Cambodia and back to Thailand

Last time I updated I was slowly making my way to the Cambodian border. Well I took a few more buses and mini buses and finally made it to the border that seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. There were no foreigners and very few people over all crossing there, which was both good and bad. Good because they didn't try to scam me out of any money like i have heard at some other borders they do, but bad because there were no buses or anything going anywhere. Eventually I found a taxi to drive me and three other Cambodians towards Siam Reap which was 5 hours away, half of which was very bumpy dirt roads. Also all along the side of the road there were signs that said 'caution land mines' which i knew was going to happen, but it was pretty crazy to actually see. Luckily I didn't need to get out of the car on the side of the road for anything. So I made it to Siam Reap and signed up for the 5am sunrise at Angkor Wat the next day. It turned out to be a really great day. I decided I only had time to do one day at the temples, so i hired a motorcycle to drive me around to save some time. We started at the actual Angkor Wat temple for sunrise, which was pretty awesome. Its huge! Then while it was still early we went to Bayon, which was by far my favorite one. Its not as big, but its full of carved faces all over it, which I just loved. There are a bunch of small temples all around so I spend the morning looking at them, had some lunch, and then in the afternoon saw Angkor Thom, which is cool because there are all kinds of trees and roots taking over the temple. I think it was definitely worth all the hassle of getting there, even just for one day at the temples, they are truly amazing.

After only two full days in Cambodia, I took a bus to the Thai border and then a train back to Bangkok so I could get some errands done before my sister arrived. I spend almost an entire day getting extra pages added to my passport because I realized I only had three full pages left, which isn't very much. They give you more pages for free at the US embassy so it all worked out. And then Anjali arrived! She is here until I leave Thailand, which is very exciting. She is actually here longer, but I'm leaving on the 18th to head to Africa. So the day she arrived we did the Grand Palace in Bangkok again, which was a big crowded but still very nice. Bangkok was soooo hot that we didn't want to stay in the city for too long, so we took a train to Ayutthaya which is 1 1/2 hours north and full of old templs and huge Buddha statues. We saw the largest bronze Buddha and also a 23 meter high one which was cool. After a few days there we took a train back to bangkok and then a bus to Hua Hin to meet Pieter who was staying with Lindy, who we meet in Laos. She is actually house sitting for a family whose daughter she tutors here so we are all staying in a really great house at the moment. It has a pool and AC and its nice to be staying in a real house for once. The plan is to hang out on the beach here today and then start to head more south tomorrow to one of the islands on the east side of the peninsula.