January
11th 2007
For
the first time in Thailand, our bus was on
time. We got to Cambodia, saw some famous
temples, some disturbing historic sites and
then to Vietnam. So there...........................................................
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Rocky
road to Siem Reap, Cambodia
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Graham
in a 'fromager', Ta Prohm |
OK, OK, the journey to the border was pretty
uneventful but the eccentric 80-year-old Dutch
lady whose life is traveling the world taught
us that you are never to old...to be a bit
crazy! Despite being neighbours, the difference
between the two countries soon became apparent:
money. The road to Siem Reap was a very bumpy
dirt track until we reached the outskirts
of the town, and the level of poverty that
we saw on the way was humbling. We were pleased
we had brought some writing and art materials
for the orphanage associated with our budget
hotel.
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Day of the Triffids...?
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Bayon
welcome |
Our reason for visiting Siem Reap along with
thousands of others, was that it is the gateway
to the Angkor World Heritage Site, home of
Cambodia's much loved national symbol Angkor
Wat, it's plastered everywhere - on their
flag, their beer and even cigarettes! Angkor
Wat however, is only one of over 40 significant
monuments, albeit the crown jewel of the Khmer
civilisation. The temples are dotted about
over an area of about 50sq kilometres with
the main hub covering approx 7sq kilometres.
Over two days we explored 15 monuments on
the 'petit' and 'grand' circuits. Keira's
favourite was Ta Prohm in which sponge trees
(dubbed "fromagers" by the French
owing to their enormous roots that bring to
mind oozing Camembert) grew out of the ruins
like something from the "The Day of the
Triffids". Conservators have agreed to
let nature take it's course at the monument
in order to retain the picturesque appearance
that so struck the 19th Century explorers.
Graham's favourite was the Bayon with it's
enigmatic towers of smiling faces and it's
exceptional bas-reliefs depicting the daily
life of the Khmers at the time of Angkor's
grandeur. And of course we both enjoyed the
most celebrated of all Cambodia's monuments,
Angkor Wat.
Bas-reliefs
Sculpted stone
Many monuments
Never alone
Heritage hike
Walking boots
Temple ruins
Oozing roots
Historic site
Massive place
Balloon flight
Smiling face
Buddhist home
Spirit place
Pilgrim magnet
Religious fame
World invited
Country's core
Cambodia's jewel
Amazing Angkor |
We had musical accompaniment at many of the
sites in the form of traditional Cambodian
instrumental groups made up of people who
had become disabled as a result of injuries
caused by landmines (we bought a CD for our
collection). A literal highlight of the Angkor
experience was K's static hot air balloon
trip into the sky for stunning birds-eye views
of the area. G's feet stayed firmly on the
ground of course! We also had fun tumbling
around in our tuk-tuk through the living,
breathing local villages, stopping off to
buy some bananas and palm sugar sweets (just
like Kendal mint cake but without the mint).
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Bayon
smile
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Arty
Angkor Wat |
On New Years Eve, after a bit of a mix up
with the departure time, we finally caught
our "Express Limousine Bus" (i.e.
it has frilly curtains and a loo), arriving
in the Capital, Phnom Penh, at lunchtime.
After another transport mix up, we eventually
settled in to enjoy our last day of 2006.
We saw the new year in quietly after a lovely
meal (alcohol-free with G's course of antibiotics
not quite finished) at a tapas restaurant
operated by and for street kids, aptly named
'Friends'. We liked the food, friendliness
and good cause so much we went back for our
first and second dinners of 2007. For the
first time since we can remember we woke up
on new years day hangover -free and decided
to treat ourselves to a one-hour three quid
massage by blind masseurs...very relaxing.
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Us
nearer to Angkor Wat
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One
of many landmine musical groups |
Our first tour of the new year was a real
eye-opener. We were taken to what is known
as a "Killing Field" which gets
it's name from the evil atrocities that took
place there. Approximately three million people
(largely natives) were killed in Cambodia
under the regime of the Khmer Rouge between
1975-79, twenty thousand of which were brutally
murdered at the site we visited. The victims
were men, women and children who were thought
capable of opposing the Communist dictatorship.
The site is full of reminders of the horrors
that went on there only 30 years ago, with
human bones and clothes/rags exposing themselves
from the mass graves. From the half of the
graves that have been excavated a poignant
memorial containing 8000 skulls stands so
that Cambodia's dark history is never forgotten.
