South East Asia

Christmas Cheer

I went to Vietnam! And Cambodia! And Thailand too!

I’m back in Seoul and as I sit here with the thermostat at -4 degrees I’m thinking over my 17 days away in the warmth of SE Asia. So lets start at the beginning and try to keep it brief…ish.

As per every other Christmas day morning I woke up bright and early and extremely excited. Except it wasn't  because I was keen to see whether Father Christmas had been but because I was about to start my 17 day trip away from Korea and away from those adorable cherubs in Grade 6… One small problem about travelling to from winter in Korea to any time of year in SE Asia is that it’s BLOODY FREEZING until you get to the warmth of the airport. Katie and I donned our Santa hats (and some other attire that made one of our party (not me!) look like a hobo) and braved 6am Seoul temperatures. We arrived at the airport only to realise that what seemed like the entire country was also catching early morning flights. The check-in queue was the longest I've ever seen so by the time we were checked in we had to run trough security, onto the shuttle to the other terminal and tour gate. During the mad dash Katie managed to leave her boarding pass and passport in the bathroom – now that would have been a disaster – luckily a kind lady came chasing after her and returned it. What a wally…

The flight was a delightful 5 hours filled with Christmas cheer and mimosas courtesy of Vietnam Air. We landed in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon at 2pm local time and the fun was already well underway.

Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City

PHO YEAH!

I LOVED Saigon. It certainly made me realise just how western Seoul is and was exactly what I had expected and wanted from South East Asia. The ride from the airport was fun – dodging hundreds of mopeds at every turn and staring out of the taxi window in wide-eyed amazement. We dumped our backpacks at the hotel and headed straight back out of the door to explore the local area and sample the 30p big beers and £1 bowls of Pho.

War Remnants Museum

The next day Katie and I cut a deal. I wanted to get a motorbike-taxi to the War Remnants Museum… In return I had to agree to a pedicure. Fine. FINE. So we hoped on the bikes and were off! It was maybe a 10 minute ride and I loved it – It’s still mental but the drivers seem to be much more skilled/aware in Vietnam than here in Korea. The grimace on Katie’s face as we got off told me that was the last time we’d be doing that! The museum was really interesting. Other than what I’d learned from movies, I really didn't know much about the Vietnam War. This museum heavily depicted the events from a Vietnamese POV, nevertheless it made us want to go and find out what the US was even doing there! Agent Orange sounds completely atrocious. To perk ourselves up a bit after that morning downer we walked out towards the Saigon River and visited the tallest building in the city which has a viewing platform.

That evening we chatted to some fellow travelers over some more 30p beers and swapped stories and got tips about some of the other places we were due to visit. We booked a bus to Cambodia for the next morning and then it was time. I thought Katie might forget but my luck was out… time for a pedicure.

Cambodia – Phnom Penh and Siem Reap

The next morning we hopped on the bus and were at the boarder in no time. Out of Vietnam and into Cambodia within 10 minutes and back on the road headed towards Phnom Penh. We got talking to a Kiwi couple, Ellie and Jackson, and arranged to meet them for dinner later that evening at Happy Pizza.

Happy Pizza Smirk

We weren't sure what to expect from Happy Pizza. We'd read in the Lonely Planet that if you asked for a pizza to be made “happy” with a nod and a wink your pizza would come with some additional hallucinogenic toppings. Turns out Happy Pizza offers all kinds of happy treats so after a margarita and a mango milkshake, well… I was fucking ecstatic. We said our giggly goodbyes to the Kiwis and clambered aboard a tuk-tuk. Who knows how long later we realised we didn't have a clue where we were. Luckily our driver understood our slurred “Royal Palace please” and we were able to eventually find ourselves back at the hostel for some quiet time – after struggling up to our top bunks.

Bicycle Selfie

The next morning was… tough. We dragged ourselves out to learn about the Khmer Rough and the genocide that happened in the 70’s but 20 minutes after arriving at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum we realised we were still feeling the effects of the previous evening’s shenanigans and what a terrible terrible idea learning about genocide was. Katie decided she needed to be horizontal for another few hours and I decided I needed a beer. We made these things happen pretty sharpish and thankfully felt much better by mid-afternoon. Later, we wandered around Wat Phnom and the big market place to scout out where we need to get our next bus from.

It was an 8 hour bus journey to Siem Reap. I was excited about Siem Reap – I’d wanted to see the temples of Angkor for a long time. We arrived at a nice lodge just to the east of the town centre and made our way to Pub Street. We found a great rooftop bar and some live music but just stayed for a couple because we knew tomorrow was going to be a long day.

Angkor Wat

Northern Gate

The lodge had bikes to hire but they looked a bit dodge and the lodge owner advised that we take the free tuk-tuk into the town centre and hire a better bike that’d last the day! $2 later we each had a bike for the day and off we went. We cycled a lot. After a slight hiccup (we forgot to buy a ticket) we arrived at our first stop, Angkor Wat. Thomas, another guy who’d made the same ticket mistake, joined us for the day too. Thomas had just come from Thailand and it was fun to hear about his stories and where he’d been. We visited 4 of the temples and cycled by a lot more. We were on d off the bikes from 10am until around 5pm and cycled about 35/40km in total. The temples were incredible and exactly what I’d hoped for. After a long day on the bikes and walking around, we headed back to Pub Street and tried out Dr Fish and having our feet nibbled. I didn't think I could enjoy something less than a pedicure - I was wrong...

