The sleeper bus engine switched off around 8am, we climbed out from the bottom bunk, i shared with an English boy who was really quiet but i thought that better than sharing with a local incase my phone or money were to be stolen. Joanna and Lilly left the bus soaked in wee, Lilly had wet herself through the night which didn’t surprise me considering how much we drunk the night prior, first thing i did was light a cigarette, not because I particularly wanted one but because it felt right. We chose to stay in the mad monkey hostel in Phnom Penh, we had all heard good things about it and they’re a very popular hostel choice. We got a tuk tuk there for a couple of dollars and checked in, it was roughly £4 a night if I remember right, the food offered tasted great and they had a rooftop bar. First thing we did was go for a breakfast, we all felt slightly crap so we knew a chilled out day was in the books for us, we spent our entire day lounging over bean bags by the pool, having a swim and eating good food. There was a “before I die” board on display in the hostel, you could use a piece of chalk and write what you would like to do during your lifetime, it read things from “I want to travel the world” to “adopt lots of ferrets” the board humoured me for a good half an hour reading what people from all around the world had written.

The World Cup was a huge part of my travelling, always being in a new city for each game; celebrating with English travellers or anyone around the globe who we would be playing. It was the 24th of June and I’m pretty sure we played against Panama, everyone got together on the rooftop bar for cheap beers and shots, the game was shown on a big screen and beer pong balls were flying around the room. After the game the hostel arranged a tour to take everyone out on the piss after, we went to a club close by and partied the night away, I didn’t have choice of which bunk I got this time and was forced to climb what felt like Everest each night to get some sleep.

The next morning we went to the Central Market in the city, it was a sensory overload with hundreds of stalls selling anything from jewellery to speakers to fake branded clothes. All I brought from the market was a blue necklace which still hangs around my neck to this day, unfamiliar smells weaved through the stalls and into the air, all combining to create a dirty scent that followed you around all day. The central market was in the shape of a dome with four arms leading out which the stalls based themselves upon, it was designed in a dark yellow with beautiful architecture on the inside and out. After a sweaty few hours of zig zagging through the crowds and stalls we headed back for some lunch; I had pancakes with eggs and hashbrowns, one of the days I had a pumpkin soup which was one of the best I’d ever had. We again spent another night parting with strangers who became family, something that happens when you’re so far away from your own. I’d hoped we managed to get a good amount of sleep that night so we weren’t outrageously tired for the killing fields the next morning.

The following morning I decided to head down to the reception and book another night on, assuming I wouldn’t feel up to getting a night bus alone after a long day out with the girls. Me, Joanna and Lilly decided we would try and get a cheap tuk tuk deal to take us to the S21 prison and the killing fields.

I’ve needed some inspiration to write about the killing fields, a dark place where emotions run high and a sense of brutality takes over your mind and wraps around each thought. Entering the past and freezing in a time where so many questions lay unanswered and unimaginable scenarios take place flickering through your thoughts. I paid a cheap bill to get into the fields and was given a headset to walk around with, listening to the experiences of the tragedy’s that happened here, it guided you around, with each step stopping to tell a tale, the intensity of the words spoken almost changes you. An empty shell of a being pacing around, broken with guilt. But guilt for what? Something about these abrupt places which we can find scattered around the planet brings that overwhelming feeling of guilt, its unexplainable. The birds chirped away and flowers blossomed into bright colours, trees over a hundred years old still growing, branches which had seen and felt every detail of what happened here. The roots of the tree full of secrets and heart ache. It left you hypnotised, each story evoked interest, at the same time the tip of your index finger would be left hovering over the button of your headset, wanting the nightmare to end. For those who havent herd of the killing fields, its a graveyard of the innocent. A communist group, Khmer Rouge seized power over the country in 1975 to 1979, the dictator Pol Pot wanted to create a pure utopian communist state; a broken promise. Men, women and children were brutally murdered and thrown into ditches sorrounded by the dead. Its hard to take in that this really happened and such a short amount of time ago. A select community of friendly locals are forced to live in the surrounding area of the fields with nowhere else to go, poverty claims lifes here and it was visibly crushing, a sense of admiration occasionally hitting you, how as a country they had picked themselves back up and were brave enough to use something so awful and turn it into something so educational. Towers of skulls were made, being the first devastation to come across. Glass boxes filled with teeth, bones and rags of childrens clothes were placed around the compound. Nothing screamed tragedy louder than human teeth in the thousands. What hit me most was a tree which vibrant coloured bracelets hung upon, presumably left by travellers who felt they owed the dead something, sorrow for the people who would once live like we do, having a family and then to be stripped of everything they ever knew in a genocide which ultimately tore the country of happiness. The tree read ‘KILLING TREE AGAINST WHICH EXECUTIONERS BEAT CHILDREN’ I felt my heart ache in a way it hadnt before, thinking what had actually taken place here would be some of the most unforgivable crimes in history. After the most quietly distressing couple of hours I’d ever experienced we handed back our head sets with an attempted smile and thankyou. My cheeks feeling stiff from the salt in my tears and my thoughts captivated on the life’s stolen some years ago, I was left with no words.

