planetaub
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Nakon Ratchasima We chose this place as a base to go and see two national parks, as it's in the middle, and it seemed like a good place to leave for Cambodia from. First problem was, as the LP says, eastern Thailand is the least visited, when we got here we couldn't see any other tourists, and when we went for a walk in the afternoon we didn't see any, nor in the evening when we went out for a meal. We did see a few when we went to the TAT office which is nearly out of the town. No matter, it's a bit disconcerting but nothing to serious. We just got on a bus and did our own thing. Second problem was that we can't get to Cambodia straight from here, we have to go via Prachinburi which is back south west a bit. Phimai is 60km to the north and has an old Khmer style ruin and museum which are very good. You get there on the bus from Bus Station 2, it cost 26bhat each and takes 1.5 hours, they drop you right over the road from the ruins. Phanom Rung National Park is about 120km to the southeast, the journey is a bit of a nightmare. You have to get a bus (52b) for 2.5 hours to a place called Ban Ta-Ko then get on a motorbike taxi (190b return negotiable) for the last 12km, they take you right to the entrance and wait for you to come out. The ruins are very well restored, better than Phimai, but the site is a lot smaller. You don't get much for your 5 hours of travelling so probably not worth it if you've had enough of temples. Tuk-Tuks - seem to be the main form of transport other than the buses. They gather in little groups, like taxi ranks and there is always a bloke who speaks English who you tell where you want to go and negotiate the price with, he then tells the driver. Accommodation. We stayed in the Chumphol Hotel on the recommendation of the Tuk-Tuk driver who picked us up at the station. We were going to try the Tokyo Hotel but he said that wasn't very nice. We had a look and he's right, the Tokyo 2 doesn't look so bad though. Our room is massive, as big as the bungalow in Phuket, although not as nice. We seem to have a triple room, one double bed and a single. We have TV but there are no English channels here, except MTV Asia which doesn't count. The bathroom needs a good clean but it's OK for 380b/night. It's very near the centre of town as well, just down the road from the old gate house.
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