Chris Gains

Back to the good ol USofA. It is taking a slight adjustment being back. For the most part, it feels like I slid back into my old life, except there is a slight difference. Everything seems the same except me. Everyone is working the same jobs, going to the same coffee shops and going out to the movies. A few friends have even been waiting excitedly to go hiking with me again. Everyone keeps asking me the same thing - "So, how was it?". This is a difficult question to answer. When you're gone for 11 months, you experience a lot. There are a lot of good times to tell, but there are a lot of  down time too. When you're living off of savings alone, there will be some down time. I would sit around at the coffee shop I purchased with my friend or just go out on a ride to explore the area on the sweet ride that is a 50cc Honda Super Cub. Quite often I get the response  that it's just crazy and there is no way they could do it themselves. For the most part people are ...

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...