The weather emphasised how we had been feeling; rain poured and poured, rocketing to the ground as the wheels of the tuk tuk splashed it back up to our legs on an on going cycle. Something I had focused on. The driver took us to the S21 museum, two white buildings laced in barb wire, broken walls which had been exploited to evil and the echos of the screams were curved into the wind. The rooms lay bare and cold, the walls dirty and the checkered tiles revealed blood stains of victims. A singular metal bed with no mattress was central in the room, chains still tied to the beds and a picture on the wall of a particular victim and the story of their last days, a harrowing, long death of babies, women and men were to happen here. Beaten and abused to suffer in the worst way possible and left to eventually bleed out. The cells were big enough to fit maybe 2 slim, standing people, they would be chained up in complete darkness except the natural light trying to manoeuvre its way through gaps and holes. Endless rooms with pictures of faces, sad faces of all ages with eyes filled of sorrow and hurt. The images were terrifying and the overall experience was harrowing. A concentration camp for torture, interrogation and execution, seven people surviving out of huge 17,000 who were suspected of crime. Children robbed of their innocents and slaughtered in front of their parents, an act only capable of the wicked. A while of exploring this horrendous place left me deprived of happiness, like id almost forgot the meaning of the word. A feeling of compassion and pain weighed heavy on my shoulders, the victims had been permanently silenced but their stories go on to tell a part of history i’ll never forget. There are no right words for genocide yet places like this teach you to never be complacent in how it could just be around the corner. Travelling is not always about beautiful places and pictures of narcissistic shots of cleavage and mountains but about the lessons we learn to help us grow and appreciate the lifes were so lucky to have. I’ll never forget this day as for me its been the most important i’ve experienced. May the men, women and children who didnt survive this horrific ordeal rest in peace, may kindness and compassion rain down on this earth and let this be used as a lesson, something no one should go through again. 

My flight from Da Nang airport arrived into Siem Reap around 9pm that night, i was still feeling partially withdrawn from everyone around me and i was so exhausted, the sky was pitch black and people were chaotically rushing around for flights and taxis. I’d been told about the Funky Flashpacker hostel prior to my trip by a friend so i thought i’d check it out. I hopped on the back of a tuk tuk and headed straight there, as i walked into the hostel i noticed a sign reading ’24 hour food and bar’ which made me feel right at home. I checked in after booking a night on my hostel world app which was so useful and saved time incase there were to be no beds left if i had just headed straight there. All the dorms were names after capital cities in Europe, i cant actually remember which one i stayed in, again i chose the bottom bunk; trying to put my safety first. It was a shared dorm of around 20 people which didn’t bother me, i went straight to the rooftop bar feeling parched for a cold beer and deprived of conversation, I shortly realised i arrived on gender bender night; girls dress as guys, guys dress as girls. Everyone looked brilliant and I was given a shot and a full introduction within a minute. It was a staff members last night on the bar so everybody was going to be heading out to Pub Street soon, turns out travellers who stop here find it pretty easy to get a job there and stick around for a month or so to save money, one guy had been there for quite a few months already. After speaking to a few people I decided I should go to Pub Street with everyone, being around the loud music and intoxicated travellers woke me up and I thought my first night in Cambodia should be one to remember.

