Long Distance Clara

What I have learnt travelling solo for 6 months; by Clare Billson aged 33 and 3/4

December 27, 2018December 24, 2018 Long Distance Clara3 Comments

Ahhh to travel. To put one’s life on hold and go out and see the world, or some of it at least.

For a lot of people my age, if you’ve not already done the gap-year-go-find-yourself thing, then chances are you probably won’t get the chance until you hit retirement (if that, going by the ever increasing retirement age).
Family life, careers and even poor health are some of the usual culprits, and they may leave you feeling that you missed your opportunity.

Back in 2016 I got my second chance; I came out of a relationship that was going nowhere, realising that the only person who should be making my life decisions is me.
And I know it’s not as dramatic as a close run with death, seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and turning my life around for the good of mankind. But it was still an enormous decision to make for the good of girlkind – me!

To start, I’d like to point out that just getting to the point of buying the airplane ticket was no easy task. I joke about it but the truth is I worked 2 jobs, pretty much all the hours I had, to get my plans off the ground.
This wasn’t some whimsical idea that I left to the last minute and then tried to figure out how it would work. This was endless conversations with my parents and close friends, hours spent poring over travel itineraries and routes, and like I say, a LOT of bloody hard work!

But now, as I write this on Christmas Eve, sitting back at home at my rents house after a 14-hour flight, wearing a million layers to combat the cold (what is that about?) and just enjoying being back with my family and friends, I wanted to reflect on what I’ve learnt.

Some points may be obvious, some are more personal, and some I’ve probably touched on before, but the best way to review the information gathered is with a good, old fashioned concluding blog. So batten down the hatches, let’s begin…

Travelling alone is not as scary as you’d think – people are nice
I know I’ve definitely mentioned this plenty of times, but I can’t stress it enough! There are numerous stories in the news that highlight the dangerous side of travelling alone, especially as a female.
But when push comes to shove, you must remember that the vast majority of people are nice. It’s true. I have sat alone in many a bar (don’t judge) in many a city and have been adopted by couples, groups and other solo travellers in the process. Generally leading to some of the best days and nights out I’ve had on my trip.
The same can be said in your everyday situations too – when in doubt, pull your best dazed and confused face when trying to navigate a new city, and 9 times out of 10 someone will step in to assist.
We are all so keen to see the negative and think the worst of people that it takes a big step out of our comfort zone to be proved wrong.

The world is much easier to navigate than you’d imagine
The majority of my trip has been spent in predominantly English speaking countries, but that doesn’t make it any less daunting.
From taking my first ever solo flight, to trying to work my way around New York’s disaster of a subway system, they’ve all seemed impossible to begin with. But that’s just the unknown, right.
When you were little, walking and talking were great accomplishments, but no toddler tried it the first time and thought to themselves; “Nah, I don’t think this is for me. I’ll just go around crawling and screaming when I want something”.
Although, at times things can be frustrating, especially when you don’t get them straight off the bat, and I should know because I HATE not understanding or getting something right first time.
But to bust out a couple of old clichès; Rome wasn’t built in a day, and if things weren’t difficult then everyone would do them.
The point is, until you try something you don’t know how it works. Whether it’s learning a new language (French if you’re asking), or taking up a new hobby, or just going all out and travelling the world, just take a deep breath and go for it, and don’t be discouraged when you’re not immediately an expert. Practise makes perfect.

I am a really negative person
Bit of a personal one for me but until I came away, and more specifically spent time living with another person in the confines of a camper van, I never realised how negative I am.
When I was travelling with Muriel in New Zealand, she would suggest doing something, or going somewhere and instead of just going along with it and saying; “Golly, that sounds interesting, let’s do it!”, I heard myself time and time again whining that I wasn’t sure, or that we’d already done something similar or another equally pathetic excuse!
I actually heard myself shooting down every idea, and what makes it more odd is that we would still go and do said thing, and by the end of it I would be elated that we had!
It ties in with a quote I read while away that said;
Replace “sorry’s” with “thank you’s”. Instead of saying “sorry I’m late”, say “thank you for waiting for me”. Change your mindset.
It is something I think about quite a lot, the way I perceive myself, and there are friends of mine who would say I apologise for everything, even things that I had no control over.
2019 is the year I take a positive look at myself.

McDonald’s (and all major food chains) are the same everywhere – live a little, try the local dishes
Kind of says it all really! Yes, you’re in Thailand and there’s a Maccie D’s, but guess where else you can find them? That’s right, back home!
I have been guilty of this once on my travels (see my San Antonio post) so I’m not saying I’m perfect, but think about it. If you’re on holiday in Italy; try the pizza. If you’re hitting up Mallorca; try some tapas. Experience it.

But also; you will miss the food at home
Don’t you just! I have spent 6 months dreaming of cheese.
Mature cheddar, Brie, Stilton, big, smelly lumps of gooey cheese that would happily walk off the plate of it’s own accord if you weren’t watching.
It’s gonna happen, but that just makes your homecoming something to look forward to.

Don’t be afraid to wing it!
My trip was probably 70% planned out. Before I set off I couldn’t imagine not knowing my next step, or that I had a place on that particular train/boat/plane.
Meeting different people as you travel makes you realise that it’s so exciting to be living day-to-day, deciding on your next destination just 24 before, or even when you arrive at the station and book the next ticket.
Going back to an earlier point, the world is a lot easier to get around than you’d imagine. Don’t allow yourself to be bogged down with making plans and just get out there. You don’t know who you’ll meet or what amazing place they’ll tell you about – and from experience, having to say you have other plans can be a bit of a bummer.
Flexibility is key.

And finally; remember that your family / friends / cat / dog / hamster / chicken love you
As much fun as it to tour this great turning globe we call earth, the people who you love will always determine where you call home.
In today’s technological marvel of a world it’s never been easier to keep in touch with those people who care about you – don’t use your loved ones as an excuse to not go and bloody well get out there!

So that’s it. Well….I’m sure I could go on for pages more, and that I’ll think of something else next week, but you’re all busy people. I don’t want to keep you.

