‘I never see that adventure side in you, I never could have guessed It.’ said Reza. It is not the very first time I’ve heard that line, let’s just say one too many to remember. This crazy idea of mine started when my friend Ireal told me that he had met Ram Bahadur Bamjan, the budda boy who lives in the jungle of Southern Nepal. The meet up with Bamjan and tapping Ireal on the head known to many as the “touch of the divine” has let Ireal plans to build a school in one of the remote provinces of Nepal. His story was so inspirational that had let me to soul search and find out my place on earth or my calling. Stories of my journey may not be as inspirational as Ireal’s but it has led me to be a much calmer person.
This was my third backpacking trip after a big one in Japan four years ago. From Kuala Lumpur, I boarded a plane to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, did my city tour with a map provided by the guest house. The next day, took a bus down to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai Temple, it took us 10 hours, a whole day’s trip to complete the sights with stops for loo breaks of course. The next day, we took a seven hour bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where I was held up at the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. I was stranded for an hour and the bus left with my food, wet tissue and water bottle. When things were settled with my documents, I had to take a lift from another bus, f.o.c. doesn’t exists in countries like this so it wasn’t really like a hitchhike, I had to pay USD 20 for my bus trip to Cambodia as I had another ferry to cross.
I spent Hanukah in Phnom Penh before heading to another seven hour bus journey to Siem Reap, home to one of the world’s most famous heritage sites. Looking back at my whirlwind trip in December of war memorials, tunnels, land mines, acid throwing, the Mekong Naga, remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, the prisons, the killing fields, art and civilization, I learnt a lot from the trip even by looking at heart-wrenching children begging on the streets with no clothing on their body and how the Muslims live in the banks of the river, in their boats with only minimal food to feed on…I really have gotten to appreciate how blessed I was.
January 11th marks the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of Cambodia from the brutal forces of Pol Pot.
This was my third backpacking trip after a big one in Japan four years ago. From Kuala Lumpur, I boarded a plane to Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, did my city tour with a map provided by the guest house. The next day, took a bus down to the Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai Temple, it took us 10 hours, a whole day’s trip to complete the sights with stops for loo breaks of course. The next day, we took a seven hour bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where I was held up at the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. I was stranded for an hour and the bus left with my food, wet tissue and water bottle. When things were settled with my documents, I had to take a lift from another bus, f.o.c. doesn’t exists in countries like this so it wasn’t really like a hitchhike, I had to pay USD 20 for my bus trip to Cambodia as I had another ferry to cross. 
I spent Hanukah in Phnom Penh before heading to another seven hour bus journey to Siem Reap, home to one of the world’s most famous heritage sites. Looking back at my whirlwind trip in December of war memorials, tunnels, land mines, acid throwing, the Mekong Naga, remnants of the Angkorian capitals, and the pinnacle of the ancient Khmer architecture, the prisons, the killing fields, art and civilization, I learnt a lot from the trip even by looking at heart-wrenching children begging on the streets with no clothing on their body and how the Muslims live in the banks of the river, in their boats with only minimal food to feed on…I really have gotten to appreciate how blessed I was. 
January 11th marks the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of Cambodia from the brutal forces of Pol Pot.
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