MY Grand tour - Thailand ,Cambodia, Laos.

Bangkok (T) – Siem Reap (C ) –Kompong cham (C ) - Kratie (C ) – Don Dhet (L ) – Pakse (L) – Vientiane ( L ) – Luang Prabang (L) – Vientiane ( L) – BKK ( T) – Sukhothai (T) – Phitsanulok ( T) – BKK… aaaannnnd Back !!!!

There s probably enough substance to write a full novel about the excitement felt before I left for the trip and not to mention my general hatred for travel agents and the near nervous breakdown I had. But leaving all that aside , this trip was something BIG for me. BIG because ,firstly, I did not have to stand in front of my parents and say “please please ,just this once gimme some money” ( Yes!! I was traveling with my own hard earned money) and secondly because I planned the whole thing and hence – unplanned. And Oh yea.I should not forget about my brand new green backpack that I am sooooo in love with.

And now about the real tour….I ll try to make it as informative as possible without it sounding like some history lesson..

The first leg of our journey was Chennai – Bangkok and sometime in between spent sleep walking in Colombo airport. Once in BKK we went up to the “visa-on-arrival” queue. And people...do remember to specify that you want a multiple entry visa; if you want one of course. We changed our money in the airport itself and GOT OUT.Not knowing what to do and where to go after that. So we caught the airport shuttle to the city centre (150 B) and got dropped off by the Hua lamphong railway station. We had decided earlier that we d do BKK in the end that we would proceed to Cambodian border the same day. But on enquiry we learnt that accommodation might become a problem by the border.So we ended up staying in BKK that day. We checked in at the Siam Classic Guest house ( 2 seater with common toilets @ 600 B /night and amazingly clean).This Guest house is located a few blocks away from the Railway station and hence very convenient.
So after that, we booked our train tickets to Aranyaprathet located on the Thai side of the border at the Hualamphong station for the next day (46 B).Then we took a tuk tuk to Dusit palace where the arts and crafts patronaged by the present King and Queen are showcased.But this being a palace, remember to cover up properly.The tuk tuk driver then dropped us by a pier on the Chao phraya river.We walked past a local market selling all sorts of food items I ve never seen before.Anyway at the pier we caught the ferry to someplace where we thought our hotel was.But we had gotten off at the wrong place.Since we had a map in hand we just walked around,got lost in China town,and walked and walked and finally reached Rama 1V road where our hotel was.We had dinner at one of the café s closeby and then SNOREEEE….