Siem Reap to Vietnam

Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh

The next day brought a new set of circumstances as we hung lazily around the hotel pool, saying goodbye to our old group and somewhat reluctantly greeting the new. There were only four of us going on so it felt very odd at first. Vietnam was to be our home for the next ten days, and as I’d come to learn lots already (the good and the bad) about SE Asia in general, this was to be a further learning experience.

In the afternoon, regrouped, we hopped on a flight to Ho Chi Minh city and another fresh country to tick off our ever growing list. The ceiling on this plane was fortunately not stuck together with duct tape and we arrived in one piece. That day is still a bit of a haze in my mind, but I do remember one of the first things we did once we had checked into our hotel and ventured out into the city, was to try a Vietnamese coffee. Honestly I think this (and Laotian) is my favourite coffee in the world, even better than Italian or Australasian.

The Ben Thanh markets were the order of the night that night, as we got lost in the chaos and the haggling for items. I’m generally shit at haggling, but a couple of the girls were awesome, taking no nonsense and putting down a firm price or walking away immediately. The vendor would then be like oh no please come back any price is better than none, and therefore they came away with insanely cheap goods.

Please don’t get me started on the state of the traffic and pedestrian rights. Basically you had none. Your best bet, if you needed to cross to the other side of the road, was just to walk out into the middle of oncoming cars and hope for the best.

Ho Chi Minh to Mekong Delta

We would be making a return to the much loved river today, with a special cruise followed by a visit to a local tea house and the floating markets. Our transferral from land to a Vietnamese ‘Sampans’ (a small boat) was amusing as it was rocking dangerously when we tentatively stepped in. Wearing the traditional hats, ‘Non la’ made from leaves, we drank from coconuts with straws and enjoyed the journey. On dry land we made various pit stops and watched, intrigued, some cooking demonstrations at how the locals made their rice paper.

We were also treated to various creatures dotted around, alive or dead, tanked or jarred.

Upon arriving at our traditional guesthouse (complete with garden hammocks) that we’d be staying in that night, Alicia and I decided to rent some bikes and go explore the island. Everyone waved to us as we went past and kids grinned broadly, sometimes running to follow our trail. Which admittedly got a bit lost, ah well, we weren’t too fussed.

We got back just in time for this.

Not to mention a trek through the undergrowth where the Aussie boys all wrestled each other in a muddy ditch. An ant then bit down viciously on my foot which sent me involuntarily kicking my flip flop across said ditch in pain and surprise. Everyone laughed. Bastards.

That evening, our hosts kindly made us dinner outside, accompanied by a local song and dance.

The Vietnamese people are much like the Laotians, some of the friendliest people I’ve ever met, and it was really interesting to learn their customs and way of life along the river. Plus we did get to hold a snake. A really big one.

Mekong Delta back to Ho Chi Minh

We could have very easily spent more time on the beautiful Mekong, but back to the big smoke we had to go. I’ve always thought that people are well suited to boats, assuming it’s not too choppy. Being in or near to water seems to relax and make us happy, no doubt having something to do with being made up of 90% water.

En route to Ho Chi was a stop at Viet Cong’s immense 250 kilometre long Cu Chi tunnels, used during the Vietnam war and all dug via hand by the Vietnamese resistance fighters. There are many hidden trap doors, with one particularly narrow and claustrophobic tunnel open to the public. Camouflaged into the ground by leaves, this involved taking off the wooden cover, lowering yourself into the hole up to your waist, before squatting down and lifting your arms up, neatly pulling the wooden cover back over your head. An uncomfortable art form.

Ho Chi Minh to Nha Trang

Our morning looked set to be a busy one as we made the most of our time left in Ho Chi Minh by visiting the War Remnants Museum. This was another fairly harrowing experience with some shocking photos of the short and long term after effects on the Vietnamese people due to the release of Agent Orange by the US, a deadly, or at least highly destructive, chemical. After the museum we checked out the Notre Dame Cathedral, General Post Office and Presidential Palace before hopping over to Nha Trang, a stunning coastal town with turquoise waters and golden sand that overlooks the South China Sea.

The afternoon in Nha Trang was much more relaxed as we indulged in a mineral mud bath and vegetated in the varying temperatures of the hot thermal springs. We probably would have stayed there, caked in mud all afternoon and evening and ended up eating dinner in there, had we been given half the chance.

