Bangkok to Phnom Penh

     My first impression of Poi Pet was a sad one. The town reminded me of a town near my hometown destroyed by scamming and gambling businesses. I say “destroyed” because although the town appeared lively on the surface, it had no soul - money was the god there, and people would do anything for it. This was also where educated young people from all over Myanmar were detained and forced into scams. Although the businesses were mostly owned by the Mainland Chinese, the Chinese citizens were mainly targeted initially, but soon,  they expanded their reach to the West.      Although Poi Pet wasn’t quite that bleak, I still felt sad about it because I had a strong feeling it was headed in the same direction,   with buildings being unfinished and abandoned and countless casinos. an unfinished and abandoned building in Poi Pet      As I explored, I looked for a phone store and found a market. I asked a few people if they knew where I could...

     This was where all my adventures began. I was unprepared and rushed, with nothing planned in advance. I hadn’t even done enough research to know that USD is widely used in the country.      After leaving the border station, I arrived in the town of Poi Pet. A few men approached, offering SIM cards and taxi services. I declined all of them and headed straight to Starbucks, which was conveniently located just outside the station. I didn’t have any SIM card, Cambodian Riel (KHR), or USD - only Thai Baht and a Thai Visa card. Thankfully, Starbucks had Wi-Fi, and they accepted Baht, which was a bonus.      I decided to sit in, ordering a croissant and latte. I must mention that one of the baristas was exceptionally beautiful and fluent in English. We had a great conversation about various things, mostly Cambodian customs, and she was incredibly helpful. She even sketched those, as shown in the picture on my reusable cup, and I was so dum...

     After four and a half hours, the train was nearing the border – you’ll know without checking your phone, as there are border gates with traditional steeples or roofs visible from a distance. Soon, the train stopped, and everyone disembarked.      The immigration office was right next to the railway station. The Thai side of the border was quite well-equipped – there were small, good restaurants, ATMs, and most importantly, a Seven-Eleven.      I went directly to immigration because I was eager to leave Thailand, as my 14-day visa-free stay had already expired. Following the sign that read “Passport Control and Departure,” I headed up to the second floor. Exiting Thailand was quite straightforward - you simply hand your passport to the officer, and they stamp it. In my case, I had overstayed by one and a half days, so I needed to pay a fine of 1,000 THB. As a rule, there’s a fine of 500 Baht per day for overstays, up to a maximum of 20,00...

       The next morning, I left home as early as 6 a.m., and it was just a 15-minute walk to the Hua Mak station. There, I bought a ticket - they don’t make seat reservations, so any seat is available unless it is for the monks, which they indicated clearly.  a 275 ticket to the border The station was not very crowded, likely because this was not the starting station as the train came from Bangkok Railway Station. So, if you want a good seat, get from there. The train arrived at 6:47, so 4-minute   delay, which is acceptable to me. It waited briefly for people to get on.  My first impression of the train was positive - people were chilling, no one was being bad-mannered like shouting and spitting, and the train itself was very clean (I was even stunned), unlike those in my country Myanmar where trains smelt shitty, now probably worse.  The seats were okay - although not very comfortable, it was much more than 45 baht could offer. They also h...

     This Cambodia trip was the most unexpected and unplanned trip I have ever been on. Although I had intended to travel there, I never anticipated it would happen so quickly because my 14-day visa-free had expired, and I had to leave Thailand urgently to avoid paying fines. This blog will follow my chaotic trip from Bangkok to Phnom Penh, along with some advice and tricks.     I was informed that I could not extend my visa anymore, only a night before I would leave for Cambodia. So, I checked all possible routes to leave Thailand (including those to Laos) and found a train heading to Cambodia the following day at 6:43 a.m. You can check the schedule online here ( https://dticket.railway.co.th/DTicketPublicWeb/home/Home ).       I even went in person to the train station (Hua Mak station, to be exact) to make sure it would leave at the exact time they announced online. Luckily, yes, it would, but I couldn’t purchase the ticket in advance and...