Three Countries, 24 Hours
A quick entry just to get us up to date:
We left Chittagong at 14:35, with the only hitch being a minor disagreement with our autorickshaw driver about exactly where he’d agreed to take us and for how much.
Chittagong harbour from the air
Our flight to Bangkok was fun, and we managed to squeeze three or four beers and a delicious meal each out of the 2:20 flight (go Thai Airways service!) We weren’t the only ones zealously indulging in the freely available beverages. A pair of Ukranian sailors got into a heated debate with some of the crew, and the three Bangladeshis across from us got pretty boisterous as well. I think the air host(esse)s were delighted to continue serving us, if only because we were so well behaved by comparison 
Approaching Bangkok, also from the air. Quelle difference!
We arrived in Bangkok in late afternoon and as we expected (but you might not) found it a relaxing experience. Bangkok in and of itself can be a pretty exhausting place to hang around, but compared to Dhaka it was an island of serenity. Things worked smoothly and efficiently, and foreigners were common enough there that we weren’t objects of major excitement for any local who spotted us.
After a bit of time spent at the airport seeing just how cheap a flight we could get to Cambodia. Air Asia almost convinced us to fly when they explained that if we’d spent less than 12 hours in Thailand they could sell us tickets without the $20 airport tax included, but in the end the smaller price tag and the interest factor in travelling overland convinced us to go that way.
By a combination of minibus, skytrain (BTS) and subway (MRT) we made our way from the airport to Bangkok’s Hualamphong train station, and picked ourselves a hotel nearby. We had a quick (and delicious!) meal of Thai food. I’d been surprised at how much I’d enjoyed Bengali food, but the papya salad and stir fried chicken with basil were a wonderful and refreshing change from two months of meals centred around faithful old rice-dal-veg.
The Bangkok Skytrain. Spotlessly clean, modern, quiet. i.e. not public transport in Bangladesh
The following morning we woke up waaay early (an 05:00 was an especially tough start when we’d just moved our watches ahead an hour) and walked the 5 minutes to the train station. The tickets to Aranyaprathet at the border were cheap and easy to get, and the train trip was comfortable (even though it was 3rd class.)
Hualamphong Station, Bangkok. Busy place for midnight on a Tuesday.
The border between Aranyaprathet, Thailand and Poipet, Cambodia is something of a legend amongst backpackers. At one point it was regarded as just about the most unpleasant and difficult border crossing in the world. Thankfully things have changed.
Not everything had changed since leaving Bangladesh… Rice paddies still dominated the Thai countryside
We arrived at the train station a touch late, but everything still went very smoothly with our crossing. Our tuktuk driver tried to take us to the Cambodian consulate to purchase an (expensive) visa, but was easily disuaded by our claims that we’d already obtained ours.
The official at the Cambodian visa counter at the border initially tried to charge us $33 each for our visas (instead of the official price of $20) but was talked down to $22.50 apiece with only a little bit of friendly bargaining.
The Thai border post at Poipet. Though lots of backpackers pass through here, their number is dwarfed by the many Thais who cross to gamble at Poipet’s casinos. Gambling is illegal in Thailand and the government is obviously either A. Very concerned for the wellbeing of its citizens or B. Keen on keeping Thai money in Thailand
The taxis at the border (which are the only onward transport at the border, except for the near-legendary “scam bus”) have fallen out of the grips of organized crime and now charge a pricey, but not unreasonable $10/person to Battambang, 2.5 hours away.
About the only things that were in any way inconvenient were the need to wait for the French women who were sharing our taxis to get their volunteer visas thoroughly inspected at the border and our own paranoia about the whole situation.
In the end we got to Battambang after a bit of a long day, but far fewer hassles than we’d imagined, thus completing our transit through three countries in under 24 hours.
The large public park by the river became a hive of activity on the weekend, with mass aerobics workouts/dance classes (not sure which they really were…) family and friends playing badminton, dozens of food carts, etc. etc.
Tags: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Llew Bardecki, Poipet, Thailand
July 7th, 2008 at 8:07 am
Hi Llew!
Really enjoy your blog - always interesting and you’ve done a great job with the photography. Not many people go to Bangladesh, I’ve been following your entries with interest (although I don’t think I would really want to go there…) What’s been your favorite place so far?
Keep up the good work!
Frank
July 8th, 2008 at 1:53 am
Hi Frank!
Thanks very much for your kind comments.
Not sure which the question refers to, but my favourite place in Bangladesh would have to be Srimangal in general, and the BTRI guesthouse in particular.
As for my favourite place on the whole trip, that’s a much tougher one, but since I really enjoyed it, and since I re-read some of my entries from there last night, right at this moment I’d probably pick Syria.