In my last entry, I had the luxury of visiting Koh Kong just two weeks before my sister and her partner's arrival in Vietnam. A Vietnamese/Cambodian adventure with family from home was just what I needed!
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| Serene water and mangroves in Koh Kong |
On May 1st, I took the bus from Kratie directly to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). It only took a few hours
and the boarder crossing took no time at all. I was travelling on the bus with all Vietnamese people, and although we couldn't communicate verbally, they were very nice. At the lunch stop, we had a communal meal and my co-travellers filled my bowl with food and offered me pork ribs with their own chopsticks. A good sign for happy adventures in Vietnam.
and the boarder crossing took no time at all. I was travelling on the bus with all Vietnamese people, and although we couldn't communicate verbally, they were very nice. At the lunch stop, we had a communal meal and my co-travellers filled my bowl with food and offered me pork ribs with their own chopsticks. A good sign for happy adventures in Vietnam.
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| Monkey Island in Lan Hay Bay |
After staying in a HCMC dorm for one night, I flew to Hanoi to meet up with Jen and Curtis after their long trip from Canada. They had some jet lag to contend with, and I was happy to oblige and enjoy the luxury of the hotel life in Hanoi with them: hot showers, luscious pillows and a/c, oh my! After eating delicious street food and getting caught in the rain we travelled to Monkey Island in Lan Hay Bay (bordering the UNESCO site and very tourist heavy Ha Long Bay). The dragon-like formations and blue water were breathtakingly beautiful, and the water was refreshingly cool (for Canadians. The Vietnamese thought we were crazy for swimming when the water was so cold). After a few days in our bungalow, with some kayaking and a few monkeys on the side, we travelled back to Hanoi to catch the train to Da Nang/Hoi An.
The views were spectacular on the train to as we travelled from Hue to Da Nang, but sleeping was not easy between the overly enthusiastic a/c and smokers in the next sleeper cabin. When we arrived in Hoi An it wasn't what I expected from a UNESCO site. The majority of the buildings in the heart of town had been transformed into shops; the streets of Hoi An act as an outdoor shopping mall of souvenirs and tailors. We did eat the most delicious food in Hoi An, so at least it still has that going for it. We took a day trips to the beach, and snorkelling. Vietnam's tourist side had been great, but it was time to make our long journey (mostly) overland to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
When we arrived in Pleiku, a border town hub about 1 hour from Cambodia, we immediately felt that we were not in tourist land anymore. English was barely spoken and we were looked at with a friendly curiosity. It felt more like 'home' to me since the vibe was similar to towns in Cambodia (although still much cleaner!). I am glad that his was the last stop in Vietnam as we had learned a handful of words in Vietnamese and were able to say a little something.
The transportation across the border was also reminiscent of Cambodia's minivan experience. We were picked up about 1.5 hours before the bus left town as when we arrived they had yet to start packing the vehicle parts, tables, chairs, boxes of water and fresh produce to take the journey with us. At least we got to hang out in a very Soviet-esque park dedicated to Uncle Ho, and be stalked by somewhat shy children, while we waited. Once the bus was loaded and we were on our way, we found that some of our fellow passengers were Khmer and I was happy to shock them with my meagre Khmer skills. We stopped at a local place for an early lunch, and got to eat the local way, with the passengers patiently showing us how to eat things. We really didn't know how to eat, or what some of it was, but it sure tasted good.
Comparing the Cambodia-Vietnam to the Vietnam-Cambodia crossing, it's easy to see why Khmer people are annoyed with the flow of Vietnamese people and products into their country. At the Vietnamese border, we lined up (a queue!) had our visa information entered into a computer and had our luggage scanned. The bus was also checked and a styrofoam cooler filled with a catfish of sorts was confiscated. Other the other hand, when entering Cambodia the officers looked at passports and nothing else. We didn't even have to take our bags off of the bus! But we did have to physically walk out of Vietnam. The bus, with it's load of contraband, was unimpeded as the driver joked with the officers. My, my. My feeling was that the bus passengers often took this trip and/or the Cambodian border officers just didn't care (aka were paid not to care) about who and what came and went.
Once we arrived in Banlung, Rattanakiri, it was time to relax. We took our motos to the waterfalls and famous crater lake, Yaek Loam. I got to spend my birthday eating French food and drinking Spanish sparkling wine with Jen and Curtis. I felt a bit like a colonialist. It didn't help that we were staying at gorgeous villas decorated with colonial era furniture and two (!) little lazy boy style chairs. Sometimes you forget what you miss...those chairs really made my stay.
The minivan ride to Siem Reap brought us back to earth. It was not the worst minivan experience of my life, but it felt much worse viewing it through Jen and Curtis' eyes. It felt never-ending and hot, but at least my visitors got to experience a bit of everyday Cambodian travel. I'm sure they appreciated it.
