Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 3 months experience in Vietnam. I had a different kind of experience in Ha Long Bay. I didn't go on a boat tour, which is what most travelers go there for. I was there with a local friend to visit his hometown at Ha Long City. It was a wonderful experience for me, that involves a lot of eating and drinking with his extremely warm and friendly family. One experience that i'll never forget. The local bus from Hanoi to Ha Long City cost about $6. Head to My Dinh bus station and ask around for buses to Ha Long. Board the bus and have a sit, the bus ticket officer will collect the money from you when the bus depart. If you ever go to Ha Long Bay, you should try to visit the local hometown area and go for a short 45mins hike up a mountain to see a the view of Ha Long Bay. It's amazing! I'm sorry i do not know the name of the mountain but it's a very popular place for the locals, so i'm sure you will be able to find it if you ask around. You should also visit the Local Market, i was so amazed by the variety of seafoods they have there. It also have great view of the bay! I ate so much seafood at Ha Long, it's so fresh and delicious! Simply irresistible. Overall, i am extremely thankful for the unique experience i had in Ha Long Bay, I didn't feel a need to go on a boat tour because I intended to go Cat Ba Island, and honestly, the view is pretty much the same. Ha Long Bay is where tourists go and Cat Ba is where the locals go for vacation. I also didn't like that boat tours in Ha Long Bay are mainly about drinking and partying. Very pleased about how my plans worked out. :)
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Click here if you would like to read an overview of my 3 months experience in Vietnam, I was in Hanoi for 6 weeks but i spent most of my time volunteering. There isn't any itinerary that i can share, but there are a couple of wonderful places that i enjoyed very much:
Lastly, do check out Teatalk Cafe and Bakery, the social enterprise cafe that I volunteered at for a month. It was established by a fellow Singaporean who I admire a lot. Watch the video below to find out more about their story: I recently came across a youtube channel called The School of Life. It has lots of summarise videos on topics like Philosophy and History. Pretty interesting! I encourage anyone who have the slight interest on these topics to check it out: I wish philosophy was taught in secondary school. We were taught about math, science, but how about the way of life? We are often taught to be obedient - this is the way it should be, just follow and you will not go wrong. But i've seen so many friends having quarter-life crisis, asking themselves what is the meaning of life? Chasing after "The Nothing". I wish school taught us to be more critical and how important it is to have a mind of our own. My Views:These are a few guidelines that I have set for myself on how I should lead my life:
So you know a little more about me now. Thanks! ;) Date: 18 March 2016 - 18 June 2016Cities that i've visited:
Total Expenditure: SGD$1927.50 Transport: $528.30 (including one-way air-ticket from Spore to Hanoi at $128, and $60 from HCM back to Spore. Tiger Airline, without check-in baggage). Yes i only brought 12kg worth of stuff. Insurance (MSIG): $250.90 3 months visa: $155. I when all the way to the vietnamese embassy in Singapore to apply for the visa, thinking that it will be cheaper than doing it online. Apparently it's not. Check this out: http://vietnamvisa.sg/ International Riding & Driving Licence: $24 You probably wont need this. Food: $416.80 Necessities (phone card, laundry services, shampoo and other groceries): $416.80 Accommodation: $208 Attractions: $163.50 Miscellaneous (gifts, books and other shopping items): $61 Cities that I did not visit but would love to go in future:
TOP SAVING TIPS:
Best HOSTELS that I've stayedGreat atmosphere with friendly staffs is the most important thing for me in deciding which hostel to go for. Here are a few hostels that i would highly recommend if you have the same opinion.
Must EAT Vietnamese FoodThere are plenty of delicious food in Vietnam! My top favourites are:
There are many other food that i would recommend you to try, especially when you are at Hue, Dan Nang and Hoi An, plenty of awesome local speciality. But there isn't a particular stall or restaurant that i can recommend you to, simply because I don't think it was the best you can find. Overall, traveling Vietnam is definitely one of the highlights in my life. Biking around, admiring the beauty of nature was my favourite activity there. I definitely recommend you to go Vietnam, and if you ever do, feel free to ask me anything. :)
I decided to quit my job to travel. Contrary to many others, I didn't hate my job, it was a job that I was and still am very passionate about. I left because I was getting comfortable. I left because i know the clock is ticking, that there are different phases in life and this is THE moment. I didn't want to miss the opportunity to do the things that i always dream of: getting myself out of my comfort zone, immersing myself in nature, and gaining other forms of experiences through volunteering.
