Volunteer Abroad for Free: The WWOOF Option

This evening was deceptively chilly. The sun's yellow crawled on old concrete and all visible clothing hung above sweaty knees, but I could feel it, I could feel the subtle sting of Autumn, camouflaging its intentions in layers of mild humidity. It just finally dawned on me that summer -- with all its hopes and promises -- is finally over. More on summer later but right now, let's have a healthy chat about my favourite topic: volunteering for free. The world of volunteering can be an unscrupulous one. On the surface, it sounds simple: pick an organisation, travel abroad and give back to a community. The reality is this noble pursuit is quickly becoming a money-hungry and morally disingenuous machine with the primary intention of squeezing out every cent from the sagging pockets of unsuspecting volunteers.

San Juan, Puerto Rico

There's always a scandal popping up here and there. Recently, the daily mail ran an article about volunteer scams. Aptly titled "Fake orphanages. Bogus animal sanctuaries. And crooks growing rich on Western gullibility...why do-gooding gap year holidays may be a horrifying callous con," it is a must read. Click here for the illuminating piece. This is the main reason why I am always on the look out for free volunteer programs with a transparent agenda. When I traveled to South East Asia a few years ago, it literally took me months to find a transparent organization I could volunteer with for free. I thankfully stumbled on Isara and documented my life-changing experience in this post.

A few years back, I was living and going to school in a city I didn't like and everything seemed excessively stifling. When summer came, I knew I had to rejuvenate myself, so I began looking for free volunteer programs. I came across WWOOF and discovered a wonderful opportunity in beautiful Puerto Rico. WWOOF stands for World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Their mission, according to their American website, "is part of a worldwide effort to link visitors with organic farmers, promote an educational exchange, and build a global community conscious of ecological farming practices." I used the WWOOF option to explore Puerto Rico and it was a phenomenal trip. I discussed my experiences in this post. Here is how WWOOFing works.

En route to Utuado

Tired of retirement and back into the swing of things

Hey everyone, it's been too long. I'm going to promise to keep this one short but don't take my word for it. You know me and my knack for writing lengthy posts don't you? ;-) So I ended my last post in Nong Khai, Thailand. I went there to volunteer for this volunteer organization called Isara. If you have ever done some research about volunteer organizations, you probably already know that most of them charge you a hefty fee. There was even a recent scandal about CEOs of volunteer organizations earning millions. I will talk more about this in another post dedicated solely to volunteering. Isara, on the other hand, does not charge you a single penny. All they require from you is passion and enthusiasm to help the community by teaching English and helping with other projects like recycling etc. My first week at Isara was quite eventful. The volunteers and I bonded immediately. We started off by going to the sculpture park which was simply mind blowing.







That's me in the first picture posing with some sculptures. I fit right in with the rest of the gang, wouldn't you agree? All of these phenomenal pieces of art were done by a Laotian artist.



It was also the height of world cup fever so 7/11 stores were decorated with flags. The rest of the week was dedicated to teaching English and devising curricula for the different age groups of students we were teaching. It was a blast. I loved the kids at the local public school best. They are extremely grateful, passionate and never fail to put a smile on your face. Here a few pictures of our time at the public school.





We also taught at another public school and the students were equally amazing to work with.





I was also fortunate enough to witness Isara's helmet campaign. In Nong Khai, motorbikes and scooters are the main means of transportation. A lot of people don't wear helmets and this results in heavy casualties during motorbike accidents. Isara has been creating a lot of awareness about the importance of helmets and the tv crew from a famous show in Thailand called "I love Thailand" were even present to film everything. They were doing a special on the founder of Isara. Pics below






This little guy in the picture above a riot. He kept walking around and taking pictures of everything and everyone. My three and the half weeks at Isara was literally the highlight of my trip. I met amazing volunteers from all over the world (well, mostly from England and America lol but you get the point). I had the opportunity to finally live with and around Thai people. I learned so much about their culture and customs (what's the different between culture and customs by the way?). I even learned quite a little bit of Thai which made my English classes a lot easier.I also fed aggressive cat fish...





