Holiday Palace Poipet

... gave me glowing feedback – 'with a few minor tweaks you’re going to make a great teacher…’ :D

Oh how things can change overnight!

I don’t know why but I just couldn’t do the lesson this last Monday (though was partially due to my wisdom tooth coming through again, and my glands being the size of tennis balls, OUCH!!!!!!!!!). I just had a mental block all day. Last week I had wowed the teachers with designing my own tasks and ...

Thailand to Cambodia border crossing at Poipet.

The border crossing from Thailand to Cambodia is infamous for its tourist scams, pick pockets, and corrupt Cambodian officials all trying to profit off the ignorance of unsuspecting tourists. For this reason we write this blog as much to provide up to date and valuable advice to other travellers taking this route as to give an account of our travels to friends and family back ...

... units so every cocktail is pretty lethal! Was very nice to meet the girls before the course – Galia, Rosaleen and Carrie; made the next day seem less scary!

Thursday was our first day at Conversations with Foreigners, and Sopheap (our Volunteer Coordinator) showed us around the school, and took us on a tour around Phnom Penh – ah ha!! I’ve found the Seeing Hands place now! The two-day orientation only really lasted for half of the day so me and the girls decided ...

... We thought it was actually pretty nice compared to the Central American chicken buses ... the AC even worked for at least 50% of the time.

Aside from spending one hour at Cambodian passport control in a non air-conditioned room while waiting our turn, the border crossing was fairly uneventful. This came as a pleasant surprise as much of the prep material we read said Poipet was akin to a toilet. Figures. They rhyme.

Poipet is a typical ...

... beer and burger tent feels so much like a scene from home! I meet a group of guys in the crowds who seem very intrigued by me. One of them tells me I’m brave and also crazy to be walking through the crowds alone… Hmmm?! They’re eager to know where I’m staying and if I’m alone there too so I tell them my friends are waiting for me 'over there!’ and scarper quick.

I buy an Angkor beer and continue ...

... my female masseuse simply stood and stared while I took my top off :-S (needless to say I refused the full body massage and just had a back one!). Throughout the massage the door kept bursting open and the men from the street coming in and doing god knows what! The masseuse had no interest whatsoever in what she was doing and it kind of just felt like she was poking me with her fingers most of the time…. All in all, I think they should have paid ME the $3 for the ...

... they drive on the left side or the right side…. But I realise now, where there’s a hole, they fill it lol. Which makes crossing the road a complete nightmare and no matter how fast you run across, someone beeps at you and puts their foot down hoping to get you!

Oh yeah, because I haven’t been anywhere and got no exciting photos to show, I took a delightful photo of myself in my room… with the ...

The final night in Bangkok was one wiped clean of any residue of sleep. The drugs I had pertained from Boots worked, a little too well… I was so bunged up from the tablets I was left a bum cripple, sans gravy and unable to spill my arsebeans at will. I was left twisting and turning in an all night long forced stakeout at the side of the bog. Spending the small hours in agony staring into the nothing and willing sleep to fall was my night time vigil. I drifted in and out, but ...

Zurueck als Backpacker haben wir von Bangkok aus den Bus nach Aranya Prathet an der kambodschanischen Grenze genommen. Von dort aus sind wir mit dem Tuk-tuk zur Grenze gefahren. Unser Tuk-tuk Fahrer hat dabei natuerlich einen kleinen Abstecher zu einem kambodschanischen Konsulat gemacht, wo wir ein Visum fuer 25 $ loesen sollten. Dies haben wir vehement abgelehnt, da wir genau wussten, dass es nur 20 $ kostet. Nach der problemlosen Ausreise aus Thailand, haben wir in der neutralen Zone ...

We slept through most of the train journey (it was really busy and the chair I was sitting on wasn't actually connected to the base and I kept knocking it off and disturbing the poor bloke sitting next to me). Bought some hard-boiled eggs though, with some soy sauce in a little bag - ironically, I would be eating this during most journeys in Cambodia.

As we got off the train a man who was sitting opposite us asked us if we were going to the border - great guess Ms ...