Pardon the lack of updates, I know I haven’t been blogging a lot lately. I’ve been pretty much busy with mostly my online job. My funds have been depleting and I need to stay in one place in order to gain more work hours to earn more money and keep this backpacking journey going.
I also got exhausted trying to keep updating this site since I have other blogs that also need attention. But all is still well and I’m still alive. 🙂
Singapore sidewalk
I didn’t realize it’s been a month since I took a flight from Manila to Vietnam to start my backpacking journey in Southeast Asia and become location-independent. I travelled to Ho Chi Minh City and Mui Ne in Vietnam, Siem Reap in Cambodia, and Bangkok in Thailand.
I didn’t maximize the number of days before my passport expired for each country as this month was more of a vacation than anything else. Despite the sudden change of locations, I came across a few realizations and learned some lessons along the way.
I overdosed on spicy food in Thailand but I still kept eating them. I also didn’t watch what I ate that I ended up having diarrhea for a couple of days.
I can’t afford to get sick. Aside from the cost of medicines, I also wasted time trying to recover my health. I could’ve used the opportunity to work on other jobs that would allow me to generate more income. Or I could’ve used the time to explore other areas in Bangkok.
Thai Food – spicy!
I received an email from a reader asking for tips on how to get to Siem Reap from Aranyaprathet. She was hesitant because of scammers that are prevalent in the area which I’ve also read about. I already wrote an article about it (read article here) however, it seemed as if I haven’t fully tackled our story. Hence, this post will serve as a guide for those travelers who will opt for the Bangkok to Siem Reap route via train and avoid touts in the process.
After taking the regular train ride from Bangkok and arriving in Aranyaprathet, we freshened ourselves in the huge bathrooms at the station and let everybody go first. We’ll all just meet each other at the immigration office so there was no need to rush.
tuktuk taxis and pseudo-agencies
Tuktuk (motorized taxis) are abound, waiting for passengers and you can ride one of them to take you to the border. We 
were charged more but we insisted on paying only 1 USD for the drive. There were three of us inside the tuktuk and it was full but it didn’t matter. The drive to the border lasted only for 10 minutes.
Prior to the driver bringing us to the border, he made a side trip and brought us to an office where long-sleeved men asked if we were going to Cambodia.
Take note: Do not believe them!
These men wearing long-sleeved shirts will convince you to get inside their office agency so you can apply for a Visa for Cambodia. However, if you’re a Filipino, there is NO NEED for a Visa as it is NOT a requirement. It’s sad but this is a protocol for tuktuk drivers in Aranyaprathet to hopefully earn extra income.
and still keep your full-time job! In one of my blog articles last month, I discussed how I was able to travel to 4 countries within 4 months and still maintained my full-time job in a BPO company. I’m writing this entry as a second part of that blog post. Seldom do people know that … Read more
We took a train ride from Bangkok to Aranyaprathet so we could reach Siem Reap, Cambodia the cheapest way possible. On land, you can either take a bus or a train, the former is faster though more expensive. 200 Baht vs 48 Baht, it was a no-brainer for us since our funds were already depleted back in Cebu, Philippines.
Aranyaprathet is a district of Sa Kaeo Province in Thailand that borders Cambodia to the East. Riding the train was an experience that is foreign to me. Unless you include those small train rides in theme parks, I can say that I’ve never ridden this mode of transport before.
Bangkok Railway Station
Hua Lamphong
Hua Lamphong Train Station
Around 4am in Hua Lamphong Railway Station, we waited for the 5:55am train schedule by eating Thai food and buying snacks at a 7/11 convenience store. It was going to be a 6-hour ride, and we’ve been traveling and stopping from Cebu to Manila to Clark to Bangkok for over 24 hours. You can imagine how stressed I was considering that I wasn’t used to long journeys. But it would’ve been useless to give up knowing how far we’ve already come.
Station 6
The sign said it was an ordinary train going to Aranyaprathet. But after the whole traverse, there was nothing plain about it. In fact, it was one of the most notable experiences of the trip.
Ordinary Train? Didn’t see this one coming.
Still not yet done with my posts about my trip to Cambodia but I figured I’d post an entry about how we got back to Bangkok, Thailand from Siem Reap.
I received a couple of notifications from readers about how to travel from Siem Reap to Bangkok so I’ll post this one quick as it was also an easy trip.
Still at our hostel (Bousavy Guesthouse), we asked for directions on how to get back to Bangkok. We initially planned on following our original steps on how to get to Siem Reap via train. But when we asked the owner, he offered to arrange a bus trip to Bangkok. We immediately agreed to their offer when we learned how cheap it was to get back.
