Siem Reap/Bangkok/Chiang Mai

Oops, so we haven't posted in a while! 

Let's start from Siem Reap- after the 'horrible bus journey' (as Luke put it), we arrived in Siem Reap and back at the hostel we stayed in last time (OneStop). Unfortunately, we arrived at 6am... Check in is at 2. Considering we travelled by night bus we were still both extremely tired so we sat in the sofa area of the hostel and had naps/played cards until 9am when we decided to go for breakfast. 

We found a small cafe that had a huge breakfast menu where everything was $4 and included a drink, so Luke got sausage, bacon, toast and pancake and I got toasted muffins with smoked salmon and poached egg.

After going back to the hostel and having another nap on the sofas, we ventured out to make the most of the 50 cent draft beers. We then spotted a Mexican restaurant which sold $1.50 frozen margaritas and $1.75 nachos so we had one of each, which took us up to 2pm.

As soon as we checked in, we went straight to sleep, waking up in the late evening to go out for dinner back to Soup Dragon, the Vietnamese restaurant at the end of Pub Street which does the best beef skewers in the whole world.

As we were strolling back up Pub Street towards the hostel I noticed a familiar face- it was Ivy, one of the girls who was on the RealGap Thailand Experience for 4 weeks with us! We didn't even know she was in Cambodia it was so crazy. She was with a boy she knows from home who is also called Luke, so we went for a couple of beers with them and then up to our hostel rooftop (great place to drink and listen to the karaoke bar down the road for free). We agreed to meet up again the next day, and we spent the day exploring the markets. On our way around, Ivy received a message from a girl called Ashlea who was also on the Thailand Experience with us, saying she was in Siem Reap too, so we had a little reunion dinner that evening at Soup Dragon (yep, more beef skewers).

Again we ended up on our hostel roof listening to the karaoke bar. Ivy and Luke's plans were to go from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh and then onto Vietnam, but we told them about our experience in Phnom Penh and that we didn't recommend it there, and convinced them to come to Chiang Mai with me, Luke and Brandon!

The following morning, we got on the gross bus to the border. As soon as we boarded the bus Luke hated it because the guy in front liked to recline so much that Luke's legs didn't fit in the gap (much to my amusement).

The journey was supposed to take 3 hours, the border 1-2 hours and our train was at 1.55pm, so despite being advised to take the 10am bus, we decided to get the 8am bus to be on the safe side so that we wouldn't miss our train if the border was busy. 

The bus was late, we boarded at 8.30 and left at almost 9am, and 10 minutes from the border we stopped at a bus station 'for lunch', and we were getting so stressed out about missing our train while the other passengers were ordering noodles and not getting back on the bus at the time we were told to. We got to the border around 12.55 so we had 1 hour. 

This was not enough. The queues were huge. We missed our train by over an hour. As there were four of us, we decided against getting on a bus and decided to just get a taxi from the border to Bangkok, which only cost us 500 baht each (approx £10), but we were still annoyed, as the train would have cost us 50 baht (approx £1). 

After all this, our taxi broke down on the highway because we had no petrol or oil and a truck nearly hit us because we had to make an emergency stop at the side of the road.

We eventually arrived in Bangkok, to the hostel we previously stayed at, Yim Huai Kwang, where we were met by the friendly staff who welcomed us back as we walked through the door. The staff were amazing, ensuring Ivy and Luke were put in our dorm despite our bookings being made seperately, and then Brandon too.  

We then took a stroll to the night market, to find a street restaurant to eat dinner. We all had Thai soups, Tom Yum or coconut chicken, while Luke Cross (the other Luke) munched his egg fried rice (it's what he lives on). We then found the cutest banana ever amongst the others at the market.

The following morning we took Ivy and Luke to Terminal 21, revisiting all the cities on each floor (yep, and the toilets!). 

(The wall in the Tokyo toilets)

We ate in the same restaurant as last time, again for a good price for ridiculous amounts of food.

And went back to get the amazing cookies from a place called David's.

We then took the subway (it's called the MRT here) to meet Brandon from the airport, before going out to another street food restaurant for dinner. The menu translations are sometimes slightly inaccurate, with hilarious consequences.

It meant crab.

Oh, and here's Brandon with the famous Yim clock.

In the morning, we boarded our bus to Chiang Mai, which turned out to be such a nice bus, with free snacks and cold drinks along the way, comfortable reclining seats and the most leg room any of us have ever had on a bus. 

Brandon had already been to Chiang Mai previously on his travels, so he showed us and led us around. We found a cute lil doggie. 

We spent a day water tubing down a river, which was absolutely amazing. We all had huge 'tubes' (rubber rings) which we sat in, and we were all five of us tied to a rubber ring carrying a cooler box with plenty of beers and soft drinks, and we had a waterproof speaker. I was the only one who fell in the water, highly embarrassing in front of lots of Thai fishermen. Once we reached the end of the tubing we were taken back to the beach house where there's a sandy beach, and you can play volleyball, walk a tightrope, eat some food and do other fun stuff. The other couple that had been tubing that day were also English so we made friends with them, and we all met up the next morning.

We spent the next couple of days exploring Chiang Mai on hired motorbikes. Don't worry parents, Luke and I didn't drive them. I was on the back of Ivy's and Luke was on the back of Brandon's, while Luke Cross had his own. 

Ivy and I chose the pink bike and I got a pink helmet to match.

We managed to find the Chiang Mai canyon, which Brandon had been told about, but isn't a popular tourist spot so it was beautifully unspoilt and quiet. We spent a few hours swimming in the water and jumping in. 

We then drove to some waterfalls and paddled in there too.

After that, we drove up the huge mountain along the winding roads to Wat Doi Sutthep, Chiang Mai's most famous temple. Luke and I got bracelets which were blessed by monks. 

Today we went for brunch at a cafe near our hostel, then drove to the bus station to book our tickets to our next destination, Chiang Rai. We then went
back to the canyon, and swam again. After that we went to a restaurant overlooking the canal for drinks and a snack, before driving back to Wat Doi Sutthep up the huge mountain in the hope that we'd make it in time to see the sunset. We didn't make it, but it's such a fun drive (Dad, you'd love it on your scooter!)

This evening we went to the night bazaar which is so huge! We got amazing ice cream.

And found another cute dog.

It's now 3.30am because I stayed up writing this post! I'm going to sleep now, tomorrow we're getting the bus to Chiang Rai with Luke and Ivy, but Brandon is leaving. We're gonna miss him! 

I think Luke will probably edit this post and add in some of the photos that he took because these are just the few I had on my phone- so you have lots more to look forward to!