Conquering Mount Kinabalu

25-28 August 2017

2 newbies, 1 anemic and 1 hopeless case (that’s me).

Sometimes, you just need willpower to conquer mountains.

The carnivorous pitcher plant

Similar to when I went to the Himalayas, as soon as we booked our trip to Kota Kinabalu, I prepared for the trip by doing two local hikes (Mt. Ulap and Mt. Batulao) and visiting the doctor (I was slightly sick for the last 2 months). Two weeks before our flight, I had my annual physical exam and after some hiccups with my results, it was deemed that I was not unfit to hike. J

Even though we arrived early in the afternoon at Kota Kinabalu, we didn't bother going around the city. We went straight to our lodging, prepared our gear and just went out to eat and buy what we needed. We were asleep early that night and by 6AM, we were ready to go!

We started at Timpohon Gate (1866 MASL) sometime past 9 in the morning and arrived at Laban Rata (3270 MASL) around 5PM. My friends were walking at my pace, so we were all slow (although they eventually went ahead at the latter part of the trek). A lot of groups arrived earlier and our group was among the slowest.

There were (6) huts along the route to Laban Rata. One hut for every kilometer (out of 6 kilometers) although the distance from one hut to the other varies. There were toilets and benches on each hut and a sign on how far is the next one. The route was mostly stairs and large steps. Then when it rained, it became mud.

The route to Laban Rata is mostly steps

After around the 3rd hut, one of our mates hired a porter and I was walking a good distance behind from all of them. It started raining when we around the 4.5km mark. I had a poncho that kept me dry, except for my shoes which got soaked (even though they were supposed to be waterproof).

It took us almost 8 hours to reach Laban Rata. Without taking off my soaked shoes, I had my dinner. I had two servings of dinner and a porrridge before bringing my bag up to our room. I was going to go back for another serving but I ended up staying in bed.

We switched off our lights by around 7 in the evening but there seemed to be electricity throughout the night. My bed was next to the window and I could hear the rain most of the night. The room felt stuffed and a little suffocating and it was a relief when someone finally left the door ajar during the night. I was damn tired and although my sleep was more or less sufficient, I kept on waking up to pee during the night.

We were awake by 1:30 and had a small meal before we resumed our ascent at 2:30AM. The beginning of the route to the summit was mostly stairs and steps. Near the summit, we were walking on big rocks (the peak is basically a massive rock) Some parts of the route were so steep that you need to use ropes to ascend. We were told that we had to reach the checkpoint by 5AM and the summit by 7AM. I knew that I was slower than the average so I was determined to keep on walking no matter how slow my pace was. I barely stopped to rest throughout the ascent. We made it to the checkpoint a quarter before 5AM. I later learned that they weren't that strict with the time limits. As long as you're willing to go up, you will make it to the summit.

Ropes on the route

Steep ascent

The sun was rising when we reached the 8.5km mark. For a moment, I thought we were already at the summit. We weren’t. But the summit was in sight. We just needed to walk and climb over a few more boulders.

It was cold and windy. When we made it to the summit, my body was warm but my hands were freezing. I brought a fleece jacket on my way to the summit but didn't use it. My windproof/waterproof jacket over my sports shirt was sufficient to keep my body warm. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring proper gloves. I brought safety gloves which protected my hands while holding the ropes. But since the ropes were wet and there was cold wind, my hands were freezing. Since I had to keep my hands in my pocket, I ended up not taking photos (which was unfortunate for my friend who took my photos).

The sky is your backdrop

After waiting in queue to have our photos taken on the summit, we started our descent and made it back to Laban Rata 10AM. After 3 servings of breakfast, we checked out around 11:30 and resumed our descent. Descending was torturous. Imagine climbing down a staircase from 4095 meters to around 1200 meters. Our stops were less than 5 minutes. My knees and thighs were in pain. We all hired a trekking pole for 10myr (120php) each at the start of the trek. I didn't use it on the way up but I leaned on it all the way down.

After what seemed like endless flight of stairs, we finally made it back to Timpohon Gate around 4PM. My legs were aching and I was walking funny (It ached for an entire week). This is probably gonna be my last hike for the next couple of years.

Why I trek

Siem Reap

Back in 2009, fresh from my first low-budget trip in Thailand, I started planning for my trip to Cambodia. However, it wasn’t until almost five years later when I finally got myself to Siem Reap.

