Holiday: Koh Rong and Thailand

After IST, my two friends and I were supposed to go on our vacation trip, but because one had to stay in Cambodia to pack to go back to the US, it turned into just one friend and I going on the trip. We miss Alia so much, and we missed her on this trip, shoutout Alia! 

The night before we left for the trip, we went to a goodbye dinner for Alia. We were all headed to go to a rooftop bar after but I started to feel sick and so I decided to go home. (And so the saga begins). That night I was so so so sick, which did not make waking up early help. We woke up early, me still feeling awful, to go take a van to Sihanoukville, in southern Cambodia, to then catch a boat to Koh Rong, a Cambodian island. During the van ride I kept going in and out of sleep just saying ok we just have to make it to the boat. At the port, we waited for an hour, to which I fell asleep on a bench while Kyle (for those new here, Kyle is my original Peace Corps bestie and I am so lucky to have her as a friend) took care of our things. We finally got on the boat and got to Koh Rong. But then once we got there we realized we had to find the hostel. We walked in all directions trying to figure it out, including walking up a very rocky hill. After a very sweaty walk of about 45 minutes, and both of us not feeling well, we walked back to the port to take a (very expensive) tuk tuk. This tuk tuk basically took us around half the island because the beach that we were supposed to go to was only accessible by one road and the road did not connect on the easy side. Don’t get me wrong it was a beautiful ride and also the breeze felt really nice while we both were unwell, but still. Once we got dropped off though, we then walked 30 more minutes to finally get to the hostel. At this point we both felt so sick (which now we think that we both had food poisoning) and when we got to the hostel, there was a huge party going on. So to recap so far: we had been travelling all day, both super sick, both walked well over 5,000 steps trying to find the hostel, and a party is going on in the hostel. It was rough. Finally getting checked in, we found food somewhere and then passed out at 8:30 hoping to feel better. 

We felt a little better the next day, and thank goodness the party subsided, and so we spent the whole day just laying in hammocks on the beach. The hostel we stayed at was up on a hill in “the jungle” (which I would think is a jungle because there was a monkey sitting outside our room one morning and I had to get in defense mode when it got in the “I’m going to pounce on you” position when I stared at it; and we had to chase down one of the really big lizards out of our hostel room with the help of some random British guy- but girl power cause Kyle and I were the main people trying to get the lizard out). The rest of the weekend was nicely uneventful just relaxing and trying to feel better (we also barely ate anything because of how we felt). Next thing you know it was time to leave and journey back. 

As a side note, despite being sick this whole weekend, I recommend going to the Cambodian islands! There were less people than in Thailand and it was still beautiful and the water was so clear.

We left the hostel at 5:45am to walk through the “jungle” path (path that’s in trees slightly adjacent to the beach). I was kind of freaking out because the sun was coming up but not a lot of foot traffic or full light on the path we were walking, which made me think we would stumble upon a snake. I also kept hearing noises of nature and had to tell myself it was just the Rainforest Cafe. We made it to the boat and took the boat to the mainland. From there we took a tuk tuk to the bus station and then took a 3 hour bus ride back to Phnom Penh. We met our friend for lunch and told her our final goodbyes and then we tuk tuked to the airport to catch our flight to Bangkok. And when we got to Bangkok, we took the public train and a car into the city. So Kyle and I truly embodied “planes, trains, and automobiles” (plus boats) all in one day! 

After being sick, you would think our luck would change for the better....it didn't the next day. Our first day in Bangkok started as a mess. We had tickets booked already to go to the Royal Palace from 8:30-9:30 and so we got up early to go. We ordered a Grab car (Uber equivalent) thinking it would be the same as in Cambodia- which is cheap and fast. It was neither of those and after waiting for an hour of cars picking the ride and cancelling and trying to fight awful traffic, we decided to walk to the nearby transit line. When we got there we saw an ATM and decided we needed cash because we realized that most places only take cash. We had about $7 worth of baht (Thai currency) which people gave Kyle before the trip, but we decided we needed more. I first tried my credit cards (which I have now learned that I cannot withdraw money with my credit card and I left my debit card at my house in Cambodia). So in the end I was unable to withdraw cash. Then Kyle tried to withdraw cash with her Cambodian debit card, resulting in the machine eating her credit card. So at this point: we have very little cash left, we have no way of getting cash, and the machine ate Kyle’s card. Nevertheless we still had to get to the Royal Palace. We went to the attendant to get two subway line tickets to go and paid with the very little cash we had (the Thai subway only took cash). Once on the other side of the turnstalls, it turns out we were at the wrong public transit line (Google maps said take the bus, not the subway). We decided to take the line anyways a couple of stops and then just try to call a car again. In the meantime, I was texting my dad about what to do about more cash and Kyle was texting Peace Corps about the debit card that was gone. We got to the next stop and when we tried to exit, the passes didn’t work because the lady didn’t charge the fuller amount for our journey so then we had to pay a little more to exit. So at this point we had 20 baht left (less than a dollar). My dad called me to help figure out the situation and gave me a miracle temporary fix to withdraw cash on one of my credit cards, but it would only work once. We tabled this action until we needed to go to the ATM when the morning was less chaotic. We waited outside the station for 15 minutes, got a car, and headed to the Royal Palace. (We also took several deep breathes, but I would say that we stayed pretty calm, but you can ask Kyle about how calm we really were). 

