Our last day in Cambodia was spent exploring the wonders of the Angkor temples. There is simply much to much to describe and realy words wont do it justice. Just quickly, we went up the night before for a free sun set view of Angkor Wat (the big one) from a near by temple. In the morning we were there at 5:30am to watch the sun rise from inside Angkor Wat. We were lucky to be some of only a handful of tourist that went inside to see this and we sat at the top floor on the edge of some very steep steps and watched the sunrise in peaceful surroundings. That's about all I'll say about that except... yes we did go to the tomb raider temple and there was a lot a CG effects added, but it was still fun anyway.
We have arrived back in Bangkok and can't believe how different it is here having come from Cambodia which was by far the poorest of the countries we went to. Although officially Vietnam had the lowest income per capita, it is very clear that only the few rich and corrupt people have the money and are not sharing it around. They seem to be in a much more desperate state than the people in their surrounding countries. Everything is expensive for tourists (by South East Asian standards) simply because they need every dollar. The difference can be summed up in our bus trip from Siem Reap to Bangkok. The bus on the Cambodian side was the sort of thing that would have been sent to the wreckers five year ago in Australia. It had a cracked windscreen, broken seats, windows that slowly rattled themselves open and a tyre that had to be pumped up every half hour or so. The road, if you haven't heard is unsealed (left on purpose so you'll pay for the most expensive flight in the region to avoid it) and it took six hours to travel 140km. By this stage everyone was completely covered, inside and out, with dust. It took two hours to get through customs at the border, most of which was on the Cambodian side, and then got on the best bus of our whole trip. It was a fairly new double-decker bus with A/C, T.V. and plenty of leg room. They even cleaned the dust off the bags not wanting to dirty their pristine vehicle. We eventually got in at 9pm very exhausted, but met up with Neil and Alexis and had drinks until 2am.
This is our last post. We we'll see you all soon.
PS HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLIVIA (i meant to put that up yesterday but it wouldn't work!)
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Monday, February 5, 2007
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRETT'S MUM!!!
Hi Mum,
This is just a quick message to wish you a happy birthday. I tried calling you but nobody answered the phone. I was going to call back but I don't think I'll be able to because we are heading out in an hour to catch Angkor Wat for sunset and it will be too late when we get back.
As you've probably gathered we are in Cambodia. We spent two days in Phnom Penh seeing the sights (both good and bad) and eating and drinking lots. Jackie has now taken over typing to elaborate a little more. Seeing the sights - The first stop was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which was very overwhelming and tragic. I wont say too much about it but you can ask us when we get back if you like. Then it was a tuk tuk ride out to the Killing Fields. Thankfully they have left this very simple and it didn't have a nasty touristy feel. It was sort of understated, it was simply just a whole lot of excavated ditches with a memorial stupa in front housing the skulls of the victims of the Pol Pot regime. The height of this building is almost too much to take in. After returning to city we went to the National Museum which was full of early Angkor sculpture. That afternoon we took a break, perhaps to recover ourselves a little, and relaxed in the gardens of an old French villa. There is a stark contrast between the grandeur of the Palace, the happy smiling faces and these charming colonial buildings, and the horrifying past, the war torn beggars and the despate shoe shine boys on the street. This is a place which I think we wont forget. The next day we did a quick trip to the palace and a long walking tour past markets and shopping malls (there's that strange contrast again) and finally returned to our french villa for cocktails and wedges.
Today it was an early morning and a not so bad bus trip to Siem Reap. On arriving here we found our last hotel had sold our name to another hotel and there was someone waiting for us with Brett's name on a sign. We craftily dodged him and got a free ride to the hotel we wanted. It has the not very ironic name of Popular. Now as Brett said we are making an evening stop at Ankor Wat so we must be going.
And by the way - our flight is scheduled to land at 9:20PM on Sunday evening at Tullamarine Airport. - Thanks Mum. (Says Brett)
This is just a quick message to wish you a happy birthday. I tried calling you but nobody answered the phone. I was going to call back but I don't think I'll be able to because we are heading out in an hour to catch Angkor Wat for sunset and it will be too late when we get back.
