Day 100: Ho Chi Minh City: Mekong Delta

Today was okay. I went on my first organised tour since starting this trip, and it was just okay. I can totally see why locals hate tourists so much.

The tour started out with a bus ride to the mighty river. Our tour guide was amazing and told us all about what we were going to see and do for the day - it sounded pretty fun!

Once we got to the river, we were herded, among 20 other tour groups to various boats. The river itself is okay, and we headed to the first of three islands.

We were greeted by the "locals" and fed up on some tropical fruit while they literally put on a song and dance for us. They sang a few Vietnamese songs, then quickly rushed onto the next arriving  tour group.

Hey, at least the food was nice, even if the Russian family I was seated with ate most of it.

From there, we climbed onto small rowing boats which littered the small canal. I had made friends with some Malaysian girls, so it was actually pretty fun.

Our next stop was a honey island. I was super brave and stuck my hand into a swarm, as did 6 year old Diesel though, so that ruined it a little bit, and also got to hold a snake! (Where I have a horrible double chin in every photo, yay for short photographers)

Sadly there were more animals than that though, and we rode on the back of tiny horse's carriages, who looked and sounded like they hated everything. Walking was not an option.

Finally, we had the option of seeing a crocodile farm, or hang out on the hammocks, so I had a good nap.

We did get to see coconut candy being made, and I bought some, and it is amazing. Totally worth it.

Tomorrow, exploring the city!! xx

Day 99: Ho Chi Minh City: Exploring and the War

Today ended up being quite full on. I planned on just exploring the city a bit, but in the hustle and bustle of this crazy city, I ended up taking advice from locals. 

I started off with an accidental step into the markets, and a stroll through some of the parks. It's really nice seeing people going about their normal lives, but I am sick of having people yell "lady" at me. 

I then headed to the Independence Palace. It was really split into two parts though: an awesome house and party place, with a bunker underneath, full of old communications equipment.  

My favourite room was the roof, originally designed as a meditation room, which was turned into a huge party scene with a dancefloor and a bar. 

After the Palace, I headed to the war museum. That was a really tough place, with just so many emotionally charged photos and stories.  

That whole war was just so horrible for literally everyone involved. Even now.  

I went out for dinner with a couple of Aussie girls staying at the hostel, and saw the bar district for all of 2 minutes, but this city is cool. The bikes are nuts, but I like the city.  

Tomorrow, the mighty Mekong xx

Day 98: Siem Reap: Organising

Today I have done what feels like a lot, but is really just a few minor chores.

I had to print my visa for Vietnam and get some passport photos printed, so I spent the morning just wandering the streets looking for somewhere to do that. It was incredibly hot and sweaty, so when they look at the photos they took, I might have to pour some water on myself first!

It was nice just walking around though. This town is really lovely, and it's really grown on me. I'm a little bit sad to leave!

But I spent the rest of my day just planning some of my time in Vietnam, so I'm really looking forward to that too.

Tomorrow, Ho Chi Minh City xx

Day 97: Siem Reap: Waterfalls and Motorbikes

Sadly, yesterday I had to say goodbye to my German friends that I traveled with from Phnom Penh, all the way to Siem Reap, so I spent the day with my other friend - Sala, my Tuk Tuk driver.

I let him decide what we would do for the day, so we ditched the Tuk Tuk at his home, and I jumped on the back of his motorbike. It was actually a really awesome day!!

We started off with a last look at the rest of Angkor Thom, because I had purchased the week-long ticket and wanted my money's worth. It was also nice just to have some quiet reflection on the incredible week of temples I had seen.

From there, we headed to a local mountain and waterfall that a lot of locals are very fond of. The tuk tuk definitely would not have made it up those hills, or through the soft sand.

The view was great, over the farmland of Cambodia, and on the mountain itself, there was an incredible swimming hole, with 3 waterfalls.

In the swimming hole, there were small fish that nibbled on your toes (like a foot massage place), and you could swim all the way under the waterfall, and have it fall on your head.