who jump out of the water to get food (as you can from the picture above). Crazy! Saying goodbye to Isara was hard but the journey had to continue. My next stop? Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. My mission? trekking and rafting. If you recall, I told you that I traveled to Cambodia with this guy I had met in Bangkok. He left Cambodia early to head to Chiang Mai while I continued to explore Cambodia. He told me he stayed at this amazing hostel called Julie's hostel so he recommended it for me. I took a bus from Nong Khai to Udon Thani and then took an overnight bus from Udon Thani to Chiang Mai. I sat next to this American volunteer who worked at a school on the Burmese border. He was very intriguing but somewhat eccentric. He lived a very sheltered life in the mountains of Montana. They didn't have electricity or running water or even the internet. I was very fascinated by his life story but when he started making statements like "Barack Obama is trying to kill the older generation. He put toxic chemicals in the bird flu vaccines which would slowly kill off the older generation..." I knew it was time for me to sleep. I got to Chiang Mai in the morning, took a tuk tuk to Julie's hostel and luckily they had a room in a four bed dorm available for me. Here's a random shot of Chiang Mai



Ok! so if you remember in my previous post when I went back to Bangkok for the second time (or was it third?) I said "The following day, when I was about to leave, I bumped into this British lad I had met the last time I was in Bangkok. How random is that?"

and then I went on to say

"When we were saying our goodbyes, the British lad was like "goodbye, travel safe..." etc etc. I was like "I might probably bump into you again buddy". Considering how I randomly bumped into people I met in earlier destinations, I won't be surprised if I bumped into him again. Not at all."

Remember? ok! so as I was in front of the receptionist's desk at Julie's hostel in Chiang Mai, guess who I saw walking up to me? the British lad. How random is that? this was the third time I bumped into him. It felt great to see a familiar face. When you are backpacking by yourself, going to a new place feels like you are starting all over again because you have to make new friends. So yeah, it felt really good to see someone I already knew. Just as I predicted, I bumped into him again. The next day, my British buddy and I joined a group of 10 amazing dutch people for a trekking adventure. Our tour guide's name was Puzaa and he was the coolest dude you've ever met.



We started off elephant riding. My buddy from England and I had the laziest elephant. All he wanted to do was eat. After the rides, we started our four hour trek to the top of the mountain.



Me in my waterproof Vietnamese hat and that's our insanely cool guide next to me. We got to the top finally and



for the first night, we slept in one of the mountain villages who migrated from Burma I believe. This is a picture of our hut.



There were two dutch families in the group of ten dutch people and they were the nicest people. They were looking after my buddy from England and I as if we were their own children. Very nice people. Day two, we trekked some more. Visited some waterfalls, swam...



climbed more hills and ended up in the second village to spend the night. After playing card games and chatting with the gang till midnight, my buddy and I went out to explore a little bit and got into some trouble ;-) you know, the type of trouble young boys get into. For the third day, we did white water rafting and bamboo rafting. The experience was amazing. It was my first time rafting and I absolutely loved it. I think I might pick it up as a hobby even though I don't live close to any wild rivers. I might have to start scouting for rafting opportunities all over the country when I head back. After rafting, we ate, said our goodbyes and my buddy and I were dropped off at Julie's hostel. The next few days consisted of meeting new people, talking about politics, drinking, sitting around, drinking some more, and talking some more. I met some more amazing people. These cool guys from France, this really down to earth girl from Ireland and this very interesting English/French guy with a lot of interesting stories. Unfortunately, time came for us to say our goodbyes.



