Angkor Wat – Cambodia

Travel Post

2012 – Singapore, Cambodia and Vietnam

I managed to acquire an unheard at the time of return deal with Scoot airlines as I had become a foundation member and that was the catalyst for this trip. Flew Sydney, Australia to Singapore and stayed here for three days and went back to my favourite part of Singapore, Sentosa Island, now where Universal Studios is along with more man made beaches, an aquarium  and more resorts. Since the first time I was in Singapore in 2004, there had been a lot of development on the mainland and have reclaimed more land and expanded the airport along with building Gardens by the Bay  and the Marina Bay Sands hotel to name just a couple. Before I left Singapore, I could not go without eating at Kenny Roger’s Roaster again. I found a restaurant on one of my walks throughout the city, was in a mall. The food here is just so good. To date I have only posted three photos of food on Facebook and yes, this was one of those moments. Kenny still makes the best mash potato and roasted chicken. The song “The Gambler” was playing while I was dining which was great to hear.

Took a flight to Phnom Penh, Cambodia via Bangkok, Thailand where I changed airlines and waited in the airport which was more like a tin shed as my connecting flight was delayed but I made it. After meeting up with the Intrepid tour group at the designated hotel that evening, within 24hrs I had been to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, National Museum of Cambodia, the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. Off to Siem Reap tomorrow morning. Best meal so far in Cambodia for me has been cooked chicken with mango & cashews. Sorry no photos of that meal this time 🙂

Took an early morning 30 min flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia instead of driving 5 hours, which gave us a chance to have a look around the town in the old market to buy some souvenirs and is a melting pot for anything food or ornament related. Siem Reap is a lot smaller than the capital of Cambodia and the way of life is a lot slower. That night we went to a local cuisine co-op restaurant and I ended up eating a fried tarantula for entree & green tree ants with beef for mains tonight. Not the worst tasting thing I have eaten but can now cross that off the list.

The following two days were both early morning starts to see as much of Angkor Wat (a UNESCO heritage site) as possible. This place is quite large and impressive and consisting of many structures and was built in the 12^th century. The fact that it was only rediscovered in around 1860 is astounding. My favourite temples were the Temple of Angkor Wat, Bayon Temple and Temple of Ta Prohm. After the first day of checking out Angkor Wat and winding down from all the walking we did and finishing up with a beer with the local guide whilst watching the sunset, the group all decided to hit the hotel pool straight after getting back as it was a long day. The pool was not the best looking but was very relaxing regardless. The beers also helped. Had a quiet evening, as the following morning we were to witness sunrise at Angkor Wat, which was spectacular. This day was filled with even more temples and also a visit to a local rehabilitation centre for animals that have fallen victim to wildlife trafficking.

After dinner and then a fish pedicure, the evening was spent at a bar back in Siem Reap called the Angkor What where I received a free t-shirt after drinking a bucket of Jack Daniels and coke a cola. I did get some help though as the bucket was large.

Final dinner with this tour group tonight, then off to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) tomorrow with three others on this current tour to join up with the next tour, the second leg of my trip, Vietnam. My favourite beers from Cambodia are Angkor Premium, Cambodia Lager and Anchor Draft. Had a great week in Cambodia and the highlights for me were checking out all the temples at Angkor Wat and eating a fried spider.

Took a mid-morning flight to HCMC where I met up with the new group and was to room with another Canberran, an older guy to me to which I discovered that night, snored very loudly. That evening, I had the most amazing dinner of all local and fresh Vietnamese cuisine and to this day I try to seek out other Vietnamese restaurants that are as good as this place. Met up with a good friend that I knew from my time in 2004-2006 in London. He was in town for a couple of days, on his way to a village where he was going to teach English to the local kids. We did a bit of exploring around the area and was stunned at the amount of scooters there are on the road, all the time. Getting across the road was daunting at first as you just start walking from the side of the road and they all just go around you. Stopped at a coffee shop/patisserie as the Vietnamese are great at these thanks to the French influence but the view from coffee shop near my hotel in HCMC was basically just of thick electricity cables. Found an ice-cream parlour that sold the local stuff and it was called fanny ice cream. Had to take a photo of it. Nice ice cream by the way. What better way to end a solid look around for a few hours then finishing at a bar, hanging out with some of the new group. HCMC is a massive city and you could get lost here going down as many street as you could seeing what the locals are up to and viewing the many structures and buildings of significance such HCMC hall, notre dame cathedral, botanical gardens and Ben Thanh markets.

