Aug 21 2006
Asia 2006
Sitting in MBK right now, in a white leather chair checking my mail after seeing Snakes on a plane.
Two tickets in empty thearter – 200THB
Tuk-Tuk to MBK – 150THB
Dinner for two – 600THB
Sitting in MBK right now, in a white leather chair checking my mail after seeing Snakes on a plane.
Two tickets in empty theater – 200THB
Tuk-Tuk to MBK – 150THB
Dinner for two – 600THB
Got a balcony room again (which is already trashed) at the hotel, last years was better though, far nicer bathroom. Blah though.
The plane was ok. As expected the in-flight movies were awful, an intro to Thailand show, and some basketball movie with dancing.
I’m glad I had my laptop.
Hmmmmm….perhaps tomorrow http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantip_Plaza
Day 2:
Spent today sleeping, wandering around MBK eating random things and buying silk shirts. – 6000thb 
Got Taters his student card – 160THB
Bought three zappy pens, tried and failed to get the old lady vendor to shock herself – 500thb
Had some ice cream, spent a few hours in the pool, took cuppy swimming.
Hoping I can post this tonight, taking my laptop to the lobby to use wireless. I tried the inroom connection….its ADSL and I couldn’t get sync……lol
Got a haircut last night at the usual place in patpong – 250thb quite disappointed though, last time the service was much better.
Really sleepy.
Found the stingray wallets I was looking for….not sure though, they want 1000thb ($40) for them.
Thinking bad thoughts about Xbox 360s…..other gaming hardware I’ve seen is @ about 50% of retail price in
Australia
. 3000thb for a Nintendo DS…..
Bad thoughts.
23rd
mbk
Patpong
24th
Pantip plaza.� Spent half the day there. It was amazing. Pity I’m so poor. PICS!
25th
Bought two one way tickets to
Cambodia. Perhaps this time I’ll make the plain ontime. Live and learn I guess.
26th
Arrived at the airport early. Took a relaxing hour flight into Phnom Penh at 06:35. It was already really hot.
Only spent a few hours in PP this time, went to the kings Palace again for some photos and back to the gun range.
It was just as dodgy as last time with guns jamming and being hit on the ground. I fired a M16, a AK47 on full auto and threw a grenade.
At 80USD it was fun but expensive. I wont go there again with under $500 to spend on rocket launchers and the like.
Afterwards we told our driver (random one at the airport) that we wanted to go to Siem Reip, we haggled for awhile refusing his initial high price and he arranged to get his fathers car and a friend to drive us.
Petrol was $1.40US a liter there, the second car was LPG and awesome. He drove for three+ hours at over 100kph beeping at other road users ever twenty seconds or so.
With about 20mins remaining of the drive we decided to stay at a guest house named the “dead fish”
Awesome place. I’d consider going back to SR just to drink there.
After checking into the only available room we grabbed the SR version of a tuk-tuk and headed to Angor Wat for sunset. Very nice even with the rain and little kids wanting to sell stuff.
27th
5am start today. Had the same driver meet us and take us to Angor wat again for sunrise which was awesome. So many white people with cameras though.
After wandering around for awhile we headed back to our driver and wer pounced on by local kids, the same ones, wanting to sell us lonely planetbooks and handmade jewelery.
From there it was across the parking lot to a cafe for an American breakfast and fruit and off to the other temples in the area.
Frankly I was more entertained by watching a shop/markey burn down than the other temples. Sure they were pretty but for the most part it was very busy, more so as we were leaving. Glad we started early.
From there we went to the local zoo. Very depressing. I did get a bear to fight by accident and have a monkey pee in my hair though.
Then off to the original land mine museum, the goverment one sucks.
Then off on a magical boatride complete with a Floating market, village thing that sells overpriced stuff built over a fish farm.
Back to the deadfish for drinkies, dinner and sleep before wandering back to Bangkok via a dodgy bus service.
28th
Woke up on time, proceeded to throw rubbish into the ceiling fan until showered with spit balls. Best shower I could hope to have there as the bathroom was a tiled room with a toilet and a hose on the wall.
