An alley full of delectable street food mixed with regular market fare swarmed across our way; a menagerie of fruits and raw meat mingling with banana pancakes and crisply fried pork strips. It was heaven. We ambled from one stall to the next, dodging the local crowd milling about Trat’s Night Market, unable to decide what to have for dinner with the multitude of choices presented to us.

FIVE HOUR LAND TRIP FROM CAMBODIA’S SIHANOUKVILLE TO THAILAND’S TRAT

The Province of Trat, located on the southeastern side of Thailand, was our gateway to the land of the elephants. Thailand was the third country for our Same Same Summer Trip, which started in Malaysia and pushed through Cambodia. Landing in Siem Reap and taking the land trip to Phnom Penh and the beaches of Sihanoukville, we exited at Koh Kong border and entered Trat through a five-hour land transfer by van (USD18.00 / PHP910.50).