the journey begins... Angkor - Singha - Lao

my fight was at 9.40am; dragged my excited yet lazy ass up, got ready, concluded some final details, fine tuning my backpack and i am off to Phnom Penh International Airport. i guess the feud between the Thais and the Khmers are still raging, hence the "passport checker" asking me WHY am i going to Thailand... "holiday", i answered... hmmm... skeptical.... flying on Asia's Boutique Airlines; Bangkok Airways was not what i expected... i could say that it was good... not a budget airlines for sure, food was serve and just as i munched down my last bite of the Thai salad, the cockpit dude announced that we will be descending in any moment. yes, the flight only took an hour max, and here i am in Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok! woo hoo!

Sawadi-kap

pink is in!

BANGKOK - yes, im excited and all... embarrass to say this but... shhh... its my first time in BKK... hahah! yes, you can imagine my excitement... i hope... anyway... got out of immigration, collected my backpack, went to the money changer, got myself a bus ticket to Hualamphong Railway Station and i was sitting and waiting for 20 minutes before the bus arrived. there was only 5 of us in the bus... which was great! haha! arrived at the Railway Station and was approached straightaway by touts; "you got train ticket, sir?", "you can keep your luggage here" (whilst pointing at a shady old shophouse across the street). "NO THANK YOU..." with a smile of course. 

i think they are in the wrong field... Realtors cum Designers? 

Singha... reprazent!

dropped off my backpack at the Railway Station's luggage center and noticed tonnes of luggages and backpacks scattered from the room all the way to the main entrance of the station! ok, i might have exaggerated, but seriously, they were everywhere! mine was comfortably snugged with other backpacks behind the counter. *phew* 

aint hot here, boy!

it was noon... hungry and had little time to move around BKK. decided to take the underground MRT to Si Lom, 2 stations away and turned to McD's right away when it stood in front of me.... how RUDE! had lunch there, and strolled across the cross junction to a monument... some dude standing coolly under the blazing sun... neway, got some photos and walked myself to the BTS, Bangkok's SkyTrain. station was called Sala Daeng... took it and headed to Saphan Taksin station, where the Central Pier, Sathorn Taksin is located. 

the plan was to take the Chao Phraya Express Boat down the Chao Phraya River (of course) to anywhere i would like. took the one price for all day... 150baht... regretted... the furthest destination is priced at 11baht one way... sigh... anyway... the boat ride was not bad, where you get to see Bangkok's mega structures... including a train on water! 

spot the lady washing her clothes...

choo choo boat

Wang Lang... heard they sell guns here... ;)

Wat Arun, one of Thailand's oldest temples is perched close to the riverside and its stunning. though i didnt go into it, from afar, it looks amazing. as the boat spears through the waters of the Chao Phraya, villages can be seen washing their clothes, doing their routine as visitors look with amazement. my first stop was Wang Lang, not too sure why but heck, im going down. they had a little market by the river and also food stalls along the roadsides. just a typical day in Bangkok i guess as the locals stroll past me as i stood there snapping away my camera. didnt really wanna walk far from the pier, i strolled down the road and made a u-turn before reaching the main road. i wasnt equipped with a map, so thats the reason for me to turn back anyway. grabbed an Iced Coffee from a stall and it was Kopi Tarik! gracefully Tarik right before me; priced at 25baht. back to the boat, i got off at Tha Thien.

Wat Arun

again, a small market is based near the pier. as i was walking, i was approached by a local. as we talked, he claimed to be the "manager" of the market by the pier. so i was, ok, cool. first he thought i was Thai, then as we chatted, he recommended me this attraction... not known by many. it was a Wat... Wat Rajapradit. a temple where they filmed The King & I... according to him. how true is this, i really dont know. tried Googling bout it but it seemed to be a normal Wat, a very very very old Wat. since 1864 mind you. since i wasnt interested in going too far, i thanked him for the info and went along. next i was at Wat Pho, another beautiful Wat. the statues resembles Buddhism thoroughly, statues that looked like those in China... for real! statues of Gods guarding the gates, etc... for a moment i thought i was in China! again, i didnt pay any the entrance fee to enter the actual Halls of the temple, was just hanging around the garden and surroundings. the Grand Palace is actually situated next to Wat Pho but the visiting times were at 3.30pm and i was too late. so, its back to the pier for me.

