Monday 20th March SAIGON HCMC VIETNAMVisit some of vthe main tourist spots around Saigon HCMC including the War Museum and the re unification palace used by the former South Vietnamese government prior to the War with Northy Vietnam.We are getting museum and temple fatigue, so decide to take time out from our adventure for a holiday. Somebody told us about a beautiful Island off the South West coast mainland called Phu Quoc. We book flights with Vietnam Airlines and board a small 70 seater plane for the 1 hour flight over the Mekong Delta. Phu Quoc only has a handful of tarmaced roads the rest is dirt track. We manage to find a small resort on the 17kms long west coast beach, which is a beautiful palm tree lined unspoilt white sand stretch of coast. The resort is called Beach Club and has about 12 rooms in bungalow style accomodation right on the beach front. Our rooms are nearest to the beach and the smell and the sound of the sea is arelaxing change from the hustle and traffic fumes of Saigon HCMC. Originally we only intended to stay for 3 days, but the daily swim in the warm crystal clear sea and accompanying landscape outside our front door is so appealing that we decide to stay for a week as island beachcombers and absorb this beautiful unspoilt place.The resort owner tells us that International Hotelliers are planning to develop the coast and a new airport to accept bigger jets is on the drawing board, so things will change soon, meanwhile if you plan to visit Vietnam try to build this place into your agenda.We hire motorbikes ( Mike hasn't been on a motorbike since he was 18 so needed a few hours by himself to practice ) and visit the Island to find unspoilt deserted beaches and small fishing villages the main industry for the locals. We find tiny bays and beaches down dirt tracks not on the map.Tuesday 28th MarchTotally relaxed and refreshed head back to Saigon HCMC via Rach Gia and the Mekong Delta by local bus.Our plan is to head North to Hanoi and across to Hong Kong. We buy a 30 day open tour bus ticket for 18 US dollars that will take us up to Hanoi and allows us to hop off and on the bus at various locations along the main highway that follows the coast along the spine of Viertnam and the South China sea. We stop at Dalat a cooler climate town high up on the Lan Dong Plateau, then the coastal town of Nha Trang another opportunity to Swim in the Sea. We decide to stay a few days at this delightful town a sort of Vietnamese 'Brighton'. There are Islands off shore where you can swim and Snorkel, so we book a boat trip for the next day..Monday 3rd April8am Board boat with a group of Irish / british travellers. Brits bring a cool box full of beer, by lunchtime the singing and dancing is in full swing much to the amazement of the Vietnamese on board, who are gob smacked at the amount of alcohol consumed and sight of bikini clad white skin on show. Most Vietnamese want white skin and cover up face, arms, hands, to protect from the suns rays, the opposite to most westerners who want bronze brown skin like the Vietnamese. So you have the bizarre sceneario on the beach whereby locals are fully dressed and westerners have virtually nothing and can be spotted from a mile across the beach.Wednesday 4th April.Hoi An - A beautiful coastal town with a huge market and french achitecture, with part of the town being pedestrian only. A Unesco world heritage town, hardly touched by the American Vietnamese war, so it still looks much the same as when it was first developed by the french over 150 years ago.Friday 7th April.Hue - a university town and another Unesco site. We take a day tour to the DMZ ( demilitarized zone ) between North and South Vietnam where most of the action took place during the American / Vietnam War. Part of the tour includes a visit to the tunnels built by the Viet Cong ( North Vietnamese ) to hide from the Americans. We go underground into narrow long clay mud tunnels to feel what it must have been like - the tunnels run for miles with intricate ventilation shafts cleverly consealed. Hard to believe that people lived undergroubnd like this for the duration of the War apparently 17 babies were born underground while the action was taking place above. American bombing and military action was evident everywhere with deserted helicopters and tanks scattered around the various stopping places on route. The Vietnamese are still discovering land mines and unexploded bombs at some of the sights - thirty years after the action.Sunday 9th AprilA change of mind for the last leg of our Vietnam jouney North - we take the Train rather than Bus.
