20. Chanthaburi
12.10.2023
With 2 days on my Cambodia visa left I had to plan my next move. Crossing the border to Thailand on the land was a given, but where to go? The obvious and cheapest (USD $25.00) choice was Bangkok. This would be just a stepping stone for me to fly to Chiang Mai in the North where I like to spend at least 3-4 weeks assuming I get a visa extension to 2 months in total. But then again I also wanted to see a city or smaller town I hadn't been to before. Chanthaburi looked appealing but despite my best efforts and asking tuk tuk drivers, travel agencies and bus travel companies, it became obvious that there are no scheduled regular buses to Psahr Prum where I would have to cross the Cambodian border to Thailand. A private taxi was quoted online with USD $90.00 and the more economic option of a shared taxi was out of question as I didn’t know anyone wanting to take the same route. That’s what I thought until the staff of my hotel told me they could organise a shared taxi for me at 7:30am the next morning. USD $12.00 for the back seat, $15.00 at the front seat which would be allocated automatically if I was the only passenger. - And that's exactly how it went. Half way to the border we picked up an older Cambodian dude. The driver kindly stopped 2-3x for me pointing out landmarks like temples and other photogenic attractions and I took some snapshots mostly through the rolled down car window.
Psahr Prum is a literally a border town. While Ha Tien in Vietnam was still 7 km away from the check-point, in Psahr Prum the check-point is in the middle of a road as if someone had declared at some point: this is where we cut off our our town and country and the other side of the road belongs to Thailand.
Apparently being a German with a shiny new passport is an issue everywhere and the guys working at the border don't see one very often. Several officers attended my case, my passport was handed over from one guy to the next. I was told to stay put while they walked away making phone calls...and that was only for getting my departure stamp on the Cambodian site. It took almost 20 minutes to get it resolved and then without any explanation or apologies the paperwork was done and I headed further to the check-point on the Thai side. It wasn't straight forward either, but easier. What wasn't easy at all was getting from the border to Chanthaburi. The son of the owner of my Battambang hotel had explained to my that I should get a ride on a motorbike or pickup truck to a nearby bus station from where I could take a local bus to Chanthaburi costing only around 200 Baht (USD $5.50). Okay, sounds doable I thought.
A foreigner with lots of luggage is a great target for local drivers seeing an opportunity to make bank. They approached me like vultures trying to convince me that there was no local bus and no bus station and that it would cost 1,800 Baht to bring me to Battambang. I was not going to let those guys screw me over. I fended off their unreasonable attacks on my travel budget and told them I would be back if there was indeed no other means of travel available. I walked around the area in front of the check-point, asked people in shops if they spoke English and if they knew how to get to Chanthaburi by bus. My Cambodian SIM card's credit had expired (which might have still worked at the Thai border or not) so I could not revert to Google Translate. Without internet access and nobody speaking decent English I felt lost and desperation crept in. I finally found a shop that was a travel office/bus service so I asked for a ride to Chanthaburi. - I did not get a comprehensible answer and then one of the tuktuk driver who was hanging around in front of the shop saw me, entered and started talking to the my travel agent. I got totally sidelined while the two engaged in a lively conversation. After several minutes the tuk tuk driver looked at me saying: 1,000 Baht, okay? I was really fed up at this point and with more emotion than maybe appropriate in an Asian country in which keeping face is everything I loudly said: “NO! That's still way too much. I an not paying that price.” It was a bit of a gamble because what should I do if there was really no bus...should I start walking and hope someone would give me a lift for cheap? Chanthaburi is 90km from the border and once it was getting dark I would be really in trouble. The shop guy continued arguing with the tuk tuk scoundrel who finally buggered off. I am still curious what their chat was about. My suspicion is that the driver tried to convince the travel shop guy to pawn me off to him in exchange for a juicy commission.
I will never know. The shop guy turned to me and said: “Okay: 250Baht.” I didn't need a second to accept and bought the ticket. It turned out that all the other people waiting at the entrance of the shop were going to Chanthaburi, too, and conveniently the mini van parked outside was the designated transport vehicle for the job. I really dodged a bullet. Confidence and stubborness for the win! If I hadn't interviewed the hotel manager's son in Battambang intensely to get as many details as possible about my options, I probably would have caved and paid whatever those drivers deemed to be feasible to extort from me but I trusted there had to be an affordable option for local people low budget travellers like me to get to the only larger town in the further vicinity of the border. We left a few minutes after 12:00pm. Around 13 people in 4 rows with suitcases and other luggage items stacked in the back cramped into the van. We had already covered three or more kilometres when the driver received a call, turned around and went back to base. I suspected we would pick up one more person but no, they really wanted to squeeze 3 more people into the bus. The luggage got unloaded, a folded seat got errected, a young girl had to sit in the front between driver and co-driver and another one wedged himself into my row that was even shorter in width to leave space for the step at the sliding door. Now we were 16 in total plus a backpack carrier with a cat that was audibly complaining during the entire ride. Luckily the additional girl in my row was dropped half-way and the rest of the journey went smoothly with more, much appreciated seat comfort.
Without google maps working properly (no SIM card - no internet connection) I wasn't sure if I could make it to my hotel from the bus station by myself. I had checked out the location online the night prior but in real life things appear very differently most of the time.
For example the steep hill I had to climb with my luggage in tow was something I hadn’t anticipated. I prayed that I had taken the right direction and wasn't doing sisyphean work. All hail to my trusty brain! I made it without any detour to my hotel despite doubting myself more than once.
