Week 14 - Cambodia

Cambodia might be the strangest country I have visited in South East Asia. On the one hand it has a level of poverty I have not witnessed in its neighbouring countries; that is to say children on the street and prostitutes heckling me at night. On the other hand it seems to have amazing facilities for those who can afford them; luxurious hotels and massage centers, impressive parks and water fountain displays. Cambodia absolutely knows how to do tourism. For a start its principal currency appears to be the Dollar, with the Riel being used only as petty cash. This makes bartering that bit more difficult, as somehow asking for a Dollar off seems more petty than asking for 4000 Riel off. 

Phnom Penh

The capital of Cambodia, pronounced Puh-Nom-Pen (as far as I can figure). The streets are, by and large, refreshingly spacious and clean, with the exception of the highly congested and smelly markets (which are interesting in their own right). At night the parks come alive with hundreds of people doing synchronised dance classes. Simultaneously the water fountains dance hypnotically to a show of light and sound. I'm actually really annoyed not to have captured this, one of my favourite city scenes in Asia, on camera. Alas, I had been warned not to take valuables out at night.

Just this once I have cheated and used google images (http://www.asia-trip.info) - Phnom Penh at night

Where have I seen this before? Oh that's right, everywhere else in Asia - Royal Palace

Aforementioned smelly dirty (interesting) market. Pretty sure I had me a dog baguette here

Obviously you can't come to Cambodia without learning a little bit about the atrocities committed by Pol Pot and his party, the Khmer Rouge. Between 1975 and 1979 almost 3 million people were savagely slaughtered by fellow Cambodians. Often their crimes were as trivial as wearing a pair of glasses or knowing a foreign language. I had found the war museums in Vietnam depressing enough, but even those seemed tame in comparison to the unimaginable wickedness on display at the ""Killing Fields" and "S61 Prison". 

I found it particularly strange to realise that anybody over the age of 45 in Cambodia lived through a genocide and likely knew of someone who was murdered. I decided the best way to contemplate all of this was yet another (rather intrusive) massage.

A cabinet of the skulls of victims recovered from mass graves at the Killing Fields.

Siem Reap

Siem Reap, the legendary home of Angkor Wat and numerous other ancient temples dating from between the 12th and 14th centuries. For some reason the done thing is to torture yourself into getting up at 4am in order to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. 

A tuk tuk will then take you to visit all the other temples. In the end, the temples start to seem increasingly similar and you wonder how some people do this for an entire week. I also couldn't help but wonder how the Cambodians built them in the inexorable heat, when I could barely even bring myself to climb another flight of stairs.

 The so called 8th wonder of the world - Angkor Wat

I forget which temple this was, but it got included because of the elephant

Angkor Thom - I remember this one because I was cursing its name with every sweaty step to the top

 Ta Prohm - film site of Tomb Raider

After a long day of site seeing I was most relieved to relax by the pool. In the evening I explored the touristic streets of the city. This place serves extraordinary food. Don't get me wrong, food across South East Asia has been consistently good, but here I got something that looked like it had come from Master Chef - chilies delicately peeled and sculpted to look like flowers and then placed on top of my dish. Unfortunately I did not recognise them as chilies until it was too late. The night market is also well worth a look. 

They know their audience alright - Pub Street

Perhaps because I didn't give myself long enough here, Cambodia has been the most exhausting place I have visited so far. Within a week I have had three "nights out", two night buses and one 4am start. I have met, learnt the names of (well mostly) and travelled (however briefly) with a record breaking 40 people and seen both the 8th wonder of the world and a genocide site. I only wish I had longer here!

Trip Statistics

Places visited: 2 (Phnom Penh, Siem Reap)

Distance Covered: 550km

Week 13 - Southern Vietnam

I've blogged a lot recently, so this is just a quick entry for completeness sake about the southern half of Vietnam. That's not to diminish how fantastic this place is though.

