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The Edge of Glory
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tyleroakley:
The Edge of Glory
wow
Potentially my most favourite thing on tumblr
A little update to this since I’ve been told the Romanian version and it is just terrific.
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@warriorsdebt @420theatricalroses
Happy 2017 to all (at Newquay, Cornwall)
D.R.E.A.M. - Drugs rule everything around me
Ho Chi Minh City!
Motorbikes! Never in our lives had we seen so many motorbikes, it was beyond insane. Coming at you from both ways and if it happened to be a one way road, it’s ok, they’ll just drive on the footpath!
Saigon unfortunatley wasn’t one of our favourite places we stopped. The moment we got off the bus, we were ripped off by a taxi driver. Apparently it’s quite common in HCMC for the taxi drivers to have ‘weighted’ metres, for the record the two companies that have the best reputation are Vinasun and Mai Linh.
To continue with the bad luck John had been having stomach cramps on the bus all day from Phnom Penh. To cut a long story short, it turned out he got salmonella. The scary thing is the restaurant in question, looked to be really clean and nice but it just goes to show though you can never be too careful.
The hostel we stayed in was called Long Hostel, which was reasonably priced, great location, amazing staff, breakfast included and every night they give you two complementary beers. So would highly recommend here!
Cu Chi Tunnels
One of the day trips that most travellers tend to go to while in Saigon, is to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It’s about a two-hour bus ride from the city to Cu Chi district and these tunnels were a major reason the Vietnamese won the Vietnam war.
The tunnels themselves were where the Vietnamese fought, lived, recuperated and used as supply routes for the majority of the war. They were a network of tunnels that when in use during the war spanned nearly 200km but have since been caved in, as the Vietnamese never hope to have to use them again.
One of the original entrances to the tunnels
John inside
Exiting the tunnel
The ferocity of the Vietnamese is unparallelled to anything I have seen, the traps that were set, the fighting style and ingenuity used, it’s no wonder they won the war.
One of the many booby traps around the site
The parts of the tunnels that tourists can go in have had to be widened because of our stature compared to that Vietnamese, due to their lack of sustanence and natural size. They primarily lived off tapioca and green tea. Unlike us.
A trip out to the tunnels is well worth the money, I think it was only around VND100,000 pp which is around AU$9.
War Remnants Museum
The moment you walk into the compound of the museum all you see is military vehicles. Choppers, planes, tanks and machine guns surround the building.
Looking through the barrel of a machine gun
One of the choppers
This museum is possibly one of my favourites that I have been to, although we probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much if either of us were from the US. Not that it was particularly attacking the Americans, but it definitely painted the picture that the Vietnamese were guilt free.
It’s always when we visit museums, we realise how little our educations teach us about world history, hence why we enjoy going to them.
Inside the museum are countless photos, weapons, artwork and information all about the war. The most disturbing part was on the third floor, it was all about agent orange. I didn’t know anything about it really but consindering the war ended in 1971 and to this day we are still seeing the effects of this toxic gas, it’s pretty bad.
A painting titled: ‘Our thirst for peace’
I didn’t take any photos inside the museum because a lot of the photos shown were of the deformed victims due to agent orange being used as it was.
The War Remnants Museum was really fascinating and would recommend anyone to go to it while visiting Saigon.
Ben Thanh Street Food Market
Now this is one of the highlights of Ho Chi Minh City, an entire market of street food! Anything you want from bao, pho, spring rolls, stir-frys and beer.
Lane upon lane of vendors
Street food market
HCMC obviously has a lot more to offer than a street food market, but when backpacking, a cheap and tasty dinner is always a winner.
As I said earlier we weren’t the biggest fans of Saigon but while visiting here it will be hard to run out of things to do. After all the motorbikes and chaos a few days by the beach is what we need, that’s why the next stop had to be Mui Ne.
Good Morning Vietnam! Ho Chi Minh City! Motorbikes! Never in our lives had we seen so many motorbikes, it was beyond insane.
