Cambodia Visa

Cambodia Border, April 18, 2006

So here I am heading to Cambodia to renew my Visa for Thailand. I took a luxury bus to the boarder. I thought it would be a boring trip but when I sat down in my seat I found that the man beside me was a friend I met last year at the Bridge on the River Kwai.

This is Henry from Holland. He has been travelling around the World for several years. He gave me great tips on travelling in Vietnam. I promised to email him when I get there.

This is the Cambodia Boarder at Poi Pet. It reminds me of a refugee path as I see the people heading along on this rough dirt path.

One of the most amazing sights I saw, was this group of men hauling an enormous rice cart across the border.

The border crossing itself, is a modern building. The officers here all wear military uniforms but unlike the border crossing at Pnom Penn, they do not have machine guns.

The whole trip took 15 hours from Khao San Road to Cambodia and back again. This is how our whole group felt by the end of that journey.
The secret to having an enjoyable trip like this is the reading material.

I'm reading Wilber Smith's 'Monsoon'.

My Final Day In Thailand

Bangkok, Thailand, May 4, 2005

I spent my last few days here in Bangkok, where I began.

Here's Khao San Road as I saw it while eating my 'American' Breakfast. It was 37 degrees on this morning. I shall miss this country very much, but not the heat. It's like being in a low grade oven. The weather reports showed this to be the hottest place on Earth right now.

The one place I hadn't been was the Grand Palace so I braved the intense heat and went for a visit. The King does not live at this Palace but it is his symbolic home. It is modelled after the first Capital, Ayutthaya.

I wanted you to see the intricate workmanship of the ceramic materials that decorate the Palace buildings.

I spent several minutes in this Temple inside the Palace grounds. There is a magnificent Temple here that I couldn't take pictures of.

Ever since I arrived in Thailand I wanted to get this picture; Budhist Monk with a Cell phone. This is my answer to Melba Toasty's 'Pioneer Woman With Cell Phone'.