10 Simple, Free or Low-Cost Things to Do For More Authentic & Adventurous Travel (125 Words)

Here's my mental cultural checklist for each country I visit. I'm not super strict about it. I just try to let things happen naturally and I've rarely regretted it! 

• Ride a public bus and/or train

• Eat something local from a street vendor (preferably cooked/avoid meat)

• Buy & try local fruits, veggies (preferably peelable) 

• Learn to say Hello and Thank You in the local language

• Talk to at least one new person each day 

• Visit at least one museum

• Visit at least one park/green space 

• Look for local street murals and/or public art

• Drink a local beverage (non-alcoholic, usually tea) 

• Participate in local events/festivals or volunteer for local organizations when possible

Holi is celebrated in Nepal and India in March

Local produce in Cairns, Australia

Local fruit shake with a new friend in Nusa Penida 

Riding the local Circle Train in Yangon, Myanmar

Street Art + Yoga in Singapore

What's something you enjoy doing to enhance your travel experience? 

Much Love,

Battambang: Adventures in the Cambodian Countryside

I took a 3 hour bus ride from Siem Reap to Battambang, Cambodia. I happened to sit next to a really cool chick from Australia and we ended up hanging out later during our stay in this town. When our bus arrived at the station, it was mobbed by tuk-tuk drivers, one of which secured eye contact with me through the window before I even stood up. He pounced on me and my bag as soon as I disembarked, introduced himself as Pete and spoke good English so I accepted his offer to drive me to my hostel for 50¢. Once there he attempted to up-sell me on a trip later to the Bamboo Train and the Bat Caves; the two things on every tourist's checklist here. I obliged since I was planning on seeing them anyways and he agreed to come back and pick me up at 1400. 

I stayed at a hostel called Here Be Dragons which I'm told is somewhat Game of Thrones themed - but I'm not a fan so I was indifferent. I had my own private room with bathroom and balcony for $10/night. The catch was, it was hot as hell. Even at night when the temp dips down into the 20's (ºC), my room was still sweltering and I still sweat even with both fans on and directed at me. I opened my balcony door (but kept the curtains shut) for some fresh air, but then that lets in all the mosquitoes, noise and cigarette smoke from outside. The food and service downstairs was good - but not enough to compensate for my sauna-like suite. 

First person POV

Anyways, I met a bloke from the UK while eating lunch at the hostel so he joined me for the Afternoon adventures. We first went to the bamboo train, which is literally an IKEA-level assembly of two axles, a flat bamboo platform and an engine that was maybe from an old lawnmower or something. It cost $5 for the two of us and we raced down an old track through the jungle. It reminded of being on a roller coaster, albeit with zero safety requirements, or maybe like Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom, except with little to no impending doom. The ride lasted about 20 minutes before we were dropped off in a small village and immediately mobbed by little girls selling colorful, braided bracelets. This is the literal definition of a tourist trap, as we had no way out except the track on which we came, and our 'train' had already been taken off the track and disassembled. 

There were also the usual clothing and beverage tents with women begging you to buy something as well. I bought two bracelets for a dollar from one girl and immediately a different one demanded that I buy bracelets from her as well. She even grabbed my finger and made me 'pinky promise.' I told her I didn't need anymore but she persisted because I think she was the only kid that didn't yet make a sale from this group of tourists. My friend eventually caved and bought a few bracelets off her and she stuck her tongue out at me "You no buy! He buy! He good! You bad!" So that happened. 

Third person POV

After about 20 minutes, our transportation was re-assembled and we hightailed it back to where we started and where Pete was waiting to take us to the Caves. This was a ways out of town but worth the drive. First we met up with some other peeps from our hostel and hiked up the steep, paved road to one of the Killing Caves that Pol Pot's minions used to murder women and children in the 1970s. This was ironically located just behind a temple with a giant stone Buddha image presiding over it. It was creepy and some of the bones and skulls were still kept on display there. After that solemn sight, we headed back down the hill to wait for a colony of about 10 million bats to come streaming out of a different cave at sunset. I saw something like this in Thailand as well but it's still impressive to watch them as fly out in a continuous, undulating stream across the darkening sky. 

The next day, I had a slow morning of yoga and breakfast followed by meeting up with my bus friend, Jayme for lunch. We then went to Seeing Hand which employs blind people to give massages. It was definitely not the best massage I've ever had but I was glad to pay and tip the girl who gave me mine. I assume working like this must be more fulfilling for her than begging on the streets, which I have seen so many other handicapped people do throughout the cities I've visited in Southeast Asia. On my way back to my hostel, I ran into a couple of the guys from my hostel and joined them for a sporadic tour around the city.

That night five of us piled into Pete's tuk-tuk and he drove us to the Phare Ponleu Selpak (The Brightness of the Arts) circus which cost $14 per ticket, but was worth every penny. The show was amazing - performed entirely by local music and performing arts students on par with an amateur Cirque du Soleil.. There were aerial displays, juggling, clowning, acrobatics, tumbling, balance and dance. I took a picture with them at the end and made an additional $10 donation because I know it will go directly to supporting this organization. 

