We got a real feel for local living by waiting for the bus outside of the airport that whisked us away to the MRT (train). More than anything, it made me nostalgic for my last home, Chicago. A moment, a smell, a song, that's all it takes sometimes. The best part of my time in Bangkok was the ticket collector on the bus.
We rode the A1 bus to Mochit, a stop en route to who knows where, that allowed us to hop a train to our hotel. We weren't on the bus long, but watching the firecracker conductor collecting fares was well worth the 20 THB ride. She wore her two toned mullet with a rare sort of grace, black roots and faded, grown out bottle blonde tips brushing her shoulders. I don't think she actually needed her Pepto Bismol pink glasses, but who cares. She carried with her a cylindrical metal case, which looked to be suited for pencils and pens. It was used to produce a paper ticket, catch bits of paper which signified where you got on and where you'd get off, as well as making change for each passenger. That's right, you don't have to have exact change. Her dexterity was something to behold, it was evident she'd been performing this routine for years. She never asked the same person for payment twice, never missed a stop (she announced each one), and she was extremely friendly. Basically she was far more proficient than any Metra conductor I ever encountered in the Windy City. Although she was tiny and aged, she isn't someone I would want to cross.
After completing our public transit experience, we exited the station onto a seedy street. I can't say with complete confidence that all the streets in Bangkok are seedy, but something tells me they are. In search of our hotel, we passed through street vendors setting up for the evening. Tables full of lighters, tazers, dildos, drugs, racks of inappropriate shirts (think naked men), hats, Thai pants, and so on, lined both sides of the sidewalk. We perused later, after finding out creepy hotel, for about an hour. At which point we decided to "turn in" and buy a few beers in the lobby and drink them in our room. We had an early start the next day to get to Cambodia.
Siem Reap is a lovely little town. The Cambodian people are very nice, have a great sense of humor, and speak unbelievably good English. There is an interesting mix of expats and a fantastic variety of western foods. Finding a good sandwich wasn't a mission like it generally is in Phuket. The purpose of the trip was to experience the ruins. Boy, did we. We left our footprints on the ruins of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Bayon, Banteay Srei, and Ta Prohm. The pictures don't do it justice..
Everything was exquisite and seemingly from another world. It was so hot. And there were people crawling all over the place. I was shocked by the lack of roped off areas and restrictions on where you could step. The only areas protected were those in which the most damage could be done to humans rather than the structures. My friends and I marveled at this, commenting that "if we were in America you would never be able to go in there/step on that/touch this," and guessing how many more years it will be as open and free as it is before they realize it will need to be protected from grubby international fingers.
Siem Reap is amazing. There is so much history and culture. It is easy to get to and even easier to get around. If you're like me and you have difficulty wrapping your mind around ancient history because the amount of time that has gone by is so unfathomable, being able to be amongst something so concrete (no pun intended) is grounding and spectacular all at once.
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