Da Lat

Da Lat is the start of an area known as the Central Highlands. It is quite high up and considerably cooler.  I love it as soon as we get out of the minibus. It is very reminiscent of Ooty in India and Tanah Rata in Malaysia. It was a French hill station, a retreat from the heat of the city.  The main feature of Da Lat is a huge lake which we reckon is about 3km round.  Top little hotel is found and a bar - what more can you ask for.

Just up from our hotel is a bakery that does us for breakfast for the duration of our stay here. For 40,000VND I have a cup of coffee, a croissant, half a baguette, Adrian has two eggs cooked to his preference, toast, half a baguette and we share a pineapple tart - how about that for VFM. Oh I should mention there are 31,000VND to the £.

We have a walk around the lake and en route visit the Da Lat Flower Garden. This is beautiful there are just flowers (mainly orchids) everywhere - there's a lot of plastic giraffes and tigers too but you get used to it. It is here that we meet our new travelling companion, Norman Amelie Gnome.

Next stop is a Pagoda presided over by an old lady bent over and with a humped back.  It's beautifully ornate with a pretty garden.  Just before we leave the lady asks Adrian to rub her back for her.

The next day in Da Lat we decide is a motorbike day. Off we head to see the last King of Vietnam's palace number 3 in Da Lat. It's a great

place built and furnished in the 1920's and still same same.  Here we team up with a Vietnamese couple called Ti and Wifey (we're fairly sure that's not her name but it's all the information we get) and decide to carry on touring together. Next stop is Palace number 2 which is now an hotel but very similar to number 3.

 

Datania Waterfall and Preen Waterfall are visited which are both beautiful but the parks are a little kitsch with the ubiquitous plastic giraffes and tigers and giant swans in the pools. After this we go our separate ways and Adrian and I head off to the old train station back in Da Lat town, where we run out of petrol! Adrian freewheels off down the hill and I have a look round. This is another 1920's building that hasn't changed at all and it's lovely.

Refuelled we head off to see, yes you guessed it, palace number 1.  This is the golf club house, apparently the King of Vietnam liked to practice his golf so he built a palace with a course - and why not.

On the way back we call for bus tickets we need to move on through the highlands and northwards towards Hanoi. Tet (New Year) starts soon and we may well get stuck somewhere.

Vung Tau

Earlyish sees us hot footing it through the streets of Saigon in search of the hydrofoil to Vung Tau. It's the pricey option but road traffic through Saigon is so slow! The hydrofoil really shifts and by 10.15am we're there.

Vung Tau is a strange place, it reminds me of Bournemouth in January. A lovely sea breeze makes it seem a little cooler. It is made up of two areas, Front Beach and Back Beach, we are staying in Back Beach as it is cheaper. Our hotel even manages a sea view and we take up residence on the balcony for a little bit of relaxation and some backgammon. A search for lunch doesn't turn up much and we discover that everything is in Front Beach or in the town which is a couple of kilometres walk away - so off we go.

It is Australia Day so we head to Ned Kelly's Bar to join what we hope are going to be quite raucous celebrations.  It's a girly bar and the celebrations are fairly low key. Anyway we get some beers and take up residence on the pool table.  Thankfully, the girlies are on my side and clap every ball I pot and, on one occasion, even tell Adrian he has taken on woman and woman is best. Even with the home crowd support I manage to lose 3-0 sorry girls!

When we get back to Back Beach it has awakened somewhat and there are several little food stalls selling sea food and as many little stalls selling shell mobiles and bits of jewellery - they all sell the same things which is very odd but it's nice to look and we're not hassled.

Unbelievably after our moans about Saigon and how busy it was on waking we are resolute to leave this place is too quiet.. We get on the first bus we see, tell them where we want to go and after much thinking and conversation between driver and ticket man they say we're okay.  Six hours, another bus and a minibus later we arrive in Da  Lat.

Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)

The 8,30 am bus finds us on our way out of Cambodia and headed to Vietnam. It takes about 4 hours to get to the border and there are no scams. Saigon is a complete shock - there are literally thousands of motorbikes on the road, and if the road doesn't move quickly enough they get on the pavement. The area we stay in is a little like Benidorm really. Absolutely full of westerners and offering western whatevers.  An evening stroll ends with Pho (a beef noodle soup) for dinner and an early night, this country hopping takes it out of you you know!

