Day 7: Sawasdee Bangkok

Backpacking South East Asia by the Hand Signs
Day 1: Petronas Twin Towers
Day 2: Genting Highlands
Day 3: Batu Caves + Putrajaya
Day 4: Cu Chi and HCMC tour + Water Puppet Show
Day 5: Apsara Show
Day 6: Angkor Wat and Angkor Archaeological Park

I intentionally write this entry in Tagalog, in memory of depriving myself to speak Tagalog for 4 days.

Heto na naman, I need to pack my things dahil lilipat na naman ako ng country. Eeww, mas madami na yung dirty clothes ko inside my trolley. Anyway, final leg na naman: Bangkok, so keri na.

fried noodles with veggies and meat + fruit + lemon iced tea
my free breakfast of choice from Bou Savy Gueshouse

Super good! Kinareer ko ang paggamit ng chopstix! It's not the usual free breakfast kasi i've got to choose what I like. Ayoko ng tinapay lang for breakfast. Ayoko din ng coffee.

As I was eating, naisip ko: OMG, 4 days na kong hindi nagsasalita ng Tagalog! Grabe, nakakamiss pala..

For the 2nights accommodation, 1 free dinner, daily breakfast, free transfers, and I also purchase a but ticket to Bangkok- I only paid $29! Super cheap!

Bou Savy Guesthouse
http://www.bousavyguesthouse.com/
Siem Reap, Cambodia

At 9am, sinundo na ako ng bus. Actually maliit na bus. Wala ngang cabin storage so patong-patong lang ang mga bags naming backpackers. Mostly are westerners. Aside from me, isa lang ang nakita kong solo backpacker din. At isa pa sa napansin ko, sa buong bus, ako at yung mga teenage Japanese boys lang ang mukhang bagong ligo. Kadiri yung mga westerners, halatang bagong gising, kinuha yung big backpacks, at sumakay na sa bus. Eeww. Maputi lang sila pero hindi sila hygenic.! And do I need to mention they dont smell good? 0_o

To shorten the story, it was hassle free exiting Poipet, the Cambodia border. Ang weird lang ay yung madaming stopovers. Nakipagbonding ako sa Cambodian couple (the guy works for the Thai immigration) so naisip ko sya na ang susundan ko para di ako mapahamak, as you know madaming horror stories sa immigration ng Thailand.

Act of Kindness #4: This couple shared their lunch to me, yeah wala akong food dahil malay ko bang dapat magbaon ng lunch?

Opcors na-enjoy ko ang version nila ng kanin in a bamboo plus yung barbecue yata. It doesn't matter anyway, Im just very thankful. Im in the middle of nowhere at may nagmabuting loob sakin. Ü

Between 1-2pm siguro, narating na din namin ang Aranyaprathet - border ng Thailand. Kung saan kami tinuro ng konduktor ng bus, dun din ako pumila para magpa-stamp ng passport out of Cambodia.

crossing the borders by land

Bilang hila-hila ko ang trolley, bitbit ang camera bag, plus sympre naka-payong ako dahil mainit - hindi ko na ineffortan ilabas pa ang camera ko at kumuha ng shots.

Napansin kong sa left side lumalakad ang mga tao (at this point it's very hard to distinguish kung sino ang Thai, Cambodian, o Pinoy) so sumunod lang din ako. Until I reached the immigration. I read thru Nina's blog na I need to skip the 1st crowd kahit may pila dun, dapat pumasok sa loob. At tama nga, dun ako pumila sa loob. Ang sungit ng matandang lalaki sa immigration, parang ayaw ako bigyan ng form. Papel lang naman yun, tse! Pero at least yun lang ang bad experience ko sa Thai immigration officer. After that, my passport was stamped and I officially entered Thailand!

how ironic! (yet I find this very interesting)

I thought yung bus fare na binayad ko is from Siem Reap to Thailand border lang. Hindi pala. Hinabol ako ng konduktor ng bus at sinasabi nyang kelangan ko siyang sundan. So I did. Perfect kasi wala din akong nakikitang bus or tuktuk sa paligid. Nakita ko ulit yung mga kasama ko sa bus, and we all waited to be transported to Bangkok. Mas comfortable na yung bus ngayon kasi maluwag. I occupied 2 seats para makatulog ako, for change. But I didn't sleep. This place is new, every sight on the road delighted me.

Travel time from the border to Bangkok (Khao San) was nearly 6 hours. Bumaba ako ng bus right away, grabbed my things and talked to a Thai cab driver. Mejo mahirap makipagnegotiate kasi they spoke very little English. I learned my lesson in Macau, dont just print the map your hotel, you need the Chinese name of where you are staying. At dahil solo ako in Thailand, I made sure I printed the hotel name and location in Thai.

Among the many hostels/guesthouse/hotels in Bangkok, I settled in a hotel na may promo. Joke lang. Hihi I settled for a place that's near the train station. As always, the map is the 1st thing to consider in picking an accommodation.

study your map 1st, and all your next questions will be no-nonsense ;)

I picked The Residence (The Residence Rajtaevee) Hotel in Petchburi Road. This hotel is around 150m to Rajtaevee station. Walking distance din sa Pantip plaza (for gadgets shopping). Very convenient din yung free shuttle to Siam station/Siam square. And most of all, I got this for 999baht per night for a twin room with free breakfast.

Yes a Twin Room. Kasi may kasama ako. Siya ang magiging travel buddy ko for this Bangkok trip. She's working for GMA7 in a research department and like me, mahilig din siya magtravel. The catch, never ko pa siya nameet. We will be meeting each other in the hotel lobby for the first time.

a decent twin room

with an en suite bathroom

The Residence Rajtaevee toiletries

The Residence
http://residence-hotel.com/
588/1 Petchburi Road, Rataevee, Bangkok

I waited for my travel buddy in the lobby at ang saya ko dahil finally may nakausap akong Pinoy ako after 4 days. Ansaya ng feeling na nag-uusap kami in Tagalog and the receptionists don't understand us. In the last 3 days kasi, lagi nalang ako yung clueless.

day 7 of this backpacking South East Asia trip

obviously, i already look tired from traveling

To-Do-List: travel with a stranger - check
(thank you sa mga nag-offer maging "stranger" for this To-Do-List, keep your emails coming ha..)

meet Sol, my "stranger travel buddy"
sa Bangkok na mismo kami nagmeet

We checked out Suan Lum Night Bazaar to have dinner. For directions, just follow the map. Napaka-efficient ng train system ng Bangkok.

Suan Lum Night Bazaar

our 1st authentic Thai meal

seafood fried rice, tom yum goong, and thai red curry

Bias ako, may love affair ako with Thai food. We extremely enjoyed the rice and tom yum. Yung red curry- overpowering yung taste, di ko nagustuhan. At nasira pa ang tiyan ko. Badtrip!

next entry is day 8: the grand palace