Started the following morning with attending a restaurant foundation that teaches street children hospitality skills and the food they supplied for our breakfast was very nice. Then it was a 3 hour drive to Cai Be to begin a visit of the Mekong Delta. This river system is huge and feeds a large portion of southern Asia and many people’s income relies on this system working and being clean. It wasn’t as clean as I thought it might be but was told that it was a lot worse than that not too long ago. Stayed at a local family’s house over night and they cooked, danced and sung for us and we all attempted to help and participate when able. A lot of mosquitos out here on the river and basically no electricity at night if the home owner didn’t have a generator. Saw a few people that were affected by agent orange which was passed down from their parents back in the Vietnam War in the 1960’s, as the US military used it to clear forests and was quite confronting.

It was back then back to HCMC where we visited some other tourist hotspots like the war remnants museum and reunification palace. Had a ride in a rickshaw on route to one of the stops on this half day tour and that was got all my senses going as the driver was weaving in and out of the traffic narrowly avoiding all obstacles, which is normal to the locals but not for me. So much to explore at these two places you will definitely have to allocate plenty of time here. The next day was spent at the Cu Chi Tunnels, the former Viet Cong stronghold where you can view inside the tunnels and see how effective they were. To the locals, it is known as the American war and they always ask, if you look like an American, if you are one, as in this part of Vietnam, Americans are not the most favourable people. After the heaviness of that visit, it was off to the bar and hotel to meet up with another Intrepid group and get ready for the overnight sleeper train to Nha Trang. This train ride was spent watching the sunset, drinking beer with the group and chatting with other train commuters, binge watching tv shows and listening to music. I actually managed to sleep enough that I wasn’t too shattered the next day.

Days 10 and 11, half way point of this trip was spent on the beaches of Nha Trang and was glorious just soaking in the sun and relaxing and not doing much at all really, after some busy days of sightseeing. Did visit a pagoda and some other places in a couple of strolls around the town though. That afternoon some of the group went to a mud bath and they are always fun. I asked a waitress at the hotel bar for a long island tea and she went back to her computer and googled how to make it. Was funny because I saw her do it and she just smiled. The cocktail was actually pretty good so the site she went to was spot on. The last day at Nha Trang was spent at a couple of islands nearby and a fishing village on Mui island. The seafood from this area is to die for. Was a great couple of lazy days.

Another short internal flight was taken to Da Nang then a short bus ride to Hoi An where I spent three days wandering the old streets looking at markets, tailor shops, souvenirs and bars. Da Nang is a largish town where the locals live and Hoi An is for the tourists. One night it rained so hard on the way back from dinner the people I was with all had to buy umbrellas as we didn’t take any of the complimentary ones from the hotel, anyway, these umbrellas were so bad that they didn’t make the walk back to the hotel, either that or the rain was so bad that it wrecked the umbrella. Hoi An is famous for its tailoring but I didn’t get anything made whilst I was there but my friend did and his suit looked pretty good and it only took overnight to make and didn’t cost that much at all. The most famous tailor shop in Hoi An is Yaley’s where in 2008, Top Gear purchased their suits from here in the Vietnam special episode I purchased a t-shirt from there with the print saying a very well worn phrase from the locals “Same, same …… but different”. I still wear  this t-shirt occasionally and it is going strong. Hoi An has a pretty Japanese bridge and a 300 year old Chinese house in the centre of town which are well worth visiting. One of the days in Hoi An was spent at the famous China beach, famous from the war as the US G.I.s would spend their rest and relaxation time here. I can say that it is a very nice place and you really wouldn’t want to leave. The beach just goes on for so many kms that you probably wouldn’t see the same person twice. Greg Norman, the famous golfer, was building a five star resort and golf course near here when I was there and I’m sure it will be a hit. Also saw a Hoi An cultural performance and the centre was nicely decorated with many Chinese lanterns. That’s pretty normal for here but this one stood out more for me.

