Border Crossing - Cambodia to Thailand

Well, after months of traveling SE Asia, we are back in Thailand.  It was quite to journey to get here from Cambodia, as we went through a remote border called Phrum (on the Cambodian side).  The road is in very bad condition, with lots of potholes in the dirt and gravel path.  There are no buses or public transportation that make this journey because of the road, so we had to hire a shared taxi to get from Battambang to Phrum.  After two hours of bumping around in the back seat through the remote countryside at a hair-raising speed, we safely arrived at the border, only to find that Cambodia would not give us an exit stamp, and Thailand would not let us enter the country because we did not have proof that we were going to leave Thailand (they wanted a plane or bus ticket).  It is a new law, one that we didn't have to deal with when we first entered Thailand.  It does not make sense, because if you are travelling over land in SE Asia, you may not know where or how you are going to exit Thailand. 

Long story short, we had proof in our email, but this town did not have internet. Jess took a long bumpy ride to the next town, Pailin on a motorbike in search of internet and printer combination.  We found internet, no printer.  We found printer, no internet.  No English either.  Very difficult.  Eventually we found someone with a flash drive to get the proof from the internet to the printer.  A dusty ride back to Phrum, and we were on our way to Thailand. 

We are in Thailand, and it is farily familiar, we know some words, the roads are awesome, transportation is easy, more people speak English.  We are in the city of Trat, a wonderful lazy, relaxing place to spend a few days.  Sadly, we are finding the Thai people to be quite cold compared with the rest of SE Asia.  It is a shame, and I don't know what to attribute it to.  All the same, we only have two weeks left in SE Asia, and we are really going to miss the way of life here.  Our friends Rebecca and Gijs are heading to Thailand for vacation just as we are leaving, so we will get to spend a day in Bangkok with them - we are really looking forward to their company!