Phnom Penh, Cambodia

After three days in Phnom Penh, it's time for us to continue our journey. First, I will briefly write what Phnom Penh offered us during our few days here. One thing that sets Cambodia and the Philippines apart are many things, so I will mention a few funny things. In the Philippines, everybody was calling me Mam all the time. In Cambodia, I went from Mam to Sister. "Sista-ah gimmie a dolla-ah". The taxi, or tricycle as it was on the Philippines, is now a tuk-tuk in Cambodia. The Cambodian tuk-tuk is way more comfortable than the philippino tricycle. 

My major is tourism and hospitality management, which I obviously have came across a lot during this vacation. In every country I have to ask myself many questions, for example, what is good service in this country, what is being polite and how fast is the food supposed to appear in front of me? Something that's polite back home, might not be polite here and vice versa. 

Also, a funny thing I have realized is the main attractions in a city. Arriving to Phnom Penh, we were presented to the main attractions: The Russian Market, The Killing Fields, The Genocide Museum etc. What kind of impact does these attractions give you? In my case, the image of an "russian market" doesn't really scream lets-go-there to me. The killing fields and genocide museum sounds pretty depressing to me. First a museum where over many thousands of people were tortured before they were transferred  to the killing fields, where they were killed. Don't want to be negative, but the funny thing is that these three are a few of the top attractions of Phnom Penh. Tourist attractions are usually a bit more exciting and fun, memorable. Even though, these three attractions didn't have that wow-factor, we still went to all of them. Another attraction, The Royal Palace, was also worth a visit. Cambodia was once a french colony, which has had an influence on their cuisine but also the buildings and apartments has a french vibe. 

Here follows pictures from our days in Phnom Penh. Tomorrow, it's time to change country, language and currency once again, because we are off to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 

Siem Reap #2

You have not been to Cambodia or Siem Reap without visiting the Angkor Wat Temple, which is the main reason why people travel to Siem Reap. The clothes, hotels, souvenirs .. basically everything is based on the Angkor Wat temple. The area is huge. There is one, three and seven days tickets. The easiest way to explore the most of the temples in a day, is to take a tuk-tuk. If there is time, renting a bicycle to get around could be great! Depending on which temples that is on ones wishlist, there is two options. The big tour is more expensive, and not sure if it shows more attractions or not. But I would warmly recommend the small tour, since Angkor Wat Temple is included, and also the Ta Phrom Temple, also known as the "Thomb Rider Temple". This location was used in the film Tomb Rider and is definitely worth seeing.

The most suitable time to depart to Angkor Wat would be around 5:30, since the sunset is beautiful and it's also more pleasing to walk around when it's not burning hot. Afterwards, there is still plenty of time to see something else on the same day.

This was our morning activity today, let's see what we will do today. Here is a few pictures from the day.

Siem Reap #1

The day started early, as it usually does when traveling with my mama. Back to the Palm Garden Lodge for breakfast... I have no inspiration, no words, but the main things we did today was that we booked a hot air balloon so we could see Siem Reap from above before the sunset. The local kids got their entertainment for the day and even some candy. After the ride, we walked around the Night market and the Pub street. Too much beautiful things to buy, and not possible to bring them back home, what a shame! The best t-shirt I saw has to be the "No tuk-tuk, No massage, No money". I really need that one, or all tourists needs it. We also had the chance to try the Dr.Fish massage. It felt funny, but after a while, really relaxing. Our tuk-tuk driver drag us into an early wake up for tomorrows Angkor Watt tour. He will drive us around and show all the temples. Until tomorrow, goodnight!

Bye Philippines, Hello Cambodia,

After two weeks in the Philippines, it's time to change the views, the currency, the language, the country - we are off to Cambodia. It didn't come as a surprise, that our flight from Puerto Princesa to Manila was two hours delayed. This information made us go back to the hotel, enjoy the sun and my Facebook-blog-computer-wifi addicted mother found her place in the shadow so she could do her thing. 

When we arrived in Manila, we were not surprised that there was a lot of tiny issues. Extra fees of all kinds. It seems like flying with these small airlines between these small asian countries or islands, requires a lot of time and patience. Even though the flight itself doesn't take that long, one to three hours, you better be prepared to basically be traveling the whole day. The airline we will fly with is Cebu Pacific Air. Something seen all over the Philippines is the expression "EveryJuan". It's a bit funny. Sure, Juan is a common name, so I guess by meaning everyone, you could use the word everyjuan instead, since there is so many of them! 

