5/26/09

Today we survived the ride back to Bangkok. At leats we knew what to expect on the way. We actually encountered the Canaian we met at the fish massage on our bus/van. Actually, we ran into the first pair of Canadians last night at the Angkor Night Market. The second Canadian, Janine, lives in Korea right now teaching English and paying off her student loans. That sounds like an awesome way to make extra money. She travels on her vacation months. Nice person.

So we drove on the big bus to the border then split into mini-buses. We understand that the buses stop at specific points to support what is likely their family members' shops. He made us stop for an hour at one place so we could all order lunch. We were all angry, and none of us ordered anything, which in turn made him upset.

We made it through the border fine. Just took forever in hot lines. Thai processing of passports is so nice: AC and honest officials. I missed Thailand when I was in Cambodia. So after we started driving in Thailand, our driver (who knew very little English) turns around and tells us Janine's passport is messed up. She started getting really worried, but when we got back, the Thai official just had to fix a stamp he messed up on hers. He accidently gave her a 2-month visa instead of a 15-day one. It would have cost him a lot if she'd stayed longer.

We finally made it back with some new German friends. So we ate some pad thai and saw Star Trek. It was really good! Gimmicky at some parts but what Hollywood movie isn't? I need to do some laundry.