Happy SXM Day!

No, not S and M. SXM. It stands for St. Maarten. And today was his day.

So first, some history. Because nobody I asked knew what St. Maarten's Day was celebrating (independence? just a holiday because our island is great? the day Columbus discovered the island? - that last one turns out to be true, but not why the holiday exists) and I thought it was interesting when I looked it up. St. Maarten was an actual person - Martin of Tours (Tours is a city in France, and therefore probably not pronounced how I'm saying it). Anyway, Columbus saw this island on November 11, 1493 (although he never actually landed on it - he really just saw it and claimed it for Spain) and since it was St. Martin's Day (yeah, the holiday already existed in 1493), he named the island St. Martin. And it stuck, even though the Spanish didn't colonize it until after the Dutch and French did. The Dutch spell Martin differently, hence, Sint Maarten.

Anyways, the government forced all retail businesses to close, which they didn't tell us until yesterday at 4:48pm. I was planning on working all day because we had five ships in town. It was supposed to be a very busy day and it was the main reason I flew down this week as opposed to later in the month. But this was what our store looked like today:

The cops drove down Front Street every 5 to 10 minutes to make sure every store stayed closed. They even shut down a lady selling handmade crafts from a table in an alley! I was very frustrated that we couldn't open, but there was definitely nothing I could do about it. So I went on an adventure.

Bangkok to Siem Reap Overland Crossing

I've never really considered myself a backpacker. And part of not being a backpacker is that we value time a little more than money. For example, we'd rather pay a little more for a 2-hour flight than save $20 by taking a 7-hour bus. I've crossed a lot of borders, but none in Asia. We've always flown, which is very simple and regulated. I've heard lots of stories about the Cambodia-Thailand border, and I really wanted to experience it for myself.

Big mistake. We should have flown. Especially today, but we'll get into that in a minute.

We took a $2 taxi to the Mo Chit bus station just before 6am (if you're keeping track from last night, that gave us about 4 hours sleep). We hadn't purchased a ticket yet, and when we got to the booth, today and tomorrow were all sold out (there were still plenty of buses if we wanted to do it in pieces, but we were hoping for a straight trip from Bangkok all the way to Siem Reap, which only has one trip in the morning. Since our visa expires in two days, we couldn't wait. So we went to the window for Arranyaprathet, Thailand's border town, and mistakenly asked for a bus to Siem Reap (we were crazy tired and not really thinking straight). By the grace of God, she said she had two seats available for today. I kid you not, this was a full-on miracle. 750 baht each and we were all set. We found out later from the German guy sitting next to us on the bus that his friends were supposed to be in our seats, but they couldn't make it, so he returned the tickets last night. For anybody researching this crossing, make sure you buy your tickets at least two days in advance.

We killed the three hours in the bus station basically half asleep and glazed over, standing once for the pledge of allegiance to the king thing they do at 8am. Which, America, you should totally do.

The bus left on time at 9am. This is a nice bus with four seats across and a nice bathroom. Just one level of seats, not the premium VIP bus like we took to Chiang Mai, just one step down from there. Comfortable and enough room for my skinny six-foot frame. 

Almost immediately, they hand out snacks: coffee, OJ, and a muffin.

It took a while to get out of Bangkok, and then we drove through a lot of nothing. Finally, around 1pm, we arrived at a government bus station, where they recommended we purchase visas. This is at a much higher price than at the border. You would get to skip the queue at the Visa on Arrival building, which for us took about 5 minutes.

The bus started up again and they fed us a yummy lunch of fried rice and cucumbers.

At 1:45, after inching our way through horrendous traffic, we arrived at the border and were promptly ejected from the bus. I tried to get access to my bag, which was stored under the bus, because I had mistakenly left our passport pictures (which you need for your visas) in there. It was so early when we packed! My bad. Anyway, they wouldn't let me in because the bus was pretty much at the border and it was blocking traffic, so we got off and it kept going through.

