South East Asia Part II
“The current calm and peace presented here contrasts significantly with the devastating history that once inhabited these same grounds“
By Shri & Firuza
Vietnam
Da Nang:
· Beach in the morning – we ventured out to the beach one morning to watch sunrise. We were expecting to find an empty beach to ourselves with perhaps one or two locals present but that did not happen. Instead we found a packed beach full of locals swimming in the sea and exercising on the pavement. There was even music playing and a fitness instructor with a large following right next to the beach – these guys are taking rising early very seriously!
· Bana Hills – Bana Hills it turns out is a mystical little resort up in the hills of Da Nang that has had some heavy French influence (from the period where the French ruled Indochina). To get up there, you took a cable car with a duration of about 10-15 minutes to get to the top. As always, while midway through the journey at a great height, Firuza suddenly rediscovered her fear of heights and spent the rest of the ride getting up to take a picture and then hastily sitting down every few minutes or so. In any case, it was a great ride up, we saw the castle (very European – looked a little like Hogwarts), had some spectacular views of the city and beach miles below and managed to go on several theme park rides in the resort as well as exploring the many gardens they had
· Motorbike Part II – After our riding experience in Thailand, one might think that we would have refrained from jumping on a bike again, particularly since Vietnam driving is likely one of the craziest in South East Asia. But we decided it was most practical to see what we wanted to see. So we now switched from driving on the left, to driving on the right – while still avoiding the 15% of riders who drive on the wrong side. After 20 mins of driving around Da Nang we soon got into the swing of things, honking everything and everyone that appeared in our field of vision and making sure we didn’t go longer than 3-4 minutes without making some noise! We think we fitted in quite well!
· Lady Buddha – the lady Buddha statue towers above the city of Da Nang, overlooking the city and beach from the mountains. In many way, it is reminiscent of the ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which is exactly what came to our mind the first time we saw it. We rode past it on our way up the mountains and got some good views of but in the end decided not to go directly up to it as we had the best pictures from further below
· Monkey Mountain – while riding up Monkey Mountain, we actually managed to see 3 monkeys scuttling across our path. What was most memorable was the ride up and the beautiful scenery that passed us by below as we ascended up the side of the mountain. Upon reaching the summit, we were met by a magnificent view of the beach, city and sea below
· Marble Mountain – this is exactly what it says it is – a mountain with marble on it. The mountain itself was only a short climb and had caves reminiscent from scenes of Tomb Raider (although it was not filmed here at all). We managed to take the steepest possible climb to the very top in the end – through the middle of one of the caves, which was not the easiest given how slippery the marble was. Again, great views from the top of the city of Da Nang
· Beach in the evening – after dropping the bike back we thought we’d head to the beach for an evening swim. When we got to the beach we were again surprised to find the entire city there. Swimming and wading in the water. Music was playing, the lights were all on and the Lady Buddha was illuminated from afar with strategic lighting. The moon was also out in full which created an even more picturesque setting as we swam against the waves.
Hoi An:
· A pretty little city – When we arrived we decided to head out and see what the town had to offer. It became clear quickly that this was a very cute and picturesque city. From the hanging lanterns, the never ending shops along the sides of the road and the riverside area, Firuza quickly fell in love with Hoi An
· Riverside life – Every night (we were only there for two nights) we ate dinner by the river, after finally finding a restaurant for a decent price having fended off the numerous people who had tried to take us on a boat ride (we had been on a few already in the trip). The food here was great as was the shopping too!
· Scuba diving; first dive – taking a boat off the coast of Vietnam from Hoi An, it took us about 50 minutes to get to the designated diving spot. The first dive was not as great as we would have hoped. Shri ended up swimming with a half flooded mask for the duration of the dive due to not having the right mask and Firuza simply would not sink and needed to get more weights to go down. She vowed to eat more from then on 😉
· Scuba diving; second dive – the second dive was much better and we saw a lot more, including clown fish, blue star fish and lionfish. However, upon getting back onto the boat, as Shri was having his equipment removed, one of the Vietnamese dive instructors reached out and grabbed him by the nipple. Shri turned with bemusement to look at the instructor’s face. As their eyes met, the instructor’s look of euphoria swiftly changed to a look of alarm and surprise as he realized that he had not grabbed his co-worker as intended, but had instead pinched the nipple of a paying customer. He apologized profusely and thereafter busied himself at the other end of the boat to take us back to shore. Luckily, nobody made the same mistake with Firuza
Ho Chi Minh:
· Ho Chi Minh Driving madness – a quick note on traffic. We thought we had seen it all in Hanoi with mad driving, over congestion, and well, more madness. Until the evening that we were strolling back to the hostel, minding our own business and commenting on how the traffic looked like it was coming to a standstill. But then, about 10 bikes mounted the pavement and started driving there instead, seeing as the road was too congested to move. Following this, practically every other bike rider on that side of the road acted as though an extra lane had been opened on the pavement and following this a car even took to the pavement to get through the rush hour traffic.