We all had different routes. I was going down south while my buddy from England was heading into Laos and then flying back to England in a week. This was definitely the last time I was going to see him. He is only 19 years old but I feel like I learned so much from him. He acts way more mature than his age and he's a very intelligent guy. The Irish girl was heading into Pai, the French guys were going to Phuket and the English/French guy was meeting a few friends and then heading to another location. I have to admit, it was a little emotional saying goodbye. When you travel alone, the people you bond with become your support system. It's like you've known them forever. Anyways, I took the night bus from Chiang Mai and headED to Bangkok. I spent the day in Bangkok and then took another night bus from Bangkok to Krabi. We got to Krabi in the morning, took a dilapidated and raggedy bus to Krabi town



I took a speed boat from Krabi to Tong sai bay, my next destination. The English/French guy recommended Tong sai to me. He said it was very mellow, chill and a guaranteed good time. He was definitely right. It was less touristy so not a lot of tourists (which is a good thing sometimes). Food was more expensive relatively to other places in Thailand but accommodation was cheap. I lived in these bungalows up in the forest. I had one bungalow to myself and I paid 100 baht per night (100 baht is about 4 dollars). The bungalow had a fan, large bed, pillow, mosquito net and bathroom. One thing I really appreciated about Tongsai bay was that it was a true nature experience...no technology, no tourists, just nature. Electricity was only available from 6pm to 6am. They did have a few internet places but they are ridiculously expensive so no one goes there. While walking on the beach, I met this really cool French Canadian girl I had met in Chiang Mai. In fact, she shared the same dorm with me and my buddy from England in Julie's hostel (Chiang Mai). Random huh? I also met this other guy from New Zealand so three of us explored together. Some pictures of Tongsai bay





In the second picture, I'm on Reiley beach and as you can see, I shaved my hair *gasp* say it ain't so. Well, I really don't know why I did it. Spur of the moment I guess. I think when you travel, you should do random things so I guess this is my random moment. Don't regret though. It feels insanely good when fresh air caresses my scalp. My only concern now is what to do with all the hats I own. I wonder. Back to the adventure. So yeah, Tong sai was great: prestine beaches, bob marley bars at night with waiters who would hook you up with the "right stuff" at a decent price too ;-), beautiful sunsets, rock climbing, delicious margaritas and good people. Here's a video of me in my bungalow in the forest on a rainy day. Nothing particularly interesting happens (except the tree which almost collapses because of the harsh winds) so watch it when you have time. I believe it's like a minute long.

My next stop? the FULL MOON PARTY. I'm sure you must have heard about the full moon parties. If you haven't, then google it. It is the biggest parties in South East Asia and they take place every month on Koh Phangan, a southern Island. It is estimated that around 30,000 people show up each month for the party. The July full moon party is also said to be the biggest full moon party and I was going to attend the july one. A friend I know from America was also coming to the July full moon party with some buddies so we decided to meet up. I headed to Koh Phangan with the French Canadian girl, the new zealand guy and a German guy we met on the bus. For the first night, which was a sunday, we stayed at a resort a little far from the main beach. The main beach is on Haad rin and that is where the full moon party takes place. We arrived on a sunday and the full moon party was on a Wednesday. After settling into our rooms, we took a taxi to the main beach, Haad rin that same night and it was INSANE. OMG!!!!
so many people dancing, djs blasting music, shirtless guys, girls with only bras and panties, bars serving mushroom shakes, a sea of alcohol stands and the list goes on. It was just madness. We had a good time that night. The music was great and I met so many cool people on the beach. Let me give you an idea of how crazy the alcohol stands look like