To put the Killing Fields into context we
were then taken to the Genocide Museum, Tuol
Sleng. It was a former school that had been
closed and turned into a prison, named S-21.
The prisoners were tortured into confessing
their opposition to the Khmer regime, whether
real or not, before being blindfolded and
taken to the Killing Fields en masse, to meet
their end. Every inmate was photographed on
arrival at the prison and their faces formed
a large part of the exhibition. Their haunting
images, the building and it's artifacts told
a harrowing story. It is hard to believe that
all this was going on unbeknown to the world
while we were only a year or so old. It's
difficult to put into words how it made us
feel but we can say it was very moving, upsetting
and disturbing and made us appreciate just
how lucky we are. On the same day we briefly
visited the Russian Market, the Cambodian
National Museum and Wat Phnom but to be honest
our hearts weren't really in it.
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High
on Angkor
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Intricate
carvings at some outer temples that
we can't remember the name of... |
The following day, on our way out of Phnom
Penh, we woke the cockerels up with a "screw
you!", as we rose at 5am to catch the
Limousine Bus to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon),
Vietnam.
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New
Years Eve 2006 at 'Friends'
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Victims
of Khmer Rouge |
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Pile
of bones
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S-21
Prison |
January
25th 2007
Goooooooood
Moooooorniiiiiiiing Viiiiiieeeeeetnaaaaaaaaam!
Our first new country of the new year. The
traffic madness was apparent as soon as we
stepped off the coach and our first challenge
was crossing the crazy road of death to our
hotel. We played it safe treading carefully
in one of the local's shadows as they parted
the sea of motorbikes and cyclos.
How
does the traveller cross the road?
With difficulty it would seem
In Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
Motorbikes you will dream
Questions you may ask yourself...
Will I live until I'm old?
Or make it to the other side?
The future is untold
Forget what you have learnt before
Forget the 'Green Cross Code'
Remember this survival tip
When you have to cross the road...
You must take a leap of faith
Your instincts must be ignored
Don't try to make a dash for it
Or curl up on the floor
Keep an eye on the traffic
Don't run, just have belief
Walk slowly as they steer around
That's it...feel the relief! |
We
spent a day soaking up the atmosphere and
watching the fascinating street brawls. Life
is lived on the streets in over-populated
Vietnam - it is where people socialize, eat,
shop, nap and air their dirty laundry, both
literally and figuratively. We took a tour
to Cu Chi Tunnels, stopping at a Cao Dai temple/church
on the way. The Cao Dai faith, founded in
1924, is a colourful and photogenic mix of
three main religions, blended like a smoothie
cocktail of worship, pomp and theatre. Buddhism
(yellow), Catholicism (red) and Taoism (blue),
make the final concoction quite a sight! The
spectacle of the daily mass was mesmerising
to watch from the sidelines. The next leg
of the journey would have been smoother by
space hopper as our driver seemed to hit every
bump in the road and burst a tyre in the process.
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Cao
Dai church
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Preist-type
Cao Dai people |
Back on the road after lunch, we reached the
Cu Chi Tunnels - 220km-worth of underground
escape routes and hide-outs designed for the
Vietcong (Vietnamese communists) to successfully
evade the US army during the Vietnam/American
War. Much land combat took place here until
the US army turned the ground into a moonscape.
Slim Jim, our cockney rhyming Vietnamese guide,
however amusing, turned the tour into a comedy
sketch rather than the tragedy is was. Graham
went down the tourist tunnel and despite being
double the size of the originals which were
40 x 30 cm, it was still hot, sweaty and claustrophobic,
and when a woman came screaming out of the
entrance gasping for breath in front, Keira
decided to give it a miss.
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Cao
Dai praying
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The
all-seeing eye |
During
our stay in Ho Chi Minh city, we saw the Vietnamese
Notre Dame. The highlight of Saigon however,
was the cookery class where we ended up becoming
models for the tour company Innoviet, who
gate-crashed our party of two. With one chef
and a helper, we had an intimate cooking experience,
being careful not to upset the Kitchen God
(traditional Vietnamese legend) who watched
over us. We slaved over three stoves, one
for success, one for happiness and one for
"luckiness", to create some culinary
masterpieces. The chef was particularly impressed
with our spring rolls, so the pressure's on
for our return!
