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We were promised a breakfast by the hostel, but it was not ready so we started our day with an apple each. Our pickup arrived on time around 7.30 am and took us to the pier. We boarded a small boat with a group of other travelers bound for Chau Doc, a town on the border between Cambodia and Vietnam. The boat ride was scenic, following the wide Mekong River and the calming engine noise made us sleepy. We got to the Cambodian border and got stamped out without any questions or bribes. It went equally smooth on the Vietnam side. We had to change a boat and then we continued the cruise down on the Vietnam side until we reached Chau Doc, where we made an unannounced stop at a fish farm. Most people went off to check it out, we stayed on the boat. It only took a few minutes luckily and then we finally arrived at the travel agency in Chau Doc. We had bought a through ticket all the way to Can Tho to avoid having to take a few tuk-tuks and a bus. Unfortunately the bus didn't leave for another two hours, so we had time to grab lunch. We had a burger and a beer and waited for our connecting ride. A driver picked us up and we then changed to the bus. The bus driver needed a dinner break of course and so did we. We had dinner for a buck each and then continued our journey. Thirteen hours later we finally arrived in Can Tho, a city on the Mekong Delta. Even though it was a longer than expected journey, we did get from door to door with one ticket. We arrived at our hotel around 9:30 pm, checked in and organized our day for tomorrow! December 27 - Travel Day Today we had an early morning as John and I headed to Phnom Penh. A shuttle bus picked us up to bring us to the big bus and we were on our way just after 7 am. The bus ride was good except the air conditioning vent didn't have a cover so John was freezing the whole time and mosquitos were everywhere. Other than that the ride went by fast. I can't complain to much since many locals were sitting in the aisles with little stools. The bus stopped a lot to pick up people and only actually had two breaks. 200 kms and 8.5 hours later we had arrived in the capital. We jumped in a Tuk Tuk to bring us to the hostel. The power was out so we dropped our things and walked around. Fortunately the pubs power was still on so we could have some cold $0.75 draft. After a few beers we went in search for food. We saw a lady on a side street making some noodles so we tried some for $1. It was very good and spicy so we had to cool down with another beer. At night we came back and relaxed as we are always tired after long bus rides. December 28 - Russian Market This morning we went for breakfast at one of the places we had a beer at yesterday. I thought the breakfast sounded like a good deal, but it wasn't. We thought we would split two eggs with two toast but the toast ended up just being one split in half. So I let John have the eggs and I had a yummy fruit smoothie. After breakfast we went to the freedom monument nearby. A group of Chinese tourists asked for a photo shoot with me and suddenly multiple cameras were pointed at me posing with a random Chinese lady. After the walk we went to the Russian market to buy some clothes. John found two decent quality shirts straight from the clothing factory for $8 total and we got a few souvenirs as well. The market was very hot and I started to not feel well, so we stepped outside. I sat down at a little street stall and John bought me a coconut. After the coconut, I felt much better and John bought some rice and sauce from where we were sitting. This is the very first time we didn't eat what we ordered, because it did not taste good. We nibbled at the rice, but the sauce was made of fish and pickle juice and tasted terrible. We walked back through the market and headed back to the hostel. We relaxed most of the afternoon and had a late lunch with tea at the hostel. We think our bodies were taking a toll after all the beer, heat and lack of water. When the sun went down we went for another walk and then shared a big dinner. We watched a movie at night and tried to get a good sleep! December 29 - Royal Palace We felt much better when we woke up after a good nights sleep and a full breakfast. We started our walk to the Royal Palace shortly after breakfast. It was a much cooler day with a fresh breeze. We paid the entrance fee and the lady selling the ticket made sure we were dressed appropriately. She almost didn't let Ashleigh go through with her sweater, claiming it was a scarf. But she realized quickly it was covering her arms all the way as well as the shoulders and had no choice but to let us in. The palace grounds were quiet and peaceful, the gardens around it are organized perfectly and the tourist crowd wasn't so bad. We slowly made our way around the grounds to the impressive throne hall and then the Silver Pagoda. We did rest for a bit, before checking out the rest of the buildings in the complex. We really enjoyed the palace, it is small and easily walkable. We headed back to our hostel and stopped at the supermarket to get some pastries for lunch. We relaxed in the afternoon heat, before going on a mission to find the best ATM. We tried half a dozen before finding the winner. It dispensed the highest amount and the fee wasn't outrageously high. There is no winning with ATMs anyways, so we were happy with what we found, since most others charged much higher fees, like US$9, or