'A Series of Unfortunate Events': My South East Asia Backpack

Shenzhen (China) → Dongxing (China)→ Móng Cái (Vietnam)→ Hanoi (Vietnam)→ Hue (Vietnam)→ Hoi An (Vietnam)→ Da Nang (Vietnam) ✈ Saigon/Ho Chin Minh (Vietnam)→Phnom Pehn (Cambodia)→ Siem Reap (Cambodia)→ Pakxe (Laos)→ Luang Prabang (Laos)→ Chiang Mai (Thailand) ✈ Kolkata (India)→ Varanasi (India)→ Khajuraho (India)→Agra (India)→ Jaipur (India)→ Jhodpur (India)→ Delhi (India) ✈ Guanzhou (China) → Shenzhen (China) ✈ Brazil!

Of course every travel has its misfortunes, but gladly I had some so I could narrate a more interesting story. This trip through South East Asia was one of my biggest dreams and I am so blessed for making it come true. All those places were all on the top of my bucket list destinations!

“That’s right. That’s right, Neal kept saying and all the time he was only concerned with locking the trunk and putting the proper things in the compartment and sweeping the floor and getting all ready for the purity of the road again, the purity of moving and getting somewhere, no matter where, and as fast as possible and with as much excitement and digging of all things as possible.'' (Jack Kerouac. “On the Road.”)

Backpacking is an amazing adventure. I met so many people and places, ate (or almost) every different food that I found (I just couldn't eat bats) and learned and grew so much. I did most of the trip by bus, and when in India, by train, not counting the countless tuk-tuks/rickshaws, and three flights. Most of the buses were uncomfortable, old and dirty, and the stops were even worse. Most of the places we stopped didn't have a proper toilet, and when they did have, it was just a cesspit and no separation between them. Almost none had toilet flush- it was a bucket with water. No sink, no soap for washing hands. And of course, no toilet paper. Luckily, I was prepared with tons of Kleenex and hand sanitizer.

I started my journey on December 13th, 2014. I left Shenzhen (China) on an overnight bunk bed bus and that was the only really comfortable bus on my whole trip. Arriving in Dongxing (China) I had to get a tuk-tuk to the immigration. After that, I crossed the border by feet (it was just a bridge). Already in Móng Cái (Vietnam) I managed to make a guy in a motorbike to take me to the bus station (he knew a little bit of Chinese). No one knew English. I wasn't sure if I bought the right ticket, I didn't know at what time the bus was gonna leave and I didn't know how long it would take to get to Hanoi. I thought it was going to be one hour or two. Big, big mistake. Took me more 7 long hours in that bus watching Jackie Chan movies (dubbed in Vietnamese by a single person for all characters!) nonstop. It was fun though. The bus drivers were taking care of me and they gave me traditional Vietnamese sweets and tea. We couldn't communicate, but they were super nice.

*VIETNAM*

December 14, 2014 (posted on FB)

Made it alive to Hanoi after 22 hours of journey!

I found out by the worst way that in Hanoi rains way too much: Wrong shoes. ☁ ☂

Someone there told me that Hanoi has more rainy days than London. I didn't do my homework, but one thing I can tell: my socks were soaking wet and I was freezing. But it wasn't all lost. The food in Vietnam is marvelous. Pho! Pho! Pho! What a wonder.

❧ Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, linguine-shaped rice noodles called bánh phở, a few herbs, and meat. Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam and the specialty of a number of restaurant chains around the world - Wikipedia

Talking about food.. Those Vietnamese-Style Sandwich (Bánh mì) were so great! I don't know if I was just too happy to find real bread after spending one year in China, or if they are actually that awesome... But I ate dozens of them!

December 16, 2014 (posted on FB)

Touchdown in Hue! The most ridiculous thing happened on my way. I got an overnight bus and I got this claustrophobic minuscule seat at the back of the bus. I was thinking how could I make 14 hours in there, when my neighbor saw a cockroach. We light it up and we saw a whole bunch of them crawling right next to our heads. We told the bus driver no way we would stay there and so the guy goes in there, smashes a cockroach and eats it. Oh boy.