Unfortunately I do not remember. I know the beers were around $1 in most places and each bar was pretty similar. When I came in around 4am people in my dorm were getting ready to go and see Angkor Wat on a sunrise tour, I crawled into bed and had one of the best sleeps yet. I woke around 10am the next morning to have some breakfast. Funky Flashpackers food reminded me of a British cafe having everything from a full English breakfast to toasties to Sausage and mash. One of my favourites was a Heinz beans and cheese toastie, something cheap and easy, from this time in the morning onwards around every hour the hostel would offer free shots, there would be games of beer pong and each day of the week they had something going on; whether it be gender bender, a pool party, shot limbo or bucket night. I was prepared for a day of drinking so I thought to be practical and book my Angkor Wat tour for the next sunrise thinking I could head to bed early. The hostel offered a shot called an overload for €2.50, it was a joss shot and a jäger shot balanced in a plastic cup with some redbull in, evidently once you had the joss shot, the jäger would fall into the cup of energy drink to finish the shot off. I mainly spent my day with Americans getting involved in everything that was going on and meeting new people. Stupidly, drunk me decided it was ok to go to bed an hour before needing to be up and ready, even though I was drowsy and needing a lot more sleep I made the choice of going!

A few of us jumped onto the back of a taxi and headed over to Angkor Wat, the sun just slowly starting to rise above old broken buildings, there were locals opening up shops and cafes; placing tables and chairs outside and setting up their fruit and veg stalls. When arriving at Angkor Wat you’re given trousers to cover up while in the monuments and you pay a small fee to enter, around £2. We were walked around by a guide explaining all the facts and history of the monuments which I found really interesting, I’d always wanted to come here so learning about it while walking around was great. The Khmer architecture was very impressive and the detail was exquisite, there were lots of travellers all over the show dressed in trousers or silk embroidered skirts, I brought an orange one from one of the locals selling them here, thinking it will be sentimental in a few years time. The sun was quickly rising behind Angkor Wat leaving a beautiful view, monkeys were jumping around the temples and artists were drawing the scenery. I noticed a few food stalls so I avoided the crowds of tourists and headed over for some pancakes to begin the day right before climbing stairs and taking photos, we continued to look around and have discussions on the topic before heading to a cafe for lunch. There were two more smaller temples to go and see but I left early to catch some more sleep.

Later the same day after a nap and a shower I thought I’d have a Mexican lunch made by Funkys lovely chefs then head out to have a look around the city; there wasn’t a whole lot there except bars and cafes, I’m pretty sure Siem Reap is almost only famous for Angkor Wat and other temples circling the area. I walked past a stall that made ice cream rolls, of course I brought one. The cutest Cambodian lady made me Oreo flavoured rolls in a pot, I remember her always being extra smiley which took me back here more than once. I paced around for quite a while in search for something as interesting as my morning had been, absolutely nothing. Super markets on supermarkets. I headed back to the hostel and booked my bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh for that evening, one of the places I’d most looked forward too during my trip as the killing fields were located here which I found captivating. I spent another boozy afternoon in the hostel, two girls had arrived who became two of my favourite people I met while travelling; Joanna and Lilly. The day was consumed doing overloads and downing beers around the pool, music blaring and everyone wasted, connect 4 is a huge part of SE Asia, a lot of hostels played this in order to give free drinks or for the staff to receive one brought by us. The manager of the hostel was an uplifting, loud guy who was always drinking and wanting to play connect 4, he decided we would play and if I were to lose I’d move my bus ticket for the following day.. I of course lost.

This happened again the following night after another day of hard partying from the moment of waking to the moment my head slammed the pillow again, our days were spent with all sorts of people, we met a girl and boy who had been living Vietnam teaching school children who were great fun to drink with, Jess and Paul. Everyone would start their day down by the pool then head up to the rooftop bar for games of pool and beer pong competitions, a constant flow of drinks and loud music before heading to pub street to finish the night. Joanna and Lilly we’re heading to Phnom Penh on my 4th night here so I decided I’d definitely be heading there with them on the same night bus, we were close to not making it after the piss up we had been on all day, we’d been with a few guys from London (which from this moment on I bumped into them at every place I’d travelled too) and an American guy called Ryan, alcohol yet again stole a huge part of my memory in Siem Reap but my days were filled with endless laughs and great people.