right? you feel like you're in China right!?!?

as i feast my eyes to the beautiful surroundings through the boat, i came to a halt at Central Pier, Sathorn Taksin. off i went, hanging around the pier, loitering like bums. as i walked to the SkyTrain, i noticed a garden, sort of like a park where peeps just lay back and hang out. and so i did... relaxed myself, snapped some photos and back on the train. it was more like a big, interesting U-turn from Hualamphong Railway Station. back at Sala Daeng, i had dinner at a local noodle shop. also found a shopping center with a supermarket in it to get some snacks and breakfast whilst in the train. 

arrived at Hualamphong Railway Station at around 6.30pm, i walked towards the attendant and asked about my train to Nong Khai. train leaves at 8.00pm and i was early, but i got a rude awakening when the attendant said i have 20 minutes to board the train before it leaves! oh blardy hell; rushed to the luggage storage, got my backpack, walked as fast as i could to the platform... and i stopped. where the hell is the sign that states the coach number! approached another attendant and lucky me, it was right in front of me. got up the train, found my seat and dropped all i had. yes, i was sweating like a pig! as i waited and waited... damn train didnt move an inch after 20 minutes. then another 30 minutes... and finally it moved at 8.15pm! oh come on!!! damn attendant... screwing up my slow walks. yes, i was cheated by a local. thankfully it was only TIME.... :D

platform number 3

to my relieve....

so much for sniffer dogs... Oi falang... no smoking!

honestly, i was being paranoid if i was on the right train. the whole time actually... i asked a worker in the train where he was preparing the bunks, he has no idea what i was saying. FINE! got off the train and saw a signage outside the train that says "Bangkok - Nong Khai". relieved! got up the train, that worker that was preparing the bunks, was changing to another uniform... he was actually a train attendant! can you believe it...! how can he not know what i said, at least there was a Thai word in it... NONG KHAI. so, paranoia dissolve as the train started rolling...

now you dont...

now you see it!

Hualamphong Railway Station

as i slept through the journey to Nong Khai, the bunk wasnt that bad after all. it was comfy, has a mattress, blanket and a pillow. i didnt believe myself, after sleeping for almost 10 hours, i was awaken by the sight of the early morning sunrise. it was fantastic, just looking at the sun rising from the horizon, a sight that i am not able to experience in life, simply because waking up early for sunrise just dont seemed to be in the agenda. as the sun rises, silhouettes of trees and the green grass just pleases my eyes, and soul. it was fantastic, dreamy yet realistic.

wonderful sunrise plus the cool mists...

NONG KHAI - a tuk tuk to the Thai border would normally cost 30baht, but since i was alone, it costs me 40baht. it was relatively easy to go into Laos by land, through Nong Khai and the infamous Thai-Lao Friendship Bridge. after immigration, get a mini bus at a cost of 15baht. once at the Laos border, go to the immigration counter and get a Arrival & Departure Card. it cant be found anywhere and only in the office. fill it up and you are good to go. the funny yet stupid thing is, this immigration officer held my passport, flipped the pages, looks at my face; and asked me, "you Philipine?"... to my horror, i managed to blurt out, "No, Malaysia". what was she thinking?!! she then started flipping some papers hanging in front of her and then i was thrown a question... or maybe a statement... not too sure from her tone of voice... "no visa". and i coughed up "No". *chop* *chop* thank you! noob... :D

and here i am... in LAOS. and there he was... my good old, high school mate, Horace; looking at me with a huge smile...

angkor beer - singha beer - beer lao - angkor beer

here i am again, just had dinner...baked myself a "microwavable-dining-extravaganza" dinner experience. well, it layman terms, its just a Au Gratin, 100% real potatoes with CHEESE. love them cheese! hah! it was not bad actually... great meal... of course with my trustworthy Angkor Beer.

cant help myself being stared my neighbour's 3 feet by 3 feet photo frame of their 2 children right in front of me, slightly a half storey higher than me, those 4 bulging eyes are kinda freaky. just waiting for them to close those curtains.