Hoi An

Hoi An is an appealing location for a visit. Everything is just so nice and clean. Interesting stalls line the road and street food is as cheap as it is delicious. At night hundreds of colourful lights illuminate the riverside; it really is quite magical to look at. Not that I was particularly interested, but you can also get practically any item of clothing tailor made for you here. 

 The streets of Hoi An

What I really loved about Hoi An though, was the beaches. You'd think perhaps I'd grown weary of beaches by now, but the thunderous waves kept the experience fresh. It's incredible just how much time you can waste jumping into giant waves (not that you can see big waves in this particular photo below).

 The slightly comically named An Bang beach

I had originally envisaged recreating the Top Gear Vietnam special. That is to get a motorcycle and ride through the country. Unfortunately that didn't quite work out, however I did satisfy my urge by renting a bike just for the day and taking the 50km round trip to Danang. 

Danang was well worth the visit just for Marble Mountain. It's basically just a mountain made out of marble (it's in the name really) and there are some cool caves and views there. 

 The view from Marble Mountain

Yet more caves, but at least this one was decorated

Nha Trang

I honestly didn't think I'd like anywhere else as much as Hoi An and then I found Nha Trang (as did about a thousand Russians). It's a metropolitan town right on the coast line. To be honest, I don't think I actually saw much of the town; too much time spent in spas, amusement parks and on the beach.

 This is muddy good fun

 Mineral pools at the spa because all that lazing on the beach had got me a bit stressed out

 Another picture just to drive home how awesome the spa was

Oh my gosh! And then we have Vinpearl Land, perhaps the greatest day of my life so far (a slight exaggeration perhaps, but you get the idea). So many childhood memories relived in one place. Basically you get a cable car across to an island and then spend the day having fun. There are rides, a water park, an aquarium, a games arcade, a circus and a stunning beach. All in one place!

 The cable car over to Vinpearl

 It's ironic I turned 24 on this day, as it made me feel about 13 again

Finding Nemo... I think he might already be fish sauce

I think one of the reasons I have enjoyed Southern Vietnam so much is because of the vibrant backpacker community. There are so many people doing the exact same route and I've made some really good friends in an astonishingly short time. What started out as three of us travelling together soon swelled into a group of 14 moving as a pack. This did make for an incredibly fun, big night out for my birthday. I even got a birthday cake with candles and all, which was really lovely. 

Ho Chi Minh City
I think this is about the most generic city imaginable. However there are a few items of specific interest. One, the astonishing number of motorbikes on the road and two, it's fascinating history. There are three main attractions to visit which teach you about the history of Vietnam: The palace, the War Museum and the Cu Chi tunnels. The palace was so unimaginably dull that I contemplated introducing a new award in honour of it's under-achievement.

Fortunately, the War Museum was a highly moving and interesting place (kind of like Hanoi prison, but more thorough). The Cu Chi tunnels were also intriguing in their own right. Cu Chi show cased a series of tunnels that the Vietnamese people used to hide from B52 bombers. It also explained how they fought and survived the war.

I don't know why I take so many pictures of traffic

A US helicopter at the War Museum - I wish I'd taken the time to remember its name now

Crawling through the 100m long Cu Chi tunnel - Hottest experience ever!

Trip Statistics

Places Visited: (7) Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City

Distance Covered: 2740km

Week 11+12 Northern Vietnam

'You weren't there man!' is the famous phrase that springs to mind when Vietnam is mentioned.  Well, actually I was and I've written a blog about it.

Much like Thailand, Vietnam seems to have an extremely well trodden tourist route. In fact, I even ran into the guy who replaced me when I quit my job. Incidentally, he too has now quit. 

Hanoi

Hanoi (the capital) is a pleasant enough city. The main past time here is trying to cross the road. Also fun is pretending to be rich, 'Ahh, the cash machine will only let me take out five million!' (Dong unfortunately).

Due to poor travel planning and yet another blimming national holiday, I accidentally spent 4 days here. Even so, I was lost pretty much all the time. 