8 USD – Siem Reap to Bangkok – Travel Time (8-9 hours)
We bought our tickets directly at Bousavy, arranged our pick-up for the bus and just went through with the trip.
back at the Cambodia border
Compared to the Bangkok to Siem Reap trip, we cut down our transportation expenses by almost half! We asked the owner of Bousavy Guesthouse why their bus line only has buses to Bangkok. He said that rules are more complicated from Bangkok to Siem Reap compared to Siem Reap to Bangkok.
lining up at the Cambodia Immigration center
We arranged a tuk tuk pick-up to the bus station and at around 9am, we were already inside the shuttle going to the border. I sat beside a Spanish woman and practiced whatever PR skills I had left.
The expression on his face was priceless. There was no need to answer as I understood that it was a rhetorical question. I just had to smile to eliminate the moment of silence between his eyes and my smirk.
After a trip to Hong Kong and Macau, I spent one day working at the office, and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Boracay.
September 1-8, 2010 – Hong Kong-Macau
September 9, 2010 – Cebu (working at the office)
September 10-12, 2010 – Boracay
After a trip to Thailand and Cambodia, I spent one day working at the office, and then headed to the airport to catch a flight to Davao.
January 18-26, 2011 – Thailand-Cambodia
January 27, 2011 – Cebu (working at the office)
January 28-31, 2011 – Davao
Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong | Fisherman’s Wharf, Macau | Station 2, Boracay
Khao San Road, Bangkok | South Angkor Thom Gate, Siem Reap | Isla Reta, Samal
History repeated itself and recalling these two scenarios crack me up. It’s such a crazy situation that even my manager asked me if I was alright.
…and still maintain your full-time job.
No, I didn’t take my job with me when traveling in those months but I filed for vacation leaves in between. From October of last year to January of this year, I visited four countries within four months; all of which happened in different times. It was no easy feat considering that I have a day job in a BPO industry. I was apprehensive too, if all my plans would push through considering the number of vacation leaves that I had.
Hong Kong, Macau (Ok, Macau is not a country but just a region of China along with HK, but my passport was still stamped), Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand. I visited these five places which makes me wonder if what I did was a rare opportunity to achieve or if everybody can do it as well.
Friends would ask me if I’m still working in my current company due to my constant travelling. I tell them I’m just lucky to also have a boss that understands my needs to get away from the office environment once in a while. Sure, you may not be able to choose your manager but there are other circumstances that you can control.
KL Monorail, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Here are four basic tips that you can take note of so you can travel while keeping your job.
My trip to Hong Kong cost me 1200 Php and those are round trip tickets already. (Cebu to Hongkong)
My trip to Kuala Lumpur , Malaysia cost me 850 Php; and that’s riding four planes! (Cebu to Clark to Kuala Lumpur and back)
My trip to Bangkok cost me 6000 Php; actually it’s 5200 bucks more because of a huge mistake of being late at the airport but you understand the point of booking during promo fares.
Suggested websites are CebuPacificAirlines.com and AirAsia.com once in a while to what they’re offering. Better yet, subscribe to their feeds to notify you on their next big airline ticket sales.
Venetian Hotel, Macau
I spent 36 hours travelling and waiting during our trip from Cebu to Siem Reap in Cambodia. It was the longest I spent to reach one destination. I guess that’s the challenge when you live in a region that doesn’t have a lot of options when it comes to flights to international destinations. Cebu Pacific Airlines used to have direct flights from Cebu to Bangkok but it stopped probably due to the minimal number of passengers going to that country.
In any case, we were lucky to get a discount due to promotional fares a couple of months before the schedule. Here’s a breakdown on how we got to Cambodia from Cebu.
online at Clark terminal
Cebu to Manila: We arrived 5 minutes late at the check-in counter so we had to pay the regular price and turned into chance-passengers at 5200 bucks more than the promo fare. Just mentioning it is already a pain in the buttocks since we already had a limited budget.
7000 Php (ouch) – Cebu Pacific Air Fare (original price was only 1800 Php)
200 Php – Terminal Fee
Cebu Pacific airlines
Lesson learned, arrive 2 hours earlier than the scheduled flight! I never want to be pay extra again as these are circumstances that we can control.
Siem Reap in Cambodia and Bangkok in Thailand was fun. I’m glad that we didn’t rush into scenes and had time off to retreat. Most of my travels usually were getting to different tourist spots and other famous destinations. Sure, we also did some sight-seeing in Siem Reap and Bangkok but we weren’t in a hurry which made it all the more worthwhile.
temple-hopping in Cambodia
I was able to travel to two cities in two countries over the past week and I thought I could easily update this site with pictures and snippets just to give out glimpses of the places and things we did. However, I’m having difficulty where to start. With so many pending entries and backlogs from different trips, it’s a challenge for me to maintain this site and keep it current. But I’ll figure out a way.
fish spa at 3 USD
For now, let me just post a few photos of scenes in these countries. Each place has its own charm and story to tell which enriches one’s knowledge on how people go about their way of life.