubble that they live in at the Ritz Carlton or the Hilton. They're nice places, but venture out and see the real place you came to visit. Okay, enough ranting.
While on the path to Siem Reap, our driver made one pit stop, not knowing why, we were watching him as he went over to a fence and did his business there. No public toilets in Cambodia, apparently. Welcome to life in the third world! It was just another reminder of where I had come and the beginning of an eyeopening adventure that I had laid for myself.
After two hours of sightseeing pleasure, we eventually entered the city limits of Siem Reap, Cambodia. Not knowing where the bus station was, the taxi driver stopped at a Tuk Tuk place to try and get us to rent one of them (typical as they get a commission for business). We refused and he dropped us off in the middle of town. I bid farewell to my companions and threw my bag over my shoulder.
I was in Cambodia. I had arrived.
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