Thank you all for following my adventures over the past 6 months. I have very much enjoyed writing them, not as much as partaking but COME ON, be realistic!!
I have loved reading the comments and messages of support whilst I’ve been away, and although 2019 won’t have quite the same panache as this year, I am looking forward to taking on a whole new set of challenges.

Wishing you all the very best for 2019. Signing off one last time;

LDC x

Bangkok – Final Stop

December 24, 2018December 24, 2018 Long Distance Clara3 Comments

I love Bangkok. It’s as simple as that. I was worried that it would be a bit overwhelming after spending nearly three weeks on secluded islands, but I couldn’t be more wrong.

The whole experience has been wonderful. From the easy journey to the hostel, to the beautiful buildings and temples I visited during my time here.

Everything = 10/10. Would visit again. No doubts.

As my flight home left from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport, it made sense to include a couple of days here on the way.

I arrived slightly later than planned due to a delay flying out of Koh Samui, but with clear instructions from the hostel, I was boarding trains left, right and centre, and rolling up to check in within an hour.

The next morning I rose early to hit the big touristy sights of the city, and first up was The Grand Palace.

A group of buildings in the heart of Bangkok, the Grand Palace has been home to kings since 1782, and although the current king chooses to reside in a separate building within the complex, the Grand Palace building is still used for several royal ceremonies and state functions.

Set backfrom the Chao Phraya river, the grounds are surrounded by white walls interspersed by highly elaborate gatehouses. Ticket and audio tour (AUDIO TOUR!) purchased, I followed the map through the grounds with my virtual guide highlighting each beautiful building.

The tour included entry to see the Emerald Buddha Temple which, I have to confess, was not as impressive as I expected. I imagined some enormous green giant of a sculpture, when in reality, the only green you see in the Buddha’s head. Urgh, talk about kill joy!

Audio tour exhausted, I walked on through the heat to Wat Pho, a Buddhist temple located just south of the Palace.

One of Bangkok’s oldest temples, existing before Bangkok was even established as the capital, it has undergone many changes since its construction some time between 1688-1703 (actual date and founder is unknown).

Perhaps most well known for housing the largest reclining Buddha at 46 metres long, the site is also regarded as Thailand’s first university and center for traditional Thai massage.

Following Wat Pho I took a break from the midday sun to cool down and plan my next move, deciding to take the ferry across the river to Wat Arun.

Waiting to board the cross river ferry – 10p per crossing!

Wat Arun (full name Wat Arun Ratchawararam Ratchawaramahawihan) is another Buddhist temple located on the west bank of the river. It is often known as the Temple of Dawn as the first light of the morning reflects off its pearly surface of seashells and bits of porcelain (previous used as ballasts by incoming Chinese boats).

All templed out for the day, I took another ferry up the river to catch a train back to my hostel. The boat passed a new shopping complex on the way which I later came back to for dinner and drinks overlooking the Bangkok skyline.

Day two was definitely more relaxed.

Being a Saturday, I took a long, winding walk through the city to Little India and Chinatown, taking in the narrow streets and alleyways of the local markets, before spending the afternoon checking out the Jim Thompson House Museum.

Born in Greenville, Delaware in 1906, Jim Thompson was an American businessman who helped revive the Thai silk industry during the 1950s and 60s.

The Thai Silk Company Limited founded in 1948 by Thompson and his professional partner,George Barrie, achieved fame in 1951 when their silks were used for the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King and I.

A lady demonstrates silk weaving in the Museum grounds

In 1967 he became the centre of worldwide speculation when he disappeared whilst on a walk in Malaysia’s Cameron Highlands, during a stay at the “Moonlight” bungalow.

An official search lasted 11 days with more than 500 people involved in the hunt, including the army and the Malaysian police force. Press reports contested a number of possibilities including that Thompson had been kidnapped, murdered, voluntarily left to do secret work in Vietnam or was taken out by business rivals, but no evidence of Thompson or clues to his whereabouts were found.

He was officially declared dead by absentia by a Thai court in 1974.

The museum, housed within Thompson’s former home, contains his extensive art collection. I was hoping that the museum would shed a bit more light on his life as well, but it is purely to showcase his collection. It is a beautiful house though, made up of six traditional Thai houses, brought to the site and carefully patched together to create one, large living space.

I finished my last day in Bangkok with an early dinner so I could get my packing done ready for the long journey home the next day…

And that’s it!

Six months ago, I left Northampton to have my very own adventure, and now, it’s time to come home. I have had an amazing time, seen some beautiful places and met some wonderful people…but I really can’t wait to get home and eat my body weight in cheese!

Merry Christmas everyone!

LDC

Koh Phangan & Koh Tao

December 21, 2018 Long Distance Clara1 Comment

With my return home ever looming, I had planned a couple of weeks on the secluded Thai islands of Koh Phangan and Koh Tao.

Accessible only by boat from either Koh Samui or the mainland, these two tropical island are famed for their nightlife and diving hotspots.

My only plan for these islands was to sit back, relax and make the most of the sunshine before heading back to cold, wet England.

First stop was Koh Phangan. After leaving the rents back on Koh Samui, I took the Lomprayah catamaran the half hour journey across to Koh Phangan.

At 125 square km, Koh Phangan is the second biggest of the three Koh’s after Koh Samui.

It is best known for its Full Moon Party which takes place monthly at Haad Rin Beach.

Tourism is now the main source of income for the island, although fishing and coconut farming remain important to the local economy.

I stayed just outside Haad Rin, and not being here for the Full Moon Party, it was pretty quiet. The weather was the most volatile here and it rained almost all my five-days, but there’s something magical about sitting on your balcony with a few beers watching the rain roll in!

One of the only pictures I have of Koh Phangan where it isn’t rainy!

I did manage to get out for dinner down in the town and walked along a couple of the beautiful beaches the island has to offer, but otherwise, it was a chilled out time.