· How to cope with the madness – after a day in Ho Chi Minh (and using our Hanoi experience) we came up with 2 methods to walk across roads in the city. Method 1 simply involved closing your eyes and hoping for the best. Method 2 involved walking into the road, sticking your arm out to the side of you and making sure they knew you were crossing and would not flinch. In the end we adopted method 2 on almost every occasion…
· Bitexco Financial Tower – we ascended this skyscraper after the sun had already set. This tower is a reflection of the development of the city of Ho Chi Minh and also poses some great views of the city and river. It also comes complete with a helipad on the 52nd floor. To note, to go up this tower costs half the price of going up the One World Trade Center in New York, you get free WIFI at the sky deck, free use of the binoculars (in New York you have to pay for this) and they give you free bottled water – amazing! It’s structure is also designed to resemble a lotus flower bud.
· Cu Chi Tunnels – these tunnels, located just outside the former city of Saigon were used by the Vietnamese during the war with the US. These were tiny tunnels that allowed little room for movement and reached exceptionally high temperatures during the summer. The whole area gives an impression of what it was like during the war as they have a gun range for tourists on site and so as you walk through the forest you hear the constant firing of machines guns through the trees. They also adopted the tunnels to make them bigger so that ‘Westerners’ can fit through and experience how it is to travel through them. We walked/crawled 200m underground with Shri having to get on all fours while Firuza managed to keep straight legs throughout while only bending her back
· War Remnants Museum – By far the saddest part of the trip to this point. The museum takes you on a journey throughout the duration of the war and demonstrates the atrocities committed during the war. Additionally, it highlights the overwhelming support for the Vietnamese by people from other nations across the world, demonstrates the barbaric use of chemical warfare used by the US on the people of Vietnam – the effects of which still hinder members of the population today and the other war crimes committed by American troops. What is probably the most striking, yet uplifting take home point, in the museum and in the country overall is the manner in which the Vietnamese have managed to put the past behind them, not adopt feelings of resentment towards America or the west, and have shown forgiveness. Something perhaps many could learn from
· Reunification Palace – this is where it all ended. During the fall of Saigon, the North Vietnamese retook the city of Saigon and the North and South became reunited. This palace was the headquarters of South Vietnam during the war and the residential quarters of the various South Vietnam Presidents during the war who worked closely with the US government. Very spacious building and many conference and cabinet rooms which all looked very similar with slight design differences
· Notre Dame – we never quite made it into this church in the heart of the city but did manage to see it from outside. Unfortunately they were closed for lunch so we will have to try and go inside next time we visit 🙂
Cambodia
Phnom Penh:
· Driving from Vietnam to Vegas – we took a bus from Ho Chi Minh to Phnom Penh in Cambodia as the ride was not that long overall and we figured we’d avoid the long process of getting through security and checking in bags at the airport. After we passed across the Vietnam border into Cambodia we suddenly became surrounded by casinos from every angle! It was as if we had just crossed the border between California and Nevada (which incidentally is full of casinos). After taking a minute to look at the casinos we quickly went back to pestering the bus driver about our passports, as they insisted on holding these until we had passed the border (they sorted out our Cambodia Visas for us – but with poor communication along the way)
· Wat Ounalom – this was to be the first temple we visited in Cambodia, and was relatively small in comparison to some of the others we’d seen already. When we arrived there was nobody there except one man who ushered us in saying ‘Wat Ounalom – Ounalom Temple’. We went in and sat down next to him. He proceeded to bless us and after that we sat in silence for about 4 minutes until he said again ‘Wat Ounalom – Ounalom Temple’. We realized that this was the extent of his English and and when he repeated it again a minute later determined we likely weren’t going to be able to communicate much else between us so we made a quick donation and left
· National Museum – the national museum was ok, but in our opinion nothing special. There were many Buddha statues (as well as Hindu god statues) but what stuck in our mind most was the fact that the admission fee had doubled literally the day before we arrived after 25 years at the same price prior (We only found this out when entering)
· Celebrity life – In the grounds of the museum, we came across some locals who smiled as they saw us. We nodded politely but the next minute they had come up to us and were asking to take selfies with us. We obliged without asking why – each one of them came up separately to have their selfie – then they wanted group selfies. All in all, 5-10 minutes was likely spent doing this. But it felt nice!