Had a relatively easy 3-4 hour drive to the next town of Hue that used to be the imperial capital of Vietnam. Drove over the Hai Van Pass and had great views of the beaches. The roads in Vietnam are very bad with so many people using them all the time and not necessarily looking at what they are doing. They also have so many potholes and speed humps that driving say 100 kms will take you around 3 hours. Once arrived, we set out to see the imperial citadel and the forbidden purple city another UNESCO heritage site, which was almost destroyed during the war. Visited the national theatre which had ornate decorations and design and is a beautiful building. Saw the tomb of the third king of Vietnam Emperor Tu Duc which was located just outside of the old town in Hue and was a building surrounded by a lake which was nicely done. Another memorable place that I visited in Hue was the Thien Mu Pagoda Buddhist monastery which dates back to the early 1600’s. The most astonishing display I saw here was of a car belonging to a former monk who drove from Hue to HCMC in the early 1960s to protest against the mistreatment of monks. When he arrived at the HCMC parliament building he poured petrol over himself, got into a mediation pose (sitting cross-legged) and burned to death. The monks here served us a traditional vegetarian meal and showed us around the temple. Very tranquil place. That night we had a few drinks at a local bar called “The Brown Eyes” and was the place to hang out with friends and party the night away.

Another short flight was taken, this time from Hue to Hanoi, the current capital of Vietnam. After checking into the hotel it was off to lunch at a nice pho restaurant, which are everywhere in Vietnam, always so fresh and quick, then it was onwards to a tour of the sights and sounds of Hanoi. The excursion included the temple of literature, one pillar pagoda, old square ’36 streets’ where they have each street dedicated to one particular item such as there is a street just for plumbing supplies etc, imperial citadel of Thang Long, Hoan Keim lake and Ngoc Son and various museums and parliament/government buildings.

It was then off to the world heritage site of Halong Bay the following morning via 4 hour mini bus drive. We had a private sailing junk, which had all the amenities you would expect on a 2-3 star accommodation boat, and it suited my backpacking needs. Unfortunately, when I first got onto the boat I stumped my big toe bad enough that it started bleeding and the staff were quickly assisting me and patched me up. I ended up giving the person who helped me first a bigger tip than the others. The overnight cruise consisted of gorgeous scenery of secluded bays, beautiful sandstone cliff faces from “high-rise building” like islands jutting out of the water, with caves and emerald coloured waters. Went on a kayak paddle for a couple of hours exploring the area along with checking out a large cave, along with every other boat in the region but was nice anyway. At night the karaoke machine was turned on and some bad singing was heard across the bay. Ate way to much seafood and drank enough to fill the bay but I didn’t care as it was so delicious and I was on holiday. This place is simply stunning and should not be missed if/when you visit Vietnam.

Back to Hanoi the subsequent day where we stopped off at Dong Trieu factory to see the locals creating ceramic art pieces and purchase some more souvenirs and then went and watched a unique water puppet performance which was quite mesmerising. Final drinks together as a group that night then the next day was departure day but not after one final walk around Hanoi and a massage to keep me relaxed and in the mood of traveling and get me prepared for the flight home back to Australia.

Hanoi has a different feel to the city than any of the other places I visited in Vietnam. Seemed a little less busy than in the south, maybe due to it being at a higher elevation and not as hot. It is a beautiful city with old English and French style buildings and well planned public areas and seemed much cleaner, maybe because it is the capital.

My favourite beers in Vietnam were Hanoi beer, 333 and Saigon beer.

Vietnam was a warm and welcoming country. The people I met were all very helpful and hospitable and the countryside was on the most part spectacular. I also felt safe all the time. There are not as many tourist travelling around here, which is great as you get a more authentic view of the country before it turns into a tourist trap like some other southeast Asian countries. Ha long bay, Hoi An, Hanoi, Hue and the Cu Chi tunnels were my highlights from Vietnam.