On the flight we received an Arrival/Departure Card that we had to fill in, as you usually do. Hands down, Cambodia have put the most effort on their cards and made them really beautiful, at least what I have seen so far. 

It's 10pm and we are finally at our final destination - Siem Reap, Cambodia! A short cambodian man was waiting for us with a sign. He took us with his tuk-tuk to our hotel, Palm Garden Lodge. Since the whole day was filled with issues, here comes the next problem: our hotel is fully booked. Nothing else to do but to get back into the tuk-tuk and sleep somewhere else. Great start, hopefully Cambodia shows its bright side tomorrow. 

 

Underground River

The past days in the Philippines could have been spent more effectively, if it wouldn't be for my bad condition. With a couple of days left on Palawan and in the Philippines, we had to visit one of the most important and protected area here - The Subterranean River National Park or also called the Underground River. The river with a length of 4.3km, has been discovered to be the worlds longest underground river. Hundreds of boats takes visitors to the cave everyday to experience the rock formations and to witness the HUGE amount of bats. 

This river is not only very beautiful, the worlds longest and definitely worth seeing, it has even been listed on UNESCO World Heritage Sites as one of the seven Official Wonders of Nature. Four of these wonders are located in Asia.This list includes Jeju Island, located in South Korea, Komodo in Indonesia, South Americas Amazon, Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, The Table Mountain in South Africa and the Igazu Falls in Argentina/Brazil. Since Indonesia is one of my destinations during this vacation, I could pay Komodo National Park a visit. 

Traveling with a chinese couple, two young europeans, one filipino and my mother, we enjoyed lunch together, waited for a few hours before getting into the boat. The rock formations around the Philippines, reminds me of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. While sailing through the currents, the song from the movie is spinning through my head while I imagine the ships, pirates, Orlando Bloom… Anyways, these islands and rocks are unbelievable!    

Kyung Hee Course Registration Spring Semester,

The time has come to register to the courses once again. Now it's time for choosing the courses for the spring semester. I still remember how difficult it was last time, since the website was mostly in Korean. This time, there has been some improvements. The webpage is both in korean and english, which will make the registration process way faster than last time. 

When it comes to the courses, last semester had more to offer. Many of the courses offered this semester was also in the course list last semester, so in my case not that much to chose from. The original plan was to take six courses and I already had a clear plan, and plans does never go as they should. So, here are the courses I will study next semester. 

International Tourism

Hotel Project Planning and Management

Introduction to Leisure

Organizational Behavior

Tourism Resources

Production and Operation Management

There might still be changes, but that's something I got to worry about after a month or so. 

I have already had some conversations with the new incoming exchange students, and as far as it seems, there are plenty of good people arriving. I never thought that on my time on this earth that I would say this, but I can't wait until next semester starts! 

Philippines - Culture Shock

My 5 months in South Korea has been great and I have met a lot of great people. What I have realized about Korea, and this is only my opinion, is that people mostly want to mind their own business and they won't see or hear you. They have isolated themselves from their surroundings and are not really interested in getting to know new people. I feel that this is something that South Korea and Finland has in common. Minding our own business, but there is still a lot of stalking and gossiping. I feel that both countries population has a fear of walking up to a stranger and just say a simple hello. Eye contact is also rare in both Korea and Finland. Of course, people look but they won't look you in the eye or make you realize that they are watching you. In my opinion, it's easy to feel invisible in both countries, especially in Seoul and Helsinki.

I had totally forgot the fact that there is people in this world who wants to know everything about you and has interest to talk to you. In the Philippines, everyone will greet you and pay attention to you. This came as a shock to me, after has lived in Seoul for a while. I prefer the philippine way of living their life, being happy and friendly. Even young kids will run towards you and say "Hello, whats your name?". These kids are 4-8 years old and they seem to have better english skills than grown up koreans.

Just to end this, and also something that came as a little shock. Wherever I go, whatever I do, whoever I speak to, they always call me Mam one hundred times in each conversation. I mean I don't mind, but after a while its a bit too much, like "Hello mam, can I help you mam, how are you today mam, anything else mam, are you sure mam, that would be 150pesos mam". Mam this and mam that. I think it's funny though!

