So- all the overland routes to Cambodia sounded dodgy as shit-at least from Trat, where you could get dumped at the border for 400 baht (and gawd help you from there) or some 'ackage deal' rip off that would cost nearly 75 quid for the same bumpy ride plus a stopover in some vile hotel room, using the words 'hotel' and 'room' in their loosest possible sense- so I did the math and came back to Bangkok.
A hot shower and some air con later (first in 3 weeks) I find myself back on the Khao San Road, infamous as a hippy/backpacker magnet-though just now, for the life of me, I cant see why anyone would come here on purpose... maybe 25 years ago it held a certain charm, but thats been long buried by junk shops and beer joints.
Despite the hippy 'ethic of authenticity' (Charles Taylor, look him up) (the philosopher, not the war criminal) this place is like whats left of Haight Ashbury or Times Square of any other focal point of the human experience-overwhelmed, turned into a tawdry and grotesque caricature of itself.
'Cheap" was its original appeal for penniless backpackers, and the sleeping cubicles ('room' is a misnomer-most are windowless prison cells without the sincerity of bars) are still cheap- but you get ripped off, nickel and dime style, for every purchase on the street outside, from an overpriced cup of instant coffee to 'fresh' fruit that tastes like its been dipped in motor oil or something.. the beer is cheap, but then its cheap everywhere here.
Sure, nice to be clean again, nice not to have to string up a mozzie net to sleep, but other than that- well shit, anything you can get on KS Road can be had anywhere else- which is where I am going.
If you ever do the thai island trekking thing, when you come back to BKK on your way home, skip Khao San Road- its a corpse, waiting for someone to declare it officially dead.