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South East Asia
  • Kristyna Collins

South East Asia

Follow me as I travel around Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos! Les mer
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  • Reisens start
    7. juni 2024
    Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 1

    7. juni 2024, England ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Welcome back to another blog series but this time following me as I travel around Thailand, Laos. Vietnam and Cambodia! I’m super excited for the trip and I’m going with an organised group so really looking forward to meeting some new people and hopefully having a lot of fun!

    However, before the real fun can start I’ve got to get there! An 11am flight from Heathrow meant a 6am wake up alarm and we managed to have a quick bowl of porridge (thanks to my dad on that one) before heading in the car and once more heading towards Heathrow.

    Arriving and giving my final hugs i checked in my bag and went through within 15 minutes! Sadly I couldn’t find the usual giraffe restaurant breakfast that’s in terminal 5 so I settled on a sandwich and a coffee which cost me a mere £12! The budgeting starts after this I think!

    I’m now sat waiting to board to fly to Kuala Lumpur which is 13 hours and then connect through to Bangkok which is 3 hours- wish me luck and I’ll catch up with you all on the other end!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 2

    8. juni 2024, Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    What a journey I am exhausted!

    The flight to Kuala Lumpur felt very long, being a similar length as the flight to Japan it does feel like I spend a lot of time on planes! The flight went smoothly apart from the fact that we took off from Heathrow late and with a very tight connection in Kuala Lumpur the worry that I would miss it began to get stronger. In order to make up for this, Malaysia airlines gave us all free wifi which I think is extraordinary but very helpful as I could chat to my parents about next steps if I missed my flight!

    Arriving in Kuala Lumpur not much later than originally planned I tore through the airport which had chosen the gate to be the furthest away and this nearly gave me a bloody heart attack, but eventually I arrived with time to spare and thankfully once arriving in Bangkok I discovered that my bag made it to!

    I was slightly surprised when at immigration I had to give my finger prints, I think of this as a very USA thing and it feels very big brother like! Managing to work out how to get to my hotel I took the express bus into Bangkok as the airport sits some 30kms from Bangkok centre. After arriving at the hotel I was allowed to check in really early which was a god send and allowed me to just crash for the rest of the day!

    It does feel very strange arriving on my own in the peace and quiet but knowing me by the end of tomorrow when I meet the rest of the group there will never be a quiet moment moving forward!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 3-4

    10. juni 2024, Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Day 3

    Yesterday I stupidly fell asleep at 2pm and then woke up at 10pm wide awake- definitely not good for beating the jet lag! I managed to sleep on and off until the early hours of the morning when my roommate - Aviaja arrived. She’s from Denmark and taller than me - it’s rare I meet girls taller than me she’s 6”2 making me feel like a short arse! We chatted for a few hours and we get on really well which is nice before we both went for a quick nap.

    Waking up to growling stomachs we decided to head into Bangkoks china town which was really close to the place we were staying for lunch. Wandering through lots of street food stalls selling skewers they looked yummy but I decided I didn’t want to get a poorly tummy on the very first day! We ended up in a small noodle bar where I had ramen - the dreaded ramen I’m going to hate it by the end of this year!

    Relaxing for a few more hours we then headed down to the lobby to meet the rest of our group! There are 13 of us in total and we have people from England, wales, Scotland and Ireland, Denmark, and America so quite a mix which is nice! The way they’ve set it out is that there are three groups they have combined all with the same itinerary up until a point. So the longest one you can do is the one I’m on for 40 days and then there is 30 days and 20 days. So we all stay together until each of these milestones where we say goodbye to some people and more people arrive! This is quite nice as I’ll get to meet lots of people but it’s going to be hard remembering everyone’s names!

    We met our group leader or CEO as he calls himself - Lee who is lovely, he’s from Laos and is a very sweet soul. He lead the group to a small local restaurant with flowers hanging from the ceiling which was sooo pretty! We all had a meal as a group and got to know each other. It quickly became apparent that I was the youngest with one guy being 19 but the rest all being 23+ but I don’t mind too much as they seem like a super bunch and hopefully over the coming days we will get to know each other well!

    Finishing up my delicious cashew and chicken stir fry most of us headed back to the hotel as we have a very early start tomorrow. A few of the girls came back into our room for an hour or so which we spent chatting which was really nice! The boys went out drinking and we found out that they didn’t get back until 2am (bare in mind we have to be on a bus a 6am) and one of them had lost their phone and a few had ended up at the police station so safe to say we made the right call going back to the hotel!

    Day 4

    Alarm blaring at 5.30am we groggily clambered out of bed and got ready to make the journey to the Cambodian border which would take us 5 hours this side and then another 3 hours once we have crossed the border. Being handed a take away breakfast by the hotel I was rather excited. The breakfast consisted of two pieces of bread, two small Frankfurter sausages and a slice of very plasticky ham. Feeling rather dissatisfied I ate away and then I discovered we also had a lovely bowl of fresh melon which was delicious and so fresh! So this made up for the shoddy start!

