So i've actually been sh**ing myself about writing this blog. The last thing I want to do is ramble on.. but there's just too much to say! My best friend Lydia and I went to Asia for 4 weeks, experienced so much, had so many laughs and a lot of great food (also some REALLY bad food). We had been thinking about doing a trip together for a while as she lives in England and i'm living in New Zealand. Its horrible to be away from your best friend but when you eventually travel together it makes it all worth while! So.. Where do we go? How do we plan the trip? What dates can we both get off work? All these questions going through our heads, along with the time difference (+13 hours for me) makes it all the more difficult to make these decisions! But i'm happy to say we did it, and created an amazing month that we will never forget.
We chose Southeast Asia as its a very popular destination and its also quite cheap (unless you're Lydia and I, we failed at budgeting). There are so many beautiful countries here to choose from but as we only had a month we had to narrow it down. As I am quite impulsive I wanted to do around five countries, but Lydia reminded me that I'm sometimes a little crazy and that we only had a month to do so. So we decided on three, that gave us a lot more time to enjoy and explore each country properly. We ended up picking Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia (I was not happy about giving up Indonesia, trust me).
Now we had our three countries, we had to decide how long to spend and what to do whilst we were there. After about 4 hours a day on FaceTime at stupid o'clock, we finally came up with our Itinerary. Ive added a detailed pinpoint map of our route below. Starting with north Thailand, moving on to Vietnam, then Cambodia and finally back to south Thailand.
Asia is such a crazy place, very smelly too. The roads are busy, there are food stalls almost everywhere you look and don't be surprised if you see a family of nine on ONE moped! Honestly, its just a different way of living completely. But my favourite thing that I noticed about Asia is that the people are extremely hospitable (more so than anywhere else I've visited) and the children always look happy. I think most people will agree that its quite daunting going to a country where you don't know the language so to have happy children and friendly welcoming people really helps!
TOP TIPS-
PLEASE be careful when crossing the streets (especially in Vietnam). Im aware that I sound like your mum but its honestly so so dangerous. There are bikes and cars coming from literally every direction. Also be carful if you decide to hire a moped, or go on the back of someone else's, please wear a helmet.
Get the overnight bus if you can. They have beds that are averagely comfortable to most people (if you're like me and can sleep on any transport then its like being in your own bed). Regardless you'll definitely manage to get SOME sleep. The reason the overnight busses are useful is because they save you travel time. No one wants to be sat on a bus at the hottest part of the day wishing they were out exploring.
Asians tell a lot of white lies (obviously not all asians).. If they tell you that your bus is leaving at 8am, its not. Trust me when I say you'll still be sat sweating from the humidity outside the bus station at 9:20am. This must of happened to us about 20 times. Now i'm not saying don't arrive at the time they say because I could end up with a lot of angry messages about people missing their buses, but just don't freak out if your bus is very late. Make sure you always check with the bus driver that its your bus as there will be a lot coming and going and it's very confusing with the language barrier.
We used 12go.asia to book majority of our buses and found this was a reliable website. There are many sites you can choose though.
If you aren't a people person, hotels aren't much more expensive than hostels, so you can easily get your own space for a good price.
North Thailand-
So as if being reunited with my bestie after so long wasnt enough, we were also in THAILAND! We spent our first few nights in Bangkok and had decided to stay in a nice hotel here whilst we were getting settled. It cost around 180 pounds in total for two nights for the both of us (there are so many great hotels for a lot cheaper than this). The excitement was unreal as we made our way to the Millennium Hilton hotel (would recommend highly to anyone staying in Bangkok). As we entered the room we just couldn't stop smiling, we had this huge window with views of the river, city lights flashing, tall buildings everywhere.. it was the perfect way to start.
After dropping our rucksacks and slapping a bit of makeup on we went to explore. We wandered around for about an hour trying to figure out how to cross the river as it looked like all the nice restaurants were on the other side, eventually we jumped into a tuk tuk (a motorised vehicle with three wheels that is used as a taxi). Even the drivers of the tuk tuks are the most friendly people, always smiling and joking around. After a delicious dinner, we headed to the rooftop bar of our hotel, what a breathtaking view that was!
