Discovering the world one step at a time

Cambodia

azariah — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 23:50:00 GMT

The border crossing by coach was a lot smother than expected. We had a comfortable coach that gave you free wifi! And drinking water as a plus the attendant spoke English and did the visa for us. $25 dollars paid for the visa a casual 1 hour wait and away we went. The roads are a bit bumpy in cambodia but the 6 hour journey from siagon to phom pehn was overall good and it only cost $11 (US).

Wow.. first impressions of cambodia are a lot different than how I imagined. I was expecting something similar to laos, no infrastructure or modrrn building. Instead I was greeted with a cleaner Bangkok.

There was a mix up at our hostel and we ended up sleeping in the store room on mattresses. Lol

So following our day trip to the war museum in vietnam, we wanted to visit the appropriately named the killing fields. This is the final resting place of thousands of people, innocent men, women and children were murdered on mass by the Khmer Rouge. The audio track given on arrival details stories of survivors of the khmer rouge and details of how the people were murdered. Most were bludgeoned to death as bullets were expensive and in short supply. It was the uneducated peasants from the countryside carrying out the orders of Pol Pot in the name of revolution and communist support. Pol Pot wanted to make cambodian society completely self sufficient including medicine. This meant the murder of all intellectuals such as teachers, doctors and even people who wore glasses. Millions were murdered in sites such as this all over the country in mass gaves. I will never forget the tree in the middle of the field. It is covered in flowers and gifts of bracelets from visitors. This is the tree used by the guards to hit babies heads against to murder them in front of their mothers. The regime wanted no one to grow up and take revenge. At the entrance there is a memorial to those that died with a powerful display of skulls recovered. Peoples clothes are also on display.

Moving on we visited the notorious S-21 prison. This was a former school transformed into a torture chamber and prison for 12, 000 people. In some of the rooms there is metal beds with chains for prisoners and some rooms even had blood stains on the floor. Like the nazis, they photographed everyone who passed through. The pictures show the frightened looks of the individuals. There was one of a woman crying holding her baby.

The khmer rouge was overturned by the Vietnamese in 1979. In 5 years the khmer rouge killed an estimated 3 million people, 1/3 of the population. Pol Pot was able to die of old age in 1998. What personally angered me was the west still regarded pol pot as the leader of cambodia and even gave him a seat in the UN.

Last week saw the conviction of 2 of the leaders of Khmer Rouge in their 80's for crimes against humanity.

We hired a tuk tuk driver for the day at $20 (us). We shared the tuk tuk with 2 girls from America.

Saigon

azariah — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 23:45:00 GMT

Siagon as the locals call it and ho minch min as the reat of the world knows it, is firstly full of motorbikes. I have never seen so many in my life and they carry everything on them. This includes strapping animals to the back and getting small children to cling on the front.

Our hotel was still included from our tour so was excellent. It was seconds away from benteen markets.

On our first night we went to a water puppet show. This is apparently unique to Vietnam. There is live music with singers and the puppets are operated under the water on poles in time with the music. Of course we had no idea of the story that was being told but it was a great visual display. Lonely planet had rated it as a muat see. However, it was nice but they had clearly built it up too much.

Oliver on the way home dragged me into every mobile phone shop he could see. He was determined to find an s5 for the best price. Eventually, he found a phone shop that was selling it for £300. Bargin. However, the shop had no phones on display, when oliver ordered it, a man got on his scooter to get it. Mafia style with a security man outside. It was an s5 straight from the Verison (American telecom). Oliver checked it over with his technical eye and brought it. Yay no more phone shops for me.

Aa part of our tour package we were taken on a mekong delta tour. A couple we had met at halong bay had raved about this tour. So we had high expectations. We were both very disappointed. It took ages to get there and we spent longer on a bus than there. We did see how they make rice popcorn and got a river cruise. Bit no floating markets which is what I really wanted to see.

