Vietnam & Cambodia: A Passage Through History, Nature & Culture!
Hello! This is part 2 of my six week trip through Vietnam and Cambodia. The first part is here if you want to take a look!
Ha Giang Loop
After Sapa, we headed on a 6 hour bus to Ha Giang, a tiny town in northern Vietnam, so north that you could see China! Ha Giang has risen in popularity for travelers in recent years due to the epic Ha Giang Loop, a motorbike loop consisting of some of the most stunning mountain views I have ever seen (& ever will see) in my life. Maksym and I did a 4 day – 3 night tour. Here is the agency we did it through (it cost $130 for the whole thing!!)
We had soooooo much fun during this. For me, it was one of the highlights of the entire trip! We met so many cool travelers who we became friends with through the tough journey. We made friends from Germany, the UK, and Slovenia! Vietnamese culture revolves around karaoke (I’m not kidding), so we bonded with each other over ridiculous karaoke sessions during the night times. I sang my heart out to ABBA & Taylor Swift (with the help of ‘happy juice’ our Vietnamese drivers were feeding us)!
The Vietnamese drivers were awesome and so kind. There is something special about cruising through ginormous mountains, the roads carved into each crevice, to admire mother nature in all her grandness. I had a lot of time to think, to gawk, to enjoy the views. It was actually quite a spiritual experience for me!
Warning: This journey is not for the faint of heart! It is extremely difficult and dangerous, but if you ever go to Vietnam I would highly recommend going out of your way to do this. I’ve never quite seen anything like it before and I loved my experience. What an adventure!
Da Nang
After Ha Giang, we recuperated in Hanoi for a few days (we were exhausted) then took a plane to Da Nang which is central Vietnam.
Da Nang is like Miami Beach. Lots of skyscrapers with the beach right there. I enjoyed my time here mostly because of the gorgeous peninsula, stunning temples, and amazing western food!
We rented a motorbike & drove to the peninsula where we found an absolutely stunning area of temples. These Chinese-inspired temples were some of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen in Asia! (and after living here for a year, believe me I’ve seen a lot of temples)
We then found a gorgeous little private beach, where we floated and loved life for a few hours. This was a good day! Though I enjoyed Da Nang, I think I found Hoi An, a little town 20 minutes from Da Nang, more to my liking.
Hoi An
Hoi An, known as the ‘lantern village’, was seriously amazing. We stayed at this awesome homestay. There were only a few rooms, and it felt so personalized and quiet. We even took free bicycles all throughout rice fields. Hoi An is also increasing in popularity amongst tourists, but we stayed 15 mins outside the town which I’d highly recommend!
Besides lanterns, Hoi An is also known for custom tailoring! I decided to get a custom skirt and dress made, and the whole experience was so fun! They measured me and in 2 DAYS made exactly what I had envisioned. These ladies are magicians!
We bicycled to a really nice beach as well. I was surprised at how nice the beach was! Hoi An has that sparkle for me … a little bit of everything! It’s chill vibe really matched my energy, and out of all the places we went I would go back here!
Cambodia
Finally, after almost a month in Vietnam, it was time to fly to Cambodia! We flew from Da Nang –> Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.
Cambodia has an even sadder and darker history than Vietnam. It is much poorer than Thailand or Vietnam (from what I’ve seen), but the people are truly LOVELY and so kind. I would say it leans more similar to Thailand than Vietnam. The food, the kindness of the people, and the Buddhist temples. Interestingly, the USD currency is used here (with their own currency too). I am glad that I had time to spend here, but I probably wouldn’t go back. I feel I saw everything I would want to see.
Phnom Penh
Now, I had a great time in Phnom Penh, and I think it mostly had to do with the 5 star hotel we stayed in (I booked it for free using credit card points). 20 years ago, Phnom Penh looked much different to today. Yes, there was still lots of people living in poverty, but the infrastructure is slowly coming together. There are lots of skyscrapers and the Royal Palace was quite grand and beautiful.
I learned that a lot of Chinese investors are supplying funds to Cambodia, which is interesting. I truly wish the best for this beautiful country with its kind and resilient people.
In Phnom Penh I visited the Genocide Museum (also known as the Killing Fields). I took an audio guide through the fields where thousands of innocent Cambodian people were murdered during the Khmer Rouge genocide in the 1970s. It was truly horrific, and unimaginable.
It is estimated that 2 million men, women, and children were murdered because of the psychopathic Pol Pot. He murdered half of the population of Cambodia, his own people. It’s twisted and sick and made me feel nauseous learning of the atrocities committed there. I am glad I went to learn about the history, so that it will never be repeated. Many Cambodian people living today were there for the genocide. It’s still recent history.
Besides the genocide museum, we visited the Royal Palace and went to an amazing Ethiopian restaurant. Funny story. We both had never tried Ethiopian food, but this place had great reviews so we decided to check it out. The owner is from Ethiopia and got stuck in Cambodia during covid. We had a great chat with him, and then tried the food. The food was truly incredible, some of the best I’ve EVER had. I now crave Ethiopian food weekly and I truly miss Addis Ethiopian in Phnom Penh.
Siem Reap – Angkor Wat
We took a 6 hour bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, probably the most famous city for tourists in Cambodia.
The Cambodian people are SO proud of the temple complex Angkor Wat. It’s on their flag, on their currency, on menus, on everything! And for good reason.
Angkor Wat was spectacular. I would recommend it to anybody. These temples are 900 years old. And they have stood the test of time. It’s so impressive and felt like stepping back in time. A tuk tuk driver drove us all around, stopping at tons of temples and admiring their grandness & learning about the interesting history behind these wonders of the ancient world.
If I have one piece of advice, it’s not to go to Cambodia in April like we did. This was the most intense heat I’ve ever experienced. It was horrible lol. Temperatures reached up to 115 Fahrenheit. We even saw monkeys jumping into rivers to cool off!
Overall, however, Angkor Wat definitely lives up to the hype!
One cool other thing I did in Siem Reap was learn about a nonprofit which uses African rats to sniff out landmines in Cambodia. Thousands of Cambodians are injured or killed from landmines (especially children), even today. There are millions still undetected scattered throughout the country. They were put there mostly by Vietnam, the Khmer Rogue, and the US during the Vietnam War. The rats are smart and really do save lives! Such a cool initiative. The group is called APOPO if you’re interested.
Back To Thailand
After 6 weeks of traveling, we headed back to Thailand to spend a relaxing week by the beach. We chose a chill, lesser-known island called Koh Lanta off of Krabi and it was just what we needed after long weeks of traveling. The ocean waters were calm and crystal-clear, and the whole place was on permanent island time. It truly felt like coming home! Thailand is the best!
Thanks For Reading
Thanks for catching up on all my travels, and yes there will be more travel content to come soon! I’ve only brushed the surface of Southeast Asia! 😉 xx Gracie