The sleeper bus arrived at 12am, we were all scattered in different places around the hostel so it was a mission for us 3 to find eachother and wait patiently without wondering off, I had my last cigarette before jumping on a small open taxi to take us to the sleeper, I didn’t realise the sleepers in Cambodia were sharing only which took me by surprise and it wasn’t the best thing to happen when there’s 3 of you travelling.

When i arrived in Hoi An i was stupidly excited, i heard it was one of the best places to be in Vietnam with the ultimate vibes. I was dropped off at the bus stop pretty far from the centre so i decided to just take a walk around, stop for some lunch and a coffee. There was a tiny cafe on a corner, the paint on the walls were cracked and the cafe had a wood effect all the way round, the owner was working alone, probably as she did most days as it was small and empty when i was there. She had her head rested on the table watching Netflix or something on her phone, you would find alot of locals doing this during work; passing the time until they were needed or had a few customers in. I had a black coffee and a few home made veg spring rolls but to my dis-advantage they were made of mushrooms and anyone who knows me understands my hate for them so i just picked them around and tried to eat the outsides. I paid for my lunch and jumped into a taxi, id been recommended The Sunflower hostel before by friends at home, i heard it was quite a party hostel so i planned to have a couple days there then chill out abit. That didn’t go so much to plan.

Once id got into the hostel i checked in, was given a key and found my way to my room. I took the bottom bunk because i kept in mind the fact i may be drunk later that night and climbing up to the top bunk might not be the greatest of ideas. Another reason i chose that bed was because it was right next to the balcony door, easy for a cig and a beer in the sun. There was a tiny shop opposite the hostel so after chucking my bag on the bed and putting my phone on charge i ran over to grab a couple of beers so i could chill in my room and sort through my luggage, none of my clothes had been in for laundry cleaning yet and it was just making the rest of them filthy, especially after my trek in Sapa. Mud everywhere. It felt great knowing my clothes would be clean the next morning but i decided i wanted to bargain hunt and get something fresh for that night. My maps.me told me the walk to the Old Town would take about 15 minutes so i waited for my phone to charge and I set off. I had a quick walk around, strong minded on the idea of getting something fresh to wear and then heading back out once the sun had died down. I was pulled into tailor made clothing stores and called over by staff in restaurants in hope I’d buy my lunch there. I heard of a local attraction – The Japanese bridge; Cau Chua Pagoda and it was just around the corner so I thought I’d go take a look and see what the fuss was about, it was beautifully detailed and lit up later at night. I ended up purchasing some orange and white trousers with a small top so I could easily tan, tourists uses cycle bikes to get around Hoi An which hostels usually offered for free, the walk ways in the Old Town were always busy, packed with locals and shop keepers trying to sell whatever they could, everything being authentic or handmade.

After getting back to The Sunflower and ultimately getting ready to go back to where id just come from, i was feeling famished. There was a beautiful Vietnamese restaurant with purple lanterns in the Old Town which i had noticed so i was determined to go there, on my way i was distracted by one of the locals who owned a small caf, big enough to fit around four people inside and a few on the out. She offered a good conversation which i had lacked since being here and the nicest mango smoothie i had ever tried. A huge bush with purple flowers hung over the entrance ever so slightly and wrapped around the left sided of the wall, orange lanterns were lit and hung up all around; this gave a nice touch to the flowers and a charming feel to the dainty little bar. The kids were as beautiful as ever in Vietnam, a little girl seemed to be fascinated by me, just staring until her dad eventually called her over.

I continued my stroll until i found the cute restaurant i passed previously, i chose to sit inside finally feeling dressed to the part, i chose a sweet potato and dumpling curry with rice; i’m not a fan of dumplings but someone on the opposite table had the same and it smelt delicious. The street was lit up and the buildings looked amazing reflecting multiple coloured lanterns, some walls were painted an indigo blue and others a sunflower yellow, these combined brilliantly to work with the vibe Hoi An gave.

