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I wasn't sure whether do to an entry from Bangkok as I'm really only passing through, but it is somewhere I've now been so I guess it deserves it's own entry.
Let me first say how much I hate it! Like Quang Ngai, it is a nightmare to do anything in! When I arrived at the airport I was advised by the tourist information to stay in the Phaya Thai district so that is where I took the Sky Train took. However when I got off there were absolutely no hotels or guesthouses in sight bar a couple of 5 star monstrosities which obviously were not in my backpacker budget. After about an hour of wandering the streets and looking down dodgy alleys I finally found a guesthouse which was grimy and overpriced but I was so tired by this stage that I decided to settle for it. Of course this made me want to leave Bangkok as soon as was humanly possible so I set out to find some travel agencies in order to book a bus to Siem Reap. Although the situation wasn't quite as bad as it was in Quang Ngai, the only bus to Siem Reap was being quoted at over $40 which is ridiculous because the bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok can be had for under $10!! I refused to pay the amount and bought a bus ticket to the border for the similarly overpriced amount of $17 and as I've crossed there before coming back from Koh Chang I know it's possible to buy a ticket for just a few dollars.
All this messing about had put me in such a terrible mood so I tried to alleviate it by going to one of the many shopping malls that Bangkok contains. They really are impressive; floors and floors of clothes, electronics and anything else you could possibly want at fairly reasonable prices. Unfortunately the overpriced bus ticket and room rate had considerably diminished my purseful of Baht so I wasn't able to buy much and instead treated myself to the Western experience of going to the cinema.
I cannot wait to return to Siem Reap!
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