Something that the Philippines and Korea has in common, is that they both are obsessed with whitening products. I assume that this is something that is popular all over asia, but since I'm from a country with plenty of pale people, these products are new to me. In Finland, the more tanned you are, the more appealing you look. On the other side of the world, a white pale skin with pink chins is beautiful.

IslandFront Cottages and Restaurant,

The hotel we chose for our stay in El Nido was Islandfront. It's a small and cozy hotel located down by the beach just a few minutes from town with a tricycle. The hotel looks more like a garden and somewhere behind all the flowers and bushes, you will find the hidden cottages. 

The hotel serves breakfast and also has a restaurant. The service is not the fastest, but it seems to be like that all over the island. A good thing is, that whatever you need, the people you ask will organize it for you. The restaurant is usually packed with people who is using the free wifi, since the lobby is the only place where you can find connection. 

El Nido doesn't have any bigger resorts, more family owned businesses and small guest houses. Some guest houses only has four rooms for example. The staff working in hotels and restaurants tend to be young here in the Philippines. In South Korea the restaurant staff tend to be old grandmas, but here, it's hard to guess their age, but I guess they are in my age, or even younger. I managed to snap some pictures of the place, so here is a few. 

I'm pleased with my stay at Islandfront and El Nido, even though the weather wasn't the best. Today we will head back to Puerto Princesa, and in the end of this week, we are off to Cambodia. 

Not to forget my studies in South Korea, the course registration is taking place on the 23rd of January at midnight. I already managed to chose a few courses, but there was not that much to chose from. I wished for six courses, but as it looks at the moment, I will only take five. Let's see, after tomorrow I will know.   

Diving in El Nido,

El Nido is basically known for two activities; Island hopping and diving. During our stay in El Nido, we will experience these two things, for sure. El Nido is rich in marine life and there is plenty of diving shops to chose from. Under the sea you can find an array of wildlife including sharks, turtles, corals and tunnels. A great way to experience these two activities at the same time, is to basically take a boat and go diving. The boat will sail around all the islands and rocks and you will even see whats under the big currents. A lunch break at a tiny untouched beach is nothing to complain about either.  

The diving shop we chose is called Pa-Lao-Yu and is located next to our hotel, which makes it very convenient to get there early in the morning. At the diving shop we are welcomed by a french dive master, Alex and our local dive master Jong. 

As the heading says, the past days has been all about diving. As I accomplished the first step in my diving carrier as a Open Water Diver in Puerto Princesa, it has been a roller coaster since. Jumping from a boat into unknown water, diving into caves and through tunnels, seen turtles and sharks closer and in a completely different way than looking through a glass in an aquarium. All these things after less than ten dives is amazing. Diving through the tunnel was a bit chocking, a crazy thing to do as a beginner I think. Especially when the currents has been huge and they will push you back and fourth as you are diving. Since everyone went into the tunnel, there is not many options but to follow.

Generally, I'm not scared of many things. I can't really come up with anything huge that I would be afraid of. I have been doing all kind of sports, including horses, running and hurting yourself, diving didn't feel like a big deal. I think my excitement of the whole thing went high while diving in El Nido, when I saw a turtle swimming a few meters under me, how cool is that? I think that swimming with the turtle has been the best experience so far.

It has been two tough days of diving. Each day included three dives with a longer lunch break. I already passed my 10th dive and I guess that's it for diving in the Philippines. I will dive some more in Malaysia, I assume. 

El Nido, Philippines

The morning started early with a quick breakfast before we checked out from the hotel. Today we will leave from Puerto Princesa to El Nido for five nights. A shuttle was waiting for us just outside the hotel and after drivning through the mountains and the jungle for 4.5 hours, we arrived at El Nidos bus terminal. The first thing we had to do was to exchange some money before heading to our new hotel Island Front. The first thing I recognized was that the rooms were almost hidden in a garden. When continuing further, I saw it - the beach! The hotel is located exactly 0m from the beach - and what a view! Since I'm a beach person and could basically spend day and night at the beach, this hotel was looking like my dream home. El Nido is a place everybody is talking about and how beautiful it is and yes, it's true!
At this very moment I'm literally lying under palm trees writing this post while the sea is only a few meters from my feet. My body and mind has not been feeling this good in years. Immediately when we arrived to the hotel, my mother wanted to book our divings. Tomorrow it stars. We will be diving twice a day for 5 days. So basically we won't do much else but diving and enjoying our holiday. I guess I need to find a friend or two so I can experience the nightlife here, or maybe I could do an adventure and go by myself!