As you've probably gathered we are in Cambodia. We spent two days in Phnom Penh seeing the sights (both good and bad) and eating and drinking lots. Jackie has now taken over typing to elaborate a little more. Seeing the sights - The first stop was the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum which was very overwhelming and tragic. I wont say too much about it but you can ask us when we get back if you like. Then it was a tuk tuk ride out to the Killing Fields. Thankfully they have left this very simple and it didn't have a nasty touristy feel. It was sort of understated, it was simply just a whole lot of excavated ditches with a memorial stupa in front housing the skulls of the victims of the Pol Pot regime. The height of this building is almost too much to take in. After returning to city we went to the National Museum which was full of early Angkor sculpture. That afternoon we took a break, perhaps to recover ourselves a little, and relaxed in the gardens of an old French villa. There is a stark contrast between the grandeur of the Palace, the happy smiling faces and these charming colonial buildings, and the horrifying past, the war torn beggars and the despate shoe shine boys on the street. This is a place which I think we wont forget. The next day we did a quick trip to the palace and a long walking tour past markets and shopping malls (there's that strange contrast again) and finally returned to our french villa for cocktails and wedges.
Today it was an early morning and a not so bad bus trip to Siem Reap. On arriving here we found our last hotel had sold our name to another hotel and there was someone waiting for us with Brett's name on a sign. We craftily dodged him and got a free ride to the hotel we wanted. It has the not very ironic name of Popular. Now as Brett said we are making an evening stop at Ankor Wat so we must be going.
And by the way - our flight is scheduled to land at 9:20PM on Sunday evening at Tullamarine Airport. - Thanks Mum. (Says Brett)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Aufwiedersehn Vietnam
We have just returned from Mui Ne and it is our last day in Vietnam. It has been a great part of our trip, the highs and lows have enriched the experience. Mui Ne, our holiday within a holiday, was very worthwhile. It is a long narrow stretch of beach with all the hotels and shops facing onto the main road. We stayed in this lovely quiet and very private place with cute little bungalos running down to the shore and some nice landscaping. Ours was one back from the beach and we could sit and watch the ocean as we ate crepes and mango and dragonfruit fruit salad. We ate plenty of seafood and avoided the sun, while everyone else around us soaked it up although already heavily bronzed. We failed to ride the distance to the sand dunes, which was sad but perhaps it wasn't meant to be. We passed on the windsurfing and kite surfing, as it looked both expensive (the budget is becoming stretched) and very hard work. It was much more peaceful watching from or banana lounges on our private beach. We got plenty of reading and relaxing done, which after all is what we had hoped for.
We will now take up as much of the Vietnamese culture and life that we can in these last hours, and prepare ourselves for the much less touristed, less organised but reputably more friendly Cambodia. We've heard good things! We probably won't be there that long, a few days in Phnom Penh and then off to Siem Reap and the Angkor Temples. Buy this time next week we will return to Bangkok, the last stop of our trip.
On the photo side of things, we unfortunately got a virus on both our camera and IPOD which hasn't affected the files but we wont be able to fix it until we return. So you'll all have wait in anticipation for the wonder that is my photography skills.
See you all soon.
We will now take up as much of the Vietnamese culture and life that we can in these last hours, and prepare ourselves for the much less touristed, less organised but reputably more friendly Cambodia. We've heard good things! We probably won't be there that long, a few days in Phnom Penh and then off to Siem Reap and the Angkor Temples. Buy this time next week we will return to Bangkok, the last stop of our trip.
On the photo side of things, we unfortunately got a virus on both our camera and IPOD which hasn't affected the files but we wont be able to fix it until we return. So you'll all have wait in anticipation for the wonder that is my photography skills.
See you all soon.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Vietnam from North to South
There has been some very bad internet connections since our last post so no hassling us about taking our time. We have tried every day just about and some places wouldn't even let our email get through.
