Our long, end of year, holiday began at the end of November and will last 6 weeks. It began with a long bus journey to KL where we attended the National MRSM English camp. This involved all the Mara schools from across the country coming together to focus on improving students' written English. It was a fun filled few days where we stayed in dorms, participated in morning aerobics and enjoyed many activities focusing on improving writing skills. I was in group 10 ( or Perfect 10 as we named ourselves) and we ended up coming 3rd overall so I was very proud of the whole team. It was great to meet students from other MRSMs and also see all the other volunteers again. I also learned a lot myself and now have many new ideas of writing activities to use in the classroom for the new year.
Once English Camp was over the real holidays began with a night out in KL. This was as good as ever, I will never get tired of this beautiful city. However this fab night was followed by a not so fab night on the floor of KL airport prior to our early morning flight. I can safely say the floor is not very comfortable and has a strong aroma of feet!
After a good few hours of attempted sleep we decided to head up to the check in desk where disaster struck. We were basically told that we could not enter Vietnam as we did not have a pre paid visa and we were not leaving by air. With one hour until boarding time the five of us started to panic- A LOT. Luckily the boys were on the same flight as us and they had come up with the solution of booking a bus to show we were actually leaving the country within the aquired time. We headed down to find a computer and after a high charge and lots of stress we booked a bus and ran back to the check in desk. Luckily this was enough to let us on the flight to Vietnam and start our holiday. Not the best start but it was taught us a lessons to thoroughly check visa requirements before getting to the airport!
The first thing that's apparent when you get into Vietnam is the traffic. Millions of motorbikes weave in and out of the cars trying to get from place to place and it's absolutely hectic. This meant that crossing the road was extremely difficult but by the end of the week we learnt to just walk and don't stop for anyone. We were staying in a little hostel in the centre of Ho Chi Minh City. The hostel was pretty basic but fitted the bill and was in a good location so we could easily walk everywhere we needed to. When we were in Vietnam we ate a mixture of traditional Vietnamese food and western food. I really enjoyed some Vietnamese dishes like pho but it was also nice to have a pizza again- even if it wasn't quite the same as one from home!
While we were in Vietnam we did lots of exploring of the city. Me and the girls' favourite thing to do when we get to a new city is to check out the markets. The Ben Thanh Market in the centre of Ho Chi Minh was huge, selling everything from food to material. Here we picked up lots of little souvenirs and even managed to get a tailor made Baju Kurung to wear to work!
During our time in Vietnam we also took a trip to the local cinema to see the new James Bond film Spectre which was very good, and in English thankfully! Also to get a more historical feel for the place we visited the national War Museum in the city. I didn't know a lot about the Vietnam war before going so it was a very insightful trip and the museum was filled with some very moving images and dialogues of both soldiers and civilians. The Nightlife in Saigon was pretty decent too. We sampled many bars and clubs but the best night there was 100% the pub crawl where we all had to wear matching hats dancing through the city from one bar to the next! On our final night in Vietnam we headed to the tallest building and had a few drinks up at the Sky Bar. This was a fab end to a good trip, spent with the best people. Although I enjoyed Vietnam I didn't love Ho Chi Minh and if I am ever to visit again I would definitely head to the north of Vietnam as everyone we met said that was a lot cleaner and friendlier.
Once our time in Vietnam had come to an end we headed to the bus centre to find that in our panic at the airport we had ordered a VIP mini bus to get to Cambodia. I certainly wasn't complaining though because it was just the five of us in this cute little bus which handed out water and snacks and even had free wifi!!
Bus Banter
From the moment we entered Cambodia, benath a beautifully pink sky at sunset, I loved it. There was just something about the country which had a much more pleasant feel to it. The people were instantly a lot more friendlier and I felt a lot more welcome than I did in Vietnam.
Our first stop in Cambodia was Phnom Penh. Here we stayed in the best hostel- 11 Happy. This hostel has the nicest staff, fab food and the best rooftop bar around. The main reason people go to Phnom Penh is to see the Killing Fields so on our second day there we hopped on a tuk tuk- the main method of public transport in Cambodia- and headed there. Firstly we visited the S21 prison in the centre of Phnom Penh where we got an audio tour explaining all that happened there and described all about the Khmer Rouge Regime. I had no idea the atrocities that went on in Cambodia just 40 years ago and seeing it all in real life was very eye opening. After we had finished at prison and dried our eyes we headed out of the city to the Choeung Ek Killing Feilds. This now acts as a memorial to all those that died there and as a museum describing more about what happened. It is basically a mass grave of around 9,000 totally innocent people who did not deserve to die and there is definitely a great feeling of remorse as you walk around, being careful not to step on bone sticking out of the ground. What's even worse is that the Feilds are surrounded by such beauty ,which seems so wrong for a place of such tragedy. This was a very emotionally draining day but I am glad I got to see what happened first hand and pay my respects to the people of Camboda who have gone through so much suffering.
During our time in Phnom Penh was also took time to check out the markets. Central Market here was huge and is definitely my favourite one yet, which means I spent even more money on things I probably don't need but look cool. The poverty was also very prevelant in Cambodia, much more so than Malaysia, with children begging on every corner and even approaching your tuk tuk when you are stuck in traffic. It's such a shame to witness and I woul definitely like to do some volunteering in Cambodia if I ever get the chance.
After a good few days in Phnom Penh we hopped on the bus again, this time heading for Siem Reap. The bus journey was very long and tiring so we just ate some nachos then headed straight to bed once we arrived. In Siem Reap we stayed in the Mad Monkey party hostel which was great fun, it had a beach rooftop bar and a pool! However everything in Cambodia seemed so much more expensive compared to Vietnam and Malaysia because they use USD- this didn't stop us having a good time tho.
The best thing about Siem Reap was visiting Angkor Wat and all the temples. We did this on our first day there and rented a tuk tuk to show us around the best ones. All of the temples were extremely beautiful and unique. They were just so different to anything I've ever seen before, it was so fun exploring them all. My favourites were Ta Phrom- the temple where Lara Croft was filmed- and the Bayon temple, as well as the infamous Angkor Wat itself. We planned the day around getting to see Angkor Wat at sunset so we were rushing around some of the other temples in order to see the sunset which were told was unmissable. However when we eventually got there although the temple was pretty cool the sunset was very underwhelming and there was no bright orange sky- in reality it just went a bit darker haha! Nonetheless it was still an unforgettable day!
We also went on a 'cultural booze cruise' in Siem Reap which was one of my favourite days to date. This included jumping into the Tonlè Sap lake, feeding crocodiles (which was the worst part as they were kept in a dirty, small container and was not very animal friendly) and watching the most beautiful sunset with great people and a few beers (yes I now drink beer- it's cheap haha!) Bundles of laughs were had and it was a very enjoyable day!
The rest of our time in Siem Reap was simply spent relaxing by the pool and exploring the city. I really loved Siem Reap, it was probably my favourite place so far, and would love to go back one day! All in all Cambodia was a beautiful country to visit and I would highly recommend it to anyone!
I am now halfway through my long holiday and loving every second! I will continue to try and keep you updated as best I can as I continue my travels. I just want to wish all my family and friends a lovely Chritstmas and New Year- hope Santa is good to you all! ❤️
WOW.That's the best update so far, Louisa. Here's to the second half of your 'school holidays'.
ReplyDeleteWishing you peace and prosperity this Christmas.
Team Bryson xx
Hi there this is maria of mad monkey hostels, thanks so much for staying with us. We'd love to share this on our social media accounts. Would that be fine? We tried to find you on Twitter, but we couldn't. May we know your twitter handle?
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