And what to say about Siem Reap? I have been here before, and it has changed in the 7 years since I last saw it, including Angkok Wat. It is easy to follow the crowds, but we made a concerted effort to avoid them and were rewarded with some solitude and time to reflect upon these impressive structures. The heat of the end of the dry season was a lot to take, so we took afternoons off to recooperate from the temple adventures in the morning sun. Swimming in the pool and massages were pretty much a requirement. Jen and Curtis were great travel companions and helped this volunteer have a little piece of home away from home. Hopefully it'll be enough to last me until I return to Canada.
Breaks from my placement are a welcomed change of pace for me. I can escape from the slow pace of work with the district, and get away from the day to day grind of keeping myself busy. On vacation I can take time to reflect, cram as much fun as I can into one day, and know that the slow pace of Kratie will be there to welcome me back to my Cambodian home.
 |
| On the train to Da Nang |
The views were spectacular on the train to as we travelled from Hue to Da Nang, but sleeping was not easy between the overly enthusiastic a/c and smokers in the next sleeper cabin. When we arrived in Hoi An it wasn't what I expected from a UNESCO site. The majority of the buildings in the heart of town had been transformed into shops; the streets of Hoi An act as an outdoor shopping mall of souvenirs and tailors. We did eat the most delicious food in Hoi An, so at least it still has that going for it. We took a day trips to the beach, and snorkelling. Vietnam's tourist side had been great, but it was time to make our long journey (mostly) overland to Siem Reap, Cambodia.
 |
| Hoi An |
When we arrived in Pleiku, a border town hub about 1 hour from Cambodia, we immediately felt that we were not in tourist land anymore. English was barely spoken and we were looked at with a friendly curiosity. It felt more like 'home' to me since the vibe was similar to towns in Cambodia (although still much cleaner!). I am glad that his was the last stop in Vietnam as we had learned a handful of words in Vietnamese and were able to say a little something.
 |
| Soviet-esque Ho Chi Minh park in Pleiku |
The transportation across the border was also reminiscent of Cambodia's minivan experience. We were picked up about 1.5 hours before the bus left town as when we arrived they had yet to start packing the vehicle parts, tables, chairs, boxes of water and fresh produce to take the journey with us. At least we got to hang out in a very Soviet-esque park dedicated to Uncle Ho, and be stalked by somewhat shy children, while we waited. Once the bus was loaded and we were on our way, we found that some of our fellow passengers were Khmer and I was happy to shock them with my meagre Khmer skills. We stopped at a local place for an early lunch, and got to eat the local way, with the passengers patiently showing us how to eat things. We really didn't know how to eat, or what some of it was, but it sure tasted good.
Comparing the Cambodia-Vietnam to the Vietnam-Cambodia crossing, it's easy to see why Khmer people are annoyed with the flow of Vietnamese people and products into their country. At the Vietnamese border, we lined up (a queue!) had our visa information entered into a computer and had our luggage scanned. The bus was also checked and a styrofoam cooler filled with a catfish of sorts was confiscated. Other the other hand, when entering Cambodia the officers looked at passports and nothing else. We didn't even have to take our bags off of the bus! But we did have to physically walk out of Vietnam. The bus, with it's load of contraband, was unimpeded as the driver joked with the officers. My, my. My feeling was that the bus passengers often took this trip and/or the Cambodian border officers just didn't care (aka were paid not to care) about who and what came and went.
 |
| Those chairs! |
The minivan ride to Siem Reap brought us back to earth. It was not the worst minivan experience of my life, but it felt much worse viewing it through Jen and Curtis' eyes. It felt never-ending and hot, but at least my visitors got to experience a bit of everyday Cambodian travel. I'm sure they appreciated it.
And what to say about Siem Reap? I have been here before, and it has changed in the 7 years since I last saw it, including Angkok Wat. It is easy to follow the crowds, but we made a concerted effort to avoid them and were rewarded with some solitude and time to reflect upon these impressive structures. The heat of the end of the dry season was a lot to take, so we took afternoons off to recooperate from the temple adventures in the morning sun. Swimming in the pool and massages were pretty much a requirement. Jen and Curtis were great travel companions and helped this volunteer have a little piece of home away from home. Hopefully it'll be enough to last me until I return to Canada.
Breaks from my placement are a welcomed change of pace for me. I can escape from the slow pace of work with the district, and get away from the day to day grind of keeping myself busy. On vacation I can take time to reflect, cram as much fun as I can into one day, and know that the slow pace of Kratie will be there to welcome me back to my Cambodian home.
Good day, my name is Angela Efros, a master's candidate at Xiangtan University in Hunan, China.
ReplyDeleteI'm writing my dissertation about international volunteering and I want to invite you to participate in my research survey.
I'm donating $1 to charity for each completed survey so this is definitely for a good cause! (You get to vote for the winning charity in the survey!) Follow me on twitter to see which charity wins @alefros
Here is the survey link :
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/K9W8BLG
I would be so grateful if you would share this survey with fellow international volunteers and on your social media outlets. Thank you so much for your help!
--Angela