After arriving back to the hostel i was finally in the mood to party, i hadn’t met anyone yet so i thought to go straight to the bar downstairs and see what was going on. It was 50,000 Vietnamese dong for unlimited spirits for 2 hours (£1.64)! The choice was between rum, vodka and something else which you definitely couldn’t get in a bar in England, once you reached about 9pm shutters which you wouldn’t have realised were there closed you in leaving just a door to get by the pool or go back up to the dorms, the walls had spray paint everywhere of all kinds of shit and people were playing beer pong, dancing around and getting boozy as. I had a couple of drinks, sitting on my phone with a cig not really being sure who to approach. I noticed 3 girls looking the same kinda age to me so i decided to head over after a small amount of alcohol courage, i asked if i could take a seat and have a few drinks with them, one of them had spent her day in hospital after breaking her toe coming off a ped. They were French Canadian girls all travelling South East Asia at just 18! Elenah, Sen and Marilou. They played a massive part of my time in Hoi An, they were planning for an early night due to her foot but there’s nothing i’m better at than persuading people to drink. We were drinking fast, meeting more and more travellers as the night went on and partying way to hard. We met an Auzzie guy called Owen who had the best sense of humour, we spent our entire night getting fucked up, smoking what we thought was Vietnamese weed, in and out the pool and downing way to many vodka shots. When the deal at Sunflower ends people tended to go next door to a club called Hair Of the Dog, there were poles to dance on, a DJ set and balloons the size of 4 footballs being sold for a couple of quid. You would occasionally see people trying to do their balloons solo and getting to the point of having a brief fit on the floor. Everyone there spent the whole night shaking their asses and keeping the vibe going, around 5am we all decided we might find another club, there being about 20 of us at this point, maybe not being conscious of the time, we called it a night.. me and the girls planned for a trip into the Old Town the next day so i think it was probably a good idea to get the few hours sleep we had.

The next morning i collecting my clean clothes and got ready, meeting those 3 in their room to laugh about the night before and discuss whatever happened that alcohol might have stolen from our memory. We headed out for breakfast, having a slow walk due to Elenas foot but in all fairness it gave us more time to take in the scenery. We walked in from a different way i had the day before so it was nice to see the town from another angle, we had steamed veg with rice and soy sauce and some tiger beers. We checked out a few shops then grabbed a taxi to Cua Dai Beach to chill, read and get in the sea, it was ridiculously warm but there was a noticeable amount of litter which took that nice beach feel away. Me and Elena went and grabbed some lunch while Sen and Marilou sunbathed, we only had a grilled sandwich as anything near the beach sells pretty limited food unless you wanna risk eating the seafood. A couple hours flew by and we headed back, not knowing how the day had gone.

I decided to chill out a while in my room, talking to everyone back home and replying to messages i’d missed before getting ready to have a repeat of the night before.. and it was, but a whole lot messier. Even more people checked into the hostel which made the night twice as epic, in all honesty i don’t remember a great deal but i’m pretty sure this night we ended up in a different bar after the 50,000 dong deal had gone out the window, i was with a few people, another English couple id met along the way who were awesome to hang out with. The next day i remembered almost nothing atall, i knew we were with people from Aus and all over, you just have to go downstairs and hope you didn’t piss anyone off or embarrass yourself to much which would be very hard to do as almost no one would judge anything out there. I went out on my own to find somewhere to eat and possibly book a bus to the next place, I chose a quiet restaurant just a few blocks down and had another curry, one of the best yet but that could’ve been my hungover taste buds playing tricks on me. I didn’t want to miss Ho Chi Minh so I thought about booking a bus straight there and then I could work my way slightly up north again before heading to Cambodia, the bus was about £24 and took 24 hours leaving that afternoon. I packed my things and gave my key into reception, still having a paid night left but checking out earlier than planned, feeling I’d seen a fair bit of Hoi Ans towns. I brought some snacks for the long ass journey, cigs and a ton of water, I was speaking to the girls while waiting for my bus to arrive, talking about how much fun we’d had over the last few days. We were sat by the entrance; taxi doors closing and loud voices. I could easily tell by the conversation they were about to check in, maybe 9 guys came through, two came over to us straight away; Jono and Mase. One of my first questions were “I recognise you, where ya from?” The question was backfired and when I saw the reaction after I replied Southampton I had a good feeling over me, I knew I had to bin off the bus and party with people who really knew how too, after all no one does it like the English. All of them lived elsewhere but had spent the last few years studying in Southampton which included Alex, Rhys and Joe. There were also two guys from London they had met along their travels; Harry and Steve. All of them seemed pretty decent and I felt sad about leaving the girls so I spoke to the receptionist, explained I changed my mind and got ready for another afternoon of booze. We sat by the pool, chilled out and got to know eachother over beers and vodka, Owen the Aussie guy from the prior couple of nights was still around, he was great company and so chill, turns out some Australians really are up for it just as much as us.