only gave out small amounts at a time. We headed out to our usual spot for dinner and drinks. We had given our passports to the Vietnam embassy yesterday (on a Sunday) and so we were eagerly waiting for them to return them today (since we are leaving early tomorrow). Luckily they arrived after dinner and we are now able to move on to Vietnam. Today would be a day dedicated to the massive Angkor Wat Complex. Ashleigh and I hired a tuk-tuk driver for the whole day and started after breakfast. Our first stop was at Banteay Kdei, a small but peaceful temple. We enjoyed the atmosphere very much just sitting around listening to nature and admiring the ruins. We knew this wouldn't last all day. Our second stop was at Ta Prohm, a temple amidst the forest with lots of tree growth. I really wanted to see this area and specifically find the spot where the Tomb Raider movie was filmed. It wasn't hard to find, we just had to follow the big crowd. We found a few other cool areas, in which the big trees would grow right on top of the ruins. It is an amazing sight and quite remarkable. Our driver picked us up on the other side of the temple so we wouldn't have to walk back. We stopped at a few other smaller temples, which were all different from each other and some were very well preserved or restored. We stopped at the oldest one, climbed up to the top, but the view wasn't the best. It was getting really hot at this time of the day, but we had one big area left to explore. We drove through the impressing gate of Angkor Thom and were dropped off at the south end. From here we would make our way north stopping at multiple sites. The area of Bayon was one of our favorites. It had many high towers which had a big face carved into each side, totaling four faces per tower. We walked north stopping here and there to sit down and take in the views, before stopping for lunch and a coconut. Before heading back to town we hiked up to a high point to get an amazing view over Angkor Wat. It was well worth it, even though we were sweating buckets. The view was incredible and we could really appreciate the area which was home to one million people once, while London only had a population of 50,000. We didn't feel like seeing anymore sights today and drove back. We were templed out for the day. After a quick break we walked to the pub street to enjoy a few cold brews and have a nice dinner. It was a good time as always and we will miss this place. Ashleigh and I started our journey early by taking the sky train back to the bus station. Since we already had our tickets we could just walk on to our bus. There were only tourists on the bus, but it was nice having to only take one bus from point A to B. The drive to the border was fine, and we caught up on some reading. The bus company tried selling their visa service to passengers, but we politely declined. Most other travelers already had their e-visa which was a bit more expensive. We were just going to get ours at the border. We got stamped out and then walked to the visa issuing office. We were ready for a lot of back and forth, but it didn't take long. Even though a sign states clearly the visa costs $30, immigration officers will also demand a small fee ($3-$4) for processing. At first, since we advised them we could not pay that extra fee, they made us wait. We had time, so we just stepped aside, but only seconds later a new immigration officer took our passport, photo and real fee and processed our visa in a few minutes. It went smoothly, and didn't even take long at all, and saved us some money. We then stood in line to get stamped in, people paid around $8 for an expedited stamp, but we patiently waited in line with most of the others since our bus wouldn't leave without us anyways. After almost two hours we were all done, a pretty good border crossing in our opinion. We got back on the bus and continued to Siem Reap. We enjoyed a free lunch and enjoyed the ride. We arrived just when the sun set, and then walked to a hostel area. Our first choice declined us, but we found a nice and quiet guesthouse just down the road. The price was right and the room perfect. We went out for a quick dinner across the street and then called it a day. December 25 - Merry Christmas Ashleigh and I finally got our sleep-in and had a simple breakfast, before taking on the day. We just wanted to relax today, so we headed into the city. We strolled up and down the famous pub street and stopped at a few shops. We decided to try out a fish spa, where we had to put our feet in a fish tank. The fish would then go crazy and eat all our dead skin. It was super tickling, but it did do the trick and we have smoother feet now. Even though it wasn't quite noon yet, we decided to sit down for a $2 pitcher of beer and some spring rolls. It is Christmas after all. We went bar hopping for a bit afterwards stopping for 50 cent drafts here and there. In the afternoon we hopped on a motorcycle tuk-tuk and went to the Angkor Wat Temple. We bought a day pass, which will also be valid for tomorrow and then drove to the famous Angkor Wat Temple grounds. It was a busy spot, but we found a few quiet areas around the temple to take in the views and the sunset. The temple is truly amazing and well preserved. We will check out the area in more detail tomorrow. For dinner we went back to the center and even got a free cocktail from the bar, since it was Christmas. It was a nice and relaxing day and