We got up very early the next day. The night before we watched from the poolside of the hotel as they launched fireworks in the night sky. I’m not sure what the occasion was, and I think there was only a total of six fireworks over the course of one hour, but it was nice. We were pretty tired from staying up late, but we got up early enough to catch breakfast at the hotel one last time. I filled up on the coffee, but we also had some local food (instead of the western dishes).
After breakfast we did one last walk around the hotel to see the local sights and some government buildings and gardens, and then went back to pack our bags. We checked out of the hotel and negotiated with a tuk-tuk driver until his price matched what we had left in my wallet – six US dollars. The tuk-tuk ride to the airport was fun. I love riding the tuk-tuks and getting the fresh air blowing through the car – it was nicer than the Indian version – there was no windshield.
Our flight from Cambodia was delayed an hour, so we received some vouchers for food and drink at a restaurant in the airport. We enjoyed coconut juice, mango juice, and we split a feta cheese panini sandwich while we waited. Then it was back to Bangkok on a forty minute plane ride, and back into the huge immigration line. Lots of people were stressed about the line, and security had to break up a couple of arguments about line-cutting and position.
By the time we had picked up our bags and cleared customs and immigration, there was another big line for taxis. I made a wise choice at the fork in the line and we saved about 20 minutes, but by the time we arrived and checked into our hotel it was nearly eight pm.
The hotel – how strange to stay in the same hotel. We know the neighborhood, we know where everything is, and it is odd to feel comfortable when we travel. We hardly ever go to the same place twice, but the point of our short stay in Bangkok was to relax. Staying in the same hotel brings back the good memories from the previous trip to Bangkok, and in a way kind of connected the two trips into one. It was hard to explain, but it felt good. We walked down the street like we owned it, and found a street restaurant that we had enjoyed last time. The food was still great, but there were so many customers that I think it probably got written up in a guidebook somewhere. We had crab meat fried in Thai curry paste, cashews and pork, and glass noodles with shrimp, and we were happy with everything.
On the way back to the hotel after dinner we did stop at a new shopping center that was built right across from Asok station – called Terminal 21. We only went into the basement shopping area to stock our fridge with beer and juice, but vowed to explore the shopping center another day. It made the area around our hotel that much more convenient. Finally we went back and went right to sleep.
