A PHOnominal and AMOKzingly great experience: Our Vietnam and Cambodia backpacking story
Every year, it has been our goal to visit a country together. This time we hit our 6th and 7th country for our 7th anniversary. Backpacking has always been our thing. Hitting two birds in one stone, always exciting! Living for 9 days with just a backpack, it was extremely fun and challenging. You know, sometimes its okay to go out of your comfort zone. This trip was one for the books because we went to this trip with only a little plan. So here I am, sharing what we did during the duration of our stay.
PLACES WE VISITED IN HANOI, VIETNAM
We started our trip in Hanoi. So our flight is Manila to Hanoi.
1. HA LONG BAY - A Unesco world heritage site located northeast Vietnam. 2 hours away from Ho Chi Minh or Saigon. Ha long Bay has been in my bucketlist for so long because I left a piece of my heart on its counterpart (Pha Nga Bay in Phuket, Thailand). I told myself I wanna see Ha long Bay also. Well, it didn't disappointed me, those emerald waters and thousand of towering limestones islands topped with rainforests. It was definitely out of this world. We went on a cruise here and visited some famous landmarks here. I felt like I was in the movie "Kong" because it was filmed here. The famous "Skull Island" ohhh, that's really where Kong was in the movie. I felt like he was gonna peek somewhere there. :)
We went on a day tour cruise. It has a free lunch on board, free pick up and drop off at the hotel. :) We booked our tour through Ha long Bay Tours. You can book with them via email. info@halongbaytours.com.vn
2. TI TOP ISLAND - Ti Top Island is one of big island in Halong Bay, it is located in central of Halong Bay, being far away about 8 kilometers in the southwest of Halong city & Bai Chai wharf, and it is very close to visiting places & halong bay’s highlight as Luon Cave & Sung Sot cave. Ti Top Island is becoming an attractive places for domestic & international travelers. It's a bit of a hike for you to be able to see this view of the Ha long Bay. It was too dreamy and out of this world.
3. SUNG SOT CAVE - Situated in the centre of the UNESCO-declared World Heritage area, the Sung Sot or Surprise Grotto is on Bo Hon Island, and is one of the finest and widest grottoes of Ha Long Bay. Ascending to the grotto, the way is covered by trees and foliage, and consists of great paved stone blocks. (From vspiritcruises.com)
It was a beautiful cave. A bit slippery that's why you need to be careful in walking inside. Plus, its a bit dark, they actually put some lights (colorful ones) it added some beauty to it.
WHERE WE STAYED IN HANOI?
1. HANOI TRAVELLER HOSTEL - We stayed on cheap hostel but its a private room so its fine. During the time we went there it was 1,030 per night we booked via agoda. We use to book cheap hotels to save money. Sometimes we do book high end hostels like in Bali and Thailand , if the place satisfies us and if we have time to do staycation for a day on a particular place. But we use to take tours now rather than stay in a luxury hotel. :) But this hotel is perfectly fine for travellers who are on a budget like us. And besides, we're usually out from morning to night. We just stayed there for sleeping. Our check in time is bit late 12pm, but we left our things already because we're off for the tour at 5am. :) They are so accommodating and you can really leave your valuable belongings with them. They also offer tours! We actually asked their help to call our tour. They were really nice, they helped us talk to the person managing the tours.
WHERE WE ATE IN HANOI?
1. 10 LY QUOC SU STREET -Ultimate stamp of quality. I really love pho noodles! Its one of the reasons why we visited Vietnam. My boyfriends doesn't like noodles but he ate some! :) The broth, the noodle and beef are cooked in perfection. It was a lot! We should have just ordered one. But since it was our first meal in Hanoi, we have no idea how big the pho bowls were.
