When I pictured Vietnam, I thought of mountains, jungles, and greenery. I most certainly did not picture the sand dunes I found in Mui Ne, a small coastal town on the South China Sea. I only spent one day there (it was soooooo hot) but I packed in most of the highlights. First, I woke…
Author: MacKenzie
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as most Vietnamese still refer to it, is the largest city in Vietnam with a population of about 9 million people. I stayed in the backpackers district of the city, so the first thing I did was explore Bui Viên Walking Street with its endless salons, bars, restaurants, clubs,…
Mekong Delta, Vietnam
I am so excited to have finally arrived in Vietnam! I’ll be backpacking my way through the country South to North, starting at the maze of rivers and swamps that make up the Mekong Delta. Starting at My Tho city, my group and I took a big boat along the muddy waters of the Mekong…
Kampot, Cambodia
Kampot, the small fishing town on the Preaek Tuek Chhu River in Southern Cambodia, was my absolute favorite trip in the country. When my friends and I finally got WiFi again after a few days on Ko Rong Samloem, we were surprised to find that most accommodation had already been booked because of Khmer New…
Sihanoukville & Ko Rong Samloem, Cambodia
Sihanoukville is a coastal city on the Gulf of Thailand in Southwestern Cambodia. I have been told by lots of travelers that five years ago, it was a backpackers paradise with beautiful beaches and a chill, laid back vibe. Unfortunately, by the time I got to Sihanoukville, it had been completely destroyed by unchecked Chinese…
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Cambodia’s capital city is a bit rough around the edges, with kind of a bad reputation among the backpackers that I’ve met. Because of that, I didn’t have very high hopes for Phnom Penh. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised by the smiling people, unique architecture, and rich culture of the city. Before I dive into…
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Over the last six months, Thailand became a second home to me. I can communicate in basic Thai, I had a Thai phone number, and I no longer needed to convert baht to USD every time I made a purchase. I understood Thailand’s infrastructure and felt completely comfortable traveling there, so I was a little…
Maeklong Train Market & Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
Before I could leave Thailand, I had to visit the markets that everyone sees in NatGeo magazines and documentaries. So, I took a day trip to the two most famous markets near Bangkok: Maeklong Train Market and Damnoen Saduak Floating Market. We arrived at Maeklong Train Market at about 7:30 am. To get to the…
Bangkok, Thailand
Third times a charm! My first time in Bangkok, I saw a few markets, rode a water taxi, and got to visit the Grand Palace. The second time, I saw more markets, rode the sky train, and visited Wat Arun. Now, after my third visit, I feel like I’ve finally seen enough of Bangkok to…
Ayutthaya, Thailand
From the 14th to 18th centuries, the city of Ayutthaya was the capital of the powerful Siamese empire until it was destroyed by the Burmese. Now, the ruins of Ayutthaya are an impressive day trip from Bangkok. After a train ride from the Hua Lamphong Train Station in Bangkok and a quick ferry boat across…