Travel Day: Siem Reap?

A tout approached me as I entered the main entrance of Bangkok’s Mochit bus terminal promising to direct me to the right ticket booth. I told him “Aranya Prathet” (the town resting adjacent to the Cambodian border). He nodded and took me to a nearby ticket booth.

I said to the ticket lady “Aranya Prathet.”

She nodded as the tout had and wrote up a ticket before pointing me in the direction of bay number 26, where the bus was waiting.

Just before I entered the bus, I reconfirmed with the ticket taker “Aranya Prathet.”

To which s/he (ladyboy) replied “chai” (yes).

So here I am in a little town called Phrae. 800 kilometers away from where I’m supposed to be, in a province that, as of a couple of days ago, is in a state of emergency (massive flooding). Where foreigners rarely travel and nobody speaks English.

Ah, sweet, sweet adventure.