I'm only at the very beginning of my adventure and it has already been so amazing. I am not planning to travel a year around the globe. I prefer to take things slow, so that i can have a better understanding about a country's history, traditions, and cultures, as well as have substantial time to build greater friendships. I was in Vietnam for 3 months. I volunteered for 2 months, as an english teacher, hostel receptionist and a marketer/event helper for a social enterprise cafe. I spent my last month exploring Vietnam, from the north to the south. I was constantly stunned by its beauty and had my fair share of motorbike adventures. I will be heading Japan next, for another 3 months, volunteering at organic farms through WOOF (World Wide Opportunity for Organic Farms). Why japan? Many of my friends asked. Japan are well-known for its culture of innovation, beautiful packagings, and delicious food. What's more attractive to me is their efforts towards waste reduction and their upcoming minimalist lifestyle trend. These are good enough reasons for me to spend the extra pennies. What's after Japan? I've gotten my work and travel Visa for New Zealand. I might or might not forfeit it. It all depends on my experiences in Japan. I'm keeping my plan as flexible as i can. Let's see how it goes. Stay tuned for more updates! Taiwan is so beautiful! It has everything one can ask for - mountains, sea, food, shopping areas, as well as night life. What's more, they have nice and friendly people, which is usually key that makes a trip so amazing. Unlike my other trips, this was more of a luxurious vacation for me, as i went there with my mum. We definitely spent a lot more than what i would have spent, if i was there alone. I had to make sure that my mum was comfortable. The bulk of our expenditure was on Taxi Fares, so it will be best if you can travel taiwan in a group of four. If i were to go there on my own, i'll probably rent a bike and tour around with it. I can only imagine how beautiful and fun it will be... Dates: 22 October 215 - 4 November 2015 Destination: Taipei - Chiayi (Alishan) - Tai Chung - Sunmoon Lake - Cing Jing - Hua Lien - Jiu Fen - Taipei Expenditure: Air tickets: SGD$535 for two, including baggage and seat selection. We managed to get a 50% discount from Scoot. How fortunate. Insurance (MSIG): SGD$61.75 per person Transport (excluding flight): SGD$1,150 for two Accommodation: SGD$1,352 for two Entrance fee: SGD$90 for two Overall Expenditure: Approx SGD$5000 for two including shopping and food. Day 1: Taipei -> Chiayi We arrived at Taipei International Airport at 5.30am and our train to Chiayi was at 8am. I booked the High Speed Rail tickets online (http://www5.thsrc.com.tw/en/ticket/tic_time_search.asp) for SGD$51 per person. Booking online enables you to get an early bird 10% discount. In case you are worried that your flight might get delayed, and you missed your train, fret not, they are extremely flexible. All you have to do is to go to the counter to change your ticket timing, and you will only have to forfeit the discount. We wanted to get a sim card; unfortunately, the counter does not open till 8am. We then went to the 7eleven to grab some Bian Tang for breakfast. Silly me, followed the wrong High Speed Rail Station directional sign. It directed us to Taoyuan High Speed Rail Station instead of the one at Taipei. We ended up taking a 20mins bus ride (TWD$60) to Taoyuan. Thankfully, the train tickets to Chiayi from Taoyuan is much cheaper, though we forfeited our discount. It takes about 1hour 30mins to get to Chiayi from Taipei. Our Minsu arranged a taxi driver to pick us up from the train station. Where did we stay?:
What did we do? It's took us about an hour to get from Chiayi station to the mountain. The taxi driver dropped mum and I at the mountain's tourist information counter while he drove our luggage up to our minsu (TWD$2000). There was a nice park with 3 waterfalls at the tourist information counter area. We had Steamboat for lunch (TWD$320) at a small and quiet restaurant and took a stroll around the park. We spent about 1.5hours there before we headed back to our minsu, via a free pick-up service from our minsu. Rested awhile at our minsu before we headed out again to visit the tea plantation. I love how there wasn't any other tourist there, just the two of us walking around; exploring the area. Went back to our minsu for dinner (TWD300 per person). We were served with 5 ingredients, a soup and rice. It was delicious! Day 2: Alishan, Fen Qi Hu We were contemplating if we should go to Alishan. One of the staff at our minsu advised me not to, as he felt that the place is too crowded and over-rated. He said the view at our minsu was way nicer than Alishan. To be more economical, he advised us to take a train to Fen Qi Hu instead. But, mummy felt that we should go since we were already at Chiayi and Alishan is a "must go" place at Chiayi. (Mummy likes crowded places, touristy area makes her happy :p). We paid TWD$5000 for the day trip to Alishan and Fen Qi Hu, inclusive of guide fee, which i think it was still way too expensive. That place was indeed filled with tourists from China, but we did had a nice walk. Our guide was really nice, he was trying his best to ensure the tour to be worthwhile. On our way to Alishan, we stopped by a couple of places to see the "thousand years old trees". It was pretty. Before we headed to Fen Qi Hu, our guide took us to watch a traditional Alishan Yuanzhuming Dance Performance (TWD$300 per person). That place had such a great view and the performance was pretty nice too! Fen Qi Hu is famous for their old railway track and train station. It would have been nice if we took the train there to gain the experience. They were famous for their Bian Dang (TWD$150 each), Donut (TWD$25), and Muah Chee. I think the bian dang is a little over-rated, but the donut was delicious! We headed back to our minsu after Fen Qi Hu; rested for awhile and joined the Fire Flies tour organised by our minsu. It was such a pity that it was not the fire flies season. We only saw 5 pathetic fire flies, but it was fun hanging out with the other tourists. Most of them were from other parts of taiwan, while some of them were from Hong Kong. We spent the night chatting and drinking beer. Day 3: Chiayi -> Taichung We woke up early, hoping to catch the sunrise, however, sadly, the weather wasn't ideal for that. We wanted to take the 3pm train down to Taichung, but it was raining heavily in the morning, so we couldn't go with our initial plan - the bat cave tour. We decided to book a taxi down to Chiayi station instead (TWD$1200) and took the train to Taichung. The normal speed train was so much cheaper than the high speed rail; moreover, our hotel was located right opposite Taichung train station. It took us about 1hours 20mins from Chiayi to Taichung (TWD$285 for two). Bidded farewell to our friends from the minsu. So glad to know them :) Where did we stay?