Nha Trang

Ah, Nha Trang. Another day in this beautiful place, cruising the water on our party boat ‘Funky Monkey’, soaking up the rays, swimming, snorkelling and enjoying the pleasures of the ‘water bar.’ I think I speak for everyone when I say that nobody will forget our resident watery bartender and the shine that he took to one of our girls. “Becky! Becky! Where’s Becky?!”

Anyone could enjoy this bar, the catch being that every time you wanted a drink, you would have to jump into the sea and hold onto a large rubber ring (the bar) whilst waiting in your own rubber ring. The effect of this was as follows.

Looking back, I’m not sure why we queued so patiently, as a lot of the drink being offered up was some disgusting sweet orange liquid that I could barely swallow. After enough of this we piled back onto the boat for a session of Karaoke, and I have this hilarious video of Danielle cooly sitting there and looking unimpressed while we all yelled the song ‘I’m on a boat!’

Nha Trang to Hoi An

We do cover a lot of ground on these tours, which is why the next day witnessed us getting on another flight to Hoi An. This place is unforgettable, containing an ancient old town cut through with canals and bridges. A sort of Venice of the East, if you like, or ‘lantern town’ – as at night time it is gorgeous, lit up by hundreds if not thousands of lanterns guiding your way through the gently humming streets of people.

A walking tour and bike ride through the town was the first activity covered, as we marvelled at the combination of the Japanese bridge, brightly coloured houses and French colonialism.

The brakes on my bike were a little dodgy, but by that point I hardly cared and nothing surprised me.

Our entertainment that evening was a cooking class, which I sadly had to miss, yet was fortunate to be able to rock up to right as it was finishing and eat the food.

As we had two nights to kill in Hoi An, after the cooking class many of us excitedly went to a tailors to pick out the fabrics and be fitted for some custom made clothes at dirt cheap prices – with the hope they would be ready by tomorrow evening at the latest. I decided to get a Greek style dress done for my upcoming Big Birthday.

Hoi An

Not too far from Hoi An are the Marble Mountains, and this is where we headed the next day. These are a collection of five peaks that represent the five elements in Vietnamese folklore, and in more recent history, were the hiding place for US soldiers during the Vietnam War. The Thuy Son caves and grottos were impressive, with intricate stone carvings.

Most of us managed to get our clothes finished in time. I say most – someone arranged for a special international package to be delivered… (No, not me)

Hoi An to Hue

What stands out most to me about this day is the drive. One of the best looking drives I think we’ve done on tour, it is recommended in many guide books and is also made famous as part of Jeremy Clarkson’s motorbike tour through Ho Chi Minh all the way to Ha Long Bay (in-case you even cared)

Hue itself is known for its lotus flower ponds, artwork and decorative pavilions, and upon arrival we were sucked straight into its intriguing depths with a cyclo ride to the Imperial Citadel. (As a walled fortress and palace surrounded by a moat, neither is the style something that would look out of place in Japan) Contiki wouldn’t be Contiki if we didn’t also manage to squeeze in the Tu Duc Mausoleum, as well as the 7 story Thien Mu Pagoda where we were informed about the nasty Hue Buddhist massacre.

Hue to Hanoi

The flight to Hanoi today was broken up by some amazing cloud porn.

Hanoi is a fantastic mixture of Vietnamese, French and Chinese influences, and this was certainly something we noticed as we checked into our hotel in the old quarter. Hanoi acted as something of a base for us, as we were there for two nights yet it was useful as a jumping point for our jaw dropping cruise through Halong Bay.

The time in the city that afternoon was spent in the Garden of Literature, roaming the Parisian inspired boulevards and trading streets, as well as eating delicious Pho for dinner.

A strange guy on our tour was suffering from swollen feet quite badly by this stage. Alicia, being a nurse, had previously told him to stop walking and put his feet up, which he ignored. At this point she was so annoyed with him that the sight of his two balloons did nothing to elicit her sympathy, something which I can’t blame her for.

Hanoi to Halong Bay

The next morning a group of us decided we needed to go and visit the dead body of Ho Chi Minh (interestingly stored in Hanoi and not Ho Chi Minh itself) and balloon man decided to tag along, much to our dismay. How he was still standing on them I have no idea.

It was another sweaty day and I was glad we had decided to stop by to see a corpse so early in the morning, as it meant that we could once again avoid huge queues. The performance to get in to see him was extraordinary. After a thorough bag search, we had to walk in a uniformed line, with guards marching beside us, even when we got inside the gloomy mausoleum. Ho Chi was illuminated in a kind of sickly yellow light, although I couldn’t be sure as we only had about five seconds in there. Apparently they are worried that you might smash the glass and steal a body part, or something.

