It’s hard to describe the past 11 months of my life… it’s been just too good to be true. I visited some of the most beautiful and interesting places but the best thing on this trip was getting to know all these amazing people I now consider my friends.
Unfortunately many of you are not in this clip, but you’re definitely in my memories and thoughts. Every one of you took a piece of my heart… and I intend to claim it back!
I’m looking forward to meet you again and share more adventures with you, till then!
Lots of love!
Photos: Andres Giesecke
Post-Production: María Angélica Ovalle
My dear friends,
I have the pleasure to invite you to my photography exhibition “Vivo - Un mundo que cautiva”
to be held from the 5th till the 21st of November in the gallery of Liga Chileno Alemana (DCB), located at Avenida Vitacura 5875.
Feel free to spread the word ;)
Big hugs, Andres
… It would take me a whole lifetime to look back and write everything I’ve done since the last time I posted something. This time I’m gonna look a little bit forward. I’m about to start the last stage of my trip in which I’m gonna be spending some quality time with my beloved family and friends in Chile. What happens next??? Don’t really know but I’m sure that regardless of the path I choose, it’s always gonna take me to the top.
Live Love Laugh
I know… it has been ages since the last time I posted my adventures. I’m so so so sorry. I have been trying hard to come up with an excuse for it but the truth is that i just didn’t felt like writing on my blog anymore. I have kept some of you roughly updated. The following lines are for those who don’t have a clue of where I am or what I have been up to.
So, I traveled Vietnam for 3 1/2 weeks with my friend Johann. We had a great time and we got to see some amazing places and met incredible people. Once the time arrived, I flew from Hanoi back to Saigon where I took the first bus I could catch to Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. There I had to spend more time than planned coz sorting out my Indian visa didn’t go as smoothly as expected. I left to Otres Beach as soon as I handed my passport and the paperwork to the Indian Embassy. The following 25 days were… epic. Family love, friend love, sharing love, passionate love, deep love, hurtful love… But I had to leave, I had to resume my trip. And so I did. I took a bus to Bangkok where I hoped into a plain to Mumbai. That’s where I am now.
I can’t promise I’ll post frequently but I can promise I’m gonna do the best to enjoy this magic country. Till soon my dear family and friends, big hugs and kisses.
Photo of some of the amazing people I spend most of my time with in Otres Beach… Love/miss you!
Chapter Two: Vinh Long
The main problem we had since we left Saigon was to communicate with the locals. Very few of them spoke english and most of them didn’t seem to be very tourist-friendly. Just the bus ride from Saigon to Vihn Long was quite an adventure. Even thou we were told that our bus was going straight into the town centre, we had to go thru several bus changes. The last couple of bus changes were a bit nerve wrecking. It was already dark and we were dropped off in the middle of nowhere without any explanation of what to do or where to go. Fortunately one of the 4 locals that were going in the same direction understood and spoke a tiny bit of English. We managed to tell her where we were going and she managed to calm us by offering her help to get us to a hostel. From all the towns I have visited so far, Vinh Long is probably the only one where I didn’t see more than a handful of western tourists.
Since no other hostel was to be seen, we accepted the first room we got offered. It was a huge room with two single beds… it looked okish. The next day I would find out that my bed had a determined army of bedbugs.
The first thing we did was organising a tour that was gonna take us in a boat to the nearby sights. The boat capi picked us up early in the morning and walked us to his boat. A 5 hour trip showed us a floating market, brick factory, candy factory and some small local villages (and probably other stuff I cant remember right now). This trip was quite nice and the things we saw were quite cool too.
Because there’s not much to do in Vinh Long, we decided we weren’t gonna spend another night there. The plan was to catch a bus that same afternoon to go to Dalat (north of Saigon) but as we found out later, it is not possible to do this in one go. Instead, we had to catch a bus to Saigon first and then keep our fingers crossed we could hop on another bus to Dalat without having to spend an extra night and day in Saigon.
Because of the language barrier, finding the place where to buy the bus tickets was a mega nightmare. We eventually find the place and bought the ticket. The bus was gonna take us to a bus station in Saigon where we were told the buses leave to the north. As soon as we stepped out of the bus we realised we weren’t in the right place. A compassionate guy who barely spoke english told us to get into a minibus that was going to the correct bus station. And so it did. Still no tourists were to be seen.
We bought our tickets for the 6 hour night ride to Dalat. To avoid arriving at 4 o’clock in the morning we decided to take the last bus which left Saigon at midnight. This meant we had to wait there for over three hours. I listened to some music while Johan was cuddling the uncomfortable plastic chairs of the waiting room. I think I even heard him snoring.
