Day 16 - Rach Gia to Phu Quoc Islands

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

Day 15 - Can Tho Floating Markets to Rach Gia

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...

Getting across the river in the morning at the local village in Can Tho

Enjoying coffee at the Can Tho local village market

Boys learning their father's trade at the Can Tho Floating Market

The kids in Vietnam are so eager to wave and say "hello" to every foreigner they see.

Sellers in the Can Tho Floating Market have bamboo poles that indicate the types of goods they offer.

Buyers purchasing pumpkins at the Can Tho Floating Market

Selling produce at another market in Can Tho

Snake Satay

Day 14 - Mekong Delta and Homestay

Day one of a two day tour of the Mekong Delta, a waterway system in South Vietnam known for it's floating markets, rice production, and fruit orchards, among other things.

Woke up bright and early again to get on a bus. Stood around with all the other foreigners on the side of the street to get on our respective buses, depending on if we were taking a 1, 2, or 3 day tour. For some reason, all the foreigners took the 1 and 3 day tours, so I got on a bus with 2 Vietnamese families and 1 Kiwi.  I didn't know if I got on the wrong bus or not. We had a mini group of about 12 people.

The first stop was in Cai Be, which was about a 3 hour bumpy bus ride. It didn't help that I took my malaria meds on an empty stomach and I felt nauseous the whole way. When we arrived at Cai Be, we took a boat around the delta and canals and stopped at a village that made rice desserts and rice paper- the wrapping that is used in many Vietnamese dishes including spring rolls. We then stopped at another village that raised bee farms and produced honey products including Royal Queen Jelly. The jelly is not actually honey, but the nutrients that worker bees provide to the Queen to make her live longer. I'm not sure of the efficacy of such products on treatment for humans though.

Afterwards, we had lunch at a village and were able to see some of the daily life of these people. Some of them were in the canals hunting for sea snails, others were swimming in the waters or rowing small boats. I had a conversation with the tourmate from New Zealand, who told me a little about the history of New Zealand and how the country is adamant about separating itself from Australia. He also told me a little about the travel culture of recent college grads. It's pretty common for Kiwis and Aussies to fly to London to start their travels, maybe rent a flat and a minivan, find a job there, and travel around Europe and everywhere else. It's an entirely different expectation for college grads there compared to America, where everyone is so focused on starting their careers right after college.

We traveled to Vinh Long, where we walked around the markets. All the markets in Vietnam pretty much sell the same produce, meats, and other goods. At the end of the night, we took a bus ride to Can Tho and part of the tour group stayed at a hotel while another part participated in a homestay.

I opted in on the homestay and it was a little scary at first because we were transported by taxi at night to the village, and it took a while to get there because the taxi driver got lost in the darkness of the small alleyways of the small village. To top it off, it was raining and none of us knew what to expect with the homestay. When we arrived, we were greeted by one of the villagers, who took us on a boat to cross a small river to his home.

I assumed the homestay would be an authentic live-in experience where I would live with a family and do the things they do on a regular basis, but it was more of a "tourist" version of a homestay. Everyone who signed up for it were taken to this one family's home, but there were separate bungalows for each party, separate from the house that the host lived in. We all sat together at dinner and helped wrap spring rolls before they were fried. We then had a big meal of fresh fish spring rolls and fried vegetarian rolls (made of sweet potatoes and peas). But the tourists all had dinner together, and afterwards we all just sat and chatted for a couple hours.

It was good though to meet new people. Met a couple of people from Switzerland, a couple people from Singapore, and a couple people from the U.S. Learned a little about Singaporean politics and their economy, which is mostly service and manufacturing based. Since the country is so small, they have absolutely no agriculture, and pretty much imports all its food. They recently had an important election where some independent party members won some seats in the government, which was a big deal because the dominant political party - the People's Action Party has long been in full power since the country first gained independence. The country also requires men to serve in the military for a certain amount of time since the country is so small, similar to Israel. What was surprising was that they also had that requirement in Switzerland, even though it's a "neutral" country.

At the end of the night, we all toasted and had rice wine before retreating to our own bungalows.

