+33 hours Southern Thai Islands to Mainland Cambodia

The following is a log of my overland journey from Koh Pha Ngan, South Thailand to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. One must note that upon arrival to Thailand foreigners receive a 30 day visa, if one wishes to stay longer they must cross the border to obtain a new visa. With this fact in mind, I will commence. (It is quite a lengthy post yet the delight is in the details of the trip only Asia can provide.)

Wednesday, January 1
9:00am- Post yoga class mental exclamation, "Oh no! I have to do my visa run this weekend."

9:07am- Head Instructor Ashton explains, "Nikki, you can cross by land but you will only get 15 days, same same at the Samui consulate. So why not fly back in from Malaysia or Cambodia and then you can get the full 30 days rather then doing two border runs?"

9:09am- "Ok, I'll look into it."

3:30pm- After two hours of thorough internet research checking on a consulate trip to Samui, overland routes that include multiple vans and boats to Malaysia and Cambodia my head is dizzy. "Maybe I should just ask the travel agent," I finally conceed.

4:45pm- I purchase the only necessary flight from Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Bangkok, Thailand. This allows for a new 30 day visa yet it is only a small leg of the trip. So I purchase a travel package from Pha Ngan to Phnom Pehn.

Thursday, January 2
9:30am- After morning yoga class, I tell teachers I will depart today.

11:05am- Leave anatomy class on alignment.

11:45am- Arrive by taxi to Tong Sala Pier and wait for the boat in a monsooning rain. Picture 130 plus sweating tourists with heavy hiking packs crammed beneath a six foot by three foot awning.

3:13pm-Realize this boat was only the first of two I must take to get to the mainland.

3:15pm- Step outside the VIP room (aka a sauna of a room that has actual seats to sit down upon) to catch some Thailand rays, yet I promptly return when throngs of more tourists board the vessel.

3:27pm- Fake Ray-Bans bite the dust, yet this sorrowful moment is quicky wisked away after seeing a cute old tourist and his wife reading their large map with a magnifying glass. This is only half of my internal laughter because in the same moment this is happening a Thai tourguide is harrassing two Chinese girls about taking a dive trip. Quite a normal scene yet I couldn't help but laugh when they finally admitted they had no interest since they cannot swim.

5:38pm- "I spy land."

6:50pm- Spill the last third of my pad thai all over my shirt and jeans. Perfect.

7:37pm- First bus to Bangkok, the capital city of Thailand. Maybe we will arrive at 5am?

Friday, January 3

3:30am- Wake up from a heavy slumber to the bus driver shouting, "Bangkok, Bangkok, Bangkok."

3:39am- After haggling with a tuk tuk driver I climb in and we speed off to Khao San Road where the last of the sleezy bar dwellers are offering up their insides to the city sewers.

3:49am- Convince two hotel front desk ladies to let me use a vacant room to shower in.

4:45am-I have to mentally justify the terrible thing I will now do. "May I have a hot coffee and a large fry please," I cowardly ask the McDonald's staff. (Listen, it is the ONLY place open 24 hours, save for the convience store and they didn't have chairs! And I did use that time to write my first yoga class outline.)

7:17am-After two failed attempts at finding my bus stop, a quick pop into the internet cafe and a lovely chat with a German yogi, I find my next ride.

8:07am- Having curls pays off, or maybe not, cause I get to sit next to the driver. Yes, he is picking his nose and eating it, but at least this seat has air conditioning and arm room.

8:40am- Smile and laugh as my driver turns a two land road into a three land road to pass an accident. Nothing new to see here.

9:12am-Stop for petrol and coffee. See orange clad monks chain smoking cigarettes and chatting hurridly away on their cell phones.

9:17am-Remember to buckle up as the driver accelerates to breakneck speeds. "I'm the first to go," I think.

9:30am- Recognize the picture on thai signs flying by as betta fish (aka Siamese fighting fish which are indigenous to Thai rice paddies).

12:12pm- Arrive at the Thailand/Cambodia border, well nearly there. I must hop on a moto then cross by foot, only after buying a sketchy visa from two Thai guys that speak to me in a mix of French and English.

12:45pm Wait to immigrate to Kampuchea.

1:42pm-Last to arrive on the bus bound (fingers crossed) to Phnom Pehn. Thankfully they wait for the white people.

2:50pm-See a pony pulling a cart.

8:00pm- Dillusion is beginning to set in from cramping legs, arms, wrists, butt, etc... Each lighted roadside stand is one more dashed hope that the city is impending.

8:13pm- Teach the 28-year old Cambodian father of two next to me wrist stretches. Then we discuss yoga and meditation and the benefits of both.

8:45pm-View the family photos of my new friend.

9:37pm-Arrive in the city!

10:03pm- Bus finally stops and I must push back the tuk-tuk drivers with verbal shouts of "moment moment".

10:07pm-My tuk-tuk driver gets lost. I can't help but laugh, this would happen.

10:18pm- Yell to the unassuming balcony I pray to God my friends live in.

10:19pm- Heads appear a few stories up. "Finally!" I exclaim.

10:37pm-Crash into a deep sleep.

Yoga inspiration

How do I get through two, sometimes three asana (posture) classes a day? One name can answer this question: Luca. Aged to perfection at 4 years, this half French half Thai little tyke always brings a smile to my face whenever he darts into the room. His giggle is infectious and we have lots of fun together. His energy is what helps me get through yoga in the hot Thai afternoon.

How to wash laundry in SEA (Southeast Asia) after the rain.

So Thailand, still part of Asia, can experience terrential downpours at times. When this happens the nice laundry that you so cutely washed in the bathroom sink begins to reek of stale sweat, muggy earth, and whatever was cooked in the kitchen that afternoon. If that didn't create enough of a pungant smell in your nostrils just try going to smell that old sneaker you left in the laundry room but have still yet to wash.

It is necessary to rid the clothes of this smell because... well when traveling SEA you really only have about five sets that you rotate on a regular basis. And doing yoga in close proximity to others twice daily adds to the necessity of this washing effort. So why not just use the local laundry ladies? 30-40THB (roughly $1USD) per kilo of laundry seems like it's not that much but add it all up to an already tight budget it saves to do your own.
In preparation, run to the 7-11 to procure laundry detergent (this should cost roughly 33THB). Now we may commence!
To begin:
1. Catch and remove cockroach from washing area.
2. Gather laundry the wind has scattered about the patio during the monsoon.
3. Wet laundry in cold clean tap water.
4. Boil pot of water on stove. (This is to kill the mold that has begun to grow due to the damp air and perpetual rain.)

5. Add a scoop of unknown scented laundry detergent to the cool water.

6. Drain cool water from sink and pour in boiling water. Stir with appropriate kitchen tools. (To avoid burning your hands.)

7. Once the water has cooled, empty sink, ring laundry and hang in the sun to dry. 8. By evening your laundry should be done.

Now you know how to avoid the musky monsoon smell in your laundry! ;)