Amy: We boarded a bus at 8am to take us from Siem Reap to the Cambodia/Thailand border . We weren’t surprised to find that the bus did not have air conditioning as promised but we were surprised by the way they packed the people and luggage into the bus. Every seat was taken and there was luggage in the aisle that was stacked about shoulder high. On the bright side it provided me with an arm rest and we were quite lucky that it was a cloudy day so we didn’t die from the heat. The bus ride was prolonged by bumpy gravel roads (lots of dust) and 2 pit stops. We finally reached the border at about 1:30pm. There were lots of kids there who were trying to sell things and begging for money. There was one boy about 6 who was carrying around a baby that looked to be about a week old, anything to get the edge I guess. It was really quite depressing and I was quite relieved to get back into Thailand. It is overwhelming and sad to learn about the atrocities that have occurred in Cambodia. It has been quite interesting to learn about apartheid in Africa and the genocide in Cambodia within 6 months of each other.
Once through the Thailand border we took a Tuk Tuk to the bus station and discovered that no-one there spoke English. Despite this small detail Patti managed to get us on a bus heading in the right direction. It was even a nice bus that had air conditioning. Our goal was to reach Pak Chong, a town near the Khao Yai National park. After a 4 hour bus ride we had to change buses but we were able to get on a bus that was leaving right away. It was another 1 and 1/2 hour bus ride from there but we learned that you can’t count on the bus guy to tell you when to get off the bus. Unfortunately when we asked about our stop we had just finished going through Pak Chong so they stopped the bus and left us on the side of the road just outside town. Not great considering it was dark, raining and we really didn’t know where we were going. We managed to negotiate a ride to a hotel from a family that was eating supper at a food cart parked at a gas station near where we were let off. The hotel where they took us looked beautiful from the outside and the lobby was gorgeous. I was surprised at how reasonable the room rate was but we discovered that the room did not live up to the expectations created by the entrance and that the rate was actually high for the quality of the room. Oh well, I guess when you roll into town late without a plan you have to take what you can get. On the bright side breakfast was included and it was a good breakfast.
In the morning, after getting a ride into town to the bus terminal from a nice Thai gentleman, we were able to get a taxi to take us to a guest house near the park. I think we have been spoiled by all the people who speak English around the world and this was one of the few times that we have had difficulty communicating. I am sure we will have to adjust as we head into more remote areas, I may even have to pull out the Thai phrase book. That could be interesting.