Thailand – Bangkok, Koh Samet, Ko Samui, Krabi

PARTY

New Years Eve had arrived and we were onto anther bus and another boarder crossing. We arrived at Khao San Road, Bangkok at around 6:30pm, dumped our bags and changed at our nearby hostel, and we were off out again. We wandered around the Khao San area and cocktail “bar” which was actually just a little table and a bloke with a shaker but he made a mean mojito and that’s all that mattered. We got chatting to a couple, Rachel and Adam who were in Thailand to do some climbing during their winter break from outward bounds centre in none other than… *drumroll please* HORWICH! Half way around the sodding world and I’m celebrating New Years with a guy who went to the rival high school and lives 15 minutes up the road. Weird. They were fun and it was actually really nice to hear some proper accent after so many months. We wandered, cocktails in hand, only stopping to try the local delicacies – I had a scorpion and Katie a grasshopper – until we strolled out of a dark alleyway smack bang into the middle of a huge street party. It was around 10:30pm by this point so we danced for a solid 90 minutes before the big countdown. There was Auld Lang Syne and hugging and kissing and a whole load more dancing.

Casual

Sunset

New Years Day called for one thing immediately – hair of the dog. We had cocktails with breakfast and boarded a bus towards Koh Samet. Just off the eastern gulf coast, Koh Samet is a small island perfect for chilled out beach time. We got to the resort by mid-afternoon and parked ourselves on the beach.

Balcony View

The next day we were up nice and early in time to turn on ESPN and catch Katie’s alma mater UCF in the Fiesta Bowl game. Which they won easily (#ChargeOn) in an excellent game. A great start to the day. We spent the rest of our time on Samet in hammocks or deckchairs or strolling around in the sunshine. We explored some other beaches further up the island and saw some fire dancers while we were eating dinner. We could see Orion's Belt and it was peaceful and calm and I really didn't want to leave. Alas the time had come for Katie to head back to Korea so we arrived back in Bangkok and said our goodbyes.

Photobombing Selfie?

Samui

I made my way to the train station to catch the night train to Surat Thani and a bus and boat on to Ko Samui.  The night train was a lot of fun. It was surprisingly comfortable and a couple of hours into the journey a bloke came along the carriage turning the seats into bunkbeds. I strolled through the train to the restaurant car (which was more like the nightclub car!) for some dinner and a couple of beers. I played cards and chatted with a couple of Swedish guys who were on their way to Ko Pha Ngan. I clambered up to my top bunk (not before almost falling through the curtain on to the old lady who was sleeping in there) and was gently rocked to sleep as the train trundled southbound. I woke up and instantly thought I’d missed my stop. I quickly packed my stuff away and hopped down from the bunk. Thankfully 15 minutes later we pulled into my stop, I got some breakfast, and waited for the bus to the pier. Once there and on the ferry, I found a window seat, popped a couple of travel sickness tablets and crossed my fingers hoping for the best – I don’t do well on boats, but that’s another story for another time.

Moped!

In a very strange turn of events I walked into my Ko Samui hostel and was suddenly accosted by a guy who bear hugged me. It took what felt like an eternity to put a name to the face but eventually I realised I knew the guy and could unclench the fist that was milliseconds from connecting with the guys throat (that’s all I’d have been able to reach, he’s pretty tall). I know Vossa from the Korean language classes I was doing when I first got to Korea! We chatted for a while and it turns out he quit around the same time I did and now is having more casual language exchanges with a few different Koreans a few times a month. Vossa and his sister had just come from Krabi where I was heading to a couple of days later and he gave me a few tips on what to see and where to go. I explored the area close to the hostel and it quickly became clear that I was going to need to hire a moped in order to get around – so I did! I don’t have any driving license but that didn't seem to be an issue whatsoever, I handed over the cash and they handed over the keys. Within the first hour I could understand why bikers get addicted….and I was only on a glorified hairdryer!

Boats to Poda

Thai BBQ

After my couple of days on Samui were up I was nearing the end of my trip. I bussed it over to the west coast and stay in Krabi for two nights. I visited Poda Island for some sunbathing in 36 degree heat and of course got horrendously sunburnt. Idiot. The last day of my trip was spent getting to Phuket airport, finding an AC unit to sit next to and applying industrial quantities of Aloe to the burn.

I didn't want to leave. I didn't want to go back to the cold. I wanted to see more things and go to more places. Alas, my time was up. As I shivered my way back towards my apartment my spirit was lifted by realising it was less than 3 weeks before my next trip. And between Winter Camp and new years catch ups with people here that’s exactly how long it’s taken me to write this.

So on that note, I’m off to Shanghai for Chinese New Year and to celebrate the start of the Year of the Horse. I'll tell you all about that a few weeks after I get back I'm sure...

Until then,
Bren.