Our other half day tour was to the cu chi tunnels. Underground tunnels used by viet cong in the vietnam war. Some 3, 000 people lived and fought the Americans in these tunnels. The displays on show demonstrated how viet cong used bamboo traps.

The most haunting display of the vietnam war is shown at the war reminants museum. We were approached in the entrance by a man who had both of his lower arms and an eye blown off by a bomb. When he introduced himself we shuck his stump. He was selling books about the vietnam war for 8 pounds. I didn't mind buying one from him. I am currently reading a book about called the girl in the picture.

The museum gives graphic details of the torture used on the Vietnamese. Including tiger cages and placing people in cold water until unconscious. However, it is upstairs where you see the true cost of the war. The victims of agent orange, babies born with extreme disfigurement and disabilities in large photographs all along the walls. Preserved in phemaldihide are still born conjoined twins. I struggled to keep myself composed, these children had the same birth year as me. The parents had been drinking the water contaminated with dioxin. It is the most toxic chemical known to man.

We ended our vietnam trip with a rich cultural connection. We stayed in a great hostel and drank free beer on its roof top bar.

hoi an

azariah — Wed, 13 Aug 2014 22:32:00 GMT

This was the prettiest town I visited in Vietnam. The old quater is full of 19th century buildings similar to luang prabang. It costs 120,000 per oerson to enter the old town but this lasts for the whole length of your stay and includes entry to all the museums and temples in the town. The most famous is the Japanese bridge. We also looked at the Chinese gathering halls. These buildings were heavily influenced by chinese culture. It sometimes felt like I might be in China. There are Chinese lanterns everywhere. I love the hats that the vietnamse wear, these are the triangle bamboo hats. Me and Oliver pur hased some of the hats. Its also possible to visit the beach from here and many hotels are springing up in this area. This is also the clothing making capital of Vietnam. Oliver had 2 suits made and I had 2 coats made for me. They are gorgeous and look designer! I shall be ordering more the moment I get home. We also had a half day and lovely lunch tour of a place called My son. This is an ancient ruins for the cham people. These are people wirh Indian decent as the temples were a mix of buddist and Hindu people. Our English speaking guide was really good at telling us all about this ancient society. The temples are from the 4th century so even older than angkor wat in Cambodia. It was a private day tour oragnised for us. We also had a lovely lunch by the river.

Hanoi

azariah — Tue, 12 Aug 2014 22:57:00 GMT

First stop in Vietnam. Flew into the capital to start our 10 day tour with GoAsia. This is an all inclusive tour we brought on a scoopon deal in Australia. I was so looking forward to staying in a 3 star hotel and havibg everything organised for me! The hotel in hanoi was amazing. A lovely guy in the hotel called David spoke perfect English and was so helpful in helping us with our luggage. We spent 2 days in halong bay. We spent the night on the boat, it was very luxurious with our own private cabin. We met a great couple from new Zealand who were also on the same tour s us. Halong bay is full of limestone cliff islands. It was surrounded by turquoise water. I was a bit disappointed with the rubbish in the water. It was an excellent trip with a swimming session and climb to the peak to take pictures of the amazing view. The afternoon was spent kayaking in a duo around the calm bay all with a tour guide helping us. The food onboard was excellent. On the return trip we had a lesson on how to make flowers from vegetables. Hanoi was a brilliant city, with a vibrant night market. We also met 2 cute vietnamse girls who wanted to chat to us to practice their English. They were so cute and we loved exchanging culture differences.

viang veng

azariah — Sat, 2 Aug 2014 16:59:00 GMT

6 hours to do 200km shows you the state of roads in lao. Lots of winding roads in a minivan, which fyi is the only way to get there and around most of lao. Great views if yoi can hold your stomach.

Viang veng is definitely an example of when laos tries too hard to please foreigners. Its hard to find any traditional lao food places. Great baguettes though! Thanks to the french!