What did we do? We had lunch at the nearby mode mall. The famous Chun Shui Tang restaurant had an outlet there. The boss of Chun Shui Tang is the originator of bubble tea; despite so, I like Koi much more. But, their beef noodles was good! We spent about TWD$395. We took a taxi to Fengjia Night Market (TWD$220). We listened to our previous minsu's staffs advised and tried whatever that had a long queue. Chicken Steak (TWD$65), Da chang bao xiao chang (TWD$45), Red bean dessert (TWD$85), lala (TWD$70), fried mixed mushroom (TWD$50), we tried them all! They were good, but way too unhealthy. There were a lot of clothing shops at Feng Jia too! I bought a really nice, good quality, and comfortable shoe at Air Space for only TWD$999. Day 4: Tai Chung Our initiate plan was to head to Sinshe. I heard about the lavender cottage there that has pretty view and awesome lavender ice cream, and a Yang Sheng Mushroom Restaurant that apparently has really tasty food. We didn't go because the hotel staff said it was not the right season to visit, as the flowers have yet to bloom. I regretted not going after hearing from a taxi uncle how pretty it was and worth going to. Oh well, we had a good time still, visiting Tung Hai University, the National Taichung Museum of Fine Arts and walking around Park Lane. We even caught a movie together. It was forever since i last watched a movie with my mum. We took a bus to Tung Hai University (TWD$26). It is famous for it's Luce Memorial Chapel, designed by architect Chen Chi-Kwan. Beautiful indeed. You will find a lot of family wandering around the campus hills and grassy fields. We then took a bus to the Fine Art Museum. As much as they claimed how good the place is, it wasn't that impressive to me. But, the good thing was that it's free! We walked from the Museum to Park Lane, which was about 20mins walk towards the people's park. Park Lane is Taichung's newer trendy spots, the building is specially designed in tune with nature. We were there on a Sunday, so there were a lot of flea markets, food stall and gigs around the mall. Pretty interesting and nice to walk around. We then headed back to Mode Mall to catch a movie (TWD$885 for 2 tickets and popcorn set). It was a pretty good break after a whole day of walking. Day 5 - Taichung -> Sun Moon Lake - > Lushan hot spring We booked a taxi for TWD$4000. I coordinated all my taxi bookings with Uncle Liu (+886 927888032). He is the one arranging the itinerary and linking me up with the various taxi drivers for each area. It took us about 2 hours drive to reach Sun Moon Lake, which had an entrance fees of TWD$200 per person. That place was filled with tourists. It was a pretty nice place to visit, but a little over-rated in my opinion. We hopped in and out of various boats to visit 3 main stops, Shuishe, the main area where our taxi driver alighted us, Xuan Guang Si, where you will be strongly advised to try the Ah Ma's herbal eggs, which i think was nothing special. Lastly, Itashao where you will find plenty of street food stores. We tried a chicken wing with glutinous rice stuffed in it; it was very delicious! Do visit the bean curd store too, the home-made bean curd drink is extremely tasty. After Sunmoon lake, our driver stopped us at a couple of random places to take pictures and to try some food. The above picture was taken at a store that sells pineapple tarts and some other pastries. They specially designed their building in such a fantasy way to attract visitors. But, you don't have to buy their food if you don't want to. We also went to Feeling 18, a chocolate store that was packed with people. I wonder if their chocolate is really that tasty. I'm not a fan of chocolates, so we didn't buy any. We tried their ice cream though, it was average. We then headed to Lu Shan Hot Spring. Lu Shan was once a popular place for Hot Spring; however, there was a landslide a couple of years ago, which resulted in the severely reduced number of visitors today. The cost for hot spring was TWD$700 for public pool and TWD$1200 for private pool. We were so silly to have taken the private pool, it would have been so much more fun at the public pool as compared to a tiny room. Mum was complaining that she felt giddy after only soaking for 10mins. No more hot spring for her she said. On our way to our minsu, we stopped by a restaurant with a fantastic view for dinner! They are famous for their chicken, and i swear it was the best meal i had in Taiwan. Fabulous! The soup, vegetables, and chicken was terrific! We are so glad that Uncle Liu recommended us there. Where did we stay?:
Day 6: Cing Jing My best friend Shijin told me so much about Cing Jing Farm that i was extremely eager to go. Indeed, that place is spectacular! I couldn't stop taking pictures. I'm very thankful for the awesome weather! The highlight was nonetheless these fluffy sheep. When we were there, the place was packed with students. But, because of their execution, we managed to catch both the sheep and the horse show! They usually only have one type of show per day, so it was a blessing in disguise. :) Oh, the entrance fee for the farm was TWD$160 per person. Before we headed to the Swiss Garden, we had lunch at a steak place. WARNING: DO NOT EAT THERE. It was the worst steak i've tasted in my entire life. We chewed so hard that our teeth aches throughout the day. I can't remember its name, but i'm sure that you will not miss it, as it is situated right outside the farm exit. DO NOT EAT THERE! You have been warned! The entrance fee for the Swiss Garden was TWD$120; I do not think it was worth us going at all. The garden was pathetically small, so as the flowers. But, if you have nothing else to do, then sure, give it a go. I would advise you to have lunch at Carton King Restaurant instead, it's situated right before the entrance of Swiss Garden. They have great view at level 2 where you can see the whole swiss garden. That was where we were supposed to have lunch, but mum was craving for steak. I sneaked in to Carton King to check out the view, that was where i found out how small Swiss Garden is, but my mum said "Let's just go". Alright, if boss say so. Zheng Qing picked us back to the minsu after we were done with our tour. He said "Tonight we have a small night market right outside my place. It happens once a week and there's a store that sells fabulous steak!". I looked at my mum, "Steak?", the thought of it makes us extremely disgusted. We told Zheng Qing about our horrible lunch experience, and he too had tried the steak from that store and agreed it's horrible. He kept emphasizing how good the night market's steak was, so despite us feeling rather sick of steak, we tried it nonetheless. It was indeed delicious and cheap, too! Just TWD$110 per dish, and the one we had for lunch was TWD$220. Disgusting. Day 7: He Huan Shan -> Taroko Gorge -> Hua Lien Hired another taxi to Hua Lien for TWD$5500. Uncle Cai was super nice and outgoing, he even took the trouble to climb a mountain with me and brought me to many nice spots to take awesome pictures. We didn't climb the tall and popular mountain because mummy wasn't fit enough to do so :p. We went to hike at a shorter mountain instead, which was recommended by our taxi driver's friend. But, Mum refuse to climb that as well; she rested in the car. It was just me and my taxi driver conquering the mountain, which was rather fun. The view there was beautiful indeed. Stopped for lunch at a place with a nice bridge and a temple on top. I'm so sorry that i do not know the name, i was just following the taxi uncle around. We wanted to climb up to the temple, but sadly, it was under construction. What a waste. He then alighted us at Lushui Trail for a short walk. It was a pretty nice place to visit and it was not difficult to track at all. Here comes our favorite - Qi Xin Tang. Photo does not do this place justice at all. I'm always a sea person, so the scenery of this place makes me go wild. Finally, we arrived at Hua Lien. Our taxi driver dropped us at Hua Lien night market for dinner. There was nothing fancy there, as it is one of the smallest night market in Taiwan. But, there was this corn shop that sells delicious corn! We were there early, at around 6.30pm and the store was empty. At first, we thought it was a restaurant, as it was huge and was surrounded by many chairs for people to sit while queuing. We couldn't believe that they were only selling corn. Choose your corn, weigh them, and make your payment. Our corns cost us about TWD$120. Mum and I were so glad that we were there early. Our driver came back for us, and brought us to our Minsu. Where did we stay?:
Day 8: Hua Lien We got Uncle Cai to bring us around again. It was easier that way since it was quite a distant drive to all the scenic places. It cost us TWD$3500. First, he brought us to Liyu Lake Wetland. It is called Liyu because the mountain behind it has a shape of a fish. It was quite a pretty lake to visit. Then, he took us to this other small lake and told us to look out for jade. We got our feet soak in the water searching for jade. He said that was where people used to find jades. Well, it was nice soaking my feet in the cool water. We then visited the cows! We tried the milk pudding there and it was delicious! Next, was my favorite of the day - Shi Ti Ping. After which, it was bay view all the way back to Hua Lien, so beautiful! We stopped at random places to take photographs. We ended our day at Gongzheng Street. There are plenty of good food there including the famous xiao long bao at Gongzheng Baozhi. I love it so much! The xiao long bao skin is very different from what we usually eat, it's much thicker and slightly bigger than the usual XLB. I love it! It was TWD$5 for 1. We spotted a oyster omelet store that was really crowded and decided to give it a try. Extremely tasty indeed! We heard that Hua Lien is famous for their dumpling soup, they call it "Bian Shi". It was good! After much satisfaction, we headed back to our minsu. Day 9: Ruifang, Shifen, Pingxi, Jiufen Took a cab from our minsu to the train station (TWD$200) and then a train to Rui Fang (TWD$80 per person). When we arrive at Rui Fang, we immediately went to deposit our luggage in the locker room. It only cost us TWD$50 per luggage per day. We bought the 1 day train ticket for Pingxi line and took the train timing booklet from the information counter. The train comes every hour, so it's better to take note of the timing to and make your plan accordingly. It was so crowded at Shifen, but I think among all the stations at Pingxi line, Shifen was the only one worth going to. We also went to Pingxi too, but there was just some old street and nothing else. We heard it was better to release the lantern at Pingxi because it is less crowded there, but so many people were releasing it at Shifen that we felt extremely tempted to. Moreover, we were afraid that it might rain by the time we arrive at Pingxi, so we did it at Shifen instead. We were glad we did so because Pingxi was so quiet and it's actually more fun to see many lanterns up in the sky than your pathetic one. We walked to the waterfall. I'm a huge fan of waterfalls and oh it was so pretty! We went back to RuiFang Station and took a cab to Jiufen (TWD$205). We could have gone there by bus, it's just 10mins ride, but mummy was tired. Where did we stay?:
We had to climb a huge flight of stairs to reach Jiufen old street; Mum was panting like crazy. The old street was pretty interesting to walk, there were so many food to try including the famous taro balls, poh pia with peanut and ice cream, and fish ball soup. They were all averaged though. We tried the taro balls at the famous Ah Gan Yi Yu Yuan , but i find it a little over-rated. We definitely have better Taro balls desserts here in Singapore. The weather wasn't perfect then, as it was constantly drizzling, so we headed back early. We took a cab again (TWD$205) to Rui Fang Station and then a train to Taipei station (TWD$118 for two) Where did we stay?:
What did we do?: After Jiufen, we rested at our hotel room for awhile before heading out for lunch and shopping around Ximending area. It was halloween that day and we saw a lot of teens dressed up in their funky and weird costumes. Oh, we tried Grilled Mochi and it was delicious! It can be easily spotted, as it always has a very long queue. We also tried bitter gourd juice, i know, the sound of it seems disgusting, but it's actually quite good, refreshing and healthy! There's an old building called Red House Theater at Xinmen MRT exit 1 area, and I read that they usually have indie flea market inside, but it was reserved for halloween party that day when we were there. We then headed for foot massage (TWD$800). Mum was asking about massage ever since day 2 at Alishan. I didn't feel well after the massage, so we headed back to the hotel. What a waste! I wanted to walk around the street at night, as i reckon it will be extremely interesting to see everyone in their halloween costumes. I would have gone to the pubs or clubs there if i wasn't with mum. Day 11: Yehliu Geopark, Jingshan, Danshui We headed to Taipei West Bus Terminal and took bus 1815 to Yehliu (TWD$20 each). It took us about 80mins to get there. The bus driver was so harsh with the brake that we all felt so uncomfortable. The little girl behind us puked. It was so crowded at Yehliu. No, we didn't take picture with the Queen Head because everyone was queuing to take picture with it. ... Mum was so excited when she saw that there were so many stalls selling dried seafood there. My mum is a huge fan of seafood and we bought so much dried fish, scallop, etc back home! We took bus 862 to Jinshan for lunch. There are many buses that goes there, you just have to look at the information board at the bus-stop. Alight right in-front of the Macdonalds and head to the old street, there's a famous stall selling duck meat at Kuang An Temple. That place was mad crowded, but the duck is extremely delicious! They sell their dishes in a standard plate size. What you need to do first is to grab a seat and then grab whatever food you want. Payment comes later before you leave. The old street was filled with street vendors and there were lots of food to try! We then took bus 862 again and headed all the way to Danshui (last station). It took us about an hour plus long, but it was a scenic ride all the way by the bay. Beautiful! There were plenty to see at Danshui! Lots of food store and small shops. They are famous for their Tie Dan (eggs), i bought none, as i already purchased them at Shifen, how dumb, it was so much cheaper at Danshui with much more variety to choose from. We took the MRT back to Ximending. Day 12: Taipei We were supposed to head to Yangmingshan for Hot Spring, but because mum didn't like hot spring (her body is too weak for it), we stayed in the city instead. We visited Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and went to Taipei 101, but we didn't went up because the weather wasn't good. So it was shopping time! Taipei has lots of metro mall which was fantastic because the weather wasn't good then. We went to Zhongshan Metro Mall, which was located between Taipei Main MRT station and Shuanglian MRT Station. There wasn't much to buy then, as the clothing were mainly for winter. I bought lots of shoes though! I love the shoes there, they are cheap and of good quality!
