MABUHAY!
GETTING THERE
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| This is our travel route map that took us 9 hours on a bus before reaching our destination. |
EXIT FROM SAVANNAKHET, LAOS ENTRY TO MUKDAHAN, THAILAND
After exiting in Laos immigration, our bus crossed the Thailand-Laos Friendship bridge. When we reached the Thai border, we lined up for a passport check. When the Thai immigration officer saw our passports, he said: "Filipinos, take your seats here." We really appreciate the way Thai officials treated us and did not ask for any money to get the entry stamp to Thailand.
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| Crossing Thailand-Laos Friendship bridge |
SLEEPING AT MUKDAHAN BUS STATION
Our target time to reach Mukdahan bus station is 4pm. But due to bus transfer, immigration's exit and entry stamp, we arrived here at 6pm. We immediately went to the Yellow bus office to buy tickets but the attendant informed us that the last trip bus is already fully booked. And the next trip will be at 6am the next day. We tried to appeal to her and told her we saw the bus with few passengers only but she insisted that it is already full. Buses in Thailand are booked in advance through bus ticket stations along the way. "So if we will stay overnight, can we sleep in the bus station?"I asked her. She nodded meaning yes. Our bus fare going to Aranyaprathet is around 500 Baht each.
OUR BREAKFAST
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| Our simple breakfast of noodle soup, bread, and coffee. |
THE TUKTUK DRIVERS
We made friends to a lot of tuk-tuk drivers. At night, they clean the bus station and make sure that the lights are switched off. When we woke up around 4am, one tuk-tuk driver accompanied us to the nearby gasoline station for us to use the comfort room. Another driver showed us electric outlets from some stalls at the station where we can charge our cell phones and other gadgets. They were very cheerful people.
THE YELLOW BUS
The bus that will take us to Aranyaprathet that is near the Cambodian border is the Yellow Bus.
March 31, 2018
DEPARTURE FROM MUKDAHAN BUS STATION
At 6am, with just 3 passengers including my wife and I, our bus went on. We saw some tourists in the bus station wherein most of them are headed to Bangkok. But along the way, during our bus ride, we haven't seen any tourist even at several buses stops we been. This part of Thailand is not a tourist trail.
(I'm very sorry that the date and time stamped on the photos are not correct.)
CLICK the LINK to READ the related article: Travel to Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia from Arrival Day 1- Part 2
THE BUS STOP
Reaching the bus stop, we asked the attendant if we can buy some food with US dollars. They told us to asked the lady who owns the place. She told us that she only accepts Thai Baht and said US dollars is useless to her. When she learned that we are Filipinos, she smiled and told us to get anything we want and allowed us to pay her in US dollars. I showed her the US$ 20 but she said we can pay after we ate. She was very nice to us and proudly telling us she got many Filipino friends.
OUR LUNCH
MUKDAHAN TO ARNYAPRATHET
BUS RIDE ADVENTURE FROM MUKDAHAN, THAILAND
TUKTUK RIDE TO CAMBODIA BORDER
The bus driver dropped us to a street intersection in Aranyaprathet and told us to get a tuk-tuk ride going to Cambodia border. The tuk-tuk driver charged us 100 Baht.
TUK-TUK RIDE FROM THAILAND TO CAMBODIA BORDER
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