My hotel with the strange name Chomtique (the unique front window of the house gives it the charme of a boutique...maybe that's where the “ique” part comes from) is awesome. Yes, it is by far the most expensive room I had so far (AUD $25.00/USD $16.00) but the cheapest option for a private room within an easily walkable distance to the city centre. The only other hotel I initially considered had a lot of concerning reviews about hygiene issues and I knew I wouldn’t enjoy my stay if I had to put up with mould, cockroaches, etc., in particular after having been spoilt recently in Siem Reap with a luxurious room for a week. The risk I took was that the hotel had zero reviews but I judged it purely by the images and guessed that the hotel was simply very new and in pristine shape.
- And I was right! The receptionist who doubled as cleaning lady let me choose between two rooms that looked equally lovely. Big windows on 2 sides, polished wooden doors, wooden furniture items for a warm feel and immaculate cleanliness. There are only a few small paint splashes on some bathroom tiles, very minor wall damage, most light switches and power sockets are still in shrink foil and all appliances (fridge, aircon, hot water heater in the shower) have a 5 star energy rating. The toilet sports a soft-close lid and the curtains not only have pull rods attached but overlap when fully closed to prevent light spillage. That shows attention to detail and is a sign of good interior design. Room verdict: APPROVED!
Okay, hold on – there is/was one major complaint: As soon as I ran water for more than 5 seconds in the wash basin, the water drainage became insufficient and the basin started to fill up. Using sign language I brought that to the receptionists attention. She had a look at it and came back a few minutes later to alleviate the issue with a plunger. It only resolved things for the day and by the next morning the water didn't drain anymore at all – the pipes were clogged completely. The hotel lady came back with the plunger for round 2, this time putting in a bit more effort. I thanked her, she left and I immediately walked into the bathroom to assess the supposedly fixed situation as I live by my completely made up travel-in-Asia-motto: DON'T TRUST IT – TEST IT! (And I guess I will adapt that mindset for Australia, too, once I am back.)
- Well, the drainage rate had improved considerably...but now water was leaking heavily underneath the sink. I got Mrs. Not-a-real-plumber back before she could vanish down the staircase at the end of the aisle. “Oh”, was her poignant response and she went back to work behind closed doors while also being on the phone. 2 hours later she came back with a guy dressed like a vacuum cleaner marketeer. I quickly learned that he was the professional in charge to end the leakage and drain blockage once and for all. It took a fair amount of time and I didn't let him go before making sure myself that everything was satisfactory.
Later I noticed that the shower drain might be the plumber’s next project in the near future but for now it isn't that bad. As long as I don't shower with maximum water pressure for more than 5 minutes, the bathroom doesn't get flooded.
Now it is 2pm and I have to hurry if I want to have a successful lunch and not end up again in front of shut restaurant doors since I figured out that most shops close at 5:00pm and many restaurants already at 3:00pm. See ya!
Below a few city impressions:
It's 7 hours later and I have to report that Chanthaburi is a nightmare for vegans new in town. Of course the dining place I had looked up online was closed and upon enquiry staff in non-vegan restaurants let me know that they were not able to serve “Jay” food.
Explanation: “Jay” is the Thai word for “from the heart” and refers to food that can be eaten by monks. “Jay” food doesn't contain meat and fish. If you also want to avoid eggs and other dairy products you need to ask for “Gin Jay” meaning something like strict vegan. The symbol for “Jay” looks like a number 17, usually red on a yellow background.
The Thai symbol for “Jay Food” suitable for monks.
In theory that should make it easy to find vegan food but in Chanthaburi's inner city it seemed to be an impossible task. I was recommended to go to a 7Eleven but all they had were refrigerated “jay” snack, some of them with eggs. I was extremely hungry and was craving for a big, fat, filling meal. The 7Eleven staff kindly tried to assist me on my quest by using google translate and finally pin pointed a location on the map on my phone. It appeared to be a temple at the other end of the inner city. What an Odyssee! I had my doubts if a temple visit would result in a well-fed Chris but what else should I do close to starvation.
My body felt exhausted and dehydrated courtesy to the exorbitant, inevitable surplus intake of solar energy. The Thai sun is just as scorching hot as the Australian sun. I had walked already around for 4km and got increasingly cranky. I had enormous sweat spots on my shirt. The back of it felt like it had just been pulled out of the washing machine – minus the pleasant laundry detergent smell. Still, I made the decision to expose myself again to the sun and walk for another 15-20min and give the temple a try.
On the way I scanned my environment like an eagle for eateries that potentially could meet my dietary requirements. I reached an intersection and spotted a long line of stalls that were in the middle of being set up. I approached, shared what I desired and - HALLELUJAH! - I just had found a “Gin Jay” stall.
I pantomimed that I wanted a big bowl with everything they had on offer. They served a plastic container filled with rice, mushrooms, all kinds of veggies and different mock meat for 50 Baht ( USD $1.38/AUD $2.17). It was dangerously spicy for me and in consequence I suffered from a hickup for several minutes. That didn't deter me from going for seconds while requesting less spiciness. In the process I learned the Thai expression for “not spicy” - definitely a term handy to know. I ordered a third container as take-away to mix it with the salad I had bought a few hours earlier at the market. No question, I will be back for more tomorrow. This shop a crucial life-line for me!
Now, that I have accumulated the essential knowledge where to get fruit, salad and hot food, I am mentally relaxed and can focus on my next two missions:
I. Finding a shop that has a tiny screwdriver for opening my phone’s SIM card compartment as I need to install a new Thailand compatible one and
II. Coming up with a viable concept how to strap 10 extra kilograms to my body whe I go through the Bangkok airport check-in in a few days. Domestic flights only allow checked-in baggage up to 15kg while my bag has increased its weight over the last two months to a staggering 25kg. I will look like a Christmas tree with camera lenses, a blender, a 1kg container of washing powder and countless shirts, shoes and board games attached to me to qualify as on-body items I don’t have to pay extra for. Yupp, will take a selfie for you when it’s happens. :-) Good Night!
