Oh My Gosh. I’m leaving Vietnam tomorrow. Isn’t that scary. Well it freaks me out. It’s only been 3 weeks since I left Singapore, but I’m nearly on country number three already.
Its been a while since I’ve been online so let me try and update you. On the 20th June I flew into Siem Reap in the North of Cambodia, in a little rickety plane. I had quite a rocky start, as I realised when we landed, I had no cash, and no idea where I was staying. Safe to say I’m not the most organised person in the world. Either way I managed to get myself a Visa and booked into a hotel for $20 a night. Unfortunately my mind was still stuck in Australian prices and I didn’t think to question this; I was kicking myself when I found out you can get a room from $6 a night. Still it was a nice place and two minutes from the markets.
I spent three days going round the temples in Angkor, by which time I could barely walk; I was sunburnt; and I was sick to death of ruined sandstone carvings. However, it was an incredible place to see and a wonderful introduction to Cambodia. The size of Angkor is incredible - there are so many temples to visit - some completely in ruins, others meticulously restored. Some of my favourites were Ta Prohm, which had been overun but giant trees and was used in the filming of Tomb Raider; Preah Khan ‘the sacred sword’ which was set further from the road, so was incredibly tranquil; and ofcourse Ankgor Wat, which had the most incredible carvings on pretty much every surface you can see. I met a fellow traveller at the temples, who introduced me to the local street food and 75 cent beer - ensuring I had a great few nights in Siem Reap; dispite the initial sting.
I then jumped on a bus to Phnom Penh, where I stayed for a couple of nights visiting the harrowing Tuol Sleng musuem. It is set in a school house in the city, which was used by the Khmer Rouge as a prison and place of torture. Its open now to visitors, explaining graphically what happened in each room; rows of pictures of the victims; a case of skulls and tools used; and paintings of some of the grizzly scenes that took place there. It is incredible to think that this took place little more than forty years ago - and many of the older people you see in the streets there lived through the regime. It is incredibly difficult to take in. I only stayed in Cambodia for a week, but there is so much to learn about the history of the people there, I would love to go back and visit the North-east and the islands of the South. Next time perhaps.
Vietnam. What can I say. Its been incredible. I caught the bus from Phnom Penh straight to Ho Chi Minh City, and was met by the chaos of the bikes and narrow streets of Saigon. I met a girl from Edinburgh on the bus, who I’ve ended up traveling the East coast with. She knew of a guesthouse in Saigon, so we teamed together to get a taxi. The long and the short of it is, we payed 450,000 dong (about $25) to realise that the bus stop is on a road off the street of our hotel. So about 50 meters away. A good start. Anyway, we made up for it with the guesthouse, which cost $7 a night and included breakfast, a/c, ensuite, satellite tv and a computer. An actual computer in our room. Epic. We spent the next day booking our bus, wondering through the market and visiting the Reunification Palace and The War Remnants Musuem. The museum was incredibly interesting. I really had no idea of the devastation that happened here at the hands of the American Government. There was some incredible photography exhibitions, from journalists who had gone to the frontline to document the war. I was crying as I walked around, seeing graphic pictures of the local people. Unfortunately the musuem closed before we could see all the exhibits and we got caught in the rain on the way back.
The next day we got a twenty two hour bus up the coast to Hoi An. I simply cannot explain boredom to you, until you’ve sat on a bus for twenty two hours, unable to sleep, with only Vietnamese tv and an mp3 player which is running out of battery to keep you entertained. We arrived at Hoi An at 6am and decided the best thing to do was search for some breakfast and some coffee. I cannot describe how incredible the coffee is here - a day has not passed that I haven’t had coffee - it is seriously addictive. Anyway, this was how we ended up getting collared in the market, going into shop after shop and leaving with considerably empty wallets. I should tell you ofcourse that Hoi An is a town famous for tailor made clothes and shoes. I went there not needing anything. I left there with two pairs of leather brogues; some beautiful lanterns; a tailored white shirt; a pair of high waisted jeans; a fitted turquoise dress; and the most beautiful pair of suede knee high boots ever. I love them. However, there is now no space in my bag what so ever.
A couple of days later we caught the train from Danang to Hue, via the Marble Mountains. It was a fascinating place, with caves and temples built at the top of these mountains. Plus a lot of stairs. The train to Hue was amazing as well, four hours on a slow train through the mountains and along the coast: has to be some of the best views so far. I never wanted to get off.
We only had a day in Hue in the end, but we did manage to fit in the Citadel and dinner in an incredible local place. We tried local spring rolls, with peanut sauce, plus crispy rice pancakes with steamed rice. We also finally tried rice wine - which is more like vodka than wine - all for 90,000 dong, which is about $4.50 between us.
The bus to Hanoi was an uneventful 12 hours, being stared at constantly by the locals, as we were the only foreigners on the bus. We spent one night in Hanoi, then went on a 3 day 2 night trip to the famous Halong Bay, which was awesome. We spent the first day on the boat, visiting caves and the Floating fishing villages (the place the boys from Top Gear had to get to.) The second day we went to Cat Ba Island. I was unaware when I was getting dressed in the morning that we were going to the National Park. So I ended up trekking up a mountain in a pair of baggy silk trousers that I had to hold onto so I didn’t trip over and my flip flops. However, it was so hot and sweaty that I kept slipping on my shoes, so I ended up walking down this moutain, over sharp rocks and through slippy mud barefoot. The most interesting trek I’ve ever had. Plus I ripped my trousers. I was gutted.
Back in Hanoi we managed to find a dorm room for $3 per night, with the most efficient air conditioning I’ve come across so far; you can feel it from the hallway. We spent today enjoying good street food and visiting The Temple of Literature and the Fine Art museum. It was so nice to be in a proper gallery.
I also got my very first moto, which was terrifying in a strangely liberating way. Out of all of the crazy things I have done, I think this is the only one where I thought I would die. Funny that.
So tomorrow I’m booked onto the bus to Vientiane, which should take around 24 hours (although I’ve heard many a horror story of this particular trip…) I really am going to miss the noise and bustle that is Vietnam. And the food. And especially the coffee. Although I’m really excited to be going to northern Laos.
Sorry this has been such a crazy-long post, I don’t have time to read it through so forgive me any mistakes - and I promise I’ll try to write more often in the future…