The time arrived so we stepped into the back of the bus where our assigned “beds” were. I had Johan sleeping on one side and a Vietnamese on the other side. I didn’t feel like spooning either of them. What made me really happy was seeing the Vietnamese bloke choosing Chile’s football team on a videogame. I quickly made sure he knew I was from Chile :) Later on I would realise that Chile is quite well known in Vietnam because our good football players. The bus trip went nice and easy.
Catching up with the Vietnamese adventure
Chapter One: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
On the night-bus from Phnom Penh I met Michelle (Dutch) and Johan (German). They were both traveling by themselves but had met a few days before in Sihanoukville and decided to go to Saigon together. I decided to join them and visit this city together.
Finding a place to stay was quite easy. Fortunately the bus dropped us off right in the middle of the guesthouse area. We just walked for a few minutes till we found a good/cheap place to stay. Johan and I shared a double room while Michelle stayed in a dorm room.
We got there quite early in the morning so after leaving our backpacks there we decided to go out and check out some of the nearby sights. The first thing that shocked us was the crazy traffic, probably one of the most famous characteristics of this country. Thousands of motorbikes racing non-stop in all directions. Since nobody ever stops, you just have to brace yourself and walk slowly but determined to the other side of the street. Eventually the drivers will dodge you and you’ll be ready to start a new adventure by crossing the next street.
The other thing that caught my attention was the more asian feel this country has in comparison to the rest of the Southeast countries I have visited so far. Saigon is a huge hectic city, from the architecture to the way people behave, everything here seems to work in its own unique chaotic way.
One of the sights we visited the first day was the ‘War memorial museum’. Very interesting museum that has on display thousand of amazing/harsh photos taken during the Vietnamese war. I’m against any type of violence and I don’t support any country who has been involved in war, but I felt pity for the poor Vietnamese farmers who had to fight against such a beastly bunch of idiots. What those Americans did to this country and its people has no forgiveness.
On the second day we took a tour to the famous Cu Chi Tunnels. These is a huge network of tunnels that were used by the Viet Cong during the war. A tour that went for a couple of hours showed us the very smart way the precarious vietnamese soldiers fought against the highly equipped american army. Part of the tour is to crawl through one of these tunnels. We were told that even thou this part of the tunnel was originally used during the war, it had been modified to almost twice the original size so western people could fit in them. I still can’t believe they lived underground using these tiny tunnels for years and years. It is also mind boggling to see all the different traps they used to beat the americans.
Another attraction here is to shoot one of the weapons used during the war. Italo, my Chilean friend who traveled with me during the first few weeks of this trip, made me promise him I was going to shoot a gun when I got to this place, Sorry my dear friend but, on one hand, the bullets were bloody expensive, on the other hand I realised that by taking part on this activity I was indirectly supporting the weapon industry. I saw how some western guys on steroids spend a few hundred dollars satisfying their macho needs. Definitely not my thing.
On the third day we went for a walk around the city taking photos of the Saigon lifestyle. That afternoon, Johan and I took a bus south to Vinh Long (Mekong delta) while Michelle took a bus north to Dalat.
Hanoi to Phnom Penh
Aloha people! Yes it’s me again… I’m safe and sound and still living the dream.
It’s been a while since the last time I wrote something on this diary.
Since the last post I’ve traveled the whole of Vietnam, and now I’m back in Cambodia again. This post won’t be about the last couple of weeks I spend traveling Vietnam, but about the my journey from Vietnam to Cambodia.
Lets start with Hanoi, were I was 48 hours ago. As I mention on a previous post, my new plan was to spend an extra month in Otres beach in the south of Cambodia. For that to happen I had to change the flight Hanoi > Bangkok for Hanoi > Saigon. The reason I did this is because A) I couldn’t find a cheap flight from Hanoi to Phnom Penh (Capital of Cambodia) B) the bus trip from Saigon to Phnom Penh is heaps shorter than the one from Bangkok to Phnom Penh. Anyhow… the main thing is that I had to catch a flight from Hanoi to Saigon and then a bus to Phnom Penh.
The day before my flight, I had organised a taxi to take me to the airport. Since Hanoi is so big and chaotic I had to allow a one hour to get from the Hostel to the airport. This one hour taxi ride cost me more than a 16 hour sleeping-bus trip. Unfortunately I had to bite the bullet on this one. Apart from the loud Vietnamese music the driver was playing, the ride was ok.
Once at the airport I had to find the Jetstar counter which wasn’t much of a problem either. Queuing up for the check-in was quite a challenge. For some strange reason us westerns’ assume that a queue is a organised line of people standing one behind each other. Well, asia has a different idea on how this works. Here it’s more like a rugby scrum of headless chickens that without any reason want to be the first ones to be attended. Eventually I managed to squeeze myself and my suitcase through the crowd to the counter. Passport was checked, suitcase was weighted and I was ready to go to gate #10 to hop on the plane. A new ‘queue’ to board the plane revealed I was the only white person on that flight. Since no interaction of any kind was needed I had no problems being the only foreigner. The plane took off at 10am and two hours later I was in Saigon.