I also didn't have the right jacket, but I wasn't alone on that. All my hostel companions were unprepared and I even donated one sweater to a German girl that was heading north. I had such a miserable experience with the weather in Saigon that I couldn't let her go like that. (Lesson learned: don't just assume that Southeast Asia doesn't get cold).

December 17, 2014

Cold to death, sick of the non-stop rain and tired of everybody in that country trying to rip me off, I was completely desperate to go south and get my place on the sun. So I moved on to Hoi An. From Hue to Hoi An, I took an old shitty bus, with leaking windows and the bus driver pressing the honk all the time and for no reason at all, even with the road completely empty.

Hội An (會 安) translates as "peaceful meeting place"- Wikipedia.

The name couldn't be more appropriate. Travelers, don't miss this little treasure in Vietnam. What an adorable place! Strolling by the river is enchanting, with all those colorful lanterns! I had the best time in that little town and I met awesome people. Rode bikes around and out the city, attended cooking classes, played pool, drank amazing Vietnamese coffee in those charming coffee shop, read books by the swimming pool. So chill.

Sadly, I still had many places to go on very little time. Next stop was Saigon (or Ho Chin Mih City). We took a plane from DaNang, short trip, one hour or so.

December 20th, 2014. Saigon! Sightseeing!

* War Remnants Museum: very good but shocking and super sad pictures about the effect of Agent Orange;

* Ben Thanh Market: I ate all kind of local dishes and bought coffee and spices;

* Notre Dame Cathedral;

*Cu Chi Tunnels: really cool to understand how the guerrilla lived and fought and you can shoot real guns there.

Crazy traffic in Saigon!

*CAMBODIA*

December 22, 2014

Night bus to Phnom Phen. We stayed a long time parked on the immigration parking lot, uncomfortable seats, no A.C., no toilets. We had to give our passports to this guy, still in Saigon, before hopping on the bus -super sketchy. I thought they have stolen my passport or that it was lost or forgotten somewhere. They didn't explain anything, they didn't answer our questions. We passed the Vietnamese immigration and they took our passports again. But it ended up alright. Arrived at Phnom Penh (Cambodia)! I just arrived and bought my tickets to Siem Reap. I had more or less three hours to sightseeing. I went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (also known as S-21). It was the former security office 21 in "Democratic Kampuchea", created under orders of Pol Pot. There we can find pictures, archives, torture tools -evidence of the bloody regime, oppression, anguish and suffering caused by "Khmer Rouge". About Phnom Phen: the city is beautiful. Gorgeous architecture and very laid back vibe. A lot more organized and cleaner than Saigon. I loved the tuk-tuks there, they are bigger and more comfy.

In Siem Reap we find the World famous Temples of Angkor. I went to the biggest and more famous ones: Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom (Bayon), but the complex is huge. If you want to explore everything, you would need one week. The Pub Street has superb bars and restaurants. I particularly enjoyed 'Temple Bar' and 'Angkor What?'.

I also took a tour to the Floating Villages on Tonle Sap Lake, Killing Fields (they say in Phnom Penh is bigger and better) and War Museum (the guide was awesome).

And some Khmer boxing!

December 26, 2014

Bus to Pakse. Long exhausting trip, bad road and bus conditions. Passing through rural Cambodia, everything covered by dust, very poor houses. The countryside is very undeveloped. The bus just abandoned us in the middle of nowhere, just before the border, without information. After persistent query, the foreigners pack was poorly informed that the bus would proceed the following day only. When they sold us the tickets no one informed us that we would not pass directly. We had to arrange a hotel by ourselves. My GPS informed me that I was in Stung Treng (?).

Such a mess. It turned out that we got misinformed by the travel agent that sold us the ticket to Laos. Instead of Vientiane (that is much closer to Luang Prabang), they gave us tickets to Pakse, which is just on the border, extreme south. We lost money for the bus ticket, because it was almost the same price to go to Pakse or to Vientiane. And we would lose time, because from Pakse to Vientiane they got only night buses. We still had more 12 hours from Pakse to Vientiane. And from Vientiane to Luang Prabang another 12 hours, more or less. We had the option of taking a plane, but it was off budget (US$200).

