So I decided to skip Vietnam and Laos to go back to a place in Thailand called Khao Lak to meet up with my friend Ali. Khao Lak is where I volunteered 4 years ago for the Tsunami Volunteer Centre and also where I first met Ali.

As soon as I got to Asia I could literally feel Thailand calling me and wanted to spend as much time there as possible so I figured Vietnam and Laos were places I could come back to if I felt regret at not going this time round.

I decided to get the bus from Battambang to Bangkok as it was too expensive to fly. The main worry with this is that the Lonely Planet and forums online are full of tales of how the Cambodia to Thailand bus is dodgy and a scam so I was pretty scared but had no other choice and made sure I could get as many details as possible from the guy in the guesthouse where I bought my ticket…it sounded as good as it could be so off I went...

The girls left before me so I walked to the bus stop where every single tuk tuk driver along the way try to get my business (this is standard), mostly I just point in the direction of the bus stop but for some reason I told one of them I was going to Bangkok…he proceeds to drive to the bus stop before me, says something to the ticket people and gives them some money…its not until after I get on the bus and it leaves 15 mins earlier than it was supposed to that I actually take in what just happened and so was convinced that he paid them to put me on the wrong bus and my mind goes into overdrive! I was the only westerner on the bus so I cant even ask anyone if this is indeed the right bus so I literally have to sit there for the journey praying that it will work out and I'm not going to get held hostage somewhere!!

So we arrived at the border town and everyone gets off the bus and the driver tells me I have to stay on and that yes it is going to Bangkok…we get to the actual border and the guy tells me he will take me to the next bus (even though when I booked it they said it would be one bus the whole way) but seeing as this guy is coming with me and carrying my bag it seems ok…..until he drops me at passport control and tells me to wait there and then he goes and gets back on the bus and drives off in the opposite direction!!!!!

There was an English couple in the line in front of me so I try to tell them what just happened but they couldn't care less and just say I'll probably be able to get a bus on the Thai side and just walk off and leave me…cheers!!

I somehow managed to figure out how to get to the other side…its literally just a bridge with the Cambodian exit office on one side and then the Thai arrival office on the other side but you cant see that from the start and the place is swarming with moto drivers trying to get your business and market stalls and very few western people in sight so it was extremely disorientating…I stopped at one point and must've looked distraught as a homeless looking person pointed me in the right direction!!

Luckily when I got to the other side there were a group of westerners (including the mean couple!) and some Thai guys checking bus tickets and we were put on to a minibus for the journey to Bangkok!

When we arrived into Bangkok we were dropped off a short walk from Khao San road and a taxi driver tried to charge me $5 to my guesthouse so I decided to walk and somehow managed to find it ok without getting pestered or mugged…YAY!!

I was staying on a road called Soi Rambuttri which was a 3 min walk from Khao San road which is the main backpacker hub. I was glad for this as it was sooooo much nicer and less crazy than Khao San road and it felt a lot safer and friendlier too! My hotel was really nice and had 2 rooftop pools.
I toyed with the idea of flying to phuket and then taxi-ing it to Khao Lak but would have cost £70 so I had to go with ANOTHER bus journey! I could have got a direct government bus but couldn't deal with the hassle of negotiating a tuk tuk to the bus station, trying to get the right ticket and then getting back so I went with one of the tourist bus tickets which meant a change of bus in Surat Thani. It was an overnight bus leaving at 7pm which arrived into Surat Thani at 5am and I had to wait in this really dirty tour office/restaurant until 6.30am for the next bus! It was a good job that I had been to Khao Lak before and knew what it looked like as they didn't tell me when to get off!