A cozy and relaxed ending in Pattaya and entry into Cambodia

Yesterday (04.02.) was quite straightforward from a cultural, vacation, photo, and event perspective. I initially strolled with my netbook under my arm to a breakfast café, which I had spotted the day before and deemed good, after spending some time in bed turning over multiple times in search of more sleep and lingering while catching up on all sorts of news from Germany and the world - regardless of whether it was meaningful or not. There, I took my time with breakfast - it turned more into brunch - and wrote my travel diary - also known as a blog - to fend off forgetfulness and cleared out this and that from my email inbox and on my computer. The entire morning went by, and so did the 'lunch break'. When the battery of my netbook started to fade away, I made my way back to the hotel via the local 7/Eleven store. With my meager travel luggage and the sweat-inducing temperatures of the past days, I decided to use the hotel's laundry with a washing machine and dryer once more, after ensuring I had enough coins. Between the spins of the machines, I settled by the pool and swam a few laps. I had set myself a day task, namely to swim in the Gulf of Thailand while in Thailand, so I marched off and found a nice spot where I settled down with some reading for a few hours. I was only interrupted by a few wandering vendors selling their goods; without being intrusive, a Brazilian who told me some life wisdoms that I hadn't really requested, and whose slightly odd dialect turned out to be vodka-induced as he kept taking big swigs from his stainless steel thermos, and a nice couple from NRW who was spending their beach vacation in Pattaya with their kids; while I couldn't quite understand why someone would fly to Pattaya for 10 days of beach fun with children (I kept that to myself)... I accomplished my daily task of swimming in the Gulf of Thailand with flying colors. On the way back to the hotel, I made a stop at the Hard Rock Café. Additionally, I passed through Soi 6, where there are countless bars within a few meters and the scantily clad ladies and ladyboys try to draw you in; yes, to draw you in... I held my wallet and phone tightly while passing by. And on I went to my hotel district for the evening meal...
Today, I set off early for my journey to Siem Reap in Cambodia. My Grab taxi to the mini-bus/van stop arrived about 40 minutes early, but I hadn't had breakfast yet, and it was going to be a long travel day, so it had to wait a bit for me. Despite a brief traffic jam, I arrived almost 40 minutes ahead of the departure at the bus stop. Now a 9-hour journey was set to begin. On time, the van was loaded. It set off already well-filled with guests. But one by one, more people arrived. The narrow trunk, where my travel backpack was also located, was folded down to create more makeshift seating. My backpack (the largest piece of luggage in the vehicle) moved back and forth multiple times to find a new spot - always under my watchful eye. Eventually, the aisle was completely blocked with stacked luggage, and a last companion took her seat on a stool facing the opposite direction... I briefly wondered what would have happened if I had booked the cheaper, non-comfort variant... After about 5.5 hours of travel, we reached the Poipet border crossing. After the border, the journey was to continue on another bus; I already knew that. However, I still needed the 'Visa on Arrival' for Cambodia. An employee of the mini-bus company pressed 200 Baht (approx. 7 EUR) into the hand of a guy on-site, who then took a photo of me. I thought he was going to guide me to the next bus. I explained to him that I needed the visa and had to withdraw some local money, referring to American dollars. He said that would be no problem. He led me a few meters and suddenly said that I should continue here. Well, I thought, then I just need to sort out my exit formalities from Thailand. That was indeed the case. A few meters later, wanting to manage the visa and entry, an older toothless man approached, who did not speak a word of English, and somehow indicated with hands and feet that I should follow him. So I did. Shortly after that, the toothless old man turned away, quickly pointed to a staircase leading to the entry into Cambodia. A slightly younger colleague stood at the top of the stairs, looked at his phone, and called out 'Michael, Michael' (in English form). All clear, now I understood the reason for the photo at the beginning of the process (no data protection consent is needed here, very nice ;-) ). He again understood me (linguistically), I explained my request to him and also mentioned that I needed to withdraw dollars for my visa. I had already informed myself about this and saw ATM machines everywhere; I had researched that beforehand. If I still had Thai Baht or Euros, that wouldn't be a problem. While I hadn't read this beforehand in the process, I understood that someone wanted to earn a little on the side. I asked what I would need in Baht. He said 1300 Baht, i.e., about 40 EUR, the visa costs 30 US-$, I thought a bit more than 10 € was fine, if I didn't have to take care of anything and everything went quickly. I showed him my passport, and he began filling out a visa form. This would go faster, he said. When I had a few more questions for him, music suddenly started playing. This had no significant meaning for me, so I continued talking. He just said 'pst,' and when I looked around, all the uniformed border officials in the room and all the civilians stood at attention, quiet and listening to the music. Hmm, I had no idea what that was, but I better keep my mouth shut for now. The guy filled out the form, and a border officer approached him. The guy said I should already stand in line for entry and passport control. Hmm, okay. I stood in line but kept him in sight. He handed over my passport and his filled-out form to the officer at the visa station. Some of my Baht found their way into the uniformed border officer's pocket. Behind a Plexiglas partition, wild stamping began. It took a while, and I was already at the border control in my line, allowing some other waiting people to go ahead. Then he came running back to me, handed me my passport, and disappeared. I looked in my passport and saw my visa; the guy had filled out my visa application and had even signed it for me; just with my first name... I was puzzled since I had specifically brought passport photos from Germany, as per the visa regulations according to my information. But no matter, I obediently submitted my fingerprints at the border control, the officer diligently stamped my passport some more, and just like that, I was in Cambodia. I have a visa for 30 days, but I'm not allowed to work. I have no problem with that, nor did I intend to ;-)... After passport control, the guy greeted me again and led me to the bus. He also asked me for a tip, as the money handed over so far was for the visa fees. I told him that I knew the visa only cost 30 $, and he had already received his tip. Suddenly, he fell a bit silent... Another amusing story at the border. It reminded me somehow of the entry into Syria in 2009. Back then, there were still a few more administrative offices and surreal situations... So now, I sit on my bus in Cambodia, taking the time to write these lines, and hopefully, in two hours, I will be just before checking into my hotel, provided that the bus drops me off properly and my booked tuk-tuk is ready for the last meters to the hotel...
PS: The tuk-tuk was indeed ready, and my driver, Mr. Mong, held up a sign with my name when the bus arrived in Siem Reap. Just 5 minutes with the tuk-tuk, and I had my welcome drink with some snacks in hand, and then I was led to my quarters for the next days... After the shower, I will probably check out the on-site restaurant...