Riding along the delta in Cai Be

Making rice paper - notice where the paper is being dried, which is where it get's its weaving pattern when you purchase it in the markets

Puffing rice to make rice desserts - The pieces of rice are cooked in a pan of hot black sand

Handling pythons at the honey bee farm. The fear is masked by the happy face.

A woman collecting sea snails in the canals

Rowing along the canals

My bungalow at the homestay

Wrapping spring rolls

Our homestay dinner

Day 13 - Meeting Couchsurfers in HCMC/First Day On My Own

So this is it...the first day travelling on my own! I woke up to have breakfast with my family before saying goodbye as they left for the airport. I spent last night researching hotel/hostel options for today, before deciding that I would just walk over to the tourist section of District 1 and find a place to sleep on the spot.

I walked over to the area for the first time, and it was just like all the other tourist areas in Bangkok and Siem Reap – lots of massage parlors, bars, hotels, travel agencies, and convenience stores. Seeing that I had my backpacks on while walking around, a couple of hotel receptionists yelled out at me to see if I wanted to room with them. One of them offered a room for $10 USD, and after thinking about it, I opted to go to a different hotel that I read positive reviews for and had recommendations from friends for. I figure I could always find cheap places throughout my trip, but I wanted my first night alone to go without a hitch, a conservative move on my part.

The hotel was a good experience. The women who worked there were extremely friendly and helpful, and the room was clean and the air conditioning worked perfectly. The only negatives were that I didn't have a window, the room was like a box, and I had to walk up 8 flights of stairs each time I left and came back to the hotel, but for $16, it was a good deal and worth it. I'll splurge once in a while when I feel I NEED to relax in comfort.

No touristy sites for me today. I ended up talking to some people and getting really diverse perspectives on all sorts of topics. I met my first two couchsurfing buddies and had lunch and dinner with them.

My first buddy picked me up on her motorbike and took me to a good vegetarian vietnamese restaurant. It was my first time on this trip that I rode on a motorbike in the dense traffic. It was scary at first because cars and bikes are going towards you in all directions, and as a passenger, you don't have any control of the direction of your bike, but after a while, it became exhilarating to be able to experience all the chaos and action first hand.

My couchsurfing buddy was Austrialian and has been living in Vietnam for 7 years, spending most of her time teaching English to people of all ages. She has recently taken a break from work to just relax and actually see more of the world. She recently came back from Bangkok, and showed me some of the new tattoos she got from a teacher there, and it kind of sparked my interest in getting one. We talked about some of her experiences travelling to other SE Asian countries and her favorites were Burma and Laos. I asked her why she decided on coming to live in Vietnam, and she said that she just fell in love with the people here because they are all so friendly, despite all the poverty around the area. She travelled to other SE Asian countries, but for some reason, there was something special about Vietnam. I asked her if she ever planned on leaving the country, but at least in the near future, she doesn't see herself leaving. I thought it was very exciting, but also brave of her to be able to leave her home country to live in another country for so long. Many people travel to other countries to teach English, but I think those are only temporary plans for people who want to travel, but for her, it was more than that. It was the love of the culture and the people.

Despite being in Vietnam for seven years, she said she hasn't quite mastered the language yet. The Vietnamese people are pretty lenient on someone who is learning the language for the first time, but after maybe four years, they expect you to be able to speak fluently. I got her perspective on the political opinions of the people of the country and her experiences teaching English. We also shared stories about our lives and she offered me tips on staying safe while travelling. A very good first experience with CS!

After being dropped off at my hotel, I walked around the area to check out the travel agencies to see what I could book myself. On the first day, I already broke my intentions of taking things slowly and doing things spontaneously. I booked many activities for myself in Vietnam over the next 2 weeks... I ended up booking a 2 day/1 night tour of the Mekong Delta, with its famous floating markets, for tomorrow. I also planned on taking a bus ride to Rach Gia and then taking a boat to the Phu Quoc islands. I booked a flight from Phu Quoc back to HCMC. I booked an open bus ticket from HCMC to Nha Trang to Hoi An to Hue to Hanoi. I booked a 3 night/2 day trip to Sapa, in the Northern part of Vietnam, and I booked a 2 day/1 night trip to Halong Bay... I already feel tired just thinking about the next few weeks!