The next day, my good friend arrived with two of his buddies. They got a room closer to the beach so me and the other guys decided to get a place closer to the beach too. The French Canadian girl was going to Koh Tao, another island, the next day so there was really no need for her to find a place close to the beach. The new zealand guy wanted to stay somewhere more quiet (the main beach is where the party is so it's noisy). So the German guy and I kept walking all over the main beach looking for a place. Every single place we went to was fully booked and the places which had rooms available were ridiculously expensive. If you ever go to Koh phangan for the full moon party and you intend on staying on the main beach, Haad rin, make sure you book at least a month in advance. We finally found a place close to where my friend from America and his buddies were staying but it was a complete shithole. The price was good though so since we were on a budget, we took it. We were going to be drunk most of the time anyways so a decent room was not very necessary. Monday was buddha day so no loud music was allowed. Thus, it was a quiet night. Tuesday, the eve of the full moon party, was just as insane as sunday night. Music was pounding the entire day and the party at night was sick. That night, I bumped into two dutch girls who were on the trekking trip in Chiang Mai. We danced for a bit and then I lost them in the crowd. In fact, I lost all of my friends that night within 2o minutes so I just ended up meeting random strangers and dancing with them. It was so much fun. Someone I was dancing with stole my hat though. Not cool. There were drunk people jumping on fire ropes...



and fire rings



In case you are wondering if I tried jumping through fire, the answer is a BIG FAT N-O!!. There were also people sliding down slides into a pile of hard mattresses on the beach. That, I did try and it was effin amazing.



That's me preparing to take a slide. Ok! let's move on to the full moon party itself. It was even more crazier than the Tuesday night I just described. My buddy from America and I randomly met this guy who went to the same university we went to in America. He graduated in December 2008 and my buddy and I both graduated in the summer of 2009. How random is that? by now, you would have noticed that a lot of random things happen when you backpack. Anyways, the full moon party was mental. SO much craziness happened that night, I don't even know where I start so I won't. I'll just say so much craziness happened that night.



The party went on till around 9 or 10am the next morning. Even after 10am, there were still people dancing and partying on the beach. Around 8am in the morning, my buddy and I were just walking on the beach and seeing what was going on. We saw people passed out, wallets everywhere, people dancing on poles, empty bottles, the ocean smelt like piss because everyone was obviously pissing in the ocean during the night, people playing guitar despite the loud music, stray dogs, alcohol sellers etc etc. I took this picture, which has to be one of my favorite pictures of the full moon party.



I like the picture because you can see the hospital sign in front and the party in the background. Why is the hospital sign hilarious? well, it's a hospital sign planted at the center of the party. Trust me, the sign is very necessary because a lot of people injured themselves. One of our buddies burnt his leg jumping through the fire rope so he had to run to the hospital for some bandages and medicine. I thought I was going to spend a lot more time on the islands, just sitting on the beach, soaking up the sun and then drinking and partying at night. The truth is, this routine gets old. After about 2 weeks island hopping, I had had enough. You know you hear stories of those old couples who go into retirement on beautiful resorts but then get tired of it and have to do something more laborious and productive? well I felt like that. I was tired of retirement and decided to get back into the swing of things. After the full moon party, I spent one more day on Koh Phangan and I headed out. Getting out of the island was a mess. Thousands and thousands of people were also heading out so the queuing was just ridiculous...and you know how hot Thailand is so imagine standing outside with thousands of people, crammed together like sardines. It was horrid. The boat which took us to mainland was equally a horrendous experience because it was PACKED!!!! I eventually got out, boarded the bus to bangkok and lost my cellphone along the way. While in Bangkok, I decided to head back to Isara to do some more volunteer work. So later that night, I boarded the train and headed up North. I arrived safely and headed to Isara. I have been volunteering for about a week now and I am absolutely enjoying it. Unfortunately, the adventure is about to end very soon. The academic year is about to start and I have to head back for school and other responsibilities and demands in the real world *sigh* This summer trip has been everything I wanted it to be and more. I have learned so much about myself, and I have strengthened my beliefs about life. I am also very grateful for all the amazing people I have met because they all inspire me in one way or the other, they really do. Ok! I'm sure this post is about 50 pages long so I'll end here. Stay safe.

XoXo
a boy from anotherplanet

I might probably bump into you again...

