Irresistible IndoChina - Cambodia + Vietnam
Or at least a half of it. I would have wanted to go all the way around Bangkok-Cambodia-Vietnam-Laos, but our schedules and well pockets didn't permit it. So when we have all (all three of us) have decided on zeroing on Cambodia and Vietnam, I couldn't contain my excitement -- which was a very hard thing to do since we had
After numerous planning meetings - definitely an excuse for us to eat - and endless ITI revisions, we were able to lay out our final plans and found ourselves landing at the Ho Chih Minh airport. And what a way to spend our first night in Uncle Ho's city - camping it out in HCMC airport and being devoured by itsy bitsy mosquitoes.
Day 1 - 3: ITI - Siem Reap, Cambodia
Day 0: Land trip from HCMC to Siem Reap; 13 hours
Day 1: The Outlying Adventure Temple Tour - The Rolous Group (Bakong, Preahko and Lolei), Tah Prohm; Pub Street and Old Market areas.
Day 2: The Angkor Wat Tour - Angkor Wat and Bayon Temples
Our first day was no joke. Aside from spending the night at the airport, we had to endure 13 hours worth of land travel via bus from Vietnam to Siem Reap. Having almost no sleep and no calorie intake for the past 8 hours, I was already feeling antsy. Not just because it was going to be a long land trip, but we were to face Cambodian immigration. Call me ignorant, but I still think of Cambodia as the country landmines. My mind was conjuring up horrible images, that I was totally surprised when we arrived at the Moc Bai border. The facility may not be as modern, but it was sufficient. Almost everything was done manually, except for the bag checker, but I still felt like one of the guards would go loony and shoot all of us.
It was a tiring 2-day stay in Cambodia. Aside from the sweltering heat, the humidity was just horrible that the simple effort of breathing was enough to make me sweat buckets. But all feelings of exhaustion vanished upon seeing the beautiful Banteay Srei and the majestic Angkor Wat temples. And i dare say a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I don't think there's enough adjectives to describe how incredible the Khmer temples are. They may all look the same after seeing several temples, but just thinking how these temples were preserved for at least more than a century was just mind-blowing! It may be cliche, but Angkor Wat was amazing. It was commandingly huge that it took us more than half a day to tour the whole compound. Of course, this was aside from the fact that our guide spoke too much.
Siem Reap is a beautiful city - quaint and full of contradictions. It was a land where the rich lived lavishly side by side with the nothing-to-bare-poor; where the foreigners have adopted the Khmer living; and where pop-boho culture has successfully infiltrated the remote Khmer culture.
From the ancient ruins of Banteay Srei, Bayon and the magnificent Angkor Wat to the almost-but-not-quite-cosmoplitan-feel of the narrow alleys of Pub Street/West Alley
Day 3: Overnight at HCMC
Day 4 - 6: ITI - Hanoi, Vietnam
Day 4: Walking Tour of Hanoi City
Day 5: Halong Bay Tour
Day 6: Hoa Lu and Tam Coc Caves
Day 7: Old French Quarter
Ideally, I would have wanted to traverse South to North Vietnam via the railway train. They say it was better to see the gorgeous coastal areas and landscapes of this Socialist country through this kind of travel. But since we were limited by time, we went with Hanoi over Ho Chih Minh City.
Two words to describe Hanoi: charming and picturesque. Imagine Karst cliffs (limestone) jutting out of rice paddies; the old-world architecture reminiscent of French designs against against the peaceful background of Hoan Kiem Lake; and the slow-aged movement of the Viets carrying fruit laden "bilaos" on their shoulders vis-a-vis whizzing motorbikes all seemed to generate an endearing quality of Hanoi.
Amusingly, there is one type of gimmick that everyone else is into in Hanoi - people sitting on monobloc chairs barely a foot from the ground holding glasses of alcohol and nibbling on plates of lotus seeds(their version of butong pakwan). We felt that we had to join in, but out varicose veins told us otherwise.
Despite the peaceful surroundings of Hanoi, we had the most (mis)adventures in Vietnam: an encounter with a sloozy French-Vietnamese hotel owner, very unpredictable weather, cycling for an hour through Vietnam's beautiful countryside, crazy motorists and locals who pester you for tips.
Vietnamese cuisine was just FANTASTIC, surprisingly. That is despite the abundance of the green leafy things in their dishes. 3rd on my list after Thai and Korean. Vietnamese coffee was something that I could drink almost everyday - very smooth when mixed with milk or cream which leaves a bitter kick at the tip of your tongue. The best about their food - you could eat a gazillion of their spring rolls and you would never ever get fat. The restaurant Quan An Ngon was definitely a good reco from Lonely Planet. We would have eaten there everyday, if not for the short time that we stayed there.
Oh and don't forget the shopping. They have crazy bargains shos /stalls in Hanoi. If I had only known the difference between the genuine and fake TNFs, then I would at least be several thousands richer. To make up for it, i semi-hoarded SAPA bags - bags that are handwoven by the people from SAPA - a village off the Northwest of Vietnam. Next to chocolates, i surrender to colorful bags and accessories...I even went to the extent of exchanging a previously purchased SAPA bag (from another source) with another SAPA bag (from a different source) because it was more colorful and way useful - in size.
Vietnam snapshots, which i just couldn't get enough of
We would have wanted to complete the Indo-China course with Laos and Northern China (Yunnan), but alas, our lives run on the corporate wheel and it would be way antagonistic to take a leave for more that a week.