Down by the Beach

The weather haven't been the best the past two days, but when I woke up this morning, the sun was shining. We immediately decided to head to the beach. After two days of diving and not that much sun, it was great to just relax on the Emerald Beach Resort and do almost nothing. Even though I had to study for my Open Water Certificate, it didn't feel bad to study while getting some color. I would probably be the best student if I could study on the beach. 

Four hours of lying in the sun with a stressed tricycle driver waiting for us, it was time to head back to our hotel. Tomorrow is the day of me and my mothers exam, which means that this day will be spent with our books in the hotel's hammocks.
Now I need to focus on my book before my mother starts to yell at me. 

Puerto Princesa, Philippines #2

Day two in Puerto Princesa is coming to an end and a lot has happened already. Both days started at 7am with breakfast at the hotels cozy restaurant. After a few pieces of bread, egg and shrimps, it was time to head to the diving shop. I thought my vacation was going to start but unfortunately I got bad news. The diving instructor threw a book in front of me, smiled and told me to read it all. It doesn’t end there; the course will have quizzes and a final exam. Are you kidding me? There is nothing else to do but to start reading.

We took a minibus to the White Beach Reef, where I was going to have my diving lessons. The course started with a few exercises like how to use the equipment’s, how to empty the mask under water and what to do if you are out of air while diving. I didn’t think I was actually going to dive on the first day, but we did the actual dive twice. The first dive was a lot of fun. We only went to 12 meters depth, even though I sometimes went deeper. My dive master, Omar, thought I did great and he let me dive by myself. 

The second day, a young Filipino called Chris was my diving master. We were diving a bit deeper today, all the way down to 18-20 meters. That was all the diving for me before the actual exam I will have this Thursday. My mother was also in the boat today, but since she is taking the Rescue course, she hasn’t been diving at all. Instead, she was rescuing a short but heavy man from the water. I must say, if it had been a real situation, the man would have died. Haha!

Since the first hotel we stayed at was very cozy, friendly staff but unfortunately too far away from everything, we decided to change. Just when the guest house started to get really nice, we had to leave. This morning we got a little visitor. I heard a little girl saying “Hello” and after that, she stamped in to our room with confidence, took my phone and started to play with it. A great start on a rainy day. The weather here has not been the best here in the Philippines. On some islands, there have even been storm warnings, but on Puerto Princesa, where its mostly cloudy but still warm. There has been a few moments of sunshine and I have even got sunburnt.

Bye Victoria Guest House ...

... Hello Hotel Puerto Pension!

Vacation Kaos

Kaos, the perfect way of describing this day. 

Starting at 5am, my mother and I grabbed our backpacks and headed to the subway station. Our hotel was located only two stops from Incheon Airport, which made the start of our adventure very convenient.  When arriving at the airport, it was time to check in. Since I decided to leave all my extras from my wallet in my dormitory, the Alien Registration Card was forgotten. Not really used to be an “alien” living in South Korea, I guess. The information I got was to apply for a certificate. My only option was to run to the Immigration Office located 1km from the check in desk, pay a few euros, get a piece of paper and run back before I could get my flight ticket. Such a messy start, and it got worse. The boarding time was delayed and when we once got our asses to our seats, the aircraft was having problems. They had to restart the aircraft a couple of times and by this, we realized that our transfer time from Manila to Palawan, our final destination, got tight! 

4 and a half hours later, we arrived in Manila. Nervously we waited for the seat belt sign to turn off and when it did, there was nothing else to do but run. While I was waiting for the luggage, my mother ran upstairs to do the check in. As quickly as possible, we took our backpacks, ran upstairs and through the safety check. Since the flight to Palawan also was delayed, we were lucky to be able to check in. What a relief!

But there is more. Yes, the flight was delayed, almost two hours, which made the day nothing but worse. Traveling is fun, but the best part is to arrive at the destination. Arriving in Palawan was great and after all the stress and running, it was a lovely gesture of the hotel to pick us up from the Puerto Princesa Airport. 

The Internet has been telling me that there is a storm warning on the Philippines and the weather was going to be cloudy and rainy, even thunderstorms. Let’s hope, this is not the case, since I planned to dive and get myself some sort of tan. Now, it's time to rest.