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Saturday 4th June: Bangkok
We had our first group meeting in the evening and met our tour leader Aki and the rest of our group who were all lovely, 15 of us in total (13 girls!). Aki is Cambodian and absolutely hilarious, he had watched the Hangover for the first time the previous night and was struggling to breath through laughing about it! Sunday morning we had our first early start to the Thai/Cambodian border which we had to walk over whilst avoiding the pigs urinating out of lorries- nice.
Sunday 5th June: Siem Reap
We arrived in Siem Reap (former capital of Cambodia and also Aki's home town) that afternoon, we have to inform you that the standard of our tour hotels has definitely exceeded expectations :) That evening we were taken to a little Cambodian village where we walked around with loads of cute kids before having dinner which was served on the floor! This is where we discovered Ginger Chicken (nom nom).
Monday consisted of a 4am start to catch the sunrise at Ankgor Wat, the largest religious building in the world. Our tour guide for the day, Jack was entertainment in himself, quote of the day- 'there is a mosquito on the bus... no kidding.... I am serious' with a cute Cambodian accent.
The sunrise was pretty stunning rising up over the side of the temple above the lake. We spent the rest of the afternoon avoiding monks (females should apparently avoid all form of contact) so you can imagine our confusion when two monks asked to be in a photo with a few of us! We also walked up to the sacred third tier of the temple which symbolises heaven- the steepest set of stairs EVER, Siobhan had an absolute nightmare coming back down.
We spent the rest of the day visiting some more temples and kissing stone Buddhas. That evening we were taken out again for a meal however unfortunately the majority of the group started to be plagued by sickness- absolutely horrendous and lasted the following few days, in hindsight, we suspect the food we ate the previous day at the village was the underlying culprit.
Tuesday 7th June: Phnom Penh
Tuesday's bus journey to Phnom Penh could have been a lot worse given the circumstances. In the city's capital, we visited the S21 prison, a former high school which was used by the Khmer Rouge communist regime followed by a trip to the Killing Fields. Our tour guide pointed out the 'killing tree' which Khmer soldiers used to kill babies before throwing into the mass graves. We could also see the clothes of victims that had risen back up to the ground as a result of rain, all a bit too recent as continued right up until 1979. We have both read the book by a Cambodian survivor Leng Ung about her experience under life of the Khmer Rouge, pretty shocking really. That evening we went on a more lighthearted trip around the city on a cyclo tour, Kate even got to wear her cyclists hat!
Thursday 9th June: Sihanoukville
Thursday we arrived in a beach town known as Sihanoukville where we sat on the beach and got completely harassed by children selling useless artifacts. On refusing them we were bombarded by all forms of swearing and abuse, not quite the relaxing afternoon we had in mind. We went out that evening, the bars were again random and a little on the quiet side. The town also seemed to be full of Brits that had run out of money- we fitted in well.
For those that don't know, we've both become obsessed with the Steig Larsson Girl With The Dragon Tattoo Trilogy and finally found the third book- immediate purchase. The following day was a beach day however rudely disrupted by RAIN :( We sat in a bar where Kate ate banger and mash and Siobhan had her Marmite fix.
Sat 11th June: Chau Doc
Saturday we crossed the border into Vietnam, to be honest the border just looked more like a road in the middle of nowhere but we had to stand around with our backpacks for aggggees in the scorching sun. We arrived in Chau Doc- the biggest bedroom we have had so far! We had two king sized beds and a gorgeous bathroom, loving life.
That afternoon we cruised along the Mekong Delta, it had just started to rain as we arrived at the floating fish farm. The fish farm consisted of 7000 fish in probably a few square meters of space. We fed the fish and they went absolutely mental flying everywhere- pretty hilarious to be honest. By this point the rain was lashing down and we were starting to think we would never ever get off the river on our tiny little boat.
We also stopped at a muddy little jungle track where we got coated in dirt leading to a little house where they were selling scarfs. It was also pointed out that in 2000, the river had flooded and the water level had reached about 2.5 meters and had been marked on the side of the building for us (obviously Siobhan couldn't see that high up). It was interesting to discover that the first level in the house was not attached to it's foundations and the floor was made out of bamboo so that when the water level rises, the house floats with it and therefore avoids flooding.
Sunday 12th June: Saigon (Siobhan's Birthday!)
Siobhan turned 22 on a 7 hour bus journey, recieving gifts of earrings, Thai Baht, Marmite and a Berry's bag (no Dad, we have yet to find a fantastic photo opportunity for it!). We arrived in Saigon where we spent the afternoon dress shopping, only to discover that the markets weren't all they were cracked up to be. Siobhan also face planted the pavement (sober)- great birthday bruises!
We all had a group meal that evening and the girls had bought a helium balloon in the shape of a strawberry which Siobhan proceeded to carry around with her for the following few days. Aki had arranged the most beautiful Birthday cake ever with iced lotus flowers all around the outside saying 'Happy Birthday Miss Siobhan'- was such a good surprise! We had a great night and danced around to unfamiliar UK music drinking delightful cocktails.