Angkor Wat

 It was 19° Celsius when we landed. While this may be the average temperature in some countries, I live in a country where the average temperature is 30° Celsius and 25° Celsius is considered cold. My parents went to Cambodia earlier that year, in April, and mum had been quite emphatic with the fact that it was very, very hot. Since it was December, I assumed that the climate would be cool, like the rest of Southeast Asia. My cousin Gill was practical enough to check the weather before we left. However, my sister Tin, brought shorts and flimsy clothes for the trip. Thankfully, there were $2-4 scarves being sold everywhere.

We arrived late at night in Siem Reap and a friendly tuktuk driver met us at the airport, compliments of our hotel. Recommended by mum, we stayed at Gloria Angkor Hotel. It’s a nice small hotel—clean rooms with bathroom ensuite, hot shower, free wifi and breakfast (which you can take anytime of the day). There are probably other cheaper accommodations in Siem Reap but Gloria Angkor was a comfortable option at a good price. We got the package that included a tuktuk for the duration of our stay.

An introduction to Angkor

Although we did our research on which places we wanted to see, our background on Angkor architecture and how Hinduism, Buddhism and Khmer history fits into it was limited. So naturally, our first stop was at the Angkor Archaeological Museum. The museum was an educational experience for me especially since I didn’t know much about Hinduism (Devas, Asuras, Apsaras…) or Khmer architecture (lingas, lintels, gopuras, bas-reliefs…). Among the 8 galleries of the museum, my favorite was the gallery of 1,000 Buddhas. The details of the relics were intricate and of really good quality; it was hard to believe that these were created centuries ago.

We also went to the Silk Farm by Artisan’s d’Angkor on our first day. About 30 minutes from the city center, the silk farm offers a free tour of silk farming, production and weaving. Until I visited the farm, I had no idea how meticulous it was to weave!

Angkor Silk Farm

The temple run

There are a loooooot of temples in Siem Reap. I don’t have enough patience to describe each temple in detail—they’re all available in Wikipedia. And we didn’t go to all the temples, including Beng Mealea, which according to my research, was too far to reach by tuktuk. Nevertheless, with our 3-day Angkor Pass, we visited enough temples to satiate our temple fever.

Let’s start with the most recognizable temple and the main reason I was in Siem Reap: Angkor Wat Built in the 12^th century, Angkor Wat (Temple City) is an engineering wonder (of course I have to say that… I’m an engineer!). Our tuktuk driver dropped us off the East Entrance, where we met a couple of monkeys. We took our time deciphering the bas-reliefs at the eastern gallery and then we climbed the steep stairs to the Bakan, Angkor Wat’s uppermost terrace.

Although Angkor Wat is undeniably grander and more striking, my favorite temple visit was at Preah Khan, probably because we practically had the temple to ourselves when we were there. Preah Khan was mostly ruins with the jungle enveloping the structure. Talking about trees growing out of the structures, Ta Prohm was the most “jungled” among the temples. In terms of carvings and bas-reliefs, I liked Banteay Srei the most. The carvings in Banteay Srei’s red sandstone were of really good quality.

Ta Prohm

Our visit to the Angkor Archaeological Museum before any of our temple visits was definitely a good decision—we were able to appreciate and differentiate the carvings, bas-reliefs and the entire temple structure. Visiting the Angkor Archaeological Park was like stepping into a different era (with a bunch of other tourists).

After our temple fever had lost its heat, we visited the Floating Village at the Tonle Sap Lake. It’s a bit of a tourist trap—you need to pay an additional fee to see the inner village and mangroves, on top of the short motorboat ride. And I bet none of the money goes to the villagers! But the row boat was a nice quiet experience... and something I’ve never done before.

Photo: Tonle Sap

Itinerary

DAY 1 Morning: Angkor National Museum, Royal Residence (Not open to public) and Royal Garden (there’s a shrine nearby), Angkor Silk Farm; Afternoon: Wat Thmey (killing field), sunset at Phnom Bakheng Mountain

DAY 2 Morning: Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom (Bayon, Baphuon, Phimeanakas, Terrace of the Elephants, Terrace of the Leper King); Afternoon: Chau Say Tevoda, Thommanon, Ta Keo (under renovation), Ta Prohm, sunset at Pre Rup temple 

DAY 3 Morning: Sunrise at Angkor Wat, Preah Khan, Neak Pean, Ta Som, East Mebon, Banteay Samre, Banteay Srei; Afternoon: Bantey Kdei, Prasat Cravan 

DAY 4 Morning: Rolous Group (Preah Ko, Bakong, Lolei), Floating Village/Tonle Sap lake; Afternoon:  Tonle Sap lake, Souvenir shopping at Pub Street, Sunset at Phnom Bakheng

 DAY 5 – FREE DAY!