Some of the sights and sounds of Koh Phangan

Koh Tao, the penultimate destination on my travels, was the smallest of the three islands I visited at only 21 square km.

Arriving in Koh Tao on a rainy afternoon

Located just over an hour’s boat journey from Koh Phangan, the climate is similar with an ever present chance of rain, but I think Koh Tao’s smaller size does mean it avoids some of the bad weather.

Here I stayed in Tanote Bay, named after a particular type of tree only found in this bay.

I had booked a hotel room overlooking the sea to spend my last days of relaxation. Being the low season in this part of the world, everywhere seemed almost abandoned, and for at least a couple of days I was the only guest at the hotel!

I was very fortunate that the hotel had a shuttle service taking people to and from town a couple of times a day. I hadn’t wanted to hire a scooter, and if you could of seen the gradient of the hills, you would understand that I didn’t fancy a bicycle either!

So, every other day I would take a trip out in the afternoon; to the pier or to Sairee Beach, just to get out and about.

The only place I wanted to visit on Koh Tao is a tiny island called Koh Nang Yuan. It is basically three lumps of land joined together by white sandbanks like the arms of a tree.

When you search for Koh Tao on the internet, this island, and the image from its viewpoint, is probably the first thing you will see. Naturally I wanted to capture the same image for myself, so with only two days left in Koh Tao, the weather calmed enough for me to take a water taxi across to the island.

There is a resort you can stay at on the island which allows you early access to the pure white beaches and clear blue waters. I arrived before 10am and there was hardly anyone around, even as I climbed the relatively steep stairs to the lookout point there was only a few other tourists vying for the perfect selfie shot.

I got up there, took my pictures and got back down again as quick as I could!

Back down on the beach there’s not a great deal to do except snorkel or dive or, my option of choice, take up place on one of the deckchairs laid out on the beach and make the most of a sunshiny day.

Bucket list item ticked off, I spent the last 24 hours soaking up as much sunshine as possible, in true British style, before heading back to the pier for a long day of boat and plane travel to Bangkok.

LDC

Koh Samui – A Surprise Visit

December 16, 2018 Long Distance Clara1 Comment

After feeling poorly during my stay in Chiang Mai, it was nice to fly off to the island of Koh Samui to officially start the last few weeks of my trip.

The second largest island in Thailand after Phuket, Koh Samui is located off the east coast, in the Gulf of Thailand, and until the late 20^th century the island was self-sufficient, having little to do with the mainland.

The 1970’s brought roads to the jungle covered island and with them a thriving tourism industry which changed both the environment and culture.

I chose to stay in another hostel for my 5 days here, located in the north east on Choeng Mon beach, not far from the airport.

On arrival at the tiny, outdoor airport in Koh Samui I was amazed at how dis-organised the place was for its size! Bearing in mind the baggage claim was steps from the “arrivals hall”, it still took me about 10 minutes to figure out where I was supposed to go to get a taxi (that’s right, a taxi, I wasn’t going to share my ride with anyone else).

Desk finally located, I jumped into a minibus and off I went.

The drive wasn’t long, passing coconut trees and scantily thrown together shack buildings, and after 15 minutes we were there. As the taxi driver helped me out with my bags I noticed a familiar figure step out of the hostel; “That looks like mum”, I thought, followed by another; “And that looks like dad…”

“You bastards!” I shouted.

I walked over to them and to a rather emotional reunion with Ma Billson – even a lady inside was crying!

Now I knew, deep down, that if they were coming to meet me it would most likely be here in Koh Samui. It’s somewhere they have been before and I know they love Thailand, but they had been telling me that they weren’t coming because they were going away with my brother in January (what a way to point out which child is your favourite, right?!), so despite my nagging suspicions I accepted this story.

It was lovely to see them both after 5 months away, especially after feeling poorly the week before.

I got checked in to the hostel (where I was the ONLY person staying – it was a little creepy I’ll be honest) and we spent the rest of the day with a few beers, catching up on everything.

The rents were staying at a hotel just around the corner from me and so for the next couple of days I headed there and we made use of the swimming pool and sunshine in the day, before going out for dinner and drinks (you’ll soon see this is a common occurrence) in the evening.

Because none of us had a car, they suggested we do a ‘round the island tour’ to take in the sights and sounds of Koh Samui, hence why, on the third day, we met for an early breakfast before being collected from the hotel.

Now despite Koh Samui being the second largest island in Thailand (oooo that rhymes!), it is still only 88 square miles, so it was interesting to see where our trip would take us.

First stop was the nearby Wat Plai Laem.

A Buddhist temple compound, the site features a white, 18-arm image of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy and Compassion, situated on a lake.

The worship of Guanyin dates back to ancient China and the Goddess is flanked either side by two beautiful long halls featuring colourful murals and frescoes of Bhuddist mythological stories, which were unfortunately undergoing renovation on our vist.

Either side of Guanyin sit a large white laughing Buddha and an elaborate ubosot (ceremonial hall).

Next stop was the Big Buddha Temple.

Known as Wat Phra Yai and located on a small island connected by a causeway, this 12-meter, seated Buddha statue is often the first thing people see when arriving by air.

Next on the tour was a visit to the Hin Ta and Hin Yai or Grandfather and Grandmother rocks.

Now…going back to previous post back in Halong Bay when I said that people will claim to see anything formed within the natural rocks – this place takes the biscuit!

Folklore of Samui has it as such that an old couple lived with their son in the Southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat. Since their son had come of age they decided to sail to the nearby province of Prachuap Khiri Khan to ask for the hand of the daughter of a man called Ta Monglai. During the crossing their boat was hit by a storm and the old couple died, unable to swim to shore, and instead turned into rocks as proof to the would be brides parents of their true intentions.

Basically, these are rocks that look like a willy and a va-jay-jay!

It just goes to show that if you put a story with it, you can make a tourist attraction out of anything!

The shrine of Guan Yu, revered by the Chinese as a God of War and Protection, was up next.

