Backpacking in Indochina - August 2005

One month backpacking in Southeast Asia (Indochina).

Taking the cheapest flight from Manila through Airasia I started in Kuala Lumpur,Malaysia. I spent few hours there waiting for my connecting flight to Bangkok, Thailand. I went back to the well known backpacker street in Thailand, Khao Sarn Road where accomodation and food is cheap to spend a night. I consider this as my first major backpacking trip considering I was out the whole month. I was planning for this trip for a long time. My Lonely Planet Southeast Asia on a Shoestring is almost out of date. Nevertheless, i'm still excited that time and also praying for my safe trip.
I set out to see the charm, history and the culture of the famous Indochina. From Bangkok, I hopped-in to a bus bound to Aranyaphratet border to Cambodia. It was a rainy afternoon so stayed there overnight so i could cross the border next day. At the Thai-Cambodian (Poipet) border you can see a lot of Khmer Refugees. The rain made the road muddy. People pushing wooden carts and casinos on the side. I knew that my adventure started from then on.I was reading few books about the history of Cambodia. How they suffered and still the past has strong imprints to their faces.

I came from The Philippines so i don't need an entry visa in going to ASEAN countries that thing made me save a lot of money and time. I managed to flagged a Toyota Camry taxi shared with a kind local woman going to Siem Riep. Before the gate the woman suggested that i should hide my backpack at the back. They say that if the police see a foreigner riding the taxi they will need to pay an x amount for tax.... hmmm.. good thing I looked like a local. The road to Sosiphon is very rough. Our tires blew 2 times and it has been one of the most memorable roadtrip my life. :)

One of the fascinating sites of Cambodia are the temples of Angkor Wat. Listed among the UNESCO World Heritage sites you may wonder how they built this massive stone temples. I think its one of the most amazing structures ever built by man. You can see the Bas Reliefs that stretches along the walls. After much amazement i left Siem Riep to see the country's capital. Phnom Penh.

It's a different story here. Around the corner you can still see the past. The Killing Fields and S21: the Khmer Rouge genocidal centre. I didn't say a single word the whole time I was visiting the Killing Fields. It was so haunting that when the time I went to S21 I didn't even have the guts to get inside the School turned into killing machine where gas chambers replaced classrooms... I was ready to move on and get out of Cambodia.

Again, a long bus ride to border and the city. From Phnom Penh I went to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. By this time 8-12 hours bus rides now seems to be a short trip. I'm learning to be patient and manage to get a comfortable sleep while sitting on a bus. It's always a relief to bring a music player while you're on your backpacking trip. Along the way I met Maria and Francis (from UK) on the bus...

When you think about Vietnam you always associate it to its history of war. Truly, you can see what is left of the long days of fighting. "We" visited the Cu Chi Tunnels. We also made friends to other travellers Snapper(from USA a volunteer for 4 years in Palawan. He speaks fluent Tagalog) and Taeryn (from Korea but she grew up also in the US). We had a good time eating delicious food, telling stories and drinking beer. After Ho Chi Minh City we decided to go to the beach! It was in Mui Ne. We spent a couple of days there relaxing and chillin... We also visited the Sand Dunes. By this time I realized that I don't have much time left so I decided to push through with my trip.

I went to Nha Trang to dive and to see the underwater world of Vietnam. I even met 2 fellow Filipinos there. Had few drinks! Im almost halfway on my trip when I met Kelly in Hoi An. She was doing the RTW (Round the world) trip. I rented a motorbike to see neighboring cities. I drove to Danang. Then afterwards we went to Hue, also a World heritage site. I'm beginning to like the habit of seeing the UNESCO World Heritage sites. :) Maybe one of my goals in the future, to see all of them... who knows anything can be accomplished if you have the will. Again by this time I was rushing. I went to Hanoi and visited the caves of Halong Bay. It is somewhat reminds me of Palawan. Limestone cliffs and caves.

Since it will take me 1 day and long haul bus ride to Laos. I decided to get a one way ticket. It will cut my time and still manage to see the sites of Laos. I arrived Vientianne and took another 8 hour bus ride to Luang Phrabang since the VIP aircon bus already left by the time our plane arrived we settled to ride the public bus. Back in Vietnam, Kelly warned me that it is usual that you will see a man with AK47 on the bus. It serves as bodyguards. 1 bus, 1 bodyguard with AK47. It is said that back then there are militants who ambush buses thats why it came to that point. Good thing I was warned otherwise it will be uncomfortable for me to sit on a 8-hour bus ride with a man with a gun beside you. We arrived Luang Phrabang late in the evening. It is said that it is a backpackers sin to arrive on a place in the middle of the night. But this time we have no choice. We found a nice guesthouse few blocks away to the Mekong River. We visited the temples, night market and Kuang Si waterfalls. It is refreshing to be back in natural waters again... By this time its my birthday... I had awesome sunset dinner and had few drinks afterwads... In the morning im going back to Vientianne. My journey is almost complete and my money is running out...

One thing about shoestring travel is that you always have to be concious on your belongings and your money otherwise your beautiful journey turns into a nightmare.

"A dollar saved a day goes a long long way...." as my fellow backpackers say.

I arrived Vientianne I was in transit to Thailand. I rode the sleeper train overnight from Nong Khai Train Station to Bangkok. Again, slept a few nights in Khao San Road. Ate my favorite thai foods. Pad thai and Banana Pancakes... Bound to the airport I met a Japanese girl who works in Thailand as a volunteer. She had to pick up her friend at the airport.

I had to flew back to Kuala Lumpur...

I spend few hours at Kuala Lumpur airport even slept there at the bench while waiting for my connecting flight early in the morning. I have few bucks left and its 70km away to the city. I just relax, eat and slept. I flew back to Clark (Manila) and took my bus ride.

It's nice to see my home again...

In the end,had few money left on my pocket but i've accumulated a lot of pictures, met a lot of people and saved a lot of memories that I didn't regret that I made this trip...