Like most of my trips, this started out at a dining table last October, talking with my brother, Red and my childhood best friend, Chianne, about her friend who backpacked Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam in 10 days. Having this thirst for new places, the adventure and just being out of our normal lives once in a while, we said we'd give it a go. Come December, we already booked our flights and the next thing I know, Red and I were always working on our itinerary. It's so easy to just walk in to a travel agency and have everything set and ready to go but I'm telling you, there's this unique kind of excitement on making an itinerary of your own. It was hard, yeah, Red and I took months to finalize it and the internet was our only resource but you get to learn things, things only for that country, things you won't ever get to know anywhere. Gathering information by reading blog posts about travelers who stayed in places and what their life was during those months, it's encouraging in the sense that I know I can do what they are doing, too.
And I did.
We started the trip at Siem Reap, Cambodia. We arrived quite late, way past dinnertime, so we just dropped off our things at Happy Guesthouse and headed over to Pub Street, basically a street full of restaurants with good food, cheap beer and everyone traveling in Siem Reap. Walking around was easy as Red has already been to Siem Reap, he knows the right places.
The gang at Pub Street
Just along Pub Street.
We ready, Angkor Wat!
Yep, we climbed the top of Angkor Wat!
For me, more like crawled.
Headless buddha at Angkor Wat.
Banteay Kdei.
Ta Phrom aka The Tomb Raider Temple.
We ended the ever tiring day at Pub Street, bought pasalubongs (little tip: try buying stuff on streets near Pub Street not on Pub Street, as it's much cheaper and you can still haggle), and drank beer (oh, this'll be a thing this entire trip). Pub Street can be really loud during nighttime so if you want a more relaxed feel, try the bars at the end of the street. The ones near the market.
Cambodia's pares slash tapsi - Lok Lak.
Angkor Beer.
I have this feeling I didn't make the most out of Siem Reap. There were still lots to see, lots to do. But that's just all the more reason to go back.
Early next morning, had a quick breakfast and we're set to the 3-hour bus ride to Poipet, Cambodia's border to Thailand. 20-minute lunch, Cambodia Immigration and the 3-hour line at Aranyaphratet, Thailand Immigration. I really didn't mind the time as I knew it would take almost an entire day to get to Bangkok but this was when the heat dawned on us. In Cambodia, it was just like here at home: sunny and humid. In Thailand, the heat was painful. Anyway, after forever at the Immigration, it was the 4 to 5-hour ride to Bangkok.
Two places at once.
One thing that I noticed and was surprisingly impressed with Thailand during the trip was their infrastructure, especially in Bangkok. From Aranyaphratet, which is a province, to Bangkok, the road is wide and covered well. It was weird to get on a right-hand vehicle, yes, but the trip was smooth. There's also bunch of flags and portraits of the King and Queen everywhere, living up to their motto: Country, Religion, Monarch.
For a city girl, I was really happy to see skyscrapers during that time as I was so tired of seeing faunas for hours. If you want an urban city, go to Bangkok. Everything you need is just around the corner. We stayed at Penpark Place which was 10 minutes from Khao San Road, the tourist/backpackers hub in Bangkok. After freshening up, we walked all over the area, covered Samsen Road, Soi Rambuttri and Khao San.
Though Khao San is famous for having all the restaurants, bars and the night market one must try, I like Soi Rambuttri more. It's much more relaxed than the rowdy and crowded Khao San.
Crazy Khao San Road.
I love Soi Rambuttri!
We got used to Cambodia's US dollar-based policy that understanding
Baht was kind of a challenge but really, it's just like Php.
Cocktails in cups... and in streets!
Thai Beer.
Mix your own Pad Thai!
We asked the people at our hostel where we can roam around the next day and they suggested Siam Square if you're in to electronics or Chatuchak Weekend Market for shopping. We chose Chatuchak for pasalubongs.
Walking to the bus station back to Penpark from Chatuchak.
Cabs are accessible but it was a pleasant experience to get on a Thai bus.
Allo, Chatuchak!
Lunch inside Chatuchak Park.
They have the best Pad Thai. :)
Very colorful and creative street food, yo!
Thailand also has a pretty good railway network which makes it easier to travel around. We booked our tickets to Chiang Mai online and had it delivered to Penpark. We were so excited for the sleeper train for the Hogwarts feel and of course, for Chiang Mai. While making our itinerary, I was most excited about Chiang Mai. Yes, I am a city girl but once in a while, I do enjoy provinces and reading about Chiang Mai, it seems as if it's the perfect home away from the city. And it was.
Hualamphong Station.
Very Darjeeling Limited feels only it's in Thailand.
Waiting and Chianne munching the best cinnamon waffles ever!
Hogwarts Express, yeah?
We had a place to stay at in Chiang Mai but we saw this board near the information desk of a guesthouse that's much cheaper plus it has a pool, so we opted for it instead. Hello, SK House! Chiang Mai's weather then was much better than Bangkok's, probably because of its location and for the 2 days we were there, it rained in the afternoon which we really didn't mind. We'd take any forceful wind at any time.
Just a peek of how messy our rooms were.
No slacking, we just dropped our stuff, took baths and we're off again. For that first day in Chiang Mai, we went to the Doi Suthep Temple. It's a park and a Buddhist temple on top of a mountain.
Naga, the snake steps.
Of course, we wouldn't miss the night bazaar. We were told there are lots of night markets in Chiang Mai but the FO pointed us to the one in Thanon Chang Khlan. That's probably the biggest night market I have ever seen. Chatuchak has heaps of stalls but that's nothing compared to what they have in Thanon Chang Khlan. I mean, nothing's really new, it's just another night market, but it's not that bad to spend one night there.