    We clambered onto the bus and started to make the journey to the border. Luckily it only took us 3 hours instead of 5 which we were very surprised by! I think this was a combination of our early start but also the fact our driver was going 120km/h in a 60km/h so we made up a lot of time! When I asked the driver if the rules in Thailand were strict his response was slightly worrying; “rules? What rules, once you get your license there are no rules”. Slightly regretting asking I sat back and tightened my seatbelt!

    Once we arrived at the border we were worried about long queues as we had been warned that on busy days it can take up to 2 hours to get through but luckily our group was first in line! It still took us 30 minutes for 13 of us to get through so you can see how if there was a queue you could wait quite a long time but luckily for us it was all rather easy and we got through nice and quickly with no dramas.

    Now officially in Cambodia we had a lunch where we all shared a few different platters of Thai green curry, chicken and cashews, and Asian styled veg salad - all lovely! Before travelling to our hotel and checking in to relax for a few hours, I’ve been paired with Aviaja again which works well as we get on very well.

    After heading down to our hotels pool that has a swim up bar, pool table, and beer bong table hopefully going to make the most of these tomorrow! We spent an hour or so playing pool and going for a swim which was really refreshing and needed after a long sticky day in a bus!

    We then quickly got ready and went out for another group dinner before heading to the circus. These aren’t usually my thing but it was really incredible with some amazing acrobatics and people jumping over skipping ropes on fire, it definitely had us ooing and ahhing and it really was a fab experience!

    After this we hopped in a Tuk Tuk back to our hotel to settle in for an early night as we have to be up before sunrise tomorrow!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende
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    Where we had lunch!1Fried bugs - not nice$1 coconut anyone?

    Day 5-6

    11. juni 2024, Kambodsja ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Day 5
    Wow today was pretty jam packed! The alarm went off at 4.30am this morning once again I was very unhappy about this and we packed into the mini bus and sped towards Angkor Wat for sunrise. Finding a good spot we waited shrouded in the darkness for the sunrise. Unfortunately it was pretty cloudy so there wasn’t much of a sunrise but it was still very majestic as the outline slowly became more visible and then eventually the detailed towers loomed in the distance. To think it was built in the 12th century is incredible! The level of architecture and precision throughout the whole Angkor Wat complex is extraordinary and we don’t build anything nearly as hauntingly beautiful anymore!

    After a non sunrise we headed into the temple and enjoyed exploring the many different areas whilst our tour guide explained to us more about the history and background of Angkor Wat. It was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II and only took 30 years to complete considering the scale of it this is seriously impressive. They used elephants to pull the stones from local quarries and built the inside first and then the outside to make it easier to get the stones in by using the elephants!

    As the hours progressed it was getting increasingly hot and it was only 8am! After about an hour and a half at Angkor Wat we felt we had seen all we needed to, so we headed to another two much smaller temples one nicknamed the “nature temple” as it was only found in recent years and nature has started to take over.

    Massive trees were clinging to the temple walls stretching high into the sky it was seriously impressive! The other temple had large towers with four Buddhas carved onto the sides and after lots of water and suncream later we finally climbed back into the minibus at 11am with the temperature already at 34°c!

    Arriving back at the hotel we went for a swim in the pool where we played some “basketball” which was so fun and a really nice way to get to know the group a bit better in a chilled environment and just have a good time.

    Then the girls and I headed to the spa for a massage - $8 for 30 minutes is a bargain I think! I got a head neck and shoulders massage and it was glorious, so relaxing and we came out feeling very limber!

    I had a short nap and then got ready for our “big night out”. We all met at a bar on the “pub street” with our CEO who bought us all a shot and a beer tower so I think that’s encouraging bad behaviour! We were out all night dancing in bars and playing pool and we met so many people from different tours and general backpackers it was so much fun and a really fun moment for our group! Eventually getting back at around 2am we went straight to sleep but a really fun day!

    Day 6

    Today we set off to travel to Cambodias capital Phnom Penh which is a 8 hour bus journey! Luckily stopping every few hours to stretch our legs and to grab some lunch helped the journey pass by. Some people were definitely struggling on the bus today after a heavy night last night, I was just shattered so I had a nice long nap!

    Our last stop before arriving in Phnom Penh was a small market by the side of the road, Lee our CEO had warned us that they will try to sell us lots of fried bugs but that he would buy some for the group for a better price for us to try. Not feeling very convinced that I wanted to eat fried bugs I was still curious to see the market so I hopped out the bus and straight away a child holding a live tarantula came up to me putting the spider right in my face. I squealed and jumped right out of my skin to which the young girl was very confused! The market sold everything from live spiders which really freaked me out and once the children learnt we were scared of them it became a game for them to pretend to put it on us! I was really not happy about this in the slightest! Making a quick escape back onto the bus Lee came around with fried spiders, crickets, scorpions, frogs and worms for us all to try! Feeling really really strongly that I didn’t want to eat any of it but knowing I had to try something I managed to eat a cricket and a spider leg which really gave me the creeps! But it didn’t taste bad in all fairness just very crunchy and hairy.

