Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore - of temples, diving, and the most expensive beer of my life

2017 - My Year of Changes

2017 was a very formative year for me. Especially because I had to navigate life alone again after almost 10 years in a relationship. Summer was approaching and my urge to travel alone became very loud again. But where to?

Hmmm... something cheap, a place where you can dive, it has to be warm, and there should be delicious food.

Asia was a foreign word to me before. I had only experienced 4 days in Hong Kong the year before and it wasn't under the "nice place to go diving" category. You don't even want to dip your little toe in the Hong Kong harbor soup. BUT Thailand... it's supposed to be beautiful there, right? Be brave...

With the Skyscanner app, I quickly found a great deal. I booked in April for the end of June. Three weeks. For 400 euros. What a steal. Since Thailand is in the monsoon season during this time, you can often find cheap flights. End of June is also not yet peak holiday season. Another bonus.

Although I ultimately ended up in Singapore instead of Bangkok with Swiss Air, but that's a different long and crazy story. Maybe in a few brief keywords: Oldenburg - Hamburg by train - STORM - train STOP - COMPLETE FAILURE OF THE NORTH GERMAN RAILWAY NETWORK - got off on the tracks - with 1500 people at a tiny train station - a TAXI - only the tough ones get in - 50 euros later - dropped off the luggage within 7 minutes, through security check in Hamburg - layover in Zurich - missed connecting flight due to long wait time - how about Singapore? Umm... yeah okay.

Okay - a weekend in Singapore. Where do I start?

Singapore is a tiny country south of Malaysia. It's basically just one big city. A very clean and expensive city.

I booked the two nights, like 95% of my trips, through Airbnb. This time, however, I only booked a room in an apartment because it was quite expensive (for me). I paid 102 euros for two nights at Great Place to Start Holiday. I couldn't find any hostels or other cheap accommodations in the rush (I had to book it at the airport the night before).

Nancy, my host, immediately invited me to an art exhibition of a friend and I immediately immersed myself in the bustling life of the people in Singapore. The average Singaporean is usually an immigrant. Chinese, Indians, Europeans, etc. are looking for a new life in this country. That's why there is a melting pot of different cultures here. Amazing.

And rules... a lot of rules... and it gets expensive if you break them. Spit on the street? 1000-dollar fine... Throw a cigarette on the street? 2500-dollar fine...

Everything seems expensive here. Seems? No, it IS incredibly expensive, but it's still worth a visit. I believe that a weekend is totally sufficient. On the first evening, I had the most expensive beer of my life. 20 dollars.... 20 DOLLARS! I've never tasted 0.3 liters of beer so good. =)

On Saturday, I took a guided tour of Chinatown. Everything is on the digital level here. Speaking screens with holograms advertising museums are just some ideas from the tourism industry.

Singapore has many small cultural neighborhoods: Little India, Chinatown, Arabian Quarter, and many more... you should visit them all.

The world's largest orchid garden is also really inviting. In the evening, my feet were tired and my 9 m2 room with my small bed felt like paradise.

By the way, everything here runs through UBER taxis. Pretty easy.

On Sunday, it was time to go back to the airport! Off to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Siem Reap - a small, loud, and dirty city. But it serves its purpose - to quickly escape to the beautiful surroundings. My accommodation (Airbnb) was a small hotel for 10 euros per night at 'Deluxe double room with A/C and free pick-up service' (what a memorable name ;) )

My tip - Angkor Wat - that's clear BUT skip the dirty bus, take a BIKE! I was on a great little group tour and we zoomed through the jungle to the three most important temples. Wow, wow, wow and honestly... at some point you can't see anything because of all the temples. Great guide, great scenery, sports, nature, and a delicious breakfast in the middle of the jungle! One day in Angkor Wat was enough for me, of course, you could search for traces in this huge area for days, but for me, it was perfect like this. By the way, a large beer here cost me 0.50 cents =)

The next day, I took part in a cooking class for typical Cambodian cuisine. Alone - low season after all =D

Good company, a visit to the village, and stories about the farming life of the friendly but very poor Cambodians were one of the best experiences on this trip for me.

The motorcycle tour the next day once again showed the arduous work of the rice farmers and the incredible nature that mixes with warm-hearted people here.

Next, I took the bus to Thailand (not nice but cheap) and my first diving location on Koh Chang.

Koh Chang is one of the northern islands of Thailand and within the Gulf, the monsoon rain is not as strong as on the western coasts of Thailand (Khao Lak, Koh Pipi, Phuket, etc).

After what felt like an endlessly long bus journey, I arrived on Koh Chang. A still very original island of Thailand. There are indeed already huge luxury resorts here BUT also monkeys, tropics, naturalness, and a dreamy jungle bungalow for 17.20 euros per night at Floris and Marieke.

Both the accommodation and the diving were very relaxing, especially after the city trips and loud places I had been to before. Everything here is more laidback and very calm. At least in the low season.

The next dive spot was the island of Koh Tao, the neighboring island of Koh Samui. Much smaller and more relaxed than its big sister. But the prices are higher. 30 euros per night (although it would have been 30 euros for 2 people as well) at Ployz's Cozy Sairee Village!

By the way, dinner cost me only 2.50 euros including a drink =) If you don't necessarily need burgers and Western food, you can live incredibly cheap here. On Koh Tao, I completed my AOWD with New Way Diving and made acquaintance with a whale shark. WWWWWOOOOOOOWWWW!!!! Sailrock is a MUST if you come here! Diving is cheap and renting a scooter to explore the island is easy and cheap.

Even snorkeling can become a highlight. The reefs are right on the beach!

Despite the daily monsoon rain, I had a great time on vacation. Monsoon means that it rains heavily for 30 minutes to an hour every day, but then it's over again. It was really no problem in the Gulf of Thailand. If you're not only interested in a beach vacation, it's not a problem. Otherwise, there might be too many clouds =)

My last stop was Bangkok (also 30 euros per night in a condominium) and here again, I can only recommend doing a food tour!!!

In my opinion, it's the fastest way to get to know the country.

So be brave and dive into the adventure!!

No risk, no fun!

That's it for now!! Sabrina