Banana and Nutella Rotee!
People were taking photos of us at the back,
nice to know I ended up in someone's photo album on their trip.
Say allo to our elephant, Kasha!
Now this is the part of our trip I was really nervous about - to Laos.
Our guesthouse booked us tickets to get to Laos and here was the plan: from Chiang Mai, there's a 3-hour ride to Chiang Rai, then another 2 hours to Chiang Khong, Thailand border to Laos. This part was easy.
We were wearing shorts, good thing the temple people
would give out cloths for cover.
Hell.
The White and Golden Temple at Chiang Rai.
Here comes the hard part: the 24-hour bus ride from Laos border, Houai Sai to Luang Prabang. Imagine being on a rusty bus, on top of a mountain (eventually several mountains, I asked my brother Gian during the trip, how come we're still on a mountain and he said, it just keeps on coming back up), narrow and very steep roads (a pack of Oreo from the compartment landed on my face whilst sleeping, that's how rocky the road was), no road lights and NO STOPOVERS. If you need to go number 1 or 2, you have to ask the driver to stop and he will, just wherever, and you can do your business on the side. I AM NOT KIDDING. So lucky you, you just get to imagine it. Man, I have been there and well, survived it. I mean, thinking about it now, I cannot believe I did that. It's an achievement for me, really. We all deserve a medal or even a certificate, no, a medal, really, for that trip. It really is ONE HELL OF A RIDE. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I dread it, but once is enough. And I kind of recommend it for my friends, just for the sake of experience. But as for me, remind me to just get on a plane if I ever plan on going back to Laos, okay? Notice how I only used allcaps here? Feelings, I'm telling you.
That's it... that's the bus. I have no words.
I have to say, next to Chiang Mai, I like Luang Prabang the most, too. It's a small, charming city that you can get around to with just a bike. And that's what we did on our first day. We stayed at Liberty Guesthouse.
Felt like a kid, biking around Luang Prabang.
A happy kid at that.
The 1 dollar buffet alley.
Night Market just outside Luang Prabang National Museum.
Pretty expensive stuff so Chianne's haggling skills were put to test.
Lao Beer.
A lot were amazed with our Monopod,
they were really staring at it while we're taking pictures.
Guess the Monopod craze hasn't hit Indochina yet.
It rained pretty hard on our way back to the city,
that explains my brother's wet look.
Try Joma Cafe, they have good western food.
Obviously. And their Macchiato is to die for.
Chiang Mai and Luang Prabang are so refreshing for me. I know we have a lot of good provinces here in the Philippines and I'm not one to talk about provinces as I'm not really a huge fan, but if you're looking for an adventurous yet relaxing place, one where you can just spend a day reading a book to a spur of a moment trekking, check out Chiang Mai, Thailand and Luang Prabang, Laos. Though we're always on the go, I found solace in those quaint cities.
Anyway, we had a flight to Hanoi, which was our last stop. We stayed at Hanoi Star Hotel.
Hanoi has the most impact on me though we only get to spend an entire day there. We arrived late, and the next day, it was our Ha Long Bay Day Tour, 2-3 more hours and then we're back home. It's sad but like with Siem Reap, there are reasons to go back.
The thing I like most about Hanoi is that you can see and feel how it developed in to a city. There are the French Quarters which they turned in to a street of restaurants. There's also a street full of cafes which was a delightful surprise as I never knew the Vietnamese are dead serious about their coffees. They also have a distinctive way of al fresco dining - they use toddler chairs outside the restaurant and it's faced on the street, not to each other. So it was kind of embarrassing to walk on the sidewalks (if you can cause it can get so packed) because you can really see them looking at you. Just like their coffee, they are quite in to people watching.
I would say beware of the motorcycles but
they are seriously everywhere and
it's as if they don't care if they get someone killed.
But motorcycles add flavor to Hanoi.
Hanoi Beer.
They have the best burgers!
We had dinner here on our first night
and a truck full of Vietnam soldiers stopped in front
of the establishment, demanding it to be closed.
We were so scared.
We had to learn the hard way that Hanoi has a curfew.
Coffee and Coconut Smoothie at Cong Caphe!
Again, our first and last day at Hanoi was all about Ha Long Bay. I regret to write this but I was quite disappointed with Ha Long Bay. For me, they kind of overused the place which got me lost on it being a UNESCO Heritage Site. Yeah, it's a tourist destination, the culture and history is there and the myth is astonishing, really, but with it being a natural site, it was upsetting to see it not being maintained well. Sure, there are lots of islets in one place but the water's not that clear and there are too many boats roaming around. Also an issue for me was the lights inside the cave. We got in to the Thien Cung Cave, also known as the Heaven Cave, and it's convenient for me and everyone for that matter, that it already has a pavement but they put on lights inside. I couldn't see the natural formation of the rocks. It looked like a theater stage. Of course, I'm still glad I was able to see it. Our tour guide's very nice and informative.
Thien Cung Cave.
And then... home. Everything starts and ends with my Manila. I never felt any bit of tiredness until I saw my bed and the reality that my trip's over until I saw my friends.
I was glad to be back, of course. But I wasn't that excited to head back which was weird, as you know me, I love my house, my box, my Manila; the comfort and convenience of my home. But after those 10 days, 4 countries and countless memories and experiences, I realized the need to travel. You travel not only because you want to but because you need to. You need to explore the world, because really, the world is the home. And that I can get the comfort and convenience of my home everywhere and anywhere because that's not something you look for, that's something you carry with you.
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