We have arrived in Ho Chi Minh city now and have been enjoying our selves since Hanoi. The weather up north was the pits. We caught the train overnight from Hanoi to Hue. Hue was an old capital and had this great old ruins called the Citadel. Wandering the Citaldel was very atmospheric in the drizzly weather.
The next day (Tuesday) we had our DMZ tour. That is the border between North and South Vietnam where a lot of the conflict took place in the war. Our first stop was the Vinh Moc tunnels where a lot of the villagers hid during the bombing. They were very cramped and people had to spend a lot of time down there, so there was little rooms for families and even a maternity room where 17 babies were born. It was pretty cramped although there are worse tunnels around Ho Chi Minh City. The next stop was Khe Sanh military air base which was interesting but a little disappointing. Apart from a few plane and tank remnants, and a small museum there wasn't much else there. We think the runway musthave become overgrown and after the war the Vietnamese did a lot of cleaning up, never imagining that it would be a future tourist site. Along the road on the bus trip we also made a few stops, one at the river which makes the border, one a some famous pile of rocks, and the last was at a brige where a Ho Chi Minh trail used to start. (those were paths through the jungle that went from the north to the south, to supply weapons and supplies to north troops in the south) Overall the tour was informative but a little disappointing.
The next day it was on to Hoi An. This has been possibly our best place yet. It had the picturesque shops and houses of Luang Prabang, but a more genuine Vietnamese culture about it. It was a really nice place to relax and stroll aroud the streets. It is also a great place to get clothes made. We decided to invest in a few jackets and a suit for Brett, all tailored and what not. We also enjoyed some our best meals yet, and ran into our American friend Christian who we had met back in Laos on the slow boat. In fact the same people seem to keep popping up in cafes and on street corners.
Sadly we had to leave to spend a night in one of the worst places we've been(Danang) so we could catch our plane in the morning. We were glad to get out of there and arrive here in Ho Chi Minh City. The first day we settled into a nice clean hotel and took our selfves on a walking tour around the city. Today we have seen the War Museum (extreemly graphic and depressing) and the Reunification Palace, a lovely modernist building. We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves, crossing the street is always an adventure and there is plenty to sit and look at.
Tomorrow we are off to Mui Ne, a little fish sauce village on the beach. The weather down south is lovely so we are looking forward to a little sun and surf and maybe even some wind surfing.
Uncle Ho is Ho Chi Minh who was the president of North Vietnam and sadly died in 1969 missing seeing his country reunite. They see him as a father figure but is known as Uncle Ho.
Still struggling with photos.
We have arrived in Ho Chi Minh city now and have been enjoying our selves since Hanoi. The weather up north was the pits. We caught the train overnight from Hanoi to Hue. Hue was an old capital and had this great old ruins called the Citadel. Wandering the Citaldel was very atmospheric in the drizzly weather.
The next day (Tuesday) we had our DMZ tour. That is the border between North and South Vietnam where a lot of the conflict took place in the war. Our first stop was the Vinh Moc tunnels where a lot of the villagers hid during the bombing. They were very cramped and people had to spend a lot of time down there, so there was little rooms for families and even a maternity room where 17 babies were born. It was pretty cramped although there are worse tunnels around Ho Chi Minh City. The next stop was Khe Sanh military air base which was interesting but a little disappointing. Apart from a few plane and tank remnants, and a small museum there wasn't much else there. We think the runway musthave become overgrown and after the war the Vietnamese did a lot of cleaning up, never imagining that it would be a future tourist site. Along the road on the bus trip we also made a few stops, one at the river which makes the border, one a some famous pile of rocks, and the last was at a brige where a Ho Chi Minh trail used to start. (those were paths through the jungle that went from the north to the south, to supply weapons and supplies to north troops in the south) Overall the tour was informative but a little disappointing.
The next day it was on to Hoi An. This has been possibly our best place yet. It had the picturesque shops and houses of Luang Prabang, but a more genuine Vietnamese culture about it. It was a really nice place to relax and stroll aroud the streets. It is also a great place to get clothes made. We decided to invest in a few jackets and a suit for Brett, all tailored and what not. We also enjoyed some our best meals yet, and ran into our American friend Christian who we had met back in Laos on the slow boat. In fact the same people seem to keep popping up in cafes and on street corners.
