2 Months And A Half Off (Part 2)

This series of posts is a day by day account of my two-month-and-a-half trip that begins with a stay in Bangkok, followed by a train and bike trip in India and a yoga teacher training.

Day 2: Dodgy Chicken

The morning began with a morning swim and a few nibbles from the Trang Palace's breakfast buffet which came with the room. They had a nice selection of dishes but most of them were too salty for my taste. After typing my first blog post by the pool and reading my book, I packed my bags and checked out of the hotel.

Checking out took longer than I thought it would. I called up the receptionist who told me that she'll send a porter to get my things. I waited for around half an hour but the porter never came. Seeing through their ruse of making me wait so that I'll miss the check out time and end up paying half a night's rate, I lugged my bags to the reception area (which is in the adjoining building) to officially check out, leave my things in their storage room and thank them for wasting my time.

I got on a taxi and headed to Rambuttri where I met my boyfriend and his nephew. From there, we headed for a walk around the backpacker area and feasted on amazing curry and tom yum goong in The Macaroni Room and huge servings of ice cream in Swensen's before we headed to the airport hotel where we will be spending two nights before our flight to India.

Unfortunately, the red curry in the Macaroni Room wasn't so amazing and my boyfriend's nephew ended up with food poisoning two hours before his flight. Instead of seeing him off, we ended up going to the airport clinic which is on the second floor of Suvarnabhumi Airport. From there, we had a nice ambulance ride to the Samitev Srinakarin Hospital where we ended up staying for two nights.

Fortunately, World Nomads and my aunt in Thailand did a brilliant job in making sure that we didn't have to pay a single cent during our stay in the hospital which was rather posh and expensive. A night in their cheapest room costs around $200. And, before you can be admitted, a deposit of 20,000 baht (around $600) needs to be paid. 

The hospital room we got was like a hotel room with a flat screen TV, a refrigerator, a microwave oven and a really plush couch for us to sleep in. The bathroom came with lavander scented shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion as well as a dental kit and other things you usually find in a hotel. It even had room service! It was a whole lot better than the room we booked for the two nights.

Day 3: Hotels And Other Things

The Cottage Suvharnabhumi (Lat Krabang Road, Bangkok)

Since we knew that our flight for Kolkata would be cancelled and would need a couple of extra nights in Bangkok to sort out our flights as well as my boyfriend's newphew's flight home, we decided to extend our stay in The Cottage Suvharnabhumi. The hotel's policies made it impossible for us to do that.

Because of a promotion on Agoda, I got a nice room with a private terrace in The Cottage Suvharnabhmi for $25. But, when I asked if we could stay two more nights, we were asked to pay the full amount per night which was $50. So, that day, with the hospital's complimentary wi-fi, we sorted out our new rooms and flights.

Day 4: Check In, Check Out And Back To The Airport Again

After spending the night at the hospital, I headed back to the hotel to pack our stuff and check out. And, to make the most of our stay in The Cottage, I spent a couple of hours by the pool before I checked out. I thought the red bean bags were a nice addition to the pool area.

The Cottage (Pool Area)

The Cottage

The Cottage (Lounge Area)

The hotel staff in The Cottage were very helpful when I checked out. They even wrote down our new hotel's address in Thai so that the cab driver would know where to go. 

The Great Residence Suvharnabhumi Hotel (Lat Krabang Road, Bangkok)

I thought it was really lucky to book a triple room in this hotel for only $21. It's a bit old and the wi-fi wasn't very reliable but it had a pool and a private terrace. 

Since my boyfriend in formed me that they would leave the hospital that day, I decided to spend the day exploring the area. At first, I thought I've made a huge mistake booking a place in the middle of nowhere and we would be dependent on the hotel's restaurant which was only serving around six unappealing dishes. The waitress was also quite surly and unapproachable. 

When I approached the counter, I noticed a poster that had some English sentences with Thai translations. This was the pleasant spill she was supposed to give when a customer approached her. Instead, she skipped all the lines, gave me a grunt and handed me the menu. I just shook my head and took a walk to look for a place to eat.