Phnom Penh Budget
Did a little bit better in this city, mind you we had a free nights accomodation from Holly and the tours weren’t as expensive. US $ US $ PN AU $ P/N AU $ TOTAL ACCOM 36 12 15.6 46.8 FOOD+DRINK 122 158.6 WATER 0 BEER 31.5 40.95 SHOPPING 15 19.5 ACTIVITIES 20 26 SMOKES 0 TRANSPORT 54 70.2 TIP 0 EXTRA 0 VISA 0 TOTAL 278.5 362.05
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What I love about Asia is, no two cities are the same and Phnom Penh is no exception.
After leaving Siem Reap and seeing how different it was from anywhere else we had been, we had no idea what to expect from the capital. While I must admit Phnom Penh is slightly dirtier than Siem Reap, there is definitely more life to it.
The main reason that I wanted to head into Cambodia was to go and see the Angkor complexes, we hadn’t intended on spending to long in Phnom Penh. The main reason we chose to stop here, was to break up our travelling days between Siem Reap and Saigon.
We got off the bus in Phnom Penh and naturally it was pouring with rain so we jumped in the closest tuk-tuk to get to our hostel. We stayed in Happy House Hostel, which was well located and reasonably priced with easy access to plenty of bars and restaurants.
After a long bus ride, all you really want to do is chill and not do really over exert yourself. We found out that there were night markets not to far from our hostel so we decided to head there and try some of the local cuisine. Unfortunately what we presumed was ‘beef’ turned out to be buffalo, which tastes as appealing as it sounds.
The selection of street food at the market
John enjoying his buffalo
Dinner is served
While in Phnom Penh, I found out that my friend Holly from the UK had recently moved there. They were in charge of extending the tour company that her and her boyfriend are directors of, Tru Travels.
We met up with Holly for a few beers and to find out what’s good to do while visiting the city.
Adam and Holly
The Khmer Rouge Killing Fields
The reason we love to travel is because while travelling you are constantly getting an education. The pair of us received our educations in the UK and Australia, each in our respective countries, and we couldn’t believe how ignorant we were in regards to history throughout the East.
To think, that barely 30 years after World War 2 there had been a full-blown genocide and that neither of us, had hardly any knowledge about it was appalling.
Getting to the Killing Fields is reasonably simple, most hostels offer tours which is basically just the transport from your hostel, the killing fields, onwards to S-12 and then back to the hostel.
A little background on the genocide. Between 1975-1979 the political party in power was the Khmer Rouge, and Pol Pot at its head. Pol Pot was the General Secretary of the Communist Party before his rise to leader of the country, where he implemented harsh policies while promoting the communist prerogative.
While in power, Pol Pot had relocated all urban citizens out to rural areas. Citizens who had ties with the pre-revolution government, were well-educated, teachers or was bilingual were practically all taken to these killing fields and executed to maintain the communist revolution.
It is believed that over two million Cambodians lost their lives during the genocide that the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot were responsible for. The killing fields themselves were not far from the city and the location housed countless mass graves where to this day remains are still being found.
The brutality of the Khmer Rouge was unparalleled to any dictator since Hitler. Pol Pot manipulated youth from the rural areas into believing that, the reason they were poor was because of these educated people. It was a culmination of poor sanitation, working conditions and outright murder which raised the death toll so high during this time.
Map of the Killing Fields, Phnom Pehn.
Bullets were too expensive to waste on the victims, the Khmer Rouge was resourceful in this regard and beat their victims to death with basic farming tools, cutting their throats with sugar cane stems and using toxic gases before throwing them into a mass grave.
The Killing Fields was quite a solemn experience but one that should be experienced to educate people, even after World War 2, which was one of the most heinous crimes against humanity, we cannot let these dictators who drive on hated and fear mongering gain power again.
S-21 Genocide Museum
Not far from the Killing Fields was s-21 (Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, which was originally a high school for locals of Phnom Penh. During the Khmer Rouge and Pol Pots regime it was converted into a security prison and torture facility.
