Ban Laem. A Taste of Cambodia.

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Ban Laem, Cambodia

My 30 day Thailand visa that was given to me on arrival was about to expire so my options to extend another 30 days in Thailand were to fly international or take a bus to the border. While flipping through the Bangkok Post, there was a tour company called Fine Day Tours which had an advertisement for 2000 Baht ($50 USD) for a 7 hour trip to and from the Cambodian border. The tour company did an exceptional job and the 7 hours wasn’t so bad.

While arriving to the border there was a dramatic difference between the two countries. I know not to judge a country by its borders but there was a huge difference in the quality of life. If Thailand is a 2nd or 3rd world country then Cambodia is definitely 3rd or 4th world. The asphalt literally stopped and the dirt roads began. There were many people begging for money and disabled, probably evidence of the recent genocide and civil conflicts in the 1970’s. Amongst the border town there was dusty air, children without shoes and in all due respect a primitive lifestyle presence. But I really can’t have my honest opinion of Cambodia until I see more of the country, which this tempting trip to the border definitely inspired.

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The Ruins In Ayutthaya

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Ayutthaya, Thailand

My day trip to the former royal capital, Ayutthaya (a-yu-thia) was a worthy trip away from Bangkok. The whole experience of taking a train in Thailand was just fun in itself. On the train ride heading out of Bangkok, it was an experience to see all the poor families living near the tracks. I always wonder what happens when the monsoon season arrives and the water starts to rise, what will happen to those people?

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The Trek Life in Chiang Mai

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Chiang Mai, Thailand

I was able to make a 2 day visit up north to Chiang Mai. At first when I arrived I thought to myself “where are the elephants?”, the place looked just like another city. After walking around and figuring it out, I realized that Chiang Mai is just a place to sleep and most of the adventure is in the surrounding hills. But the city itself I found quite welcoming, relaxing, and really inexpensive compared to Bangkok and Koh Samui. Chiang Mai is probably the favorite of many farrangs traveling through Thailand. While in Chang Mai I actually witnessed more older Western men and their Thai lady loves’ . Aside from the sites to see and things to do in Thailand, I just find some things very interesting, but very cool & open.

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Koh Samui. Paradise Island or Dangerous Island?

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Koh Samui. It’s A Dangerous Paradise

You couldn’t pay me to go back to Samui. If it was not for the company of friends I had on the island I would’ve left on the first day. Samui WAS paradise, was in the sense that it’s destroyed now and getting overdeveloped as a result of the demands of Westerners. It’s just another place where Europeans [who fly into to Bangkok transfer on a plane to Samui and then fly back to Europe[ go. These Europeans seem like they just want a beach, a tan, some beer and a cheap shag. It’s almost the European version of a bad spring break vacation with pubs, English breakfasts, Italian cuisines and maybe some bits and pieces of Thailand. Oh, I forgot, yes, there is a little bit of Thailand… how about the sex industry?

I’d like to build up Koh Samui as a great place to visit but I think there are far better islands to see where you can actually relax. Ko Pag Ngan I hear is pretty nice or Ko Tao.

Funny Danger

Samui is very dangerous. The roads are not only a play ground for Westerners to strut their stuff on motorbikes, but a battleground for fatal injuries. No joke. Every moment feels as if you are risking your life and about to have a head on colision. I even had my own Koh Samui scars which are my souvenirs of the place.

In Samui there are people everywhere who have been injured from motorbikes. While in a store I ran into a Euro who had broke his collarbone, destroyed the left part of his face, eyes bloodshot, arm in a cast, and metal plates in his fingers. He was riding down the street, when a dog jumped in front of him and he went flying in the air with his bike. Ironically his son was also hit by an out of control motorcylist on a different occasion during the same week! Imagine that!

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