This week there was an overthrow of the Audrey/Greg regime as the students took the reins for "Student Directed Travel". It didn't take us long to figure out what we wanted to do as soon as Amalia put bungalows on the beach and a National Park on the table. So, instead of heading straight to Vietnam, we decided to extend our stay in Cambodia and chill on the beach in Sihanoukville.
As soon as we arrived at our collection of bungalows only a few steps from the ocean, there was a rush to jump into the clear cerulean blue waters. Which ocean it was turned out to be a topic of much confusion. It was the Gulf of Thailand, guys. 1 point for Andi.
Our activities in Sihanoukville included boat rides, snorkeling, swimming, hiking, and lounging on the beach. Naturally, the student directed travel itinerary was based mostly on what activities go best with smoothies. After the first day out on the water, I think we all came back a different skin shade.
We departed from Sihanoukville bright and early at 6:00 AM ready for a 12 hour bus ride into Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Our estimated 12 hours of travel soon doubled when our bus' engine broke down and we were left sitting on the roadside with our transport kindly sending smoke signals out the back. Being the fearless travelers we are, we organized a sit-in protest against paying for private van and we were rewarded after a few hours of stubbornness with a second bus all to ourselves! Eventually, after a breif, unexpected overnight layover in the Cambodian border town, we arrived in Vietnam.
Now the students are all planning out our remaining days of student directed travel in the wonderful, bustling city of Ho Chi Minh.