my wand3rlust: rach gia

Another early morning to get onboard the "Superdong III" to the Phu Quoc Islands. I think I'm going to be waking up early for the majority of this trip, which will be different than during my bout of unemployment prior to traveling. There's no way I'll ever snooze over 15 minutes though, or else I'll lose out on something, whether it be time, money, or just traveling experience.

The "Superdong III" was a newish boat that went pretty fast. The whole trip took about 2 hours I think, and most of the passengers were Vietnamese locals who were probably heading to the islands on vacation. Upon boarding, you are bombarded with Vietnamese music played over a slideshow of the sights to see on the Phu Quoc islands. Once the boat left the dock, the whole cabin was shown "The Gods Must Be Crazy" on the televisions - very random. I've never seen the movie before, and I couldn't hear anything through the television, and I was half asleep, but I was trying to figure out if the movie was racist or not. It looked like a funny movie that I'd want to watch though.

Once we arrived at the islands, we were again greeted by a swarm of taxi and motorbike drivers trying to get our business. My friends told me that everytime they took transportation near an airport or bus stop, they would soon realize that they were overcharged. We tried to get away from the pier and walk into the city to get a better deal, but there wasn't a "city" in the vicinity, so we had to settle for a driver's incessant attempts at getting us to hire him. We were able to lower the price by 10,000 dong though. My friends had information on some cheap bungalows in the area, and we drove to them, able to bargain for a room to share for $15 a night. Another good deal, right next to the beach, with our own porch and 2 hammocks. It would look like a relaxing time on a beach island indeed.

It was raining and overcast all day today, so it would be a relaxing recovery day in our bungalows. I spent most of the time resting and updating this blog. We went to the local restaurant next door for dinner and talked a little about the differences in Health Care in the UK vs. US. Public healthcare in the U.K. is paid for through taxes, although you can opt for private services at a cost. My two friends were from London, and apparently, everyone from London hates every English person who lives outside of London, and vice versa I think... I also learned a little about the travel culture in the U.K. Most students have a "gap" year between high school and university where they decide to travel either in South America, India, or Southeast Asia. My two friends got loans from their parents and got a job prior to save a little cash to go on these trips. They live pretty frugally on the trip and bargain like crazy, but I see from their experience that it really is possible to travel while you are young and not experienced in the workforce. I don't think most people in the U.S. believe that. I certainly wouldn't have believed I could afford a trip to SE Asia, but now I think it is possible for anyone, with just a couple thousand bucks. The biggest expense is the plane ticket, but if you can get that covered, you could probably survive off $15 a day. My two friends were travelling for 3 months!

The night ended after 4 bottles of beer each, and a couple rounds of "Shithead." Relaxing day indeed.

Superdong III

A view from our front porch

Low season - complete seclusion

Relaxing on a rainy day

Woke up to around 50 bug bites all over my feet! I'm not sure if it was due to bed bugs or mosquitoes. I foolishly didn't wear insect repellent the night before during dinnertime, so that might have been the cause.

My homestay group took a small tour around the village, where we stopped at the small local outside market that starts at around 4AM! These local vendors sell at this market instead of the floating market because they don't have enough goods to justify selling down the river.

Afterwards, we took a boat tour to the Can Tho floating markets, which was exciting to see because it was one of the largest markets in the area due to its centralized location. Boats would arrive from over 100km away to sell in this area, sometimes staying for days in the water until their inventory was completely sold. This was a legitimate market, where locals from all around southern Vietnam came to purchase and sell mostly agriculture. Small boats selling coffee, drinks, and noodles also floated along the river, targeting most of the touring boats.

The rest of the morning was spent at a rice factory, another market, and lunch in the city's park. I tried snake for the first time, which was pretty good as a satay. The meat was rough and chewy, so it reminded me of eating grilled squid.

In the afternoon, I split from the tour and headed towards Rach Gia so that I could take a boat to the Phu Quoc islands. After overpaying the tourguide for a bus ticket to the coastal town, I was left alone on the sidewalk, unsure of which bus to wait for. Probably one of the most nerve-wrecking moments, I wondered what I would do if no one came... I didn't have the tour guide's phone number, and most of the people in the surrounding area didn't speak much English. Luckily, a bus came and took me to the bus station, where I was asked to pay for the bus ticket again! I don't know if I was scammed by the tour guide, or if the bus station was trying to get more money out of me, but I refused to pay saying that I already paid the tour guide (even though I didn't have a receipt or any proof...) After a while of bickering, I took my cell phone out and began to call the tour company, and at that moment, the bus station just gave me a ticket and led me to the bus. I heard that having a cell phone and making calls usually gets people to quit scamming.

The bus ride was probably the worst so far because the roads were a little less developed on the way to Phu Quoc. Bumpy and hot, all I wanted to do was sleep the whole 3 hours down... but it was tough because all I could hear were the obnoxious stories being told by 2 American dudes, living in Beijing as an English teacher and a computer engineer and travelling for vacation in Vietnam, telling two Londoners about their sexual escapades throughout SE Asia in an offensive way towards both women and Asians. They sort of spoke of Chinese students as if they were lower beings, or non-human. I wanted to punch them in their faces.

When we reached Rach Gia, I tagged along with the two Londoners since they were also headed to the Phu Quoc Islands. We looked for the ticketbooth to sell boatrides to Phu Quoc on the "Superdong III" and afterwards, walked around looking for the cheapest guesthouse we could stay at. With their brilliant bargaining skills, we were each able to get rooms for $5 a night! I never would have thought I'd ever stay somewhere that cheap, since I expected even the cheapest places to be around $10-$15, but apparently, it's pretty easy to find places this cheap since it's low season right now. You just have to deal with no A/C and cold water...

The city of Rach Gia was pretty quiet, and there weren't too many tourists in the area. My two new friends and I went to look for food and there were only maybe 2 restaurants open in the area. We settled on a restaurant/home that served only one dish - porkchops with rice and a fried egg. Probably one of the better meals of the trip. Sometimes it's better not having a choice of what to eat. It forces you to try whatever is available.

Learned a new card game as well, called "Shithead" that is loads of fun. I suppose it's a game that is learned by backpackers and passed along to new friends throughout travels because it's pretty unpredictible, and hard to form really good strategies because the momentum of the game can change at any time. I can't wait to teach my friends at home so we can play it as a drinking game.

The night in the guest house was probably the worst night so far in the trip. I kept waking up because my feet kept itching and I tried my best not to scratch. I wrapped my whole body in my duvet cover in hopes that I would not get bitten again, but i think that made it worse, since it didn't allow my skin to breathe... You don't think a bug bite would make you miserable, but 50+ all over your feet really do...