Today saw our tour of Cambodia come to an end. This journey began when I met up with my girlfriend in Chiang Mai, Thailand, then flew to Phnom Penh (Cambodia’s capital), then took the bus to Siem Reap, spent a day exploring Angkor Park and today, we depart for Bangkok. But instead of taking a flight, I figured we would cross international borders by road instead.
We booked the 7:45am bus via Giant Ibis. Tickets costs $32 per person. The bus was hardly full.
It’s not that flights from Siem Reap to Bangkok are much more expensive. I just never crossed international borders by road before so I thought I’d get to experience something new.
I also wanted to see more of Cambodia’s countryside and the way of life out here (pictured is a public school)
But much of what I saw were farmlands
We would stop once along the highway for a rest stop break
Closer to noon, we had reached the border town of Poipet
Poipet isn’t big but it is the most developed town I had seen along the way since leaving Siem Reap
The bus would drop us here and then pick us up again from the Thailand side. We were all given badges and asked to follow our guide.
Our bus came with a guide who had a look at our passports before getting down from the bus and when I told him I was from India, he was like “oh”. He told me Indians and Chinese often face hurdles with immigration at this border. We were also told we would have to pay 100 baht to Cambodia immigration upon exit.
That green structure is the Cambodia immigration for departures
It was crowded inside but lines moved fast. The Cambodian immigration officer asked for the 100 baht but did not give a receipt or anything. I still wonder why we had to pay money upon leaving Cambodia… and that too in Thai baht.
Today was my last day in Bangkok. Being a short layover from my Japan trip, I still managed to go to the Maeklong Train Market and Amphawa Floating Market — two attractions I hadn’t been to before. I wondered what else to see before leaving Bangkok. And so I looked at the map and decided to head to Lumphini Gardens, Bangkok’s largest public park.
The easiest way to get to Lumpini park is to take a BTS to Sala Daeng Station and leave via Exit No.6.
But before entering the park, I stopped by Burger King to have lunch.
Burger King doesn’t sell beef burgers back in India, so this would be my last before departing BangkokAfter lunch, I walked across Rama IV Road to the memorial statue of King Rama VI.A map of Lumpini ParkLumphini is a multi-purpose park, popular for cycling, jogging or simply relaxingThere is an artificial lakeWhich has a surprising number of monitor lizardsWho all appear to be an attraction at the parkExcept when they get a little too close to humans… that freaks some of us outThey are the second largest lizards only after the Komodo DragonYou can rent these pedal boats to go for rides across the lakeI walked around some moreLumpini park is a multi-purpose park, with sections for children…… amphitheatres for live performances…and plenty of lawns to relax in the shadeIt was really hot today so I walked closer to the sprinklersI’m guessing this area is popular for wedding photographyThere is a Chinese pavilionIt was scorching hot and I found myself walking towards wherever it was wetOr walking in the shadeBut I was bored and decided to leave
Lumphini Gardens isn’t much of a tourist attraction but if you want to see some greenery away from Bangkok’s concrete city center, or if you want a quiet place to cycle or skateboard around, then this public garden is worth visiting. I took the subway and went to a mall just to kill time before I headed to the airport to catch my flight back to Bangalore.
I left Siam Ocean World and walked to Siam Discovery. It was still raining, but I still made my way to the top of Siam Discovery, where Madame Tussauds was situated.
This was inside the elevator upMadame Tussauds is on the 6th floorHello MBKVarious photos of King Bhumibol lined the entranceYou begin with the History zone of great leadersMahatma Gandhi is the very first wax figureChairman MaoThe much beloved Princess DianaYou then have a selection of world leaders
