Bangkok to Siem Reap

Finally left Bangkok for the last time! Good city for a few days, but we've had too much over the last month. On our last day we visited The Grand Palace - definitely the most extravagant and well maintained Wat we've seen in Thailand.

Up at 0445 this morning and caught a taxi to the bus station - arrived just in time to catch the 0600 bus to the Thai border. Fortunately, the bus was air conditioned and the seats were comfortable so we were able to relax for the first four hours of the trip. The fun really started when Nicole left her purse(passport included) on the tuk-tuk we took from the bus station to the border crossing. Luckily, in this case, we were dropped off at one of the 'guides' that worked with the tuk-tuk driver so we were able to recover the bag. Unluckily, afterwards, the guide then followed us through the entire border crossing and provided loads of "helpful and free" services like handing us the customs paper and directing us to places we already knew we needed to go by simply walking a few paces in front.

Our first impression of Cambodia jumped off to a great start when the customs officer charged us 1000 Baht instead of the $20USD as listed on the sign directly above the window - especially frustrating because we had converted money to dollars specifically for the border crossing. We then had to convert the dollars back to Baht at a horrible exchange rate, of course, and pay the fee. The first time we have been blatantly ripped off, but its tough to argue with the guy wearing a uniform and holstering a gun.

Once over the border we split a taxi with a couple from Stuttgart, Germany. We could have waited for a slightly cheaper bus, but it would have been a three hour wait and then a five hour bus ride rather than leaving immediately for a three hour taxi ride. We were immediately glad that we took the taxi after only a few minutes on possible the worst highway I've ever seen. Sure, we've seen some crap roads, but nobody tried to drive 80 km/h while dodging oncoming traffic in the middle of a dust cloud. Insane. I have to give the driver credit, though, he proved that a Camry is really all you need for some hardcore off road driving. A Camry with no suspension at that.

I also have to give credit to the Cambodian motobikers - they've really taken the art to the next level. I'm talking about livestock. We passed several scooters with over a dozen live chickens strapped to the back and a few that had full-grown, live hogs. I only wish I had my camera with me. The hogs were restrained in some kind of stretcher and mounted, on their backs, to the rear passenger seat. Occasionally they would flail about a little, but it didn't appear to phase the driver.

Topping off the jarring commute was the soundtrack. Personally, I considered it a form of psychological torture, but I think it amused Nicole. I'm pretty sure the driver picked up this tape of mostly 80's and 90's smooth rock to sooth his customers during the nail biting drive. He chose....poorly. I'm not just talking about original versions, either. Nooooo, covers of I Believe I Can Fly(R. Kelly), As Long As You Love Me (Backstreet Boys), and Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You (I don't care), . Covers so bad that even John Lennon's Imagine sounded cheesy (that takes effort). Kind of funny the first time through, but the second and third repetitions were brutal.

We survived the ride and now we're resting up before we explore Angkor Wat tomorrow. Food. Good. We ordered up some curry chicken, pumpkin soup, and fresh spring rolls - our first meal of the day so we were ready to eat! Nicole was very pleased. Tried some Angkor Beer, but nothing much to rave about there. I'll post some pictures soon.