We stood in a ridiculous line for our departure stamp. It was here that we found out that this is a holiday weekend. The king's birthday and Father's Day or something. So there were way more people crossing the border than normal. We got no special or preferential treatment for being on a government bus (I had read other blogs that we may). We stood in line and tried to make sense of the chaos until we finally merged into a line that was moving.

After 30 minutes, we finally got through Thailand's departure line and then walked into Cambodia and towards the white building on the side to get our Visas. Since I couldn't get our passport pictures from my bag, there would be an extra fee. We also couldn't change our money to USD yesterday because we got into BKK too late and we left this morning too early, so we had to pay in Thai Baht, which is another fee. Boo for us not being prepared. :(

Normal price for a visa is $20. A sign in the window gave us our options: $20 plus 100 baht (a scam that they were very adamant in sticking to, 100 baht is about $3.25), or 800 baht (about $26). I speak Cambodian, so I struck up a conversation with one of the guards, hoping he'd lower the price a little. He didn't. I asked what the penalty for not having our photos is, and he said 100 baht. So we ended up paying just under $30 each for our visas, mainly due to our unpreparedness. :(

Upon leaving the building, we saw our bus sitting there beside the Cambodian entry point, so we totally could have gotten our passport pics and saved a couple hundred baht. Boo again!

We hopped in line to get our entry stamp for Cambodia. This was a small hot  building with four agents working as fast as they could, but it still took a half hour to get through. I got through a few minutes before Isa, so I started talking to one of the guards outside. He was so excited to talk to a white guy in his native tongue that had a friend bring me a drink. Orange Juice. Yum! Isa came out and we thanked him for the drink and climbed back onto the bus. Exactly two hours had passed from when we got off the bus about 200 meters back on the Thailand side.

We passed through a few more hours worth of rice fields and nothing. Sunset was gorgeous...

We finally arrived at the bus station in the center of Siem Reap at 6:45pm. All together, the trip took 9 hours and 45 minutes, 2 hours of which were spent at the border.

The bus company provides free tuk tuk transport to your hotel, which is only free because the driver will try to convince you to hire him while you're there. We opted to walk, since our hotel was only a block and a half from the bus station (the bus station is by the KFC, on Sivatha Rd around Street Number 5. It's about halfway between the airport road and the Old Market).

So, here are our tidbits of wisdom:

1. If you have a specific date to cross and can book your tickets a few weeks early, FLY. It costs about the same and it's totally worth it.

2. Get your eVisa online. It takes 1 to 3 days to process, they'll email it back to you, and it costs $25. Knowing that there's going to be some scam for just a few bucks, it's worth it for the peace of mind and for being able to skip one line (even if it was the shortest and easiest line).

3. If taking the bus, book it at least two days in advance. You can do this at the station (Mo Chit) or online (for a fee).

4. Take the bus straight from Bangkok to Siem Reap (as opposed to taking a bus to Arranyaprathet, tuk tuk to the border, and then getting from Poipet to Siem Reap). It's so nice to just hop back on the same bus and not have to haggle with any tuk tuks or arrange a taxi. It's also very nice to not have to carry your bags with you through the border, since they stay locked under the bus the whole time. The cost ends up being about the same either way (maybe $2 or $3 cheaper if you do it in pieces and you're good at haggling), but the direct bus is so much easier.

Chiang Rai White Temple

There are basically two things to see in Chiang Rai, the white temple and the black temple (well, black house, but whatever). Today, we did the white temple.

We walked over to the old bus station in the center of town and asked around for Wat Rong Khun. They pointed us to platforms 7 and 8. We bought our tickets from the lady there - 20 baht each (about $1.50 total). I've been doing better at reading Thai (I already speak/read/write Cambodian, and Thai characters are similar), so I was sure we were right because it said วัดร่องขุ่น on the little sign.

We got on the bus and waited forever until it was finally full, and then we headed out down the main road toward the temple. You can see the temple off to the right after about 30 minutes, so you won't miss it. The bus lets you off on the left (they drive on the left side of the road), so you have to cross the highway to get to the temple. No crosswalk, but it's not too bad if you're a little patient, and there's a traffic light and a median to help you out.