Catching the sunset

Our first attempt to catch the sunset was on our first day, at Phnom Bakheng (Note: When you buy your ticket after ~4:30 PM, the activation date of your ticket will be the next day). We endured the 30 minute hike up the mountain and the long queue to the top of the temple. However, it was too cloudy, so there was no sunset.

Our second attempt was on our second day, at Pre Rup. We stayed for about 2 hours in this temple, hoping to catch the sunset. But again, it was too cloudy.

Our third attempt was catching the sunrise at Angkor Wat (okay, so this isn’t a sunset but let’s categorize it with our sunset attempt anyway…). We woke up 4AM and eagerly waited for a postcard-perfect sunrise at the west entrance, facing Angkor Wat. Ideally, the sun would rise behind the temple with the beautiful reflection of the temple at the lily-filled water basin. Sadly, the clouds were on the way again.

On our fourth day, the last day of our 3-day Angkor Pass, after enduring another hike up hill at Phnom Bakheng… luck was on our side. On our fourth attempt, we finally saw the sun gracefully setting down unto the horizon.

Sunset at Phnom Bakheng

Shopping and Food trips

Since I’m a frugal travel, I don’t really shop or eat much when I travel. However, with my foodie and shopaholic sister in this trip, shopping and eating were in the itinerary. We spent every night at Pub Street, the Old Market or at Siem Reap Art Center Night Market.

Photo: Pub Street

Although we also ate at other local stalls around Siem Reap (that our tuktuk driver recommended), I liked the food at Pub Street area best. The Amok Sampler at Amok Restaurant is a good way to taste the famous Khmer amok, however, it was the loklak that I loved best. We also tried spring rolls and some curry dish at temple bar while enjoying the free Apsara Dance over dinner. Although I’m pretty sure it’s not Cambodian, we also had crocodile pizza at The World Lounge Restaurant. And of course, we didn’t pass the chance of eating some special sort of pizza at Happy Special Pizza. I got quite happy 3 hours later and then after an hour more, maybe a little too happy.

Finale

I have finally stepped foot on the astounding Angkor Wat! Cambodia did not disappoint my expectation. The temples were astonishing and the Cambodians were the friendliest people I’ve met. Why have I been putting off this trip for five years? Shrug. Looking back during the time when I first got into low-budget travels, I thought I needed more than a backpack (a big luggage) to travel. Today, I can fit a lot of things into a 32-liter backpack and it’s enough for me. But then again, whenever I return home, I do carry with me more—that intangible thing that comes with travelling.

Expenses

Category	USD
Transportation	278
Airfare (MNL-SRP-MNL)	236
Taxi, Tuktuk, Toll Fee, etc (MNL, SRP)	6
Travel Tax (MNL, PHP 1620)	36
Accommodation	82
Package ($217/room)	72
Additional night ($30/room)	10
Food	39
Attractions	73
Shopping	14
Personal souvenirs	5
Gifts	9
Others	13
Total	$  499.00

*We also spent about $15 for tips (my sister was in-charge of the tips) 

Detailed Expenses



Siem Reap Photo Gallery

Ho Chi Minh

29 March 2012

Every year, my family from the mother’s side would spend a short vacation together. For the past couple of years, I haven’t been able to join the annual vacation but this year, my schedule (or my lack of a schedule) permitted me to join them. And this year, we all went to the former capital of Vietnam… formerly known as Saigon… Ho Chi Minh City.

When we arrived, the first thing everyone noticed was that Facebook was blocked. Haha!  After we have settled in, our tour guide Nguyen suggested that we have lunch at Pho 2000. US President Bill Clinton once visited this restaurant and you could see a photo of him with the restaurant staff mounted on the wall, inside the restaurant.

Pho 2000 restaurant

One thing distinct about Vietnam is its traffic, which was mainly composed of motorcycles.  As we rode the tour bus around the city, I noticed all sort of Vietnamese iin motorcycles: women in business attires, men carrying bulky items and a family of 3 in one motorcycle. Their helmets look like hats, some with cute designs, with not a lot of padding in it.