well, let me translate the title for you... Cambodia - Thailand - Laos - Cambodia. basically, these beers are the country's very own produce respectively. out of all, i would prefer Beer Lao. has more kick in it! haha. yes, i will be heading to Bangkok tomorrow morning and have practically half a day before my train to Laos leaves. after doing my homework on Bangkok, who would have thought that half a day can actually tell a story. well, in my case, a travel story. of course you have to wait till i have gone and left the city.... so, hang on there alright! the express train at night from Hualamphong Railway Station in Bangkok is very well known to backpackers and travelers from all over. its a much cheaper way to travel around Indo-China or South East Asia compare to the Boeings and Airbus'. a sleeper bunker is what i have for almost 12 hours and i better get comfortable fast, or risk having a sleepless night and reaching Laos like a Zombie.

Horace, my old high school mate will be meeting up with me at the Laos immigration... i sure do remember the old days of having him being bullied by a bunch of us as he was a newbie; came in Form 4... well now, he is working in Vientiane and happily married. its gonna be my first time seeing him after... lets see... 10 freaking years! damnnnn! tour guide would be the latest job for him as he will be bringing me around town... before heading off myself to Vang Vieng.

also known as VV (to me and a few others)... VV offers fantastic sceneries and their eco-tourism is fantastic! caving, tubing, cycling and hiking is the main attraction here in VV and i am up for it. planning to go for a 1-day cycling + hiking tour... 6 hours of cycling and an hour of hiking, if im not mistaken. its gonna be tiring, but my fingers will be happily snapping my Minolta DSLR.

right after VV would be back to Vientiane... where my journey will come to an end when i leave Vientiane International Airport. its gonna be a 6-day holiday for me... and im gonna make full use of it. rest assured i am! :D

if you are wondering, wow... long holiday you lucky bugger!... well, yea... Cambodia will be having the Chun Benh Holiday, similar to Malaysia's Hungry Ghost Festival and Ching Meng where we would go back to our hometown to pay our respects to our fore-fathers and loved ones that passed away. since Buddhism is the main religion in Cambodia, it would be a 3-day public holiday. and because of this, our roadshow will be close for 5 days as the public will still be away 1 day before and after Chun Benh. wait, that makes an extra day... yes, you counted correctly... on the day i arrived, it would be back to work. simple as that! hah!

remember i once said that Phnom Penh is SEA's version of Chicago... and nevertheless provide much shocking scenes... well yes, i did mention about horses, elephants and pigs roaming on the streets and roadsides... but the new animal in the family would be the COW! oh yes, bullock-carts can be seen throughout the outskirts of Phnom Penh, specifically on Street 271... where i live. did i mention that Street 271 circulates Phnom Penh? well, if i didnt, then.. wallaah! there you go; learned another new thing. potteries made out of clay are seen tied and hanging on the carts as two cows pulls it along the road. these potteries are for sale and not like our "roti-man" in Malaysia, hailing them down would be much easier. heck, you can even have a cigarette and when you do finish it, the cows would just be 20 meters away. 

i started on Malaysia's roti-man and i should continue... the roti-man is normally on motorcycles and some would be on bicycles... so, i hoped i explain what i meant by "you can even have a cigarette... and the cows would just be 20 meters away"... :D

feels kinda nice getting away from Phnom Penh for a while. the hustle and bustle of this city, and work of course is getting to me... a holiday would be great, and thats what i got! hooray!!

out of topic... BlackBerry anyone? would love to get one... my client, Hello is offering BlackBerry phones and i might just get a discount! hahaha. how bout back in Malaysia, Maxis, Celcom or DiGi? any Berries out there to share with me?

since 3 weeks ago, i have finished watching Sex & The City and Prison Break Season 1... bare in mind that i only get to watch it at night, during dinner... as i work 7-days a week! love these shows... Sex & The City just opens up your mind about relationships and Prison Break is so damn "kan-cheong". damn... no problem watching it over and over again, i tell you! now im on episode blabla bla on Sex & The City Season 2... and its getting interesting. LOL! 

did you know that it is pretty difficult to type Sex & The City on the QWERTY keyboard? try it... S e x & T h e C i t y...

ohhh, enough of blabbering. i gotta pack me stuffs now. till i blog again... maybe from Thailand... or even Laos (would be easier if i have a BlackBerry ;D)...

G O O D B Y E ! !