It was lunch time and all the bar restaurants near the hotel were closed. Luckily, at the end of the road, I spotted a 7/11 and a noodle stand. There, I had a huge brunch which consisted of a prawn wanton soup from 7/11 and a beef noodle soup from a cheerful old man's noodle stand. 

After the huge meal, I decided to go for a walk and discovered an arcade filled with restaurants. And, at the very end of that arcade, I found heaven -- The Thai Senses Spa which had a really comfy chair. I had a foot spa and a foot massage and dozed off. That chair claimed me and it took some time before I was able to get up and head back to the hotel.

The Most Amazing Chair Ever!

I got back to the hotel in time to let my boyfriend and his nephew into the room. I found out that he got a booking to fly home that night. So, we had dinner at a nearby bar restaurant which had three Vietnamese waiters. Fortunately, the last meal didn't bring about another case of food poisoning. A few hours later, we took a cab back to the airport to see his nephew off.

Day 5: A Day For Chilling

Since our flight to Delhi was booked for the next day, we had a day all to ourselves. We spent it eating, chilling by the pool and indulging in massages in the nearby spa with the comfortable seats. It was a nice rest day before a long trip.

HCMC, Cambodia and Hoi An in 10 Days (Part 2)

Day 2
We had an early start and were pretty much peeved that the hotel didn't prepare our breakfast since we asked them if we could have our free breakfast to go the night before and they said it was OK. They seemed to have overcharged us as well -- The exchange rate they used was higher than normal.


On the way to the bus station, we got some snacks for the road and started our long bus journey to Cambodia. After a few hours, the bus stopped at the border where we got our passports stamps. Again, I was lucky to be from Southeast Asia. I didn't have to wait for them to give me a visa. I had to wait for the rest of the tourists to get through though. 

At The Cambodian Border

After going through the border, we stopped by a stall where we got some lunch. Opposite that stall is a bank and we were able to withdraw some dollars from the ATM. We also got some money changed to Cambodian Riel. We realized later on that dollars were also accepted in Cambodia. It was good to have some of the local money though -- They tend to charge you a dollar for everything unless you haggle and show them that you have some local currency in hand.


We finally reached the Sapaco Office in Pnom Penh at around two in the afternoon and waited for the mini van that would transfer us to the bus station. When we got to the bus station, we were a bit disappointed. The man from Sapaco gave us open tickets that meant that we didn't have seat in the 2:30 PM bus. We ended up having to wait in the bus station for another hour. And, I was a bit peeved that I forgot about the golden rule of purchasing anything in Vietnam -- Ask the seller about everything at least three times to know what you're getting. Otherwise, you might end up with an "I'm sorry! Big misunderstanding!" and no compensation for the time lost and the holiday ruined.


Fortunately, we just had to deal with an hour's delay. We opened our books and munched on some snacks as we waited for the next bus to arrive. I was quite entertained by the tiny Cambodian boy who sat beside us and managed to share my Pringles with me. I'm quite immune to begging kids but I do have a weakness for kids who give me that "Feed me!" look.


It was around nine o'clock when we finally reached Siem Reap. We got a tuktuk to our guest house and were happy to find out that the room that we reserved in the Khmer Inn was still available. Unfortunately, their kitchen was closed for the night and we had to find some food elsewhere. We were really lucky to find a nice restaurant near the inn. They served some yummy curry and the prices ranged from $2 to $4.


Day 3
In the morning, we were served a huge breakfast and got to meet the family that owned the guest house. It's so nice to stay in family-owned places where you get loads of warmth and you never feel alone. The kids were very sweet. Their youngest girl wouldn't stop flashing her plastic jewelry as she walked around the dining room like a model. 

I was greeted by this beautiful sunrise when I got up that morning.

While we ate our breakfast, we managed to arrange for a tuktuk to take us around Angkor Wat. Our Tuk Tuk driver and tour guide was Phally Louem, the little girl's father. I thought he was a very sweet man who took us to the ticketing office so that we can make sure that we would be able to make sure that we would be able to leave for Pnom Penh without anymore problems the next day. We then headed to the Angkor Wat and purchased a one-day pass for $20 each.