3. CRUISE FOOD - Sometimes we use to judge the food on tours, but this one is perfect. It was so yummy! We shared our cruise lunch with some Korean family, we had chicken, vegetables, spring rolls and the Hanoi beer. :)
4. LAU THAI TOM YUM - Yup, Tom yum noodles! The night after our tour, we decided to look for some good dinner. We do love tom yum noodles and seafood. It was so good, it was cooked right in front of us and we had dinner just by the streets of Hanoi while watching the people, cars and motorcycles go by. :) Just like a local. It was so hard to choose a dinner spot, our hostel is near the part of Hanoi where there are lots of restaurants. We walked to our nearby streets and even found some good stuff.
So long HANOI! It's a 2 hour and 10 mins flight to HCMC. We booked our ticket via VietJet, a local vietnamese airline for only 1800 pesos per person. Not bad because we don't want to drag ourselves for a 36 hour bus ride. HAHA! Because that's what we're gonna do after Vietnam going to Cambodia.
AT THE TOP OF TITOP :)
THUY LONG 88 IS OUR CRUISE SHIP
AFTER THE SHORT TREK. :) I GOT TIRED!
3. SUNG SOT CAVE - Situated in the centre of the UNESCO-declared World Heritage area, the Sung Sot or Surprise Grotto is on Bo Hon Island, and is one of the finest and widest grottoes of Ha Long Bay. Ascending to the grotto, the way is covered by trees and foliage, and consists of great paved stone blocks. (From vspiritcruises.com)
It was a beautiful cave. A bit slippery that's why you need to be careful in walking inside. Plus, its a bit dark, they actually put some lights (colorful ones) it added some beauty to it.
1. HANOI TRAVELLER HOSTEL - We stayed on cheap hostel but its a private room so its fine. During the time we went there it was 1,030 per night we booked via agoda. We use to book cheap hotels to save money. Sometimes we do book high end hostels like in Bali and Thailand , if the place satisfies us and if we have time to do staycation for a day on a particular place. But we use to take tours now rather than stay in a luxury hotel. :) But this hotel is perfectly fine for travellers who are on a budget like us. And besides, we're usually out from morning to night. We just stayed there for sleeping. Our check in time is bit late 12pm, but we left our things already because we're off for the tour at 5am. :) They are so accommodating and you can really leave your valuable belongings with them. They also offer tours! We actually asked their help to call our tour. They were really nice, they helped us talk to the person managing the tours.
WHERE WE ATE IN HANOI?
1. 10 LY QUOC SU STREET -Ultimate stamp of quality. I really love pho noodles! Its one of the reasons why we visited Vietnam. My boyfriends doesn't like noodles but he ate some! :) The broth, the noodle and beef are cooked in perfection. It was a lot! We should have just ordered one. But since it was our first meal in Hanoi, we have no idea how big the pho bowls were.
2. STREET FOOD - They offer the famous Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich). It was all cheap but all yummy. I'm not a picky eater so bare with me I can eat any kind of food. :) They also have Vietnamese egg coffee, sausages and a lot more yummy stuff. Thank heavens for blessing me tummy that isn't sensitive, whenever I go on a tour, luckily my tummy is always fine. If you are on a budget, street food are the best! It will not cost you a lot but it will give you great satisfaction.
So long HANOI! It's a 2 hour and 10 mins flight to HCMC. We booked our ticket via VietJet, a local vietnamese airline for only 1800 pesos per person. Not bad because we don't want to drag ourselves for a 36 hour bus ride. HAHA! Because that's what we're gonna do after Vietnam going to Cambodia.
PLACES WE VISITED IN HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM
1. CU CHI TUNNELS - The tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous North Vietnamese fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces, and helped to counter the growing American military effort. We tried going inside those tunnels. I can't imagine how the people survived there. No electricity, no water, no food. Salute to them. It was really deep. I can't imagine how long it took them to make it.
2. MEKONG DELTA - The famous river that connects China, Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. The Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam is a vast maze of rivers, swamps and islands, home to floating markets, Khmer pagodas and villages surrounded by rice paddies. Boats are the main means of transportation, and tours of the region often start in nearby Ho Chi Minh City (formerly known as Saigon) or Can Tho, a bustling town in the heart of the delta. Our tour guide mentioned that before, there are crocodiles on this river. I really got scared. HAHA! Because when we had lunch there were crocodiles on the restaurant and she said that those crocodiles are from the river.