Vietnamese Traffic

Our hotel, the Blue Diamond Hotel, was conveniently located a few blocks away from one of Vietnam’s market, Cho Bến Thành. From flowers and fruits to fake bags and local clothes, you can find all these in the market. Cheaper goods sold wholesale can be found at another market, Cho Bình Tây at the Chinatown. Fake but relatively good quality bags are supposedly cheap in Vietnam. However, I don’t know much about bags or shopping so I can’t verify that.

Cho Ben Thanh

Cho Binh Tay

Our second day started with the famous Cu Chi Tunnels. The tour brought us to the complex underground tunnels. Some of the entrances and exits were so small that you have to be quite skinny to fit into them. There were also different sorts of hidden traps that look like they were from a horror movie.

Secret entrance to the tunnels

A rolling trap

After the Cu Chi Tunnels, we spent an hour at the War Remnants Museum (Bảo tàng chứng tích chiến tranh). The museum exhibits documentary photos during the Vietnam wars. It shows the sad consequences of the war: innocent civilians mutilated by chemical weapons and malnourished prisoners. A number of photos were quite grotesque; they tell the stirring stories of the victims.

War Remnants Museum

Our last destination for the day was at the Independence Palace (Di Tích Lịch Sử Dinh Độc Lập), which used to be South Vietnam’s presidential palace. Today, it’s a historical relic and a venue for government events. I find the basement the most interesting part of the palace. There, you can find the President’s war room, vintage telephones, radios and typewriters. 

Independence Palace / Reunification Palace

On our third day in Vietnam, we had a half day tour at Mekong Delta. Before reaching the green and muddy village of Mekong, we rode a motorized boat along the Mekong River. The village was quite tourist oriented. Tropical fruits and drinks were served, there was a Vietnamese lady singing in costume and local souvenirs. My favorite part at Mekong was riding a small boat at the river, manually paddled by women wearing nón lá hats, the Vietnamese conical hat.

Riding a boat at the Mekong River

The Vietnam war had made a poignant affect to the country. Vietnam was the first communist country I've been to. Ho Chi Minh may not have the amazing temples of Bangkok or the amazing beach of Boracay, but it is in a country where you can easily be a millionaire (1 Million VND≈  50 USD). 
 



29 March 2012 ETD 07:15 ETA 08:55
01 April 2012 ETD 15:30 ETA 19:10

Tidbits from Singapore

Two hours after landing in Singapore, my sisters and I headed towards Johore Bahru, Malaysia. We purposely planned to arrive in Singapore, have lunch or snacks at JB, Malaysia then go back to Singapore the same day. So right after settling our luggage at the hotel, we took the MRT to Kranji station. And from Kranji station, we found several buses going towards Jahore Bahru. The whole trip (from the ride to the immigration) took only about 2 hours and 4SGD per person. With a map, we trotted towards Sultan Ibrahim Building and Sultan Abu Bakar Mosque in our heels. We later learned that it’s better to take a taxi to go around Johore Bahru. It’s cheap and much faster. At around 6PM, we headed back to Singapore and straight to Chinatown station using the MRT. Chinatown was lovely… There were Chinese lanterns decorated in the streets. Chinese goods, cheap souvenirs and food were scattered along the road.

We started our second day at the Singaporean Flyer. It is the largest observation wheel in the world. The ride costs about 30SGD and gives you a breathtaking view of Singapore. I recommend you go around the city first before taking the ride to be able to appreciate the structures you’ll see. After the 30-minute ride, we made our way to the National Museum. From food to fashion, the museum provides a look of Singapore’s unique culture—a mix of Indian, Malay and Chinese. From the museum, we walked towards Istana Park. This is where the president of Singapore resides. Opening only a few times a year, we were just in time to have viewed the park.

At night, we went to the night safari. Be prepared to have a camera that has night mode. We could take pictures of the animals but camera flash is not allowed since this can hurt the animals. The highlight of the night safari is the 45-minute tram ride which will give you a glimpse of the animals. The tram ride already includes a guide. For a closer look of the animals, there are walking trails that you can get on.

After shopping around the malls at Orchard Road, we decided to stroll around Clarke Quay. We stayed there until sunset and until the lights around the place lit up.