We headed to the famous Shilin Night Market in the evening, Do alight at Jiantan station instead of Shilin Station, as it's much nearer there. Shilin Night Market was huge indeed and was filled with lots of food store and shops. There's so much information about it everywhere, so i guess i do not have to elaborate. Day 13: Taipei Well, it's shopping time again. We went to East Taipei, which is the main shopping area of Taipei. We alighted at Zhongxiao Dunhua Station and walked around that area. We got so bored of walking after some time that we ended up watching a movie together. What a great way to rest after so much of walking! We then headed to Wufenpu, which was kind of like a wholesale market where you can bargain and get extremely cheap clothing! I bought quite a lot of stuff there. We got back to Ximending area and bought some food souvenirs for our friends. Day 14: Taipei We went for another foot massage before heading to the airport. Overall, Taiwan is such a wonderful place to visit! Thanks to my mum, i got to visit it in a more luxurious way. I'll definitely visit taiwan again in the near future, but the next time i'll head to the south area where i can probably do some diving. By then, i will be able to ride a bike around ;) Destination: Penang -> Siem Reap -> Phnom Penh -> Sihanoukville -> Koh Rong -> Sihanoukville -> Phnom Penh Dates: 10 Aug 2015 to 19 Aug 2015 Before Trip Expenditure Air ticket from Penang to Siem Reap (AirAsia) = $124.50 Air ticket from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh (BassakaAir) = $32 Air Ticket from Phnom Pehn to Spore (Jetstar) = $111 I travelled during SG50 weekend, tickets were extremely expensive from Singapore, so i took a bus to Penang to visit a friend first before i head over to Cambodia. You can take a bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, but the journey is long and i heard that the buses often get into accidents. The price difference is not that huge anyway. Visa: Not required for Singaporean Insurance: $58.50 Total expenses before trip: $326 Total expenses during trip: $493 Total expenses for 10 days in Cambodia: $819 Day 1-4: Siem Reap Arrived at Siem Reap at 2.10pm. Bought a sim card with Wifi for USD$5. Our hostel provide free pick up service! Where did we stay?:
While waiting for Sherwin to arrive, i walked around to explore the places nearby the hostel. When Sherwin came, we had dinner together with Laetitia, a lovely lady from France. Sherwin's friend recommended us to eat at Khmer Kitchen. The food were pretty good and relatively cheap. We had Amok and beef Loklak. I really like Amok, it taste a little like Thai Green Curry, but not spicy at all. Spent USD$7 per person. After dinner, we wanted to have some cocktails. Found a place that has a great deal - "Buy 1 get 1 free". We had 4 cocktails and it only cost us USD$2 each. Alcohol in Cambodia is so cheap. We then shop around and tried the road side food. I love the coconut crepe (USD$1)! I was so addicted to coconut throughout the whole trip! I had coconut milk shake (USD$1) almost every day! And the crepe... delicious! Booked our tour for Angkor wat the next day. USD$24 per person which include driver (by car) and tour guide. You probably can get it cheaper if you go by tuktuk. But this was recommended by Sherwin's friend, so we went ahead with it. (drop me a message if you would like to have his contact) Bought a 1 day tour ticket for USD$20. The 3 days and 7 days tour cost USD$40 and USD$70 respectively. We were contemplating to buy a 3 days tour ticket, but we thought that spending of 3 out of 4 days of Siem Reap seeing temples might get kinda boring. Visited mainly Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm temple and Bayon temple. I love how Ta Prohm temple is bound by massive roots of huge trees. We overslept and missed breakfast on the third day at Siem Reap. Had breakfast at the noodles stall right beside our hostel. It's delicious and cheap too! USD$1.50. Went to the silk farm with our new friend Andy, from California! He such a talented photographer, check out his work (andyto.net). The tour was free, we just had to pay for the tuktuk, cost us USD$4 per person for 2-ways.. After the tour, we chilled at Blue Pumpkin. It's a famous cafe in Cambodia, they have branches everywhere. The one we went has nice beds for us to lie while enjoying the delicious danish pastries. The best thing is that they change the bed sheet each time a customer leave. How labour intensive. Spent USD$3 on pastries. Wasn't the best though. I was rather disappointed. Went for a Quad Bike tour in the evening with Sherwin. It's so pricy, USD$30 for just an hour. If you have tried quad bike before i suggest you to skip it. Though it was rather nice touring around the villages - the scenery was pretty and the children were so adorable, waving to us continuously when we passed by, I still prefer to visit them in a less touristy way. Walked quite a distant to Mr Grill for dinner. The