    Arriving in Phnom Penh in the pouring rain we checked into our hotel and collapsed, moving around every two days is very tiring! I then nursed my mosquito bites which had blown up massively with a good dose of antihistamine and they quickly went down before relaxing and in a few hours we are going to go and have some dinner by the riverside.    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende
    Some of the mass graves that have been excavatedA cell where people were heldA "VIP" cell

    Day 7

    13. juni 2024, Kambodsja ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Today we had a slightly later start with the alarm going off at 7.30 am. We had a quick breakfast before piling into the minibus to head to the killing fields and S21. This is the darker side of Cambodia and as we travelled to see these sights our tour guide told us more about this;

    So in the ealry 1970s communism was growing in Cambodia and they called themselves the Khmer Rouge. At the beginning it is believed that they set out with good intentions but as they grew they became more extreme and they took over the country through a coup in 1975. They took everyone out of their usual work and sent them to the rice fields to help the farmers harvest and grow more rice to give to china as china had funded the Khmer Rouge and this was part of their payment back. This meant that there was no proper healthcare, banks, news or any other standard service during this time. They rationed the food so strictly that 1 million people died from starvation in the 4 years that they ruled and considering their population at the time was around 6 million this is a lot!

    Their leader PolPot was so paranoid about an uprising that he had everyone who was previously in government arrested. This spiralled out of control and also intellectuals, farmers, ordinary people and anyone who they thought could be a spy was arrested. They were taken to prisons such as S21 and tortured for information, if they gave any, they would kill that person and their whole family but most people were completely innocent and they were killed anyway. They would be sent to the “killing fields” which were hidden and the Khmer Rouge didn’t want to use guns as bullets were expensive and they also didn’t want anyone to hear the gunshots and find out what was happening as the people in Cambodia didn’t know they just noticed people started going missing. This means they would use things like hammers, saws, bricks and other weapons to kill people.

    The rest of the world didn’t know what was happening as the borders were completely shut until a branch of the Khmer Rouge told the government in Vietnam who sent the military to overthrow the Khmer Rouge, many fled to the jungle and it was until the 90’s that it is thought that all if not most were caught. Only 5 men stood trial, 2 died soon after so only 3 were sentenced with only 1 acknowledging that what he had done was wrong and he was the guard of the S21 prison.

    So this was the background that we had in mind as we arrived first at the killing field. I find it really hard to explain how sick I felt walking around after our guide said “you are walking over thousands of dead bodies”. Many of who were found headless, women and children found naked who had probably been raped and in mass graves with hundreds of bodies in a tiny pit. They also have a building there filled with the skulls from the victims who they have found there and it has 17 tired glass levels and they haven’t even excavated the whole site. There were over 380 killing fields and they estimate that 3 million people were killed during this 4 year rule.

    After this we visited the prison which was a school beforehand. The makeshift cells have been preserved with just enough room to lie down in with no light and being shackled to the floor I can’t even imagine how terrifying this would have been. They also had “VIP” rooms for high profile prisoners such as government officials. With the beds still in there, blood stains still on the floor, pictures of men women and children up inside it was really difficult and emotional.

    We then had the incredible chance to meet two survivors of the prison. There were only 7 prisoners who survived and only 2 still alive, they are 94 and 88. They both suffer from dementia suspected to be caused by the beatings and electric shocks they experienced during their time in prison. Neither could really speak to us so our guide told us about their story and then we had the chance to buy a book to help support them which most of us did.

    Our guide then told us that Cambodia is technically still under the Khmer Rouge as the small subgroup who reported it to Vietnam where then put in charge and have been voted in ever since. When we asked why they had been voted in if they were apart of the horrors that had happened our guide said people are too scared to vote a different party in because what if they are worse. He said that this party is not as awful as they had been before but they weren’t great but people are too scared to relive another horror like the one before so they always vote for the same. For example, there is no pensions in Cambodia so “you work until you die or you’re homeless” was how our guide described the situation in Cambodia.

    It was a really eye opening day as I didn’t know the in depth history before now and I think it’s really important that we learn about these events. It really was a tricky day but also something that should be done.

    After this it was already midday so we grabbed a small lunch and then headed back to the hotel. Some of our group is going out on a boat cruise tonight but unfortunately the food here hasn’t been agreeing with me so I’m staying in tonight in the hope that tomorrow I feel a bit better!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 8-9

    15. juni 2024, Kambodsja ⋅ ☁️ 38 °C

    Day 8
    Today we packed up our bags once more and climbed onto the bus for 5 hours to make our way down to the south of Cambodia, stopping for a quick lunch we bordered a speed boat which was incredibly bumpy for 45 minutes to reach Koh Rong island. This island is absolutely stunning, white beaches and crystal clear water it’s the perfect place to lay back and relax. Arriving at our hostel we were greeted by an absolute sh*t show. They had run out of electricity so this meant no running water, no lights, no fan. They had also run out of drinking water for us and with the nearest shop being 20 minutes away this was an absolute disaster. It’s 37°c on the island today so as you can imagine this is an actual disaster and the manager wasn’t apologetic and said that it happens all the time and didn’t seem to have any confidence it was going to be fixed during our stay. To make ourselves feel better we went down to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful crystal clear water and we had the beach completely to ourselves! After 5 hours of being there there was still no power so the girls and I decided to get out the credit card and go check into a different hotel which had air-con, power, a pool, sun beds and a great bar. I know this isn’t quite in the backpacker spirit but I don’t regret it at all I think I would have felt really crappy if I had stayed in the other one.