Food

75% of our time in Singapore was spent eating. We devoured everything from Indian to Chinese.

Mango-Avocado Ice Kachang from Chinatown. Amidst the hot weather, we cooled down with Ice Kachang, dessert made of shaved ice, sago, fruits and condensed milk. You can find this everywhere but my personal favorite is the one in China town. Another dessert we tried is Robour Cha Cha and Fruit Combo Sago from Kopitiam. Robour Cha Cha is a hot dessert made of fruits, milk and sago. Fruit Combo Sago is similar to Ice Kachang.


Some must-try’s are the Satay and Laksa. Satay is like a barbeque served with peanut sauce. The meat can be mouton, chicken, beef and many more. The thing I love about Satay is the peanut sauce—definitely makes your ordinary barbeque tastier. At the National Museum, Laksa was mentioned as one of Singapore’s dish so we had to give it a try. It’s a spicy noodle soup; make sure you have a large soda while you eat this!

The Coffee Connoisseur (TCC). While roaming around Singapore, we noticed that there were several TCC here and there. So, on our last day, we decided to try it. It’s a Singaporean coffee shop and they have several branches around the city. The food is okay… it’s worth a try.

Bangkok Trip

I’ve always wanted to experience a low-budget travel…just carrying a backpack, staying in crabby inns or even a tent, and meet the most amazing parts of the world. Although I’ve already had my own share of travelling before, it was always in the comfort of a luxury hotel and a cab. Now 21, I’ve already gotten my degree and a dose of the corporate world, I decided it’s time to start travelling to places I’ve always wanted to go and just experience the different cultures in the world and their landmarks. I had put up a list of places to go to before I reach 30 and I decided to start with Bangkok.

Bangkok

I planned the trip with two of my friends from high school—Kate and Gill. The trip was just a short one, 4 days and 3 nights, on the weekend of Valentine’s. Since we basically only had two full days to go around the city, we made a flexible itinerary of all the places we wanted to go to: one day for sightseeing and one day for shopping. So, with a small luggage and a 3.2 megapixel Sony Ericsson cybershot phone, my Bangkok trip began.

We stayed at Soi1 guesthouse, which reminded me of my college dorm. The rooms had a locked door and private shower but we had to share a toilet with the other guests (I survived!). It did not exactly meet my standard of cleanliness but for a guesthouse, it was relatively clean with a few small roaches at times. They do have hot showers 24/7 (which I found helpful after a whole day of walking), free wifi and guests have free use of internet for 20 minutes between 10PM to 6AM. Although in the midst of an Asian country, we found ourselves staying in a houseful of Caucasians that it seemed like we were the odd ones out. Nevertheless, the guests were mostly young travelers—no creepy weirdos—and seemed nice enough.

Condoms and Cabbages

Our first official Thai meal was at Condoms and Cabbages. It was highly recommended by the mum of Gill’s friend who recently went to Thailand. It’s a nice restaurant, located in Thailand’s population and community development association building, and the food was quite good. The concept, condoms and cabbages, is a unique one and the big tarpaulin that promoted safe sex and family planning was quite amusing. They also have several mannequins’ impressively dressed in condoms. The proceeds from the shop and restaurant are used to fund the population and community development association. It was certainly a good place to start our trip.

Transportation

We tried everything: water taxi (in the canal), river taxi, MRT (subway), BTS (sky train), tuktuk (tricycle) and a hell lot of walking. I learned that I had the best stamina (or rather tolerance to pain—from the heat and from walking) among the three of us. I guess I’m more in shape that I thought I was. I found the water taxi in the canal most interesting--they had a mechanism to lower the ceiling of the boat whenever it passes a bridge. As for the tuktuk, we’ve already been fairly warned that tuktuk drivers tend to trick foreigners. True enough, a tuktuk driver who claimed to be government tuktuk, said that the grand palace was not yet open (yeah right!) and offered us a ride to three temples for only 30BHT (10BHT each). Fully aware that it could be a scam, we gamely allowed ourselves to be tricked and see what happens. The tuktuk did bring us to the three temples that he promised but then brought us to a store that sold gems. I don’t know if it was really a scam or not, but 10BHT for almost an hour’s worth of ride isn’t bad. And we didn’t have to buy any gems anyway.

Sight Seeing

Thailand is beautiful. Well, Bangkok is. I’m very particular with the metro/trains of the different countries I’ve been too and theirs is clean and well organized. Their infrastructures are well built. And the people, although not very fluent in English, are helpful and friendly.