· Royal Palace – this was a nice palace with great designs that actually reminded us of the Royal Palace in Bangkok in many ways (there was also an emerald Buddha here too). The nice thing about this one was that the crowds were nowhere near as large as they had been in Bangkok
· Monks and Pride – when entering the grounds of the Palace, Shri was approached by a pair of monks who asked if they could take a selfie with him (and yes the monks of today do own smart phones). He obliged and took several with him to the delight of the monk. Later on a group of 4 monks walked towards us at a different location within the grounds. Shri waited proudly, sticking his chest out and anticipating that any minute one of the monks would approach him for another selfie. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen and he stopped believing that every monk wanted to take selfies with him and his feet landed back on solid ground
· Monsoon Embarrassment – torrential rain flooded Phnom Penh on our second night there. We debated leaving the shelter of the tour booking office for 20 minutes before deciding it was time to brave the rain – mainly due to hunger. On our journey to the restaurant there were numerous puddles that had to be leaped over so we did. When we finally sat down in the restaurant we had a nice Cambodian meal – it was only at the very end that Shri had a look and realized that his long comfy elephant trousers (pants for the Americans) from Thailand had split down the middle rather significantly – no doubt from all that puddle leaping. When we left he had to hold a bottle of water in between his legs to avoid unwanted attention
· Cambodian manicure & pedicure (a.k.a manicure and pedicure) – we both got manicures and Firuza got a pedicure too. The price of all of this for the both of us was less that it would be for Firuza alone to get a simple manicure in California or the UK. Shri also had to make sure that the bottle was strategically placed the entire time he got his manicure
· S-21 Genocidal Centre – this place and the killing fields were without doubt one of the saddest parts of Cambodian history. S-21, a former school turned torture prison was where the Khmer Rouge regime brought thousands of Cambodians for interrogation, and torture until they were eventually killed. This was an intense experience and we decided to take only limited pictures
· The Killing Fields – also a very intense place, some of the stories we heard on the audio guide were horrific. People (innocent citizens) were rounded up and brought here (in some cases these victims would come from S-21) to be killed due to the merciless paranoia and vindictiveness of the Khmer Rouge and their leader Pol Pot. The current calm and peace presented here contrasts significantly with the devastating history that once inhabited these same grounds
Siem Reap:
· Bus to Siem Reap – this was a 6 hour journey in total but it felt longer. The bus company had advertised that there would be WIFI throughout the journey which helped convince us to take this ride over others. When we complained that the WIFI was not working, the staff just smiled and said ‘no WIFI’. Shortly after this they put on the XXX film starring Vin Diesel. Apparently, the tactic here is to make you forget that you paid for internet during your journey by distracting you with (or subjecting you to) the acting skills of Vin Diesel. Hmm….
· Angkor Wat – Stunning place, recommend it to everybody. We managed to get here before sunrise and it was packed already, swarming with tourists and locals trying to sell us anything they could. We spent about 3 hours here just walking around admiring the structure and surrounding area and even climbed to the top
· Bayon Temple – the temple of faces! Though less dramatic than Angkor Wat, this temple was also unique and kept us occupied for a few hours. Towards the end though we had to make haste as too many people were requesting photos by our star photographer Firuza
· Ta Prohm – the ‘Tomb Raider’ temple! This was the one that featured in the Tomb Raider film that has likely significantly increased tourism in the area. We took some great shots here and loved the beautiful scenery. Hopefully, all of the above temples will be preserved and the overcrowding does not result in this beautiful place becoming off limits to viewers in the future which would be a real shame. Let’s hope that is not the case!
Thailand once again
Krabi:
· The transition – flying from Siem Reap to Krabi was our first flight in a while having driven into Cambodia from Vietnam (must have been a whole week since we last flew!). This flight was relatively uneventful but one point worth noting is that the Siem Reap airport was spectacular (LAX does not compare to it!)
