Remembering our last travel before the pandemic...Part 1

Every once in a while I find myself in a trance.  I pause to reflect on what is happening in the world.  The feeling is overwhelming.   I recall the year that was. Then I remember the year before. The Pre-pandemic. What it meant for me then and what it means to me now. A world of difference. Something that I may never be able to go back to ever again.

2019...That year was when I backpacked with my husband from Vietnam to Cambodia to Thailand by land and air in 6 days- an awesome feat for someone with a chronic illness like me.  Manila to Ho Chi Mihn was supposed to bea  normal uneventful night flight but turned out to be a traumatic experience for our first time in Vietnam.  The taxi driver duped us into letting him count our money and with his quick hands was able to snatch at least P1,000 worth of Dong money from us.  

We actually stayed in 2 hotels in Vietnam both of which were not worth mentioning at all.  Both were 2 star hotels where we had the most unpleasant stays in the whole trip.

I remember taking the cheapest night bus from Ho Chi Mihn to Siem Reap.  We were indeed courting danger but we manage to brave our backpacking adventures and make it in one piece.  That bus ride was probably the cringiest bus ride I ever had. Not to mention that the bus itself must have been as old as I am judging from how it creeks at every step, the ride was uneventful yet unnerving still with almost all passengers smelling like they've been out in the sun all day.  My only comfort then was that I was with my most loyal steed, hubby always kept guard and made sure that he wrapped his arms around me all 14 hours of the way.  

We reached Siem Reap at 10 in the evening so you can imagine how scared we were when the bus stopped on a dingy garage-like bus station which looked like a scene from an old horror movie.  There were only a few people around but these seemed like the ones you wouldn't like to make eye contact with.  I tried calling the hotel that I booked which promised to pick us up but my skype kept failing me. My hubby started to talk to some boy who drove a Tuktuk and ask if he could bring us to the hotel but the boy did not know about the hotel. We were just about to panic when my phone rang and alas it was the hotel!  They couldnt find the terminal that I indicated in my booking but they were searching all 5 bus terminals near the vicinity.  What a relief!  I told the girl from the hotel that we were able to talk to a Tuktuk driver who can probably take us there so we made them talk to each other.  

Thankfully, in minutes, we arrived in the The Cyclo Siem Reap Hotel and Praise God it only went right up from there. 

I'll tell you about the next 2 days in my next blog but for now let me share you a pic from this amazing hotel we found in Siem Reap - THE CYCLO SIEM REAP HOTEL