Thailand calling and the journey starts with a ride the back of a moped....
The bus, a 'Ford Transit Mini Bus', is supposed to collect me from Victory Hill before whisking me away to the international airport at the nations capitol city, so how surprised am I when I am told to jump onto this old moped - well, not that surprised actually. Cambodia, time keeping and sticking to the rules of sale somehow don't always gel thus the international visitor can be left somewhat flummoxed, even bewildered. Downtown then on an overloaded moped, looking for the transport office - hopefully they haven't left without me.
The minibus is waiting, my $8 ticket seems to be in order after some scrutiny and off we go, bumping along highway number 4 northbound under a grey sky that's getting darker by the mile! Nothing to do for the next 4 hours except listen to the Ipod, take a nap, and hope for a comfort stop about halfway.
Getting out of the country is pretty straight forward - 10 minutes from bag drop to departure lounge with no major concerns despite having 1.5 KG of a powdery substance in my aircraft hold baggage! Maybe getting into Thailand won't be so easy!
Just a short flight across to Bangkok, in cloud so quite turbulent but nothing for a seasoned traveller to worry about. 50 minutes and the plane is touching down at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport, the city's original international airport now the home to a plethora of low cost operators and the Thai airforce. From plan to street, about 15 minutes without any interrogation from the authorities, not that I have anything to hide of course. A bus stand right outside the airport and situated on the downtown highway. Bus 59 go's all the way to Khao San Road according to research, so, I hand over 85p, sit back and hope for the best. And the roads are jam packed with traffic as far as the eye can see - welcome to Bangkok.
The bus, a 'Ford Transit Mini Bus', is supposed to collect me from Victory Hill before whisking me away to the international airport at the nations capitol city, so how surprised am I when I am told to jump onto this old moped - well, not that surprised actually. Cambodia, time keeping and sticking to the rules of sale somehow don't always gel thus the international visitor can be left somewhat flummoxed, even bewildered. Downtown then on an overloaded moped, looking for the transport office - hopefully they haven't left without me.
The minibus is waiting, my $8 ticket seems to be in order after some scrutiny and off we go, bumping along highway number 4 northbound under a grey sky that's getting darker by the mile! Nothing to do for the next 4 hours except listen to the Ipod, take a nap, and hope for a comfort stop about halfway.
Getting out of the country is pretty straight forward - 10 minutes from bag drop to departure lounge with no major concerns despite having 1.5 KG of a powdery substance in my aircraft hold baggage! Maybe getting into Thailand won't be so easy!
Just a short flight across to Bangkok, in cloud so quite turbulent but nothing for a seasoned traveller to worry about. 50 minutes and the plane is touching down at Bangkok's Don Mueang airport, the city's original international airport now the home to a plethora of low cost operators and the Thai airforce. From plan to street, about 15 minutes without any interrogation from the authorities, not that I have anything to hide of course. A bus stand right outside the airport and situated on the downtown highway. Bus 59 go's all the way to Khao San Road according to research, so, I hand over 85p, sit back and hope for the best. And the roads are jam packed with traffic as far as the eye can see - welcome to Bangkok.
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