    An evening of swimming and relaxing definitely did us all some good!

    Day 9

    After waking up at 11am feeling incredibly refreshed we went down to the beach and spent the rest of the day sun bathing and swimming in the sea with a drink in hand. I couldn’t think of a better place to spend two days relaxing and recuperating before a busy next couple of weeks, an amazing spot completely to ourselves!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende
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    Day 10-12

    17. juni 2024, Vietnam ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Day 10

    After a beautiful sunset last night I thought it would be a great idea to hand wash my clothes and hang them out to dry over night, however, when we woke up in the morning i discovered it had been raining all night long and my clothes were more wet then when I put them outside! Very annoying but I plan to wash them once we get to Vietnam as I’m running out of clothes!

    Having a quick breakfast we said goodbye to this beautiful island and climbed onto the speedboat to head back to the mainland but due to the storm it was VERY bumpy and it was honestly dreadful. Flying out of our seats every few minutes was not ideal and it definitely didn’t do wonders for my back! Grateful to be off the boat we climbed onto the pier and as we did it started absolutely POURING. I managed to grab the captain who had an umbrella and charm him into escorting me to get my bag off the boat! However I had to make the 100 metre dash to the van and still got soaked so not sure it was worth it!

    Drying off in the bus we headed towards Chambok village where we would have our first home stay experience. Arriving in the middle of nowhere where with no phone signal and no cars the bus dropped us off and we wondered to our families house. A tin house of stilts with no running water with beds on the floor and a mosquito net to cover yourself with was what we were greeted with. In 38°c we weren’t too happy about the lack of air con but we did have one small fan which we took turns to sit in front of! Sitting back and enjoying our time like a local we watched the children playing badminton and they were all very excited to see us.

    A local guide took us on a tour around the village stopping every now and then to show us plants that the local village used for different natural remedies which was really interesting to see as they don’t use any western medicine here. Although we weren’t entirely convinced when the guide said “sometimes works sometimes not 50/50 chance of surviving”!

    Hiding from the heat we watched the sun go down and had a locally cooked meal which gave me “the fear” we have nicknamed it! I then sat with some of the local ladies who taught me how to make bamboo bracelets and rings for a very small price which was really fun but very fiddly - I don’t think I could make a living off it!
    We played some cards until we retreated to our “beds” to get an ealry night. I can’t say I slept well with cows and chickens wondering freely below us making a lot of noise but it was actually a really fun experience and fun to live like a local for one night- but only one!

    Day 11

    Waving goodbye to our lovely host family at 5am we climbed into the bus and the air con was very welcomed by all of us as we settled in to head towards the Vietnam border! It was a very long travel day today with 5 hours to the border and then another 3 hours to our hostel in ho chi manh city.

    The border took us about 2 hours which was a pain as we had to queue in the heat with our bags and after a few people had visa problems we finally all made it through and could make the final journey to ho chi manh city!!

    Having the nicest shower ever once we got in we quickly got ready and headed downstairs in our hostel to have a locally cooked dinner. This was very nice with lots of different dishes to try and the diverse flavours were amazing. We then met the 5 people who are joining our group and went out for a few drinks with them before heading home for the night.

    Day 12

    This morning was our first full day in Vietnam! We had a free morning so the girls and I headed into the centre to see the pink church- which in fact is very pink! Unfortunately we couldn’t go inside but it was still worth seeing the outside!

    We then headed to a market to pick up a few souvenirs and it was pretty overwhelming! Hundreds of tiny stalls crammed into a building with all of the stall owners putting things in your face grabbing you to try bring you into their stall so we definitely had to stand out ground! But we did get to pick up a few bits before heading back to meet the rest of the group.

    Then the main activity of today- the cu chi tunnels which the Vietnamese soldiers used during the war. This war was due to northern Vietnam wanting to reunite the country under a communist rule but southern Vietnam fought back allied by the US but northern Vietnam eventually won and Vietnam was united as a communist country. Their secret weapon- the tunnels! These are tiny, you have to crouch and at points crawl through and these have been widened for tourists! I managed to go 50/100 metres before I headed up as it is seriously claustrophobic and the heat is stifling.

    The tunnels allowed Vietnam soldiers to gain advantages on the US soldiers as they could sneak up on them and also lay many traps which looked absolutely lethal! To this day you can’t go off the path in the jungle as they suspect there are many traps still left that have not been found!

    Our guide was excellent taking us around and showing us original traps and tunnel entrances. It was really interesting I thoroughly enjoyed it despite the heat! One of my favourite activities so far!

    We then headed back to grab a quick sandwich from 7/11 before boarding our overnight train to Nha Trang which will take us around 10 hours. We are in second class so there are only 4 of us per cabin rather than 6 if it was 3rd class and we have aircon and a small bed each. I’m feeling pretty optimistic about tonight although as the hours tick by I might change my mind!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende
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    Day 13-15

    21. juni 2024, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Day 13
    Despite getting very little sleep due to the fact that Vietnamese railways are not the smoothest I arrived in good spirits in Nha Trang!

