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Nairo2Rio - Around The WorldNairo2Rio - Around The World
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Nairo2Rio - Around The World

10月 2023 - 5月 2024
Solo backpacking the world, visiting 6 continents and 20+ countries over the next 16 months もっと詳しく
現在旅行中
+3
  • 62足跡
  • 11国
  • 231日間
  • 579写真
  • 39動画
  • 53.1千キロ
  • 31.9千キロ
  • 24キロ
フォローする カレンダー 共有 死ぬまでにやっておきたいことリスト
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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    1
    112
    日45

    Exploring The Famous Angkor Wat

    2023年11月27日, カンボジア ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After spending a few days in Siem Reap, it was time to explore the huge temple complex with the temple of Angkor Wat as its most famous highlight.

    6 of us hired a TukTuk driver/guide for 2 days of exploring. The first day, we opted for the sunset tour, which entails 5-6 temples in the so-called big circle (Angkor Wat itself was the next day). First of all, 6 people in a TukTuk is a challenge, esp in 30 degrees, but it worked. The guide even supplied us with water and cold towels.

    Anyway, the big circle was the perfect start into the world of Angkor Wat's temple complex, as the temples are generally a lot less busy and sometimes we even had some temples almost to ourselves. We learned a lot from the guide about the history of Cambodian's Golden Age (9th-12th century), how diamonds were used to light up parts of the temples, the way kings displayed their power, the end of Cambodia's glory, how stories were told by impressive stone carvings into the side of temples and just to get a general sense of what life could have been like back then. Unfortunately, we could not quite get to the sunset point, so opted for a little hill at one of the old entry gates instead - which still kinda worked.

    The next day, we woke up super early (3.30am) to watch the sunrise over the famous Angkor Wat temple. We were indeed the first ones in the park, but since the sun does not rise before 5.30am it was a painful wait. The reflection of Angkor Wat in the opposite pond while the sun rose, made up for it, though. Afterwards, we went inside the temple and explored the various levels, heard about the multiple wars and how Hinduism and Buddism sometimes co-existed and sometimes were at odds in the country.

    After that, 2 people in our group had to catch a bus and 2 other people gave up due to tiredness, which left me and Andrea, who I had met on the bus from Bangkok to Battambang and been travelling since. Over the next 4h we visted three more temples, one almost more impressive than the other. The two notable ones were Ta Prohm and Bayon. Ta Prohm is famous for its setting in the first Lara Croft: Tomb Raider movie and for trees growing over the temple - an impressive sight indeed. Bayon is known for its rich decoration and over 50 little temple tops.

    Post visiting the Bayon temple, we were very exhausted, but super happy and fascinated by what we have seen over the last two days. Memories that will most certainly last a lifetime.    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    日46

    The Water Festival - A Big 3-Day Party

    2023年11月28日, カンボジア

    I was lucky. During my stay in Siem Reap, it was Cambodia's annual Water Festival, (Bom Om Touk), which marks the end of the rainy season and the victory over the Champa Kingdom in a boat battle on the Tonle Sap Lake (see floating villages post) in 1181.

    Anyway, the Water Festival runs over three days and is filled with all sorts of water-based activities, starting from countless boat races on the river to cycling above water, over-water boxing, and a big foam party every evening that is supplemented by additional water coming from a fire truck's hose.

    And one thing I have to say: the Cambodians can party! The music starts early in the morning and lasts until midnight for three days straight and the dance floor is always packed (kids midday/afternoon and teenagers/adults in the evening).

    A few travel buddies from the hostel, two locals that I met the day earlier and I opted to check out the boat races and walked through the streets that were lined with activities, street food stalls, colourful flags and kids having their fun with the water. In the evening, we went to Vanna's bar - the Cambodian I met the day before - before visiting a drag show at a local bar.

    The next evening, I opted to buy a flower candle and float it on the river for good wishes, before Vanna and I watched the midnight fireworks together.

