Fast Forward: Cambodia, Round Two

We landed in Siem Reap, Cambodia, passed through immigrations, purchased SIM cards, met our hostel-provided tuk tuk and arrived at The Siem Reap Hostel all in a blur. 

With heads still spinning from the Full Moon Party, we barely made it to our beds before we were all in a deep sleep.  

One of our multiple napping locations that day...

I spent this past March in Cambodia, and although during this portion of our travels I would be playing tour guide I felt that it would be a shame for Caroline, Brad and Jennifer to visit the region and miss the breathtaking Temples of Angkor Wat or the emotional Killing Fields of Phnom Penh.  

Shirt in the Old City market

This trip, I spent less than a week in the country, but was very glad that our movement from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh and then onto Saigon, Vietnam was without major interruptions or delays, though we did have some interesting modes of transportation.  

I was lucky enough to use the time during their touring to catch up with my dear friends Caitlin and Laura, and spend the downtime updating my blog and journal.  

Paintings in the Old Market

On our first day in Siem Reap we slept until late morning, walked around the city in the blistering heat, visited the local market in the Old City, and decided around happy hour that it was time to get happy.  Our adventure lead us to Happy Special Pizza and after a few beers and two very happy pizzas, we were on the express route to extreme happiness.  The night ended in an attempt to be social at the hostel's infamous Happy Hour, but after realizing we were contented with one another as company we headed upstairs to our dorm style accommodations, laughed about life, and headed to sleep.  

The next morning our little group was off to watch the sunrise at the Angkor Wat Temple compound, which left me with the arduous task of sleeping in and finding coffee on my own.  

Hostel Wall Art

That night we took the night bus to Phnom Penh and arrived at The Mad Monkey Hostel around 8 AM. Our tuk tuk driver from the bus stop waited for us to eat breakfast at Brown Cafe and get some morning caffeine before he swept my travel companions away to visit the infamous and heartbreaking Killing Fields.  

As previously stated, this left me with time to myself which I initially thought would be spent at the Vietnamese embassy applying for our visas, but The Mad Monkey staff handled all of our visas for us for the price of $2 each, a fee we were grateful to pay to avoid any communication issues.  

The rest of the day was spent, as was the following one, exploring Phnom Penh and tasting as many Cambodian dishes as we could.  It was fun to re-visit the city and be able to share some information and insight with my friends, while also exploring new areas of town and learning from their observations and findings.  

Playing dress up in Phnom Penh

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Park Bench for Four, Please

After a short bus ride across the tail of Thailand, we arrived at Surat Thani ready for our next island adventure.  Our options to get tickets for a ferry that afternoon to Koh Tao were somewhat limited, but we decided to test our Irish luck and head for the pier about an hour away.  We knew the time was tight, and with the help of the world's slowest taxi, we absolutely missed the final "Speed Ferry" departure of the day.

On the Ferry to Koh Pha Ngan

I was insistent that we arrive in Koh Tao by early morning the following day since we would be meeting up with our friend Brad, who is a fellow Yellow Jacket currently on the road.  Unfortunately that made our only remaining choice a night ferry.  This experience was another unique one that South East Asia had in store for us, and to save everyone my 1,000 words, please see my sister's face as we got settled on our ferry that evening...

Jennifer, overjoyed at our evening's accommodations

I would like to interject here that the "Overnight Ferry" and "Speed Ferry" take an identical route to arrive at each of the islands; during the day this constitutes an almost 2 hour trip, but transforms into a daunting 7 hour voyage after the sun sets.  We weren't sure if the tickets were cheaper due to someone actually rowing us towards our island destination, but we realized the reason for the budget pricing when we boarded the ferry.  We were corralled into sleeping quarters with about 70 other people and directed towards mats that reminded me of the last yoga class I attended.  Being the eldest, Caroline and I slept with Jennifer between us, effectively "protecting" our youngest (and most appalled) group member from the strangers who surrounded us.  Snuggled next to me was a full grown Thai man whose arm was over mine when I woke up in the middle of the night.  Lucky me!  Around 6 AM, we found ourselves waking up as we pulled into Koh Tao & were all too ready to get off the ferry.

We found a small cafe to recharge, both our bodies and devices, and begin our search for somewhere to stay on the island.  Within a few hours, Brad arrived and we celebrated with more "Koh Tao Guesthouse" Googling.

Seasoned Travelers after our Ferry

Brad was interested in getting his PADI Scuba certification during our time on the island so we went with him as he researched.  He chose Easy Divers, and luckily for us their staff graciously assisted us with finding accommodation for our time in Koh Tao.  We headed towards Happy Bungalows to drop our packs, and then immediately for the beach.