we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Ashleigh and I slept like rocks and our stiff necks were proof of it. We didn't get up until after 8am. We threw in some more laundry and then headed for the grocery store to get some fruit for breakfast. We relaxed until noon before heading out to explore a bit of the city. Another traveler recommended a couple temples and so we headed for them. We took a couple sky trains and then had to hop on a boat for the remainder of the way. We cruised up the river and got off at the first temple Wat Pho. It is an impressive temple compound consisting of many buildings. The highlight was the 50+ meter long reclining Buddha. It was very neat and we walked around it in awe. Before crossing the river for the second temple we got some ban man & chocolate pancakes from a friendly lady on the street. She was preparing them right in front of us while our mouths watered. They were absolutely delicious. We checked out the other temple Wat Arun from the outside. It has a steep tower with a unique design. One can walk up parts of it, but we decided the view from below was nicer. That was enough for today and we went back to the hostel. We had bought groceries for dinner, and only realized when we returned, that we didn't have a stove. We made this mistake once before, and have not learned apparently. We were able to return them and so we had to go eat out. We went back to the mall to find a nice sit down restaurant and decided to treat ourselves to Tony Roma's. It was nice for a change, even though very pricey. At night we relaxed and had some tea at the hostel. December 21 - Hikkaduwa to Airport Today was our last day in Sri Lanka. As sad as we are to leave this beautiful country we are ready to take on a brand new area. We started the day with a good breakfast and enjoyed our last cup of Sri Lankan tea. We stocked up on snacks and packed up. The train left at 3:00 pm so before we left we had our last rice and curry at a very local place, and was probably the best yet! Also we drank one more ginger beer, it's not actually a beer, instead it tastes more like how a ginger ale should taste! Once the train arrived it was very full and we had to stand for the whole two hours. The train arrived in the capital, Colombo. It was like a whole different world than what we have seen. Craziness at the train station and people were not friendly at all in helping us. Our original plan was to eat dinner in Colombo and take a later train, we changed our minds pretty quickly about staying. We jumped on the next train and sat on our backpacks as seats. 1.5 hours later we were at a station close to the airport and a Tuk Tuk was waiting while the train passed, just in time for us to hop in. We arrived at the airport at 7:30 pm and our flight was at 2:25 am. Lots of time to spare! We had to stay on the outside of the terminal until midnight when our flight was called that we could finally check in. Once all that was done we found some seats without armrests to lay down before our flight. December 22 - Journey to Bangkok We didn't sleep much at all before or during our flight. Instead we watched TV and tried to relax. We did get a snack in the middle of the night and some heavy turbulence kept us wide awake for a good hour. It was only a three hour flight and we arrived in Bangkok for the sunrise. The queue at the immigration office was terribly long and we stood there for over an hour to get our stamp in. We asked for a last minute flight to Cambodia, (our next destination), but the price was far from good. Instead, we exchanged a little bit of money and jumped on the train into the city. The new line is modern and very fast (compared to the crawling car traffic). We changed lines, and twenty minutes into the ride realized we were on the wrong train line. It was an expected mistake, considering we had been up for way too long. So we took the train back and then finally got into the right sky train. From the station it only took us ten minutes to walk to the hostel. We were starving at this point, since it was close to noon, but all we wanted was a coffee which the hostel thankfully provided for free. We felt an instant energy boost and met a couple other travelers who invited us for lunch next door. One guy from South Korea, the other a teacher from Baghdad, Iraq. We exchanged some travel stories and enjoyed a very delicious lunch for a couple of bucks. We decided not to take a nap and instead made our way to the Northern bus station way on the other side of the city. Unfortunately there is only one station near it, and we were told to take a taxi. We asked a couple drivers, one straight out denied us, the other quoted a price that was way too much and refused to turn on the meter. Instead we boycotted them all together and walked trough a park towards the station. A friendly security guard unlocked the gate that was leading out of the park towards the highway, so we could take a shortcut. It only took us half an hour to walk it. We were a little concerned about getting our onward ticket to Cambodia for tomorrow (since its a busy time for traveling), and we had good reason to bet since both direct buses were booked out. Oh well, we will just enjoy Bangkok for one more day and take the first bus out on the 24th. We got our ticket and went back towards the hostel. On the way back we stopped at a massive shopping mall to look for our much needed SD card reader for the iPad (so hopefully everyone who reads