Vietnam and Cambodia- Eighth Port
Day 1:
We arrived the night prior due to how the tide works with the river. We arrived on the coastline around lunch time then traveled up the Mekong River to arrive at the port in Ho Chi Minh. It is a gorgeous port, definitely one of my favorites. That night we had to stay on the boat till the next morning but we got off and headed to a cafe called Oasis Cafe. It was so beautiful and a picture will be below. I had my first Vietnamese coffee this time around in Vietnam and omg, this is why I love coffee. We then headed to Landmark 81 which is the tallest building in Ho Chi Minh and got to see a gorgeous panoramic view of the city. Then we walked around the mall that was nearby until we had to head to our cooking class! We met up with more of our friends and some other people in the class and our guide. She was so funny and sweet. We made delicious food. My best spring rolls ever! Some beef on lettuce that was so amazing. And then ended with chicken pho. This food has solidified my love for Vietnamese food. After the cooking class we went back to the ship to drop stuff off and change. We went to the AO show which is an aerial show. I went to it when I came to Vietnam with my parents years ago and I remember it being good but not the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen! So after that enjoyable show we walked to a bar that had drag shows occurring that night. We got to see that and then headed to Bui Vien.
I didn’t get back to the ship till 6am then slept for a little bit and got up to go to the hair salon. I went with my roommate and we both got our hair done and after that I went to get my nails done. We then went back to the shop to change and go to dinner at this cute place. Then we walked around a bit and ended up back at the club with drag shows because we had to go back to get my friend's wallet she lost. We then went back to Bui Vien street. Then I went back to the ship and I woke up 3 hours later to head out to my field program!
Day 3:
We headed to the airport and flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia. When we got here we visited a temple called Beng Melaea. We walked around, which was amazing to see. We then headed to lunch which was of course—delicious! We went to a school in the village we were going to stay at and saw the counter that some of our money from the field program went towards to donate to the school. We got to play some volleyball with school kids which was fun but they were definitely better than a lot of us. We then headed to the accommodation we were staying at which was a home stay at a traditional long house. Very simplistic living style with pads on the floor and a mosquito net around. We ate dinner and had a cultural performance then a campfire that I was falling asleep at because I was so exhausted. I took a bucket show and went to sleep.
Day 4:
I slept pretty well but we did have to wake up early to have breakfast and then we did a bike ride to the rice fields to see how it was harvested. Then we biked more to a temple hidden behind a lot of vegetation. After that we biked back to our long house accommodation and had lunch after about an hour. Then we drove to Siem Reap to check-in to our hotel and then headed back out to go to the Angkor National Museum. After that we drove to the Angkor Wat Temple Complex and watched the sunset. Then we went back to the hotel, I showered and changed so quickly and then we went to the night market. I spent almost all my money and then we headed to dinner on pub street. I got a delicious stir fry. We then played some pool and I did even more shopping then went back and went straight to sleep.
Day 5:
Wow, did we wake up early. Actually I didn’t wake up to my alarm and woke up to people knocking on our door. My roommate and I Simone got ready so quickly and headed down, then we got in the bus and headed to Angkor Wat for sunrise. We watched the sunrise and went back to the hotel for breakfast. We then went to a temple in the city and got blessed by a monk. Then we went to Angkor Thom which was amazing and so fun to wander around but there were monkeys in the dark hallways and I got chased by one and he grabbed my dress a bit. We then headed out to go to lunch. We saw other SASers and my good friend Brett is on the trip and my ship parents Mark and Barb. Then we went to a floating village on the edge of the water and drove through a river that connected to the biggest lake in Cambodia. This was super cool to see. Then we drove to the airport after, the airport was a new one and it was amazing. I loved the system of the immigration and security and our gate was easy to find. Our flight was not super full so I went to sit with my friend Brett and we talked the whole time. We landed and I got on a bus back to the ship. I dropped everything off, showered and got ready super quickly and headed back out to go to Bui Vien.
The last day in Vietnam, I was so sad to leave. I tried to pack as much as I could into this day and we got everything we wanted to done! First my friend Hannah and I went to the cafe apartments and got a little breakfast and I had a delicious smoothie. We shared egg coffee and salt coffee and they both were absolutely divine. We then walked to the post office and my friend wanted to try to ship a pot she made back home but it was $70 to do so we carried it in a bag all day to bring back to the ship. We then walked to book street and I bought a bookmark. After that we pulled out some money and we went to Ben Thanh market. I bought some shoes and a couple other things. We then went to a place across the street called 137 luxury spa and I got one of the best massages of my life. After that we went to Cherry Pet Coffee which is a cafe that has dogs you can pet on the main level, a capybara on the second level, cats on the third level and a baby capybara on the terrace. I enjoyed my time there very much as I miss my animals at home so much. We then met up with friends and went to a Harley Davidson store and I wanted to buy a shirt but it was $70! So none of us got anything and we went to a place that had a bunch of street food and I had chicken pho for the last time and as always it was delicious. We then walked to a 7-eleven to get some snacks and headed back to the ship! Then I unpacked, packed one of my duffles full of presents and souvenirs, took a shower and hung out on the deck to watch the city before me. I went to bed after talking with my parents for a while.
The ship left the next morning at about 6am, I did not get to see that as I was sleeping. I was so exhausted from this port but it definitely was one of my favorites.
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