Sadly we had to leave to spend a night in one of the worst places we've been(Danang) so we could catch our plane in the morning. We were glad to get out of there and arrive here in Ho Chi Minh City. The first day we settled into a nice clean hotel and took our selfves on a walking tour around the city. Today we have seen the War Museum (extreemly graphic and depressing) and the Reunification Palace, a lovely modernist building. We are thoroughly enjoying ourselves, crossing the street is always an adventure and there is plenty to sit and look at.
Tomorrow we are off to Mui Ne, a little fish sauce village on the beach. The weather down south is lovely so we are looking forward to a little sun and surf and maybe even some wind surfing.
Uncle Ho is Ho Chi Minh who was the president of North Vietnam and sadly died in 1969 missing seeing his country reunite. They see him as a father figure but is known as Uncle Ho.
Still struggling with photos.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Hanoi and Halong Bay
We flew into Vietnam Tuesday evening and made our way to a cheap room in a very vertical building. In fact it wasn't until we had walked up the five flights of stairs that we understood why we were paying five bucks a night. It wasn't really a room at all, but a roof top shed with a plywood box and a curtain for a door. However Brett seemed to like the room, and i put it down to part of the experience. All night the wind howled and the traffic honked as we slumber under the blankets.
We were awoken by roosters (where on earth these roosters were I have no idea) and peak hour traffic, which finally coerced us out of bed and downstairs to the little living/kitchen/foyer/luggagestorage/internet cafe. As we ate out buttered baguettes we browsed our guidebook only to discover we had slept in to late to see Uncle HO. Instead we visited the Museum of Ethnology which was a well presented display of the many ethnicities of Vietnam as well as the transformation through the early communist years. Around the grounds we many examples of village huts and houses from around the country. Compared to the diaramas in Lao with their steelwool trees this was impressive and well translated too.
Unfortunately we have been suffering from some tummybug stuff so the rest of the day was spent in the sanctity of the new hotel room we got. The guesthouse attendant who lived in the kitchen/living room of the first guesthouse was organising all our travel for vietnam and our tour to Ha Long Bay. That evening we returned to get our passports from her only to stumble upon a birthday party for a Canadian girl staying their. We joined in on the celebrations which was a welcome distraction from unsettled bellies.
The next morning we had to leave early for our Ha Long Bay trip. It was a three hours on the mini bus to the coast. Then we boarded our boat and headed towards some caves. They were a tad touristy but pretty cool. They liked to name all the rock formations even if it was somewhat obscure eg. this is a buddha, this is a turtle and this we call a finger but you can decide for yourself giggle giggle. Next they took us to a look out island which brett climbed but i passed (in my defence i have made an effort on all other climbing, and it wasn't as though you couldn't see the islands all around you). After dinner we played cards and learnt a game that Brett says he'll actually want to play again. There were your usual sprinkle of Australians and Poms and a group of Israelis. They were all nice and the old British guy taught the card game. We slept on the boat ontop of the engine (thankfully it was turned off we every. The next day we landed at Cat Ba Island and we went Kayaking, which was fun as we got to explore at our our own pace. Then we went back to Cat Ba Island, which felt a bit like a ghost town because it is winter and outside peak time. The next morning we caught a boat back to the mainland and bussed back to Hanoi, where we were both feeling pretty crappy, so we watched national geographic channel all evening.
The next day, feeling a little better, we finally got to see Uncle Ho, which was a bit wierd, he looked a bit more alive than we'd expected. From there it was onto the Temple of Literature, which was Vietnam's first university, set in a series of five courtyards. So now we are waiting until we have to go to the train station, where we leave at 7 tonight, and will arrive in Hue in the morning.
