So, I just HAD to write a quick blog about our trip from Cambodia to Australia. It was just eventful and I think people would enjoy hearing about what we go through when we go from country to country. I'll start really quick by saying Traveling from Thailand to Cambodia was not so bad.. it was 11 hours on a double decker bus, one night in Bangkok with AC in our room (heaven) then a 5 hour bus ride to the border, and another 2 hours after we crossed (which by the way we had to cross on foot… about a 15 min walk with ALL of our stuff.. it was very hot out). It was all pretty drama free. Then.. we left Cambodia (which I'm still sad about by the way).
So, after an awesome month of ministry, the whole squad met up in Siem Reap for a 4 day debrief including talking about what we did for the month(since all 7 teams had different ministries all over Cambodia). It's always really cool to hear about what all the teams did! We worshiped together, debriefed with all the teams, and had a night where the teams performed.. it was awesome. Then we left for Vietnam on Wednesday. We had to go there because we were flying out of Ho Chi Minh City the next day. So we take an 8 hour bus ride to the border, praying that they won't notice that we've overstayed our Visas by 4 days. We get there, everything is going smooth… they're stamping us through… then I go up to the window and hand the guy my passport. He is seriously ABOUT to stamp it then he stops and just stares at it. I knew right then I was busted. Sure enough he starts a big fuss and starts yelling at the other border patrol people to stop stamping our Visas and he rounds us all up. Then, they proceed to make us each pay $20. That's what we paid for the visas in the first place. Neat.
An hour later we had unloaded all of our bags from the bus (which by the way we had to pile in the seats and isles because there wasn't enough room under the bus). After we got our passports stamped to get into Vietnam, we went through 'security.' It is very hard to take off a 20 pound daypack and a 50 pound backpack, put them on a conveyer then immediately put them back on before they get pushed of by the next person's luggage. Oh, and while all of this is happening, the 'security guard' is not even watching the bags that are being scanned… he is turned the other way. Okay, so here we are in Vietnam! We load everything back onto the bus and we're back on the road! Only 2 more hours until we get to the hostel!
C
rash! Not 10 minutes into Vietnam… we hit a guy on a motorbike (by the way I would say 75% of the vehicles on the road are motorbikes.) The bus driver pulls over and runs to check on the guy who is laying in the road. We're all freaking but then we see him sit up a few minutes later. Whew! We don't know who's fault it is, but we're glad he's okay.. just scraped and banged up.
We finally get to the hostel, it's nice, Air conditioning.. hot shower, we feel like royalty. The people were not very friendly and I don't know how I didn't get run over because nobody hesitated for pedestrians… at least in Cambodia and Thailand, they dodged us… not here. I just got cussed out while trying to cross. But the food was great! Anyway, so the next day we load up to get to the airport SEVEN hours early.. and we're all sitting on the bus waiting for everyone to load.. let me paint a picture of the bus….. it's 95 degrees out with humidity. The bus has been sitting outside in the sun all day. The air is not turned on. The windows don't open. There are 40+ people trying to move luggage and themselves onto the bus. All of that added up = it was pretty much a sauna. When you got on you immediately started dripping sweat, wanted to throw up, and smelled bad. Isn't that a beautiful picture?
So, we're wondering what is taking everyone so long to get on the bus… when we hear "…. took his passport and won't give it back…" Great. I use this as an excuse to hop off the bus and breathe. So after snooping around for a minute, I see a cluster of our people and some Vietnamese guys. Uh oh… yea, so one of our guys had dropped his passport, a Vietnamese guy saw it happen and picked it up then sent one of his friends over to tell him that they had his passport and they wouldn't tell him who had it 
until he paid them $30. Friendly group of guys. I don't know all of the details, but somehow they got the passport back and only paid $10. Thanks… can we please get out of this country!!!
So, we make it to the airport. Hang out for 4 hours, have some of the best sushi I've ever had… celebrate at the fact that my pack is at JUST the right weight limit…. then we go to check out bags in. "Oh no, you can't check in…" says the ticket girl. "Oh. why not?" By this point, this is just typical. "Oh, because you all need Australian Visas." Oh okay neat, or flight leaves in 2 hours and we need to check our bags, go through security… and apply and get approved for visas. Okay, we panicked a little, but it got much better when we realized that it is SUPER easy to get the visas online… no waiting like the other countries… Australia is awesome!
So, after a 4 hour flight on the most cramped plane I've ever been on (plus no food our drink, this is a 'budget' flight) we landed safely in Darwin, Australia where I'll be for the next month!! We are going to be working with an Aboriginal church here… it is so awesome. I can't wait to start ministry!
So yea… now you have a description of how we travel… many people wonder how we can go a whole year including travel, lodging, food, and ministry expenses on $14,000. Now you know 🙂 We don't fly directly from one country to the next…. we get there however we can… the cheapest way we can. And I love it!
