On the Road Again, and Again, and Again

Alan and I arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday, January 20. We found ourselves with two days in Thailand before our bus on Friday to Siem Reap, in Cambodia. So we decided to make the trip to see the temple at Phanom Rung. Phanom Rung is "the largest and best restored of the ancient Khmer sanctuaries in Thailand." Built as a Hindu monument about 1000 years ago and later converted to a Buddhist temple. "The craftsmanship at Phanom Rung represents the pinnacle of Khmer artistic achievement," featuring a promenade flanked by sandstone pillars leading to the three naga bridges, which are the only ones left in Thailand.

Okay, so you know why we decided to see it. But here are the details:

From our hotel in Bangkok, we took a taxi to the bus station, which took about 45 minutes. We booked tickets for the bus to Khorat, and of course patronized the Dunkin Donuts shop in the bus station. After 4 hours on the bus, we arrived in Khorat (incidentally the second largest city in Thailand). While folks have usually been very helpful in Thailand, we were dropped off at the wrong bus station, Terminal 2. So we took a taxi to the correct bus terminal, Terminal 1, and walked to our hotel.

That evening, we tried to book the bus to Ban Tako from Terminal 1, but were told that that bus only leaves from Terminal 2. So on Thursday morning, we took a motorcycle taxi to Terminal 2, and waited for the first bus to Ban Tako, at 9:30AM. After two hours, we arrived at Ban Tako, and arranged with a local taxi driver to take us the last 15 minutes to Phanom Rung.

Now, remember, we needed to be back in Bangkok by the next morning to catch our 9AM bus to Siem Reap. So we did the math.... 15 minutes back to Ban Tako, another 2 hour bus ride, plus retrieving our backpacks in Khorat, then a 4 hour bus ride. And that's if all goes well. As a result, we decided to take exactly one hour to look around the temple. That's right, one hour, after all the time to get there. Here it is...

So... what would you have done? Was it worth it?