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Hello Everyone!
Well....Our tummy bug from the last blog proceeded to last for another 4 days so we didn't get up to much more in Vang Vieng. We did manage to hire some bikes and visit the nearby caves. What they don't tell you in that the cave entrance is halfway up a cliff! We were absolutely shattered by the time we reached it and wimped out of exploring them too deeply.
We traveled to Vietiane (Laos capital) by minibus and Jo got the short straw and the uncomfortable 'spare' seat that was more like a stool (Matt did offer to swap!). After 5 hours we arrive in the baking midday sun. We didnt visit anything in the Capital as it took a while to find somewhere to stay, it was too hot and we wanted to get moving to Cambodia.
The next morning we caught a bus to the Laos/Thai border known as the 'friendship bridge'. Notice we said Laos/Thai border on the way to Cambodia....oh yes this was gonna be a long journey! We had planned to catch the first sleeper train from Nong Khai (Thai side of the border) to Bangkok. But guess what... it was another Thai holiday in which even the locals had no idea what it was for so all the trains were fully booked for the next 2 days. We ended up staying in a grotty guesthouse with a pervy manager (Sawasdee guesthouse if you're wondering). Fortunatly we found a delightful cafe restaurant to while away the time (Mut Mee). They informed us that there was a bus heading to Bangkok which had big reclining chairs with massage function!! We booked it for the next evening and spent the rest of our time in Nong Khai cycling round and drinking tea.
The bus lived up to expectations. Its called a Super VIP bus! We enjoyed the massage function and the free cake and water as we settled in expecting to arriove in Bangkok at half 7 in the morning. Imagine our suprise when woken from a deep sleep at THREE THIRTY AM to find a completely empty bus except for us. We were in Bangkok! The mental bus driver had made up 4 hours somehow. With the help of some friendly (and more awake) locals we found the bus stand to take us to the Cambodian border at Aranya Prathat. It left at half four am and arrived at half nine am. On the bus we met a nice Cambodian guy who helped us get our visas and cross the border.
We got across the border with no problems and took a taxi to Siam Reap (the quickest and most reliable method). After the scariest two and a half hours of rally driving we got into Siam Reap intact. The next day we chilled out and watched movies at the guesthouse. Over the proceeding 3 days we explored Angkor Wat and surrounding temples. We were very good and saved money by cycling to and from the temples for the first two days. This required getting up at 4 am each day to do our exploring in the cool of the morning. On our last day at the temples we slept in and took a tuk tuk (!) to see Angkor Wat at sunset. Amazingly only one other person decided to wait on the eastside to get the best view. See the photos!
After another day of relaxing we headed to Phnom Penh where we sit now watching the sunset after a thunderous monsoon downpour. Matt has renamed Jo as 'tuk tuk lady?' which is what is shouted at her when we're out and about. Over the next few days we plan to visit the Killing Fields and S21 museum, as well as sorting out our Vietnam visa.
See you all soon!
Matt and Jo x x x
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