Make your move buster

 I Ha Noi idea where I am!

One of the surprise trumps of Hanoi was the trip to its prison. No, don't worry Mum, I haven't done anything silly! The prison is now a really interesting museum about the Vietnam war with the USA (and allies) and about French occupation. It's something I knew very little about, so I was shocked that such atrocities could have happened not so long ago. 

This hostel is definitely getting a bad review on TripAdvisor (Hanoi Prison)

Sapa

Next up is idyllic Sapa, where I was joined by Mr. Scully. As we were short for time, we signed up for a three day tour. It is truly a beautiful place, especially on the bus between Sapa and Bac Ha.

The trek itself could have been more strenuous. In fact, the hardest part was trying to get the local people to leave you alone. 'You buy one now, your friend buy one now' was what they would repeat for about half an hour. 

I think they're related, no? (Sapa)

Oh you want Dong. I thought you said donkey.  (Sapa trek)

This is pretty much all you see for a few days, still, it's a rice view

Splendid Sapa

Bac Ha

Bac Ha was the final day of our Sapa trek, although what it actually was, was a six hour bus ride for 90 minutes of walking around a market. 

The market was wonderfully authentic, at the same time as catering to tourists. There was disgusting looking food, horses and water buffalo.  What more could you want? 

Gotta find me a water buffalo to buy

This is the one I chose- Buffy the grass shoot chewer

The trading floor...

Halong Bay

Halong Bay couldn't have been a more different experience to Sapa if we'd tried to make it so. Both places showcased outstanding natural beauty, but whereas Sapa had a small intimate group, the tour we selected for Halong Bay had a very rowdy group of 40.

All aboard for Halong Bay

You can just imagine what a group of 40 people got up to when left for two days on an empty Island. The group seemed to cleave into two divisions; those intent on recreating scenes from the 'free love' movement and those not quite sure what to make of the spectacle.

Fortunately the activities during the day were superbly fun. The second day was probably one of my favourite travel days so far. I played a few games of beach volleyball, a few games of Badminton, did some sea kayaking, rock climbing and tubing - all in one day! The day was topped off perfectly by a beach party in a lightning storm. The storm was sufficiently far away, that we felt safe, but it lit up the karsts eerily. 

Row row, row your boat strongly against the tide...

Best.Thing.Ever. When you inevitably fall, it feels like what I imagine getting hit by a bus feels like (but fun)

Our private beach

The view from rock climbing

Hue

This place had a hue of boredom. The main thing to see is a citadel, which is basically just a collection of bombed patches of grass.

Other than that, not a bad place. The war museum was interesting, I thought.

Shooting tanks (with my camera)

Who doesn't enjoy a good Bridge photo?

I'm currently in Hoi An, but will save that for the next edition. I'm also back travelling on my own for the first time in two months, which is a strange experience. Strange, but good. I'd say that sums travelling up in general. 

Week 9+10 Laos

Now if you're anything like me, you will know very little about Laos. Heck, I didn't even know how to pronounce it before arriving! Laos is Thailand's pretty little sister; with luscious green mountains, more rivers than roads and waterfall landscapes you'd be proud to have as your desktop background. Also of interest is that 85% of the land is unmanaged forest and that the USA bombed it 250 000 times in the "Secret War".

Luang Prabang

If for no other reason than its name is fun to say, you should go here. It's a peculiar little town which is kind of like the love child of France and Asia. It's also a welcome change to be able to get something to eat that isn't either noodles with rice or rice with noodles (much as I enjoy Thai/Laos food).

 Quaint little night market just kicking off

Nous sommes en France? (excuse the poor French)

Getting here is a bit laborious. We arrived at the Huay Xai border crossing in the North, went through the routine process of being fleeced by immigration and then hastily searched for any means of transport away from the border. The options were: a quick boat (highly recommended by the travel guide if you fancy ending your life); a slow boat (taking two days) or an overnight VIP bus. Well! we thought, VIP doesn't sound too bad. 

