The farthest place I've traveled to on my journey so far is Cambodia. Last summer, I traveled to Kampot, one of the provinces in southern Cambodia that shares a border with southern Vietnam. I met my friend's uncle, aunt, and cousins who live there. We went around Kampot and a few other places in the country. I was only there for a short time, but it was a really meaningful trip. Beautiful places, delicious food, great company and fond memories. I traveled to Cambodia and back to Soc Trang by bus. It took about seven hours both ways.
I got around this past week by motorbike. I normally travel around Soc Trang and other parts of southern Vietnam by motorbike. When I go a little bit farther away from here, I usually take a bus or go by car. Most people in Vietnam get around by motorbike. Traffic here is sometimes crazy, maybe not as crazy as traffic in New York, but it is fun zooming around Soc Trang City on my bike. Always wear a helmet when you are on a motorbike, though!
The most interesting place I visited this week was a pagoda in one of the districts of Soc Trang province. It was a Khmer pagoda. There was an important festival happening there called sayma. This festival is a celebration of the construction of a new "frontispiece", which is one of the most important places at Khmer pagodas. During this festival, people from all over will come to donate money to the pagoda in celebration, play games, eat food and buy souvenirs from the many vendors and pray.