It was a little cloudy and drizzly when we arrived, but it cleared up a little later to give us some nice pictures.

The grounds around the temple are immaculate and pristine. They really do a great job keeping the buildings sparkly white and the grounds colorful and trimmed.

As you start to explore and look closer, the place gets weirder and weirder. This is not your normal temple.

Demons guard the bridged entrance to the white temple.

The hands of those suffering in hell? Reaching up toward the heavenly white temple?

Hellfire and damnation await those who smoke here.

Beheaded heros/villains in a temple?

This is probably the last thing I want to see before I pray/meditate in a temple.

If you go off to the left, there's a separate building that wasn't open to the public yet, but it was even cooler than the main temple.

The attention to detail is just incredible!

The white temple is so shiny and sparkly!

The artist that has designed and dedicated his life to building this masterpiece is named Chalermchai Kositpipat, and supposedly he was working up on the roof of one of the buildings today. He has been building this place for more than 15 years, and he has plans for it to continue long after his death. You can see parts that are mapped out for additions, and you can see signs throughout that it is definitely a work in progress. This would be very cool to come see in another 10 years or so.

You can see that they've mapped out a grid on the back wall of the temple for future artwork

We wanted to support his efforts, so we donated to the temple (the temple and grounds are free to visit) and got this ornament to add to the collection.

Photography is prohibited in the main sanctuary in the center, which is too bad because it's almost impossible to describe. Take the normal buddha storyline, but then add modern characters and events, both fictional and real, and mash them all together in one giant mural across all inside surfaces. Oh, and a weird giant face eating the entry door. And buddha on top. Some of the scenes include spider-man, superman, Harry Potter, Jack Sparrow, the WTC attack, Pearl Harbor, Sailor Moon, Hello Kitty, and Michael Jackson. Artists were adding scenes while we were in there too, so this may be a constantly changing canvas. All in a Buddhist temple. It's interesting and unique, to say the least.

For more info on the white temple, click here for a very helpful page.

On the way back, we flagged a songthaew for 20 baht each and and Isa sat up front and I sat in the back with this guy.

He didn't speak any English, but that didn't stop him from having a full conversation with me in Thai. Every once in a while I would just smile and nod and agree with him, and it made him happy and he kept talking and gesturing with his hand like he's doing in the picture. For 30 minutes. I think he was genuinely sad when we got to town and I got off.

Travel Day: Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai Green Bus

We slept in to make up some sleep since we got to bed so late on Saturday and Sunday night (if you haven't read about Yi Peng yet, seriously it was such a magical unbelievable amazing experience) and then checked out and grabbed a songthaew over to the bus station on the edge of town. It was comfy.

We got to the bus station and figured out the queue system Green Bus has going on (there's a ticket machine off to the right of the windows that gives you a number when you push the button, then you wait for your number to be called like you're at the DMV or something). The next available bus to Chiang Rai wasn't for a few hours, so we went upstairs to hang out. There happens to be a massage parlor, which was perfect for Isa. And they had internet, which was perfect for me. So I wrote all the blog posts from this weekend.

The bus was fine. Nothing fancy like the VIP bus we took to come up here. This bus was an X-class. Four seats across, two on either side of the aisle, with a little shelf space above your head for smaller bags. They gave us snacks - a bottle of water and some weird chips that weren't good. It's a fairly quick trip of about 3 hours through the mountains of northern Thailand (although I think our bus driver had a hot date because he was driving like a maniac passing other buses and cruising up the shoulder). It's pretty, but it was getting dark, cloudy, and a little rainy so our pictures aren't that spectacular.

I took mostly video of this trip, so I'll post that when I get around to editing it. Then you'll be able to see the bus, seats, and get a better idea of the trip. When we arrived in Chiang Rai, our hotel was just a few blocks from the bus station, so we opted to walk instead of taking a songthaew. We passed this cool clock tower on the way. Yay! Chiang Rai!

Travel Day: Bangkok to Chiang Mai VIP Bus

Today we took a VIP bus from Bangkok to Chiang Mai. And it was amazing.