The next day we relaxed by our hotels pool and tried lots of street food. It doesn't look very appealing, but some of it is seriously good.. and its very cheap!! Later on in the evening we went to a rooftop bar at the Lebua hotel where the hangover 2 movie was filmed. One word.. UNREAL. Rooftop bars always get me, but this one was different, not only were the views out of this world, but it was on the 64th floor!!! Not a great place if you're afraid of heights though. After our surreal experience we decided to go get sh*tfaced at the famous Khao san road. It is everything its hyped up to be.. absolutely bonkers!! Imagine you're walking down the strip in Magaluf, then add people running around with tarantulas on sticks and you've nailed it. Yes, you heard me, tarantulas on sticks!!! They soon realised not to wave them in my face after I hysterically ran down the strip crying and screaming. Definitely won't be trying one of them for my late night snack, but I did try a Scorpion. It kind of tasted like dog biscuits, mixed with plastic.. and don't lie to me, everyones tried dog biscuits in their time.
After an amazing few days, it was time to say goodbye to Bangkok, pick up our rucksacks and move on to the next wonderful place!
So, this was our first bad experience waiting for a bus. In a crowd of hundreds of people, our shoulders sore from carrying our rucksacks and the intense humidity making us sweat, we started to wait. An hour passed but we were unable to communicate with anyone due to the language barrier. When the bus finally came, they shoved us towards another bus, we were kinda freaking out because we had no idea which one to get on to and everyone was pointing us in different directions. We continued to show everyone our tickets and after a lot of panicking we finally ended up on the right bus.
Hello CHIANG MAI! What a beautiful place this is. We decided that our best and cheapest way to get around would be to continue to use tuk tuks.. also the most fun. After arriving at our hotel, Hotel M (reasonably cheap, breakfast included, swimming pool) we went to explore what Chiang Mai has to offer.
Just wow! The temples here were stunning, there is so many to visit you'll be spoilt for choice! I'd recommend asking your hotel or hostel the best ones to visit. You'll have to be respectful and wear appropriate clothing, usually long pants and something to cover your shoulders.
A great place to grab some lunch afterwards would be Baan Buri, the prettiest little restaurant with cushioned seats on the floors, a huge fish tank, and beautiful plants. If you're not hungry, wandering around the temples is thirsty work so make sure you visit this restaurant even if its just for a quick drink!
Now, when visiting Thailand, the one thing on everyones minds is.. ELEPHANTS! So the next day we went off to feed, bathe, and play with the elephants all day! We chose the Elephant jungle sanctuary in Chiang Mai as we were told it was ethical. What an incredible experience, they are such beautiful animals. Theres no better feeling than being in a bath full of mud, with elephants happily rolling around whilst you wash them. You have to do it!
Vietnam-
After Chiang Mai we flew to Hanoi and finally started embracing the hostel lifestyle.. after all, we were supposed to be backpackers!! We stayed in the Babylon garden hostel and couldn't complain. The first thing I noticed about Hanoi was the pace, it was crazy, everything seemed to be moving a lot faster, the streets were louder, the people were less chilled, the traffic was terrifying! But there's nothing like experiencing a different way of living right?
Theres a couple of places you have to visit in Hanoi. Long Bien bridge, a beautiful railway bridge that looks like it goes on forever! But please check the train times before going at getting your instagram shots as I don't want anyone getting squished by a train! Another must see is Train street, WOW. So you're literally just sat in a cafe right next to a railway line, then as you're sipping a coffee a HUGE ASS train comes along the track and the cafes literally shake its so close. Its definitely an 11/10 experience!
We went from the craziness of Hanoi to the peaceful, calmness of Sapa, north Vietnam. This place was like another world. Big green mountains, rice fields, a beautiful river, waterfalls, you name it! Sapa is known for its trekking tours, so if you're into your fitness you'd love this. If not (like Lydia and I) its still worth doing, although you will feel like your legs are about to drop off when you get back. You can do a full day tour or a half day, I thank the lord that we chose a half day, I probably wouldn't be here writing this blog if i'd of chosen the full day, i'd still be in the mountains of sapa somewhere after telling the group to go on without me. But on a serious note, its worth it! I felt that this was a great way to experience the Asian culture, you get to meet the wives and children from the villages and see for yourself the way that they live. With all the television, video games and devices that were used to its a pretty big shock to see their lifestyle.
After our very hard but very wonderful trek, we decided to see what else Sapa had to offer. So after speaking to our hostel staff we were informed that for extremely cheap, you can hire a taxi driver to take you around for the day. With no hesitation we jumped in the taxi and told him the places we wanted to see. Heavens gate is a must do, along with Love waterfall and Silver falls. You can even go for a swim at Love waterfall, but boy its freezing! It literally takes your breath away its that cold.