After all this planning, I met up with another couchsurfing friend for dinner and Boba milk tea after. Again, he picked me up at the hotel and we rode on his motorbike to a Hue-influenced restaurant where I had some of the best spring rolls I've ever had! The restaurant had many tourists, but it seemed authentic. Afterwards, we rode on his bike through the rain to a tea house. Again, pretty scary riding on a bike while it was raining and at night, but again, it felt so good and free riding the streets with the rain falling from the sky. This buddy was born in Nha Trang and now resides in HCMC for work. It was fun talking to him about his opinions of Americans because he did the whole couchsurfing thing a couple years back, visiting New York, Virginia, Ohio, Illinois, and California. He also did a work/study program for almost half a year in the U.S. He said his favorite place in the U.S. was Chicago. He spoke of living with a bunch of college students near the outskirts of Los Angeles (he didn't remember the university) and was shocked at how dirty we students were. I laughed at this as I would agree with him on that. He told me about his experience with the “weed” and party culture of college, which again, I laughed at. I asked him what he usually did on the weekends, and he said that most Vietnamese people don't really go out to dance or drink beer like Americans do. The most popular thing to do is drink coffee at a coffee shop or maybe watch a movie in the theatres. He told me about a Beach Festival that is being held in Nha Trang in a couple weeks, and I hope to be able to visit.

Already a jam-packed and tiring day, I met another friend late at night for a drink at a bar in the tourist area. Part Laotian, Thai, and Vietnamese, he was in Vietnam for work. We met up with his other two friends, who both taught English. One was originally from Pennsylvania, while the other was Part Chinese/Part Filipino, originally from the Phillippines.

Already such an enriching trip, meeting many different people, and learning about many diverse cultures.

Riding on my first motorbike in Vietnam with my first CS friend

Lunch - Vermicelli made with Cassava and Vegetable Soup

Dinner - Grilled Meat Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce

Day 12 - Bangkok back to HCMC

Spent the last day in Bangkok in the air-conditioned supermall Paragon Siam. They had an orchard competition and showcase of the winning entries throughout the center of the mall. Nothing too eventful today as it was another travel day back to Ho Chi Minh City.

Travel days take such a toll, because even though it's a lot of sitting in airports and on airplanes, it's pretty stressful and uncomfortable. You sleep a lot, maybe even oversleep, and then you end up even more exhausted. It definitely shouldn't be considered a “recuperation” day in your travels if you plan on traveling for a while.

Last taxi cab ride in Thailand - No sex in the cab

Day 11 - Floating Market and the Bangkok National Museum

Another day waking up early to head to the Damnoen Saduak Floating Markets, which were located about 50km away from Bangkok in the city of Ratchaburi. We hired a taxi to take us there and back for 1,500 baht, but I doubt you had to pay more than 1,000 baht if you bargained. We asked some of the locals in the city if there were any floating markets in Bangkok but were told they were only open during the weekend, and that the Damnoen Floating Markets were probably the closest and most popular during the weekdays. I was excited to see the local villagers selling fruit and whatever else they had to offer to curious tourists, but the whole experience was a let down. When we got there, we purchased tickets to ride the floating boats, which set us back another 1,500 baht for 4 people. Floating on the river towards the hub of all the trading activity, we saw other stations where other tourists we also getting on the boats, and noticed that their tickets were only 200 baht per person...

Once at the center of the floating market, we noticed that every stall that had things to sell had merchandise that was exactly the same as all the other night markets in Bangkok! There was nothing special about the selection of goods to purchase and so we spent the next hour floating along the river, watching others purchase items, and taking pictures. I'm not sure if there are any other interesting or worthwhile attractions in the city besides a cobra snake show, so I don't think I would recommend a trip to this city just to see the floating markets unless you have other plans around the surrounding area.

Heading back to Bangkok, we stopped by the Bangkok National Museum which housed many historical artifacts from throughout the span of the existance of the royalty in Thailand. There were textile, puppet, Buddha statue, weapon, textile, ivory, pottery, mother of pearl, wood carving, and palanquin rooms showcasing the various artifacts from different ruling periods.

