November- January
Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to see so many amazing parts of the world. I feel as if I’ve only had time to process things now that I’m back in Denmark and starting to think about school again.
In November, I left for the trip of a lifetime through Southeast Asia with my roommate from Madison, May. She is studying abroad this year in Sydney, Australia so we just met in the middle- Bangkok- and embarked upon our 5 week backpacking trip through four countries: Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. After staying in Bangkok for a couple of nights to get over our jet lag, we flew to Saigon, Vietnam and made our way down through the Mekong Delta. There, we ate and drank coconuts in all forms, tried snake wine, took small boats around the river, ate elephant fish (pulled from the stream and clubbed to death right before our eyes), shared local busses with roosters, and mastered the xe om (motorbike taxis).
After about a week in the Delta, we took a bus back to Saigon and stayed with our friend, Will who moved there after graduating from UW last year. It always makes for a better trip when you’re able to stay with someone who knows the city. Will showed us his Saigon— all the street food, fruit stands, tailors, motorbike-filled streets, and we got to meet some wonderful Vietnamese people.
Next we had our first land crossing into Cambodia. We spent a night in the beautiful city of Phnom Penh before going to Siem Reap which is the city next to the astonishing ancient temples of Angkor. Cambodia was beautiful— flooded rice paddies, ornate temples in the middle of nowhere, lively markets. We woke at 4:30am to see Angkor Wat as the sun was rising and got there early so we waited in Angkor Wat in the dark pre-dawn. It was a pretty surreal experience.
We had a few complications making it from Cambodia to Laos but, in the end, everything worked out. We had to go back to Bangkok first, which wasn’t in our plans, but it turned out that it was the King’s birthday so the city was all lit up and festive. Upon arrival, we booked a night train to Vientiane, Laos, but we had 24 hours in the city to kill so we checked out the infamous Khao San Road. It’s incredible that people will come all the way to Bangkok just to drink until 10am at a tourist Irish bar… But it was something to see.
The night train was an experience and probably my new favorite way to travel. We met a nice Swedish guy, Nils, who we ended up running into later on in Thailand (small travelers’ circut I guess…), and we were able to sleep comfortable in our train bunks.
In Vientiane, we stayed with May’s Dad’s French friends, Baj and Michel. They had a really nice home and took great care of us. I even got to practice my French! There wasn’t a whole lot to do in Vientiane, but we ate some really delicious food and biked around the city a bit before taking a bus through the mountains to Vang Vieng.
As it was notorious for being a party town, I wasn’t sure what to expect from Vang Vieng. We thought it best to stay at an organic farm a few kilometers outside of town to try to avoid the party scene, only to find out that from noon until 7, the party would come to us. The farm was in the most beautiful location right on the river and surrounded by stunning mountains. All was serene except for when the tubing started. People from town would get driven up to where our farm was located and tube back down the river, only most wouldn’t make it past the first bars which blasted frat music until sundown. We learned to live with the noise pollution though and extended our stay on the farm an extra 3 or 4 nights instead of heading up to Luang Prabang, which I’ll save for next time :) We met some wonderful people on the farm and wished we could have stayed longer. May and I rented a motorbike one day and drove it down some dirt roads to visit some caves and lagoons, for which the area is known. Overall, Vang Vieng was our nature fix for the trip and its pros definitely outweighed its cons.
Finally, we flew south to Phuket, Thailand and took a ferry to the island best known as the setting for the film, “The Beach”, Koh Phi Phi. May and I spent a whole week living out of a little bungalow and spending time on the beach. I got to go scuba diving once in some of the best areas for diving in the world (thanks, Dad!) and saw sharks, turtles, lobsters, eels, and some amazing coral reef. May and I also took a boat ride to some beautiful lagoons and beaches, rented a kayak, and went snorkeling. It was a great, relaxing end to our trip and a good way to unwind before our very long journeys home.
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Then it was Christmas in Denmark! Of course it was difficult being away from home during the Holidays, but I am so lucky to have an amazing Danish host family over here. We had Christmas Eve dinner with Inger’s parents— foie gras, roasted duck, Christmas sausage, and a delicious pudding dessert in which I found the lucky almond and won some chocolates! Talk about beginners’ luck! The next day was Jørgen’s 60th birthday so we spent all day preparing a 6 course dinner for 20 at the flat and had a great time eating and celebrating that night.
Shortly after that, my boyfriend, Spencer arrived in Denmark as he is studying abroad at Copenhagen University with me this semester. We had a fantastic New Years with great food, friends, fireworks and champagne. Literally the whole city was alit at midnight as it is legal and encouraged (apparently) to shoot off huge fireworks from anywhere. Luckily, no one got hurt :) Best New Years ever!
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Less than a week later, I was off again on a two week trip through Central Europe with Spencer. We spent 4 nights in Prague, 3 nights in Vienna, and nearly a week in Budapest. Prague was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to— amazing architecture everywhere. Throughout the entire trip we mostly just explored each city on foot, taking photos and stopping to taste the local specialties (Prague- beer and goulash, Vienna- coffee and pastries, Budapest- Eger wine and more coffee). Highlights of the trip were the cozy pubs and frothy pints in Prague, catching a Henri Cartier- Bresson exhibition at the Kunsthaus in Vienna, and doing the Szenchenyi baths in Budapest.
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Now that I’m back for one more semester in Copenhagen, I am busy re-evaluating my goals for this experience, figuring out my classes for the semester, and helping Spencer get settled into Copenhagen. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to really live my dreams this year and thank everyone who has encouraged and helped me do so!