Hey guys, I hope everyone is in good spirits. I want to start off by apologizing for not leaving comments on your blogs. I have been all over the place so I had no time for the blogosphere. Now that I am somewhat settled down, I will definitely have time to read and leave comments on your blog posts. Ok! so I'm trying to remember where I left off. It had to be somewhere around the journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Yeah, somewhere around there. Ok! so I met this really cool guy from Chicago in Bangkok and we did the overland trip from Bangkok to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The trip was definitely not as scary as I had imagined; in fact, it was quite easy. A lot of backpackers on the internet act as if the overland journey from Bangkok to Siem Reap is like descending into hell or something. Sure, there are a lot of scams and dodgy cops involved but if you do your researh thoroughly, you won't have any problems. Travelfish.org was extremely helpful in my case. They have an elaborate and effective outline on how to successfully undertake the journey. Ok! so my friend and I arrived in Siem Reap, Cambodia in the afternoon. We were very tired so we found a guesthouse on the corner of this street.



Our room was spacious,had air con, a bathroom, fans and 2 beds. It was only 8 $ per night ( 4 per person). After resting, we found a local place with authentic Khmer (Cambodian)food. To say that the food was delicious would be understatement. The kids in Cambodia are very vivacious, friendly and engaging. A lot of them are from poor families so they will walk up to you and beg for money, food or try to get you to buy something from them. It is very heartbreaking. I met this kid outside my guesthouse and he was trying to get me to buy some books about the Angkor Wat temples. In order to persuade me, he started naming all the states in America. He told me the name of the American president, the capital of Hawaii and he even knew the population of New York. These children really hussle to get by. When I was their age, I was busy jumping around all day and excessively eating well-cooked food my mother made. I tip my hat to these kids...not even adversity can diminish their passion for life. So after the diner, my friend and I did some bar hopping. I just noticed that huge chunk of my posts always involve drinking lol. Back to the story. So yeah, we did some bar hopping but a majority of the bars were very timid. My friend was about to call it a night but I urged him to go to one more bar. We finally made our way to this place called Angkor wat???? bar. It was incredible. It is apparently one of the best rated bars in Siem, Reap and I could see why. The second we stepped in, we met a couple of Canadian girls and a Canadian guy. We immediately started a conversation and before you know it, we were all laughing, dancing and buying buckets of rum/whiskey and coke.



The rest of the night was, um, quite interesting to say the least. I won't go into details but the highlight of the night was definitely being chased by a random hooker on the street. My friend and I got lost trying to find our way back to the hostel so we kept walking into really dodgy streets. This random hooker started soliciting us. My friend ( who was super drunk) was like "no! no! please, stay away from us" and then he started running. I immediately started running after him and the hooker chased us lol. We lost track of her. The funniest part of this story is my friend did not remember anything the next morning. His last memory was us at the club with the cool Canadians right after we started drinking. It's a real shame he forgot everything because the night was quite eventful.The next day, we moved into another guesthouse.



These are my belongings sprawled on the bed. Once we were settled in, we hired a tuk tuk and heading to the Angkor Wat temples. The Angkor Wat temples are one of the great wonders of the world; it is truly the most remarkable thing I have ever seen. Believed to have been built between the 9th to 14th century, it was the capital of the great Khmer Empire. How people in the 9th century had the technology to build such an architectural wonder still baffles me.



The temples are spread over acres and acres of land. Some people even do one week tours. One day was good enough for me. I get bored and distracted easily so one day was just fine for me. Besides, it is soo hot. We finished a cooler packed with bottles of water within hours. So so hot but definitely worth it.



Some scenes in the first tomb raider movie, the one with Angelina Jolie, was filmed here. If you've watched the movie, you would probably recognize the site.



After our tour, we made our way to the highest point where you can see all the temples and the entire view of Angkor Wat. It was quite surreal. This following picture was taken before we started ascending the hill. You can see the elephants in the corner. We paid 15 bucks for an elephant ride from the top of the hill back down and it was friggin scary.