    It was a really great experience to be in Siem Reap during the water festival - even if that meant the city was really busy. Never seen so many scooters. On my last day in Siem Reap, the festival was over and the city rather quite... a nice change in atmosphere and a more realistic picture of what Siem Reap is like 95% of the time.    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    1
    日48–53

    Off The Beaten Path - Eastern Cambodia

    2023年11月30日, カンボジア ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    For the next few days, Andrea and I left the tourist spots behind us and instead traveled into the remote areas of Eastern Cambodia. We had little idea how to plan, book or organise trips, as not much information was available online - a sign that tourism has yet to make its way to this part of the country.

    Anyway, once we got off the bus, we quickly found accommodation and booked a tour that brought us into the gem mine area, a lake, waterfalls and a hill to watch the sunset from. In particular the gem mine area was eye-opening, as the miners dig their holes (up to 12 meters deep) with sticks, shovels and some makeshift mechanical threat to get the dirt out. It is some dirty, tiresome and dangerous work (no safety rope or anything when going down) and apparently they only earn $1.25-2.5 per day on average (obv more if they find a big stone). After the mine area, we relaxed by a lake for a short while before finishing the day watching a beautiful sunset over green and rural Cambodia.

    The next two days were the main reason, we traveled east. We booked an overnight jungle trek with a homestay. While the trek itself was largely okay (interesting bits were river crossings, improvised bridges and some cool waterfalls), the guides we had and the homestay was what was so fascinating - on top of a perfect opportunity for star-gazing and sleeping in a hammock.

    Not just to see and learn about the daily life of the people who live here, but the interactions with them were incredible - for example, our guide used to be a child soldier for the Khmer Rouge and his stories about being forced out of their homes into the jungle, having nothing/little to eat and shooting everyone that passes a particular road on the way to Saigon was shocking, but provided an insight into what people here had to go through during the Khmer Rouge. We also met a local who was very proud to have met Gordon Ramsey and showed him how to make a traditional Bunong (local tribe) wedding meal.

    On the last day, we headed to Kratie, to see one of the six last remaining species of river dolphins during sunset. These Irrawaddy dolphins are some funny-looking creatures and provided the perfect end to our little adventure into eastern Cambodia.

    To sum it up, it is the people we met and talked to that made this little detour so valuable to me - it provided a glimpse into the country that many other travelers do not get.    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    日55

    Phnom Penh - Cambodia’s Very Dark Past

    2023年12月7日, カンボジア ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    My next stop was the capital, Phnom Penh, with the main purpose to learn more about Cambodia's dark days during the Khmer Rouge regime between 1975-1979, in which 1.5m-2m people - almost 25% of the population - were killed by the regime.

    Khmer Rouge’s ideology was to create a communist agricultural system, in which everyone that was not a farmer or handyman or useful to the regime's goal (i.e. artists, intellectuals, teachers, or anyone just wearing glasses, etc) was tortured and murdered. In particular torture was a popular method during this genocide and even kids and babies were not sparred from the sick ideology.

    Anyway, in Phnom Penh, I visited two places that are infamous for what the Khmer Rouge did - the S21 prison and the Killing Fields.

    The tour started with a visit to the S21 prison, a former school, which was repurposed to torture people into confessing (a lot did not even know why they were imprisoned) under the harshest circumstances (not making a noise during torture or it continues, prevention of prisoners committing suicide so that they can be tortured even more, etc). Those that confess (or do not) were then brought to the nearby killing fields for execution. S21 had a total of between 14,000 to 17,000 prisoners, of which only 12 survived!

    Some of the methods were just unbelievably inhumane (cutting holes in multiple prisoners hands and put a rope through them to prevent escape/suicide or cutting their throats with a bamboo as bullets were too expensive).

