We're finally in Thailand! It is our last stop on our Asian Adventure. I can't believe I'll be back in the states in 10 days.
We got up early Friday morning and walked down to the bus station then got escorted to where the bus was going to pick us up. We opted for the sleeper bus hoping it would be a bit more comfortable than a regular bus. It may very well have been, if it wasn't 1,000 degrees inside! Ok, well it wasn't that hot, but it was certainly uncomfortable. It was about 2 hours or so to the boarder crossing and having been through this before, we were expecting the chaos and confusion this time. We all shuffled out of the bus where those of us continuing on to Bangkok were herded toward a general area and told to wait. From there, we followed one of the men who worked for the tour company who took us to another man that exchanged neon lanyards for our bus tickets. The tag on the lanyard said "VIP" so I figured that was a pretty good sign. After we got our party necklace, we were told to go wait in line at customs. It was only 9 or maybe 10 in the morning but it was already so hot and it was only exasperated by the 15kg backpack I had on. All of a sudden my mouth started watering and I had that metallic taste so I knew whatever was about to happen it wasn't going to be good. I found a trashcan not far away and about 10 seconds later I threw up. Great. I'm vomiting at the boarder crossing. It seemed to pass so I got back in line, made it through Cambodian customs, then Thai immigration. At this point, I was still feeling nauseous and we had no idea where we were supposed to go. One thing we've learned about finding our way is that when in doubt, just keep walking and sure enough, someone spotted our lime green tags and told us our minivan was 150m further. When we got there, they told us the van only had 2 seats left so we would have to wait for the next one. It wasn't so bad though. I sought refuge in the nearest toilet and Jeanette and Nathan got to enjoy some AC. Not too much later, the next van pulled up and we were told it was our turn. When we opened the door to the van, however, it most definitely did not look like there were 3 seats. Nathan and Jeanette squeezed it to what could MAYBE be considered a seat and a half and I was left confused. Then someone tapped me on the backed and motioned for me to step out of the van. At first I got really nervous about this, maybe I had to wait for the next one? But it turned out that I got to sit in the front, with lots of room, AC right on my face, and easy access to the window just in case.
Good news is that I made the 4 hr trip from the boarder to Bangkok without further incidence. Bad news is that Jeanette had a rough time in the back of the van and came out feeling terrible too. We took the subway to our hostel and I decided to stay in while Jeanette and Nathan went out for dinner. I took a shower and called it a night.
The next morning, I was feeling a bit better so we went for breakfast and had the most delicious eggs Benedict I have ever had! I was so hungry because I hadn't eaten anything the day before so I practically inhaled my food. Turns out, that's not such a great idea... I maybe ate too much or too fast or something else but whatever the reason, my breakfast came right back up, luckily this time I wasn't in the middle of the street at a boarder crossing. Even still, I didn't feel terrible so we decided to go to the grand palace. The palace has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782. The kingdom's name changed after the abolition of the absolute monarchy and the transition to the constitutional monarchy in 1932. The king, his court and his royal government were based on the grounds of the palace until 1925. The present monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadei (Rama IX), currently lives at a different palace but the Grand Palace is still used for official events. The buildings and the grounds were stunning. We have been to a LOT of temples and palaces but they were nothing compared to this. Everything was either gold or covered in 1 sq in tiles of colored glass. It was unbelievable. The only thing that could have made it better was if I didn't have to wear a long sleeve shirt and a sarong (no tank tops or leggings allowed). It was unbearably hot. So, we decided to go to the weekend market to get some cold drinks and some food. We checked out the market then headed back home.
I felt pretty terrible again last night but was feeling better Thia morning. Unfortunately, that was short lived and I had to come back to the hotel after breakfast to take a day off while Nathan and jeanette went to explore the floating market.
I've been in Asai for about 6 weeks now so it was only a matter of time before I got a bit sick but hopefully having a light day today will make traveling to Chiang Mai tomorrow little easier. The good news about being in the hostel all day gave me time to finally catch up on my travel blog so you're welcome! :)
M
