the shenanigans of eenamorata

I've been meaning to do this long-ish post since way back before my 25th birthday. I wanted to evaluate what has become of my havoc life. But, since the before, during and after part of my birthday were terribly busy, I wasn't able to do it until now. Now... when I am suffering from a self-proclaimed quarantine due to excessive mucus production, headaches, sore throat and cough. Which is probably the result of being "terribly busy". I didn't expect May to end up as busy as it did. The trip to Cambodia and Thailand was planned way ahead, the UPCAT review stint was planned way ahead as well, and the other unexpected trips were quite expected.However, I failed to anticipate the physical stresses that it would give me... thus ending up like this. Incapacitated, tired, miserable, useless... Okay, that was OA. I'm just kidding. I barely moved a muscle today and I have been indulging on making palambing to my nanay, but that's it. I'm still up and ru...

A dishonest tuk-tuk driver, a busy street just like manila, and two confused disoriented Indays started the Thailand part of our misadventure. We were apprehensive with Bangkok... But it was fun anyway. :)  We visited the grand palace (had some ultimate photo bum photos with Korean tourists- see photo above),  the reclining Budha (silly photos with funny looking statues) and Khao San road (below). I was mesmerized by the grandeur of Thailand's old religious architecture and I was enticed by Khao San's vibrant night life and energy! Haha! :) Saya!

We wanted to take our adventure to a higher level so we opted to go with the road less traveled. Booked a bus ticket to Poipet, crossed the border, rode a tuktuk to the train station at Aryanapathet and rode the third class train to Hua Lamphong station. Do not ride tuktuks in Thailand, most of them are scams so it is better to ride a metered taxi instead because they are generally better and more legit. Bus to Poipet (Cambodia side Cambo-Thai border) = 5 USD Tuktuk from Border to Aranyapathet station = 80 THB Do not ride tuktuks near the border, they usually charge you with a higher price. We rode the tuktuk near the 7-11 shop which is in front of the bank Train from Aranyapathet station to Hua Lamphong station = 48 THB Ride a metered taxi to your hotel. Make sure that the driver turns on the meter... This is our video log for day3 and how the third class train from Aranyaphathet border to Hua Lamphong looks like: We were DEAD tired after this trip... but we wil...

We didn't catch the angkor wat sunrise and I was disappointed with all the construction that was going on inside the angkor wat complex. Nevertheless, we were able to visit angkor wat and marvel at the old pile of rocks majestic temples that the ancient Khmers built. The engineering was interesting and the weather was very hot. The sunset was a no show too because there was a thunderstorm at its direction. After a long day of walking and climbing steep stairs, we decided to check out Siem Reap's Pub street and night market. We bought some clothes, ate at a bar with swings, and had our fish massage. Though I wasn't able to ride elephants and see the sunrise nor the sunset in angkor it was still okay. It was still a lot of fun. The fish massage was a blast and the Khmer's were very charming.

I have been meticulously planning/ dreaming for this trip for the last 3-6 months and it is fantastic to finally be here and be outside of the Philippines. We booked an evening flight from Manila to Siem Reap, got out of our work modes (me having the easier part in getting out of work while tiah having a harder time to do so), went to the airport and boarded our flight. The flight to siem reap was tiring and we had a bit of a scare when we arrived because it felt like Siem Reap was a ghost town. But the Lord was gracious. He gave us a very good tuk-tuk driver and, a very good and cheap hostel accommodation. We woke up to a different country the next morning and this is our first  first impression of Siem Reap: