So I hit the road for Battambang, Cambodia, a French-influenced riverside town in southern Cambodia.  The bus ride to the border between Thailand and Cambodia took 4 hrs.  I wasn’t quite sure how the Visa thing worked in Cambodia, but apparently, if you cross at the Poipet checkpoint, E-Visa’s from the Cambodian government aren’t valid, so you have to pay about 200baht (~60 bucks) for Visas.  The line was long and it took forever to cross, but I finally entered the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Border of Cambodia and Thailand (Shots from the SD1000)

Shortly thereafter, I hopped on a bus and spent 4hrs on the road to get to Battambang.  It was an exhausting trip, but not as bumpy/rough as I thought.  Most of the roads are paved and I had A/C on the bus…I was living the high life! When I arrived, I dropped my stuff off at the hotel and took a motorbike tour of the little town. Here are some  shots from Battambang:

That’s how they roll in Cambo (from the SD1000)

Scooterville (SD1000 on automatic)

Motorbikes!

To my surprise, they celebrate new year in Cambodia the same time as Thailand.  Here’s Lucy doused with water and flour (SD1000 on automatic)

Fish market (SD1000)

Noodle making (SD1000)

River-boats in Battambang (SD1000)

Didn’t do much tonight.  It was such an exhausting day of traveling that I just crashed after eating dinner at the Smoking Pot.  I was a little adventurous and ordered some Cambodian (Khmer) food tonight.  I wasn’t expecting it to be all that great, but…. well, no “buts.”  It wasn’t that good…I’m just glad my stomach held up.  Had some Beef Lok lok, Fried rice, and garlic chicken.  After that, I headed over to Scoot Bar in some dodgy (I learned that word from some Brits!) alley and had half of a drink (yes…i’m weaksauce) and had some good conversation.  Plan for tomorrow, some more exploring in Battambang, then off to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat.

Note:  British phrases learned today – “lou” = toilet, “pitch” = field, “Mum” = mom, “Cobb” = bread (not corn!)…and I also learned today (or was brainwashed into thinking) that Manchester United sucks and that soccer (football) is the best sport ever.  Period!

I turned on the tv this morning and found out that it got a little more violent last night.  Buses were commandeered and rammed into trees, people were trampled, “red shirts” forced themselves onto military tanks, firebombs were thrown, and two civilians were killed when the military shot into the crowds.  I think I’m gonna get out of here tonight.

As usual, went on my little stroll through Bangkok this morning…

Checkers on the street

You’ll always find people taking a little siesta on the streets

Meanwhile, on the other side of town…Songkran (Thai New Year).  The Thai people basically have this big waterfight in the streets to celebrate the new year.  I headed down to Khaosan Road, one of the busiest and most populated party streets to check out all the action.  I even bought a watergun and joined in on the festivities, throwing ice-cold water and shooting it at locals. I met J* at my hotel and since we were both traveling alone, we decided to head out to Khaosan Rd together.  Here are some shots before I had to put my camera away.

My $5.00 weapon…the “water gun”

Tourists and locals all join in on the fun

Drive-by slapping with flour powder

Taken from above to limit the amt of water getting on my camera

Me and J* after the waterfight on Khaosan Rd

In the afternoon, visited some temples in Bangkok: Grand Palace and Wat Pho

Grand Palace

Of course…the tourist shot

I would have grabbed more shots, but a lot of temples in the Grand palace didn’t allow photographs

Wat Pho and the monumental reclining Buddha

Wat Pho

At night, I wandered over to the night market and carnival to celebrate the new year.

Street vendors lined blocks with rows and rows of food

Eat at your own risk

Snacks on snacks

The night carnival

Carnival rides…but no cotton candy

$0.50 to dunk the kid

They kept laughing at me after I invested $4.00 of hard-earned money throwing darts at balloons

So after a rough first night, I got up early to walk around and get a feel for Bangkok.  Stopped by at a Cafe and sat next to Scott, a 29 year old Boeing Sales Rep doing an around-the-world trip over a span of 9 months (he’s definitely more ballsy than I am).  He gave me some good advice on where to go, what to avoid, and how not to get ripped off (as you’ll see later, it obviously didn’t help me).  We had a chat over breakfast, and just as quickly as we had met, we went our separate ways…

Shot this on my morning walk

I headed for the southern bus terminal to take the public bus to Kanchanaburi, a 3-hr ride to a small riverside town with waterfalls, tigers, and beautiful countryside.  I don’t think many people stop by Kanchanaburi on vacation, but I wanted to see Tiger Temple, Erawan falls, and the River Kwai.