We were awoken by roosters (where on earth these roosters were I have no idea) and peak hour traffic, which finally coerced us out of bed and downstairs to the little living/kitchen/foyer/luggagestorage/internet cafe. As we ate out buttered baguettes we browsed our guidebook only to discover we had slept in to late to see Uncle HO. Instead we visited the Museum of Ethnology which was a well presented display of the many ethnicities of Vietnam as well as the transformation through the early communist years. Around the grounds we many examples of village huts and houses from around the country. Compared to the diaramas in Lao with their steelwool trees this was impressive and well translated too.
Unfortunately we have been suffering from some tummybug stuff so the rest of the day was spent in the sanctity of the new hotel room we got. The guesthouse attendant who lived in the kitchen/living room of the first guesthouse was organising all our travel for vietnam and our tour to Ha Long Bay. That evening we returned to get our passports from her only to stumble upon a birthday party for a Canadian girl staying their. We joined in on the celebrations which was a welcome distraction from unsettled bellies.
The next morning we had to leave early for our Ha Long Bay trip. It was a three hours on the mini bus to the coast. Then we boarded our boat and headed towards some caves. They were a tad touristy but pretty cool. They liked to name all the rock formations even if it was somewhat obscure eg. this is a buddha, this is a turtle and this we call a finger but you can decide for yourself giggle giggle. Next they took us to a look out island which brett climbed but i passed (in my defence i have made an effort on all other climbing, and it wasn't as though you couldn't see the islands all around you). After dinner we played cards and learnt a game that Brett says he'll actually want to play again. There were your usual sprinkle of Australians and Poms and a group of Israelis. They were all nice and the old British guy taught the card game. We slept on the boat ontop of the engine (thankfully it was turned off we every. The next day we landed at Cat Ba Island and we went Kayaking, which was fun as we got to explore at our our own pace. Then we went back to Cat Ba Island, which felt a bit like a ghost town because it is winter and outside peak time. The next morning we caught a boat back to the mainland and bussed back to Hanoi, where we were both feeling pretty crappy, so we watched national geographic channel all evening.
The next day, feeling a little better, we finally got to see Uncle Ho, which was a bit wierd, he looked a bit more alive than we'd expected. From there it was onto the Temple of Literature, which was Vietnam's first university, set in a series of five courtyards. So now we are waiting until we have to go to the train station, where we leave at 7 tonight, and will arrive in Hue in the morning.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Last Post For Laos
Once arrived in Luang Prabang we only stay two nights. That really meant one day to see the sights. We had to skip the caves and just stick to things about town. And WHAT a town. Luang Prabang is a French Colonial town with some of the best streets and buildings we've seen. It is a real charmer. We spent our day riding bicycles around town, visiting various Wats and the Palace Museum, and topping it off with a sunset from the top of the hill in the centre of the town. Unfortunately as this was suggested in our trusty L.P. everyone else had the same idea. There's nothing like a hundred people all fighting for that perfect photo to ruin what would otherwise have been a nice view. Never mind.
After a few evening drinks with our American friend Christian and a new acquaintance Irna from Deutschland we headed back to the guesthouse. In the morning after some undercooked pancakes we began the nine hour bus ride to Vientiane. This was a winding ride through the beautiful Laos mountains, but it proved a little much for me and I was sick most of the way. These things are to be expected. We finally arrived in the late afternoon at Vientiane and settled in for the weekend. We couldn't leave until our visas for Vietnam were organised so we have been exploring the sites around town in the meantime. There is an amusing Arch de Triumph which was built with the concrete given to Laos to build an airport. We also visited their National Museum.....what can we say other than they seem to love their dioramas.
Tomorrow we fly out for Vietnam. (with the Vietnam Air who DO publish their safety records)
We don't seem able to post photos so you'll have to wait while we go some fisty-cuffs with blogger.
After a few evening drinks with our American friend Christian and a new acquaintance Irna from Deutschland we headed back to the guesthouse. In the morning after some undercooked pancakes we began the nine hour bus ride to Vientiane. This was a winding ride through the beautiful Laos mountains, but it proved a little much for me and I was sick most of the way. These things are to be expected. We finally arrived in the late afternoon at Vientiane and settled in for the weekend. We couldn't leave until our visas for Vietnam were organised so we have been exploring the sites around town in the meantime. There is an amusing Arch de Triumph which was built with the concrete given to Laos to build an airport. We also visited their National Museum.....what can we say other than they seem to love their dioramas.
