The Bus Scam

"If you arrive battered, exhausted, and in the dark, you're more likely to succumb to pressure and just collapse at their chosen guesthouse." This was warning that our trusty Lonely Planet guide gave to us before we embarked on the journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia via the only way known- Th Khao San. This road is a dusty, bumpy, dirty road reminiscent of something you would see horse-drawn carts traveling on in Little House on the Prairie. Fulfilling the description of the bus scam's goal to "make the journey as long and uncomfortable as humanly possible" it lasted fourteen grueling hours starting at 6:30 am. After booking the seemingly convenient tickets (insuring that they would provide transportation across the border) we woke up the next morning only to be shoved to the back of a mini-bus, which would take us to the border town of Aranya Prathet in Thailand. After getting our visas (which is a story in itself) we arrived at the Cambodian border town of Poipet. Of what is described as the cesspool of Cambodia, Poipet made it very clear the atmospheric change we were about to experience. After waiting 3 hours in  sweltering heat, it was to our excitement (pure sarcasm) that our next bus was not air-conditioned. I know, I know, suck it up- right? Wrong- because when the vinyl seats stick to any uncovered skin and make the covered skin sweat like you were in plastic wrap, the dust from Khao San road piercing your eyes from the opened windows (its either open or a sauna), and backpacks stacked through the aisles to the point that would be considered a safety hazard anywhere else in the world, driving on a road that any professional dirtbike rider would salivate over, all for 6 hours in a seat meant for someone 5''2', our only thoughts were that those damn temples better be worth it- and they were. (read on)