We were wrong. It was genuinely the worst bus ride of my life. There was a chicken under my chair which clucked when I put my feet there. Meanwhile, two people behind me were vomiting violently and the speakers above were playing psychedelic Laos music at ear splitting volume. The roads were so bumpy I'm pretty sure I got air a few times.

When we arrived we clambered into an open top taxi (called a Sorngtuk, but not spelt like that). Moments later an ice cold bucket of water came from behind and soaked us. To say I was startled is an understatement. We had arrived during the week long New Year's festival (Pii Mai), where everyone throws water at each other. Something to do with spiritual cleansing (and having fun). Apparently the Laos people think I need a lot of spiritual cleansing. Thailand have a similar thing called Songkran.

Just accepting my fate - Pii Mai New Year's Festival

This mode of transport, whilst incredibly fun, made us the ultimate water bomb targets

Luang Prabang has some of the most beautiful scenery I think I have seen on my trip so far. Here are a few of my favourite snaps.

Kuang Si Waterfall - this place rocks!

The dodgiest boat ride you will ever take - to Pakou Caves

It's the bear necessities, the simple bear necessities...

Another shot of Kuang Si falls because I like it so much

Pakou Caves - there are hundreds of Buddah statues in there

Having fun at, you guessed it, Kuang Si falls

Vang Vieng
Next up is Vang Vieng, a charming little tourist location where tubing is the main order of the day. We were especially lucky to arrive during the New Year's celebrations, which added an incredible atmosphere to the experience. The locals are amongst the friendliest people you will ever meet and were plying us with free drinks along the entire 4km stretch of the Mekong River. Albeit at times the drink was a cocktail of beer, ice and river water.

Tubes up!

 

Sabaidee Pii Mai! (Happy New Year's!)

 

Karst your eyes on these beauties (My puns get worse every week. I'm certain of it)

 

More dark holes in the Earth - Phu Kham Caves

Vientiane

The capital of Laos and also the most boring place I have visited so far. It feels like being in England, but with more mosquitoes. This sentiment was proved especially true when it started raining (this being the first real rain I've seen on my travels so far).

If you find yourself in this place for logistics reasons, do as we did and hit up the bowling/snooker club for the evening.

Tha Khek

Again, another place we didn't really want to go to. We booked a local bus to "Kong Lor Cave" and ended up overshooting our destination by 200km to this barren location. Still, at great cost we were able to charter a tour to go see the caves from here anyway.

For obvious reasons this is the best shot I can give you of Kong Lor Cave

Kong Lor Cave is well worth a visit. It's a 7km long natural tunnel through the limestone mountains. As you can see, the bottom is flooded, making a guided motor boat a necessity. Your guides will take you, at uncomfortably high speeds, through the darkness. It is perhaps the spookiest thing I have done, with visions of Harry Potter springing to mind.

Relieved to be back in the light

Another unfortunate thing about Tha Khek is getting out of it. The daily bus to Hanoi turned up 8 hours late. Still, I wouldn't have minded, except it was full. I then had a split second decision: whether to chance waiting a few more hours for a bus to another Vietnam location several hundred miles from where I wanted to be. OR! Get the 7 hour bus back to Vientiane. I reluctantly went with the latter option.

I was "lucky" that upon arriving in Vientiane (for the 2nd time) that I was able to bribe a bus driver to let me on a "full" bus to Hanoi. This did mean another 22 hour bus ride without a seat though. Fortunately the Laos people were so friendly. They offered me a space on the floor with them, ordered me dinner and stopped the Vietnamese scamming me. I was less keen on them hugging my legs and putting their feet on my chest during the night.

Sleeping under the bus seats (Vientiane to Hanoi)

Trip Statistics

Places Visited: (5) Huay Xai, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane, Tha Khek (just arrived in Hanoi)

Distance Covered (excluding ridiculous 7 hour detour): 1760km