Like most islands in Thailand, the atmosphere on Koh Tao was very laid back.  We spent our days there basking in the sun, snorkeling in the Japanese Gardens, reading endlessly, and enjoying our new island home and the delicious food cooked fresh for us by Ping Pong, our guesthouse manager.

Our next move after Koh Tao was to Koh Pha Ngan, a backpacker's Mecca and the infamous party island home to the "Full Moon Parties."  Thanks to Brad, we headed on a ferry there on Wednesday afternoon unsure of what we would find.  Because our ferry was at 7:15 AM the following morning, we decided to find somewhere to store our backpacks, but opted against getting a place to crash after the party - Full Moon Parties continue well into the sun rising the following morning...

After a delicious dinner and relaxing at the restaurant for a while, we headed to a nearby park that we decided would be a suitable location for a nap before the party - it was only about 8:00 PM.

The options for lounging included two straight cement benches and a circular cement bench.  I wasn't tired so instead I entertained myself with watching Jennifer try and remain curled around the circular park bench without falling off...

After a few hours we were off in a taxi truck to the other side of the island to join the thousands of others who had made this pilgrimage to dance for hours under the full moon.  

Once we arrived, we immediately joined the festivities and decorated ourselves with neon body paint, purchased a bucket for J and some Chang for the rest of us, and headed for the beach entrance nearest us to find the best DJs and get the night started.

All I can say for the next 7 hours:  It.Was.Awesome.   

As for the rest of that day, post-6 AM: We.Were.Dead.  We almost missed one of our two flights to Cambodia, despite all being present (physically, at least) in the gatehouse over two hours before departure.  Luckily, a gate agent saw our still-painted, lifeless bodies and woke us up as they made the "final, final, final" boarding call.  

All in all, it was the epic experience we all thought it would be.  Honestly, it was one of the craziest parties I have ever seen, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone crazy enough to wait in Thailand until the moon is full and then willing to voyage to a remote island for some serious international raging.   

Chang! Cousins on Koh Pha Ngan

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Three's a Party: Ayutthaya & Koh Pu

Sunday night, just like the Wednesday before, I arrived to the Bangkok international airport to pick up another member of our travel crew: my youngest sister, Jennifer.   Caroline and I were still exhausted from our previous night’s adventure on Khao San Road with friends from our hostel, and were unfortunately not enthusiastic Bangkok liaisons when Jennifer arrived.  We were thrilled to see her, but also excited for an early bedtime of 2 AM.  

We had already decided that we would wake up early Monday morning, and take a Bangkok triple threat of transportation - SkyTrain, metro, and bus - to visit the kingdom’s old capital, Ayutthaya, which is about an hour outside of the city.  Afterwards we planned to return to the hostel, shower, pack our belongings and catch an overnight train to southern Thailand to begin our beach portion of the trip. 

That was the plan.  

Enter: South East Asian Shenanigans.

We woke up “on time” at 7 AM, and after a quick group census we decided that “a few more minutes” of sleep would be fine.  After getting dressed, eating breakfast, and finally getting out the door the clock read 10 AM, a much more humane hour for such adventures.  We got to Ayutthaya around 12:15 PM and promptly began haggling the nearest driver for a two-hour tour of the ancient ruins.   After settling on a price, we were off. 

We visited Ayutthaya Historical Park, Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol (The Temple of Auspicious Victory), and Wat Chaiwatthanaram, Wat Phra Mahthat that were important locations when the capitol resided here many generations ago.  Although they were all impressive, they ranged in levels of preservation which made appreiciating them difficult at times.  At one point we were staring at a small boulder that they said used to be shaped like a meditating Buddha…hmm, okay…?

Touring the city for two hours in the scorching sun quickly exhausted us, and we were ready to leave and catch our minibus back to Bangkok.  Our driver dropped us off at a train station in Ayutthaya where we realized that the only train was not going to leave there for another hour and a half – that definitely was not part of our plan.  We quickly ran out and found our driver enjoying an ice cold Coke with his new earnings still warm from our purses, and asked him to take us to the minibuses – a crisis was closely averted. 

After what seemed like forever in the minibus, presumably because the airflow was minimal to non-existent, we arrived at Victory Monument in Bangkok.  We then headed to our hostel where we showered, packed, and ate dinner.  Our train wasn’t going to leave for another two hours, so we relaxed and leisurely prepared for our departure.  We should have known better.

When we arrived at the train station we learned that there were “no tickets for train”, “today bus gone”, and “only tomorrow” – there was no way to get to Surat Thani tonight.  Great!  This was definitely not part of our plan. 

