Monthly Archives: July 2015
Chi Phat- Community Based Eco Tourism
After leaving the busyness of Phomn Penh, we headed south via bus (with actual westerners on- we’ve seen none on buses so far.) Around 4 hours later, we were dropped off in a tiny village, in the pouring rain (with said westerners all looking at us like we were idiots.) Almost immediately, a man shoved a sign in my face with my name on it. Yippee! Off we went through the mud and rain to a fishing boat for a beautiful yet wet 2 1/2 hour journey up the Mekong.
We arrived at a tiny jetty and with some vague directions from the boat driver (pointing up a hill,) we went in search of a centre of the village of Chi Phat, a small village in the Cardamon mountains. Here they welcome visitors to come and experience traditional Cambodian village life, whilst supporting the local economy. Everything you spend in Chi Phat goes directly to the community so that they can support themselves. We opted for a bungalow, at a hefty $10 per night. And that’s considered expensive here. Homestays are just $3- but with mine and Sam’s hatred of squat toilets we decided to splash out.
The village itself is pretty amazing- there’s so much biodiversity and the surroundings are spectacular. We thought about doing a jungle trek (calm down mum, we didn’t) but it’s been raining a lot and we just didn’t fancy trekking 25km soaking wet. We’ve read about people that have come down here for 2 nights and ended up staying 3 weeks- it’s not hard to see why.
I think 3 nights for me is enough though, especially after finding Joshua (why not,) the world’s largest spider (in my mind anyway) in the bathroom. I’ve tried, I really have, but I just can’t get over their legs. I keep peeking inside the hut, wondering when he’s going to next appear.
As it’s low season, it’s very quiet- which has its pluses and minuses. We went to deserted rapids and a waterfall and walked back through the village that’s littered with cows just chilling in waterholes at the side of the road. I succeeded in convincing Sam that kayaking with me would be great idea (did he learn nothing from our ‘amazing’ kayak experience in Langkawi?) It was indeed great, although we have cemented the fact that we cannot kayak together. Not in the same boat anyway.
The food has been amazing. It’s traditional Khmer food and so not something either of us would normally try but so glad we have. To be honest, at $2 a meal we’d probably eat most things.
One thing I’ve learnt about myself already: I really really don’t like only having 4 outfits to wear.
One thing I’ve learnt about Sam: He overpacks. Massively. How have I never realised this before? Who needs that many t shirts? Why would someone need 5 Apple chargers?
Week 2: Cambodia
Somehow it’s only been two weeks since we started our adventure. It feels like we’ve packed so much into our time whilst also still being very relaxed; a nice combination of running around and chilling.
During my last post we’d just arrived at our open shack near Can Tho. We did a floating market tour of Can Be (the largest floating market in Vietnam) and the nearby land market where we got to try some new Vietnamese food: Bird’s ear (not actually made from bird, a deep fried sweet desert type thing) and beefcake (again no meat; sticky rice based cake). We also got to try some fruit that I’ve never seen before which tasted like Lychee.
After saying goodbye to the 5 cats, 2 dogs and Bacon the pig we headed up to Chau Doc, a border town between Vietnam and Cambodia. Having heard in advance that the town was a bit of a dump (it was) we headed slightly out onto the sacred Nui Sam mountain, which towered over the rest of town which was completely flat. Despite the dull weather the views were absolutely stunning, with Cambodia visible in the background and the farmers burning the excess organic material near by, fields of freshly planted rice in yellow and ready to harvest fields in green. Being low season there were only 5 or 6 people in the entire resort, which whilst eerily quiet allowed us near exclusive access to the pool.
We then moved onto Cambodia via speedboat. Not as glamorous as it sounds, as they’d overbooked the boat so we didn’t have a proper seat indoors but had to go onto the wooden benches out back for 5 hours. I’m glad we did though as we got to see life on the Mekong as we travelled between the countries, and my amazing travel cushion made the journey bearable.
The border itself has to be one of the laxest attempts at security I’ve ever seen. The waiting area was a big garden, there were no queues or immigration areas. People just mulled around whilst the guide acquired our visas and our passports got stamped. It would be very easy to get past if you were so inclined!
Eventually we arrived in Phnom Penh, which was nothing like we expected; The internet had sold us stories of it being a recovering city, and we were expecting something even more run down that Ho Chi Minh. We were very wrong; Phnom Penh is more like Bangkok than anything else, and is highly internationalised. Restaurants of all different kinds of cuisine (including Mexican, which was a nice treat), tons of fancy shopping and guesthouses, pavements which were walkable and an amazing waterfront make this into a true cosmopolitan city.