The next day (December 26), we left at 9am, but the bus stopped without explanations in a corner. We waited until 11am. We passed in the border after 1pm. They took more money than they should for the visa (US$ 40, it was supposed to be US$30). The sun was torrid and we were frustrated and indignant by that ridiculous and outrageous treatment. Making us walk on the sun, making us wait with no notice of how long or the reason why. It felt like we were cattle. NEVER EVER TAKE THIS CIA: CAMBODIA LAO EXPRESS BUS. Apparently there is a bus that cross the border directly with the authorization of the government. It is called Soriya Bus.

*LAOS*

After all that hustle, we arrived in Nakasang Village, which is 2h30 from Pakse (158 km). They told us that we had to wait in the agency until 5 pm, that is when the bus leaves. While we were waiting for the bus, we went strolling around. So much poverty. We went to a restaurant in a small ugly alley. It was just disgusting. Hard soil floor, no sink water, dogs and kids running around, garbage and flies everywhere. Surprisingly, there I ate the best food on my whole trip! Everything we ordered was just unbelievably amazing.

So.. it turned out that the bus would not arrive at 5pm. No, Sir. It could get at 6, 7pm.. They didn't know for sure. We were gonna lose the night bus to Luang Prabang if we waited. So we took this private car to go to Pakse. It was getting really hard to make a good judgement to tell if they were trying to fool us or not. Finally, some peace! We finally arrived in Pakse and got to the bus. It was the best sleeping bus after the first one from Shenzhen. We had pillows and blankets and even a toilet!!! I was happy and ready for a 24 hours journey to Luang Prabang!!

December 27, 2014

Arrived at Vientiane at 8 am! We changed buses and we were going to start heading to Vang Vieng at 10am. We arrived at 1pm in Vang Vieng. There we had to change to another bus to Luang Prabang, and we left at 3pm, for a short 6 hours trip. The way was tortuous and full of holes. The maximum speed the driver would reach was 60km /h, braking regularly. Even worse when it was growing dark, he drop the speed to 40km/h. However, the view was breathtaking. The air was so fresh, and the mountains looked like a painting, entangled by a tenacious mist that granted the landscape a mystic touch. Also, we saw a Caravan of kids walking back from school, cow herds walking in the middle of the road, chicken and chicks scratching on the wayside, farmers with traditional hats working on the plantations.

I arrived there at 9 pm. I didn't had a hostel yet, so I followed a guy from the van to his hostel, but it was fully booked, so they recommended another one, where I met two American girls that were in my hostel room back in Saigon! Is fun how you keep bumping into the same people around your trip. We rented bikes the next morning and went around the city, temples, Royal National Museum, Aromatherapy Massage… At night we went to Utopia Bar, I highly recommend it, super cool place.

I saw people selling these bats close to my hostel. Hungry?

Working monks.

At 6 pm, I took a bus to Chiang Mai (Thailand), arrived at 3 pm the next day (delay of only one hour: success! ). The bus was not bad, except it was a regular bus (no beds). All hotels and hostels were fully booked. Desperate, I got a place to stay with Couch Surfing.

Chiang Mai, here I come!

*THAILAND*

December 30, 2014

My host was a half Chinese half Thai Professor. His house was amazingly pretty, and he drove me everywhere around the city and cooked a lot of yummy food! The best was a Custard Pumpkin…Nevertheless, I fell sick and stayed in bed for 3 days, even went to the hospital to get medicine. What hurts the most is that I missed New Year! I wanted to see the Lanterns! And I was supposed to meet some Brazilians that I met back in Hoi An.

2 January, 2014

I was able to leave the bed, so we went sightseeing. Beautiful Golden Temple (Wat Phrathat Doi Suthep Rajvoravihara) and Royal Palace with its gorgeous gardens. Later, my host wanted to go to the movies. We watched “47 Ronins” in 4D. Funny Fact: before the movie there is a short video of the King and everybody has to stand up in respect.

3 January, 2014

Mae Sa Elephant Camp! The elephants perform a show, and they paint, throw darts, play soccer, they are really well trained. And in the end, you can take pictures with them, they hug and kiss you. Adorable.

After that we walked around the city looking for local awesome food. Eat eat eat. And goodbye Chiang Mai, or in Thai, Sawatdiikhâ! I got a flight to Kolkata (India) with connection in Kunming (China). Awesome airport in Kunming.

... to be continued

#backpack #travel #china #southeastasia