I came downstairs the next morning to check out and Mase invited me to the next hostel they were heading too, 10 minutes down the road but with a nicer pool and a tad less crazy which was what I needed so I took the offer, squeezing into the taxi with the lads to Hoi An City Backpackers. We checked into the hostel, had some beers and met up the Scottish lad we had met a few nights before and a guy from Canada called Brook. We decided that day we would go to An Bang beach with a speaker, good conversation and to enjoy some cocktails, the beach bar behind us was quirky and cheap so it was ideal, the only thing that wasn’t ideal was Mason bringing the first round of cocktails back from the bar and letting every last one soak into the sand. Within about 30 seconds the sky changed dramatically, all different shades of grey and the clouds moving faster than I’d ever seen before, it was pretty remarkable to say the least.

We all ran to the bar and continued to party in torrential rain, I KID YOU NOT there were two and three year olds running wild with bottled beer shouting “tiger, tiger” before being chucked around the pool by all the tourists, their parents enjoying the entire setting of the evening. It was getting pretty late and we were wasted so we headed back to get ready for Hair Of The Dog to end the night, again the night was full of spirits, balloons and ass shaking; the music the Vietnamese played would get your hips moving and leave you in a ridiculous amount of sweat. Me and Mase called it a night and attempted to walk back, not contemplating how far it actually was on foot, two Vietnamese teenagers actually had the audacity to drive up behind us on their ped and slap my butt. I was half horrified and half thankful they weren’t trying to mug me but I take everything with a pinch of salt. The locals here were quite harmless though, it was the country I’d always felt my safest.

The days are pretty foggy from here, probably getting a couple of them mixed up but I know we spent a couple of days just chilling at the hostel, we met a couple from New Zealand with a real expensive camera so we all went mad for that trying to ensure we actually had some pictures together after staying in a group for a while. We all spent those last couple of days chilling and having an absolute blast before I decided it to book the next flight out of Vietnam and into Cambodia; I don’t regret missing as much of Vietnam as I did, I’m glad I didn’t rush and I know I’ll be back someday soon, I couldn’t have met better people throughout my trip so far. The flight and transfer to the airport was booked in the hostel as a package, something I wouldn’t recommend as it’ll always be more expensive. The sun was beaming for my last day and the hostel pool was a sun trap. I said my goodbyes hoping it wasn’t the last time I’d see these lot. The transfer taxi I shared with another girl, she told me all about Cambodia and what I should go and visit, I felt sad and kinda withdrawn; not realising until now just how good Vietnam was and how much I’d miss everyone I’d met so far. We stayed together in the airport until we had to separate to get to our gates, I had my first mouthful of meat in over 2 weeks in a Costa coffee; a chicken sub. Something about airport food always felt safer than anything abroad, especially in a third world country.

And before I knew it I was off, jetting over to the next place – not knowing for another two and a half months that Vietnam would be my favourite part of travelling and a country I will go back to time and time again.

The bus to Halong seemed to go pretty fast, we had a half way stop for about half an hour to use the bathroom and get some snacks. I still didn’t fancy eating meat so i just got some crisps; always getting confused on the flavour, think i ended up with seaweed that time. They were actually pretty good. We jumped on another bus where i was in and out of sleep, sat next to a girl from Darwin but i never managed to get her full name. The tour guides put about 14 of us on a small boat to take us to the big one, once we were on we had a pretty decent lunch but with alot of sea food; i was still too scared to try anything with meat as id heard from lots of travellers they had gotten food poisoning in Vietnam so i stuck with the rice and veg. After lunch we chose our rooms, i stayed with the girl id met on the bus as she was the only person id properly spoken to so far. We had a set itinerary for the two days which seemed to swap over so we got freshened up and set sail through the beautiful limestone rocks which counted to about 1600 islands.

