One. Epic. Travel.

Disclaimer: This post is long as in! 6 days travel in one shot =)

It's always been my dilemma that after I'm gone from an amazing travel I will end up having a fucking withdrawal and I can't escape from it. What a fucking bummer! So yes I've been to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand last week with friend Ally. It was soo much fun I could totally say! 

It was an escape from the usual routine that I encounter everyday. Our first stop was Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam and we arrived very early Thursday. We did a city tour by our own because we weren't able to join a group's tour (late nagising hehe). 

And of course we tried PHO! Yum!

We took the last bus afternoon trip going to Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh. During the itinerary preparation, I read that it is advisable to stay overnight at PP because there will be another 7-hour travel to Siem Reap. (Best decision ever!) We crossed the Vietnam's border to Cambodia and It was just a get-off-the-bus-stamp-your-passport-get-on-the-bus-thing you know.

Siem Reap is our final destination and glad we did that because it's soo tiring to just sit in the bus for that long. After spending the night, at 7:30 AM the following day, we departed PP and started our journey to SR. Since the trip is pretty much bumpy, I didn't get the sleep that I wanted, nevertheless, it's fun looking outside and have a glimpse of rural Cambodia. Around 2:30 PM, we arrived at SR and a guy from the hotel fetched us at the bus terminal. The hotel was really nice considering it's cheap. We had a pretty good accommodation, I could say. It was comfy, clean and the meal was just right. 

The following day, we head to the famous Angkor Wat for a full day visit. It was exhilarating and had total goosebumps after seeing this magnificent UNESCO heritage site! Knowing it was built around 116 BC made the "effect" more chilling LOL. We hired tuk-tuk and we practically enjoyed site seeing on different big and small temples around it, including the Bayon Temple and the famous Ta Phrom Temple AKA the "Lara Croft Temple." All in all it was amazing!! 

We headed back to the hotel in the afternoon and spent the night at the city's Night Market (which is basically 10 minutes away from our accommodation). We had Khmer food, we bought some souvenirs, we had Swensen's (LOL) and just being lost wanderers =)

After packing and getting a hot, full shower, our 4th day has been done and we are ready to fly out to Bangkok the following day.

Our flight to Thailand's capital was 11:40 AM so we had an ample time in the morning to fix everything. Our transfer from the hotel to the airport was quick and so does our check-in. Internet was no problem so basically it's just chillin still and I LOVE IT! 

Typical breakfast in Cambodia

We arrived at Bangkok at around 2:00 PM. And the transfer from the Don Meung Airport to the BTS (or MRT or the train service to other countries) was a breeze! I couldn't believe that they have this efficient train services and I envied Thailand for having them. We have our LRT/MRT here in the country but it was MEH! Anyways, a stranger had helped us with getting on the train and where should we stop. I forgot her name but she's really really kind! From the Rachatewi station, we just walked for about 5-7 minutes and there we found our hotel which is nice, quiet and clean FOR A VERY CHEAP PRICE as well! I love all our accommodations in this trip. I particularly like Siem Reap's and BKK's.

After we had a very good lunch at the hotel's restaurant, which includes an authentic pad thai of course, we went to the famous Chatuchak Market and haggled to the best that we can. It was fun roaming around a HUGE, MASSIVE shopping stores and buy whatever you want! I have things in mind to buy (and since this is my second time in BKK) I became picky of what to buy and such.

After probably of three hours of going around Chatuchak, we decided to go to the Siam Paragon/Siam Center to have dinner! We took the train again and in no time we were at the shopping centers already (though the fare's a bit pricey it's "understandable" because the service is very efficient and the trains are clean). 

I had pad thai again because you know we were in BKK haha! 

The following day, we headed to the Ancient Siam (Mueang Boran) in Samut Prakan, 45 minutes away from BKK. We decided to go here because apart from the great reviews on TripAdvisor, you get to see famous Thai tourist destinations at one shot. I've been to the Grand Palace the first time in 2010 and damn it was packed. So going here is a great decision though! Ancient Siam is actually an "outdoor museum/park" and we hired a golf cart for 2 hours to roam around the huge park. 

Ally is the ultimate (reckless LOL) driver for the day and we practically just enjoyed every bit of Ancient Siam! 

After spending the whole morning and afternoon, we went back to the classy, upscale, pang-sosyal Siam Paragon haha and had dinner there. I had to post "proofs" that ramen and gyoza are basically cheap here and ours are really ginto sa presyo. We had beef and seafood ramen (which probably cost 124 pesos) and 6 pcs gyoza 63 baht roughly 94 pesos lang! Any ramen addict can attest that these are really cheap!

When we were done with our food tripping and a li'l sale shopping, we went back to the hotel and decided to go Pratunam for more BARGAIN shopping. And of course BKK never disappoints when it comes to cheap, bargain shopping! 

Thanks Ally for capturing Ronald McDonald on the signature BKK/Thai pose =)

The next day is our flight going back to Manila. Since I researched on how to get to the Suvarnabhumi airport without busting your pocket on pricey taxi fare, it is soo much easy. We took their fabulous 30-minute airport train express for a cheap 45 Baht or roughly 60 pesos. How I wish Philippines has these things though. 

It was so memorable I could relieve all of it anytime. One of the best trips for me, considering we had planned it months and months ahead. It was on a budget but still practically enjoy the food, the sceneries and of course the experience. I've been thinking of going to Angkor Wat long long time ago and it did come true years later =)

And thank you to my gym buddy friend Ally for being a great travel companion! Till the next adventure! =)

Take vacations. Go as many places as you can. You can always make money, you can't always make memories.

PS: If you got in here this far, congratulations! haha. And thank you for reading! You can leave a message at the comment section anytime! =)