Back to Bangkok and into Cambodia

Leaving myanmar was bittersweet. The country is welcoming, geographically diverse, and on the verge of some major political, cultural, and economic developments. The people were so eager to help, to talk, to proudly share their traditions. And yet it was difficult traveling there. No ATMs, insanely slow Internet, and intense heat. Each day felt like an adventure within itself. I already miss the tea leaf salad, tomato salad, and Shan noodle soup. There is a thing called betelnut which is a red nut wrapped in a palm leaf that you chew on like gum. It has caffeine and becomes addicted. The streets were stained blood red from betel spit. Many men had blood red, gruesome teeth. The only women I saw with betel teeth were in villages. Walking down the street we were stared at a lot but never maliciously. I felt at ease in Myanmar. Three weeks flew by and it was with sadness we said goodbye to our new friends and the new country. Once back in Bangkok my dad treated me to a stay at a nice hotel. I booked a room at Le Meridien which soared over my expectations of a nice hotel. It was a glorious visit in Bangkok, one that I'll always remember. Unfortunately in BK Michael and I had to say goodbye after just over a month of traveling together. He is now in India and I am in Cambodia. I'm very thankful to have met such an amicable traveling companion and it's very bizarre to be on my own again. I'm not used to it. I'm in a small town in western Cambodia called Battambang. It is very quaint and realtively quiet. On Saturday morning I took the sky train to the end, Mo Chit. From that station I waited form the local bus for about twenty minutes that would take me to the northern bus station. I looked at my watch and noticed it was 9:40. I didn't have a ticket or know the bus schedule but I had a hunch there was a 10 am bus so I sucked it up and payed 50 baht $1.75) for a motorbike taxi. Luckily I did! I got to the station, bought my ticket, and within minutes was leaving on the last bus of the day to the border. This particular Thai-Cambodian border is notorious for scams and I had been forewarned of what to expect by many travelers. The bus drops you off about 4km from the border so we had to take a tuk-tuk, 20 baht each. I am now with Eva, an Austrain girl who was on my bus. We're splitting room here in Battambang. There are a number of buildings that say "offical visa office" and try to make you pay to exit thailand which you should never do!! The tuk-tuk driver pulled into one of these buildings but I said no, no, border. After a tiny debate he turned around, continued about 25 meters then stopped. Which was the right place, except it doesn't look like "a border" especially nothing like a US border. There is no line or toll booth that distinguishes one side to another. A hint is that the Cambodian side has casinos that start immediately. But we found the actual official buildings and made it through okay. It was stressful getting a bus from there because they all leave in the morning, it was now 4 pm. A bus was just pulling away and was convienently going to Battambang. Eva had planned on going to Siem Reap but had to come on the same bus or wait there overnight. Which is nice because we're splitting an awesome room for just $5 each. This is the beginning of the end of my trip. Cambodia is my last country and I have a whole month to explore it! I will take a boat to Siem reap and see the temples of Angkor Wat. I have no plan but I think I'll head east from there, make my way back up the southern coast to Phnom Phen then back to Bangkok for the last time! Crazy how time flies.