Tomorrow we fly out for Vietnam. (with the Vietnam Air who DO publish their safety records)
We don't seem able to post photos so you'll have to wait while we go some fisty-cuffs with blogger.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
LAOS!!!
Hello everyone,
Whoah, what a journey, after three days travelling from Chiang Mai (One day on a bus, two days on a boat) we finally arrived last night in Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos. The slow boat, while not quite as awesome as Simon made it out to be, turned out to be quite bearable due to some new friends we made coupled with the presence of the now ubiquitous Beer Lao. I don't think Laos has tourism quite figured out yet, as we found out when we paid for our boat trip, only to be given back the money in two fat wads of 5000 kip notes - one to pay on the first day, one to pay on the second.
Which brings me to the Lao currency: the kip. I had been led to believe that any combination of Lao Kip, Thai Baht, and US Dollars were widely accepted here, however it seems that the government are making a strong push to legitimise the local currency, and have illegalised the use of foreign currencies. Not realising was I was getting myself into, I exchanged US$100 at the border, only to be given 160(!!!) 5000 kip notes in return.
Anyway, now we are in Luang Prabang, which is by far the prettiest, well kept place we have seen since we left. Occupying a rather picturesque setting on the Mekong River, the entire town is beautifully landscaped and clean, the footpaths are nicely paved and lacking in the potholes that we've become used to avoiding, and the sound of tuk-tuks has been replaced by that of pushbike bells. Most of the architecture here is in a surprisingly well preserved French Colonial style and the town almost feels like it belongs in Europe rather than Asia. The downside to all this is that everything is a fair bit more expensive than in Thailand.
Now we are off to explore the town on the bikes we just hired. We should be here for the next two days, then it's a bus to Vientiane, the Laos capital, where we need to arrange our Vietnamese visas before we fly to Hanoi, with perhaps a side trip to Vang Vieng (TUBING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!!!) while we wait.
PS. Good news on arriving at the Laos border - we found out that Jackie got into Melbourne Uni!!
Whoah, what a journey, after three days travelling from Chiang Mai (One day on a bus, two days on a boat) we finally arrived last night in Luang Prabang, the old capital of Laos. The slow boat, while not quite as awesome as Simon made it out to be, turned out to be quite bearable due to some new friends we made coupled with the presence of the now ubiquitous Beer Lao. I don't think Laos has tourism quite figured out yet, as we found out when we paid for our boat trip, only to be given back the money in two fat wads of 5000 kip notes - one to pay on the first day, one to pay on the second.
Which brings me to the Lao currency: the kip. I had been led to believe that any combination of Lao Kip, Thai Baht, and US Dollars were widely accepted here, however it seems that the government are making a strong push to legitimise the local currency, and have illegalised the use of foreign currencies. Not realising was I was getting myself into, I exchanged US$100 at the border, only to be given 160(!!!) 5000 kip notes in return.
Anyway, now we are in Luang Prabang, which is by far the prettiest, well kept place we have seen since we left. Occupying a rather picturesque setting on the Mekong River, the entire town is beautifully landscaped and clean, the footpaths are nicely paved and lacking in the potholes that we've become used to avoiding, and the sound of tuk-tuks has been replaced by that of pushbike bells. Most of the architecture here is in a surprisingly well preserved French Colonial style and the town almost feels like it belongs in Europe rather than Asia. The downside to all this is that everything is a fair bit more expensive than in Thailand.
Now we are off to explore the town on the bikes we just hired. We should be here for the next two days, then it's a bus to Vientiane, the Laos capital, where we need to arrange our Vietnamese visas before we fly to Hanoi, with perhaps a side trip to Vang Vieng (TUBING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!!!) while we wait.
PS. Good news on arriving at the Laos border - we found out that Jackie got into Melbourne Uni!!
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