Category Archives: Asia

Asia, Journey

Saigon – Ay Caramba!

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Saigon, also called Ho Chi Minh City, packs quite a punch! Not my favorite destination, but it’s a good starting point for Vietnam’s south. After being here for a day, I understand why people wear pollution face masks. Smog much!

Enough whining! The food here is awesome! There’s a brilliant blend of traditional Vietnamese food, along with a cuisine influence from the French – Vietnam was a French colony for many year. There’s plenty of amazing drinks too – from coffee to tapioca “bubble tea.” A taste for everyone!

While walking around the city, it’s hard not to notice the government communist propaganda. Images of strong workers side by side with soldiers and families – reminds me of the propaganda museums in Eastern Europe. Check out the photo below.

Saigon has really embraced motos – a low powered motorcycle. When crossing the road, it looks like a river of motos crisscrossing every which way. There are pedestrian crosswalks, but they’re mere decoration! No one ever stops – ever! You’re only option is to walk by faith into the madness and hope for the best! The strategy is to walk at a moderate and steady base. The steady part is most important, as drivers will dodge you, usually with a 3cm margin. Not for the faint of heart!

From Saigon we head further south to the Mekong Delta. Should be an adventure.

Cheers, Shawn

Photos by Jon Lang

Asia Trip – 2015

Asia, Journey

Angkor Wat – A True Wonder

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It’s hard to capture the sheer expanse of Angkor Wat! It is the largest religious monument in the world at 162 hectares and was built in the 12th century. It was originally a Hindu temple complex, and was converted to a Buddhist complex later on.

We took two days to check out the area, one day by car and the second by tuk-tuk (a mini-motorcycle with a passenger carriage bolted on). Even though Angkor Wat is swamped with tour groups, it is totally worth it! The ancient temples, statues, and ancient architecture are stunning. I could go on and on about it, but it’d be easier if you check out the photos!

We stayed in the nearby town of Siem Reap. When we arrived at our hostel, there wasn’t a soul to be seen. We gave out a holler and awoke our hung over Russian host (it was around 2 in the afternoon), hehe. It was quite a pleasant stay, and we checked out a dinner/Khmer dance show. It was very interesting and the dancers were fantastic. Check out the photo below. After getting our temple fix, we were prepared for our next country – Vietnam!

Cheers, Shawn

Photos by Jon Lang

Asia Trip – 2015

Asia, Journey

Sangker River – Living on the Water

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We started our 8 hour river journey bright and early from Battambang to Siem Reap. This gives you a glimpse into the lives of local villagers, as well as floating villages where the people literally live on the water! You get to see the regular daily lives of the people without the touristy influence. This river trip is a definite must for travellers wanting to get off the beaten-track.

Along several stretches the river winds along some tight curves. Our captain had it all figured out through, as his first mate climbed on the roof, grabbed a long pole of bamboo, and pushed the boat into position. Where there’s a will there’s a way!

A key livelihood and food source for the villages is fishing. While sailing past, we saw a group of five guys hauling up the nets on one of their river fish traps (see below for a picture). They had a pretty good catch!

We stopped for lunch at a floating restaurant for some rice, fish, and pineapple. At the end of our journey we hit the lake Tonle Sap and made our way to a port near Siem Reap. Siem Reap is the town next to the fascinating ancient temple complex of Angkor Wat.

Cheers, Shawn

Photos by Jon Lang

Asia Trip – 2015

Asia, Journey

Battambang – Bat Caves, Bamboo Trains, and Bandit Monkeys

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So much happened in Battambang! If you don’t know, this is a small city in the northwest of Cambodia. For a place so far away it sure does have a lot of fancy hotels. It worked well for us, as we got a sweet hotel for less than $15!

We hired a tuk-tuk driver for a couple of days and checked out all kinds of cool stuff. First we took a ride on the bamboo train. You can see what I mean in the photos below. This gave us a nice tour of the surrounding rice fields and countryside. During a break at the end of the line, Jon was bombarded with bracelet selling children! He ended up buying one from each of them!

For a half day we took a bike tour and checked out several local businesses, including:

  • Banana leather factory: a local family grows bananas, thinly slices them up, tightly placed them together, and lets them dry. This makes long roles of banana fruit leather! It is very tasty, cheap, and makes for great backpacking food
  • Rice wine distillery: well, it’s not really wine – it’s more like a rice based moonshine! The handmade distiller processes the rice starch into a potent, yet effective, alcoholic beverage
  • Fish patty processing: the locals bring a bunch of small fish, put them in barrels, press them down into a pasty substance, and after some time the fish are ready to eat. It may not be overly tasty, but it is nutritious

Another day we checked out a Buddhist temple on top of the only mountain in the area. From the top you can see for miles around at the rice fields. You’ll find a bunch of nice looking monkeys here, but beware; they really like water bottles and will grab them from the unwary traveller! The locals found an effective deterrent – sling shots!