Wandered outside to check out of the dead fish. Perfectly on time. The bus arrived 35minutes later. Bastards. It was an 8
Seater minivan thing with about 12 people in it. Thankfully it only took us to the bus station where we would wait for our
Comfort wagon of pillows, aircon and happiness depicted on the tickets. Having read and researched the whole
Cambodia
bus
Scene I was unsurprised at what actually arrived.
I sat next to a monk for 5 hours with my arm out the window and my knee jammed into a metal plate, 5 hours of the bus
Wheezing along the ruined potholed, dusty balled roads. It would have been unbearable were it not for the view. When we
Eventually arrived in Poipet we went through customs and departures, usual stuff, and then we walked the 200meters between
Cambodia
and
Thailand
past all the casinos, beggars and hippies.
The Poipet-Bangkok bus was much nicer. Still the total travel time was 11.5 hours.
Went from the bus to a tuktuk to the room to drop off our stuff and straight into the pool. I was wearing all my clothes. When I first jumped in I could see the red dust on the surface of the pool.
29th
Sitting around watching TV, nursing sunburn from the bus…also broke the toilet. Its 11am.
30th
Wandered around MBK for a few hours. Found an elusive Xbox 360.
�
+1 Xbox 360
+1 Mod chip
+3 games
+1 extra wireless controller.
+1 HDD
Just over $500AUD
Got dead rising
Chrono hounds
Need for speed
I was so sad when I found that I couldn’t plug it into the hotel TV
�
31st
Went to bangkok Safari Park with Mr boon (same guy from last year) drove around in his car looking at lions and bears oh my.
Picked up stuff from tailor. In a taxi, made him take us back to the hotel and back out again. Taxi meters are damned cheap.
Night markets in Bangkok are the shit. Found a new one with a ferris wheel and beers and….stuff to buy.
1st
Found the Penis temple.
Tried and failed to get to the forensic medicine museum. Got there about 10mins after it closed.
2nd
Didn’t sleep at all. Sat around trying to read and failing, I never can sleep before a flight. Missing it is disaster.
Spent four hours drinking and peeing over, and later on the balcony, threw a few cd’s into the night, almost got a tuk-tuk
With a plastic bottle, watching bad TV.
�
By four thirty if should have been tired enough to sleep, but it was not to be as it was checkout time. I always checkout a
little early to allow time to deal with extra charges, forgotten items things like that. It went smoothly, the manager
expressed surprised that we had a room for two weeks 
�
The airport was as expected. Gay. Not in a good way either with rainbows and ponies, the remainder of the day was all about
pain.
�
45 min cue through security. Line doubled up.
Boarding call that had us stand in an unmoving line for 30 mins.
Sat in plane for about 60 mins…they kicked a terrorist off or something and needed to unload his bags.
Shafted into middle seats despite what we booked.
Full plane.
They moved a family with a baby three rows up from up.
A crying baby.
A crying shitting baby.
Aircon sucked as usual so the plane stunk.
Drinks trolley available TWICE in first 9 hours.
No customary hot face washers until the last leg of the flight.
No water available apparently apart from the shit galley brew.
Turbulence.
Crap fell down over the rear left exit.
Did I mention the crying shitting stinking baby?
Spare seat next to me, Asian lady one across tried to sleep on it…I farted on her head, loudly.
Forgot to charge the laptop internal battery.
Didn’t think to remove the laptop internal battery to stop the external charging it. Still got 5 hours though.
Landed in
Sydney
, rough landing.
Announcement to disembark, everyone gets carry on, stands in isle.
10 mins later they open the door.
Captain announced on the intercom that transit passengers can stay onboard.
5 seconds later 5 of us are arguing with a flight attendant tell us to get off.
Attendant calls it in.
We get off, at the end of the security line. 45 mins to get through and back on the plane.
After security we have to reboard within 2 mins.
Boarding is retarded. People with no English trying to get transit passengers on first.
Same shit seats naturally.
Overhead taken. Naturally.
Waiting for ages…no take off, pilot eventually tells us on the intercom that the plane has been damaged, and it is being
Assessed.
Pilot eventually tells us that they are doing temporary repairs. Hour delay.
Eventually take off, again no drinks, face washers though.
More turbulence.
Another rough landing.
The airport was good this time. Saw someone from our flight being busted for drugs & made it through customs without a full
search. First time ever.
So yeah that’s my trip.
