Our time at Angkor Wat drew to a close and we prepared for the overland journey to Thailand. We were sad to leave Siem Reap and Cambodia. We really had grown to enjoy the town, the people, the food and their optimistic outlook on life, but alas, it was time to move. We spent our last Kip, the national currency of Cambodia, because it is illegal to take it out of the country and hired a driver for 3 hours and $25 to ferry us to the Cambodia/Thailand border crossing.
We read many border crossing horror stories as various Thai visa websites detail the unwelcome grilling we should expect at the overland crossing. It was suggested we carry printed outward bound tickets, bank account statements and a detailed itinerary to show border officials, so we prepared accordingly.
The ride to the border was a frenetically Grand Prix at 85 mph in a 1985 Toyota Camry down one of the only paved two lane roads in Cambodia (Chinese built) dodging homemade trackers, water buffalo, goats, people, scooters and the occasional kids. We arrived, white knuckled from squeezing the life out of the door handles, stamped out of Cambodia and walked over the 300 yards of desolate neutral zone between the countries, which can only be described as a no-man's land strewn only with trash and the occasional military official sleeping in their brand new Range Rovers, fat and happy from the bribes and kick back's they receive. In a country that is so poor its unbelievable the amount of luxury cars you see, especially Lexus SUV's.
Unfortunately, we have no horror stories to add to the list, the customs official looked us up and down, glanced at our passports and then regaled us with stories about his daughter who lives in Northern Virginia (small world). After passport control, we proceed to hire a taxi to Bangkok, again at breakneck speeds before ML couldn't take it anymore and had to tell the driver that driving 100 mph (no joke) was not going to work for us (this would not be the last time we would have to slow down Thai drivers). Unfortunately, when you come into Thailand through an overland route, you only receive a 14 day visa and then you have to leave the country, so our plan for Thailand involved hitting all the sights in Bangkok, heading to the islands in the Gulf of Thailand and then heading to Laos through Bangkok.
Most tour books will describe Bangkok as a hot, muggy, dirty, traffic stricken, morally ambiguous city and based on our experience, they are all right. The traffic is crazy, the air constantly overcast (not as bad as Beijing, but bad) and it is hot! So we concentrated our efforts on hitting the few cultural sites within city limits and then focused on perfecting the most cherished Thai pastimes, eating, drinking, shopping and sleeping - after all two months of travel deserves a little break.
When you meet any traveler in SE Asia, they inevitably describe the incurable disease known as Temple-itis, the symptoms appear slowly, but once they set it, it's incurable. SE Asia may be lacking in a number of things: such as transparent government, clean public toilets w/toilet paper, wine, money, and a coordinated "clean up all this damn trash" day, but the one thing they have an abundance of is Temples. Every town you visit has temples, shopping malls have temples, houses have temples, stores have temples and even bathrooms have temples, needless to say, they are everywhere. Below is a temple built outside the countries largest shopping mall, talking about praying to the God's of Capitalism.
When we arrived to Bangkok, ML & AB were suffering from Temple-itis, however we were persuaded by various sources to check out the Wat Phra Kaew (the Grand Palace), which is described as the most revered and holiest of all the temples in Thailand. Also it is the site of the fabled Emerald Buddha, which no-one may touch, save the King, who changes it clothes three times a year.
These guys are demons holding up the chedi.
Here is AB doing his best demon impression.
Finally, here is the Emerald Budda in his royal garb.
As you can see from the photos above it did not disappoint, the temple was amazing and although the pictures do not do it enough justice, every single sculpture and building is covered in beautiful glass mosaics with gilded gold leaf statues and amazingly detailed paintings. After the Grand Palace we visited Wat Pho, revered for it's 150 foot long gold leaf covered Reclining Buddha complete with mother-of-pearl inlaid soles.