As I walked around Angkor Wat, I realized that it wasn't just the age of the structure or the intricacy of the carvings on the wall that made it special. Yes, it was very beautiful. But, what attracted me to it was the serene energy that I felt as I walked through the halls. It just made me feel this quietness inside despite the fact that it was filled with tourists when we visited. But, somehow, there was something about the place that can make you tune them out and be at peace. At the same time, I loved the way the structures just blended with the location. The contrast of colors was so amazing I couldn't help but take loads of pictures.

After getting "stoned" (a term that jokingly used for having seen enough rocks in one day), we asked Phally to take us back to the guest house. We told him that we would rather chill in the hotel room while waiting for the sunset. He agreed to drive us home and take us back at around 5 PM. When we were heading up to our rooms, he noticed that the strap of my bag was broken and got it from me, promising to have it fixed before we leave. That's what I call service!


Later on, Phally brought us back to the site and we hiked up a steep hill to get to Phnom Bakheng. We climbed up the steps of the temple and waited for the sunset.

On Top Of Phnom Bakheng

I took this at a view point that we passed on the way down the hill.

Day 4 
The next day, we woke up to the sound of drums next door. It was Chinese New Year and it was customary to have group perform a Dragon Dance for good luck. Luckily, the top floor of our guest house gave us a good view of the event.

After breakfast, we got some snacks before the mini van came to pick us up and take us to the bus station. This time, we didn't go through any problems. We immediately got on a bus that took us to Pnom Penh at full speed.


Well, it wasn't exactly smooth sailing. Because the driver was driving too fast, we ended up with some mechanical problems along the way. It took them a few hours to fix the problem and we ended up not being able to do any sightseeing in Pnom Penh. The one good thing about it was that I got some pictures of the sunset while waiting.

Poor guy was wearing a clean, white shirt...

It was already eight in the evening when we arrived in Pnom Penh. In order to study the map for a place to stay that's near the bus station, we went inside a shawarma and kebab restaurant to eat and talk about our itinerary. The food there, by the way, was disgusting. I ordered lamb and I got cold beef. So, I suggest you skip this joint when the bus drops you off.


We were lucky we stopped by the dodgy joint and were able to talk to the two Korean ladies who were on the same bus. We found out that they were staying in a really cheap place near the bus station and decided to take a tuk tuk with them there. And, fortunately, none of the cheap fan rooms were taken so we managed to get a good deal and saved some money.


Day 5 to 6
The trip back to Saigon went a bit more smoothly. We got there around two in the afternoon and we immediately booked a room at the Hotel Anh Phuong. After that, we headed to the tourist offices to book a bus to Mui Ne the next day. Unfortunately, we didn't have any luck booking a bus since it was Tet (the Vietnamese Lunar New Year). So, we ended up staying in Saigon until the day we were scheduled to fly to Dannang. It was a bummer but it was also a welcome rest after going through the long bus rides that we went through in the past few days.


We had our meals in a nice restaurant at the corner of Pham Ngu Lao and Bui Vien. It's got both an indoor and outdoor area. The items in their menu were good value and tasted really nice. I loved the fruit shakes they served for 20,000 dong. Also, if you're alone and you're looking for fellow travellers to hang out with, this is a good place to go. 


The next day was fairly chilled. It started with a lie in and a nice walk around the city. That night, I visited the Seventeen Saloon with an acquaintance that I met at the corner restaurant where we usually have our meals to check out the live band. The live music was pretty good. I wasn't that keen on the dance number that followed since the music and glittering costumes somehow clashed with the ambiance of the place. The beer was relatively expensive -- 70,000 dong ($3.50) for a small bottle.




Quick Travel Tips


Mr. Phally Louem. Tuk Tuk Driver. (855) 012516103. happyphally@yahoo.com. 142 Korkragn Village, Songath, Siem Reap, Cambodia.


Khmer Inn Angkor. No. 232 Taphul village, Svay Dangkum Commune, Siem Reap.