At the end of the night, we took a stroll along the Silom Road markets, again looking at the plethora of merchandise available. The clothing here was definitely more fashionable than in Cambodia and Vietnam. We had dinner at a food court in a department store and I noticed that there were a lot of Muslims in the city. In fact, there was even a Muslim prayer room on one of the floors of the department store and many Halal restaurants in the area. The travel book we used list many different temples, and the dominant religion in Thailand is Buddhism, so I was surprised at the number of Muslims. Then again, this is a city full of diversity so maybe I shouldn't have been so surprised at all.

Damnoen Saduak Floating Market

Day 10 - Top 3 Bangkok Attractions

Bangkok tourism overload today! We spend about 12 hours in the blazing heat of Bangkok visiting as many tourist sites as possible, including the 3 most popular spots - Wat Pho, Wat Arun, and the Grand Palace. Many of these places require visitors to dress in respectful clothing, including sleeved shirts, closed-heeled shoes, and pants that cover the knees.

We started early in the morning since we wanted to try and visit all the popular attractions in the morning before it got too hot outside. Also, many of the most popular tourist sites had operating hours that only left a short window of opportunity to visit. After breakfast, we took the Skytrain from our hotel to the Saen Saeb canal, where we took an express boat through the canal to a stop near the Grand Palace. The water in Thailand is filthy and it was an interesting experience riding these canal boats because they barely stop at each pier for long to wait for stragglers so you have to be quick to jump on the boat before it leaves for the next stop. Travelling through the canal at high speeds means lots of splashing of dirty water, which you have to dodge by covering your face or making sure tarp is held up on the sides of the boat to block the water from coming into the boat. 

After we got off the canal boat, we took a taxi to the Grand Palace, which used to be home to the Royal Family before they relocated to Dusit. The Palace is the resting place for the sacred Emerald Buddha, a small figurine of around 45 cm that is considered to be the palladium of all of Thailand. The entire Palace grounds hold many temples, some of which are gilded beautifully with shimmering gold, and almost all the walls on the inside are painted with very intricate and detailed murals depicting scenes of the many lives of Buddha.

The closest attraction to the Grand Palace was the Wat Pho, and we were refused a taxi ride for the first time because the taxi driver insisted on NOT using the meter, but negotiating a taxi fare on the spot. I think it was because the distance was so short, that he didn't want to bother using the meter. With so many taxi drivers available, we just took the next one. 

Wat Pho is Thailand's biggest and oldest temple. The main spectacle of this site is the biggest reclining Buddha in Thailand. It is 46 meters long and is housed in it's own temple. Wat Pho is also considered to be the birth of traditional Thai massage, and there is a school on the temple grounds where tourists can get massages for decent prices.

We then took a quick ferry ride over the Chao Phraya River to reach Wat Arun, a temple most known for the multicolored tiers decorated with thousands of pieces of broken porcelain, much of which was donated by the local people. The climb to the highest accessible tier was steep, and it didn't provide the best views of the city, so I don't think it's worth it to climb up if you are scared of heights.

Getting the top 3 attractions out of the way, we proceeded to one last temple - the Wat Indrawihan, which houses a 105 foot standing Buddha, before heading to Khao San Road, which is known as "backpacker" central because of all the foreigners walking the streets and all the cheap guesthouses and hotel rooms you can reserve. There was a sort of "hippie/counter culture" vibe when I walked through the street. Dreadlocks, piercings, tattoos, and flowy genie pants were popular there. It seemed like it would be the perfect party scene once night hit. With all this sight-seeing, I think I'm due for a night out drinking soon...

Outside the entrance to the Grand Palace and the rainclouds hovering above

The Grand Palace - The Phra Si Rattana Chedi, which is believed to contain a piece of the Buddha's breastbone.

The Grand Palace - An example of the Murals painted on the walls

The Grand Palace

Wat Pho - The statue of the reclining Buddha

Wat Arun

Wat Arun - A Closeup of the broken pieces of porcelain

Wat Indrawihan