Walking into S-21, it looked like it could be any school, but this one was a location where many people lost their lives. Each room had its windows removed and replaced with metal bars, barbed wire on entrances and classrooms had been converted into interrogation rooms, for anyone who had information on a potential military coup to overthrow the Khmer Rouge.
The cells of S-21
Barbed wire covered the prison to prevent any escapes
During their time spent in the prison, many prisoners died through not only torture but also malnutrition, lack of hygiene and countless diseases.
Under the tyranny of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, many women were forced into marriage. Numbers of the Cambodian population had to be replenished due to the genocide and to refusal to accept the marriage often resulted in death.
Quote from an anonymous woman in regards to her forced marriage.
To this day, many marriages still stand and in some cases the women who were forced into marriage, still cannot escape.
Like the Killing Fields, the S-21 is definitely a site that should be on anyones list when visiting Phnom Penh.
Daughters of Cambodia
During our time in South-East Asia, one of the things that really made an impact on us was how blatant the exploitation of women is, in regards to the sex industry.
We didn’t fully comprehend until arriving in Asia, how blatant it was. The bar girls, the massage parlours, brothel workers, ping-pong performers and in some cases children, are mostly the product of human trafficking and it is constantly staring you in the face.
I read a book called Sex Slaves by Louise Brown, which I highly recommend to anyone who has any interest in this issue. The author explains that all throughout Asia, women and young girls, are bought, sold, traded and blatantly tricked into becoming sex slaves. Whether it’s from a procurer from the brothels, themselves looking for a better life or even their own parents, who can not afford to feed them.
This is why Daughters of Cambodia is such a wonderful and necessary organisation. It is a Church run charity, which can offer support, workshops, counselling, education and safety for the women who have been subjected to this life, when they should have been protected from it.
On the site there is a cafe where you can have a bite of lunch and a shop, where all the products are made from the women who have learned a trade and all proceeds made go to the organisation to help get more victims out of the industry.
Phnom Penh was a great city to explore. The food was mostly amazing, we learned a lot and got to catch up with a friend on the other side of the world. We were there for only 4 days but could have spent another week, next stop Saigon.
Khmer Capitol What I love about Asia is, no two cities are the same and Phnom Penh is no exception.
Siem Reap Budget
Again we overspent from what we originally planned, I’m starting to thing that our expectations were a little bit too conservative. Unlike most of the other places though, we had to pay for our visas and we decided to do a few tours. US $ US $ PN AU $ P/N AU $ TOTAL ACCOM 39 13 16.9 50.7 FOOD+DRINK 103 133.9 WATER 0 BEER 9.5 12.35 SHOPPING 45 58.5 ACTIVITIES 90 117 SMOKES 9 11.7 TRANSPORT 62 80.6…
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Cambodia and Vietnam were the places that we was most excited to see whilst travelling through South-East Asia, so after the Full Moon party we were more than happy to high tail it out of Thailand and make our way east to Cambodia.
From Bangkok to Siem Reap ended up taking 8 hours on a bus and cost us US $13 pp. The visa fee for entry to Cambodia was $30 if you chose to go through immigration yourself, but for $40 pp one of the staff from the bus company went and organised your visa for you and you just had to walk through the passport control area.
There is about 200m between the border crossing that was absolute mayhem. Tonnes of vendors and locals trying to sell you all their different wares and even a few casinos.
The official border between Cambodia and Thailand
Siem Reap
After spending nearly a month in various cities throughout Thailand, Siem Reap was a welcome change. Neither of us had any expectations about the city and we were pleasantly surprised by what we saw.
The first thing you will notice in Siem Reap is that there aren’t ‘typical’ roads like most other cities throughout the world, there was no guttering and the roads were mostly dirt. The second thing you” see about the city is the size of the buildings. Nowhere in sight is a building that is more than two stories high, this is because no building is allowed to stand higher than Angkor Wat.
We stayed at the European Hostel which was just outside of the city centre. It was affordable, had a pool and close to the shopping area and pub street.