    Arriving at our hostel we managed to check in early and then head down to the beach for some breakfast which was delicious, after this I had a quick power nap before boarding the boat for today’s activity!

    With the music pumping we stormed away from the shore and instantly it cooled down by a few degrees which was incredibly welcome! We soon arrived at a small fishing village where we moored and then had to walk across very rocky pontoons. Once we arrived we saw nets and areas where the village had caught a number of things from sea snails, to lobsters, crabs and fish. This fishing village was beautiful with all the boats bobbing in the sea and the small island village it was idyllic! We then watched the wives of the fishermen repairing the broken nets with a needle and thread which looked like a painstaking pastime!

    We then visited two snorkelling spots which were really fab! It was nice to see coral that still had its colour and hadn’t been completely bleached with vibrant blues and pinks it was really gorgeous! We saw clown fish, starfish and even a sea snake amongst some of the many species there, a really fab few hours!

    To finish off the trip we ended up at a lovely swimming spot where we could jump off the boat and enjoy the sun before having a bbq cooked for us on the boat with a huge mixture of things including a fish that some of the boys caught!

    A really fun activity and I was one of the only ones on the boat that didn’t get awfully sunburned and suffering with heatstroke so I did well on that front!

    An early night to bed tonight to get catch up on the hours missed on the train!

    Day 14

    Today we had a few hours in the morning free so we headed to a nearby hotel that had an infinity pool 40 floors up with a 360° view back over the city and the ocean which was lovely. After a few hours there we hurried back to the hostel to meet the rest of our group to go to the mud baths!

    I was expecting the mud to be more like paste than murky water but it was all part of the experience I guess! It was quite a process, you had to shower then sit in the mud baths for 30 minutes, then go through the “car wash” which is literally like a pressure wash, then the mineral water for 20 minutes before finally going to the cold pool for the remainder of our time! It was a lot of fun and my skin did feel a little smoother afterwards but I didn’t find it massively relaxing so a once in a lifetime experience rather than a regular for me!

    After this we then boarded our next night train which was a bit nicer than the last one to travel near to Hoi An and then catch a bus to our hosts in hoi an. I slept for about 5 hours so better than the last train but still feeling knackered after!

    Day 15

    After 5 hours sleep I wasn’t feeling that refreshed but after a short bus journey to hoi an and a nice smoothie bowl for breakfast I was feeling a bit better about the rest of the day!

    We started off exploring hoi a with a local guide called Mr Tom who took us on an orientation walk for an hour or so. Even though it was only 10am it was already 35°c and very humid so we were very hot by the end but it was lovely to explore the city and it’s really picturesque I think at night it will be particularly pretty! It’s got a great atmosphere here really buzzy so I think it will be a really fun couple of days!

    We then headed to the tailors that our guide recommended as there are hundreds it would be impossible to choose from without a recommendation! The lovely ladies in there talked me through different designs and fabrics and in the end I got measured for a halter neck dress so once I get it back ( I think as early as tomorrow which is insane!) I will share with you all! I’m really excited to see the finished product and it was a really fun experience! Also it only cost around £85 which for a tailored dress is extremely good value!

    We are also having a “shit shirt night” tonight where we each get assigned someone else in the group to buy a hideous shirt for that they have to wear out on our night out tonight! I’m not looking forward to seeing what I have but it was fun to look around the markets to find one for the person I was assigned!

    Eliza and I then went for a dip in our hostels pool to cool off as we were boiling before going for a quick nap before the activity in the afternoon.

    So there’s a cycling tour this afternoon but as many of you know I can’t cycle! So I paid a little extra to follow along in a cylo which basically just means someone cycles me around! Very embarrassing but it was so much fun I just got to sit there and enjoy all the views without being hot and sweaty so for me it was a win win!

    Our guide took us to rice paddies, local farms, and took us through the city it was so much fun! We then got into a basket boat which is basically a floating bath tub and they take you on the river it was so much fun, they then spin you around and honestly we were so dizzy by the end but we had such a ball!

    We then boarded a boat to cruise down the river with some music blasting and a bit of dancing it was brilliant. We lit little lanterns and put them in the river which the locals do for good luck but I just felt bad that we were putting them into the river! Not very good for the environment I’m sure!

    Arriving back we met up with the rest of the group for our “shit shirt night” and went out for drinks.    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende
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    Day 16-17

    23. juni 2024, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Day 16

    Well it was a very eventful night out last night when we had to call an ambulance to come pick up one of the girls because she had drank too much, luckily she’s fine now but we were a bit worried about her! One of the boys also disappeared for the whole night and didn’t get back until 6am so safe to say this morning I was one of the only people at breakfast!

    Only 6/19 people made it to our noodle cooking class this morning which was rather amusing. The cooking class was interesting they talked us through lots of different types of noodles but we didn’t get to actually make any we just ate some they made so not quite a cooking class! But still fun to spend time with some of the group.

    After this I headed back to the tailors to have the last fitting for my dress which I LOVE it’s really pretty and I’m really happy with it. I then wandered through the markets before heading back to our hosts for a swim and a chilled afternoon before heading back into the town for a group dinner and to look at all the lanterns lit up at night which were really pretty!

