Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam

On April 30th we got into Bangkok around noon. We thought we had a shuttle service to pick us up but after about an hour we realized we didn't. We tried to find a cheap taxi to the city but everyones prices were ridiculously high for what we knew we could get an actual taxi for. They were all just trying to rip us off. However, after quite some time we accepted a taxi ride for $700 Baht one way to the city. That's about $28 which doesn't seem that high but there, it is very high! During the ride the taxi driver was asking us how to get to our hotel and asking if he should take the highway and we were very frustrated that we had to pay so much and now he was asking us for directions. If anything, he should be able to afford a GPS!  Then we had to pay more money for the tollway.

Finally we got to our hotel and we were pretty hungry. We decided to just walk down the street and find a restaurant. On our walk there was someone selling sunglasses and I lost my pair in Chiangmai so I wanted to quick buy a pair. There was a pair that were $50 baht so I bought them. After I gave the man the money I took off the sticker on the glasses and right under the sticker there was two large scratches! I knew though that since I gave the money already there was no way I was going to get it back.

We found ourselves, again, walking through a food market where there was food we should definitely not eat. After awhile we got out of it and found a restaurant that was very over priced but we were so hungry we just wanted to eat.

Then we were just walking through the city with no destination and a nice Thai man was telling us
where to go and where good shopping was. He helped us get a tuk tuk (little motorbike taxis) and told the driver to take us somewhere. We were so grateful for the guy he was very nice. Then we arrive at the store and it was a tailor! We walk in and it was very authentic Asian outfits and tailors trying to sell to us! We knew that you're not suppose to shop at tailors because you don't know how much you're paying until the end and they usually rip you off. So right away we left. Pretty disappointing.

We took a quick nap and then continued to walk through the city in a different direction. We ended up going to a real mall and ate something at the food court. haha. It was funny that we were eating at a food court but the food was actually authentic and very cheap. It was really good too so that boosted our moods! Then we were walking through a park and after awhile we just headed back to the hotel because we were going to meet the other people in our group and get dinner with them.

Our group consisted of about 17 people. Most were girls. The ages were from 18-30. Most people were 18-22 though. Everyone was from Europe. One guy from Australia. Sydney and myself from America.

We all went out to dinner to get to know one another and we all got the large bottles of beer. Sydney and I got Singha and most got Chang beer. The beers came and although they were both 'large' ours were significantly smaller than the Chang beer that everyone else got. Sydney made a joke and said, "We got jipped. The word that defined our day."

So that was my experience in Bangkok. Wasn't my favorite city, that is for sure. We slept there overnight and left early in the morning to head to the Cambodian border.

One of the buses we traveled on. We did a lot of traveling throughout the trip to hit the main cities. Also, in Cambodia they don't really have a road system so it took a long time to get to each city because we were only going about 30 mph on dirt roads and were constantly slowing down for other traffic. 

We drove a car to the border and we had to get off and cross through the border on foot. It was pretty easy and then on the other side there was a different bus waiting for us.

This was the Vietnam border with a man who had to lift up the gate for cars and the buildings were small shacks. The Cambodian border was more buildings.


Our first stop in Cambodia was Siem Reap where the temples are.














The picture shown is us in a tuk tuk in Cambodia. It seemed like a lot of the streets were dirt like this one.




 














G Adventures is the program I went on for the tour and they sponsors a school for the local Cambodians who don't have enough money for education. We went to the school and then had dinner there. As an appetizer they had this platter with cockroaches. I tried one... not too bad!

The next day we woke up for sunrise at the Ankor Wat temple which is the largest worship temple in the world. 












Later in the afternoon we went back to look at the temples again. They were very big!

 Tomb Raiders, the movie, was filmed in Siem Reap at the temples.















After touring the temples we had a quick nap and then went ATVing. After about 20 min the sky was getting very dark and it started to down pour! The employees stopped us and they said we were going to out wait the storm. However, the entire sky was so dark it did not look like the storm was going to pass.



So there we were sitting in the middle of the storm. Haha. I thought it was so funny. I was 100% drenched.

Finally, they decided that we would just finish with the storm still going. So we drove off and since we were already all wet we went flying through the puddles and the puddles were huge so the water would completely go over our heads. It was so much fun!
After, we had to quick get back to our hotel and shower and change because we had a dinner to go to!





  That night we went to a dinner that had a performance as well. The dinner was a buffet and was really good! Cambodian food is influenced by Thai food but also has their own food.

 At night we went to Pub Street which is a small street with the bars. It was pretty fun and it was fun to get to know the people on our program better.














The next morning we traveled to Phnom Penh which is Cambodia's capital. It was a 7 hr bus ride to just travel 300km! When we got there we just got dinner and then went back to the hotel to sleep.