Once off the plane, I witnessed a suitcase massacre held by two Vietnamese guys who challenged Newton by throwing the passenger’s luggage ruthlessly onto the conveyor belt. I checked my belongings as soon as I grabbed my suitcase. Fortunately non of my stuff got damaged.
It was 12.30pm and i had to rush things if I wanted to get on a bus to Cambodia. I quickly walked towards the taxis parked outside the terminal. Before crossing the doors I noticed a wee ‘tourist information’ stand located in one of the corners of the building. I went straight there and asked about the bus to Phnom Penh. The guy there told me that I was still on time to catch the 1o’clock bus but that I had to take a taxi asap to get to the station. Then he ripped me off charging me US$6 for what ended up being a 5 minute drive. Oh well… the main thing is that I made it on time. I was again the only tourist in the bus station.
I was starving… it was 1o’clock and the only thing I had that morning was a cup of coffee. There was no food stall to be seen and no time to walk around trying to find one. I was starting a 6 hour journey with an empty stomach and a running nose. A bottle of water kindly supplied by the bus company took partial care of my hunger. A couple of reused tissues and the sleeves of my jersey took partial care of my dripping nose.
Part of this journey was to cross the border between Vietnam and Cambodia (I hate border crossings!). A few hours into the trip and I was woken up by another passenger who was pointing at the Vietnamese immigration box. The next minute I found myself standing in a room full of asian people trying to remember the face of the person who had taken my passport when I got into the bus in Saigon. A strong sense of desperation started to kick in. I was standing in a topsy-turvy border crossing surrounded by non-English speakers without knowing where my passport was. At that point my nose wasn’t the only thing dripping… I was sweating my ass off! After almost an hour of panic-mode, I suddenly see a Vietnamese bloke waving towards me while receiving a passport from the immigration officer. It was my passport!!! I quickly made my way through the crowed and reached my passport. I then left the building where a desperate bus driver shouting at me didn’t wanna give time to catch my breath… we still had to get into Cambodia.
A one minute drive to the Cambodian immigration box forced me to fly my pen thru two standard immigration forms. I handed these forms + US$21 + my passport to the immigration officer who returned my passport with a new sticker and a few new stamps on it. I was again free to travel this country for a month.
As scheduled, the bus arrived at 7pm in Phnom Penh. As soon as I got off the bus I asked a tuk-tuk driver to take me to a guesthouse I had read about in my LonelyPlanet. Without enquiring much, I took the first room I got offered. I left my stuff there and went to get some food… a pack of Oreos and milk was the only two things I could get. I was tired and feeling a bit crook. I lay on my bed checking facebook and skypeing with my beloved mom while eating my fancy dinner. At midnight my system shut down.
PS: It’s obviously not me in the pic but I thing it goes well with the story ;)
Otres Beach is a small beach located in the south of Cambodia near the popular beach town of Sihanoukville. Going to the beaches in Cambodia was not part of my original plan. Antonio, who was a few days ahead of me, convinced me to skip Phnom Penh (Cambodia’s Capital) and go directly to Otres Beach. Following his advice was probably one of the best thing I’ve done on this trip.
The bus trip was again a long and tortuous exercise. It took me about 13 hours to get there. This video shows part of a Cambodian ‘highway’.
‘Wish you were here’, the guesthouse where Antonio and his Brazilian friend were staying gave me a good first impression. Two young aussie guys, Aaron and Johnny, who own this place gave me a friendly welcome. This guesthouse has one two story building which accommodates the reception, lounge, restaurant on the ground floor, and double rooms + dorm rooms on the first floor. At the back a peculiar circular building that holds the bathrooms. Surrounding these, a handful of wooden bungalows. It was clear that the place was not completely finished but it was definitely ready to receive guests. I found out later that the guesthouse had just opened 5 weeks before I arrived.
I could probably write a whole book about how much I like this place and the people I met here. The place; a small and quiet beach with nice white sand and warm water. Around six small guesthouses, a dozen bars/restaurants, one shop and a few houses is all there is here.
The people I met here, amazing! The star of the show, Lucy, a beautifully happy Argentinian girl with whom I spend most of my time there. I have the impression that all the people who was in Otres Beach were looking for that chill out vibe most beaches in south east Asia had lost because of their popularity.
I spend 5 days just relaxing on the beach during the day and having some social drinks at night. So far one of the happiest days on my trip. One night I was chatting with Johnny and we realised we both had things in common and could benefit from these. 5 minutes into the conversation and I had decided I was gonna come back to Otres, this time for a whole month! The master plan was that I would give Aaron and Johnny a hand with their website in exchange of free accommodation. I quickly started sending emails requesting date changes for most of my flights. Because I already had my visa for Vietnam, I had to stick to my original plan of visiting this country from south to north before going back to Otres Beach. My next bus trip, Otres Beach - Sihanoukville - Phnom Penh - Vietnamese Border - Ho Chi Minh City.