Look at the sumptuous lunch that we had. A big eared fish which they call the "elephant fish", stir fried leaves, vietnamese spring rolls, fried rice, and they wrapped the fish for us with some rice paper. It was yummy! We actually ate a lot! HAHA! We got a tour with free lunch.
Say hi to the crocodile that scared me! :)
Yup there were porcupines!
We even had some "bee pollen tea".
And some fruits!
Taking it all in. Vietnam, you are amazing! I'm coming back to see more of you!
WHERE WE STAYED IN HCMC?
1. HUANG DUONG HUAN HOTEL - Nestled in the heart of Phu Nhuan, Hoa Dong Duong Hotel is an ideal spot from which to discover Ho Chi Minh City. The hotel is not too far from the city center: just 3.0 km away, and it normally takes about 10 minutes to reach the airport. We booked it for approximately 1200 in peso. The room is good, its well ventilated, there's hot and cold for the shower and the staffs were nice.
WHERE WE EAT IN HCMC?
1. DINKY RESTAURANT - We're actually on a search for rice. :) Filipinos need to eat rice every meal but then since we came here we only eat noodles. We walked around our District and this is the only restaurant we found thats open at 6am. And there's no rice. We even showed a picture of steamed rice on our phones. HAHA! However, this restaurant offers good food as well. A lot of people eat here. :)
Beef brisket noodles
That's the face he made when he found out that there's no rice. HAHA!
2. BEN THANH FOOD MARKET - This is like a food park in the Philippines. Inside this turf is a wide range of different cuisines. From mediterranean to American food. This is where we found RICE! HAHA!
I was really craving for some curry! So tadaaa! Aloy made it sure to give me curry!
And oh, this mango kitchen serves the best natural juices. I got four seasons with mango toppings. I love juices. Its the bomb!
Near that food park are a lot of different restaurants!
3. GAXEO CHICKEN AND BEER
We met up with some of my friends who works in HCMC, they brought us here. They serve a lot. It was good! :) It has free beer every chicken order!
SHOPPING: BEN THANH MARKET - We bought all our pasalubongs here! I'm a sucker for wicker bags! This was a heaven for me. Everytime I go out of the country I use to buy a bag! Tadaaaa. But this was not the one I bought! HAHA!
NEXT STOP: CAMBODIA
How did we go to Cambodia? We took the bus! Mekong Express (HCMC TO CAMBODIA) and VIRAK BUNTHAM (CAMBODIA TO HCMC) Yes we went back to HCMC) because our flight back is HCMC to MNL. We should be going to Thailand from Cambodia but apparently, we thought 9 days is not enough!
Mekong Express is recomendable! They even served food twice!
Virak Buntham is NOT recomendable! They threw our bags on the rain when we changed the bus from Phnom Phen. We have some Filipino companions and they also didn't like the service!
I suggest book your bus tickets early. They ran out easily! And keep your tickets, because they will ask you transfer buses if you reach the half part of the trip.
PLACES WE VISITED IN CAMBODIA
If you guys are going to Cambodia please contact our very nice friend here Bunthy! Here's his number +85512972469 you can contact him through viber or whats app. Make sure to message him 2 weeks before your trip to Cambodia just to make it sure he's free because he has lots of friends who visit and he needs to drive for them. We love you Bunthy! We made great friends with him. He told us his family story. He even shared a lot of things in Cambodia's history. He's a good friend. We wanted to help him so please if you're going to Cambodia particularly Siem Reap, please get him as your driver. We had him for 45usd per day. He will pick you up at your hotel and drop you back. He even has water for you to keep hydrated during the duration of the tour.
Bunthy took us to several temples.