Once we got to the Royal Palace, it was beautiful. We saw the Emerald Buddha and also saw the beautiful architecture of all of the pagodas. The pagodas were also incredibly sparkly, covered with a lot of different pieces of glass. We went to see the textile exhibit of the Thai Queen Mother and the fabric and outfits were incredible (I say incredible a lot because it was truly a sight to see). That is to say we still enjoyed the exhibit despite having almost no baht left. From there, we decided to go to see the Reclining Buddha. This was a short walk down the street from the Royal Palace and so we quickly got there. We also quickly saw that the entrance fee was only accepted in cash. We assumed this would be the case for all other exhibits so the time came again to try and go get cash. We found an ATM and inserted my card. You know that anxious feeling you get right before you do something important? This was for sure it, especially with outcomes either being getting no cash or having the machine eat my card. I pressed all of the buttons and at the end I don’t ever think I have been happier when I saw the ATM say “please take your cash”. I honestly would say this was a turning point for us during the day. We got the cash, went back and got to see the Reclining Buddha, which photos do not do justice because this statue is ginormous, and also Kyle got to put coins in these bowls next to the Buddha which is supposed to bring you good luck (so maybe this was our true turning point of brining good luck). This is for sure a life lesson: bring your debit card or more cash to go exchange the money.

After lunch we wanted to go to Wat Arun, but had to get across the river somehow. We ended up next to a boat with the fare being 5 baht each and so we just hopped on the boat and hoped it would take us to where we wanted to be (which it did). Wat Arun was also a beautiful and sparkly wat/pagoda and we also saw a lot of people renting the traditional Thai outfits to take pictures in them. After that, Kyle took us to a flower market, which she found out about from the show she loves to watch (aka The Amazing Race). We then just walked around the city until we decided we would take the bus home, or so we thought. The bus stop we went to seemed small enough that only one bus would come to that place so we got on the bus that just pulled up. It wasn’t until later that this bus was headed out of Bangkok south of where we wanted to go. But it ended ok because we ended up at a big and cool mall and Kyle got one of the trendy Uniqlo bags and I got Korean barbecue for dinner (then we found the correct bus to get home). 

We finally figured out public transportation a little better to get us to the bus station the next day to go to Ayutthaya. Instead of doing a tour, we took one of the public buses to this city/town which used to be the capital of Siam (Thailand) before the capital became Bangkok. We walked around and saw all of the ruins and even got to climb up to some of them. It is a very long description about the history with Ayutthaya, but I find it fascinating of the existence of this kingdom during the same time as the Angkor kindgom, and then also the Lan Na kingdom, which part of it was in northern Thailand, where we were headed next (recommending to read about this on your own time to make sure my facts are correct). After that day we got to come back home and then pack to leave to go to Chiang Mai the next day. 

Chiang Mai was such a lovely city which focused mainly on art. The old city, where we stayed, had some winding side streets but on the main roads were many coffee shops, places to eat, and many many many pagodas. We dedicated our whole afternoon when we got there to walking to different pagodas, and we didn’t even get to all of them. We got to see the Silver Temple, which is a newly built Buddhist Ordination hall, therefore had some modern scenes depicted on the outside. Women are not allowed to enter Buddhist Ordination Halls, and so Kyle and I just saw the outside. On our full day, we took a car up to a mountain, that also had a pagoda on top, but the view was foggy so we didn’t see very far. When the car reached the top, you still had to climb up the "naga stairs". A naga is usually depicted as something that resembles a snake but is usually outside many temples and pagodas. After that we came back down, got lunch, and continued to walk around the old city, getting to see a lot more pagodas along the way. The front desk person at our hostel (which, by the way, the hostel was so cute and had a beautiful courtyard) recommended we go to an art building (Hostel: Sherloft Home and Hostel). It turns out this building is associated with a school to do art and also architecture, but it had a lovely coffee shop and library too (Kalm Art Village). 

We then headed back to the airport the next day to catch our flight to Phuket, which is a large Thai island in the southern part of the country (this was also our longest flight totaling 2 hours). We discovered that the Phuket airport was far away from where we were staying, however we found the public bus that took us into town! We stayed at a nice hostel right next to the Old Town and so it was easy to walk around. On Sunday, there is a huge night food market and so we wandered for awhile. In Phuket we quickly realized that there were a lot of people, and so fighting the crowds was a little tough. However, the Old Town was still very lovely. We had two days in Phuket, and so the first day, we went to an elephant sanctuary. I did not know this, but many elephants in Thailand are still used mainly for entertainment purposes, and usually are not kept in good conditions or are treated poorly. So this sanctuary was created for older elephants that had health problems that came from their jobs. All of the elephants also have to be purchased from the previous owners to go to this sanctuary, meaning that the owners have to be willing to sell their elephants and also the sanctuary has to have the money to pay for it. The sanctuary was beautiful, and I hope that more elephants can go to live there in the future. After that, we hiked up a mountain which I think was called “Monkey Mountain”. Rightfully so, this hike was (1) brutal, especially because it was so hot, and (2) there were so many monkeys. In my opinion, monkeys are not cute and they just want to jump on you for your food (example, on the hike I saw a monkey rip a water bottle out of a girl’s hand). I am also traumatized by Quorra’s stories (my friend from Taiwan) who would tell me about monkeys taking her food. So this hike was scary for me, especially being surrounded by monkeys. But the view was beautiful at the end (although I was also very sweaty). 

