Next Stop: Somewhere

Hello everyone!

I know it's been a while since my last blog entry and I've already had a few changes of location. To be more specific, I'm not only in a different place, but also in a different country. Surprise!!

After taking the train to Bangkok with the Dutch girl and landing there around 8 p.m., I had to say goodbye to her the next day. Although we only spent 3 days together, I found it incredibly difficult, but she just said that it's part of traveling and she's right. In Bangkok itself, I visited Chinatown and the temple 'Wat Phra' and finally booked the bus to Siem Reap (Cambodia) because I had to leave Thailand the next day.

So on December 4th, I sat on the bus to Siem Reap and the whole time I was convinced that I was only leaving Thailand for one night. But shortly before the border, the bus stopped and the driver collected our passports and, of course, wanted the money for the visa. Clueless as I am, I didn't inform myself at all, so you can imagine my surprise when I found out that the visa costs 40 €. Yes, that was much more than I expected, but at the same time, I had to leave Thailand. While the bus driver was gone for a whole hour with our passports, I had made the decision to just travel to Cambodia now. And let me tell you, that was just as much of a surprise for me as it is for you now. Welcome to the backpacker life. I think this day was the most exhausting day for me so far, because I was just overwhelmed with everything. But first I had to get the visa. After an hour, we got our passports back with a visa for Cambodia and I just thought to myself 'Wow, that was easy, why did you stress yourself out so much?'. But at that moment, I didn't even realize that crossing the border was still the important part. So we drove to the border with the bus and the tension kept rising. Everything seemed incredibly hectic to me there and before we were allowed to cross the border, the bus driver wanted to give us a 20-minute lecture in the blazing sun about Cambodia, which made everything even more unreal for me. But the actual crossing of the border wasn't like you might imagine it. No, there were no burning cars or buses on the road, no beggars hanging directly on my leg, and I didn't see anyone with a weapon. But yes, within seconds you can tell that you're entering an even poorer country and above all, a less touristy one, but in the end everyone got their visa without any problems. I arrived at the hostel in Siem Reap around 8 p.m. and I was just exhausted. Somehow, this day had really taken a lot of nerves and it was incredibly exciting and above all new. And I was really unsure because I now had to get used to everything again. A new country, a different language, a new or rather new currencies (because they have Cambodian Riel AND US dollars) and new customs. Of course, Cambodia is fundamentally very similar to Thailand, but only similar. So the next few days, I took the time to explore everything and get used to it. I also visited the famous, globally known temples of Angkor Wat. That was truly impressive and I slowly started to like the Cambodian atmosphere more and more. However, I had the feeling that I just had to leave Siem Reap, so I just looked at the map and decided on Battambang. On the way to Battambang, I met another girl who was even staying at the same hostel as me. With her and three other backpackers, I explored Battambang over the next few days and felt like a tourist. Because we were driven from one attraction to the next by tuk-tuk and our driver (overzealous as he was) would also stop at countless 'mini-attractions'. So we stopped every 10 minutes and looked at something (sometimes we had no idea what he wanted to show us), which was funny again. Our major attractions were the bamboo train (there's only one track, so if a cart comes from the other direction, a group has to dismantle the whole structure), a winery (where we could even do a small wine tasting), the banana temple (this time we only had to climb 300 steps), the killing cave and finally the bat cave, from which millions of bats fly out around 5:30 p.m. to look for food. That was truly a typical tourist day. After spending another night there, I wanted to head south with Anne (the girl from the bus) and enjoy the beach for a bit. So we booked an overnight bus to Sihanoukville. I imagined a simple bus that just drives overnight (because for me, that's the definition of an overnight bus), but we actually traveled in a proper sleeper bus. You have to imagine, there were real beds in this bus, with pillows and blankets! But the air conditioning was so so cold that I couldn't sleep at all, but the experience was still great. When I arrived in Sihanoukville, I had to say goodbye to Anne as she was still waiting for her friends. And yes, I'm here on the island of Koh Rong Samloem now, soaking up the sun. I'm in a very relaxed hostel and at first, I was so excited about how incredibly happy the owner is with everything. After he proudly showed me his marijuana plant on the roof 10 minutes later, I also knew why he's grinning all the time. Therefore, the atmosphere there is extremely relaxing, but sometimes also a bit exhausting. So here I am, sitting on the beach on a wonderfully small and non-touristy island, enjoying time with a group of backpackers.

Phew, that was a lot and probably a bit confusing, but it's really difficult to summarize all the memories, because so much happens every day. I've arrived very well in Cambodia by now and I feel incredibly free. Although the first moment was a bit of a shock because mentally I was not prepared for Cambodia at all, but for northern Thailand, I am very glad to have landed here. Because you can't imagine how nice it is not to run into a Chinese group every two meters, stopping and taking about 500 photos. The only thing I still have to get used to are the bad roads in Cambodia, because the roads are basically just potholes (yet the bus drivers still speed), so the bus ride feels like a bumpy roller coaster ride and you often get off the bus with a sore butt. But hey, the bruises are worth it and so there's always something to laugh about (especially when the bus driver accidentally keeps honking because of the potholes, keeping everyone who's about to fall asleep awake). Oh yeah... You can really make yourself comfortable here and enjoy every single day, and that's exactly what I'm doing right now. Nevertheless, it feels strange to know that the Christmas season has started for you and soon everyone will be sitting together under the Christmas tree at home. Make it beautiful and above all, don't let the Christmas season stress you out, otherwise the magic of Christmas will pass you by. Until then, feel loved and hugged. :)