CWG

You want to spend 5 days traveling, taking tours, seeing wonderful caves and waterfalls, and drinking your nights away… all for $80?! It’s not impossible. Follow me and I’ll show you the way. The setting in Lunar New Year, or Tet as the Vietnamese call it. It’s the biggest celebration of the year and most have 2 weeks off to travel to the homeland to visit family and make offerings to God’s and ancestors. Most everything is shut down, especially in the big cities. As an English teacher in Hanoi, I have at my disposal the plush scenery of northern Vietnam. Pick your posion: Cuc Phuong/Ninh Binh, Cat Ba island, Ha Long Bay, Sapa, Mai Chao, Ha Giang, Ba Vi, and Tam Dao to name a few. What we chose to do was head straight up ... read more

After completing a year of teaching in northern Vietnam, I have had one of the most interesting years of my life. Not only did I unexpectedly fall in love with Ha Noi, I have met amazing people, lived like a king, and picked up British vernacular. Ha Noi is the charismatic capital of Vietnam, where you can explore and achieve your dreams but can also have a lethargic effect. If there is a lack of self motivation, you can find yourself stuck in a rut. On the contrary, if you have aspirations, Ha Noi is a great avenue to explore them. People are doing great things. I even got work as a photographer and sold photos at an auction! I would love to share my Ha Noi with you all. If anyone is interested in going, ... read more

Having worked a total of about 4 weeks since mid December and traveling the rest of the time, March is by far the poorest, hardest month yet. It’s back to working full time (as in a full 18 hr week) which sucks getting back in the routine on top of having NO money. You know your poor when you can't afford 25 cent beer… or maybe can just go out once during the weekend. Anyways we were all strapped for cash, one of my house mates was having problems coming up with rent which caused intense tension at home and on top of all of this it was still freezing cold and our house was FULL to the brim with couch surfers. At one time we had 5 surfers. And they were all soooo amazing and ... read more

Feb 12 2013 Utopia! How fitting. Yesterday me, Corndog, Adres and Carl came to serendipity beach in Sihanoukville. We checked out in Otres beach and found our way to Utopia. Literally, the hostel is called Utopia. Im in desperate need of work and serendipity is the place to be! Everywhere has signs advertising for western staff. It was impossible to work anywhere in Otres Beach because it was soooo dead. Nice for vacation, but not for poor/broke me. I fucking paid $3.50 for friend rice!! 3 fucking 50. Oi gioi oi!.. Now I find myself in a little backpackers paradise and a bit more civilized than these hippie ass places I’ve been. I went out looking for work and came back with a few prospects, but luckily I actually ended up getting a job behind the ... read more

Feb 8 2013 It’s about to be the longest day ever! We’ve been going to Angkor Wat the last 2 days so by day 3 it gets tiring. We arrive at 6:15 for a very anticlimactic sun rise. No pink sky, just a gradual lightening of the sky. BUT to be fair, it was still an amazing experience to see the main temple of Angkor Wat in the light of dawn. It’s truly an remarkable sight to see. After that we went to the next temple, Bayon. WOW! This is me and Radhika’s favorite one. It was such an impressive temple with endless spires filled with faces. Seriously straight out of Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider. And it was so nice to be able to cycle around all this beauty and history. By the time we ... read more