The next day, we went on a boat tour to some islands around Phuket, famously known as the Phi Phi Islands. We went to Monkey Bay (also known for having monkeys) and also went to Maya Cove. This was for sure something beautiful. It was also super crowded with other tourist boats to see this wonder! I always remember that tourist destinations are filled with tourists for a reason, because usually it is something incredible or beautiful . Despite the large amount of people, Kyle and I managed to score seats

at the front of the boat which was uncovered and I got to feel the wind and waves of the ocean during all of the boat charters (which made me the most happy). Kyle was most happy swimming and also getting to go snorkeling. I tried to go snorkeling but I saw one jellyfish and I said no thank you and immediately got out. It was a long day but so nice to be on the water!

The next day, we went to Krabi, Thailand. At first, the plan was to take a ferry to Krabi, but after further research, it was going to be very difficult for us to take a ferry near where our hotel was, it was more expensive, and a longer commute. So instead we found a bus that would take us: and that bus left at 6:45 in the morning. We walked to the bus station with all of our things (which I had gotten used to at this point, hauling my backpack and way-too-full duffle bag with me). We got to our hotel and then took a Grab car into Krabi town. We saw some mangroves along a nature walk and then managed to get a long-tail boat driver to show us the mangroves and then to take us to a cave, which you climbed up stairs to go in. We walked around some more after that, and saw another pagoda (we couldn’t go without seeing more!- especially because we already saw so many in Chiang Mai). Then Kyle suggested we go to Wat Tham Sua and hike up to the Buddha. She saw this as well in The Amazing Race. When we got there, I did not see how high up the statue was, but Kyle did, and so I did not realize that we were about to hike up 1,260 stairs (and these stairs were STEEP so I would add some steps to that measurement). I was also wearing jeans, which is my own fault, but I didn’t think that this hike was going to be as difficult as it was. We toughed it out and hiked to the top to see the most beautiful view, and so it was all worth it but man that was when I said again this was a “healthy trip” (Healthy trip because we walked over 15,000 steps everyday and usually hiked somewhere). We also walked around the bottom of the mountain and saw a monk village where some monks live and also saw the Tiger Cave, which is a legend/real(?) that a tiger used to live in that cave at the base of the mountain. 

Finally on our last day in Krabi, we took a long-tailed boat to Railay Beach, a popular tourist destination, but also known for its caves. In the gulf we were in (also where Phuket was) there are a lot of small, rocky islands. When we got to Railay, we hiked around the area, and then came across a hiking spot. Let’s just say, I was not prepared for this hike. I was wearing my swimsuit and cover-up, my Cambodian slide flip flops (which I love), had my towel in hand and my purse filled with things. And then I am staring at this very very steep climb up. But nevertheless, we did it. I kept saying I would just turn back when it got hard. Also at the beginning we met a nice family that we kind of followed so then it didn’t feel like we were alone. Once I hit the top of the first climb, I decided (alongside the family we met) to take off my shoes and do the climb barefoot because my favorite shoes were not good to hike in mud (I left them on the trail to come back for later). We kept going on, slowly starting to descend (oh did I mention we were hiking to a lagoon?? So we had to go up first and then back down). We then hit two steep (and I mean STEEP) drops, which honestly I was like oh I will turn back (it was not a descent, it was 100% just a wall that you rock climb down). But then Kyle helped encourage me and I did the first one and then the lagoon was in sight and so then I did the second one and before you knew it I was at the lagoon. It was honestly a nice accomplishment (and barefoot too!) and then going back was so much easier (except for when I picked up my shoes because then I had to keep throwing them ahead of me). At the bottom, back where we started, we were both covered in red clay, and only emerged with one cut/bruise which is where I kneed the wall. And don’t worry mom and dad, there was a rope that I held on to and I used my best judgement (and my leg only got stuck once). 

We journeyed back to the hotel and then the next day we went to the airport! Which was another journey because we took a car to the airport, then flew from Krabi to Bangkok, and then flew from Bangkok to Siem Reap, and then the next day we had to take buses home to our towns (and make it in time for Khmer New Year!) 

My next post will be about Khmer New Year and all of the festivities we did! 

Let’s just say that vacation was fun, for sure an adventure, and that I still have had no real rest, but I would prefer that than just sitting around!