On my last full day in town, I rented a scooter and Jayme and I decided to try navigating the Cambodia countryside in search of a few Angkorian ruins. The first was Wat Ek Phnom which was north of the city and was comprised of a colorful, more modern Buddhist temple complete with a series of ceiling murals and the hodgepodge prayer flags that I love so much and a small pile of ancient ruins behind that. There was also a big old Buddha surrounded by a slew of other smaller Buddhas since this is Mahayana country. I think we actually spent longer drinking fresh coconuts outside the temple than actually exploring the temple itself. We hopped back on the bike and took a dusty road back to town for lunch and cash before heading south towards Wat Banan. 

Wat Ek Phnom new

Wat Ek Phnom old

The road to these ruins was long and winding but we finally arrived around 16:00. We pulled into what seemed to be an abandoned Mahayana temple and meandered around for a few minutes before we were approached by a small group of Cambodian children. The oldest, an adorable girl in a pink Hello Kitty dress, directed us to the actual ruins which were hidden well off the main road. We found exponentially more locals visiting this site than your usual tourists. 

New Friends

First we came to some stairs and then once we climbed those, there were even more stairs. According to the internet, there are 360 uneven, stone steps leading to the best preserved ruins around Battambang. It has five towers, similar to Angkor Wat, but was believed to have been built later. I always wonder when it comes to these hill top temple, which came first: the temple itself or the stairs leading to it? 

So. Many. Stairs. 

Anyways, after our trek up and down the stairway, Jayme and I had our second coconuts of the day and ended up chatting with a local Cambodian man named Kee. (Sadly I didn't get any pictures of him nor ask how to spell his name properly.) He had great English and even used colloquial American phrases like "No Sweat!" After identifying our accents, he said that he had helped the American and Australian armed forces prior to and during the fall of Saigon in 1975. He had several stories and gave us insight into their rocky relations with Vietnam and lamented the fact that they are not allowed free speech or to criticize the government of Cambodia. The thing that stuck with me most was when he said had he known then what he knows now, he would have left with the Americans 40 years ago. I can't say I blame him.

Wat Banan

It was getting late so Jayme and I thanked Kee - who it turns out was the Hello Kitty girl's grandfather - and headed back to the scooter. The sun was setting so I tried to turn on the headlights - but to no avail. I clicked the light button near the left handle several times but nothing happened. Even some locals that I bought some petrol from to top up the tank could't get the lights working. Luckily, the blinkers still worked so I just left one flashing the whole time and used the limited light from other traffic and roadside shacks as much as I could to see the road. Eventually, I was able to draft behind a car that both blocked the majority of the bugs that had previously been bombarding my face and provided light and guidance for the rest of the way back to town. So now I know what its like to drive a scooter in the dark with no headlights, no roadsigns and no traffic laws. 

BONUS! As small a town as it is, my sixth Street Art sense started tingling and I followed it to find some hidden in an alley. Enjoy! 

The Great Barrier Reef

This was my last big adventure in Australia, because honestly, you can't visit Cairns and not go see the Great Barrier Reef. 

Friday, I got up early again and took the 7:15 reef shuttle from my hostel to the Reef Fleet Terminal on the south side of Cairns past the Esplanade. I was ready for a day trip of snorkeling the Great Barrier Reef that I booked with Passions of Paradise. I was really impressed with this company/crew and would totally recommend them. Our group got to exclusively dive and snorkel around Paradise reef as well as Michaelmas Cay. 

They take sustainability seriously and even did a little educational presentation on the return trip about their commitment to it and the reef. For just one dollar, you could offset your carbon emissions for the day (I donated $2) and a percentage of sales from the bar is donated to anti-shark finning campaigns and shark research. Lunch was pretty good as there was plenty for veggos and all the plates and flatware got washed and reused. The catamaran itself, is Eco-certified, and they put up the sail on the way back, which they said saved over 400 liters of fuel. The crew was super fun and friendly. 

I met a pair of Aussie sisters from the south who I sat with while aboard the boat. We sat up front during the outbound trip, and got sprayed with seawater on several occasions. The whole day I had goosebumps and I had to wear two wetsuits when snorkeling because I was so cold. (It is technically Winter here.) 

I’ve been trying to think of words to describe the GBR, but its so incredibly awesome and colorful and beautiful that I can’t find words worthy enough of its natural beauty. Even my pictures and video don’t do it justice, because the spectrum gets a little distorted underwater, and while you can still see the red wavelengths, cameras have a hard time picking it up. I felt like I was the little mermaid swimming amongst all her sea friends. I saw heaps of coral in all shapes, colors and sizes and a rainbow of fishes. I even got to see a couple sea turtles and a sting ray. Everyone should put the GBR on their bucket lists and try to see it before its destroyed by starfish or farming or dredging. (I have tons more photos and videos that I will edit later but I wanted to get a few photos up right away.) 

The only downside was that I had my hair braided and to the side to keep it out of my way. I was expecting to have lovely, mermaid waves in my hair when I removed the elastics, but it was more of a tangled rats nest which took me ages to brush it out properly. RIP and a moment of silence for all the good strands I lost that day. 

