Vietnam & Cambodia
Oh Vietnam, Oh Hanoi, it was love at first sight.
Our cab driver decided that 200 miles an hour was the best way into town from the airport. Dodging the odd cow that just happened to wander across the highway, he simply flicked on the high beams if the smog got to thick.
"I'm pretty sure I just heard the muffler fall off"
But never fear.... We made it safe and sound.
"This place is crazy"
Your heart starts pumping. Narrow streets, flustered with people, crammed with cars, scooters and more people, street vendors, shop owners, animals.
Anything a person could do someone was doing it.
The old quarter is broken into sections depending on what you want to buy. Like a big open bazaar you had sections for jewellery, clothing, metal, wood even DVDs.
Just outside the old quarter is a lake famous for its 100 year old turtle that's supposed to roam its waters. You could be sitting there all day waiting for it to pop it's head out so I suggest a water puppet show or perhaps a dinner at one of the many street vendors serving up cheap and delicious pho. YUUUUUM!!
In Hanoi we arranged a small tour to Halong Bay for a few days aboard a Vietnamese junk. A short drive north of Hanoi it wasn't long before we were hurled aboard our wooden boat and sailed silently into Halong bay. A land famous for its limestone cliffs that scatter around its clean crisp waters.
There's a cave or two that make for a great viewing platform and therefore photos. There's also a floating market with some big fish. But I recommend grabbing yourself a kayak and paddling around the cliffs taking in this remarkable place at your own pace.
On the junk sit up top and chill out as you slowly sail deeper and deeper into the bay. Most junks park up and you can backflip or pin drop into the waters below. Its quite possibly one of the best places in the world to wet your trunks.
Travellers beware, try and avoid any jelly fish that may be lurking. I'm speaking from experience here, if it weren't for the local women who sail around in their floating convenience stores offering me ice I quite possibly could have died. Ok it wasn't that bad but have you ever hugged a 5ft monster jelly fish, it stings like hell.
The few days that followed consisted of amazing sunsets, more swims and a barefoot trek to the worlds most rusted look-out tower.
"Luke please dont climb that you'll either die or get tetanus"
We visited a monkey island where the monkeys actually attack.
"Run luke, run" I screamed as the others laughed. I sprint as a rabies infested devil monkey chases me from one end of the beach to the other, squeeling like a miniture monster.
Back in Hanoi and I wasn't feeling the best, lets just say that some sticky rice was starting to do cartwheels in my stomach. So we hopped on a flight to Saigon in Vietnams south and unfortunately decided to miss out on a whole chunk of Vietnams guts.
Saigon is a large city packed with many people riding scooters. Ho Chi Minh (as its also known) is very modern city for south east Asian standards, much more western in look and feel than its northern rival Hanoi.
There's plenty of shopping, restaurants and over priced ice cream stores. For history buffs theres a handful of good museums, with the vietnam war museum a definite must. Also the gate way to the mekong, a lot of river cruises disembark from here. Having done that already we hopped on a bus and headed into Cambodia.
With our visa sorted at the border by our...... ummmmm bus driver.
We had no idea what was going on. We just handed over our passport, got herded by foot into Cambodia and placed on another bus full of Cambodians and off we went.
"I think I have my passport, do you have yours?"
The scenery in Cambodia is a lot flatter than the rest of South East Asia. Very much wetlands, there seemed to be soo much space. You also get the feeling that Cambodia maybe the poorest of its surrounding neighbours.
The infrastructure isn't as developed but you have to remember this a country that is trying to rebuilding itself after being dumped by France, destroyed by war then ruled by an evil tyrant.
School after school is building built and driving past young Cambodian kids dressed in school uniforms 10 sizes to big is heart warming. With their sleeves dragging on the road but the biggest smile across their faces.
Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital is a wash with life. Traffic literally goes in all directions as do the people. When we arrived it was slowly building a tourist hub along the riverside with restaurants and bars. These days its probably built and no doubt amazing.
However it was the markets for us.
"Deep fried snake, spider, insect anyone"?
How about choosing your own live chicken and in a few minutes it'll be dead, plucked, boiled and ready for consuming.
You can literally eat anything, buy anything, do anything in a Cambodian market. They smell, its crammed, its dirty, sometimes even dangerous when welding sparks come flying at your head, but bloody hell these markets are amazing. Get lost and enjoy the ride.
The darker side to Cambodia can also be explored in the capital city. We hired a happy young chap to tuk tuk us around the city for the day. Taking us to an old school that was turned into a torture house by Pol Pot and his army of followers. Its quite ironic that a place used for education saw the deaths of so many intelligent local Cambodians.
With the idea of taking control of Cambodia and starting from day one, Pol Pot killed millions of his local people. Anyone educated, anyone who spoke english, lawyers, doctors, lecturers, dentists even if you wore glasses you were either killed or sent out to the fields to work.
These atrocities can also be witnessed in the killing fields. The first thing you see when you arrive is a massive pagoda full of skulls collected in the area, this is an area where young children were taught to kill, where they lined people up and shot them dead, by the millions. The fact this happened and happened in the 70's is shocking and disgraceful.
But none the less the smiles are biggest in Cambodia and now with Phnom Penh explored we hopped on yet another bus and headed on a very slow journey to Siem Reap.
Angkor Wat.
You need to arrange a pass to enter the site, I think even a photo is required.
Once inside grab a tuk tuk and start discovering this mysterious place. Its huge and you'll need a tuk tuk to see most of it. Sunrise is recommended to witness the site come alive.
The first walk down the path to see Angkor Wat is incredible and you can simply walk in and around as you please.Temple after temple, the place becomes as much mysterious and it is remarkable.
"like it's as old as time".
Without people life has still continued to thrive, many trees seep their roots deep into every nock and cranny and create an alien like world. To think a thriving culture once called this home adds to the thrill of this place.
Humans really can build amazing things, but the power of nature will always prevail and Angkor Wat is the prefect example. You could easily spent two days here.
But by this stage I was still feeling under the weather and toilet runs were becoming a constant battle. It was time to head back to Bangkok and get some proper meds. I think my diarreah impression to the young Cambodian girl had failed miserably as she ended up giving me heart burn tablets. Whilst my chest felt good my stomach was in stitches.
Thank you Cambodia and Vietnam.