And now, I am again struck with the NEED to travel. I've been dying to scour China via train or go backpacking in Europe. Needless to say, i may have to push this back and opt for a cheaper alternative. or maybe i should just screw myself over and just beg for alms when i get to China.
After numerous planning meetings - definitely an excuse for us to eat - and endless ITI revisions, we were able to lay out our final plans and found ourselves landing at the Ho Chih Minh airport. And what a way to spend our first night in Uncle Ho's city - camping it out in HCMC airport and being devoured by itsy bitsy mosquitoes.
Day 1 - 3: ITI - Siem Reap, Cambodia
Day 0: Land trip from HCMC to Siem Reap; 13 hours
Day 1: The Outlying Adventure Temple Tour - The Rolous Group (Bakong, Preahko and Lolei), Tah Prohm; Pub Street and Old Market areas.
Day 2: The Angkor Wat Tour - Angkor Wat and Bayon Temples
Our first day was no joke. Aside from spending the night at the airport, we had to endure 13 hours worth of land travel via bus from Vietnam to Siem Reap. Having almost no sleep and no calorie intake for the past 8 hours, I was already feeling antsy. Not just because it was going to be a long land trip, but we were to face Cambodian immigration. Call me ignorant, but I still think of Cambodia as the country landmines. My mind was conjuring up horrible images, that I was totally surprised when we arrived at the Moc Bai border. The facility may not be as modern, but it was sufficient. Almost everything was done manually, except for the bag checker, but I still felt like one of the guards would go loony and shoot all of us.
It was a tiring 2-day stay in Cambodia. Aside from the sweltering heat, the humidity was just horrible that the simple effort of breathing was enough to make me sweat buckets. But all feelings of exhaustion vanished upon seeing the beautiful Banteay Srei and the majestic Angkor Wat temples. And i dare say a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I don't think there's enough adjectives to describe how incredible the Khmer temples are. They may all look the same after seeing several temples, but just thinking how these temples were preserved for at least more than a century was just mind-blowing! It may be cliche, but Angkor Wat was amazing. It was commandingly huge that it took us more than half a day to tour the whole compound. Of course, this was aside from the fact that our guide spoke too much.
Siem Reap is a beautiful city - quaint and full of contradictions. It was a land where the rich lived lavishly side by side with the nothing-to-bare-poor; where the foreigners have adopted the Khmer living; and where pop-boho culture has successfully infiltrated the remote Khmer culture.
From the ancient ruins of Banteay Srei, Bayon and the magnificent Angkor Wat to the almost-but-not-quite-cosmoplitan-feel of the narrow alleys of Pub Street/West Alley
Day 3: Overnight at HCMC
Day 4 - 6: ITI - Hanoi, Vietnam
Day 4: Walking Tour of Hanoi City
Day 5: Halong Bay Tour
Day 6: Hoa Lu and Tam Coc Caves
Day 7: Old French Quarter
Ideally, I would have wanted to traverse South to North Vietnam via the railway train. They say it was better to see the gorgeous coastal areas and landscapes of this Socialist country through this kind of travel. But since we were limited by time, we went with Hanoi over Ho Chih Minh City.
Two words to describe Hanoi: charming and picturesque. Imagine Karst cliffs (limestone) jutting out of rice paddies; the old-world architecture reminiscent of French designs against against the peaceful background of Hoan Kiem Lake; and the slow-aged movement of the Viets carrying fruit laden "bilaos" on their shoulders vis-a-vis whizzing motorbikes all seemed to generate an endearing quality of Hanoi.
Amusingly, there is one type of gimmick that everyone else is into in Hanoi - people sitting on monobloc chairs barely a foot from the ground holding glasses of alcohol and nibbling on plates of lotus seeds(their version of butong pakwan). We felt that we had to join in, but out varicose veins told us otherwise.
Despite the peaceful surroundings of Hanoi, we had the most (mis)adventures in Vietnam: an encounter with a sloozy French-Vietnamese hotel owner, very unpredictable weather, cycling for an hour through Vietnam's beautiful countryside, crazy motorists and locals who pester you for tips.
Vietnamese cuisine was just FANTASTIC, surprisingly. That is despite the abundance of the green leafy things in their dishes. 3rd on my list after Thai and Korean. Vietnamese coffee was something that I could drink almost everyday - very smooth when mixed with milk or cream which leaves a bitter kick at the tip of your tongue. The best about their food - you could eat a gazillion of their spring rolls and you would never ever get fat. The restaurant Quan An Ngon was definitely a good reco from Lonely Planet. We would have eaten there everyday, if not for the short time that we stayed there.
Oh and don't forget the shopping. They have crazy bargains shos /stalls in Hanoi. If I had only known the difference between the genuine and fake TNFs, then I would at least be several thousands richer. To make up for it, i semi-hoarded SAPA bags - bags that are handwoven by the people from SAPA - a village off the Northwest of Vietnam. Next to chocolates, i surrender to colorful bags and accessories...I even went to the extent of exchanging a previously purchased SAPA bag (from another source) with another SAPA bag (from a different source) because it was more colorful and way useful - in size.
Vietnam snapshots, which i just couldn't get enough of
We would have wanted to complete the Indo-China course with Laos and Northern China (Yunnan), but alas, our lives run on the corporate wheel and it would be way antagonistic to take a leave for more that a week.
And now, I am again struck with the NEED to travel. I've been dying to scour China via train or go backpacking in Europe. Needless to say, i may have to push this back and opt for a cheaper alternative. or maybe i should just screw myself over and just beg for alms when i get to China.