A famous military general and sworn brother of Liu Bei, Guan Yu was born in the region of Xiezhou of Hedong (a sub-district of present day Yuncheng, Shanxi Province) and lived between 160AD – 219AD. His life stories have been fictionalised in a number of books, and his red face and black beard are highly symbolic within all Confucian, Taoist and Buddhist temples devoted to him – but why would there be such a large temple to a Chinese deity on a small island in Thailand I hear you ask?

The Chinese have had connections to Thailand for hundreds of years, even as far back as the mid 1300’s. Whereas Chinese immigrants were met with hatred within the Philippines and Indonesian, the Buddhist communities of Thailand welcomed them, and it did not take long for the people to be integrated by marriage.

During the reign of King Rama lll, between 1824-51, the King, who was fluent in Chinese, opened up trade routes encouraging more Chinese to settle in Thailand. Koh Samui was a popular destination for many traders dealing in silks, cotton and porcelain, who also introduced Chinese rum, pig breeding and Hainan-Chinese architecture to the island.

As such, in 1872 a small shrine was erected before being relocated to its current site in 1935. Today’s larger statue and temple was commissioned in 2008, and opened to the public in 2016.

After exhausting our eyes with temples and statues, the last stop of the day was at Na Mueang Waterfall number 1 (the “1” is very important).

We took the short walk to the waterfall, almost starting a fight with a couple who had decided that they would be undertaking a personal photoshoot at the site (seriously, take a photo and get out the bloody way), before feeding one of the elephants used to cart lazy tourists around the forest (NOT something I was very happy about, but you can support the numerous elephant sanctuaries across Thailand who are striving to retire and protect these gorgeous animals from being used as a tourist attraction – www.elephantnaturepark.org is just one such place if you want to look into it further).

After that, we were rounded back up by our guide and headed to Nathon Town, Koh Samui’s capital, (via ‘The Petrified Monk’ of which we couldn’t take pictures of and, to be honest, I wouldn’t have wanted to. It was terrifying!) for an hour to wander the streets and buy any local gifts (reads; have a drink) before taking the minibus back to our hotels.

We spent the last couple of days much like the first two, lounging by the pool, swimming in the sea and exploring the local food establishments. One evening we even took a tuktuk over to Chaweng Beach, where the rents had stayed on a previous visit to the island.

And before we knew it, it was time for me to move on again. I only had 5 nights on Koh Samui and the rents were there for ten so we made our goodbyes (thankfully slightly less emotional than the reunion seeing as I only have a few weeks left until I come home), and I took a taxi back to Nathon to catch the ferry onwards to Koh Phangan.

LDC

Chiang Mai – The Unseen City

December 10, 2018December 8, 2018 Long Distance Clara1 Comment

Chiang Mai, which translates as “New City”after it replaced Chiang Rai as the capital of Lan Na in 1296 (not to be confused with the Eternal City of K’un Lun from Iron Fist), is the largest city in northern Thailand.

With a population of approx 130,000 (2017) the city’s historic significance is based on its proximity to the Ping River and other major trade routes.

It has over 300 Buddhists Temples, or Wat’s, and hosts several religious festivals including Songkran in April to celebrate Thai New Year and Loi Krathong in November when thousands of people descend upon the city to release colourful sky-lanterns, believed to rid locals of troubles.

But of all these sights, of all the beautiful temples and moat framed old city walls, I got to see nothing during my 5 days here.

After I left my friends in Hanoi I started to feel really unwell. When I arrived in Chiang Mai I managed to check in to my hostel and even walked down the road to a local bar by one of the old city wall gates, but I couldn’t eat and went back to the hostel, and to bed shortly after.

I spent the whole of the next day asleep, not even feeling up to getting food, and the following morning I knew I had to go and see someone.

The staff at my hostel called me a Grab and got them to take me to Chiangmai Ram Hospital – I knew I’d done the right thing because I was crying before I even got out of the car! An emotional Clare is generally a poorly Clare!

The hospital was one of the best experiences of my life.

On arrival, a purple suited lady asked me what the problem was and then took me to get registered at a desk. I hadn’t thought to pick up my passport or insurance documents (which of course caused a whole new flood of tears as I thought I’d done it wrong) but the lady took my driving license and I agreed to pay by card before another purple suited lady took me to another waiting area and gave me a numbered card.

A short time later they called my number and took me to have my vitals recorded – it was only then that I realized that I had a fever with my temperature at 38.5 degrees! I didn’t know, I just assumed it was a combination of hot weather and air con!

All the necessaries measured, they gave me another card with a difference number on and took me to a separate waiting area to see the doctor.

Twenty minutes passed while I listened to a German lady complaining about having to wait, before a nurse came and collected me and took me through to the doctor.

After asking how long I’d had a fever (don’t know) and how long my ear had been hurting (it hadn’t but it wasn’t right for about two months prior to this moment) we went through to another room where he cleared my bad ear.

Now, apologies if you’re eating but I really can’t describe to you how absolutely amazing it is having a tiny vacuum sucking all the gunky, horrible crap out of your earhole!
I am a quite a disgusting person in that I love seeing operations – in fact, looking back, if I’d been clever enough I would have loved to be a medical examiner like Dr. Ducky Mallard in NCIS– and those “Pimple Popper” videos that you get online, yep, I’m one of the wierdos that likes watching them!

A long time ago I had an operation on the same ear to repair a hole in my eardrum, and during that time I had experienced this same tiny machine clearing out my lug-holes so the surgeon could what he was working with.
There is something so incredibly satisfying about standing up after your ear has been cleared and getting that slight dizziness associated with getting up too quickly.

Anyway, I digress!

The nice doctor checked my ear, gave me a prescription and sent me on my way. I was so happy I was crying (again) and the nurse took me to another area to pay for and collect my prescription.

Obviously, it was never going to be that simple, and despite taking the drugs given to me I suffered side effects that made me sick and an allergic reaction in the form of a bright red rash all over my body. But, I went back to the doctor (after initially visiting the pharmacy hoping they could help – they couldn’t) and he changed the drugs and sent me off once again into the fray.