Wednesday 14th March CAMBODIA - Phnom PenhHaving travelled for nearly 9 months we are used to arriving at new destinations and looking for accomodation. We have a set routine and critiera. We select a suitable coffee shop one of us sits with our luggage and we take turns to visit 3 pre selected Hotels from either the Lonely Planet Guide book, or recommendations from fellow travellers we have met on route. Our criteria is based on price, location, noise levels, size of room, facilities, breakfast and/or Internet included, plus a few more comfort zone extras. If a Hotel comes near to the test we jump in a taxi and go for it. Phnom Penh is situated on the junction of 3 rivers, the Tonle Bassac, Tonle Sap, and the mighty Mekong. Our Hotel overlooks the Tonle Sap near the centre of Town. We decide to visit the darker, sadder side of Cambodia's recent past with a visit to the Tuol Sleng museum, which in 1975 was a school until taken over by the Pol Pot regime and turned into a detention and torture centre. More than 17,000 Cambodians and a few foreigners who were considered a threat to the Khmer Rouge regime were taken here between 1975 and 1977 and interrogated, nearly all were then taken from the prison to the Choeung killing fields to be exterminated. Like the Nazis the Pol Pot regime kept meticulous records of all prisioners ( History repeating itself ) There are numerous rooms in the prison displaying black and white potographs of Men, Women and children, all of whom were later exterminated at the killing fields about 5 kms outside Phnom Pehn. Later we visit the memorial stupa at the killing fields which used to be orchards prior to 1975. Now it is a field of craters where the bodies have been uneathed from the mass graves. A huge glass tower displays the skulls of nearly 9000 people, many of whom were bludgeoned or hacked to death to avoid wasting precious bullets. Babies were thrown against tree trunks, others were buried alive. All around this very sad place there is still evidence on display like fragments of human bones and bits of clothing scattered on the ground around the disinterred pits.All in all a very distressing place and an example of mans inhumanity to man.We atke a tuk tuk around town to see the main sights and reflect on how Cambodia will need a few generations to recover from the suffering caused by the Khemer Rouge and Pol Pot regime era.Next day we lunch at a restaurant called Friends run by an organisation that helps fund social programmes where some of the proceeds go towards helping Cambodia recover by aiding former orphaned street children with employment in the catering and hospitality industry. Many of the apprentices here, later find work in Hotels and businesses throughout Cambodia.Thursday 16th March Bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, Cambodias spiritual and cultural centre and the temples of Angkor.Friday 17th MarchUp at 6am onto bicycles and try to arrive at the main Angkor Wat before sunrise, the 8 km journey takes longer than expected and the Sun has risen over the main building before our arrival. However we are lucky to see the best of this mother of all temples and the worlds largest religous building before the tourist buses arrive, and the place gets crowded.Originally the whole Angkor area was a Kingdom with hundreds of temples and at its peak a population of over a million, when London had a mere 50.000.The Ankgor period lasted nearly 600 years from AD 802 to 1432 when the temples were built and the Khmer empire was one of the greatest powers in Asia. Our days cycling circuit covers 17km and takes in the main temples including Ta Prohm an atmospheric ruin which has been swallowed up by the jungle and huge tree roots like hands cover the remaining stonework. Everything looks very much as it was when first discovered by explorers. ( It is also the sight used for the film Tomb raiders. ) Next stop Angkor Thom and the Bayon temple. The whole Angkor visit is both breathtaking and somehow difficult to absorb in such a short timespan. Ideally a week would be more suitable to discover the secrets of one of the worlds outstanding temple kingdoms this would allow sufficient time toexperience the magnificence of the sites.Rumour has it that for preservation reasons within the next 10 years some of the ruins will be fenced off and tourist pathways built. We are so lucky to have had the freedom to explore up close as we have on this occasion.Saturday 18th March We fly from Siem Reap to Vietnam Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City ( HCMC )
Wednesday 1st March We arrive in Darwin, capital of northern territory, tropical heat and acccompanying humidity - the town is a lot a smaller than the other principal capitals of Australia and the least populated.Mid morning the heavemns open and we are in the thick of a tropical down pour which floods the streets, about 2 hours later the Sun has come out and the streets are almost dust dry again.The local air con Cinema is a release from the heat so we dive in and watch the latest offering Broke Back Mountain.We say good bye to Australia and its population of 22 million, which co-incidently is the same as those born in India every new year.Thursday 2nd MarchTiger airways from Darwin to Singapore, then transit to Air Asia and onward flight to Bangkok. Our second visit to the Thai capital and time to plan the next leg of our journey, our first job is to find the Cambodian and Vietnamese embassies to apply for Visas.Sunday 5th MarchVisit Kanchanaburi west of bangkok for overnight stay to see the famous bridge over the River Kwai, we walk over the bridge and also visit the allied War Cemeteries and Museum. Time for the late night market for some serious shopping as some of our clothes are beginning to suffer from signs of travel fatigue. We buy T-shirts for 1 poundeach, the market also has a great food section with some bizarre edible delicacies like dried stag beetles, large white dried maggots and live frogs.Monday 6th March Not deterred by some of the food offerings at the market we attend a days cookery course at Apples guest house, where we try our hand at Tom Yam ( Thai soup ) Phat Thai ( Rice Noodle ) and Thai Green Curry. First stop is the local market for a guided tour with our cookery instructor o the best way to select ingredients. By the end of the course, having consumed most of the dishes we have prepared, we sit like satisfied bloated Bhuddha's content with our performance.Tuesday 6th MarchTrain back to Bangkok and a visit to Ayuthaya former capital of Siam and some of Thailands most impressive ancient ruins. In the late afternoon we go to the 59th floor of the Banyan tree Hotel for a cocktail at sunset and absorb the fantastic views from the Vertigo Bar, the highest point in the centre of town.Thursday 9th MarchYoga lessons for Martine - Mike picks up Visas from embassies. Take overnight train to Chiang Mai, Thailands Northern Capital with over 300 temples, its difficult not to get templed out - so we select a few favourites and track them down. We visit the Wat Suan dok a university for Monks and join in a face to face '' Monk Chat '' where foreigners meet and talk with resident Monks for about an hour. Its an opportunity for them to practice their English and our chance to learn about Bhuddhism and Thai life. ( Fantastic experience had by all )Saturday 11th MarchOpen back jeep into the jungle mountains north of Chiang Mai to visit the Karen hill tribe and the Long neck padung villages. The women wear a continuous metal coil, which can weigh up to 22 kg, around their neck and legs. The neck coils depress their collarbone and rib cage, which makes their neck look unnaturally long, some also practice of putting loop rings into their ears so a huge hole appears in the lobe. We also ride elephants through the jungle and during the afternoon go Bamboo white water rafting down a fast flowing river valley.Monday 13th March Indulge in a Thai foot massage before taking the overnight train back to Bangkok and an Air asia flight to Cambodias capital Phnom Pehn.