    The by far most shocking and horrifying method I saw, however, was how innocent babies and children were killed. At the Killing Fields there is a tree from which now lots of colourful bracelets hang - the killing tree, where babies and small children were taken by their legs, swung with their heads smashing against the tree - I mean, how can human-beings do anything like that. How sick!

    It is difficult to put into words the feelings I had during those visits, but they are important - however uncomfortable they are.

    Horrible things like this should never be forgotten in history and always remembered as a stark warning to future generations - unfortunately, things do repeat as I have seen in Rwanda's genocide that came 20 years after Cambodia's. That should be enough of genocides for this trip, I hope!

    After such an emotional half day, it was time to process everything and have a quiet day at the hostel before heading to the beautiful island of Koh Rong the next day for some chill and relax time.    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    1
    1
    日56–63

    Koh Rong (Sanloem) - Island Life

    2023年12月8日, カンボジア

    After pretty busy three weeks in Cambodia (Battambang, Angkor Wat, jungle trekking, dolphin watching, genocide memorial), it was finally time to slow things down and enjoy some island life.

    The islands of Koh Rong and Koh Rong Sanloem are a perfect location for it - apparently Cambodia's answer to Thailand's beautiful beaches.

    I visited Koh Rong first as it has the (in)famous Nestival on Saturdays - basically a big beach party that starts with drinking games at 3pm and runs until deep into the night. It was good fun, but probably not really my scene in terms of the music. After Nestival I spent a few days lazing on the beach and soaking up the sun before it was time to change islands to Koh Rong Sanloem, which is much more chilled out.

    And that is what I did. Waking up, going to a makeshift gym (weights are actual stones), reading, doing some life admin, sun lounging and tanning was on the agenda. Beach BBQs at night, where you can choose the fish, crab or prawn that you want BBQ'd also added a nice touch.

    On the last day of the island, it was time to get a bit more 'active' and I signed up for a boat trip that included snorkeling in the clear water, fishing (we caught five small fish), watching the sunset and having a small BBQ on the boat.

    However, the highlight was jumping into the water when it was dark (bit scary to be honest), turning off the ship's lights and swimming with glowing planktons in the water. When moving, the planktons start glowing and it genuinely felt like Christmas under water, while, when looking up, you had a clear view of the stars. It felt really magical and was a perfect end to my week on the two islands.    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    1
    日64–65

    Kampot - World‘s Best Pepper

    2023年12月16日, カンボジア ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    The last stop on my journey through Cambodia was Kampot. It is famous for its pepper, which is voted #1 in the world. So the obvious activity I did on my first day was to visit a pepper plantation.

    We headed to the pepper farm, 'La Plantation', where we got a free tour around the farm with all sorts of information on the different colours of the pepper (green, black, red and white), its characteristics in terms of taste and growth, the harvest process, etc. Last but not least, we had the opportunity for some pepper tasting - I have to admit, there is indeed quite a surprising difference between the peppers (colours) - from smoke-y to lemon-y. With this much pepper tasting, my whole mouth was filled with a spicy pepper taste for at least 1h. I definitely had to drink quite a bit of water.

    The half-day tour also included stops in a pitch-black cave that involved some scrambling and climbing, a short visit to the salt fields and ended with a stop at the crab market in nearby Kep. To finish off the day, we headed back to our hostel for an afternoon of tanning, relaxing and reading by the pool.

    On the second day, I hopped on another tour to visit Bokor Hill, which is the second biggest mountain in Cambodia and c. 1.5h away from Kampot. The main purpose of the half-day trip was to visit an abandoned French village and hilltop station at the top. It was quite a fun day exploring an abandoned church, temple and hotel. For a late lunch, we also stopped at a waterfall, before heading back and doing the same as the day before - tanning, relaxing and reading by the pool. In the evening, some of the people I met on the two tours (mostly French) and I headed to the night market for dinner.

    That day concluded my trip through Cambodia and I can honestly say that the country has positively surprised me - not just the people (next post), but also the diversity of things to do and see (i.e. Angkor Wat, bats in Battambang, floating villages, gem mine area, jungle trekking, its dark history, beautiful islands and world’s best pepper).