Our main destination was the great Halong Bay itself. This may very well surpass, or at least equal, the Fjords of Norway or the Grand Canyon when I try to explain how my jaw dropped. It is out of this world – and we had a whole 24 hours there!

After we had boarded our Chinese style junk boat, we went to the top deck to snap a million photos, whilst cruising through the lagoons, forests and grottos of the Gulf of Tonkin. I believe our first visit was to the Sung Sot caves where it was so hot that it felt – and looked – like Dante’s Inferno, and we spotted a rather rude formation.

Our second stop was via a small speedboat to an island where we climbed to the top to get even more unreal photos of Halong Bay.

Back onboard our main vessel and a woman enthusiastically rowed up to our boat with a whole supply of snacks waiting. (Note all the Pringles)

Sunset was a stunner.

Dinner that night was seafood heavy, as we cranked up the music and got ready to party – pirate style 😉

Halong Bay back to Hanoi

The next morning we woke to a generous breakfast display and an option to go kayaking around the Bay, something that none of us were going to say no to. That hands down has to be my favourite kayaking experience, breathing in the splendour and also keeping a look out for little monkeys hiding in the cliffs looming high above us.

Back to Hanoi – was really not what we wanted to do as it would spell an end to our trip, and for many of us, the next day we would be leaving to fly home. But go we must. I couldn’t quite believe it.

Hanoi to Home (wherever that is)

Well, I’d done it. One whole month in South East Asia, and still miraculously alive. For now – I still had to get back to the UK. Sitting in the airport and sweating whilst waiting for my flight, I decided that I was actually quite relieved to be returning to a much cooler climate – perhaps my brain would start functioning properly again. In all likelihood, it would probably be plotting out the next great adventure in another tropical paradise…

Until then…

Siem Reap and Angkor Wat

It seems only fitting that the last day and night of our tour should end on an exhausted, heat ridden high, as we were to go on an unforgettable trip to Angkor Wat. As with most great destinations or attractions in the world, getting to them is not usually an easy feat. The glamorous photos at the end don’t reflect the effort that you put in to make it happen. In short, you don’t see behind the scenes to any sweating, yawning, whinging or dehydration 😉

Rising at night time and heaving ourselves onto the coach at 3am was the order of the day. We travelled to this great (why is it not) wonder of the world in silence, bleary eyes looking out at the near black landscape. By the time we got there it was starting to get light, and most of us were making vague noises about wishing we had a snack on us, but it was time to enter the gates of greatness. I must admit this was actually quite exciting, as we padded through the gloom of old ruins into an open field to wait for the colourful sunrise to burst through the sky. Taking our positions at various points on a slight hillside, we settled with our cameras and waited. A woman came around selling coffee and most of us jumped at the chance.

We briefly got distracted by a horse wandering around.

The main event was spectacular. I’ve seen a lot of sunsets and a few sunrises in various locations during my short life so far, but none ever quite compared to this. The quickly changing kaleidoscope of colours, lighting and backdrop of Angkor Wat…it couldn’t have been much more perfect. Some birds flew overheard at the right moment too, further adding to the effect. The horse was all but forgotten.

There’s a lot to see and climb and take in at that place, once the light has properly come up. Angkor Wat is simply enormous. The crowds gradually started to thicken, so I was glad that we had made the effort to turn up when we did. Our local guide was extremely informative and useful, but sadly a few of us got split up from the rest of our group. Thank goodness there were at least 6 or 7 of us, I think it was, and luckily this was several hours in so we had all had a chance to look at everything.

Later on, after a much needed nap from the heat we all set off for our next site, Angkor Thom and Ta Prohm. This was actually where much of Tomb Raider was set, and therefore it felt very adventurous and atmospheric walking amongst the ruins and through forest, imagining being Lara Croft. (Maybe that was just me)

The guard clearly couldn’t be arsed, and I don’t blame him. “This iphone needs to cool down before the camera can be used” was a message I didn’t know existed before this trip.

On our way back to the bus Justin and I made the rookie error of daring to look at the goods various retailers were selling on their market stalls for longer than 0.017 seconds. Seemingly out of nowhere, a crowd started to throng around us, beginning to block our way, like something from The Walking Dead. We looked at each other. “Run” we almost said at the same time, making a mad dash for it. To our incredulity, they had started to run too, physically chasing us – that’s how much they wanted us to buy.

