Happy New Year!
And just like that we have returned to Melbourne after a month through South East Asia.
It was an awesome trip but we actually had a few medical issues when we first touched down in Singapore.
Basically my best mate started getting shortness of breath after we landed and one ambulance ride and a lot of trips to the doctor later he headed home just days into the trip.
He is all good now and all the tests are clear that he had in Australia but it was pretty damn stressful.
The Singapore Health system is incredible though an ambulance ride and a few tests only cost AUD $150 bucks.
Once he headed home early it changed the vibe of the trip but was still a lot of fun, my review of each country is below:
Singapore:
In the 1960s Singapore launched a campaign to become a Garden City and decades later boy does it show.
There are heaps of well kept gardens everywhere and you can tell citizens really take pride in their city.
We also went to Universal Studios which was good fun and we enjoyed going on the rides (the lines were also not too bad which was awesome)
The highlight for me though was the Gardens by the Bay. As a nature lover these were so Zen and peaceful 🌱. Pic below shows one of the coolest hotels I have ever seen and the Gardens.
What surprised me was how brutal the humidity was in Singapore, and we were not even there in the hottest time of the year. I reckon people who live there get used to it and it does not bother them.
Thailand
Next stop was Thailand where we went to Phuket. We stayed right near Bangla Road so there was a bit of partying going on.
This was funny in hindsight as we do not go out clubbing much at all. So it might have been better to stay at Kamala Beach nearby which is way more chill.
Our hotel was elite though, it had a rooftop pool and a ground pool along with a little gym.
Food in Phuket was awesome and really cheap, and the massages were really nice as well. It was a bit hectic with people hassling you when you walked along the street.
Cambodia
Cambodia was our favourite country, which surprised us as we actually were considering not going there.
We first went to Phnom Penh and did an awesome little bike tour through Silk Island and we also went to a Tofu Skin Factory.
After that we went to Siem Reap and visited some amazing temples. Siem Reap had a really cool vibe with a river running through the city and really nice restaurants.
Our tour guide was telling us it was really brutal during Covid as they did not have any visitors, which was sad to hear.
Vietnam
We finished up our trip in Vietnam and went to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Sapa.
We stayed in the Old Town in Hanoi and our place had a pretty cool but kinda scary alley you went down to get to your accom. The location was incredible though, right in the middle of the city. There was also insane Banh Mi and we went back to a place called Banh Mi 25 about 5 times lol.
We also went on some great hikes in Sapa, but it got pretty damn muddy!
Our last stop was Ho Chi Minh where we mainly chilled out and got back into a bit of a routine before heading home.
Plan for 2024
Our rent got a jump again to $490 bucks a week from April 2024 which is annoying, we tried to negotiate but sadly the landlord said no.
In a perfect world we would have looked at other places, but we are looking at going to the UK in 2025 for a few years to work, and we do not want to move into another rental before that.
It sure does feel good to go on a break though and return to work refreshed!
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