From Cambodia to Vietnam

Time for a blog update, wohoo. Time is going so damn fast now (I mean, already close to a month already in Asia alone and only a month left before we go home, eh, what?!). A quick Cambodia summary:

• Visited the Killing fields and Tuol Sleng prison in Phnom Penh which was incredible heavy. Did not take any pictures while there, it just did not feel right. We were both deeply affected by our visit. A powerful visit, hard to describe it differently. You will learn a lot about Pol Pot’s regime and the Red Khmers thanks to the well-organized audio tours. Phnom Penh in general is a nice city, if not a bit chaotic and not-so-very-charming if you are only visiting for a few days, but has a big expat community.

• Managed to offend two young Cambodian girls in Sihanoukville due to a misunderstanding, resulting in me feeling like a proper horrible human being and later crying my eyes off.

• Visited the paradise island Koh Rong, popular among both tourists and mosquitos! Still not “too” popular among westerners, therefore rather unspoiled. But there are plans to build an airport there (noooo) so it is just a matter of time before it will turn in to Cambodia’s version of Thailand’s Ko Samui.

• When returning to Sihanoukville Erik and I managed to get food poising on the exact same moment, completely beating us down for three full days (and revealing a whole new challenge in trying to preserve the romance in our relationship).

All in all, an impressive visit in Cambodia, with a lot of beauty and challenges. We have been in Vietnam for almost a week now, and I have to say that this country makes my heart skip an extra beat. I can’t really put my finger on what is so incredible with this country (bearing in mind we have only visited Saigon, Mui Ne and Da Lat so far), but it is very beautiful, more green and lush comparing to Cambodia and also more developed in the urban areas. 

Unfortunately there seems to be no way for me to escape it- we will most probably do a lot of scootering here as well (to Erik’s delight!). Might be a bit dangerous, but it’s the cheapest and most fun way to get around in a city and around.

I also cant believe we will be going home in a month. I have a lot of mixed emotions right now. Sometimes (especially when sick in food poising) I get proper homesick, but then for Sweden and my family (and the Swedish fooooood) and not for the everyday life in Amsterdam. On the other hand I quiver by the thought of coming back. Everything will be the same for everyone else and with work, not much have changed while everything has changed for me. I am not saying that I have seen the light or something during this trip, dont be silly. Of course you are the same person, but as with so many other people I think that Erik and I will forever suffer from the famous travel bug, feeling like we will never feel “rooted” anywhere if you know what I mean…So what now? Am I just supposed to start working and actually care about a random office career? I just want to fill my days with taking care of animals, surrounded with gorgeous nature, living a stress-free life while sipping on a lot of wine. It doesn’t have to be more complicated than that ;)

Four more weeks to go and we’re going to try to enjoy every second of it!

Taking a Tuk Tuk to the Killing Fields in pouring rain, cosy!

A cosy time by the beach at Sihanoukville...we thought! (oh how naive!)

Phnom Penh

Following pictures are taken in Koh Rong...paradise!

First time I witnessed a halo around the sun!

 A paradise island also for the mosquitos, aoch!

Accomodation was a step up in Saigon!

Love the colourful crazyness in Saigon/HCMC!

First Vietnamese meal (fail though!)

Lovely rooftop bar in Saigon

Ce chi tunnels (Erik looks a bit too happy, haha)

Rain season! 20 min of pooooouring rain every day :) Afterwards the air is breatheable again

War reminant museum in Saigon

So many well taken care of puppies everywhere <3

Filling up the petrol in a typical little local station