Chris Gains

When you walk out of PNH, you will see a line of taxis and a line of tuk tuk drivers anxious to give you a ride. Welcome to the Kingdom of Cambodia. This will now be the norm during your stay here. I live on the outskirts of the city so for me to get a tuk tuk home, the lowest they'll go is $15. I once ventured a little further into the parking lot and found a driver that would take me for $12. I'm not sure how much they charge to drive you to Riverside, but I imagine it isn't cheap. Probably $5 to $10 depending on your haggling skills. Remember that there is a lot of competition out there for them so don't be afraid to walk away. They may change their minds and agree on your price - or the next driver down may take you up on your offer. Now if you're looking for a good price, I recommend taking the city bus. There is a bus stop right outside of the airport on the main street. Of course, the drivers are not going to tell you this and they will still try to get y...

Whether you prefer fresh local markets, convenience stores packed full of processed foods, food carts with affordable local dishes or restaurants - you can have it all. A typical breakfast for me was at western places. There are hostels, guesthouses and hotels with restaurants. As well as people running diners out of their houses. For around 130 baht you can find "American breakfast" which includes eggs, bacon/sausage, bread, fruit and coffee. Different places will offer slight variations in the meals. There are other breakfast meals available both local and foreign. If you prefer, you can get fruit bowls with or without yogurt. Espresso drinks as well. For lunch I would usually go to a locals restaurant. You can find fried rice for around 60 baht. If you want to have something more exotic then you can get a meat based dish for around 70 baht.  Most of them sell fruit smoothies as well. Fruit smoothies run for 25 to 40 baht - depending on the fruit and mixes you choose. ...

Let me start out by saying there are a lot of options here. You will find signs for dorm rooms, private rooms, guesthouses and hotels. I was traveling with a friend so we considered the cost of two beds in a hostel vs getting a room in a guesthouse. The price comes out to being about the same if not less. Most of the dorms I saw were going for 180 baht. You can find a fan room at a cheap guest house for 250 baht. I stayed at three different guesthouses. The first one was Jimmy's Home Stay. The price was negotiated with the front desk employee instead of them showing a listed price. We agreed on 350 baht for a double bed AC room. Looking back I feel I could've gotten it down to 300 baht. It was a simple room tucked back from the street. The second guesthouse was North Star Guesthouse. This one was 300 baht for a double bed fan room. Another guest checking in was trying to bargain down to 250 baht if he payed for three nights. I'm not sure if he got that price, but it did...

I chose to stay in Old Town while in Chiang Mai.  More specifically, Phra Sing. Old Town is surrounded by a moat which I thought was very cool. You can see fish swimming around, but unfortunately, there were no alligators.  The area is packed with guesthouses, hostels, food and entertainment. One thing that is nice for people with bad direction (such as myself) is the fact that you're confined to the area unless you cross over to the other side of the moat. There were times while walking around that I was unsure of where I was. No worries. If I found myself standing at a body of water then I knew I had gone too far. Most of the roads were small too. You still run into the main roads going through the middle of Old Town, but for the most part you can just casually walk along the side of the roads without being in too many peoples way. Like most places, you still want to be careful.  People will go around you but there is no guarantee that they will. And do keep in mind...

The train station is pretty small and is an open area. Outside of the station is a parking lot and to the left is a gate leading to the road. Here you will find tuk tuk drivers  calling to you if you are looking for a ride to your destination. I chose to walk to Old Town instead of getting a ride. Out of the gate, I turned right onto Rotfai Road. There are small shops serving food and offering massages if you are in dire need. There will be many more opportunities along the way. Continue down this street till you get to the end and take a left onto Chareon Muang Road. Then just keep going straight down on Chareon Muang Road until you get to the Tha Phae Gate. This walk took me about 40 minutes. Halfway to the gate I stopped at a cafe to have some grilled cheese sandwiches and a cappuccino.  There was free wifi and an outlet available so I could get charged up and check the GPS to have a better sense of where I was going.

After spending the afternoon walking around, I decided to head over and wait for the train. Upon arrival I learned that there is no wifi available in the station. However, if you go across the street there is a line of cafes with wifi available. There's also a 7-11 if you  want to buy snacks and drinks for the train. More money spent! I went back to the train station an hour before departure. While sitting inside, chatting with my friend, I heard a whistle blow and then music started to play. A local sitting next to me motioned to stand up. This was the music I had read up on that is played in respect to the king. So if you happen to be sitting in a public place and you hear a whistle blow and music play; make sure you stand up! This is important to the locals and you're better off being respectful in their country. The seats I managed to purchase were the 2nd class. 1st class was sold out, but to be honest, I'm not picky. My friend wanted the 1st class. I heard the a...