    Day 17

    We left at 8.30am this morning to drive 4 hours to Hué stopping half way at a lovely view point and a coffee. Although the coffee made me feel really poorly so I slept for the rest of the bus journey!

    Once we had arrived the rest of the group headed off to the motorbike tour and I had promised my family I wouldn’t get on a motorbike so I had the rest of the day to kill so I went to get a massage. BIG MISTAKE! She was walking along my back, punching my back, grabbing my hair it was so awful! I definitely feel more sore after than before and she definitely didn’t understand the word “gentle”!

    After this the girls came back so I chatted with them for a few hours before a nice group dinner and I’ve just settled in to an evening of chatting with the girls! We are leaving tomorrow so a very quick stop here!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende
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    Day 18-20

    26. juni 2024, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Day 18

    This morning we had a really nice slow start to the day with a lie in and a spot of lunch before piling into the bus again to travel from Hué to Phong Nha!

    This took us about 5 hours but luckily we stopped every now and then to stretch our legs and get some snacks!

    We arrived in Phong Nha late in the afternoon and with little to do in this very small town we opted for a night of cards and chatting and a good hearty sleep before our adventures the next day!

    Day 19

    Today we woke up early to make sure we had time to grab some breakfast before heading to paradise cave! The caves in Phong Nha national park are literally the only things to do in Phong nha so despite the tour being quite pricey it was either this or nothing and I actually ended up really enjoying it!

    We arrived and hiked up to the cave (not far but in this heat it’s a killer) and then slowly descended down into the cave. The cave itself is 36km long but they’ve only opened 2km to the public but it’s really impressive. Huge stalagmites and stalactites casting very dramatic shadows onto the walls of the cave. It really was beautiful. It was quite similar to what I saw in Japan but this was on a much larger scale.

    It was really weird, in the caves everyone was obsessed with me. All the Vietnamese men wanted pictures with me and all the Vietnamese ladies were coming up to me and hugging me and laughing - I definitely missed something because I have no idea why and no one else got this treatment it was really bizarre!

    We then made our way back out before having some lunch where we ran into the ladies again. Making a swift exit with them all waving me over we jumped onto a boat and cruised down the river for 30 minutes enjoying watching the locals spear fishing and the children playing in the water until we arrived at Phong Nha cave. Entering by boat we enjoyed looking at the dramatic landform whilst gently floating through it was lovely!

    We then headed back to the hotel for a really quick shower before heading to the station for another overnight train. This has definitely been the worst one we’ve been on so far, not very clean so I used my sleeping bag liner to sleep in just to keep the dirt out!

    Day 20

    Stumbling off the train at 5.30 am we groggily got onto the bus for a 4 hour drive to Halong bay. Luckily I managed to have a nap on the way which woke me up a little bit but we still all felt a little jaded!

    Arriving in halong bay in the pouring rain we checked in and had a few hours to shower and chill before heading out on our boat trip!

    The rain stopped and the clouds cleared and we got to enjoy a lovely boat trip around halong bay with hundreds of small islands and the cityscape in the background it was really pretty!

    We then got the chance to kayak which of course I did! Just as we kayaked away from the boat it started pouring with rain so we all ended up having one big water fight and racing our kayaks. Eliza and I who were sharing a kayak suddenly realised we were sinking so we tried to bail all the water out but it wasn’t very successful until I found out that our plug wasn’t in properly and that’s how we were taking on so much water! We managed to shakily get back to the boat without sinking but the whole thing was absolutely hilarious and a lot of fun!

    Bargaining with one of the ladies on board I managed to buy a new t shirt so at least my top half wasn’t soaked but I didn’t have any spare shorts!

    Heading back to the hotel for a shower and a relaxed evening with plans of going out to dinner a bit later on!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 21

    27. juni 2024, Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Day 21

    Today we travelled to Hanoi and the number 1 thing on my list to see was the train street! For those who don’t know the train street is basically this really narrow street lined with coffee shops where the train runs through twice a day, however I discovered today it is now closed and is illegal to go in to!

    So I arrived at the entrance and it was barricaded off with police officers monitoring and stopping people from going through. There were also hundreds of men with bikes and taxis trying to get you to come with them to take you to “a different train street” 20 minutes away. This is such a scam and I quickly walked away from this as there were loads of people trying to get in and it was just chaos.

    I managed to find another entrance but again there were barriers up and police men, some people were allowed past the barrier so I tried to slip past but I was dragged out by two police men saying they needed to have “a chat with me”. I think they were looking for a bribe as they were doing it to almost everyone. Luckily, I had an advantage as one of my dads friends Mark lives in Vietnam and told me if I ever got in trouble with the police to say that he was my sponsor and to give his name and address and said this should be enough to get them to leave me alone! Thankfully, as the police officers tried to escort me to their police car I shared this information with them and I was let go with no questions asked.