The bus took off from Mo Chit, which we're getting pretty good at by now. Basically, you have three choices when taking the bus from BKK to Chiang Mai. 1. VIP bus ($25 US) during the day; 2. VIP bus overnight (also $25); or 3. 2nd class a/c ($14). It's a 10-hour ride, and we had already booked a hotel in Chiang Mai for tonight, so we decided to splurge and pay for a VIP bus during the day.

The bus left Mo Chit at 9am. We were immediately given water and a snack box, which included a cupcake and a black sesame red bean bun. And coffee. The seats were wide and comfy. We had more than enough room to sit however we wanted. The bus only had three seats across, two on one side of the aisle, one on the other.

At about 1:30, we stopped for lunch. Our tickets included a voucher for a free meal. There are several stands selling all sorts of food, so we just picked one that didn't look spicy and we got that. It was yummy.

Back on the bus we kept driving on towards Chiang Mai. At about sunset, we started driving up through the mountains. It was getting dark fast, with thick cloud cover making it even darker, so I couldn't get any good mountain shots from the bus. But maybe you can on your trip.

We arrived in Chiang Mai a little after 6pm and arranged a songthaew to take us into our hotel. Songthaews are like pick up trucks with two benches in the back. The ride cost us 80 baht (40 each) which is way less than most of them quote you to begin with, so when the first one you ask says 200 baht, move on to someone else.

We checked in at the hotel and wandered around for a bit. Our hotel is just outside the old town city wall, so we walked down there and got some food and just enjoyed our night. 

It got pretty exciting when we saw a few floating lanterns high in the sky! I can't believe we're here!

Awful Day on Bangkok's Buses and Taxis

Heads up. Rant today.

First things first, we headed up to Mo Chit (the northern bus station) to buy our bus ticket to Chiang Mai for this Thursday. We learned that the train to Chiang Mai has derailed 12 times this year, so they shut it down for maintenance (probably a good idea, huh?). With the train out of commission, we figured more people would be taking the bus for the festivities this weekend, so we wanted to buy our tickets early.

We are NOT missing this celebration. It's one of the main reasons we came on this trip in the first place.

So we took the BTS to Mo Chit (which, as I mentioned before, is not the same Mo Chit as the bus station, in case you were wondering), and then hopped on local bus 77 (no a/c, but fast and fun with a nice breeze with all the windows and doors open) over to the right Mo Chit.

We bought our tickets for the exact bus and time we were hoping for, and we were feeling pretty good about our day so far.

And then it got worse.

We had planned to go to the Grand Palace for most of the day. Since we woke up early to get our tickets, at this point in the day, it was about 9:30am. Still our whole day in front of us. We took a taxi back to the BTS Mo Chit, where I had seen a bus earlier (while waiting for 77), that could take us straight to the Palace. When the bus came, we got on and told the ticket lady, "Royal Palace," and she said this bus was going the wrong direction so get off and get on the same bus but on the other side of the street.

I knew we were heading the right direction, but I thought maybe the bus goes north here and then gets on the highway around to the south or something. So we got off and waited on the other side. When that bus finally came, we got on and paid our fare and everything seemed fine. Until we didn't turn. And then we kept going farther and farther away from the Grand Palace. Then we got to a stop and the ticket lady told us this was our stop, but it most certainly was not the Grand Palace. Later on we would learn that the Grand Palace and the Royal Palace are not the same place, as dumb and confusing as that is. And they're far from each other.

So the bus kept going farther and farther away, past the airport and beyond anything worth seeing. And then it pulled into a dirt parking lot and they kicked us off the bus into the sun. We had reached the end of the line.

So we stood there in a small patch of shade for half an hour (which, in the moment, felt like forever) until a bus started up again and taunted us by just sitting there for forever, but that turned out ok when we got into an air conditioned bus, but then they made us pay again. This time more than double the original fare since we were going almost the full length of the bus route. Boo!