I swam with some of the local kids who thought I was super weird, being so pale!! There was even a small ruin of a temple up there, and a Buddha carved under the river.

He bought us some local food for lunch - fish and chicken and rice, which was just lovely, trying to communicate with his fairly average English, and my complete lack of Khmer (apart from "ang" which means barbecue)

We finished the day with a quick stop in at Bantaey Srei which was lovely and quiet, if a little hot and dry.

Tomorrow, a flight to Vietnam xx

Day 96: Angkor Wat and Angkor What?

Today we got up at 5am to see the sunrise over the famous Angkor Wat.

Unfortunately, this was more difficult than it should have been, as last night, we were at "Angkor What?", the first nightclub in Siem Reap, drinking buckets until 2am.

The night was insanely fun though, with plenty of dancing and fun.

The sunrise was spectacular as well. Set over the moat, with the temple in the background, it was incredible. Unfortunately, the timelapse I took got slightly disrupted, so it looks hilarious.

We got quite lucky too, that there were only about 50 people there, as we heard the previous morning had been packed with almost a thousand people! Weekends, man.

The temple itself is obviously famous for a reason, a spectacular series of buildings that I can easily imagine in its heyday.

We then went back to the hostel for a quick swim and a nap, and went back later to Angkor Thom, and the famous Bayon, with all of the faces.

It was practically empty of people when we were there exploring, and it was honestly magical. I think this was another of my favourites, just because of the temple, and how serene it was.

We also had the opportunity to see the sunset over Angkor Wat as well, which was beautiful, and really made it full circle back to the morning.

Tomorrow, a last explore xx

Day 95: Siem Reap: Ancient Temples Part 2

Today was day number 2 of our temple experience! It was a hotter day than yesterday, but hotter. We started a little bit later, and towards the end of the day, we were really regretting it!

We started at two temples, Thommanon and Chau Soy Teroda, on opposite sides of the road. It was easy to picture a whole civilisation living, dotted around these huge monuments with two of them so close to each other.

The next temple was Ta Keo. It involved a hell of a lot of climbing, and really wrecked me for the next few hours!! It wasnt so much that there were a lot of stairs, more that the stairs were about half a meter high each, and only half a foot deep, so it was a precarious climb.

At one stage, I almost fell, and that made me sweat more than the stairs had already acheived!! The view was pretty amazing though, so I guess the near-death experience was almost worth it...

This temple is almost believed to be the first sandstone temple built, way back in just the 900s.

Next was Ta Prohm, also known as the Tomb Raider Temple. Left pretty much alone, it shows how time and nature can really overtake anything humans make.

This was probably one of my favourite temples, but the other tourists were actually horrific. From the Chinese tourist taking close up photos of a blind landmine survivor playing the symbols in a band despite having no hands or legs, to the parents forcing their kids to climb over a sign that said "no climbing" I ended up finally yelling at one group. About 8 American girls doing a full hour-long photoshoot, sitting on delicate balustrades that had been cordoned off, and literally climbing onto the roof of a thousand year old historical and religious site. I just couldn't help myself.

Banteay Kdei was the next temple, with theSras Srang lake next to it.

The temple was a nice retreat from the horrible crowds at the Tomb Raider temple, with throngs of bats living in the high ceilings of the towers.

The lake was also beautiful, with local children playing catch in the cool waters under the incredible heat. I was almost temted to jusmp in myself, if it weren't for the murkey water and naked kids.

The last temple for the day was Prasat Kraven. It was entirely brick, with intricate carvings in the walls. It was fairly simple, and looked amazingly modern for something built in the 800s.




Tomorrow, the sunrise over Ankor Wat xx

Day 94: Siem Reap: Ancient Temples Day 1

Today was the start of our ancient templing.

Siem Reap is famous for it's historical temple sites, built over a thousand years ago, there are dozens of temples scattered around the modern city, the majority of them being in the Angkor area.