Everyone on the booze cruise was great company, mainly Americans and two girls from London. We made our way to a smaller boat to explore the light and dark caves, they were beautiful to walk around and were surprisingly big, the first cave led out to a beautiful view of the bay and the stroll down to the boat seemed about 1000 steps in that heat! We spent about an hour there before heading over to a beach area where people were playing football and swimming in the water, the water looked slightly polluted from the boats dropping off and picking up tourists but i had a swim anyway.

We headed back to the boat after another couple of hours just chilling and chatting to get ready for dinner and a few hours of free booze – which actually meant 3 hours of warm free beer and vodka. The dinner was quite similar to the lunch we had so i was pretty bored of rice and soy sauce at this point, i was more excited to start drinking as everyone on the tour was studying something pretty great at uni or had just graduated and i felt i didnt really have much to bring to the conversation in the academic aspect but it was safe to say i learnt alot. We played drinking games as the sun set over the rocks and partied inside the cabin after the sun had set and from what i remember drinking far to many tequila shots! We put the speaker up top and partied away until around 4am, all the Vietnamese staff had passed out in the cabin at this point.

The next morning we all showered and met back up in the cabin for breakfast, i gelled really well with the American girl i had met who was a right laugh to be around. We set off pretty quickly to go kayaking through a cave of bats ending up in what felt like a secret lake surrounded by the huge rocks, it was my first time kayaking so i was excited to do so. There were monkeys jumping from rock to rock with babies attached to their stomachs, it was a pretty cool experience to say the least. When we had finished the kayak we went back to the boat where some people left for castaways, another thing i regret not doing!

The rest of us had a cooking class booked but something about the alcohol the night prior and the rockiness of the kayaking made me feel slightly sick so i sat up top and enjoyed the view and took in what was around me while sailing back to the docks. The sun was stupidly hot but made the scenery look perfect, i wish i had learnt how to make the Vietnamese spring rolls i had loved so much but a hungover me and all the smells didn’t work out so great. When we got back to the docks we all jumped on a bus where 4 hours later we would be back in Hanoi. We said our goodbyes before i jumped off and headed back to the hostel where i had booked my next bus, the women working let me use the hostel shower and get ready before setting off to my next adventure in Hue.

I don’t remember the greatest amount of what we did after getting back from Sapa, but i know the first thing we did was check back in. Libby and Polly were excited to see if their visa extension was confirmed (which it was) Getting up to my room there was a Chinese student who didn’t speak any English and none of the other beds had been taken, i chose the bottom bunk which offered a curtain i could pull around the entire bed. The balcony was fairly nice with a small candlelit temple type thing and a view of the street. I spent a while in my room having a sort through my stuff – separating all my dirty clothes and trainers from all my clean stuff, i had a few cigs and a shower before heading into Libbys room and chilling on her balcony, they were both really inspiring to be around for the first part of my travels as they had been a fair few places and still had many more to go. We decided we’d have a walk around and find a vegan place to grab some decent lunch/dinner. We stopped in a few shops to grab some water and generally have a look around before stopping in Minh Chay Vegan Restaurant where i had raised tempeh with green banana curry and veg spring rolls, which were delicious.

After lunch we headed out to buy some clothes and whatever tickled our fancy, i enjoyed walking around and looking at the French architecture and the way the Vietnamese lived, hundreds of bikes all trying to squeeze down the same road, women would carry their new born babies on the back of the peds with no helmet. I guess they knew what they were doing! On the way back to the hostel i brought a Vietnamese straw hat which they all seemed to wear out there but they literally kept all the sun off ya face and shoulders, worked a dream in that heat!

We stopped in the same small cafe just around the corner from City Backpackers as we did a couple nights before, we had G&Ts and another famous baguette before i headed across the road (still hadnt learnt how to do this so took me quite some time). I headed back to the hostel where i seemed to end up booking everything i did in Hanoi, i wanted to find out prices of Halong Bay boat trip and if i could leave the following day, i didnt realise you had to pre-book 2 days before so i quickly got that sorted and arranged a bus from Hanoi to Hue for the night i got back. That night we were really tired but we followed through with a few more drinks after another shower (you wouldn’t believe how sweaty this city really was) every night the hostel would offer free beer from 7pm onwards so we attended this and had a few conversations with other travellers. The beer was rank!