Angkor Wat - Kampong Pluk
Angkor Wat (Wat = Temple) is the biggest and most important symbol of Cambodia but there are heaps of other temples in the area which spreads over several km2. Waking up at 4.30am to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat is a very popular thing to do… and we did it! Its popularity comes from millions of photos people have taken over the years showing the temple and a bright orange sky reflected on a lagoon (small pond in dry season) located just in front of the ruins. Unfortunately for us and the other thousand visitors that had a very early start that day, it was cloudy and no impressive sunrise was to be seen. The amount of professionally geared photographers walking around the ruins was overwhelming. I new these temples are great to photograph so I decided to stuff my backpack with all my photography gear and drag it around the temples (about 10kg of gear on my back) I sweated quite a bit but it was definitely worth it.
After that disappointing start we had a quick breakfast and started walking around the temples. Mr Rado, a very nicest tuk tuk driver, took us from one temple to the other.
Once in those temples we made our way thru the ruins trying to avoid the masses of tourist that were also photographing every stone from every possible angle. We arrived back in Siem Reap at 6pm. It was a long day of hard work. I had a well deserved/needed shower and walked to town to have dinner.
The next day I grabbed my stuff and took a bike ride to another guesthouse which was not as close to the city centre as the other one but offered better value for money. From there I booked a taxi which was going to pick my up at lunch time to take me to a floating village called Kampong Pluk. Fortunately Raphael and Selina decided to join me and we shared the cost of the taxi. We drove for over an hour through farmland till we arrived at a narrow river packed with boats waiting for the tourists. The floating village we scoured in this boat was amazing. All the buildings were built on sticks about 10m above ground. During rainy season the water level rises till it almost reaches the house floors… thats what i call flooding!!! Even thou it’s dry season at the moment and the water level is very low, the scenery was quite spectacular. We spend a couple of hours sailing thru the village before going back to our taxi. I had a quiet night.
The next morning I was back in Angkor Wat. This time it was just my friend Rado and I. I was driven around the temples I hadn’t seen on my first day of visit. This took most of the day… A really hot day by the way. I must have taken about 800 photos in total during these three days… Far too many!
This was a good excuse to take the next day off thou. I spend almost the whole day sifting thru these photos. A reasonable selection of a couple of hundred photos was achieved. I’m very happy with the result, at least half a dozen became part of my ‘hero-shots’ folder. I had spend 5 days here and it was time to move on. Next stop; Otres Beach, Sihanouk Ville.
Laos to Cambodia: Welcome to Siem Reap
Once again I had to survive a looooong trip. I left Don Dhet at 8am and arrived in Siem Reap (Cambodia) at 1.30am! This trip included a canoe trip, a long wait, a shortish bus trip, a border crossing, a long bus trip, more waiting and finally a shortish minibus trip. I’m exhausted from just writing this! The whole journey was… hmmm average. Bumpy and uncomfortable as usual but I’m taking that for granted now on all my bus trips.
The whole immigration process wasn’t that much of a hassle as I thought it would be. Fortunately I was warned by other tourist not to fill out a form and pay any money to the ‘quarantine’ box located in between the Laos and the Cambodian immigration boxes. This is sort of a legal scam they are running there. I did have to pay US$30 to get my 30 day tourist visa.
After that, a long bus ride with a couple of stops in between and a 30min stop in the middle of nowhere to fix something on the bus. Buses breaking down seams to be quite a common things on these lands.
The last bit of the journey was done in a minibus where I met some kiwis, aussies and poms. They bought a couple of bottles of some sort of whiskey/rum/paraffin I suppose to make the ride a bit easier. They shared a cup with me. This time the luck wasn’t with me. I got the last seat on the bus. Behind me a crumbling mountain of backpacks and suitcases threatening my life. Underneath me, a completely fucked up seat. I had no choice, that or I had to walk hundreds of km to Siem Reap. Once there I took a motorbike ride straight to the guesthouse I had booked the day before. I slept like a baby.
The first day, as usual, I went to check out the town an its sights. After 30min of walking I run into my dear Swiss friends. It’s unbelievable how we keep running into each other in every place we go… It’s great! Short after discussing plans for the forthcoming days, I run into another friend I’ve seen everywhere since the slowboat in Laos. His name is Antonio (the guy in the photo), a Portuguese guy who lived a few years in Spain and now lives in France. Antonio wasn’t feeling well that day so we sat at a restaurant for a while and walked through the ‘old market’. We agreed to share a tuk tuk and go to see the temples the next day.