· The Only Night – once we got to our hostel in Krabi it quickly became apparent that there was not much to do there – we devised a conspiracy theory, based on the assumption that the only reason people stayed in Krabi was because they couldn’t get a Ferry to one of the popular islands the same evening their flight landed! We think it’s true!
· The Hostel – The hostel was supposed to be ‘posh’ as it was advertised. We found this to be the case, with the exception of the fact that this stray cat (or maybe it belonged to the hostel) followed us around the entire time. Even when we went to the bathroom on our floor – there sat the cat, legs outstretched and face turning towards us. It appeared it was waiting outside the shower of some backpacker – unknowing of the cat’s presence. Per Firuza’s demand, we ended up using the facilities on the floor below…
Phi Phi Island:
· Monkey Island – We took a boat tour from Phi Phi to Monkey Island which, as you’d expect, full of monkeys. Some of the French tourists decided to feed the monkeys despite a clear sign saying not to feed them. This obviously riled them all up to the extent that they chased after a few of them. We looked back at the boat drivers to see what they had to say about all of this violation of the rules. While doing so, we saw the boat driver and ‘tour guide’ also throwing bananas in the direction of the monkeys. Clearly, they do not care about the rules, the monkeys becoming aggressive, or the inevitable likelihood of the monkeys neglecting their duty to search for their own food. We decided the sign had most likely been erected by a wise old monkey who could not bear to see their traditions of finding their own food destroyed by human influence.
· The beach – we arrived at Maya Bay, which was where the Leonardo Dicaprio film ‘The Beach’ was shot. The ‘tour guides’ told us that if we wanted to hop off the boat we would have to pay 400 Baht. Nobody got off. They told us we would be waiting there for 1.5 hours while they ate their food (no joke). We asked if we could leave sooner so as to avoid wasting almost 2 hours of an excursion we had paid for and they refused. After 15 minutes of complaints voiced by both the French and us, they finally agreed to set sail again. For those magical few minutes of shouting, anger and hot dispute, the British and French were unanimously united as one – for what was right and what was just!
· Snorkelling – the snorkel portion of this excursion was fun but definitely not as interesting as our dive back in Vietnam. All we really remember at this point is that it happened and also that the ‘tour guides’ also got into the water and swam around without masks or snorkels (face still in water nonetheless)
· Swimming – probably the most enjoyable aspect of this excursion was the swimming session we were allowed after all other activities. Phi Phi really is a beautiful and exotic island and swimming on your back while taking in the awe of the surrounding scenery was nothing short of majestic!
Koh Tao:
· Feeling of elation – Finally, we arrived in paradise
· Hotel Haadtien – We had spent one month of our journey staying in hostels, in some cases the cheapest hostels in the entire area. But this final hurdle would be done differently. We booked a nice hotel right next to the island dive center in Shark bay and soon found out that our cabin came complete with it’s own private pool overlooking the ocean! Stunning view and fantastic feeling.
· Diving in Koh Tao – Koh Tao basically means ‘turtle Island’. But we saw no turtles. Instead we ended up seeing a sea snake, a whale shark, Christmas tree worms (they shrink back into the coral if you touch them – it was an amazing feeling to move your hand gracefully over the worms as if you were a conductor of an orchestra, and to then see how an entire area would literally disappear in front of your eyes) clown fish and many more. By far our most memorable and enjoyable dive of all time. We also did a swim through where you swim through what is similar to a cave (challenging and not for the claustrophobic) which was an interesting new experience
· Dive Instructor – After we finished both dives (sorry, forgot to mention the above point describes two separate dives done on the day), the instructor told us of how it is customary on someone’s 1000th dive to dive naked. He told us the story of his 1000th dive and how he encouraged all his students to dive naked with him including a few reluctant people (who apparently then enjoyed it the most!). We questioned afterwards, how many 1000th dives this guy had done…..
· Thai Massage – best massage we ever had – both fell in and out of consciousness during them and felt like sleeping immediately afterwards – but we did not for fear of strange dreams featuring our naked diving instructor. Instead we ordered room service – Thai Food!
· And that is that. We leave this part of Asia wiser, refreshed, and happy and above all, motivated. The experience of this trip has made us determined to continue our travels, continue exploring and to ensure that we do not forget what is most important – life itself!
With that said we look forward to the next trip, new adventures, and hope to be able to share our experiences first hand with all of you when we next meet. Hope you enjoyed the blog and hope this will inspire some of you on your future travels.
Love
Shri & Firuza
Regina
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