Lucie's sabbatical
26th September 2018
When I was young & carefree I took a sabbatical from work for 3 months to go travelling. The countries on the agenda were Thailand, which I had been too before, Vietnam & Cambodia, both new experiences. With my backpack full to capacity I was on my way to Bangkok. A short stay on Kho San Road would be the start of my journey, very busy and full of backpackers, the food in Thailand is just amazing but I have to say I didnt try the local delicacies, which were bugs. 
From Bangkok I travelled to Chang Mai, where I did a cooking class which was brilliant & taught me alot. From there onto to Pai which was such a chilled out place to be, elephants would walk through the town to an elephant sanctuary. Once Pai was explored a long coach journey down to Suat Thani port was the next leg of the journey to catch a ferry to Kho Samui for a few relaxing beach days. Its a really nice Island but very touristy so the prices are more expensive, having said that it is still very cheap in Thailand. Having hire a moped & seen the island it was time to move on. So Kho Phangan was brief visit to experience a full moon party, which was as mad as people say it is. Once recovered off to Phi Phi Islands, Wow what an amazing place so so beautiful & picturesque, here I went to see a Thai boxing match, not my cup of tea really though. There were no roads on the Phi Phi Islands, it was all sand paths. While on Phi Phi I nipped over to Maya Bay in a small island hopping boat this is where The Beach was filmed. Such a beautiful place surrounded by massive tree lined rocks. The sea is so clear & plenty of fish so was great for snorkelling. It was very quiet and not many tourists were there. Ive heard it is now overflowing with tourists & they have had to close it for a while. So sad. Krabi was just as beautiful, restaurants overlooking the beach, clear water & lots of islands to visit. Shortly after leaving Krabi when I arrived back on Kho Samui on Boxing Day news broke that a Tsunami had hit Thailand & Phi Phi, Krabi & so many more places had been distroyed. I count my lucky stars every day that I travelled away from the devastation when I did. In the few days following the aftermath I heard so many awful stories. It was so upsetting.
Vietnam
I cant quite remember the proper route that was taken but Hanoi was the first stop in Vietnam, alot of very long journeys ahead by coach which are a very hairy experience to say the least, Hanoi was such hustle & bustle, full of life. I found the vietnamese very nice people. Crossing roads there you would take your life into your own hands.
Hoi An was a lovely place, very small streets & lots of shops, the food market was just amazing, the smells & the colours of the fresh fruit were so vivid. the shops all had beautiful lanterns hanging from the ceiling. But then by night the streets were strewn with rats, Ive never seen anything quite like it. After having lots of clothes made i made my way to Nha Trang, back to a beach place. While there I went to a bar called Crazy Kims, having seen a huge amount of poverty & children roaming the streets I found the perfect opportunity to give something back so at Crazy Kims each day the brought a few of the underprivilaged kids in to have snacks & talk to English tourists & learn English it was a great experience & I went away with a sense of pride in helping some of these children get off the streets & be in a safe environment for a while & have fun. Dalat was my next place to visit, very different & very cold!! I was used to being in the heat for so long I'd forgotten about the cold. I had to go out & buy a warm top. From there to Ho Chi Minh, back to hustle & bustle of the city & alot warmer. Theres was lots to do there but I just went to the Cu Chi tunnels, so small, the vietamese must have been tiny to fit through them. It was unbelievable how they lived like they did underground. Vietnam was a great place to vist but now it was time to move on & so Cambodia awaited my arrival.
Cambodia
Phnom Penh, well I thought vietnam had hustle & bustle but this was in another league, cars everywhere, moped with 5-6 people onboard & people all over the place. I hitched a ride on a moped which took me to some rooms which stood on a lake. Very basic room but the living area was open & sat over the lake. Night time in Phnom Penh was a bit scary & people were warned not to venture out so I didnt really. I visited the Killing Fields & S-21 prison while I was there & it was all very harrowing & very sad. Back to a bit of peice & a beach Sihanoukville was the next destination, travelling there was an experience, the roads in Cambodia lead alot to be desired, pot holes everywhere. This was a nice place, only small & not much to do. The toilets are abit of an eyeopener & Im glad I wasnt there for long!! Siem Reap was the final destination, arrived there and was mobbed by people trying to get us to stay in various accomodation. Once I chose one I was taken to a nice room in a hotel.
After purchasing a 3 day ticket for Angkor I chose a guide who would stay with me for the 3 days & show me the temples. What an absolutely amazing place, the amount of stunning sights I saw in those 3 days were unbelievable. I have to say this is the best place I have ever been & would highly reccommend anyone to go if they had the chance. It was extremely hot but in the temples it was so cool. Angkor was the highlight & was vast.