Whilst we were in Vietnam we also visited, Bai Tu long bay, this is basically the same as Ha Long bay but less touristy. We had the option of a party cruise, or a romantic cruise, we obviously chose the romantic cruise lol! I did not want to spend two days hungover on a boat. The romantic option was perfect as it was peaceful, relaxing and you get to take in all of the beautiful scenery without wanting to vomit! One night as we were on the boat we experienced a thunder storm. Im not kidding when I say this was one of the most magical things I have witnessed! Imagine being in the middle of the ocean, on a boat, with bright purple and electric blue lighting bolts coming from the sky. It truly made the trip that extra bit amazing!
After our cruise we headed to Hue, a beautiful little place. Id recommend going to see the abandoned water park here. Its supposed to be off limits but if you taxi there and pay the security guard a small tip he will let you in! Its extremely creepy but super cool! A must see!
Next on the list was Da Nang. The reason we wanted to visit here is because of a place called Sun world in the Ba Na Hills. It's kind of like a theme park, but without the rides. Its at the top of a mountain so you have to get a cable car to the top (again if you're afraid of heights you won't like this one), it literally goes on forever! As you get closer the top you will see two giant hands holding a bridge in the distance, it literally feels like you're approaching the gates of heaven! Once you've hopped off the cable car you can go and walk across this amazing bridge (Golden hands bridge). This was something that had been on my bucket list for years and to see it in really life was just incredible. But that wasn't the end of the fun. Theres a huge French village that has heaps of food stalls, live bands and cute little buildings all around, there's flower gardens, giant statues, an indoor area with amusement rides. All this at the top of a mountain? I told you Vietnam was crazy! This was one of my favourite memories from my trip, we couldn't stop chatting about how amazing it all was.
After Da Nang came Hoi An! This was a beautiful town with a river that ran through it. The river was filled with little boats that you could pay to ride, very romantic! The boats each had beautiful coloured lanterns along the outside and people would drop flower lanterns onto the river. It felt great to see all those beautiful colours reflecting off the water at night, almost like looking at fireflies! The night life was also awesome in Hoi An! So don't miss out.
Our final destination in Vietnam was Ho Chi Minh city. We had to fly here as it was too long on the bus, but fortunately only one hour on a plane. We didn't get to do much here as we only had one day but id love to go back and explore this city properly. We went to visit the Saigon central post office, Norte dame cathedral and independence palace with the short time that we had, they're very famous and worth checking out!
Cambodia-
Ok, so to get from Ho Chi Minh city to Phnom Penh in Cambodia, we got a bus and had to cross the border. Doing this in countries where you do not know the language is seriously scary. We almost had a heart attack I swear. They took our passports from us at the start of the bus journey, we arrived at the border and were yelled at to get of the bus. As we got off they were still yelling and pointing at where we should go, we were confused as they were telling us to go through the border but we still didn't have our passports back. The guy who had taken our passports had disappeared at this point so you can imagine how we were freaking out. There were men with huge guns everywhere, they didn't look very friendly. As we got closer to the front of the line we were seriously panicking, Where are our passports? Are we going to get left behind at the border? What do we do? Thankfully as we reached the front of the queue a random guy who we had not seen much of handed up our passports. You wouldn't believe relief we felt! We crossed the border and continued our journey to Phnom Penh.
In Phnom Penh there was a huge river and a row of bars and resturants along one side of it. The atmosphere was brilliant, there were groups of people dancing in the streets, children running around, couples having pictures by the river. A beautiful place to stay.
Next we wanted to visit an Island called Koh Rong, but boy was it a hell of a journey to get here. So to get to Koh Rong you have to get a boat ride from Sihanoukville (I bet you can't pronounce that). We definitely picked the wrong part of Sihanoukville to stay as we were literally in the middle of no where. We got a tuk tuk from the bus stop to our room, but the roads were so slippery and muddy that it caused a huge traffic jam and took us about 2 hours to do a 20 minute trip. The whole place was just a giant mud bath. We got to our room and hurried to get ready then left to go and find something to eat. Walking through mud, in the pitch black, whilst it pissed down with rain we searched for a restaurant. An hour passed, nothing. We were completely drenched, covered in mud, and not happy bunnies at all! But Lydia is scary when she's hungry so we didn't give up. After walking past about a hundred closed restaurants we finally found one that was open! In this moment we felt like the luckiest people alive. So we celebrated with a bottle of wine.