View from the top



All in all, Siem Reap was exceptional. The next day, my friend headed back to Bangkok to catch the train to Chiang Mai ( in the Northern region of Thailand). I, on the other hand, continued my Cambodian adventure. My next stop was the capital city...PHNOM PENH. I took a morning bus and it took us about 8 hours to arrive the capital. The second I got off the bus, I grabbed my backpack, found a tuk tuk driver and bargained a decent price for the trip to my hostel ( I had not booked in advance but I had written down the name of the hostel on a piece of paper). I got to the hostel and luckily, they had room for me. The hostel was very cheap and basic. "Cheap" and "basic" are perfect adjectives to describe backpackers lol. This is what the basic dorm room looked like.



I had to share room with about 3 other people. Everyone was nice and respectful so I had no complaints. I was really tired when I arrived so I took a long, long nap. That night, I met a girl from England who was leaving the next day. We decided to go and get something to eat at a fancy Cambodian restaurant. I believe I had a chicken curry but I'm not too sure. I do remember that the food was delicious. On our way back to the hostel, I saw a group of people waving at me. I was like what the...do I know these people? they kept waving so I waved back in confusion. As I peered closer, I realized that it was the Canadian girls and guy I met in the bar in Siem Reap. How random is that? so weird that I bumped into them again I walked up to them and we talked for a couple of minutes. I found out that they also just arrived in Phnom Penh and were staying at the same hostel I was staying in. Again, how random is that? the Canadian guy said they arrived later in the afternoon and they even saw me sleeping. The next two days were solely dedicated to site seeing. I went around the city



I visited the Royal Palace



..and this is a picture of me at the Royal Palace doing my signature peace sign pose. I have tried to stop doing this pose but I can't. It is embedded in my genetics. I also realized that this is probably the first face picture of me I have on this blog...I think. What took me so long? Ok! Let's carry on.



Met the army men in the country side. They all waved at me and they were very gracious.



I also went to the killing fields museum. The killing fields represent a very sad time in Cambodia's history. You can read more about it online but essentially the killing fields mark the sites where thousands of people were unjustly massacred during the Khmer Rouge regime sometime in the mid 1970s. It is very heavy stuff. At the killing fields, you can actually see the skulls of some of the victims. You can also see the areas where they were hung or where their bodies were buried. As I said, it is very heavy. I'll just post a few pictures I took at the killing fields without any commentary. Out of respect for the victims, I won't post pictures of the skulls.









I also met a handsome young boy at the killing fields whose grandparents witnessed the massacres. A lot of people who live around the area have family members who witnessed the events. The kid was poor and he was desperately trying to get some money from me by narrating the entire story of the killings. I believe he said he was 11 and he looked very young but he knew so much. He went into specifics and narrated very grotesque events. He asked me if I spoke some French and when I said "yes",he tried to impress me by speaking some French phrases. It's quite ironic because I know a lot of people who take education and so many other opportunities they have for granted. Human potential is a terrible thing to waste and it breaks my heart that children in developing countries around the world would never have the opportunity to prove their worth. La vie, mes amis...c'est tres bizarre. I gave the boy some money and he told me to take a picture of him. He is probably use to tourists taking pictures of him in his shredded clothes as if he is some article. I did take a picture but out of respect for the dignity of this fine young gentleman, I won't post it anywhere. This post is really long no? I'm almost done. I promise. After Phnom Penh, I made my way to the beach city of Sihanouk Ville, in the Southern area of Cambodia. On the bus ride to Sihanouk ville, I sat next to this 20 year old British guy from Manchester. We started talking and decided to save money by getting a room in a guesthouse together. Everything worked out perfectly. First night in Sihanoukville, we hit Ochhuteal beach for a few beach parties.



This guy was lighting up his stick, preparing for a performance.




and then there was FIRE. HEHEHE. The rest of the night was decent. We walked around, drank a little, met people. I met some very interesting characters that night but I will save this part of the story for another time. Sihanouk ville is party central. Lots of bars, backpackers and the beaches are pristine. There is always a party going on and the food is just heaven. I ate too much...which is probably why I had the poop aka running stomach aka diarrhea. Not fun. I spent an entire day in the bathroom...taking dumps. Not fun. I met this really cool Irish lad who gave me some effective medication. I only took one tablet and within an hour I was fine. I didn't go to the bathroom for the next five days. Ok! back to to the beautiful beaches.