We visit the war remnants museum which is quite interesting although does not put the USA in a very good light at all.  There is a photographic display about Agent Orange, a chemical substance used by the Americans during the Vietnam war.  The photos show the devastating effect this has had on children born in the areas this was used. there are some terrible defects, there is even a photo showing preserved foetuses with deformities you wouldn't believe. Along with the pictures from the war it was quite depressing. There was a film showing which gave a brief resume of the war, there was a Vietnamese man with two American soldiers he had his hands tied behind his back and the soldier, without warning, turned and shot him in the head. At that point I decided I had had enough.

Whilst walking we pass through a park and see an enormous dragon being formed out of flowers.  The body is a hedge and it has a framework within which potted plants sit in to give colour. The head is made of flower heads stuck into foam on cocktail sticks. The effect is quite stunning.  This is in preparation for Vietnamese New Year next week.

The Reunification Palace is fantastic, it is like stepping back into the mid 1960's, it has never been modernised. Adrian particularly enjoyed the combat control centre in the basement! 

The tower in the middle has a roof terrace which overlooks the helipad! The helipad is also accessed via the cinema which seats 40 people.  It is an absolutely unbelievable place and still used for official events.


We find a nice bar for our final night in Saigon, and then head off for an Indian meal.  Note to self, when in Vietnam - eat Vietnamese food!

Phenom Penh

The bus to Phenom Penh takes 6 hours. After the relative calm so far, Phenom Penh is a culture shock - there are 1000s of motorbikes and tuk tuks. We headed to our chosen area for accommodation but it turns out to be a bit of a ghetto, even Adrian isn't overly bothered. Not too far away we come across a lovely little guest house and we have the penthouse suite, with air conditioning and a cold shower.

Immediately we hail a tuk tuk and head off to the Vietnamese embassy as it could take four days to get the visas.  Our luck is in and we are told to return 2 hours later for our passports.  We pass the time in a market which is mainly for tourists but it's great haggling with the stall holders.

Our lovely tuk tuk man makes himself available for a small charge, for the following day and we head off to Cheung Ek the killing field of Phenom Penh. This was a very emotional place to visi,t a vast monument displaying 8000 skulls is the centre piece. The place is full of mass graves that have been excavated and some that haven't. The ground is full of pieces of clothing that the floods bring to the surface. A short film shows the evacuation of Phenom Penh that took place and shows the people working in the rice fields. Reality strikes on how recently this has happened - the film is in colour.

Our next port of call is S21 prison, a former high school, although it is difficul to see that this place was every a place of learning and inspiration. There are 'mug shot' type pictures of the people who passed through the prison, the Khmer Rouge were as thorough as the Nazis for their record keeping here. I try to view every picture, all these people deserve to be looked at, but the whole thing is completely overwhelming. One face in particular, for some reason, stands out for me, so I print her here for all the people who suffered here.

Our final day in Phenom Penh finds us visiting the Royal Palace which is quite spectacular, in the Silver Pagoda we find the floor is laid with 1000 silver tiles, mostly hidden by carpets but in places visible - they are so beautiful.

Slow boat to Battambang

Monday morning sees us on a boat bound for the town of Battambang, which we have affectionately called Battenberg. It is a wonderful journey taking us down a river then across the Tonle Sap Lake and then down another river. We pass through several floating villages which are so serene.  Little boats which are mobile shops paddle from one house to another selling their wares.

Although the journey is beautiful I do have some misgivings about it. The passenger boats have no respect for the little boats and the erosion to the banks has to be seen to be believed. But they've been doing it this way for years so I should let them get on with it.

The journey takes 9 hours in total but we are rewarded with a lovely room with a cold shower! We head out fairly quickly for beer and a lovely Khmer red curry. Delicious.

After a down day we hire a motorbike and head off to visit Phnom Sampeau, our first killing field of Cambodia. We have a guide who describes quite graphically how the Khmer Rouge went about killing the people of Cambodia. At one site, we are faced with a glass edifice full of human bones. These have been excavated from a killing cave. It is so difficult to comprehend that these horrors happened in my lifetime. We also visited an huge lake with a dam that was built during the Khmer Rouge regime resulting in the loss of lots of lives. We move on to Banan a Wat that the locals believe was the model for Angkor Wat. There are similarities - the wat is approached via 358 steps with warning signs either side not to stray from the path as there are landmines. On the way back we cut loose and visit the only winery in Cambodia, we sample the wine, brandy and grape juice that they produce, then head back for beer.

A 12 km walk sees us visiting Wat Sampong Knong which has been locked since the Khmer Rouge was overthrown as it was used as a prison. A new Wat is being built alongside it. Nearby there is a monument called the Well of Shadows housing the bones of 10008 people who were murdered in the killing field here. There are a series of concrete bas-reliefs depicting a no-holds barred scene life during this time. Very very moving.