So basically, Chiang Mai didn’t turn out the way I wanted. I didn’t get to look after the elephants at a local sanctuary, I didn’t get to try my hand at Thai cooking or Thai boxing and I didn’t get to walk the outskirts of the old-town walls and take photos of the colourful lanterns.

But I am grateful that I spent 6 nights at a hostel where the lovely staff kept an eye on me, and that I got to experience the local hospital, and the doctor made me feel like a person again.

It is very frustrating to have gone five of my six-month journey without so much as a cold, but of all the places to be poorly, I am thankful that it was Thailand.

LDC

Hanoi – Friends Reunited

December 8, 2018December 8, 2018 Long Distance ClaraLeave a comment

A city with a history of change and so many different influences;

Located on the banks of the Red River, Hanoi was the political centre of Vietnam between 1010 until 1802, when Hue was established as the imperial capital of the Nguyen Dynasty. Hanoi was then captured by the French in 1873 and became the centre of French Indochina between 1883-1945.

From 1940-1945 Hanoi was occupied by the Japanese, 1954-1976 it became the capital of North Vietnam, before becoming the unified capital of Vietnam in 1976, following the Vietnam War.

I arrived from Hue on my second overnight train (with a definite improvement on bathroom facilities!) into Hanoi Railway Station – a series of train tracks squeezed precariously between buildings and overlooking one of the oldest markets in the city.

I was greeted outside by several taxi drivers and grab bikes all vying for my attention to get me from a to b. I spoke to one of the bike drivers agreeing a price and off we went – zipping through the streets with the humid morning air blowing in my face.

For this section of my trip I was meeting a couple of friends from Northampton; Mark (aka Spud) and Heidi, and I had booked a hotel specifically in the old quarter so we would be nearby. Turns out we were literally across the road from each other!

Anyway, as I got checked in to my hotel Spud and Heidi messaged to say they had landed and were on the way – pretty perfect timing really!

After the initial reunion (taking the piss out of each other for the first half hour as is the English way) we made our way out of the old quarter towards Hoam Kiem Lake.

Hoam Kiem Lake (meaning “Lake of the Returned Sword” or “Lake of the Restored Sword”) is a fresh water lake with two islands; Jade Island, connected by a red, wooden bridge, is home to the Temple of Jade Mountain, which honors the 13^thcentury military leader Tran Hung Dao, and Turtle Tower. Legend says that in 1428 Emperor Lê Loi was boating on the lake when a Golden Turtle God surfaced and asked for his magic sword (obviously).

We took a slow stroll around the lake and found somewhere to have some lunch and catch up. We later relocated to a bar overseeing a square on the outskirts of the old quarter to watch the fun that is Vietnamese traffic in all its glory!

The next morning we climbed aboard a minibus (just the three of us) and took the standard tourist trip out to Ha Long Bay. We had originally booked an overnight tour, staying onboard a boat, but as we made our way to the docks our guide told us that there was a chance we wouldn’t be able to stay overnight due to an incoming storm.

Regardless, we got to the boat, got onboard and set sail whist eating lunch.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, Ha Long means “Descending Dragon” and apparently features 1969 islands – coincidentally the same year that Ho Chi Minh died.

The boat took us first to Dông Thiên Cung – a natural cave system with enormous stalactites and stalagmites and your typical “rocks vaguely shaped as other things”. In all seriousness, it was very impressive.

We then reboarded the boat and headed to our next stop; kayaking in the Ba Hang area.

After seeing nothing but glorious sunshine up until this point, we became aware of the increasing winds and low clouds moving in across the bay, and finally understood the guides warning earlier that day regarding a storm.

Spud and Heidi took the relaxing option, allowing themselves to be leisurely rowed around the site by one of the local ladies, whilst I went for the hard option and took a kayak out on my own (sad face, no friends).

The guide was very clear that we only had acertain amount of time due to the incoming weather, so I paddled myself around the nearby cave openings before re-joining my friends and heading back to shore.

Thankfully for us, we hadn’t cancelled our hotels rooms back in Hanoi for that one night we were away, so it’s was far less hassle for us than for others on our minibus back to the city.

The next morning, given our extra day in Hanoi, we took a touristy walk through the city.

We passed one of the narrow train lines which weaved it’s way between the buildings as we headed towards the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, intending to go into the Ho Chi Minh museum, but when we arrived we realized that the museum closed over lunch.

Chickens on bikes, train tracks and Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum and museum

Instead we walked north to West Lake where we stopped for lunch with a view over the water and Tran Quoc Pagoda.

On the walk back towards our hotels we stumbled upon narrow streets filled with traders selling everything from indistinguishable pieces of meat to Christmas fairy lights.

I had already told Spud and Heidi about my grab bike from the train station and they were both keen to experience Hanoi via bike. When we got back to the old quarter and their hotel, Spud got us a couple of leaflets to look at and within minutes we’d booked a trip for the following day.

Our pillion bike tour wasn’t until the afternoon but whilst Spud and Heidi headed out to see the French quarter, I made the most of a few extra hours in bed. I had been feeling bad for a couple of days but just put it down to having a bit of a cold back in Nha Trang. For the time being however, a few extra hours of sleep got me through my last days seeing my friends in Hanoi.

Our tour guides picked us up at 1:30pm and started our tour with a lunch of Bun Cha in a local restaurant (I would recommend it to anyone but it just wasn’t for me that day) before taking a drive through the city, stopping off to see the Opera House in all its French style splendor and then on to another street well-known for the train tracks that run between the houses.

We even met a very cute little dog guarding one of the houses

We continued on down tiny narrow streets to a lake where the remains of a B-52 plane landed, right in the centre of a housing area.

Our bike guides took us along to the West Lake where we had visited the day before stopping off at one of the oldest local markets in Hanoi for a local delicacy of rice with a sweet fruit syrup – kind of like rice pudding but very sweet.