    Next stop: Vietnam    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    日66

    Byebye Cambodia - People’s Way Of Life

    2023年12月18日, カンボジア ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Having spent 1 month in Cambodia, it was time to say goodbye to the country and its people. It was especially the people that made my time here incredible. I did not have many expectations coming here apart from wanting to see the highlights, in particular Angkor Wat, and learn about its dark history.

    Instead, the people blew me away - from the super friendly TukTuk driver in Battambang, the guys who took me fishing in Siem Reap with their family and friends, the woman who owns a bar (and multiple other businesses) and showed me the hard-working nature of Cambodias, the street food vendors who told me about their revenue and costs, the TukTuk driver/guide who led us around Angkor War all the way to the guide with whom we went trekking in jungle in east Cambodia and who was forced to serve as a child soldier (8-11 years old) during the Khmer Rouge regime.

    So, this is what I have learned about Cambodian's and their way of life during my time here:
    - A street food vendor in Siem Reap earns c.$30 per day on average, of which $1 goes to the police as a 'location fee'
    - If a TukTuk driver has no clients in a day, he literally earns nothing that day. Nada.
    - There is no weekend or days off for the great majority of the people esp street vendors and TukTuk drivers
    - Rent in Siem Reap for a probably okay-ish 1-bed flat is like $200 per month
    - Paying taxes for services paid in cash is basically non-existent
    - There is no pension. People rely on kids to help them out when they grow old. Shows the much more important role of kids vs western society.
    - Kids start driving scooters from as young as 7 or 8 years old. No helmet.
    - Gem miners earn on average $1.25-$2.50 per day, depending on the size of the stones/gems they find
    - There is not really any awareness of the damage plastic causes the environment (most of the time it is burned)
    - In rural Cambodia, collecting 1kg of cans is compensated with $1.25, while 10kg of plastic only with $0.25
    - You can pay in USD and Cambodian Riel - or a combination of the two. You might also get back a combination of the two.
    - I have not seen or used a knife for 1 month since everything is eaten with a fork, spoon or chopsticks.    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    日67–68

    Hello Vietnam - First stop: Saigon

    2023年12月19日, ベトナム ⋅ ☁️ 33 °C

    After Cambodia, the next stop on my travels was Vietnam - or more specifically, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), formerly known as Saigon. I stayed three full days there: one day to go to the Cu Chi Tunnels, one day to explore the city/war museum and one day to see the Mekong Delta.

    The first thing to note is that HCMC is organised chaos. 13m people, but 9m scooter made almost every street crossing an adventure and near-death experience. The trick was to literally not stop walking, as the scooters navigated around me. Difficult to explain, but it worked!

    Anyway, back to the things I did. I started with the historical part - i.e. a visit to the war museum and the Cu Chi tunnels to learn about the Vietnam War, its timeline, the atrocities committed and how the less well-equipped North Vietnam (i.e. Viet Cong) managed to win the war against the much better equipped US and the South.

    The museum and the Cu Chi tunnels are super interesting and informative and bring alive some of the conditions that the Viet Cong had to endure in their attempt to win against the US/South. In particular the museum and the section on the effects of gas such as Napalm and Agent Orange on civilians is shocking and it features prominently in the museum (as it should, in my opinion, as to avoid such things in the future... in theory).

    The Cu Chi Tunnels were a half-day trip from HCMC. While the premise of the visit is terrible, it was fascinating to see with what simple methods the Viet Cong fought the US/South and what conditions they had to endure to not be detected in the tiny tunnels.
    When we had the chance to crawl through some sections of the tunnels (dark, hot, humid), we could experience those conditions first hand. We were only there for a few minutes and it was exhausting, while the Viet Cong spend weeks down there - incredible.

