Planes, Tuk-tuks, and Automobiles

Short Version:

Technically our trek to Asia started when we left San Sebastian to go to Madrid where we had a 30 hour layover, in order to fly to London where we had a 3 hour layover, where we took a plane to Germany for another 3 hour layover, and finally got on an 11 hour flight to Thailand. By the time we arrived in Bangkok, we had spent the last 2 nights either in an airplane or at the airport (0r getting our camera stolen). We spent one night in Bangkok before getting on a bus at 7 AM and riding on it until we got to the Cambodian border, around noon. We sat sweating at the border for a few hours getting our visas and walking across with our backpacks (you can only walk, not drive, across the border). On the other side of the border we rode in a taxi for 2 hours to the town of Siem Reap, where we were meeting Scott and Andrea. Once we got to the town we got on a tuk-tuk, who took us all over the place looking for an internet cafe so I could check my e-mail to see where Andrea had said to meet them. We found internet, I found out the name of the hotel, the tuk-tuk managed to get us there, and we had a very happy reunion with Scott and Andrea. And then we fell asleep.

A Little More....

After our night in the airport in Madrid, we got up at 4 AM to get on our plane to London. We got to London for a layover, and flew to Germany. Both of these flights were short and painless, and the layovers were fine also. We finally got on the plane to Thailand, although we didn't know it was going to be 11 hours long. Airplanes are probably the WORST place to try and sleep. We were so desperate, I actually tried sleeping on the floor in the 6 inches of space between our seats and seats in front of us. But then my legs had nowhere to go so my knees were bent backwards trying to fit under the seat. And Jordi's legs had nowhere to go, so they were squishing my already precarious position. It obviously did not work out very well, and I resigned myself to watching all 3 movies and countless TV shows.

Eventually we did land, thank goodness, and got off the plane. We were blessed to not have to wait in line for customs (if the line was anything like it was when we got to London, I might have cried), and we got our bags right away too. Then we had to figure out where to go....There were signs for taxi's and busses to "the In Ercity" which I though was funny. There was a couple from our plane that were waiting for a taxi, so I asked them if they spoke English, which they did, and where they were going. We ended up sharing a taxi with them, and staying at the same hotel as them that night. They were a very sweet couple from Europe, and lifesavers for us! We showed up at the hotel and got a room with air conditioning. The hotel even had a rooftop pool! It was really nice, and we went swimming right away, which felt amazing!! All this for $20! What a relief, after being in Europe! We had arrived in Bangkok in the morning, and wanted to stay awake until the afternoon for jet lag. So after our swim, we hit the streets. Good, cheap food every way you turn, rivers of people and tuk-tuks, sidewalks and streets bustling with activity, warm lazy air - so glorious!! We got the most amazing fresh squeezed orange juice for about 25 cents! We walked around for little while, and then went to a salon where Jordi could get a haircut while I got a massage. They asked me which kind of massage I wanted. My options were 'Thai' or 'Swedish'.

"What's the difference between the two?" I asked.

"One is pressure points, one is just relax," the lady answered me.

Well, after being on airplanes for days, a half hour of strategic pressure sounded pretty good. So I went for a Thai massage, and I had half an hour to regret my decision.

"Follow me."

So I followed her upstairs to a big room with a whole bunch of mattresses on the ground.

"Lie down."

So I lied down on a mattress, face down. All of the sudden I felt my shoulder being ripped apart from the rest of my back. I almost cried "OH MY GOSH FOR THE LOVE PLEASE STOP!!!" and ran out of the room. But instead I grit my teeth, scrunched up my face, and tried to think of Disneyland.

After the limb tearing ended came the stampede of horses. I do not know how this tiny little Thai woman felt like a 2 ton horse trampling me, but she did. And then her pointy elbow would find some crevice to twist and turn in, meanwhile my eyeballs were rolling to the back of my head.

After she slapped me around a little more, she said "Done" and left the room, leaving me slightly dazed and confused. I got up and found my way back down the stairs to see Jordi still lying in the chair getting his hair washed and his scalp massaged.

"What? How does your hair wash last longer than my massage??"

Anyways, the luxurious haircut finally ended, and we continued to meander the streets for a while, before finding a good place for "dinner" (it was about 3 PM). I got Pad Thai and Jordi got a delicious coconut soup, and we relaxed there for a bit before heading back to our hotel. At 4 PM we were dead asleep on our amazing bed!

7 AM the next morning we got on the bus to take us to the border. It was actually a large van, not your average bus, which was really nice. The roads in Thailand are great, and they even stopped a couple times to give us a stretching or eating break. At one rest stop we saw a huge horned rhinoceros beetle lying dead on the ground.

"Whoa!! Gross!" Jord said.

Our bus driver came up behind us to look.

"Delicious!" he explained to us.

We made it to the border before noon, and had to do all our paperwork and get visas, which took about an hour. Then we had to walk to the first building where we waited in line for Thailand to let us out. Then we went to another building where we waited in line to give them our Good Health certificate. Then we went to another building and waited in another line for Cambodia to let us in. Finally we were done, and we got a taxi with a Canadian guy we met to take us to Siem Reap, where we were going to meet up with Scott and Andrea. The taxi took a little while getting out of town: First, we stopped at somebody's house where the driver got out, unloaded everybody's backpacks, and then him and some other guy stuffed some sort of car machinery inside the trunk, then loaded up the backpacks, smooshed them until they fit and the trunk closed. Then we went to someone else's house where they unloaded the backpacks again, filled up the oil container, and loaded the backpacks again, continuously pounding on the trunk until it closed. Then we went somewhere else where the taxi drivers friend who was in the front seat got out. Then finally we were on our way! Once we were on our way, it only took about 2 hours.

We got to the town of Siem Reap, and got on a tuk-tuk that was supposed to take us to an internet cafe, so I could check my e-mail to see where Andrea had said to meet. I told the driver we wanted an internet cafe and he said something, followed by "free for you!"

"Wait...why is it free for us?" I asked him.

It was free if we stayed the night at this certain hotel.

"No no no," I explained, "We're meeting my sister at a hotel, we can't stay at that hotel, sorry. Just an internet cafe please."

He responded with something else that also ended in "free for you!"

I asked him why this was free for us also, and it was because it was at his house, or something, but we could use his computer if we would hire him for the whole time we were in Siem Reap to be our driver. We couldn't do that either because Scott and Andrea had already hired a driver, so eventually we got to an internet cafe. He dropped us off at the right hotel, and we finally got to see Scott and Andrea!!