After our pudding pit-stop, we headed across to an island where local farmers grown produce to sell at the markets. It was a surreal experience to go from narrow alley ways where our bikes only just fitted to suddenly (and I mean suddenly, I can’t believe how quickly it happened) we were in the countryside, firing down dirt lanes past farmland and shack houses, whose only source of power was solar panels.

It was like being in a different world.

Last stop as we headed back to the hotels was on Long Biên Bridge. Built in 1899-1902 by Daydé & Pillé of Paris, at the time of opening it was one of the longest bridges in Asia at 1.68km long.

Nowadays it accommodates trains, mopeds, bikes and pedestrians whilst all other traffic is diverted to other nearby bridges.

We stopped at the side of the road with our guide telling us that we could climb over the barriers and stand on the train tracks for some pictures. I joking said to Heidi that I hope he knows when the next train is coming just as a train came past! I’m not saying that he was about to make us climb onto train tracks in front of an oncoming train but, actually, he was! Eek!

Once the train had passed we tried once again to climb onto the tracks and got some pictures of this awesome bridge, before clambering back and onto our bikes for the last drive back to the hotels.

We finished our day and our time together with dinner at Spud and Heidi’s hotel, although they got up that little bit earlier to see me off in the morning. I was continuing on to Chiang Mai in Thailand whilst they were heading to Hong Kong for a few days before heading back home.

It was great to see them both and to know that I only have a month to go until I too return home. Can’t wait…

LDC

Hue

December 5, 2018December 5, 2018 Long Distance Clara1 Comment

Apologies for the delay in write-ups, I will explain this further in a future post but for now, let’s get back into this…

When I was in Nha Trang everyone I spoke to told me they were going to Hoi An and not Hue (and that’s not an exaggeration) so I was starting to feel like I made the wrong choice in my journey up the coast of Vietnam.

The trip between Nha Trang and Hue was by overnight sleeper train – another experience I wanted to cross-off my list. My train didn’t leave until 11:30pm so there was a lot of hanging around that day before I headed off.

The train I was on was one of the older models. Now let me tell you, just because you choose a first class sleeper DO NOT expect some fancy, Orient Express type train and facilities. It was a bed, and it got me there, but the toilets were by far one of my worst experiences!

Anyway, we arrived into Hue early afternoon the following day, and I took the 2km walk from the station, down the river to my hostel. I was staying in the older part of the city, just off the main walking street, down a quiet alleyway.

I got checked in and, as I only had a couple of days there, I arranged a day trip through the hostel to explore Hue ancient past.

Located on the Perfume River, Hue was the capitol of Vietnam from 1802-1945, and the enormous Imperial City is testament to its former power.

The tour started with a walk through the Imperial City, including the Forbidden Purple City where past Emperors lived with their wives and concubines. The area showcases beautiful buildings and vast courtyards, with stories and images highlighting the Emperors lives.

After spending much of the morning within the Imperial City, we moved out of the imposing walls and took a boat up the river to the Garden House, home to one of the last Emperor’s Manadrins, known today as government officials.
We took a short walk around the original structure and were served tea before being herded back out to catch our onward bus.

Our last stop before lunch was to the oldest pagoda in Hue.

“The Old Lady from the Heaven” pagoda was built in 1601, and is just one of over 100 pagodas within the city.

Following lunch at a local restaurant, we headed out of the city to visit a couple of the Emperors tombs.

First stop was the Tomb of Minh Mang.

The second Emperor, he reigned for 21 years and died in 1841. Politically he was known for his opposition to the French involvement in Vietnam but on a personal level, he is remembered for his large number of wives and concubines – it is suggested that he had 500 concubines fathering 142 children throughout his reign.

Despite his dislike of Western influences, Minh Mang kept a close eye on modern technologies, particularly weaponry and medicine. When he heard there was a smallpox vaccination, he employed a French surgeon to live within a palatial residence and vaccinate the Royal Family – so he wasn’t as daft as you’d think.

His tomb was built during his lifetime, with Mang himself confirming the designs.

The second tomb we visited was that of the twelfth Emperor; Khai Dinh, who reigned for 9 years between 1916-1925.

Unlike Minh Mang, Khai Dinh worked closely with the government of France, and by the end of his reign he was considered nothing more than a “salaried employee of the French government”, making his reign an unpopular one.

Khai Dinh was also the last of the Vietnamese Emperors to build his own tomb, raising taxes 30% to pay for the lavish design.
A smaller site than many of his predecessors, Khai Dinh’s tomb is said to be highly influenced by European architectural styles during his visit to France.

The last stop for the day was to a Kung Fu Village where we were treated to a show by the local Kung Fu school.
Based upon traditional Kung Fu, the methods demonstrated to us were those used by the Emperors own bodyguards.

After a full day of exploring the city I spent my second day wandering the streets around my hostel, and sitting watching the world go by at a corner restaurant.

Later that day I headed back to the train station where I boarded my second overnight train up to Hanoi to meet some friends in the concluding part of my Vietnam journey.

Back at the train station heading to Hanoi

LDC

Nha Trang

November 22, 2018November 25, 2018 Long Distance Clara1 Comment

Following the hustle and bustle of Phnom Penh and Ho Chi Minh City, I was looking forward to a couple of days relaxing on the beach in Nha Trang.

Located approximately 400km north of Ho Chi Minh City along Vietnam’s sweeping coast, Nha Trang is the capital of the Khánh Hòa Province. A popular destination for Vietnamese tourists, the city is becoming well known internationally for its sandy beach and diving spots.

First impressions as I walked along the seafront was its striking similarity to the south of France or Spanish resorts, with sunbeds to hire on the beach and restaurants and bars dotted along the promenade, you can see why it is predicted to become ever more popular with sun-seekers in coming years.

My aim here was simple; as I speeded towards the end of my time away I wanted to start to slow down my momentum and take some time to relax.

On the day I arrived I ventured up to the rooftop terrace at my hostel where there is a free beer hour between 5-6pm (I don’t actually pick these places based on their alcoholic offerings, honest!)and got talking to a group of guys and girls also staying there.