Straight up, I have to say that I loved literally every single temple, no matter how big or small, but some were real standouts.

The restoration work they have done is amazing. In most temples, you can see where some of it looks like it is practically brand new, then you can turn around and see a few crumbling door frames. It's a great balance, and they've done it very well.

The first one we visited was Preah Khan, a temple built in the 1100s which really got the trip off to a great start. It was a slightly overcast morning, so the grim backdrop really made the temple look even older.

This temple is particular was a great one to start off with, because it was quite large, and had a few trees growing through it, where nature had reclaimed some of its territory without completely taking over. 

The detail in the carvings is still incredible, and was really very beautiful. I imagine putting together some of the walls that had collapsed would have been like a giant jigsaw puzzle.

The next temple we went to was much smaller, Neak Pean, and was built around the same time.

Because it isn't wet season, the moat that usually surrounds it was fairly low tide, but the reflection was still very pretty, and the locals fishing in the huge lake, and kids playing in the trees.

The next temple was Ta Som, the first of the "face" temples. It was smaller than the first one, but no less impressive, with similar stones and architecture.

There was also a class of school kids who were there for an art class. I wish there had been such incredible things to draw when I was in primary school! (Pretty much the only thing I'm envious of with their schooling system though...)

The next temple was East Mebon. This temple was really different from the others, made of a different stone, almost bricks, and elephant statues.

We then went on a bit of a huge drive, 37km in the back of a Tuk Tuk to Banteay Srei. It was worth the drive though, for a huge complex with a lake and series of temples. It was also the oldest we had seen, built in the 800s!

The landscape just a few kilometers away from the other temples was also completely different, with a red sandstone temple, and dry arid surrounds, a far cry from the greenery of the others.

The final temple of the day was Pre Rup, a funeral temple from the 900s. This one was a bit of a combinations of a few of the others from the day.

The stairs were kind of killer though.

Tomorrow, more temples xx

Day 93: Siem Reap: Bus Rides

Today seems to have gone on for an eternity. Starting with a 7 am pick up at our hostel, we somehow made it to Siem Reap before sunset.

It is only a 5 hour drive, but after taking a connecting bus from the hostel to the depot, it was only an hour on the road before our first of many unscheduled stops.

The bus broke down a total of over 10 times all up, the worst being a half hour stop where we all stood by the side of the road, watching as they put the engine back together with zip ties and a flattened coke can with the top and bottom cut off.

The air conditioning didn't work at all, so it was sweltering hot, but the view was quite nice, and we got here in one piece. They also gave us free water and baked goods, so not a total loss.

Tomorrow, Ancient Temples xx

Day 92: Phnom Penh: Night Market and Poolside

Today I did practically nothing all day. We lounged by the pool had some $1 cocktails and just chilled.

For dinner, we headed to the night market, and I didn't take my camera, so here is a picture of it by day instead.

All in all, it was a very, very quiet day.

Tomorrow, a new city xx

Day 91: Phnom Penh: Temples and Shopping

Today was just a huge day of walking around the city. I had no real plan, just a few things I still wanted to tick off my list, so I got up early and headed out.

I started at a temple I thought was Wat Ounalom, but it wasn't as I found that next. They were both quite cool though, with lots of locals looking like it was too early for them to be out and about praying, but there none-the-less.

From those temples, I headed to Wat Phnom, which is literally a temple on a roundabout. It's the first I've seen like that, but it worked! With a park and playground around it, there was a big community feel to the place, and I spent some time playing peekaboo with some of the small children staring at me from behind their mothers.

On the way home, I stopped by a few of the markets. The old market was insane, a whole city block of small stalls, selling meat and vegetables out in the heat. It was so packed with people though that I couldn't even stop to take a photo!!

The next market was the central market. This one was more based on clothing, most of it seconds form factories nearby, selling things like Levi shorts, missing a back pocket for $10. They also had a huge jewellery section in a building in the middle, with everything else just sort of taking over the streets around it.

Tomorrow, a day off xx