Near this temple there is a massive bat cave. At around 5:30pm each night, bats stream out of the cave for 40 minutes straight! I’ve never seen anything like this before. You’ll see a photo below of a black streak in the night sky – these are all bats! Each night the bats swoop through the rice fields and eat up all the mosquitos and bugs. In the morning they cram back into the cave for their daily slumber. If you make it to Battambang, you MUST check this out. One tip though, do not stand in front of the cave entrance when the bats stream out, or else you’ll feel a stream of something else!

One other cool thing we did in Battambang was hire a kayaking company to bring us out-of-town, and then we rowed kayaks back. It was a chill two hours of paddling and enjoying the water.

As we left Battambang we weren’t finished with the river yet! The next destination is Siem Reap (the town near Angkor Wat). We decided on the scenic route to Siem Reap, and will take an eight-hour riverboat. Should be fun!

Cheers, Shawn

Photos by Jon Lang

Asia Trip – 2015

Asia, Journey

Phnom Penh – Quite a Mix

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From the beach we headed to Cambodia’s hectic capital – Phnom Penh. We caught a bus from Thailand to Cambodia, and had an interesting time at the border. As we entered Cambodia, an official pointed a laser light at us for a “health check,” and asked for roughly $1. We then had the option of paying an additional amount for their express visa service, and once across were told we could wait around for 5 hours for our pre-booked bus, or pay an additional $10 for a bus that was about to leave. All these fees seemed rather fishy to me! But if you don’t pay, you’re stuck at a little border crossing in the middle of nowhere. As long as the facilitation payments are less than $20, I’ll tolerate it.

Anyways… we were finally on our way to the capital. To be honest, I had mixed feelings about Phnom Penh. We met many very welcoming and nice people, but the city has quite a rough feel to it. Albeit understandably, as there is quite a lot of poverty in the area. The palace and temples in the city are very nice, and showcase the rich culture and history of Cambodia.

There are also two very dark, but worthwhile sites to visit while in Phnom Penh. First is the Killing Fields, a location where over one million people were murdered in the 1970s. This took place when the Khmer Rouge (a country inspired Communist revolution) held power in the country. The Killing Fields is now a memorial for the victims, and outlines the history in quite a respectful manner. The second site is the S21 Prison, where the Khmer Rouge held, tortured, and killed many people. Again, this is quite dark, but it’s important to remember the past so that we don’t repeat it. We don’t have photos of these two sites, as we thought it would be somewhat inappropriate.

Enough with the heavy stuff. While in Phnom Penh we took a day to check out some of the local markets and restaurants. The central market is packed, and has all kinds of stuff! The mango smoothies are to die for on a hot day, and cost less than $1! Later we stopped for dinner at a restaurant, and noticed a tank full of tarantula! If you’re adventurous, you can choose your preferred spider and have it cooked up in a variety of ways.

From the capital, we head northwest to Battambang!

Cheers, Shawn

Photos by Jon Lang

Asia trip – 2015

Asia, Journey

Koh Chang – Paradise at Pajamas

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Koh Chang – a Thai island paradise where time drifts away! We found an amazing hostel – Pajamas Hostel! We originally booked 3 days, but ended up staying over a week! The social vibe was fantastic and we met lots of new friends. This is a definite stop for any traveller.

The hostel pretty well has its own private beach with gorgeous sand, warm water, and great sunsets. If the 1 minute walk to the beach is too far, there’s also a pool! Lots of chilling, swimming, kayaking, and drinking beer.

We were here for a full moon festival, which is widely celebrated in Thailand. To participate, we built flower wreaths with a central candle. When it got dark, we lit the candles and floated our wreaths into the night. Then the party got started!

Where do Thai’s party… in the Buddhist temple! The temple was transformed with music, dancing, games, and all kinds of tasty snacks. I recommend the roasted grasshoppers. You could even sit down with a monk to discuss your innermost thoughts.

Considering how long we stayed here, it’s sort of embarrassing that we only went on a few excursions. It’s just too chill! A few trips of note:

  • We hiked to a mountain peak at the top of the island. The views and wildlife were beautiful. You could see out into the ocean for leagues. We also saw all kinds of cool snakes, spiders, and vine parasites that take over entire trees. Pretty cool!
  • Tandem kayaking off to some mini-islands. We thought it would be fun to go around the island, and soon found out that the waves were much stronger on the open ocean. With a flurry of paddling we fought off the waves and dodged the rocks. Some extra beer was drank that night. We earned it!