food was delicious and i like how there were just a few tourist and mainly locals. Spent only USD$4 per person. Beer for just $0.75..... woooo! Found a really cheap place for massage! Just USD$4 for an hour full body massage! I went there twice! How i love massage. The place is decent, located inside the night market right opposite our hostel. Day 4. Went for a bike trip with Laetitia! Bike rental is just USD$1 for a day. It is really easy to cycle around Siem Reap, the road is flat, unlike Myanmar. I remembered how i was struggling like crazy go up and down multiple slopes when i was cycling in Bagan. We met an Italian couple with a tour guide on our way, and we followed them to the river place. We took the boat trip for $10 per person. Sadly, it wasn't like what we expected. The scenery wasn't that fantastic and the tour guide brought us to all the tourist area, trying to make us buy things. As usual. Despite us telling him million times that we want to eat at places where the locals eat, he still brought us to an expensive restaurant. Oh well. They are just doing their job. So nah, boat trip is a no no. Some people paid $15 for it. goodness. Laetitia and I refused to have lunch at the expensive restaurant. After the boat trip, we cycled to a nearby village and had our lunch there. We had porridge and satay for just a dollar each. That's how it is supposed to be you see. It's not as if we were that broke, we simply wanted to experience what the locals do. This is how backpacking supposed to be. Though there were lots of flies everywhere at the stall, there were plenty of locals there, so we thought of giving it a try. It tasted pretty good and i'm just glad that my stomach was strong enough to handle the food. Rushed back to the hostel to bid goodbye to the lovely people that i've met at the hostel. I do hope our path will cross again someday. Day 5-6: Phnom Penh Arrived at Phnom Pehn at 11.35am. Got a free ride from Sherwin's colleague. How awesome to have a friend working in the airline industry. haha. One of our friend was working in Phnom Penh, so we stayed at her apartment. Such a pity that she had to go to Bangkok for a work trip and was only back the night before we left. If only we we had more time with her.... What did we do?: Went to Toul Sleng Genocide Museum on our first day. I learned so much about Cambodia's history when i was there. In April 1975, Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge army stormed into the city, forcing everyone living in the city to move to the country side to work in the fields. They were determined to get rid of anyone who were educated - Doctors, lawyers, government bodies, teachers and so on, not just them but their families too. "Get rid of the roots" they said. They demolished schools and converted them into torture chambers. 3 million lives were lost within 3 years. How cruel. It's so depressing.. Can we ever make war history? It's scary how recent the the war in Cambodia was and how till today, just a few Khmer Rouge leaders were convicted. Please bring some justice to the people. I went to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields Memorial alone the next day. Sherwin was too depressed to go. I prefer to not take pictures of those victims' skulls that were nicely displayed at the memorial tower. Learning about how they were killed got me shaking with fear. Because they couldn't afford guns and machinery, the people were killed by knifes, hammers and even tree branches. Slow death.... Babies' heads were smashed by hitting them against the tree trucks... Okay enough. I'm sorry. I spent USD$10 for 2 way tuk tuk ride to the Killing Fields. The drivers usually ask for USD$20.. Other places to check out in Phnom Penh includes The Central Market - a huge market to walk around. Noting fantastic. The Palace - operating hours 8am to 11am, 2pm to 5pm. Entrance fee USD$10. I didn't went in as i didn't want to spend the money. It's also nice to walk by the river, which is right opposite the Palace.. There are plenty of restaurant and pubs there. There are a couple of nice cafes in Phnom Penh. Artillery is one of them, located at street 240. A vegan cafe that sells plenty of delicious and nutritious food. Day 7-9: Koh Rong How did I get there?:
Chilled chilled chilled. That's the whole purpose of me going there. I enjoyed walking around the beach, enjoying the sea breeze. Reading a book on a hammock, with a glass of milk shake by the side. I'm a sucker for beach vacation. Took a boat trip on my 2nd day there. Met a couple of friends from all over the world. Partied on the boat, snorkeled a little and chilled at Long Beach. Had some bbq food on the boat and snorkeled again to check out the planktons. It was my first time seeing planktons! Pretty! The boat trip cost USD$8. I didn't join my friends at the night party. Partying wasn't in my agenda, i didn't want to get high or worst, drunk. A couple of beers is fine. So i stayed in my room reading.