Viang veng is famous for the tubing. That is floaring down the river in a rubber ring and the steering yourself into one of a handful of bars. It does sound run until you see the lethal combination of water and alcohol. Lots of people have actually died.

Instead we choose to go kayaking, lots more fun. All day including lunch and tubing in a cave. We went past the tubbers and even visited a bar. However, I didnt want to drink at 2pm and it was expensive for lao. We paid 70,000k for the kayaking.

Stayed at central backpackers, private doubles with en suite 80,000 k the best hostel ive stayed in. It is hotel standards.

Luang Prabang

azariah — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 01:23:00 GMT

I cannot recommend this stunning town enough. It has so much going for it. If it wasn't for the lack of an international airport this hidden jem would be spoilt along with Thailand.

Its a world heritage site for good reason. Beautiful colonial buildings everywhere kept in pristine condition. Many a3e now guesthouses with views of the lust jungle mountains and the mekong river.

One of the best things to do is to get up at 5am (yes sorry) to see the monks morning ritual. About 100 monks make a morning round collecting elms from the locals and taking them to temple. It magical to witness.

I advice that in order to be respectful, to keep a distance and cover knees and shoulders. Lao culture is quite consrrvative so no pda ( public displays of affection).

There arw many grand temples and palace. It definitely rivals chiang mai for these. Royal palace is a treat if your like me and craving national trust properties! Haha its 30,000 per person to enter.

The temple on top of the hill is definitely worth the climb, for the view of the city. There is also a cave shrine, Buddha's foot and other artifacts. Its 20,000k entrance fee.

Even more spectacular are the waterfalls approx 1 hour by tuk tuk outside of the city. Having seen a lot of waterfalls, I can honestly say these are the best. Turquoise waters pouring down in cascades. Climb to the top and make your way down. Again jungle views and rolling hills, not a building insight. Perfect, unspoilt beauty! Paradise. We paid 20,000k entrance fee and 25000 to get there. Oh and theres a black bear sanctuary too-free!

Other things worth a mention, utopia for casual relaxing drinking and yoga.

The pak caves are ok to see by slow boat down the mekong. There is also elephant rides including washing elephants in the mekong.

Lao- slow boat border crossing

azariah — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 01:08:00 GMT

I loved this beautiful, unspoilt country. I also think it was great because it surprised me.

It all started with a 3 day 2 night slow boat ride to cross the border from chiang mai to luang prabang.

At the border we met 2 Americans. A boy and girl travelling together as friends, but they didnt know each other all that well so it was an odd situation. They were called dave and Emily, interestingly they both teach english in instanbul. We were dropped at a random guesthouse at the border. It was awful but I was expecting worse. The bed was solid. So with nothing to do we went to the pub and did shots with the locals.

Quick stop at chiang rai to see the white temple. It was something out of a disney movie and really impressive. Worth a visit.

The border crossing was quite sliw but we had paid for a service where a thai man escorts us through. It was actually pretty organised and like arriving in an airport. I was expecting a shack in a field haha. I now am the proud owner of a page visa for lao.

The slow boat was slllloooowww. Great place for scenery. Lao is still 85% jungle and you really feel like you are on an adventure, be it cramped with 70 other people on this boat for 8 hours a day. It ddid get boring after a while. We made a big group of friends all travelling together. All different nationalities. 2 dutch, 2 Americans, 1 korean, 1 israel. 1 guy from germany and 1 from Chile.

In case your wondering. There seemed a srt price from the thai side. It was 1,700 b. This included one night at the border.

Chiang Mai

azariah — Mon, 28 Jul 2014 00:57:00 GMT

Beautigul, calm, bliss. I loved the leafy chilled out north Thailand. I also highly recommend the overnight sleeper train. It was a good experience. We went second class air con. It was very civilised.