In all the time I’ve been away I haven’t often met people that I wanted to actively spend time with – I regularly joke that if I like people then they’re special because I don’t like anyone – so it was nice to make some new friends.

So much so that we planned to spend the next day together exploring one of the sites of the city.

The Buddhist Temple at Long Son Pagoda was constructed at its current location in 1900, with a large white statue of Gautama Buddha added on the hilltop overlooking the temple in 1964-65.

The temple itself was undergoing renovation works when we arrived but the platform on which the Buddha sits offers some views out across the city – not as spectacular as I was expecting I’ll confess, but ok nonetheless.

The walk there took us along alleys and down train tracks, reminiscent of the 1986 film Stand By Me (luckily no bridges for us to have to run across though), and then we had to bargain with a local lady selling coconuts to find the pathway entrance up to the Buddha statue.

In the afternoon we split up and my newly acquired friend Nathalie and I walked along to a pool bar by the beach to while away the hours day-drinking and soaking up the sun.

With some of our group moving on later that night, we reconvened in the evening to get some dinner together (after free beer hour obviously) at the leafy-green Rainforest restaurant.

Serving local and international cuisine, the interior is a maze of different seating areas including swing seats and hammocks, all centered around a wooden slide. Food was lovely and the slide was perfect for our inner kid!

The next day, with our group reduced to just myself and a guy from Amsterdam called Menno, we treated ourselves to a lazy breakfast back at Rainforest before heading back to the pool bar until Menno had to head off to catch his onward bus.

Back on the terrace for free beer hour I met two guys from New Zealand called Aaron and Ryan. Ryan it turned out was Ryan Sissons, New Zealand Olympic triathlete, something I didn’t realise until after I made a tit of myself in conversation;

Me; “So what’s the connection with your Olympic rings tattoo and gold ring?”
Ryan; “I got the ring at London and the tattoo at Beijing.”
Me; (having missed the earlier part of theconversation where he explained he was an Olympic athlete and thinking he wasjust REALLY keen on the Olympics) “Ah nice. I guess I don’t really have any excuse for having not made it to the London Olympics then if you managed it from the other side of the world, haha!”
Ryan: “….”

face in hands Doh!

Anyway, he was very polite despite me acting like a simpleton!

The following morning I awoke feeling rubbish – after having a minor ear infection for a few weeks, I had apparently picked up a cold from one of my dorm mates and felt dreadful. Perfect for when you are about to take an overnight train from Nha Trang to Huế.

I spent the day wallowing in self-pity in the hostel reception before grabbing dinner at the nearby Lanterns restaurant. Set up in 2008 by Robert Costabile from Melbourne, Australia, Lanterns works with 12 local schools and orphanages to provide support, scholarship programs and food supplies in and around Nha Trang.

Following dinner, I took a Grab taxi up to the train station to experience my first overnight train in Vietnam.

LDC

Ho Chi Minh City

November 18, 2018November 16, 2018 Long Distance ClaraLeave a comment

Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it’s still known locally (despite the name officially changing over 40 years ago) was a bit of a last minute addition to my trip. Most of the Vietnam section was last minute to be fair, of all my planning I had left these two weeks open until I felt I could put it off no longer.

I was originally going to stay here just one night before continuing up the 3000km of coastline, but different conversations led me to extend my time to fit in a couple of trips.

On arrival at my hostel, the lovely girls on the reception gave me some information to look through, along with my daily free beer, and I sat and chose which trips I wanted to take.

Ho Chi Minh is not the most exciting of cities but its proximity to the Mekong Delta and Cu Chi Tunnels makes it a perfect base for exploring.

On my first day I spent the morning wandering the streets, as I do, in search of postcards, eventually locating some at one of the many markets.
Unfortunately, not being familiar with the currency at that point, it wasn’t until I got back to the hostel that I realized what the friendly stallholder had done – instead of taking the requested 20,000 dong she had smilingly removed a 200,000 note from my hand. That’s £6 for 2 postcards. Nice work if you can get it!

Lesson learnt eh.

My first trip was that afternoon, out to the Cu Chi Tunnels.

Part of a larger network found throughout the country, these tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers during the Vietnam War.

The tunnels that are accessible to tourists have been enlarged to allow people to experience the conditions, but there is one of the secret openings that visitors can climb down into to see just how tight the spaces were.

As we walked around the site our guide explained how the soldiers lived; cooking and meeting in underground rooms during the day and exiting at night.

We saw different traps set for the American soldiers including false floors that drop away to reveal sharp poles sticking up out of the ground.

Some of us also ventured into the enlarged tunnels, walking along on your hands and feet in the pitch black, and occasionally crawling on your knees to navigate certain passages. All the time so aware that the tunnels we explored were double the original size.

The journey back into the city was a long one as we got stuck in the rush hour traffic, but it was an interesting day.

The next morning I was picked up for a full days outing to the Mekong Delta.

There were a few options to choose from for this trip but mine first took us to the Buddhist Temple at Chua Vinh Trang. Originally completed in 1850 it was damaged during fighting with the French Army and renovated in 1895 only to suffer the effects of a large tropical storm in 1904. A major rebuild took place in 1907 and the temple as it stands today was completed in 1933.

From here we continued on to My Tho where we boarded a boat across to Unicorn Island (which unfortunately is not overrun with unicorns). Here we visited Mr Seven, famous for his musical ability, and enjoyed tea and fruit whilst being entertained by local music and song.

Our guide then hurried us on to a nearby orchid farm where we all had the opportunity to hold a 2-meter long python before visiting a honey farm, tasting honey straight from the hive and sampling more tea and honey products.

After eating far more honey-peanuts than we probably should have, we boarded the boat again just as the heavens opened and we were treated to a typical Vietnamese downpour.

We made land again at a coconut sweet factory, watching the girls create, cut and wrap the sweets by hand – they are so quick – before some more sweetie samples.

Our guide also showed us a jar of snake wine compete with floating, dead snakes. I confess I declined on that one – it just wasn’t right after holding a python 10 minutes earlier!