    With that, I hope that this will be the last time I am confronted with unbelievably inhuman, and horrific atrocities against humanity - after all, on this trip I have already visited the Genocide museum in Rwanda, the S-21 prison and Killing Fields in Phonm Penh and now the War Museum and Cu Chi Tunnels in Vietnam. It is enough now!

    On happier news: the food here is amazing. Banh Mi Bay, Pho, Bun thit nuang, and many more.    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    11
    日69

    A Daytrip To The Mekong Delta

    2023年12月21日, ベトナム ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    On my last day in HCMC, I booked a day tour to explore and see what life is like on the Mekong Delta. As it turned out, I had the exact same amazing tour guide that I did for the Cu Chi Tunnels - her name is My but her English name is Karl (people in Asia often have their real name and then an English version).

    Anyway, we set off at 8am in the morning for a 1.5h drive into the delta. The delta is of course huge and the section we went to, called My Tho, had four islands, of which we visited a few, starting with Unicorn Island.

    The highlights of the tour for me were sitting low in a small boat while paddling through small waterways and after lunch taking some bikes and cycling around another island for a little bit.

    Next to a few other 'activities', we had a little fun and impromptu Karaoke session on the boat back to the mainland before finishing the tour with a visit to the impressive Vinh Trang pagoda in Mekong City.

    It was a fun little trip out of Ho Chi Minh City and I really enjoyed the day. However, I did not really experience or get an idea of what life in the Mekong Delta looks like. The tour felt pretty 'off-the-shelf' and had quite a few stops with the main aim of selling things to us (i.e. various honey-based products, coconut candy, rice wine, etc). The products may all be organically made in the Mekong Delta, but it felt a bit strange and not like the Mekong Delta tour that I imagined.

    So would I do the tour again or recommend it? Not really. While I had a great time with the group and especially My was awesome, it felt very touristy and I am none the wiser of what life on the Mekong looks like. It is probably much better to do an overnight homestay in the Mekong to really get a good and valuable insight.    もっと詳しく

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  • 旅行者Nairo2Rio - Around The World
    1
    日70–74

    Mui Ne - A Merry Beachy Christmas

    2023年12月22日, ベトナム ⋅ 🌬 28 °C

    After the bustling megacity of Saigon, it was time to hit Mui Ne on the coast and make a strange dream come true: spending a Christmas on a beach. While Mui Ne does not have the nicest beaches in the world (in fact, they are quite average), it still counts in my view.

    In Mui Ne, I also met up with Amy, who I met in Antigua (Guatemala) last year and with whom I will be traveling through Vietnam for the next 5 weeks.

    On our first day, we did what everyone comes to Mui Ne to do: visiting the big sand dunes by jeep and ATV - yes, Vietnam has big sand dunes. We were picked up in a light blue jeep, but first driven to a little stream that we walked in followed by a little photo session on the jeep - literally.

    Afterwards, it was time to see the dunes and, oh my, they did not disappoint. We hopped on an ATV and raced through the sand dunes up to the highest point for a stunning view. We spent a bit of time there to soak up the atmosphere and views, before hopping back on the ATV and racing down the sand dunes - and jeeeeez... it felt like a rollercoaster as one sand dune almost felt like a vertical drop. It was pure fun!

    The next day it was Christmas Eve. We spent most of our day lazing on the beach, before heading back, getting ready and driving to a beach club. Once arrived, we stumbled into an open birthday party, with free food, free cake, free shots and a big party. Maybe not the calm Christmas atmosphere we were expecting, but we had a great time partying on Christmas Eve - it is Jesus' birthday after all, so might as well celebrate with a bang.

    On Christmas Day, we went back to the same beach club and enjoyed the day in 34 degrees sun with blue skies, warm waters and a beautiful sunset.

    We spent a total of three days in Mui Ne, which might be 1-2 day too long, as there is not a lot to do (apart from the dunes), but Christmas on a beach was definitely an experience I will never forget.    もっと詳しく

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