The best bit of my trip to Thailand was Chiang Siam elephant training school. Where you ride the elephants bare back and learn how to say commands for them to stop or turn. Riding through the jungle on an elephant is one of the most amazing experiences of my life. As a child I would read stories like the jungle book and want to see and ride them. They were very well looked after. We also got to play with them in the river and wash them. Magical.

Part of our experience was to stay the night at the sanctuary. We also spoke to yhe trainers and our guide about thai culture and being with the elephants. They all seem to love their jobs. They feed them through out the night.We slept in a bamboo hut without eelectricity/bathroom. You used the river to wash in!

Second day we wrnt bamboo rafting. Tjis is literally 8 stilts of bamboo strung together. The locals all came out to splash us and I had a go at steering.

We also went to the Sunday markets. These are massive and sell lots of authentic handicrafts made by locals. I got my nails done.

I also had a massage which was interesting. Not sure im all that into it.

Thailand islands

azariah — Sun, 27 Jul 2014 17:30:00 GMT

I have mixed opinions about the thai islands. They are all so touristy and full on. Im glad ive been but it was sad to see that Thailand has been turned by westerners to a new magulf. Lots of chavy families. I like partying dont get me wrong but not with these idiots.

We went to krabi first-ao nang beach. Seemingly beautiful islands and beach. We went out for massages on the beqch and a night out at amys bar. Where we were served cocktails by a lady boy. It was fun but it was seedy. Plenty of gogo-go girls on poles and fat middleaged men leering. It rained which was a shame as we would have liked to have gone to james bond island.

Phuket- the h is silent. If you are thinking of visiting and consider yourself in any way educated or classy... avoid. Patong beach especially. Thai people grab you and drag you into their bars. I had the words ping pong show screamed at me many many times. Please dont ask what this is if you dont know... lots n lots of go go girls everywhere. People actually bring their children here...

Things that saved Phuket was riding an elephant and going to see simons cabaret show... embracing the tackiness. The beach was average.

Phi Phi- thank god for phi phi. It is a true Hollywood scarlet. Not sure for how much longer though. Its a tiny island yhats getting crowded. We did the pilgrimage to maya bay. This was stunning if only there was less people. This is the island you should head for. We also did snorkeling trips around the island at various points. It was a bit more secluded and the lime stone cliffs are stunning. Of course its full of bars and people partying on the beach. It is hard to avoid this, but there are tasteful rooftop bars to be had.

Koh Samui. Not going to lie more of the western annoyance as mentioned above. Its saving grace is the beach and quieter party scene. We went to ark bar on chaweng beach front, worth a gander. We also went to agthong marine park. We paid 1100 b for a full day trip with kayaking. I actually think its nicer than halong bay but smaller.

Koh Phang nang- considering its reputation of full moon parties. This was my other favourite. We hired a jeep ro drive around the island. We went to a view point, several beautiful beaches and some of the best snorkeling ever. I also ran into a school friend called leanne. Every few days there is a party. We went to experience a jungle party. The setting is awesome. There is a massive tiger head made from lanterns as the stage. Everyone is having fun and covered in neon paint. Last island with sophie and Lorna. Sad to say goodbye to them.

Koh toa- oliver had a great time learning to scuba dive. He said the fish and the visiblity were out of ghis world.

I on the otherhand was very poorly with dengue fever. So cant say much due to 3 days spent in my dorm room.

Bangkok!!

azariah — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 20:59:00 GMT

Stayed for 4 nights in Bangkok whilst waiting for my friends Lorna and Sophie to join us.

We stayed in 4 star luxury hotel called chillax. Such a change from camping! The room had a balcony and spa bath in the room. Was awesome. The break fast was lovely n a buffet. The pool on the top floor looked out onto the city.

We used the free tuk tuk to the grand palace. I did think we might crash o a few occasions!! I like how it zips through the traffic and is open aired for a breeze.

The grand palace has gone up in price since my guidebook. Its now 500b but includes entrance to the emerald buddha and other museums around the grounds. The temples in the grand palace were spectacular. Golden buddhas and ornate works of art telling stories of old on the walls.