Totally sugared up, our guide rounded us up onto tuktuks and we drove to a restaurant for lunch, enjoying homemade spring rolls and local fish with rice followed by a gentle row down the river with one of the local ladies (I made sure we overtook the boat before us because I’m not at all competitive).

Final stop of the day was on board a floating fish farm as we headed back across the river to the bus. The fishermen who live on these floating fish farms can be some of the wealthiest in all of Vietnam, but it only takes a slight change in water temperature to destroy all of the fish and their profits.

And then that was it, two full days of trips and Ho Chi Minh City was done. Ready to start the journey northwards to Hanoi and the last visitors of my trip; Heidi and Mark. Let’s go!

LDC

Phnom Penh

November 15, 2018November 15, 2018 Long Distance Clara2 Comments

Note. Before I get going on this blog post I would like you to be aware that some of the content is quite graphic due to the subject matter. LDC

Everyone I spoke to about visiting Phnom Penh has said how dirty the city is, but the problem with other people’s opinions is that they are based on their experiences and not yours.

I’m sure at some point you have looked at reviews for a restaurant or hotel online and read some strange comments, like complaining about a hotel in Spain because it rained, or that a beach was really nice but “too sandy” (that’s an actual comment on Trip Advisor by the way).

Phnom Penh is a larger version of Siem Reap with 1.5 million people to Siem Reap’s 140,000. Bottom line is it is the capital city of a country still struggling to pull itself out of the shadow of it’s dark past. If you are coming here expecting shining buildings and spotless streets then don’t bother, but with Vietnam and Thailand paving the way in tourism, I hope that in ten years time I will visit a very different Phnom Penh.

With only two days here I got straight on and spent the first day at the National Genocide Museum and the Killing Fields.

I am quite embarrassed to say this but I know very little about Pol Pot or the Cambodian genocide. At school we studied ancient kings and queens and the second world war in great detail, but this more recent time in history seems to have passed me by.

Carried out by the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979, the regime wiped out almost a quarter of the countries population. One of the most noted security prisons of the time is the Tuol Sleng Centre, also known as S-21, which now houses the National Genocide Museum.

I walked through the humid streets to the museum, politely declining tuktuk drivers wanting a job and braving road crossings where you soon get used to dodging motorbikes.

S-21 was a high school before being occupied by the Khmer Rouge and as I walked into the complex I was struck by how peaceful it was. Four building blocks surround squares of grass, and 14 white graves mark the last people found when the site was captured.

The museum includes a detailed audio tour which guides you around the buildings. Much of the site has been preserved as it was found. One building contains the original metal bedframes alongside black and white photographs to show how victims were found.

Another building highlights some of the inmates and their stories, including a handful of international names. It details how the Khmer Rouge used torture to extract fake confessions from inmates before sending them on to the Killing Fields to meet their fate.

Outside, former climbing frames from its time as a school still stand, one of the methods used by the regime to torture confessions from victims.

It is a hard place to visit but it’s almost essential to learn about this dark time, in the same way that we should remember and learn from Nazi Germany. Any sane-minded person will comment that it could never happen again but it only takes one crazed individual with an audience to rise to power – look what’s been happening in the US in the last few years.

Anyway, I digress, this isn’t a political blog and I won’t pretend that I know the first thing about it!

After the museum I took a tuktuk out to the Killing Fields at Choeung Ek.

Following the route taken by thousands of people from the place of their torture-extracted confession to the place of their demise is a hard thought to comprehend.

Another audio tour guides you around the site from the entry point where truck-loads of prisoners were dropped to excavated pits where thousands of people were slaughtered.

The most poignant for me is a place called the Killing Tree. Located in the centre of the site next to a mass grave of women, the Killing Tree was used to slaughter babies. The Khmer Rouge routinely and methodically murdered whole families to prevent a future relative coming back for revenge.

I’m not ashamed to say I shed a good many tears at that site. The whole thing is incredibly harrowing but the thought that anyone could bring themselves to kill a baby makes me so sad and angry.

The tour finishes at a Bhuddist Stupa which has clear, acrylic walls and contains over 5000 human skulls.

Angelina Jolie made a film about this time inspired by her adopted daughter called First They Killed My Father. Based on the book by Loung Ung, a childhood survivor of the regime, it is her personal account of her experiences. Again, I know the subject isn’t light but I would recommend anyone to watch it.

I spent the evening at the hostels new hotel bar, located just across the road, with an awesome rooftop restaurant and bar, and some decent views of the city.

The next day I headed out to take a walk around the city and visit the Royal Palace. Unbeknownst to me it was also Cambodian Independence Day, when they claimed solidarity from the French in 1953.

The Royal Palace is only open at certain times of the day, closing for three hours over lunch. I missed the morning opening by half an hour so continued walking up the river, stopping to grab some lunch by the side of the road. It was here that I witnessed a girl have her bag ripped from her hand as she stepped into a tuktuk!

Thankfully for them it was the usual travellers ‘bag of stuff’, of which I also carry – usually a plastic bag that acts as an overflow for your backpack, and generally containing inexpensive things – rather than her actual bag containing her passport etc. She was ok by the way, just a bit shaken and annoyed.

I walked back down to the Royal Palace for re-opening, despite a tuktuk driver telling me the site was closed due to Independence Day (the Palace was closed for the evenings fireworks, the grounds, gardens and Silver Pagoda wasn’t).

Getting there for reopening was a stroke of luck too – I had a good twenty minutes of almost eerie aloneness before the masses caught up with me.

Royal Palace Grounds with the Silver Pagoda (top)

Once the crowds became too much I headed back out and continued the walk back to my hostel. The city is a lot greener than I expected and my walk back was mainly through a number of public squares and gardens.

I ate dinner with a girl from Switzerland called Jeanette who had just arrived and was staying in my dorm, and we watched the Independence Day fireworks from the hostel rooftop.

Independence Day fireworks from the hostel rooftop

LDC