1. BAYON TEMPLE - The Bayon's most distinctive feature is the multitude of serene and smiling stone faces on the many towers which jut out from the upper terrace and cluster around its central peak. This was built at the end of 12th century according to Bunthy. :) I'm always a fan of temples, it started when I visited Bali, soon enough I always go temple hopping everywhere. In Taiwan, Thailand and now here in Cambodia. I wish to visit more temples soon!
2. ANGKOR THOM- I always see this gate entrance in Pinterest. I promised myself to go here. So here's my photo, re-enacting some pinterest moves. I swear it was so beautiful. It was intricately designed. It was amazing! And lucky us! No cars, no people around! Angkor Thom, located in present-day Cambodia, was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. It was established in the late twelfth century by King Jayavarman VII.
I love this picture so much!
4. TA PHROM- Ta Prohm is the modern name of the temple at Angkor, Siem Reap Province, Cambodia, built in the Bayon style largely in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and originally called Rajavihara. 
This large tree is always seen on photos as well. :) We asked other people to take our photos.
5. BANTEAY SREI- Banteay Srei or Banteay Srey is a 10th-century Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva. This temple has a maroonish-orange-ish touch. I like how it makes your photos look special on its own way.
6. ANGKOR WAT - Of course the famous temple! Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, on a site measuring 162.6 hectares. I swear it was huge. We went up to its highest peak, I was literally shaking because i'm scared of heights.The stairs to the upper level are immensely steep omg I will never forget how steep it was, because reaching the kingdom of the gods was no easy task. Also known as Bakan Sanctuary, the upper level of Angkor Wat is open to a limited number per day with a queuing system.
Monks all over the place.
Staircases are pretty! Just be careful. :)
To add more drama. :) HAHA!
This is the towers of Angkor. It doesn't look steep on this photo but I promise. IT WAS! They actually places metal handles on the side.
Mirror image! Beautiful Angkor!
7. TA SOM - My favorite temple! Because the tree adds to its perfection! We really asked our driver what temple has this tree. We even showed him a photo because we really wanted to have a photo on this tree. :)
8. MARKET - Pub street market offers a variety of native products from food to goods! We alotted 1 day for shopping and eating and roaming around their market! Paintings everywhere!
Market days are amazing!
A lot of shops!
We rode a tuktuk! :)
This is where I bought the coffee for my Dad. And the amok powder! Spices spices spices everywhere!
And of course Ice cream!
WHERE WE EAT IN SIEM REAP
1. STREET FOOD - Amok curry is the bomb! That's why its my headline. I fell inlove with the taste. Well, tbh, I really love curry. :) HAHA!
3. TUK TUK TACOS -Omg! Who says Cambodia is all about curry? HAHA! I was craving for tacos so tadaaa!
Look at our background, Philippines is on their list. The different tutuks around the world!
Look at these walls! Pretty!
We had pizza, wings and some drinks!
Frozen Margarita!
5. V BBQ - Time for some steak!
6. TEMPLE DESIGN RESTAURANT - We had one free day in Cambodia where we just ate and shop in the market! It was so fun! There are lots of cute cafes in Siem Reap I swear!
Perfect for instagram photos!
7. FISH SPA with some beer - The streets in Cambodia offers fish spa. We did enjoyed it! HAHA!
He was so funny!
Some of the nonsense things we do but we really enjoy! HAHA!
Our goal also is to taste all the beers on all the countries we visit!
WHERE WE STAYED IN SIEM REAP
1. ANGKOR PAL BOUTIQUE HOTEL - This is our 800 peso worth of Villa! I felt like I was in Bali. :)
Am I still coming back to Vietnam? Yes! I wanna visit more of it! Vietnam is so big! I wanna visit Nin Binh and Sapa. Am I still coming back to Cambodia? Probably yes, I know there's still so much to see! I'll be continuing my INDOCHINA journey this 2018. Planning to visit more of it! Asia you are amazing! I'm so happy to see all these beautiful places!
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!
HERE'S OUR CLIP!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBfZH7pgUU4&feature=youtu.be
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