The only problem was that it is much more expensive than we imagined. It was so hot that you couldn’t walk around, and the only transport option is tuk tuk; There were no public busses we could see. Each trip comes to $2 or $3 which quickly adds up over a day. Whilst food can be cheap (we got a curry and pad thai for $1.5 each at the night market) it can also get western-pricey, which resulted in us breaking our budget on a couple of days.
Interesting aside; The currency here is bizarre. For transactions over $1, US dollars are generally used. For anything under, the local currency “Riel” is used at a conversion of 4000R to 1 USD. You need to be quick at maths to ensure that you’re not getting ripped off by the tuk tuk drivers!
Mid way through our stay we decided to go on a bicycle tour to the Killing Fields and Mekong Islands. Less than 40 years ago Cambodia suffered a Genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge with millions of the population killed, often at one of the hundreds of “Killing Fields” around the country. The largest is located 15km south of PP, and was a truly harrowing experience. In a central monument they have placed thousands of excavated skulls, arranged by age, along with the weapons used to kill them; bullets were too expensive so executions were normally done with hand weapons like bats or much worse. Whilst I’m glad we went, there is something deeply unsettling about walking atop human remains. The government has left a number of the mass graves unexcavated as a reminder, and with each rain more bones and fragments of clothes exposes on the surface.
The day cheered up a bit from then. We cycled back to PP and onto a Ferry to one of the many islands adjacent to the city. The juxtaposition is startling; looking over the water you can see skyscrapers and a modern city, all whilst standing on a dirt track next to metal shack. We then embarked on an epic tour of the islands that, by the time we arrived at the hotel, meant we’d clocked over 70km of cycling. Laura cycles at the gym so found it easy, whereas I was a broken man but pleased to have completed it. If you’re ever in PP, we highly recommend you use Phnom Penh Bicycles. The owner Thong was our guide and it’s amazing the work he’s done setting the company up from scratch. He used to cycle 15km a day to the American embassy to use the free internet to teach himself English, and he’s then been teaching himself business and has set up a really professional outfit. He was exceptionally personable and the whole tour was one of the highlights of our trip.
We learnt how hand made silk is created. It’s impressive and laborious!
Which brings us to today. We decided to try to go somewhere a bit more remote, which we have thoroughly achieved. We are at Chi Phat, an eco-village located in southern Cambodia. To get here, we had to get a bus to the middle of nowhere to then get a 2.5 hour boat down the Mekong. It’s a beautiful place, and really cheap (dinner is $3.50, accommodate is $3-$10), and with lots of excursion to waterfalls, bat caves and see other local flora and fauna. There’s just one problem.
It’s raining. Really raining. Monsoon raining. It’s day 2, and other than a brief lull this morning, it’s been non stop.
If it stops, we’ll hopefully put some nice photos of waterfalls up. If not, then there’ll be photos of us looking wet and sad. At least the beer is $0.75 a can!
Only 10 days?
Laura:
It honestly feels like we’ve been away for month, not 10 days. We’ve already seen so much and experienced a side to Vietnam I really didn’t think we would be able to. We’ve met quite a few people who seem to have been rushing from one place to another, eager to get to the next place but I’m glad we’ve taken it (the teeny bit of Vietnam we’ve seen) slowly because it’s allowed us time to take everything in and has made it much more enjoyable.
Although I enjoyed Ho Chi Minh, I’ve found the Mekong region to be much more interesting and would encourage anyone to come here, regardless of how much time they’ve got. The slow pace of life here really appeals to both of us and we have loved how relaxed it all is. All three places that we’ve been to have been well out of the towns that we were dropped in and it was definitely worth the extra time taken to reach them. Each one has required several transport swaps and trying to communicate to people who speak very little English by pointing to a map. No disasters so far though!
Yesterday we arrived in Chau Doc, on the border of Vietnam and Cambodia, and immediately left the town, which seems kind of so so, to travel up to the top of the sacred Sam Mountain (take a wild guess at who this place appealed to.) We are staying in a beautiful lodge, with amazing views stretching well into Cambodia.
This morning, we went on a fantastic bike ride down to the base of the mountain, around it and then back up to the lodge. We then walked upto a shrine at the very tip of the mountain and saw the most breathtaking views. Tomorrow we take the boat for 4 hours up the Mekong, across the border into Cambodia, to Phnom Penh. Very excited.
My highlights from Vietnam:
- Xe Om (literally translated means big hug)- motorbike taxis. So fun.
- Floating markets on the Mekong- if you have time, spend a few mornings doing them.
- Amazing food. Nom nom nom.
- Vietnamese coffee- despite giving up tea and coffee (or attempting to) in January, the sheer deliciousness of the coffee here has tempted me back. Who knew condensed milk could work so well?
- Stunning homestays and hotels tucked away out of towns and cities.
- Where we’ve been going, very few tourists.