The thai people love the king and Queen as they have pictures of them everywhere. They are both very old in there 90s.

We walked around the outside of the palace to the reclining buddha. A gold statue severak hundred s of years old and around 200m in length. You must dress appropriatly for temples such as no shoulders snd knees. This is for both me and women. It says so in all the guide books but so manh tourists are idiots. I keep a scarf in my day bag for unexpected visits to temples.

On our second outting we took the local orange flag barge down the river to see the Orient hotel and the temple of Dawn. The barge was 15b each. Monks sit at the back and locals pile up in the middle. The hotel was not as grand as I was expecting. It was a pretty colonial building though. If I had more money then I would have liked to have had high tea there.

We managed to get a bit lost finding the entrance to the temple of dawn. However, it was nice to get off the tourist path. Thai people dont bother you unless they want something from you. We aaw monks teaching a class of novices.

The temple of dawn is well worth visiting. However, if you lack mobility then its not great as there id 3 sets of very very steep steps to climb up. The view is impressive and the temples decoration is rather unique and colourful.

It costs 3b to get the barge across the river to the other side for the orange flag home.

Road Trip to Darwin

azariah — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 12:01:00 GMT

We went on a 2200km road trip for 2 weeks up to Darwin. This was with Olivers aunt and Uncle in their 4x4. We are going camping in the outback and national park of kakadu.

The first day we drive for 9 hours to reach the national park. This is all on one highway called the Stuart highway. It goes from Darwin to Adalaide.

We saw a black headed python on the road. It was 1m long really beautiful n impress to look at.

Kakadu national park is the size of wales.

During the 2 weeks we went swimming in water falls and in lagoons. I was always worried about the crocodiles. Ghere were signs every where about salt water crocs in the area. The rangers do keep an eye on them and move them. It was stunning scenery. The mosiquotos drove me mad though! So many.

In Darwin we went on a jumping crocodile show. These are wild crocodiles that come to the boat as thy know they are going to be feed. They are huge and jump up for the pork chop dangled from the boat. The dominant male is 6.2 , meters!!

Alice Springs

azariah — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:45:00 GMT

Wow! The earth is red!

Oliver has an aunt and uncle that live in Alice Springs. He is 11 yers younger than Oliver s mum so at 34 is more og a big brother to Oliver than an uncle. He is also a tour guide for the rock. Uluru :) or Ayers Rock as most western people know it as.

We got a discount on the tour which was very nice of him. Sadly Richard is not our tour guide for the day as they didnt rota him on.

The tour is all day from 6am til 11pm. Its 5 hours drive fro alice springs to Uluru.

The tour starts with a walk around Cataduta. I don't know why this is not as famous as its beautiful. I liked it better than Uluru.

We also did a guided walk around the base of Uluru. Lots of people have died climbing the rock. It also upsets the aboriginals. Uts sacred to them.

The tour finished with champagne n a bbq dinner watching the sunset over Uluru. It does change colour. Breathtaking.

Melbourne

azariah — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:39:00 GMT

So excited to be reunited with Oliver! After 26 days in New Zealand.

Melbourne is also wet and cold but its a fun city. Its full of artwork and cafes. A hipsters paradise. We met up with an old friend from cairns called Craig and he showed us around.

I liked the Melbourne museums and art galleries.

The highlight was of course the great ocean road. Awesome coastline outside of Melbourne all the way to adelaide. We saw the 12 apostles and London bridge. It was great to see so many wild koalas.

We are flying from Melbourne to Alice Springs the red centre.

Auckland

azariah — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:35:00 GMT

Did not enjoy Auckland. Its a city, just because lol

I was waiting for my flight back to Melbourne and was a bit bored. It was trying hard to be Sydney but failing. It has a harbour and a sky tower. I did go up the sky tower for a few hours and had a coffee n cake.

