Going 'home'

Trip Start Sep 19, 2002
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107
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Trip End Sep 22, 2003


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Flag of Thailand  ,
Tuesday, July 1, 2003

26th June - With our previous experiences of organised border crossings, we were slightly apprehensive about this bus journey from Siem Reap in Cambodia all the way to Bangkok. The 'big bus' appeared and obviously wasn't that big and our luggage took up a few seats at the front. We bumped along for 5 hours through the dust and dirt and by the time we'd got to the border we were all a pleasant shade of orange and you could have written 'clean me please' on our faces with your finger. Poipet is the armpit of Cambodia with beggars and touts galore making money from tourists travelling independently, most of them Thai, and most of them coming for the gambling in no-man's land. We passed through the two immigration posts with no bother and were then shepherded onto another mini bus eagerly awaiting our free lunch as we had had nothing all day. The free lunch turned out to be a bottle of water but at least this bus was air conditioned and much more comfy (as I had gotten on first and secured us the best seats!) The road suddenly became smooth tarmac and we knew we were back in civilisation - what a change from when we first arrived in Thailand all those months ago. With the poverty and conditions we have seen in the last couple of months, even the Thai beggars looked well off and we began to feel like we had come home. Sights, sounds and definitely smells felt familiar and every person in the bus was talking excitedly about the first McDonalds. It's weird but we hardly ever have it at home but it's always there and because we couldn't have one since leaving Thailand we have been desperate.

The bus dropped us off at a garage about 5 minutes before the heavens opened in a way only Thailand can do. Isn't it typical that the one time you want them to take you to their guest house, they leave you stranded. We opted to stay in the Khao San Road where they had left us and checked into a hotel that seemed bare and miserable after our affordable luxury in Indochina. We were of course starving and by some miracle had chosen a hotel next door to McDonalds. We headed inside to the plastic Ronald McDonald doing a wai (Thai prayer like greeting) and said "Frgive us Ronald for we have sinned. It's been 3 months since our last McDonalds." We then tried to buy the new Harry Potter book but it sold out the say of issue here just like everywhere else in the world but we are assured it will be worth the wait for when we get home.

27th - Managed to change our flights from China to India and missed the SARS deadline by about a week so had to pay. Broke my sunglasses so bought a pair of Oakleys for under 3 quid. Hmm maybe their not real? You can buy anything you want on the Khao San Road - didgeridoo, Vietnam te-shirt, knitted bikini, other people's desperately pawned goods, ID cards showing you are a journalist or qualified TEFL teacher etc. You can also have your hair dyed, braided, cut, shaved, dreadlocked and extended. Truly you never need to leave this road but of course we did. We headed out to see Charlie's Angels and somehow ended up in the posh cinema in the extra large reclining seats where you have to shout to the person next to you. Not bad for about 3 pounds. We also visited our favourite food court and were REALLY glad to be back in Thailand because, McDonalds aside, it has by far the best and the cheapest food of anywhere we've been.

28th - Boring travel stuff and an overnight train to Chiang Mai (again)

29th - Our old ladies were glad to see us again and gave us the amazing rate of 250 baht per day (less than four pounds) for the air con room with hot yes hot water and cable TV that we had before. We headed straight out for our Khao soi (both eating for well under a quid) and contemplated where to go next.

30th - contemplated some more

1st July - Tried to catch the early bus to Pai but it was full more than 45 minutes before leaving. We ended up getting a more expensive but quicker minibus rather than waiting to try and barge onto the next bus in 2 hours or paying double for a garuanteed seat on a minibus leaving in 2 hours. After 2 hours of winding roads I suddenly felt very sick and we asked the driver to pull over but while we were making ourselves understood a little girl in the front beat me to the barfing and unfortunately her mother wasn't prepared and there were no bags. Yuk. We arrived safely in Pai which is a very peaceful and laid back town next to a small river. We managed to secure a room for 150 baht(just over 2 quid) with fan and hot water and a little veranda area. There's not much to do here apart from chill or go on an organised trek but you can hire mountain bikes or mopeds and go exploring if you like. We saw a group of 5 girls wearing the traditional travellers costume of flip flops, micro shorts, knitted bikini tops and fake sunglasses, all skidding about on their mopeds with no clue how to ride them, scattering locals and animals as they swerved all over the road. Maybe we'll just watch then?

2nd and 3rd - Each morning there is hot tea and coffee left outside our room which is a lovely touch we thought. We had such good intentions but it's just such a chilled place that we've spent most of our time on the veranda with our books. The most energetic thing we've done is try and watch Wimbledon but even that is too taxing when the rain keeps stopping play. Sometimes when they are playing at home, the rain here knocks out the cable and we have "rain stopped watching" rather than rain stopped play. The changeable weather is our excuse for not doing anything else. Maybe it will be sunny tomorrow and then we might hire those mountain bikes after all. Maybe........
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