The only downsides:
- Didn’t see enough. We could’ve easily done the whole 7 weeks here. We met an Irish family who adopted a Vietnamese baby 6 years ago and have come back every Summer since- each time they do 4 weeks in a different part of Vietnam. They think they’ve got another 2/3 trips before they see all they want to see- that’s how awesome this country is.
- Bloody mosquitos. Everywhere.
One Week into the adventure
Sam:
It’s insane that we’ve only been gone a week. Already feels much longer (which is no bad thing). Our first week of travelling has been split into two distinct sections; the utter craziness of Ho Chi Minh City and the tranquil relaxation of the Mekong Delta.
We flew straight into HCMC from Hong Kong (our flight was at three, and Laura only finished work at 12). We landed just as it was going dark and hopped into a cab having sorted out sim cards- £6 for calls and unlimited data. Incredible value and very useful as even in rural Vietnam the data works (as shown by the bike drivers on their smartphones). The only place that I know of that resembles the insanity of HCMC is Bali, but that seems relatively calm in comparison. Cars are a recent addition to Vietnam as they used to have a heavy import tax, which means that most people are on mopeds or motorbikes. Traffic lights are routinely ignored, and the general approach to crossing the road is just to keep walking as the traffic flows around you.
As is traditional for when we stay in a city we stayed a bit further out (District 5, about a 40 minute walk to the backpacker district) and walked everywhere. It’s not an easy city to walk in, as the pavements tend to be covered with things for sale or parked scooters. It’s a city of mixed architecture; part new and flashy, part old and run down. Despite the many warnings online before hand we didn’t get hassled or have any issues whatsoever; perhaps because we stayed away from the hardcore tourist areas. Even at the War Remnants museum, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city, there was just one kid outside selling coconut water.
The museum itself is brilliant, and shows there is two sides to every story. It’s (understandably) very anti-American, and paints a horrifying image of the war. There’s no filtering here; pictures of corpses and people being tortured mean it’s not for the faint hearted. Outside there is a great selection of military hardware from the war, and a lot of the significant buildings (like reunification palace) also have a couple of fighter planes outside. There must have had plenty left over.
After two days we were definitely exhausted. Everyone we spoke to beforehand told us Saigon is like marmite; you either love it or hate it. I think I lie somewhere in the middle though. It’s amazing how cheap everything is, and getting to zip around on the back of a scooter on a foodie-tour was an amazing experience (the highlight for me was eating frog; it really does just taste like chicken). But with no underground or rail system it’s a frustrating city to get around, relying on taxis (relatively expensive) or busses (which are unreliable).
After two nights we set of for the Mekong Delta in very southern Vietnam. We turned up at the bus station and managed to buy a ticket for the next bus which we were shuttled onto quickly for a speedy departure. This is the first time I’ve ever been on a sleeper bus; three columns of bunk beds with a quintuple bed at the very back. As a bit of a transport nerd I found this exciting and would highly recommend it. We were staying pretty much in the middle of nowhere, so after arriving at Vinh Long bus terminal (then waiting for an hour for a mythical shuttle bus that never appeared) we then jumped in a cab to a ferry which we crossed on foot, before being met by a couple of Xe om’s (motorbike taxis). They impressively balanced our massive backpacks up front and us on the back (not as impressive as the guy we saw with 3 pigs on the back of his bike today though) as we then drove for another 30 minutes into the middle of nowhere to our accomodation.
The guesthouse was lovely; a pool (a rarity around here), darts, pool table, 40p bottles of beer and some amazing, freshly cooked Vietnamese food helped us to wind down after the insanity of HCMC. Although the rooms left a bit to be desired (the bed was considerably shorter than I am, and the lack of aircon didn’t help) for 15 quid a night including breakfast we couldn’t complain. It also had the most incredible river side area for relaxing by, with some amazing sunsets.
After 3 nights we set off on a (very local) bus to the near by town of Can Tho, to another guesthouse about 5km outside of the city (still in the Mekong Delta). Our room is completely open (we’ve got about 2 and a half walls) with dual hammocks, and there’s a pet pig called Bacon. 
Some quick highlights of the trip so far:
- At each stop I am throwing away more stuff I’ve packed. Despite packing lightly (I thought) my bag has been incredibly heavy to carry more than a few meters. As a result I’ve already shed 1 pair of shoes and my gorillapod/stand along with several apple chargers (I accidentally packed 5?). Still not there though, so need to figure out what else to shed. Laura started out with 9kg and I had 13kg. Determined to get equal before the trip is out.
- The insects have taken a liking to me and I’ve been bitten about 20 times on my right arm (and various other places) . I look like I have track marks on my arm. Itchy as hell.
- I’ve managed to only get lightly sunburnt so far, and may even be getting a slight tan.
- Everywhere we’ve been has had dogs and/or cats, which has been awesome having been without pets in HK for 4 years.