this can enjoy our newly posted photos!). We found it and were very happy about it :) that was as much as we could handle for today and we headed back for an early night. Bangkok really surprised us so far. We love the transportation system, the people are friendly and the food is good so far. We are excited to see a bit more tomorrow. The hostel is amazing, has free coffee, cheap laundry (which we took advantage off) and comfy beds. The backpacker crowd is finally back again and so we met a bunch of people already. We went to bed at 8pm after being up for a good 36 hours or so. After breakfast in Tangalle we started our venture to Hikkaduwa. We started by taking an hour bus ride to the city of Matara. We had some time to waste before the train so we checked out a temple (which wasn't very nice) and walked the train station. We picked up some lunch on the way and waited. The tickets for the train cost more than other rides we have taken and it was a very old train. Luckily we were at the start of the line so we snagged a seat. Two hours later we were in Hikkaduwa. A downpour had just ended and another one was on the horizon so we jumped in a Tuk Tuk and went to check out a guesthouse. We looked in the room and there must have been a mosquito nest nearby, since there were probably 50 in there. So we didn't hesitate to walk away from that place and search for others. We tried another one but it cost too much and while we hid out from the rain we were in the entrance for a guesthouse that offered us the price we wanted. Thankfully, since we really didn't want to go back to the mosquitos. We enjoyed a few beers while watching the rain and the surfers. For dinner we enjoyed a delicious fish curry sitting at a table in the sand. Today John attempted surfing again. The last time he surfed was when he visited me in Ecuador 3 years ago. He rented a board and went out to the waves. He never caught a wave but he stood up a few times. I was watching from the beach. We were hoping to find pastries for lunch but they didn't exist around here. So after running around for a bit we settled for a sandwich and John went back out. I saw him got beat up by a big wave but he was okay. Just a little cut from the coral. After that he called it a day. We walked down the nice sandy beach and had potato curry for dinner. I will miss eating curry, it's really good! There was a beach party going on next door that started at 10 pm and stopped at 6 am. Even with earplugs we couldn't drown out the sound and fireworks which would go off randomly throughout the night! Falling asleep to the waves is amazing. I think they actually woke me up in the middle of the night but soothed me back to sleep. John and I have a few extra days until our flight to Thailand so we stayed an extra day in Tangalle. We had a very relaxed day. After breakfast we laid in the sand and went for a quick dip in the wavy waters. Before lunch we went for a walk along the beach then to the city for lunch. We treated ourselves to a beer looking out into the ocean. Since doing nothing made us tired, we had a nap before dinner. We ate curry again and got two plates of rice when we ordered one meal. They were just nice to split the rice up, and now we always make sure the order is correct so we are not overcharged. We watched a lightning storm in the distance and it came to shore quite fast! We hurried inside before the rain came and just listened to the storm from our room. John and I headed to the next beach town called Tangalle. It was a 1.5 hour bus ride on a full bus. We had a guesthouse in mind so we headed there first. We liked it right away and it was the right price. The place is right by the beach and the waves are so powerful we can hear them from our room. We had a pot of tea on the terrace right on the beach with the waves crashing in front of us. Then we wandered into town for our usual lunch. It started to rain so we headed back quickly. The rest of the afternoon we sat around and enjoyed the sound of the waves. We ate dinner on the terrace and enjoyed another spectacular sunset. Today after breakfast and after enjoying the ocean view, John and I hopped on a bus to the town of Mirissa. It was about a 45 minute ride. Once we arrived we went in search of a guesthouse. We checked out the first one someone lured us into and the price was right so we stayed. It was quite hot so we went on the 5 minute walk to the beach. Since it was lunchtime we walked along the beach looking at restaurants. Nothing caught our eye so we went to the Main Street and bought our usual lunch, fried pastries with potatoes and veggies inside. The beach was really nice and the waves were quite big. John wanted to surf here but the waves were too big and not recommended for beginners. After enjoying the sun for a few hours we headed back to the guesthouse. We were really thirsty and King Coconuts are really good to rehydrate with lots of electrolytes. We spotted a place and enjoyed the coconut juice. The rest of the day we sat on the balcony and relaxed. For dinner we ate at the guesthouse, rice and fish curry and vegetable noodles and a mango milkshake (originally supposed to be a juice). The cooks love salt and the meal was sooo salty, even for John. We also never wanted a milkshake because we didn't know about the milk but we were given it anyways. Our stomach turned a little bit but they settled after drinking tons of water! |
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