You might remember being a teenager, or you might have teenage children and can visualize how it was to wake my 15-year old daughter at 4.30 to take a walk in the pitch-darkness to find the station. All turned out perfect with some help from staying close to the station and meeting helpful people. Who is up at that crazy time? (Read the full story in the book). The train ride from Bangkok to Cambodia goes through a peaceful landscape and small villages. We were early and found seats alongside an ancient man who overslept his destination.
The border crossing in Aranyaprathet is famous for scams! We were prepared for that and headed directly for the Songthaew to avoid having unwanted passengers in our tuk-tuk. Don't buy Visas! You will find official cashiers further on so just stay calm and move on. Even better is to buy an e-visa before you leave home. We did and had time to look at the interesting no-man-land we walked through, passed Visa control in seconds, took the free bus to town and had time for a simple and tasty lunch. We had anticipated problems and instead we had a nice and relaxing day with beautiful views and time to listen to the audiobook. Transportation can be something to look forward to on journeys!
Angkor Wat, here we come - not yet! We arrived too late to Siem Ream to visit the magic temples so, we swam in the pool, had a beer, and took off to the bustling city where we did not dare to taste the grilled scorpions or the big hairy spiders. A police officer had several while we relaxed over some drinks.