The Journey.

I'd always intended to do most of my travelling overland. It hadn't worked out from Malaysia to Thailand, but Thailand to Cambodia seemed more promising. I could have got the bus from Khao Yai (the national park), which involved several changes, but I decided to go back to Bangkok to get the direct bus to Siem Reap. They drop you off at the border, and wait for you on the other side. You can even leave everything on the bus (as long as you've got your passport!).

I had booked my ticket the day before, so all I needed to do was get to the bus station. The hostel staff told me it was too far to walk, so I ignored them and walked - it was half an hour. As I got closer to the bus station, it became apparent just how much rain there had been the night before, and I had to wade, ankle deep, through a couple of fairly major lakes that were once roads. The buses still seemed to be running though, and one entrepreneurial Thai had even set up a little ferry cart across one particularly wet patch!

I got to the bus and was relieved to find other westerners. The Thai-Cambodia border is pretty notorious for scams and dodgy visas, and the hope of travelling with other English speaking travellers was another factor in coming back to Bangkok.

The first half of the journey went without a hitch, some snacks, lots of naps, and a toilet stop. As we got close to the border, the bus steward (for want of a better word...) warned us of one of the usual scams (paying for arrival cards - 100 baht - they're free!) and myself, the English couple behind me, two German girls and an Aussie guy (travelling with his philippino wife who didn't need a visa) agreed to stick together to make sure we got the right thing!

We were dropped off outside an office, and there was a sign saying visas. A friendly Thai guy asked me for my passport which I held out. He took it off me and asked where my photo was (you need a passport photo to get a Cambodian visa, but you can also pay for one at the Cambodian visa office, which I was intending to do). Suddenly he was whisking me off to get a photo and at this point, alarm bells were ringing, but he had my passport in his hand, so I was following him! He took me to somewhere where I could get a photo (for a price - 150 baht for the photo and 1600 baht for the visa. More than I should have been paying!) but I replied firmly that I knew I could get them at the Cambodian visa office, and after a couple of firm No's he handed my passport back and pointed the way to the Thai departure office, where I caught up with the English couple and the Aussie. The German girls had been caught up in the scam, just like I almost had.

We made our way through departure, and into this bizarre no man's land between Thailand and Cambodia, which can be accurately described as the land time forgot. It's full of men pulling wooden carts (usually empty when I was there) and huge modern casinos. A bit further on there was the visa office. A non descript building with very few signs, but definitely the right place. We paid for our visas (US$30 - I paid an extra $5 for my lack of photo) and carried on to arrivals, where we were given departure cards for free, and our visas got stamped, before we got back on to our bus - first ones back! I was so glad that I had found other people to go through the process with.

The German girls (along with a Russian girl that I hadn't even realised was on the coach) had paid almost double for "express visas" which meant they filled in the same form, but a man went to the embassy for them with their forms and passports whilst they waited. On this day, they were slower than us by about 10 minutes - so much for express!

The rest of the journey was plain sailing, and the hostel I am staying in even organised transport for me, so there was a man waiting with my name on a card!

Early night tonight so I can watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat tomorrow - bring on Cambodia!!