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Cu
Chi tunnel demo, Vietnam
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Tanked
up! |
We
were sad to leave our Vietnamese dad (hotel
owner) as we boarded the bus to Hoi An. But
we were sad we had not kicked his head in
when we realised he had booked us on a 24
hour journey instead of a 12 hour one! After
a total of approximately one minute's sleep
we arrived with numb arses but a smile on
our faces as our bed awaited. During our time
in Hoi An, we hit what we have nicknamed a
"travel wall" when all you want
to do is stay in your room, watch cheesy movies
and eat pizza. So that's what we did for a
while. We had a few beers to make up for lost
time, took a bike ride to the beach and explored
the old town (another world heritage site),
with its old houses, temples, assembly halls,
Japanese bridge, and small museums. We took
refuge from the rain and the persistent professional
sales 'hasslers' and watched a traditional
Vietnamese performance which finished with
a rendition of Auld Lang Syne!
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Our
beautiful pancake rolls
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Concentrate! |
My
Son was our next day trip destination, which,
tired and 'templed out', paled in comparison
to Angkor Wat, despite being older. The trip
was saved by a pleasant and peaceful boat
ride on the return journey, to be met by the
madness of the market. After the nightmare
bus journey to Hoi An, we opted to spend slightly
more on a train to Hanoi. On our arrival Keira
decided it was time to test G's new, slightly
leaner figure, by leaving her bag in the taxi
for Graham to sprint after. His knees passed
the test and the bag was safely retrieved.
This set the tone for the remainder of our
stay in Vietnam as a fair few mishaps followed.
In dire need of a bed, we had to wait for
them to shift us to another hotel before we
hit the sack. After a couple of days chilling
and checking out tour possibilities, we excitedly
set off for Halong Bay, expecting VIP treatment
(that's what we paid extra for), and the 2
day tour that should've incorporated many
sights and activities. In reality, we got
what everyone else had paid standard price
for, hurriedly seeing only one cave and being
shipped from boat to boat in the process.
We would've seen more on a one-day tour. The
trip was saved purely by one peaceful and
tranquil hour where we escaped to the front
of the boat to soak up the natural wonder
that is the rock formations and islands that
lie off the North East coast of Vietnam. Another
saving grace was our unspoken connection with
a Vietnamese couple, who despite a complete
language barrier, we became friends with,
and who taught us the finer points of chopstick
technique, at the 'Greasy Chopstick Cafe'
on our return leg. On our arrival back at
the hostel (Asia Hotel, also known as Love
Planet and Lucky Eden, otherwise known as
'rip-off merchants'), we complained for about
an hour, during which we were pretty much
ignored, laughed at and insulted by a refund
of $3 each. We were however treated to extra
spiders, fungus and some 'eau de stench' for
our troubles. They haven't quite grasped the
idea of customer service. Unfortunately we'd
already paid upfront for the remainder of
our stay so we of course made the best of
it. It's still better than working after all!
(sorry folks!)
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Masterchef
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G
graduates from Cookery School |
In between updating CVs and applying for jobs
we visited the Temple of Literature, Ho Chi
Minh's mausoleum (it was closed which we weren't
too upset about since he asked to be cremated
anyway), took a wander around the lake, stopping
to say hello to the embalmed turtle, and stocked
up on winter clothes and warming winter comfort
food. Our highlight was the performance of
traditional Vietnamese water puppetry - an
elaborate puppet show performed on a stage
of water, with colourful flying fish, diving
dragons, fire-crackers and live musical accompaniment
- a must for any visitor to Vietnam. Our 'laughlight'
was a one-hour karaoke session after a few
bottles of wine. We had the entire room to
ourselves, singing our hearts out to old classics,
but we suspected from the way the barman was
hidden behind the bar, that sometimes 'other
performances' take place there...if you know
what we mean? Although we enjoyed elements
of Vietnam we were pleased to be saying 'goooooooodbyyyyeeee
Viiiiiiiiiieeeeetnaaaaaam!' and excited at
the prospect of meeting up with G's parents
on their way back from hols in Australia at
the next port of call, Hong Kong.
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Wheeling
in Vietnam
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Lamp
shade by the sea |
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By
the river, Hoi An
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8th
generation authentic house, Hoi An |
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Japanese
bridge, Hoi An
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Vietnamese
entertainment |
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Keira
Buddha
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My
Son temples |
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Train
views to Hanoi
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Stalactites |
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Beautiful
islands
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Our
boat |
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View
from our Cat Ba hotel
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Cat
Ba sunset |
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Vietnamese
2nd honeymooners
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Saturday
night fever! |
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Karaoke
King?
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Water
puppet special effects |
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Busy
Saigon
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It's
a tough life for a Westerner! |