    Feeling incredibly stressed but also thankful for getting out of that situation (thank you Mark you are my saviour!) I called one of the other girls from the group who managed to get into the train street. At this moment, a Vietnamese lady grabbed my hand and was pulling me down this alley way. Trying to get away from her she said “trust me train street”. Against my better judgement I followed her as she led me through four different houses and I had to climb from house to house till eventually she brought me to a coffee shop right on the train street. I ordered two drinks as a way to thank her and waited patiently.

    Just before the train arrived she pulled me back up again and led me outside right next to the train tracks and I got to see the train wiz past us along with a few others she had “smuggled in”. Back firmly pressed against the wall the train went literally right past us and if I reached out I could have touched it easily- but of course I didn’t do this!

    Such a thrilling experience! After the train went past a police officer then started walking towards us and I thought we were done for! However, as he walked down he took bribes from all the coffee shop owners and didn’t even take a second look at any of us- a very corrupt police force here I have discovered!

    The lady then lead me back through the houses and out of the train street. The most crazy and surreal experience but probably my favourite experience yet! I met up with the other girls who were on the train street but further down and they had been led by a small boy who made them climb over a fence and climb onto the roof of one of the buildings- no one tells you about any of this on social media so it was quite the shock for us but we managed to see it and it was 100% worth it!

    After this adrenaline rush we went to see a water puppet show, I couldn’t tell you what the actual story line was but I enjoyed it very much and it had a good dose of humour to it! And we got the “worst seats” for £3 and in London you’d pay serious mega bucks for them! - brilliant!

    Then to celebrate our last night in Vietnam as a full group and one of the girls birthdays who is leaving tomorrow we danced the night away on tables in local bars- literally the best day!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 22-23

    29. juni 2024, Laos ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Day 22

    After a late night last night we had a leisurely start to the day before grabbing some brunch and then heading to the airport to fly to Laos!

    I waved goodbye to Vietnam which I have absolutely loved, definitely my favourite so far!
    A super quick flight only about an hour and then quickly bought our visas and headed outside. I stood with the girls whilst we waited for everyone and they were vaping, next minute an official comes up and asks for their passports and takes them away. I rushed to find Lee to tell him and it turns out vaping is illegal in Laos! Luckily they just had to pay a fine. Lee told us that they were just looking for a bit extra to go straight into the pocket as originally the fine was meant to be $50 each but Ruby managed to negotiate it down to $15- good on her I was super impressed! Lee said that vaping and smoking is “80% illegal” whatever that means!

    After this was all sorted out we headed to the hotel and I met the two new girls who were joining our group as two of the other girls flew home today which was sad! I’m actually sharing a room with one of them- Emma, so we had a quick chat before heading out for a group dinner and then an early night.

    Day 23

    Setting off at 8am we climbed into a mini van to take us around the main sites of Vientiane which is the capital of Laos! I have to say it doesn’t feel like a capital city at all and Laos so far is exactly what I expected. After studying it in a level geography I knew it wouldn’t be massively developed and VERY different from Vietnam which so far has definitely been the case.

    We first visited the “Buddha park” which is an area with hundreds on status of Buddha which was really interesting and fun to walk around. It’s fascinating in Laos there is a differnt form of Buddhism that has influences of Hinduism attached to this and you can see this in some of the status as Buddha isn’t pictured in his classic style or pose!

    We then headed to Pha That Luang temple which is a painted gold temple but what was actually more impressive was a different temple in the complex which had a completely painted ceiling with stories of Buddhism it was stunning!

    We then quickly visited the victory arch which was built after the “secret war” in Laos and then the COPE museum which was exposing the reality of the lasting effects of the war. So for those who don’t know, the US bombed Laos due to the Ho chi minh trail which was through the mountains and jungle of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia and was under the control of the Vietnamese communist party which they used to transport weapons and supplies. The US used cluster bombs which split in midair into lots of smaller bombs, the problem is that around 15-30% don’t explode on impact. Laos has had hundreds of thousands of bombs dropped and many didn’t explode. To this day there are still many that haven’t been detonated. They often go off when a farmer accidnelty hits one, a stove can set one off, young children playing with them because they don’t know what they are and many more. So it was definitely an insightful museum but hard to read as the victims are always rising.

    We then headed back to the hotel to check out and get back onto the bus to travel to Vang Vieng which is about 2 hours away then went straight out on a hike. It was more like rock climbing we literally had to scramble up I was not very happy about this! It was beautiful though!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 24-26

    2. juli 2024, Laos ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Day 24

    Today our activity was the adrenaline bundle and I can definitely say it lived up to its name! Climbing into a kayak and kayaking 10km through rapids and currents and almost capsizing more times than I can count definitely raised my heart rate! Despite the stress of trying to not capsize it was really lovely to meander down the river seeing local people swimming and carrying out their everyday lives on the river!

    After an exhausting kayak we then jumped into a rubber ring and using a rope pulled ourselves through a water cave and then clambered out. It was really fun despite the cave roof being very low at times!

    Our last stop on this epic tour was just a quick swimming spot as you would not want to swim in the river with it being that colour! Before heading back for a relaxing afternoon!

