Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Goodbye Vietnam, Hello Cambodia

So on Friday morning up we got at 4am to catch our flight to the tropical island of Phu Quoc off the southern coast of Vietnam in the beautiful gulf of thailand. We made our flight in good time no thanks to the snail paced Vietnam airlines staff who were just so lazy. But onto our little prop plane we got and off we went. It was the worst flight we have ever been on but we both half expected it since it was a prop plane so we never paniced. It was pretty ok until about 10 mins before landing and then it all nearly went down. The plane started barreling side to side and everybody was screaming and crying and even the airhostess looked quite afraid of what was happening. Luckily he actually made the runway but just about and at that he nearly ran off the far end of it onto the grass verge. We couldn't wait to be off that plane. But we got off and found our hostel by the beach easy and then it was pure chill out time. It must have been about 35 degrees with perfect blue skies and White sand and clear water. Perfect. So we stayed there for the whole day swimming and doing nothing. Even in the evening we just ate and relaxed some more. On Saturday then the weather had changed, it was cloudy and there was the hintings of rain. So we sat and played cards as it was so windy and raining now that we couldn't really do anything at all. We planned out or escape from the island and our next few days in cambodia and what we were going to do. The plan was leave the island Sunday morning and then get a bus to Cambodia. Did it work out that way? Not a chance. Ended up having to get a diferent ferry to a different port as the one to the north of the island was closed coz of the winds and swells but we manger to make our ferry but my god it was so rough. Every single local on the boat was getting sick. The boat was nearly as bad as the flight to the island. We didn't get sick at all but the boat had to even kill it's engines and sit in the water for a minute or two while swells passed by. It wax crazy. It was like the island didn't really like us. So after the ferry we had to run and catch the last bus of te nite to a border town called Ha Tien. Luckily we actually managed to make it as it was pulling out of the station and pushed our way onto it just in time. So onto Ha Tien we went and maybe 3 hours later we made it to our last stop in Vietnam and after 25 days it was our lat nite in the country before we crossed into Cambodia. So yesterday we went and got our bus into Phnom Penh here in Cambodia. We left Vietnam at 1pm and didn't arrive here until about 6pm or so. We got across the border perfct without  a hitch at all actually and then we got into a little mini bus, an 11 seated which by the end of the journey had 21 inside and another 1 on the roof.  Cosy to say the least but we actually manger to make it here all in one piece and found a hostel even after our tuk tuk drier didn't know the way and we had to give him directions to it. Already Cambodia seems a lot crazier than Vietnam but it's all good so far anyway. 

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