700m to the waterfall, about a 3km hike up the waterfall itself

7 tiers of waterfalls, I think this was the 5th tier

When you jump in, little fish below the surface of the water nibble at your feet (don’t worry, they’re not piranhas)

Gotta watch those fierce monkeys with kleptomania

Yes, it’s fierce alright

I don’t know why the water everywhere is green, but it is… and it’s absolutely gorgeous

And here are some from Tiger Temple.  The tigers there are washed and handled by Thai monks, international volunteers and local staff. Once a day they are walked on leashes to a nearby quarry and from 12-4pm, visitors are allowed to pet and touch the tigers (with close supervision nearby of course).

One of the volunteers leading me in

Baby tiger

Headed over to the River Kwai on the way back to Bangkok.  The bridge over the river kwai, also known as the Burma Railway or Death Railway, was built by Japan during WWII to bring supplies to its forces in Burma. Over 90,000 Asian labourers and 16,000 Allied POWs (Americans, Australians, Dutch, and Canadians) died as a direct result of the project.

On my way back from Kanchanaburi that day, Thailand declared a Military State of Emergency and brought in troops to control protestors and rioters.  The “Red Shirts” blocked roads, stole buses and rammed them into buildings, and set fires to protest the government, particularly the Prime Minister. I wasn’t allowed near government buildings to see all the action, but I was close enough to get these snaps.

Military came in to the city to try to retake control

I got a little too close for this shot…I was stopped by one of the officers and was told to leave, but not before snapping this next shot.

The “red shirt” protestors

Street Barricade

More troops

I forget just how big planes can get when they’re flying overseas.  Rows and rows of seats, 16 flight attendants, and about 400 other passengers on my flight.  I don’t get my own TV, or leg room, or enough seat space, but I guess that’s the price you pay when you go budget.

Big empty plane

It was a long flight, but for some reason, instead of sleeping or listening to my ipod when I had a moment to relax, I kept thinking about DVTs!  Totally a psychotic and neurotic med student thing to be thinking about (especially on vacation), but I guess that’s what med school does to you.   I can’t beat this stuff out of me even during my vacation…I tried to fall asleep, but thoughts of clots kept popping into my head. So instead, it’s calve raises and toe points for me.

My United Airlines 747

Don’t use these dudes, they’ll rip you off.

As for the trip, I finally arrived in Bangkok after 26 hours of flying, layovers, and flight delays, but I’m here!  Getting around isn’t as difficult as I thought it was going to be…or scary.  I was initially a little nervous about getting from the airport to my hotel since I arrived in Bangkok at about 2am, but everything worked out.  Found a metered taxi station (note to travelers: don’t use the nicely dressed ppl trying to sell u a trip for 1600 baht) and was about to take a cab for 300 baht or so (roughly $10), but I also found the public bus station.  I was debating between the bus and the cab, but figured since I’m on my little adventure, I’d take the bus to see what it was like.  Probably not the best idea now that I think about it…foreign country, language barrier, 2:30am…but I got there safe and that’s all that matters.  I had to do some walking of course…and I was on high alert (you never know when someone’s gonna drive you to some back alley and take your organs for the black market (yea…i’m a little paranoid)), but I made it there safe after a couple of wrong turns. When I arrivd at the hotel, I realized that I DEFINITELY was getting what I was paying for…no a/c, dirty floors, but the bed was clean and that’s all I really needed.

Shitty Hotel Room

Just made it back home… I apologize for not keeping everyone updated along the way.  There were technical difficulties with internet, large amounts of water which ruined my SD1000 (thanks torrential rain fall, huge ocean waves, and Thai New Year), and so much to see that I simply didn’t have the time.  I will however, be updating as the week goes by.  In the meantime, here’s a teaser and one of the highlights of my trip.

Sunrise over Angkor Wat

So I’m safe…don’t worry.  It just so happens that the day I get here, the people of Thailand decided to riot and protest against the current Prime Minister.  A Military State of Emergency was declared last night and as a result, streets were shutdown and people were told to stay indoors.  Tanks and soldiers are roaming the streets, but are more concentrated on the West side of Bangkok.   I’m staying away and being safe….other than that….it’s been great so far!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7996241.stm

Bags are packed. Camera’s loaded. Tickets printed. Passport’s ready! If all goes according to plan, the next sunrise I see will be the one over Angkor Wat!  Wish me luck.

Tons of pictures when I get back…maybe even along the way?

See you all in about 2 weeks.