Unfortunately one of our group members had their bag cut away from them that evening by a passing motorcycle- horrendous ordeal as he drove away laughing about it, we were all really, really wary after that. The following day we visited the War Remnants Museum, after feeling a vague sense of familiarity, Siobhan completely forgot she had studied the Vietnam War for GCSE History!
The exhibition about the US's Agent Orange was pretty shocking, US troops sprayed a chemical called Dioxin, apparently the most harmful chemical known to man which caused a variety of problems to a vast number of Vietnamese, also causing drastic birth defects passed down through generations.
Monday night we got our first sleeper train to Nha Trang, absolute luxury and even had a TV in our cabin which Kate accidentally untuned! We shared a cabin with two friends Emma and Sophie where most of the journey's conversations revolved around food (our fave topic).
Tuesday 14th June: Nha Trang
We arrived early morning in Nha Trang and were taken for a day on a lovely beach, we had a Vietnamese BBQ which was delicious and sunbathed the whole day. That evening we went out with a few of the girls and drank buckets (of varying form- this time in sweet jars). We also weaseled into a beach bar which supposedly had an entrance fee. We explained we had been on the beach for the entire day and therefore refused to pay, using our persuasive skills- the security guard eventually gave up and walked away.
We all arrived at breakfast the following morning, evidently still intoxicated as Kate wore her PJs to the fairly posh restaurant. We spent the afternoon lazing by the pool, Kate and Sophie had an absolute nightmare when they ordered chicken salads, finding a plate of minted chicken with about 7 raw chopped onions in front of them. Later in the afternoon we went to local mud baths for some relaxation however after being shoved around by the staff and repeatedly told to shower every 5 minutes- it turned out to be a rather stressful ordeal.
It was also Aki's birthday that day and a cake had been arranged for him, he was pretty excited when he told us this was the first birthday cake he had ever had! So adorable as traditionally, Cambodians celebrate their birthdays on New Years Eve which falls in April so they all turn a year older together. Shame he had to spend the night on yet another sleeper train which wasn't quite as luxurious as the last. Our beds had previously been slept in and the cabins had mice and bugs in, not a pleasant experience.
Thursday 16th June: Hoi An
We arrived in Hoi An on Thursday, the cutest town ever which had a massive French influence running right through it. Hoi An consisted of around 400 tailors and there was dress making going on left, right and centre. We both had some sandlles made for a very reasonable price, the lady drew round our feet and whipped them up within a few hours, the most comfortable piece of footwear we've ever worn- love them!
The following day Kate went to a Vietnamese cookery course involving a lot of spring rolls and fish, she is now a Michelin Star chef! Siobhan went on a bike ride in the afternoon through loads of farms and rice paddies with the group, even bumped into some crazy water buffaloes. That evening we went for some delicious make your own style rice pancakes with unlimited beef and chicken, veg, spring rolls etc- very joyous occasion.
After the last sleeper train experience we were dreading our 16 hour journey to Hanoi followed directly by a 4 hour bus journey to Halong Bay. The train was fortunately a lot better this time however the bus driver was pretty shocking- it appears that Vietnamese use their horns instead of their breaks so you can imagine what little sleep we got at that time of the morning.
Monday 20th June: Halong Bay
Halong Bay was absolutely beautiful! We went on an amazing boat trip with a fishy lunch, we visited the biggest caves we have ever seen- Sophie was convinced they were man made lol. We got back on the boat cruising around the 3000 islands rising out of the water, the sun also came out which made it even better!
Tues 21st June: Hanoi
Tuesday we got our return bus journey to Hanoi where we walked through the Old Quarter (in the 40 degree heat) and went to see a Water Puppet Show that evening- standard Asian randomness but surprisingly interesting besides from the singer picking her nose all the way through- blugh! We had an unexpected night out, drank more buckets and wasted the following day being absolutely hungover- Siobhan had to excuse herself from the table at lunch to go back to bed, nightmare!
Wednesday we had our final group meal at a lovely Vietnamese Restaurant which was pretty emotional. Very sad to say goodbye to our fellow travelers- the past 20 days have gone incredibly fast (you wouldn't think so though from the uber long blog- soz about that!). We will definitely miss Aki sorting us all out 24/7, it has been a massive bonus not having to worry about arranging hotels or working out how to get places.
We moved out of our expensive hotel yesterday morning, a couple of the girls are still about in Hanoi so we were planning on visiting a nearby Water Park today however the weather has been dismal for the past 24 hours so we went to watch the new X-Men film instead.
Our plan is to fly back to Bangkok on Sunday where we are meeting Kate's sister Jec for a banterous 2 weeks around some more Thai Islands, very excited indeed! Apologies again re the length of this blog- we'll try not to leave it as long next time whoops.
Lots of Love from Vietnam :)
Siobhan and Kate
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Brown Rating: 35%
- comments
Mum/Ginny Thanks for the update, girls. Jec is more than excited! xx
Jec Not gunna lie.. I got bored half way through that. I appreciated the banterous 2 weeks comment though. SO EXCITED :D xxxxx
Siobhan's dad I appreciated the allusion to the Berry's Bag! C & W Berry's still awaiting the photo! Siobhan's dad. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX