gearing up for bangkok-siem reap

after coming down from the high that came with the success of the i gotta go! blog contest, now i'm busying myself with preparations for the coming week's mega-trip: the bangkok-siem reap adventure!

i can't believe i'm only days away from this trip! we've had our tickets since may, and a lot of emails have been exchanged between me and my friends, to make sure we get to do everything we can for all 9 days of the trip.

we leave manila on friday night, and arrive in bangkok a little before midnight. to make full use of our time, we'll be going straight to cambodia, no sleeping in bangkok. the first bus leaves at 330am, and we're hoping to be at the border by 730am. i'm hoping we arrive in siem reap by noon, so we have time to rest and enjoy our sunset pack at phnom bakheng, courtesy of the villa's three-night luxury package. budget-luxury, i love the concept. :)

the next few days will have us touring around to see the temples, and i'm hoping to sneak in a trip to the silk farm, and an elephant ride. the villa will also be giving us cocktail vouchers and pool passes to let us cool off after a day of exploring. when we're done with siem reap, we head back to bangkok by train. sarah and i are really looking forward to this; we're train freaks, and our lust cannot be filled by our PNR and the local MRT and LRT.

our bangkok headquarters will be take a nap, a pretty clean hostel with unique themed rooms. it's close to the sam yan subway station, and we're also just a short distance from patpong and lumpini park.

for tours, we'll probably just do the usual: grand palace, wat arun, wat phra kaew, and we'll throw in vimanmek and jim thompson house. what i'm really excited about is the food. i know it's spicy, but i'm game to try it. i hope i get to eat locusts, too!

i'm hoping i get to find time to pack today. i usually pack a week before a trip, to avoid accidentally using the clothes that i'm supposed to be using at my destination. i'm packing my usual 2 sarongs (because i can use it as a blanket, a towel, and a dress, among other things), toiletries (a spartan set of shampoo sachets for easy packing, a bar of soap that i got from isa, feminine wash, and cetaphil for mi face), and chargers for my gadgets (cellphone, camera, and eeepc).

my ukay-ukay trip to anonas a few weeks back also yielded a great find. i got a pair of mossimo khakis for just P175, and after trying it out, i found that it's perfect for the trip. it's thin enough to be cool, but thick enough to cover me up and not give me any see-through moments. it's also pretty easy to clean, i can just scrub it with tissue if i mess it up. and it goes well with everything.

i can't wait to find out how everything will go. :) i know things will never go as we had planned, and that's part of the real adventure. just keep checking i gotta go! to find out what's going on, as i'm planning to take advantage of the free-wi-fi facilities of our hostels to give periodic updates.