With so many good friends and fond memories, leaving Pajamas Hostel was tough to do. But with so many new adventures awaiting us, we decided to hop the bus to our next destination – Cambodia!

Cheers, Shawn

Photos taken by Jon Lang

Asia trip – 2015

Asia, Journey

Bangkok – Temples, Markets, and the King

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Flying to Bangkok marked the beginning of the Asia trip! After a few days of jet lag, we were ready to explore the fascinating capital of Thailand!

My biggest recommendation for travellers – get off of Khao San Road and explore the real city! For those who don’t know, Khao San Road is the stereotypical party hub for drunk westerners. Bangkok has so much more to offer, including amazing temples, palaces, markets, food, and culture!

Thailand takes Buddhism very seriously, and has many beautiful temples for pilgrims and visitors. Check out the photos below! Even if you’re not Buddhist, the monks and pilgrims are very welcoming to visitors. To be respectful, here are a few tips:

  1. Take off your shoes whenever you see a pile of sandals
  2. Don’t wear clothing that is excessively revealing
  3. Don’t point you feet towards any statues of Buddha or shrines
  4. Use common sense

I loved the fact that many Buddhist people and monks are really nice and welcoming. Do note, however, that scams still do exist. Don’t agree to a tuk-tuk ride that is 40 baht (+/- $2), as you will be taken to a fake jewelry shop to buy “gems.” If this happens, just keep smiling, keep walking, and you’ll be fine!

Make sure that you’re in Bangkok on a weekend to check out the massive Chatuchak market. You MUST check out this 35 acre market just north of Bangkok. You can easily get here by skytrain or metro. The market is massive and has almost everything that you can think of, including amazing food, pets, art, furniture, Thai massages, books, etc. Plan to spend a whole day in this array of activity and craft. Oh, and watch your step around the little bags of fish by the sidewalk (photo below).

I could go on and on about Bangkok, but I don’t want to bore you. I’ll mention one other interesting fact I noticed while in Bangkok. We were at a park in the city, and at 6pm sharp, the Thai King’s national anthem started playing. I looked around and everyone was standing. Respect for the Thai monarch is taken very seriously – so do stand if you find everyone else is. You’ll notice the anthem before any movie in a Thai cinema too.

From Bangkok we ventured to the Thai coast towards the Cambodian border. Onward and forward!

Cheers, Shawn

P.S. This posting is about our Asian trip that started back in November 2015. At the bottom of each Asia trip post, I’ll mention the year of the trip so you don’t get confused with the new travels. Enjoy!

Photos taken by Jon Lang

Asia Trip – 2015

Asia, Europe, Journey

FreelyWander Resurrection

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Hi Everyone,

It’s Shawn here. If you haven’t noticed, the blog has been silent for almost a year… sorry about that. I was having too much fun scuba diving in Thailand, feasting on the cuisine in Vietnam, climbing the Great Wall (you know where), and enjoying the National Parks in my home country of Canada! I’ll give you a quick recap of the adventures in this past year.

My last post was from Rome nearly 1 year ago. Jon and I then flew to Thailand, and spent 4 months in Southeast Asia. From there we flew to Hong Kong and wandered around China for a month. I finished the first leg of my journey in Japan for a month.

From Tokyo, Jon and I took diverging paths. Jon continued travelling in Southeast Asia after Tokyo, and spent the summer in Prague. He ventured out to London and flew back to Canada this past September. We met up in our hometown and swapped tales of our many adventures.

I headed back to Canada in May, and based myself in the Okanagan Valley. I visited with family and friends, and made lots of fantastic camping trips to Canada’s and the USA’s National Parks! I then flew out to London, England on October 2. I will be in Europe for 2 months, and then Mexico/Central America for 2.5 months. My wanderings will then venture back to Canada and to my work on February 20, 2017. This is the pre-ordained return date in my contract! Yes, I got a 2 year leave of absence from work to go backpacking… some companies are this cool!

So, what does this mean for the blog? 2 things:

  1. I will begin posting about my new adventures in Europe, Mexico, and Central America
  2. Also, I will make postings about our travels in Asia, and my ventures in Canada/USA. I’ll label these postings so you don’t get confused between my past/present travel postings.

Good times await! Stay tuned for the many adventures! Cheers!

Shawn