A few hours after arriving in Bankok, we made our way to Erawan shrine. It was already night time and we were not prepared to meet a smoky atmosphere from the incense lighted for the four-faced Hindu-god Brahma. We were fortunate enough to have witnessed a Thai dance, which was a prayer offered by one of the locals. We ended the night early to prepare for a strenuous next day.


We started our second day by taking the water taxi to the Golden mount. We climbed the 300 steps (I didn’t really count, though). It’s not as difficult as you might think. Then we made our way to Khao San Road for lunch, passing by the Giant Swing along the way. Khao San road was just a strip, filled with tourists—some even sporting a bikini. Since we were on a tight schedule, we didn’t stay long in Khao San road, but headed towards the Wat Phra Kaew and the Grand Palace complex. There is a 350BHT admission fee for both, which was all worth it. Wat Phra Kaew, otherwise known as the temple of the Emerald Buddha, is an architectural wonder. It is elaborately designed in gold and it housed the Emerald Buddha. A sacred monument, tourists are asked to remove their shoes, avoid pointing their toes towards the Buddha and refrain from taking pictures. An interesting fact about the Emerald Buddha is that it has a different wardrobe for every season: cold, rainy and hot. The wardrobes are found in the Coins and Decorations Museum, except for the one in season, which the Buddha wears in Wat Phra Kaew. The wardrobe is changed when the season changes. We didn’t spend much time in the Grand Palace but we took a lot of pictures from the outside. A little walk from the complex is Wat Pho (temple of the reclining Buddha) with a 50BHT admission fee. As it is named, it reclines an astounding 150ft, with a smug in its face and intricate mother of pearl patterns at the palm of its feet. My 5 foot physique and limited camera phone could not take a full shot of this Buddha.

Across the river was Wat Arun, temple of the dawn. Since Gill and Kate were already exhausted, I climbed the steep steps of Wat Arun alone. The steps were so steep that there were rails along the way that we had to clutch as we practically crawled up and down. From the top is a scenic view of the river and the surrounding temples. During the dawn would have been a perfect time to go to Wat Arun. We ended our long day at Suan Lum night market, where we explored the different Thai cooking for dinner. They were spicy!

Touring Bangkok in one day was fulfilling yet it felt like we were in an Amazing Race episode. Of course, going around Bangkok has its price. All three of us got a bad case of allergies after eating shrimp. Kate, who wasn’t used to travelling or doing outdoor-type activities got tired very easily on our second day and was in a bit of a sour mood after getting lost a few times. On the contrary, Gill and I enjoyed getting. After all, it’s all part of the whole trip and it’s usually where you find the unexpected.

Chatuchak

Our third day was shopping. All shopping. Chatuchak is Thailand’s biggest weekend market. They sell everything—from food to clothes. The only thing you can’t find there are IT goods. And they sell at a very good price. Although the place opens at 7AM, not all stalls are open until around 11AM. The first thing we did at the market was to eat the mango sticky rice. It's a thai dessert made of sweet sticky rice and mango, topped with condensed milk. For 50BHT, it was a delicious treat. One whole day was not enough for me though. For first timers in the market, the best route is that you spend one day canvassing and another day doing the actual buying. But for those on a tight schedule, it’s best to immediately buy what you want as you may not have time to go back to the same stall again. After spending one whole day at chatuchak (8AM to 4PM without rest), my thighs hurt and as usual, I regretted not buying that shirt I should’ve bought. You see, I like to canvass before considering, consider before debating and debate before actually buying. But hey, I was able to buy most of the things I wanted to buy.

The End

There were plenty of things I’ve learned in my first low-budget trip. Numero uno: Choose your travel buddies well. It’s no fun having someone in a sour mood dragging you down. Expectations for the trip should be well aligned even before planning the trip. As a Gemini, I like having my trips spontaneous; exploring the unknown and not willing to succumb to fatigue. Ending the day with sore muscles and numb feet but a rewarding experience is much better than ending the day in comfort with barely anything to remember. The trip being only a short period of time, only gave me a glimpse of Bangkok. I would definitely go back to Thailand and it would be longer than a weekend. The trip was absolutely amazing and my experience was something I’d want to share with everyone (Hence, this write up). So, voila! There goes my Bangkok trip. Next stop will be Cambodia.