Caught the last boat back to Sihanouvile on the 3rd day. Met Joshua and Mati, from Britain and Chile. Had to stay a night at Sihanouvile as my bus back to Phenom Penh was at 6.30am the next day. Found a relatively cheap hostel. Spotted their huge banner outside its restaurant stating "Dorm with AC $5". Its been awhile since we had AC. The room was clean and comfortable. Plenty of shared bathroom. It was a great deal! We spent our night partying at a club along Sihanouvile beach. Clubbing was totally not in our plan. We were exhausted. We only wanted to take a quick look. But the staffs from various bars and clubs were giving out flyers for free beer. One glass after another... I went back to the hostel at 3,30am with Mati, Joshua stayed on. That joker. haha. He was the one complaining about how tired he was. But when the music starts, he can't stop dancing. hahaha. Great hanging out with those guys. Overall, my Cambodia trip was pleasant. Not the best i've experienced in South East Asia, but definitely worth going. I hope you will enjoy Cambodia as much as i did. :) Alive at dawn. Best phrase to describe Myanmar. One of the most beautiful country i’ve visited. Filled with picturesque scenery and friendly people. Destination: Yangon -> Bagan -> Inle Lake -> Hsipaw -> Pywin oo Lyin -> Mandalay -> Yangon Dates: 17 Dec 2014 to 31 Dec 2014 Before Trip Expenditure Air ticket from Sin to Yangoon (Jetstar) = $108 Air ticket from Yangon to KL (AirAsia) = $69.64 Air Ticket from KL to Spore (AirAsia) = $36.48 [i was trying to save money as it was really expensive to fly back directly from Yangon at that time] Visa: $50 Insurance: $55 Total expenses before trip: $319.12 Total expenses during trip: $560 Total expenses for 16 days in Myanmar: $880 Important Tips! 1. Some of the buses number are written just in Burmese. To prevent yourselves from getting lost, record down the bus number and location that you are heading to in Burmese. Take a picture of the bus. Remember the bus company name/logo 2. Bring along a plastic bag for your shoe when visiting temples. 3. They are extremely strict when accepting USD. Ensure no crisp, no torn, no ink. Must be clean and new. Bring extra money! Day 1: Yangon Not a fan of big cities. Arrived at Yangon at 10.40am. Our bus to Bagan was at 6.30pm so we had plenty of time. Thought we should at least visit the famous Shwedagon Pagoda and Bogyoke Market. Took a cab there for 6500 kyat ($8.50). Entrance fee to Shwedagon Pagoda is 8000 kyat ($10.50). Remember not to wear shorts! Or you would have to pay to buy a scarf from them. Took a cab to the bus station for 5500 kyat ($7.20). The bus station is very near the airport. Day 2 - 3: Bagan In terns of scenery, Bagan is definitely one of my favorite place in Myanmar. The weather was perfect at the time i was there. Sunny but chill. It’s a touristy place but not overly crowded. Lovely place to visit! How did we get there?:
What did we do?: Rode from Nyang U to Old Bagan and to New Bagan. Stopped at whichever Pagoda that attracted us. There’re just too many Pagoda, i am not gonna bore you by listing down those that i went. The best one to me was Shwesandaw Temple where i had the most amazing sunrise ever. But i’m sure there’re many other spots. Heard from some backpackers that it’s better to view the sunrise from a shorter Pagoda, as you will get to capture the sun right on top of the bigger Pagodas. We also heard that sunset view at Shwesandaw Temple is even better than Sunrise. Didnt get the chance as we were busy finding some other hidden Pagoda to have a quiet nice view of the sunset. We met a couple who told us about Kiasin Pagoda. Apparently there’s a boy there with a key who will help open the gate to the Pagoda if you give him a small tip. It has one of the best view ever. We went there, found the Pagoda, but couldnt find the boy. So disappointing. One of the most delicious lunch that I had in Myanmar was at Be Kind To Animals, The Moon. It’s a vegetarian restaurant. The guacamole is heavenly. Myanmar has the best Avocado. I have no idea why but avocados are so huge there! We had a really awesome dinner at Shwe Ya Su. Oh the food is so good. You have to try the Fried Chicken with Chili, mixed vegetables and the Butter Fish! Oh my the butter fishhh. so damn tasty. Cost us about 8050 kyat for two ($10.55). We also had a good lunch the next day at Weather Spoon, they have free wifi there, a great place to chill! Day 4-5: Inle Lake Inle lake is the most touristy place among the cities i went. But it’s still a nice place to visit. Pretty. How did we get there?:
Rented a bicycle and toured around Inle Lake. The scenery was so beautiful. We also went around comparing prices for our boat trip. Managed to get a packaged at 1750 kyat ($22) for the 5 of us. Rented a boat to cross the lake, cost us 1200 kyat ($8). We arrived at a place with long bridges, very pretty. There is a restaurant opposite the bridge that looks really nice. We wanted to have our lunch there but we thought that it will be expensive. I found out later from other backpackers that the food there is extremely good and it’s not expensive at all. Damn! Continued our journey cycling to Red Mountain. Best place to enjoy a few glasses of wine while watching the sunset. The journey there was so tough, up slope all the way. Horrible. Had a couple of beer at Ever Green Restaurant, recommended by Lonely Planet. But we found out after which that the bar opposite had cheaper beer and it’s draft beer instead of bottled beer. When there the next day but sadly they ran out of draft beer. Their Inle BBQ fish is yummy! Boat trip on day 2 was fun. The scenery is very pretty indeed. The only thing that I didn’t like was that the boat driver brough us to so many expensive shops hoping that we will buy something. Totally unnecessary but ya I get it, they are trying to rip some money from tourists. Bid goodbye to my lovely friends, Anita and Manuel from Austria, and Mikulas from Czech Republic. I really hope to go eastern Europe again someday to visit them. Would really like to go skiing with them. I have a snowmaker friend now, how cool. I fell sick that night. Went to the toilet for more than 10 times throughout the night. Was shivering so badly too. I starved myself the next day because I had to take a 12 hours bus ride to Hsipaw. Bid farewell to Seng. That sweet boy surprised me with a lovely book for Christmas. I was extremely touched yet guilty for not preparing anything for him. My solo trip begun… Day 6-10: Hsipaw Hsipaw is my favorite place in Myanmar! That small town is filled with extremely nice and friendly people. I met so many friends there. It felt like home. A town with Mr and Mrs something everywhere, so cute. How did I get there?:
What did I do?: Day 1 at Hsipaw, i rented a bicycle with an aim to cycle to the waterfall together with my Israeli friends and a Germen friend. On our way to the waterfall, we spotted a sign saying “we welcome all foreigners”. It’s an English school – Shan Youth Network. The teachers there are volunteers from all over Myanmar. The principal and teachers are so welcoming! They served us tea and snacks, asked us where we are from, shared with us about their school. They asked if we were interested to check out their lesson, we exclaimed “sure, of course!”, Our intention was to just have a look for awhile, but we ended up spending 3hours there interacting with the students. They were so happy and excited to see us. I felt like a movie star with them coming to me one by one asking to take pictures with me. The teachers were so afraid that we wouldn’t make it in time to the waterfall so they offered to drive us there. How nice! It’s things like that that brightens up my day. Kind people are everywhere. The visit to the school was 10 times better than the waterfall. How glad I am that we pop in. In the evening, I followed my Isreali friend to Mr Book, where they celebrated Hanukkah. I learnt so much about Isreali during my trip, didn’t know that they are so tight. How nice. We had dinner together, the few of us from our hostel. Lovely people. Went for a 2 days trek (cost $20USD) with Ivo, Mara, and Guus, my Dutch friends. Extremely nice people, how fortunate I am to know them. The route up to the Shan village was tough. It was so steep! Okay, maybe I am just weak. I had a hard time catching up with them, they are so fit! That’s my conclusion, that they are fit, not that i am weak. The scenery there is so pretty. Though I heard that if we went up a little further from our destination, the view there is even more spectacular. But I am satisfied. It will be better of course if I weren’t sick. Yes, I was sick again, puking non-stop. Anyway, the kids there are so adorable!! After bidding goodbye to my Dutch friends who set off to Mandalay and my Israeli friends who were up for a 5 days trek, I spent my 4th day touring around the town with Chris, from Munich. It was really nice traveling with Chris, he is so knowledgeable and observant! He is always like “look at that, can you see that?! It’s a tree coming out of a pogoda, how fascinating?” Fascinating indeed, and I would have totally missed that if not for him. We often joke about pretty girls for him and open-minded guys for me. It’s funny. Anyway, we went to little bagan, there are so many little pogadas there, little bagan indeed. We were surpised that there weren’t any tourist there except us, it’s such a lovely place to visit. Tried the Tea from Mrs Popcorn, refreshing! Oh we had super good coffee at Pontoon Coffee! The brownie there is delicious! Went to the Shan Palace, one of the teacher from Shan Youth Network is the Shan prince. I met him again at the palace and he introduced his grandma to me. His grandma is at the palace everyday sharing about the Shan Empire story with tourists. I don’t know how she can do this every single day. It was lovely to meet them. Went to the sunset place with Chris. Walked all the way there. Not that far, but not near either. The view was okay, kinda nice. Met Pawel! Omg Pawel! I see him everywhere! I first met him on the bus to Inle Lake, met him again at Hsipaw, and then again at Mandalay! How fated ;) Had milk shake together with Pawel and Chris at Mr Shake. Awesome shakes indeed! Met a guy from Penang who is traveling alone for a year. How rare it is to see a Malaysian guy doing that. I have all my respect for him and I hope I can do the same in the near future. Day 11-12: Pyin Oo Lwin Pyin Oo Lwin is the city that I spent the most money, unnecessarily. But it’s also the place where I met so many kind-hearted and helpful people. How did I get there?:
Where did I stay?:
What did we do?: Fu Chang brought us to Pwe Kauk Falls. It was packed with locals as it’s a popular picnic spot for them. I am always a fan of waterfalls. I wanted to go to Anisakan Falls [the bigger one] but it’s too far and it wasn’t convenient for Fu Chang. I value spending more time with nice people than anything else. Went to National Kandawgyi Gardens, huge garden. It’s a must see if you visit Pyin Oo Lwin. Nice place. I bid goodbye with Chris as he made his way to Inle Lake while I head to Mandalay by shared taxi with Fu Chang. Day 13 to 15: Mandalay Mandalay is a big city, much nicer than Yagon but still, I am not a fan of big city. I like it less there as compared to the other places. But I did had some good time there. How did I get there?:
That night when I arrive, Fu Chang went to borrow a motorbike from his friend and picked me up from my hostel. He bough me to this bbq place for dinner. Very delicious! He then brought me for a tour around the Royal Palace. He kept saying that he’s very sorry that he had to leave Mandalay for work the next day so he couldn’t bring me around. How silly. I was already extremely thankful for all the time he had spent bringing me around, I couldn’t ask for more. I am really lucky to have met him. I woke up the next day by a surprised visit from my Dutch friends! I was delighted to see them! They actually came to look for me! I cant describe how happy I was. We cycled to Amarapura, to the famous U Bien Bridge. It was quite a distant. Ivo was so nice to exchange bike with me. See I really meet extremely nice people there. Lucky me. We then went to catch a movie (3000 kyat) together and went for a massage (6500 kyat). Oh massage, I needed that! My leg was aching so badly from all the cycling. We had a super yummy dinner together at a Chinese restaurant. It was so sweet of them to send me back to my hostel. We bid farewell sadly. We definitely have to meet up again! In Holland, Singapore, wherever! I spent the next day traveling around Mandalay alone. Didn’t do much, just cycled around. Went to the “Biggest book in the world” and Mandalay Hill. Went back to U Bien Bridge in the evening because I wanted to catch the sunset view. But to my disappointment, it was too cloudy that day. Such a pity! Wasted my motorbike taxi fee of 7000 kyat ($9). Reminder to myself to look at the sky before i think of making a trip to see sunrise or sunset. Bump into Pawel again. Haha! Had dinner together. And off I hopped into the bus to Yangon.
Day 16: Yangon How did I get there?:
Arrived at Yangon with my 2 new found friend, Dan from Korea and Tini from Germany. My flight back to Singapore was in the evening so I had plenty of time to travel around. But Yangon is boring… haha. So we decided to take the circle line train which cost us only 200 kyat that goes around the city (3hours in total). We took a taxi from the bus station to the nearest train station, cost us 3000 kyat. We then took the train to Bogyoke Market as Tini and I wanted to shop for some souvenirs. We deposited our backpacks at one random hostel [they are so kind to allow us to do so for free] and started walking around. We walked till we were kinda lost, we almost coudnt find the hostel where we left our backpacks at. Hilarious. Took the train again to the nearest station to the airport and cabbed there for 2500 kyat. I went there earlier because there’s really isn’t much to do. Overall, I LOVE MYANMAR. It’s definitely a must go like RIGHT NOW because it’s changing so quickly. Go now before things gets more expensive and before the children start asking you for money. |