The next morning we headed on a boat to Koh Rong for the day. Finally! Nothing but crystal clear water, blue skies, and beach shacks. What a place! I could have lived here forever. A woman offered us a job in her cafe, we seriously considered it before realising that responsibilities are a real thing. So unfortunately we had to turn down the offer and move onto the next place.
After a relaxing day in paradise we headed to Siem Reap, our final destination in Cambodia. This is the home of the fascinating Angkor Wat temple, but also the home of the very famous Pub street. So you can spend your day being very respectful, then go wild at night! The temples were unbelievable. Our tuk tuk driver very kindly took us to get our tickets, along with something to wear, and waited the whole day for us to wander the temples. A lot of tuk tuk drivers do this as there isn't anywhere for you to get a ride home from, so they have a little nap whilst waiting for you. After a full day of exploring you'll need a few drinks! So i'd highly recommend pub street. Its another crazy strip of bars where people seem to go nuts! But very very fun!
South Thailand-
Our trip was coming to an end as we arrived back into Thailand! With only a few places left we felt very upset but were keen to make the most of the rest of our trip.
We started with Railay beach in Krabi. This place is insane! Its a tiny island with the most amazing scenery. We stayed in Railay Phutawan resort.. WOW! It had a beautiful infinity pool and amazing place to sit and eat that looked out onto the ocean. 11/10 would recommend! The reason we loved Railay beach so much was not only because it was a beautiful island, but it also had amazing nightlife. There were a little row of bars in the middle of the island, cute little shacks with reggae music and people playing the bongos. It really added to the vibe of the island. We couldn't get enough! Thats one thing I love about travelling, those moments when you're just sat with a big smile on your face, overwhelmed by how amazing the world is! I got that feeling a lot whilst being in these shacks/bars, watching the men on the bongos with a whole lot of passion, seeing the smiles on their faces as they play. Lydia was equally as happy/overwhelmed. Its not always the big things when travelling that make you feel this way, the smallest experiences can fill you with the most joy!
The island was tiny so you can pretty much wander the whole way around it. There's a pretty steep walk up to a view point that's amazing, i'd definitely suggest you do it, just be careful! Its not a long walk it just involves a lot of climbing, so wear decent shoes!
After this we went to Koh Lanta in Krabi, a small island with some beautiful beaches. The island was pretty small so we decided to hire mopeds. I can't drive so initially we got just the one, but Lydia is so small so her trying to ride a moped with me on the back just wasn't working. After a couple of crashes and me freaking out we decided to get a second moped. Definitely the safer option. Once I finally got the hang of riding my moped, we rode around the whole island all day. It sounds so cliché but the feeling of the wind in your hair as you're driving around a beautiful island is truly unbeatable. We visited the old town which was pretty cool, it has some cute little shops and nice places to eat. We finished off our time here with a beautiful sunset and ciders on the beach. Beautiful.
Last but not least, we arrived in our final destination.. THE JUNGLE. Khao Sok was a big bucket list tick for me. We booked to stay in the most amazing lodge called Arts Riverview. It was surrounded by trees, had a river flowing through the middle, and cute little cabins to stay in. In the jungle (the mighty jungle) we had a tour booked to go to the Khao Sok national park, you get to go on a boat to see a floating village, have a guided jungle tour, visit a cave, and go on a bamboo raft. It is definitely worth a visit if you're going to Thailand! Being in the jungle is pretty scary though, especially when the tour guide is telling you that there's all sorts of animals that live their, including tigers! We didn't see much apart from a lot of monkeys, and a big tarantula. That was more than enough for me.
At the lodge you can pay to do river tubing where you slide down the river in a rubber dingy, it is super fun. A tour guide comes with a group of you, there are rope swings that you can swing into the water on and you can also spot monkeys and snakes along the way. I'd suggest getting some water shoes though as there's fish that bite. Lydia and I were having a swim in the river when she yelled "OUCH" and told me shed been bitten. She got straight out of the river. I thought she was just being a big baby until I got bitten too. I've never gotten out of water so fast. I looked at my foot and I had a little bite mark that was bleeding, we're still not sure what it was! Lucky I didn't loose a toe.
That completes my wonderful adventure with my best friend! What an amazing trip. Great countries, great company and a bloody great experience!
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