Finally our cultural immersion finished with a trip down the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), which is the most celebrated temple in Bangkok and is pictured on all Thai money. To reach this temple we risked life and limb on the famous Chao Phraya River boats that ferry locals and tourist up and down the river at Daytona 500 worth speeds (seriously they don't know the meaning of slow down). Fortunately, the river approach made for amazing scenery, even though the climb to the upper levels was challenging given the heat.
We read many border crossing horror stories as various Thai visa websites detail the unwelcome grilling we should expect at the overland crossing. It was suggested we carry printed outward bound tickets, bank account statements and a detailed itinerary to show border officials, so we prepared accordingly.
The ride to the border was a frenetically Grand Prix at 85 mph in a 1985 Toyota Camry down one of the only paved two lane roads in Cambodia (Chinese built) dodging homemade trackers, water buffalo, goats, people, scooters and the occasional kids. We arrived, white knuckled from squeezing the life out of the door handles, stamped out of Cambodia and walked over the 300 yards of desolate neutral zone between the countries, which can only be described as a no-man's land strewn only with trash and the occasional military official sleeping in their brand new Range Rovers, fat and happy from the bribes and kick back's they receive. In a country that is so poor its unbelievable the amount of luxury cars you see, especially Lexus SUV's.
Unfortunately, we have no horror stories to add to the list, the customs official looked us up and down, glanced at our passports and then regaled us with stories about his daughter who lives in Northern Virginia (small world). After passport control, we proceed to hire a taxi to Bangkok, again at breakneck speeds before ML couldn't take it anymore and had to tell the driver that driving 100 mph (no joke) was not going to work for us (this would not be the last time we would have to slow down Thai drivers). Unfortunately, when you come into Thailand through an overland route, you only receive a 14 day visa and then you have to leave the country, so our plan for Thailand involved hitting all the sights in Bangkok, heading to the islands in the Gulf of Thailand and then heading to Laos through Bangkok.
Most tour books will describe Bangkok as a hot, muggy, dirty, traffic stricken, morally ambiguous city and based on our experience, they are all right. The traffic is crazy, the air constantly overcast (not as bad as Beijing, but bad) and it is hot! So we concentrated our efforts on hitting the few cultural sites within city limits and then focused on perfecting the most cherished Thai pastimes, eating, drinking, shopping and sleeping - after all two months of travel deserves a little break.
When you meet any traveler in SE Asia, they inevitably describe the incurable disease known as Temple-itis, the symptoms appear slowly, but once they set it, it's incurable. SE Asia may be lacking in a number of things: such as transparent government, clean public toilets w/toilet paper, wine, money, and a coordinated "clean up all this damn trash" day, but the one thing they have an abundance of is Temples. Every town you visit has temples, shopping malls have temples, houses have temples, stores have temples and even bathrooms have temples, needless to say, they are everywhere. Below is a temple built outside the countries largest shopping mall, talking about praying to the God's of Capitalism.
When we arrived to Bangkok, ML & AB were suffering from Temple-itis, however we were persuaded by various sources to check out the Wat Phra Kaew (the Grand Palace), which is described as the most revered and holiest of all the temples in Thailand. Also it is the site of the fabled Emerald Buddha, which no-one may touch, save the King, who changes it clothes three times a year.
These guys are demons holding up the chedi.
Finally, here is the Emerald Budda in his royal garb.
As you can see from the photos above it did not disappoint, the temple was amazing and although the pictures do not do it enough justice, every single sculpture and building is covered in beautiful glass mosaics with gilded gold leaf statues and amazingly detailed paintings. After the Grand Palace we visited Wat Pho, revered for it's 150 foot long gold leaf covered Reclining Buddha complete with mother-of-pearl inlaid soles.
aOur final cultural excursion in Bangkok was the Sri Mariamman Temple located in the Bang Rak district of the city and is one of only two Hindu temples in the city. It was built by Tamil immigrants with colorful and intriguing Hindu deities just like you would see in India. Below is one of our favorite goddesses and the colorful garlands you buy outside the temple and place on the statues inside.
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