Breathtaking. I took the boat ride to nearby islands and for some snorkeling adventures in the middle of the ocean. Scary but fun. I'm an ok swimmer but due to some miscalculations by some guy I almost drowned at sea. Can you believe it? Crazy. Another story for another day.







The captain of the boat. ARRRRRRrrrrrGGGH



Snorkeling. This coral reef was dead so I was able to step on it without any injuries. Another random event happened. So one day I was sitting in front of my guesthouse, reading a book. I looked up and I saw this boy walking around with a heavy backpack, trying to find a place to stay. Why is this random? I had met this boy before...in my hostel in Bangkok. He was also living at the hostel when I was there. How random is that? funny how you bump into people. Sihanouk ville over all was great. Amazing people and amazing food. The place is like a tourist trap. It sucks you in and never lets you go. Everytime I said I was going to leave, new people came and then I'll be like maybe I will go tomorrow. Then you end up saying the same thing tomorrow and the next day and the next day and the next day. I just had to put my foot down one day and say "I NEED TO LEAVE, LIKE NOW!!!!!!!". If you are looking for a few days of parties, craziness, good beaches then make a stop in Ochhuteal beach, Sihanouk ville. My next stop? SINGAPORE!!!!!! I boarded an afternoon bus from Sihanouk ville to Phnom Penh.


bus station

I went back to the hostel in Phnom Penh I had previously stayed but they were full. The manager, a foreigner ( I believe he is English), was kind enough to tell the tuk tuk driver who works at the hostel to help me find a place. It was late at night so I appreciated the extra help. We drove around for a bit and finally found a place. They only had a single room left with a private bathroom and shower, TV with cable, fan etc. It was a little pricey (for Cambodian stadards) but after a 10 second deliberation, I was like fuck it! I am taking the room. After being crammed in dorm style hostels and cheap guesthouses, I felt like I deserved one night of luxury don't you think? lol. It was seriously like 10 dollars. Don't LAUGH OK?. After weeks of paying 4 bucks for dorm style hostels, 10 dollars seems like a lot of money. This is a small fragment of the room by the way.



My next morning, I had to check out before noon which I successfully did. I didn't think I was going to make it because I stayed up all night watching movies. I carried my backpack and walked around the city. Went to a few cyber cafes to burn time. I believe my flight to Singapore was at 8pm so I took a motorbike to the airport at around 6pm. After waiting around, I finally boarded. I flew with jetstar asia and they are shockingly inexpensive. My ticket from Phnom Penh to Changi Airport, Singapore cost me 70 US dollars. The only thing is Jetstar does not serve free food on the plane. However, it was like a 2 hour flight so I had no complaints.Once in Singapore, took a bus to my hostel. It was past midnight so they wouldn't let me in. I ended up walking up and down streets at around 2 past midnight looking for a place to sleep. I finally found a good but overly pricey hostel. I had no choice so I just had to sleep there. I woke up the next day, left for my hostel. I checked it and did some sight seeing.







Singapore is very beautiful and VERY CLEAN. You will get slapped with a huge fine for dropping dirt on the floor. At my hostel, I met some more cool people. I met this 19 year old couple from the UK and this really cool guy from Holland. The couple were heading to Australia and the guy from Holland just came from Australia. He had been backpacking in Australia for 10 months. Crazy right? so we all hung out, watched movies, went out to eat etc etc. We had a blast. The couple from the U.K left for Australia the next day and my buddy from Holland and I hung out some more. One day, we left for Chinatown to watch the Germany vs. Serbia world cup game. As we were walking by a bar, my buddy from Holland met a couple he had hung out while he was in Australia. How random is that? they just bumped into each other and he was like "hey!" The couple was cool.


...the bar in Chinatown. World cup Fever.