I ended up in an Internet cafe to finish my masters application.

waitomo caves

azariah — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:31:00 GMT

Glow worm caves!

We wrapped up warm and went tubing in the caves! I jumped backwards down a waterfall.

The best bit was when the team all joined together and we were pulled along in the dark by the instructor to see all the hundreds of glow worms on the ceiling.

It was very cold and I was glad to get out and have a shower.

I alsk saw a rare cave wetter

rotorua

azariah — Sun, 13 Jul 2014 11:20:00 GMT

Loved this place!

Out of my 11 days in north island of new Zealand, I spent 6 days here.

I went white water rafting on a grade 5 river twice, because it was half price. Haha. It features a 7ft water fall at the end. I didn't fall in but many people did.

I went to wat-tau which is a volcanic area with guyers. They got them to erupt by putting soap I the centre. Really beautiful areas.

I love the lord of the rings. So no trip to the north would be completed without a trip to hobbiton. Its such an awesome place. Im also the perfect height to be a hobbit. I even had a cider in the green dragon pub.

Other trips included a day hiking around redwood forrest. Its mainly for mountain biking but I didn't want to pay to hire one.

Finally, I did a day tour of a Maori village. They still live in the village and have fone gor centuries. They are amazing people. Very big n scary looking with tattoos on their faces. They use the hot springs to cook food and wash in. Potatoes boil instantly! Its over 100 degrees.

Wellington

azariah — Sat, 5 Jul 2014 21:11:00 GMT

Its no exaggeration that Wellington is the windy city. Its also raining. Oh how lkke England new Zealand is!

I met uo with olivrs aunty belinda and her children as she lives there, Oliver was staying with her for the 6 months. It was cool to see where he was. She was really nice :) his cousin s who are 6 and 8 are very cute.

I also went to tu papa which is a massive interactive museum about all of new Zealand.

I also walked up mt Victoria as part of the lord of the rings was filmed here. It offered amaxing views of Wellington. Im not sure its obvious as new Zealands capital.

Christchurch to see amy and rach p

azariah — Sat, 5 Jul 2014 21:05:00 GMT

Christchurch since the earth quake is like something out if 28 days later the film.

Me and rach p went indoor rock climbing and I went exploring whilst she works. I loved staying with her.

Went to quake city to learn about the earthquake. They have them all the time.

I also went to the museum anf botanical gardens.

Flight to the north island and to Wellington.

Queens town

azariah — Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:31:00 GMT

I love yhis place. Its an actual town with bars, shops and people. The lake is big and stunning with a mountain range called the remarkables.

A girl called Annie came to Queens town to hang out with me. She is from America, soo many American s in new Zealand! She was looking for work in Queens town for the ski season coming up in July.

We went out to an ice bar, and had cocktails out of ice cubes.

I went on a lake cruise for an afternoon to see a different side to Queens town.

Me and Annie went lugging, which is a form of go karting o top of one of the hills which uou reach by gondala.

We also went to milford sounds, which is an awesome place. Its waterfalls tumbling into a sound surroundedby mountains. I also saw a new Zealand parrot called a kia.

It rained lots , so did a bit of bowling on one day.

lake wanaka

azariah — Sat, 5 Jul 2014 20:16:00 GMT

All of new Zealand s towns seem to centre themselves around a beautiful lake.

I got off the bus with a lady from south America called nini. We went to stay at Holly. It was so quiet there was only us in the dorm room. Its quite old fashioned this hostel but definitely homely.

The cinema here is an attraction itselc as its 1950s style with sofas and even cars to sit in to watch the film. There id only one film on at a time, I saw the grande Budapest hotel. Its really different and funny. There is an interval half way with home made cookies and ice cream. Yum!!

The next day we hired some cheap bikes from thd hostel. My bike s wheels kept seizing up, which meant cycling around the lake was hard. I went with nini and a American girl called Courtney.

The bike ride was fun just around the Lake.