On our way back to town we call to a crocodile farm which is really scary, hundreds of crocodiles all sizes, the walkway we use to view them from above has only a railing one side, one false move and you're history.  There was a little baby one that was deformed, Adrian was very brave and held it, but I stuck to the turtle.  

Three Day Wonder

Wow, wow, wow - we have spent three days with our very own tuk tuk driver visiting the Temples of Angkor. Words cannot describe how I felt when we rounded the corner and saw the beautiful Angkor Wat from across the moat.  I read about Angkor Wat when I was about 8 years old and have wanted to see it ever since.  Well let me tell you I've been there.

I had wanted it to be the finale but actually it was our first of about 25 temples in total and it is sad to say, but very true, that you get a little temple weary.  Angkor Wat is without doubt the most impressive of the temples but Ta Prohm was fascinating.  It is the temple least cleared of the jungle and there are huge trees whose multiple roots grown into the stones. The trees are unbelievably tall.  Ta Prohm was the temple used in the Tomb Raider film.

On day 2 we saw the sun set from the top of Banteay Kdei at the advice of Ohn a little girl we met at the top of another temple.  I bought some lovely little fishes from her, yes... I looked  into her eyes.

Day 3 saw us visiting Banteay Srei which in terms of carvings is the most beautiful temple.  We also visited the River of 1000 Lingas.  A carved river bed 2km up a hill in the jungle.  I shared my lovely picnic lunch of fruit salad with 4 lovely little Cambodian children at the top.  It was ok, they weren't selling anything.

Oh what a night!

The Bequest Angkor Guest House may have had all we thought we wanted but we forgot that a good night's sleep is an all important part of the 'accomodation thing'.  All night long a rhythmic, thump had kept us away.  A 2am trip down to reception does nothing to resolve the matter just informs that it is the water system refilling and, yes, it is constant. OMG this can't go on.

Needless to say, the first job of the day is new digs.  The Key Royal Angkor is just around the corner and has all the things we need without the added regular boom of the water system.

Today is spent just getting to know the town of Siem Reap.  We find a bar we feel comfortable in and continue with the backgammon tournament.  When it comes to food we find that tonight we are drawn once again to the BBQ, it's cheap it's good.

Sadly there are a lot of children and seriously maimed people begging here. It is so hard, the small amount of money you would give them isn't going to change their life and you can't help them all. It's hard and Adrian tells me not to look into their eyes, at that point you are lost.  He's right of course.  A lovely little lad comes along and minutes later I am the proud owner of a book about the Khmer Rouge regime.

Not a great start...

It takes four and a half hours to get to Poipet which is the town near the Thai/Cambodian border and we sleep and play backgammon and watch the world go by. At Poipet we transfer to a tuk tuk, our lovely friendly driver tries his best to sucker us into a very expensive visa scam however, these explorers have done their homework and we're having none of it.  We later find out that the people who did fall for it paid more than three times the price for their visa, although thankfully it was legit when they got to the border.

Sadly, athough we knew about it we fell for the free shuttle bus scam which resulted in us getting very frustrated and not feeling too good about Cambodia.  Anyhow, after arriving in Cambodia at 3pm local time we finally arrive in Siem Reap at 8pm.

We found a lovely little guest house immediately, the Bequest Angkor Guest House suited us down to the ground, cheap, clean, and fully wifi'd up.

Siem Reap is lovely and the hurtful memories of scams start to dissipate over a beer and lovely BBQ in the food square.  I could get to like it here.

It's not the destination, it's the journey

Wow, what a journey! Oman Air did us very proud they are the BEST airline I have ever travelled with. It got to the point where you had to say "No more food, thank you".

Midnight sees us in the middle of Bangkok without a map or a clue - what intrepid explorers we are!!  Finally we arrive in the area we think we'd like to stay in and just catch the one and only guest house closing up.  The room is lovely and at 650BHT it's a steal.

Tuesday, 11th January sees us transferring just around the corner to the Tavee Guest House - hey, it's only 450BHT. Adrian is happy as he has found a Roti man just down the street and dreams of eggs and roti for breakfast for about 15p.  It's the simple things in life...

It's 32 degrees here today and perfect for a walk to the bus station to sort out travel to Cambodia.  The walk to the bus station fails us at Chatuchak Park, but we are not put off, the number 3 bus comes along on off we go again.  Transport is booked for the following day and we find the bus that takes us directly back to our lovely Guest House.

Sunset sees us walking along the canal and sitting in a little alley-way kitchen enjoying a bowlful of noodle-loveliness. The culinary journey starts here!