The hotel I stayed at on the first day was about a 40-minute drive from the airport. It was already very hot there, with daytime temperatures over 40°C, so most people stayed indoors until the cooler evenings for entertainment and late-night snacks. Ho Chi Minh City comes alive at night, sparkling with lights. Too bad international mobile data is so expensive—I could’ve used the weather template on the watermark camera to check the local temperature. It was really hot!!
These are Vietnamese dong. The denominations look huge, right? I felt like an instant billionaire!! But 100,000 VND is only enough for a McDonald’s meal back home. There wasn’t much planned for the first day, so I just settled in and rested.
DAY 2 – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
On the second day, I visited a small island in the Mekong River. Along the way, you can see lush tropical plants and brightly colored fruits. Deeper in, you’ll find this place. You can take a narrow dugout canoe through the shaded canals to explore the island.
On the island, there are open-air shelters where you can sit and sample fruits. If you like them, you can buy some. I recommend buying extra pineapples here—they may look no different from those back home, but they’re exceptionally sweet and fragrant. As a pineapple lover, I’d say these pineapples are almost as good as Hainan’s perfume pineapples.
After a boat tour of the Mekong River, we had a meal at a local eatery. The most interesting dish was this “huge hemp ball”—everyone gathered around to take photos of it. It’s actually hollow, and the way to eat it is to slice the crispy outer layer and wrap other fillings inside. The local cuisine here is really unique. I have a feeling the food templates on my watermark camera will get the most use these days, haha!! Then I headed back to the hotel to pack up for my flight to Cambodia and the Angkor Wat adventure.
DAY 3 – Siem Reap, Cambodia
For anyone traveling to Cambodia, Angkor Wat is definitely a must-visit. The hotel I booked in Siem Reap was only a 30-minute drive from the Angkor site, but since I was worried about the midday heat, I woke up early and set off, arriving at the site around 8 AM.
The site is vast, and you need to take your time exploring each spot quietly. The beauty of Angkor Wat is a historical, weathered, timeless, and eternal kind of beauty.
Most of the structures here are weathered like the one in the photo, exuding a sense of history. I was so busy taking watermarked photos to capture my feelings that I barely had time to admire the scenery. Many buildings are under restoration, some even funded by China. The temples are spread out, so I relied on my friend’s minivan to get around. There are also buses you can take with your ticket, and some visitors who got tired of walking chose to ride elephants through the site. I’m a bit scared of heights, so I skipped that—though you might want to try it (no idea about the price, though).
On the fourth day, I visited Ha Long Bay, known as the “inland Ha Long Bay.” Since I had to fly back to Beijing from Hanoi, I returned to Vietnam from Cambodia. It’s about a three-hour drive from Hanoi, making the journey a bit tough, but the breathtaking views from the boat made it all worthwhile.
Here, you usually buy tickets at the dock for a cruise. The boats are quite comfortable, with sofa seats and tables, allowing you to relax and enjoy a few hours of peaceful sea time. The sea breeze finally cooled things down a bit too.
I took a boat similar in size to the one in the photo~ We set off around 9 AM, sailing through the islands to explore Ha Long Bay’s iconic spots. The boat would occasionally stop for photo ops. But my favorite part was when it docked at small piers or shores, where fishermen sold freshly caught seafood and various tropical fruits at reasonable prices. Our group even pooled money to buy a big octopus for lunch on the boat~
And of course, the food template watermark made another appearance!! We enjoyed the freshest seafood on the boat—just buy it and pay a small fee for onboard cooking. My favorite: the big crab!! After lunch, we floated leisurely for another two hours. The entire boat ticket gave us over five hours in Ha Long Bay—eating, drinking, and taking photos helped ease the fatigue from the past few days. As a Beijinger who rarely sees big rivers or lakes, this sea voyage truly made me appreciate the grandeur of nature.
DAY 5 – Hanoi, Vietnam
The last day—I had breakfast early and headed to the airport for my flight back to Beijing. These are frangipani flowers by the hotel entrance. Their bright blooms are everywhere, just like the beautiful memories of this Southeast Asian trip. My 5-day Cambodia and Vietnam adventure has come to an end. It was my second DIY trip, and my first international one, but everything went smoothly. My tip: before a DIY trip, especially abroad, make sure to plan all the details, especially transportation and accommodation. Once that’s sorted, just relax and enjoy~
This was my first time writing a travelogue—I never had the habit before. Looking back, it all feels so vivid again, and I’ve rediscovered so much. Maybe that’s the meaning and charm of travel. To my fellow lazy travelers, give the watermark camera a try for your trips too. It’s really fun.