    Day 25

    The 1st of July- my 19th birthday! Sadly I woke up feeling really ill with an awful head cold and cough. With a 7 hour journey to Luang Prabang ahead of us I wasn’t feeling the happiest! Luckily the bus was air conned so it was easy to relax. Our guide told us that we were on the main national highway in Laos and I couldn’t believe it! A dirt track road ridden with pot holes with stray chicken and dogs running around it definitely didn’t feel like the M6!

    After a very bumpy ride we arrived at the hostel and feeling really ill I bailed out of the hike in order to rest before rejoining the group for a dinner. It was so sweet they all got me a card and signed it and also got me a cake and sang happy birthday! Such a kind gesture! We then wandered through the night market where I picked up a little handbag and a matching bracelet with two of the other girls before getting an early nights sleep!

    Day 26

    Having got no sleep due to feeling very unwell when the alarm went off at 4am it was quite a shock to the system. We went to give alms to the local monks which is basically the monks aren’t allowed to cook so they rely on the food given to them by the local people! So they came past in their robes and we put rice sachets into their basket. It felt a little bit awkward actually as you’re not sure if you should say anything or not!

    We then headed back for a quick Power Nap before jumping in the back on a pic up truck to take us an hour or so to a waterfall. After a 15 minute walk to the waterfall my lungs were burning as I’m still not feeling very well so I was very grateful to go for a swim and it was freezing!

    There were also little fish who come and nibble on you so you have to keep moving or they will come and get you!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 27-28

    4. juli 2024 ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Day 27

    After having to go to the hospital last night when I started struggling to breathe I discovered I have a chest infection- bronchitis so that put a bit of a dampener on the day! The hospital experience itself was surreal, arriving in the back of a pickup truck to what looked like someone’s backyard definitely wasn’t the most reassuring! Luckily once I was seen to I felt at ease as my group leader translated for me and I got some anti biotics and a herbal tea to help me!

    This morning we were meant to be starting our two day boat trip down the Mekong river back into Thailand staying at a very remote homestay along the way. However, when Lee explained that there was no power, no running water, and was only accessible by boat with the nearest health care being a 3 hour boat trip away I had to make the call that this wasn’t sensible for my health. Fortunately for me (but not for him) another member of the group also has the same chest infection as me and together we took a speedboat to the nearest city to the homestay which cost a fortune and checked into the room to spend the day resting.

    You would think that for $100 each the speed boat would be pretty luxurious- you couldn’t get more wrong! With no over head cover we quickly got soaked in the pouring rain through our rain jackets and I was regretting my decision until it stopped raining and I dried off and life improved a little!

    We grabbed some food and got an ealry night to rest up and try recover a little!

    Day 28

    Getting up at 6am to rejoin the group on the boat we headed down to the pier and clambered on. I’m not really feeling any better today but I’m not feeling worse for the first day so far so that’s a positive to me!

    10 hours on a slow boat feels like 10 hours when you’re ill but luckily I was in good company and it passed soon enough! Also the family who were taking us had a young daughter who massively took to me and would not leave me alone, to the point that I had to nap with her in my lap!

    Arriving near the Laos/thailand border we went through all the various check points very quickly before arriving at our hotel for a quiet night before another long travel day tomorrow!    Les mer

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  • Kristyna CollinsSouth East AsiaReisende

    Day 29-31

    7. juli 2024, Thailand ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    Day 29

    Today we travelled to Chiang Mai which is further south in Thailand. The drive took us around 7 hours but we stopped half way to visit the white temple in Chiang Rai which was absolutely stunning.

    The main temple depicts the journey from hell- with the masses of hands reaching out trying to escape to heaven which is inside the actual temple. A really beautifully haunting depiction!

    This evening we then headed to go see a Muay Thai boxing tournament which was actually a lot of fun and not what I expected at all. In the middle of the night market there’s a pop up stadium where they fight and there was always a Thai guy in a match but we had people from France, USA, and UK fighting too!

    Day 30

    After still not feeling any better I went back to the hospital but this time it felt like an actual hospital! They took my height, weight, blood pressure, temperature all the things they should normally take!

    After another x ray the doctor confirmed that he thinks it is bronchitis but that the actual infection is now gone and it’s just the lasting effects. The sad news is that he said it will take up to a month for me to recover. There is also an outbreak of the flu and covid in south east Asia at the moment and the doctor said that if I catch it my risks are much higher and the likely hood of me needing medical attention is quite severe. After a lot of thought I’ve made the decision to come back early. I’m meant to have another 2 weeks in Thailand but I feel I’m putting myself in harms way too much and after being ill for almost 2 weeks now and putting on a brave face without much improvement I’m exhausted and it’s the right call to come home. Of course I’m utterly gutted and there have been many tears but I’ll just have to come back another time! I’ve been incredibly fortunate to have an amazing gap year I just couldn’t quite have it all and it’s not worth risking my health over!

    To top off a crap day the rest of the group left today so I had to say goodbye to all the really great friends I’ve made on the trip which was super hard, but I’m very lucky that I have something that is so hard to say goodbye to!

    Day 31

    With my flight being tomorrow I just took today at a very slow pace sitting by the pool for a few hours and exploring the markets for an hour or so in the later evening to give myself time to rest and try work up a bit of energy for the long journey home tomorrow!    Les mer

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    Reisens slutt
    9. juli 2024
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