Leaving on a jet plane . . .

Hi Everyone, So my trip to Bangkok was very good with a little bad at the beginning and end. When I went to check in, I was told I had to have an onward ticket from Bangkok within 30 days of arrival and they wouldn't let me on the plane without one. I've been in and out of Bangkok and never had a problem with this. My travel buddy, Lauren, who was already in Bangkok waiting for me, did not need an onward ticket (she flew a different airline). No one else I've met here had this problem either. So I was forced to buy a $930 one-way ticket to Tokyo on Dec 25. Although it's fully refundable, it apparently takes up to two billing cycles to refund! Grrr. Anyway, this nonsense was made up for by having an entire row of 5 seats to myself for the 10 hour flight from Seattle to Tokyo and then a row of 3 seats to myself from the 7 hour flight from Tokyo to Bangkok. However, this sweetness was a little soured by an announcement about 40 min before we landed in Bangkok that there were protesters surrounding the airport because they unpopular PM was due to fly in. So when we landed, they made us wait in the plane for a few minutes while they got an update. It turned out to be fine. I only saw a few protestors although it appeared they had also taken over the PA system (it was hard to tell cause they were speaking in Thai). The only problem I had was that the shuttle bus wasn't running, so I was forced to take a taxi and the taxi drivers, taking advantage of the situation, were charging four times the regular rate. But I found 3 other backpackers and after about 40 min., we finally found an honest taxi driver and payed about $3 each to get to the tourist area half an hour away. Since I got here, I've been recovering from jetlag and a hangover from our first night out together in SE Asia (which cost a grand total of $4.50 each!). Our hotel is expensive at about $20/night for the two of us, but we have A/C, TV, and a pool. Tomorrow we'll start roughing it a little more, paying about $8/ night for rooms, some with just a fan. Tomorrow, Lauren and I leave for Cambodia, headed for Siem Reap and the Angkor temples. Then down to Pnom Penh and then to Sihanoukville on the beach for a couple of days before crossing the border into Viet Nam. We plan to spend no more than a week total in Cambodia and will probably spend Christmas on a beach in Viet Nam. We'll see. So that's the update for now. I'm soooooo happy to be here and can't wait to get moving! Sierra