Winding through traffic in Bangkok is terrible. Probably the least drivable city I've ever been to. Seriously, if you can avoid driving in Bangkok, do so at all costs (unless you have a moto, then you're fine). The bus took almost two hours to get to the Grand Palace. We arrived after 1pm, very tired of traveling and exhausted and frustrated. At this point, we were too late to visit the Grand Palace, since we wanted at least 3 hours inside.

With the exception of the water taxi, there is no public transportation in old town, so we opted for a taxi to get out. Except we couldn't get out because of traffic. We sat in the taxi and watched the meter creep higher and higher while slowly inching forward. He took us on a roundabout way because roads were shut down by the military, and at one point I opened the door and almost jumped out of the car because I was so upset and frustrated with how the journey was going.

We finally arrived at our new destination: Jim Thompson's house. Upset, hungry, and frustrated, Jim's house had a difficult challenge of turning our day around, but you'll read more about that in the next post.

From Tokyo to Narita

Man. That was difficult.

We fly out of Tokyo tomorrow at 8am, which means we have to be at the airport at 6am, but Tokyo's public transportation doesn't start until 6, so that wouldn't work. So we had to get up to a hotel close to the airport today and just take the free shuttle tomorrow morning.

Since we've done everything we wanted to do in Tokyo, all we had to do today was laundry and get to the hotel, but both of those things took up the whole day and well into the night.

First, laundry.

The apartment we've been staying at has a washer/dryer. Unlike the washers and dryers in America, this one was just one machine that did both. Front load washer, then it just keeps the clothes in there and spin dries them. Like this.

We used it last week, but we just put the clothes in in the morning and then went out for the day. When we came back at the end of the day, the clothes were dry. It was miraculous and wonderful. But today, we found out that they actually take all day. We tried to open it after the wash because there were a few things that couldn't be dried, and that only made it worse. All the buttons and dials were in Japanese, so when we paused it to get certain clothes out, it blinked something at us and then shut down. And then we had to unplug the thing to get it functioning again. Which I'm sure put more time on it.

We ended up taking things out after a few hours of "drying" and just packing them damp and now they're hanging all around our hotel room to finish actually drying. Meh.

So we finally got on a train to head out toward Narita around 4pm, which is right about rush hour, so we were fearing the worst because Tokyo is the city that you hear about with crazy packed trains. But luckily it didn't happen today. Or any day for that matter. Either we were in the wrong stations or that's totally a myth.

We took the subway to Oshiagi, the location of the newest addition to the Tokyo skyline, the Tokyo Skytree, the tallest tower in the world right now. It's pretty impressive.

Then we went down and got on the Keisei line which was supposed to take us to Narita. So we jumped on the first train we saw and went up to Aoto, and then we had to switch to the main line that would take us to Narita. But the trains that were on the track that were supposed to go to Narita weren't going there. They were stopping early. So we waited at Aoto for a while, but all the trains kept saying Sakura, which isn't far enough. By the way, this is the map we were working off:

I know, right?

So we finally got on a train going the right direction, but it only took us to Funabashi. Then we got on another train which got us to Sakura, where we got off and saw people with megaphones and announcers over the loud speakers announcing stuff in Japanese and guiding everyone away from the platforms. We looked obviously lost and confused, but nobody spoke English, but they were nice and genuinely concerned about us. We eventually worked out that we were going to Narita Station (not Narita Airport, which was a big point of confusion for awhile). Another lady pointed to herself and excitedly said, "Narita Station!" So we blindly followed her onto a bus, which took us on a roundabout way to the right place.

Come to find out, the typhoon last night which apparently destroyed the Philippines and ravaged everywhere around Tokyo but left the city center where we were at completely unscathed (it was windy last night and a little rainy at times, but it was never typhoon-scale), it flooded the tracks between the city and Narita. So that's why the trains weren't running. So it's a good thing we came through tonight and not tomorrow morning.

The hotel has a shuttle that actually went to Narita Station, so we took that and finally got to the hotel around 9pm. Luckily there was a convenience store next door, so we were able to get some dinner.

Isa thought the mirror in the bathroom was pretty amazing. The part around your face didn't get foggy (or around my neck, but Asian's faces).

I also ate a strawberry Kit Kat for dessert, which was amazing.