The next morning we met up for breakfast in the hostel which they served free until 10am, i had banana pancakes. This was somehow the first and only time i had real banana pancakes with them completely cooked in the batter, they were impeccable! This day it rained almost all day on and off, but mainly on! It absolutely chucked it down to say the least so i spent alot of today chilling on the balcony just taking in the surrounding street and reflecting on my trip so far, after all Sapa really showed me how great i had it and how lucky i was to meet such inspiring people along the way. Opposite my balcony the buildings were beautifully authentic with huge French doors and windows just holding onto one hinge, the street below was always busy with women selling fruit off of baskets hung from their shoulder to the racket of bikes beeping their way through the crowd.

We met back up downstairs for some beers and a cig before heading back to the same cute cafe with the amazing baguettes to discuss our plans for the night as i’d be leaving them the following morning. This was where i had learnt it was against Vietnamese law to have tables and chairs from the cafe on the street walk. They all had to be inside the cafes and restaurants or the police were to discard of them on the back of their lorries, we were chilling having our beers when we witnessed a domino effect from down the street of staff collecting the furniture asking anyone sat to come inside. The police truck came slowly down the street and you could see piles of chairs that had been taken along the way.

We decided that night we would go to Hanoi’s night market so we headed back to the hostel to get changed; i packed my things for the following day as i was worried id wake late with the bus leaving at 7:45am. We headed over to taco king for some snacks before the market where we had a right laugh, from what i remember i only had a beer, my stomach shrunk even in the first couple of days; lack of protein from not eating meat. We headed into the city and took a stroll around the night markets, i was always surprised at how early it became dark in Vietnam, maybe around half 6. After having a gander we ended up at Mcdonalds for abit of normality, they offered the weirdest of foods. We had a walk around the Hoan Kiem lake, the bridge was completely lit up almost looking like it was glowing in the dark, we passed street dancers and locals selling sunglasses and wallets before heading back to the hostel where we had a cigarette and said our goodbyes. While walking through the crowds a guy from, I think Japan stopped us and asked if he could practice his English. In the morning i was up early as anything to grab a shower and get a free breakfast while i could, i popped over the road, buying cigs on the way and waited for my bus to Halong Bay. I was in shock horror when a Vietnamese man called me onto the back of his ped after looking at my ticket to take me to the bus, id promised my dad just days before i wouldn’t go near one (unfortunately this promise couldn’t be kept) he took me around the corner with my rucksack being held by his left ankle before throwing it onto the sleeper bus. I always tried to grab a bed close to the toilet as i seemed to drink litres and litres of water a day. And that was it, i set off for Halong.

I changed into something comfier for the night bus before we all met up, the bus was nothing to what i expected, 3 long rows of bunk beds with a double one at the back, air conditioning and a working toilet. I slept through most of the journey, it was still dark when we arrived so we stayed in the bus until around 7am then we were welcomed into a hostel to wash up and have breakfast. The first thing i did was have a ciggerette and a coffee, one thing i learnt in Vietnam was that western food was never delivered to how it was in England, i could barely recognise half the food on my plate, its always safer to go for a more cultural meal. Before heading off we put a change of clothes and necessary supplies into a smaller rucksack, leaving our big bags into a room upstairs, we headed to the nearest shop for some water and bug spray, not that bugs had been a problem so far but the word ‘trek’ made me feel the need to purchase it.

Ta Van family homestay offered a lush breakfast which treated me well, while eating our tour guide arrived to tell us todays plans. We had some time to get ready and then we set off to Bamboo forest, Lib decided to stay at the homestay for this one. The forest was small and spectacular, after we set off to a huge waterfall which we used to cool down and stop for pictures, we stopped for a big lunch of noodles with veg at the top of a huge hill. I remember a Vietnamese child was there with ginger hair, something id never seen before, she was gorgeous! Me and Polly had a cig outside while taking photos of another adorable baby. We took a shortcut home and unfortunately on the way back i got to hear the dreaded sounds everyone had heard the night prior, yuk! It took me by surprise that it was happening in a shed opposite a restaurant but hey, i guess thats third world countries for ya. After getting back to the homestay we chilled and had tea before heading onto the bus to get back to Hanoi.