New Zealand Part II

Today is day 5 for me in New Zealand and my sister's first full day since arriving late on a flight from Brisbane the night before. We get up early, get Jamie her coffee fix, and hit the road towards our adventurous destination just a few hours south of Auckland: the caves at Waitomo. But first, we stopped at the Pasifika Festival on our way out of town. This annual event is the biggest celebration of Pacific Island culture in the world, drawing thousands of attendees. The performances were pretty interesting but it was mostly a bunch of vendors tents selling food and touristy souvenirs. Which, my sister happily bought into and immediately purchased plastic flower crowns and a coconut with a straw in it. 

Not long after this photo was taken, we decided to continue on our way to the caves. Since the caves have become such a popular attraction, there's pretty good signage directing your to it so we didn't have to rely on the GPS too much. Let me tell you, the landscapes in New Zealand are incredible and ever changing. One minute you're rolling along with the lush, green hills dotted with white specks of sheep then you're admiring the natural rock formations that seem to jut up out of nowhere and then you're suddenly in the shadows of cloud-capped mountains and volcanoes. (I have some time lapse video of this that I really need to edit.)

Anyways, we arrived at the YHA Waitomo Juno Hall Hostel which is a lovely place situated on a farm with animals and everything. The caretaker was super friendly and welcoming, our single bunk-bedded room was clean and comfortable and we were able to catch up on some laundry. There was a pool and several hammocks outside, which we took advantage of. And the best part is its walking distance from the cave tour meeting place that we had previously booked. This was probably my favorite hostel of the whole trip.

Our underground adventures started bright and early the next morning as I had booked us the 4 hour Lost World tour at 8 AM followed by the Tumu Tumu Toobing tour at 1:30 that afternoon. Once everyone in our group of 6 participants and 2 guides were loaded into the van, we were driven to the actual cave site, which was several bumpy miles away. After dressing in blue coveralls, white helmets and white rubber boots so that we all resembled life-size smurfs, we went through the obligatory safety stuff and then got to rappel (or abseil, as the Kiwis say) 100 meters down into a giant cavern. Looking down, the cave is full of clouds and as you lower down through the mist, it really seems like you're descending into another world. Our guides led us along the pre-ordained path and to a little spot of the cave devoid of sunlight where we got our first glimpse of glow worms. Now, we weren't allowed to take anything with us into the caves, including cameras, but here's a particularly magical photo of what they look like:  

Image Source: Huffpost

I'm pretty sure you can't see them anywhere outside New Zealand and maybe Australia. Like little blue, bioluminescent constellations that are dripping from the ceilings. The actual story is far less romantic so if you're really interested, google New Zealand glow worms and don't say I didn't warn you. 

Anyways, what goes down, must come back up and at the end of the tour, we each had to climb up this torturous ladder that disappeared upwards through a narrow opening and made your biceps feel on fire like you were climbing straight out of hell. But once you reach the top and can rely on your better developed leg muscles and climb the rest of the way out of the cave on foot, you feel all accomplished and whatnot. 

We had just enough time to eat lunch at the cave tours headquarters (which was pretty tasty, I might add) see the photos our guides took of us on the tour, then change before our next adventure. This one started out the same way with a short ride but this time we had to wear wetsuits and received strict warnings not to pee, with threats of public shaming should anyone violate this simple mandate. There was no abseiling here, just a short descent down a ladder through a really narrow hole in the ground. I mean really narrow like there was one middle-aged guy with a big potbelly that it must have taken some kind of miracle for him to squeeze through that small space. 

Anyways, this tour was far more interactive, as in, you are using all of your appendages to navigate both limestone and sandstone caves and trudging through near freezing water. Pro tip here: When your boots fill up with water, and they will, don't empty them because eventually your body heat will warm up the water and keep your feet a little farther away from frost bite. At certain points, the water was deep enough in the cave where we could float along on little inner tubes and admire the glowing, blue-green constellations dangling above us. When everything fell silent, it felt like we were on another planet and I refused to walk in the back of the group because the cavernous landscape reminded me of Pitch Black and I wasn't gonna be the one that gets snatched from behind by those creepy, cross-headed aliens.  

A few hours later, we emerged back up to the surface and had a short hike back to the lodge where we de-suited and had the opportunity to take hot showers. That was the best hot shower I've ever earned. Our second adventure was definitely our favorite of the two that we did that day. 

The memories made underground in these caves are some of my favorite from my trip but of course I don't recommend them if you are afraid of heights, the dark, swimming or have claustrophobia. 

Jamie and I had a causal dinner at a local pub then spent one last night at the hostel. In the morning we packed up with full intentions to hike the volcano that they used as Mordor in LOTR, but the weather had other plans. It was raining and so cloudy that we couldn't even see half the mountain. So instead we made the rainy drive back to Auckland and stayed at the Jucy Hotel. I had to share the tasty magic that is Revive so we ate dinner there and then took a quick trip out to Piha Beach and back. The next morning was our last morning in New Zealand so I went to the Auckland Museum again so my sister could experience it for the first time and still saw a ton of stuff that I missed during my first trip. We indulged in some delicious Indian food before heading to the airport for our flight to Brisbane that afternoon.