Thankfully, all of the buddhas we paid tribute to earlier in the day came through for us and got us the last three tickets on a bus for farangs (always a good sign…) and we arrived in Krabi Province in no time.  From there, we got a boat to Koh Pu since Koh Phi Phi sounded too touristy for the post-Bangkok bliss we were searching for on the Andaman Sea.  To be honest, there are too many islands to choose from & I'm sure we could have found paradise amongst many of them!

Like my time in Koh Ta Kiev back in March, the perfect days in our island paradise melted together.  Each morning we would wake up and trade the comfort of our bungalow for the comfort of our hammocks where we could listen to the waves crashing against the sand.  

Our days at Luboahut were spent alternating between lounging on the beach and passing endless hours swinging under the shaded trees, which afforded us a magnificent view of the open water.   Luckily for us, the entire side of the island was in “low season”, which meant we only had to share it with two other individuals…not too shabby!

It was an incredible few days, and our biggest concern was when we should leave for our next island adventure.  We opted to leave early Saturday morning and catch a bus, taxi, and overnight ferry to Koh Tao, which is a famous island located on the opposite side of the country in the Gulf of Thailand and known for their scuba diving and party scene.  Let the festivities begin!   

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We "Run BKK"...Sorta

Last Wednesday, April 30, I woke up at 4:00 AM and headed for the train station in Chiang Mai fully prepared to start the next chapter of my journey.  I was sad to say goodbye to Lolly for the third time, but I was beyond excited for her and her new apartment that we had moved her into the day before. 

Although I rode on a train in Ukraine a few years ago, I had never spent an entire day, or 15 hours to be exact, riding on one.  My destination was Bangkok to meet my cousin, Caroline, who was landing at 11:45 PM that night by way of Japan. 

 The train ride was uneventful with the exception of one unanticipated stop on the way.  For South East Asian transportation, this was miraculous.  I spent most of the morning reading, and when the batteries of my electronic reader were exhausted, I busied myself with staring out the window and trying to make new friends.  Given that there were only a handful of Thais scattered throughout my train car, staring out the window became the preferred activity of choice.  

The views were quite impressive, and I got to see parts of the countryside that most night buses do not afford their riders.  If you have 15 hours and find yourself in Chiang Mai trying to get to Bangkok for next to nothing, I would actually recommend the train - check out Seat 61's amazing guide to transportation and pricing options. If you have $65, and you don’t want to sweat on a train and stare out of the window, then you can take the 1.5 hour flight…whatever works.

            When we arrived at the Don Mueng airport in Bangkok at 9 PM, I used a little bit of the street smarts that I have acquired in Thailand along with a pinch of luck, and got myself on the exclusive tram that runs between the two international airports.  This free mode of transportation being reserved for paying passengers only, a rule that was enforced by a very strict, yet equally as disgruntled Thai guard, I felt quite proud of my sneaky accomplishment AKA creating a fake reservation.

          Around 11:30 PM I arrived at the proper airport and waited for Caroline to walk out from behind the international arrivals partition.  After holding my breath while watching hundreds of Chinese tourists with guides holding colored flags, countless backpackers, and more than a few businessmen, I was starting to worry that she didn’t make her connecting flight leaving Japan.  I had no wifi to check one way or the other. Thankfully, she walked out at about 12:15 AM, and our Bangkok adventure official began!

            For those of you who have spent time in Bangkok, you know that our first stop had to be the infamous Khao San Road.  We soaked up the night life, and caught up over a liter of Chang while watching the craziness that was unfolding in the street – you can find a little bit of everything in Bangkok… We met some characters, but around 5 AM we were exhausted, so we took our backpacks, left the party scene, and headed to find a place to crash. 

            This trip marked Caroline’s first time in Thailand and my first experience spending time exclusively in Bangkok.  Suffice to say, we both learned a lot.  We adventured on foot, tuk tuk, metro, private boat (we accidentally chartered our own tour boat…seriously), and taxi and after three days reflected that each part of the city we had seen was truly unique from the rest of the city.  

Bangkok is enormous, busy, HOT, and at all hours of the day and night, teeming with activity. 

 

            In just a few short days we had visited the Grand Palace & Wat Phra Kaew, or the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, The Pavilion of Regalia, the Golden Buddha of Wat Traimit Wittayaram, seen The Grand Swing, stayed in three hostels, partied on Kao San Road twice, tasted the best Pad Thai ever, accidentally walked through a protest (seriously), drank out of a coconut, ate scorpion and some fried grub in hopes of getting a free night at our hostel, toured the city on the Chao Phraya River, visited a floating market, saw Soi Cowboy (if you don’t know what this is, you’re better off), and smelled more scents that I knew existed. 

            Best of all, we got to catch up with one another.  It was so much fun getting lost with Caroline in Bangkok, and when it was time for Jennifer to arrive on Sunday night, we were both ready to say goodbye to the City of Angels and hit the beaches of southern Thailand!

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