The guy is from Germany and his girlfriend is from France. Four of us got a table and the beers kept coming lol. We were all rooting for Germany but unfortunately Serbia won. Regardless, it was a good night. What is also interesting is that my buddy from Holland has a German girlfriend he met when he was in Australia. When I was in Bangkok, I met this really cool German guy who was dating this really cool girl from Holland. They both met in Australia too. So anyways, my buddy from Holland and I had to head back home before midnight because the subway stops at midnight. Despite the fact that we were both drunk, we stumbled our way into the subway and eventually got to our street. We stopped by an Indian restaurant and got some delicious food before heading back to the hostel. I had to get up at 8am the next morning because I had another flight to catch. I was up early, packed, took a shower, woke my buddy from Holland up and we said our good-byes and then left for the airport. Next stop? back to Bangkok. I flew with Tiger airways, another budget airline, and my flight cost me 70 US dollars. Not bad at all. I got to Bangkok, went to the hostel I had stayed in the last time I was in Bangkok. It felt like I was going back home. The hostel is so clean, comfortable and has a home feel to it. It is a little more pricey than the standard hostel in Bangkok but trust me, it is worth every penny. It's called NapPark and it is 2 blocks away from Khao San Road. So my plan was to stay at NapPark just for one day to unwind, relax and then continue my journey. The following day, when I was about to leave, I bumped into this British lad I had met the last time I was in Bangkok. How random is that? he had also come back to the hostel to unwind for a while and then head out south. I ended up staying an extra day so that we could hang out. We also met two cool Scottish girls so we all hung out together. I also met an African American pilot from Atlanta who was vacationing in Thailand for a few days. How cool is that? he was so down to earth and hilarious. It was a blast. So the next day, almost everyone headed down to the Southern islands for the full moon party while I headed up to the Northern region of Thailand. When we were saying our goodbyes, th British lad was like "goodbye, travel safe..." etc etc. I was like "I might probably bump into you again buddy". Considering how I randomly bumped into people I met in earlier destinations, I won't be surprised if I bumped into him again. Not at all. caught the over night train because it is a 14 hour journey. Traveling at night is a much better option because you get to sleep. I got a first class sleeper with a bed and I had to share it with this 40 something drunk from somewhere in Europe who could not stop drinking, yelling and cursing. THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE TRAIN RIDE IN MY LIFE!!!!! wait! this was actually my first train ride lol. Anyways, here are some of the sleeper room in the train






my infamous blue backpack.

I finally arrived at my destination, which is Nong Khai. Nong Khai is a city in the Northern region of Thailand and it is a lot more traditional. It is also about 5 minutes from the country Laos. In fact, from where I live I can see Laos across the river. How cool is that? what am I doing here? I am volunteering at this amazing organization called Isara. It is COMPLETELY FREE. You don't have to pay a dime. Of course, you pay for your own food and travels and that is not a problem because transportation and food here are extremely cheap. Why am I volunteering? because I want to take a break from the parties and do something meaningful and helpful. It's good to party when you are on vacation but you won't really experience the culture of a country if all you do is party with Westerners. Being a volunteer is giving me the opportunity to interact with Thais and learn more about their culture. I am also taking free Thai lessons offered at Isara. How cool is that? so excited. What kind of volunteering? teaching English to kids, teens and adults. Also, helping out with cleaning and recycling projects. I've only been here a few days but the experience has been amazing. The founder of this organization, Kirk Gillock ( an American from Texas who has lived in Thailand for the past 7 years) is very inspiring, hard working and down to earth. I will definitely do another post just talking about the Isara organization. If you are ever in Thailand and you want to do some good, then definitely head over to Isara. As I said, I will talk more about Isara in a separate post dedicated solely to volunteering. This post is a mess. It has gone on for too long. Can you believe I have been typing for over an hour? Ok! I'm heading out now. Take care guys and as I said, I will dedicate this week to reading and leaving comments on your blogs. Bye!