The next day we went to the killing fields from the Cambodian genocide in 1971-1975. It was very interesting to here all about the genocide. It's pretty shocking to think of how many people were killed and to see the remaining history. Not only that, but I couldn't get over the fact that I just learned about the genocide within the past year. That so many people were killed but it seems like not many people know about it!

This picture is the structure that was built to hold the skulls of the victims.







This is a picture of all the skulls in the monument. Almost every skull has a crack in its head and thats because the victims were most all killed by some tool or shovel. A lot of the skulls had a colored dot on them and there was a key that gave information on the age of the person and how they were killed.


















Then we went to the Prison where people were typically held for a short time before they were sent to the killing field.  We met two of the survivors and they didn't speak English, but our tour guide communicated with him and relayed the message.

 Phnom Penh didn't have much to do or see besides the history of the genocide. We went and saw the Royal Palace where the king lives. It was beautiful. On the streets you can tell the people live in poverty and then you enter the walls of the palace and it has so much money in it.



For dinner we all went out and it was fun but just went to bed early because we had a 5 hour bus ride the next day.

We arrived in Sihanoukeville which is southern Cambodia in the afternoon. We got lunch on the beach and spent the afternoon on the beach. Our guide told us that there were people on the beach who would come up to us and try to sell us stuff and sometimes they are pests. If we didn't want to talk to them we could just avoid them or ignore them. However, when I found out what they were offering I was so excited! So I bought a beer for $1 from the bar we were sitting in front of who brought it out to me. Then a lady came by trying to give me a pedicure. At first I said maybe later. She made me pinky promise that I would come back to her for my pedicure and not go to anyone else! Turns out that every person that tried to sell you stuff wanted you to pinky promise them. haha their sales tactic.
So an hour later she came back and I agreed to the $3 pedicure! After, I got a $3 half an hour back massage on the beach! It was heaven.

In the afternoon we all got dinner on the beach and went out for a bit. 

The next day, we could do an all day snorkeling trip for $16. Our guide said it wasn't that great but we wanted to do it anyway. It ended up being one of my favorite days. Snorkeling isn't my favorite thing, but we had our own private cute boat and went out to an island. Snorkeled for a bit and then went to a different private island! There we just hung out, played catch and we were served a grilled fish lunch that was great. Then we went to another island and Snorkeled. I just enjoyed floating out in the water! 

That afternoon again we just went to dinner on the beach and had a relaxing night. Most of us were a little burnt because it was hot out! 

The next day we left to head toward the Vietnam border. It was 5 hours to the border and then 4 hours more after the border. However, we had stops on the way and it didn't feel too long! 

That night we had a home stay. They made us a local dinner and we just all hung out there. At night we slept in mosquito nets however the bugs were huge and very scary all around! There was even this huge lizard right above me and we were pretty scared. It was also super hot so it was not the best night of sleep. 

The next morning we had a boat trip on the Mekong river to a local floating market. I thought it was super neat! It's like boats that are wholesalers go out and stay there until all their products sell. They sleep on the boat and everything. To buy stuff, you just take your boat up to the side of it and talk to them. The sellers have long sticks that go in the air and at the top they put, say a pineapple, at the top to show buyers what they are selling and so boats can see it from afar. 

After the boat trip we had a short bus ride to Saigon. In Saigon, over half the population owns a motorbike! As seen in the picture.


When we got there we went to the Vietnam War Remnants museum. It was very interesting to see the museum from a different perspective. I don't know too much about the Vietnam war to begin with so it was a little confusing to read their views on it. Also, most of the people on our group program that we went with were European, so most of them didn't know anything about the war and they would ask me about it!

That afternoon we had a last group dinner and we all went out. It's crazy how I only knew them all for 10 days but it really felt like I got to know them well!

The last day of our trip we were in Saigon. We went to the underground tunnels and it was very interesting to see. This picture is a 'soldier' showing us how they would go in the tunnel and put the cover back on with leaves so it would look like nothing was there.

I also shot my first gun!











When we got back into the city from the tunnels we just had time to get a dinner before we left. Two Norwegian girls, a British girl, Sydney, and myself went to get dinner. We intended to get a Vietnamese dinner but we couldn't find any actual restaurants so we, ironically, went to a New York dinner place. Haha it was good though.

Then we said goodbye and headed to the airport where we had an overnight flight.

Vietnam is very different from city to city and from the South to the North. I hope someday to get back and see the rest of Vietnam since I only saw the South. I hear that it is beautiful.

I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to travel somewhere so different and unique. I really had a blast! I also really enjoyed getting to know people from all over Europe. It almost felt like a whole new study abroad experience getting to know the people.

My last day back in Australia felt a little odd since everyone I knew was no longer there. So with the last day there I felt ready to get back home.