Cambodia is a backpackers dream. Ninety nine percent of shops, markets, bars and restaurants all use the $US and the prices are all comparative to the country. Where in Australia a beer may cost you average of $4 AU, the average beer in Cambodia is only 0.75 US which makes it very easy to get out of the heat and settle in a pub for a few hours.
Pub Street, the perfect place to spend an evening after exploring the various temple complexes of Angkor.
Angkor Wat
Backpackers, history buffs, monks, tourists and locals alike flock to the enigma that is the complex of Angkor Wat. Believed to have been constructed during the 12th century Angkor Wat remains to be the largest religious complex in the world.
Taking only 36 years to be built, it was originally designed as a Hindu Temple to the God Shiva and it was the centre of the Khmer empire, which was the main powerhouse in South East Asia while it existed.
During the 12th century it went from a Hindu temple to a Buddhist temple. It was never completely abandoned, although relatively neglected until it was “re-discovered” in the mid 19th century by the French.
Angkor Wat at sunrise
View from the central structure
The outer enclosure
The temple itself is stunning to see, although personally we found it a little underwhelming. The size and all minor details are incredible, to think that it was constructed without modern techniques is beyond comprehension.
The Khmer have created one of the most recognisable structures in the world that is still standing and so intricate, it’s no wonder that it’s a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the top things to make sure you see in your lifetime.
The Bayon
Just north of Angkor Wat is a temple in the Angkor Thom complex known as The Bayon.
The Bayon is recognisable as it is decorated elaborately with over two hundred smiling faces on nearly every surface of the temple. It was also built during the 12th century as a Hindu temple.
The face of The Bayon
Unlike Angkor Wat, The Bayon was not as well maintained and therefore not as easy to get around. It felt like a bit of an adventure climbing over all the old pillars that had fallen over.
The central tower
The Bayon Temple
Ta Prohm
Ta Prohm was an unexpected treat. When we decided to go on this particular tour it was Angkor Wat, that we were excited about. Ta Prohm on the other hand we had no previous knowledge and therefore no expectations of it and I think that’s why surprisingly, we enjoyed it the most.
Entrance to Ta Prohm
Unlike Angkor Wat and The Bayon, Ta Prohm was practically left in the condition in which it was rediscovered. Like the other Wats it was also originally built around the late 12th century and was abandoned with the fall of the Khmer empire in the 15th century.
Ta Prohm is the perfect example of what happens when we abandon buildings, temples etc and nature decides to reclaim it. Most of the temple has now been destroyed by the force of nature, with its complete disregard for what we humans have constructed. Which makes this particular site so stunning.
Nature taking over the ancient temple
After being abandoned for five hundred years
Most people will recognise Ta Prohm from the Tomb Raider films released in the early 2000’s and that alone draws a massive amount of tourism.
One of the most famous locations from Tomb Raider
Ta Prohm was definitely our favourite from our day exploring and learning about the ancient Khmer empire. The price of the tour was only $US17 pp and that included transport from your accommodation and a guide from 5am – 12 noon and well worth the price.
Siem Reap was beautiful and is the perfect escape from the hustle of the bigger cities throughout South-East Asia. Whether you just want to chill out, learn about the ancient ways of the Khmer or even just party, Siem Reap is a place that should be on everyone’s bucket list.
It’s a Wat!? Cambodia and Vietnam were the places that we was most excited to see whilst travelling through South-East Asia, so after the Full Moon party we were more than happy to high tail it out of Thailand and make our way east to Cambodia.
Full Moon Party
The first Full Moon Party was in 1985 and consisted of less than 50 hippies sitting around a fire with a lot of drugs on a beach. Now more than 30 years later this event has become a rite of passage to backpackers, ravers, tourists and all round party goers alike. The ferry to Koh Phangan on the eve of the Full Moon Every month thousands of travellers head to the island of Koh Phangan to relish…
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🎨🐵 (at Banksy & Warhol Exhibition: laugh now)
After 2 months, 4 countries and countless memories, it's time to hang up the backpack for a bit and spend some time in the place that stole my heart #England