That evening was sadly to be our last as a group, and we gathered together for dinner nearby Pub street followed by Charlie’s bar. All of us had bought ‘I love Cambodia’ T-shirts, which we signed with supportive messages like it was the last day of school. Dancing in the street in Siem Reap with the local kids after several Tequila shots is something I’ll always remember 🙂

What a group! What an adventure!

(Poor Michelle, arm gradually healing by this point ;))

For a select few of us, however, it wasn’t quite time to go home – as we would be continuing onto Vietnam with an entirely new group of people. Until next time…

Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng

Luang Prabang

The following day was mercifully kinder to us as we had some nice things planned and one of those was a ride on an elephant. Our tour manager assured us that the elephants were treated well and that coming from a sanctuary in Laos they were guaranteed this. The experience was a tick off the bucket list for me as I had always wanted to go, and it was amazing. We trekked through the undergrowth and a large area of swampy ground where some of the elephants decided to fill their trunks with water and spray it up into the air, meaning we nearly got drenched. I also filmed an Attenborough style commentary on the back of our elephant but I’ll spare everyone the footage. Which is just as well, because this version of WordPress doesn’t allow for videos anyway.

After the elephants our local guide Doua very kindly invited us back to his home (we all tentatively crowded into his ute!)

to have a look around, mainly so we could be shown his pride and joy, the butterfly garden. He told us he’d created it himself, as a retreat, and how happy it made him to be able to sit in it every day. We were amazed by how many family members were crowded into the small house with little to no furniture, not to mention that his wife was pregnant.

Our next port of call was at a beautiful spot called Kuang Si Falls to swim. Any type of water activity in this heat is welcomed and we stayed several hours.

The day wouldn’t really be complete without any drama at all, as in the evening we went for a walk around the night markets and a motorbike decided to drive into me and nudge me out the way so it could park. No apologies, no warning – just nearly drove over my foot. Standard. I began to think that if we could make it alive out of South East Asia with all our limbs intact we’d be doing very well.

Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng

Our last activity in Luang Prabang involved getting up at 4am to feed the monks. Kneeling on cushions in a long line that stretched all the way down the street, we prepared for the monks to walk past and receive our rice offerings. We were given small baskets of sticky rice and encouraged to roll balls out of them beforehand so as to be ready when each one of them walked past our basket. This was easier said than done as they were of all ages and walked so fast that we were in a race trying to get a ball into each bowl.

En route to Vang Vieng we stopped for lunch high up in the mountains, with unusual bathrooms that had open air views to the amazingly lush scenery below. Not very private but worth it.

Arriving in Vang Vieng some time later, we were randomly dropped off on a US airstrip used during the Vietnam war. This was a little distance from our hotel, as unfortunately our coach wasn’t allowed to park there. Easily the hottest place we had been in so far, the walk to the hotel, which usually may have taken 5-10 minutes, seemed to take forever and this was prolonged by locals wanting to have photos taken with us. The view from the hotel was one of the most stunning I’ve ever seen. It looked out over the Song river which we would tube and kayak down the next day.

Sadly the room itself wasn’t so appealing with an ancient and dodgy looking air con system, the size and sound of which seemed to make the heat even worse – and not only that, but it didn’t seem to be doing much in the way of cooling the room down. The temperature was difficult to describe – a kind of humidity that makes it virtually impossible to think anything other than the desire, if it were possible, to remove not only all your clothes but your skin to cool down. My fault for going in August, I kept thinking.

Drinks on the deck overlooking the river later was lovely. We were all (marginally) cooler by then and more smiley.

Dinner was at the Kangaroo Bar in town after that and then Jonny, another guide, joined us for karaoke. He was always a lot of fun and vaguely out of it.

Vang Vieng

Vang Vieng. 8am. Music. Beer. Transport. This can mean only one thing, party on the Tuk tuk!

We made the most of our fortunate predicament and partied onboard until we had been transferred to the rice fields, which we needed to walk through to reach the caves for our tubing experience. But this wasn’t just any rice field, oh no. This was like an adult version of the 80s kids TV programme ‘Fun House’, where we needed to scale a ladder over a fence, navigate narrow, slippery muddy paths and cross unstable, swaying bridges.

Not forgetting the anorexic cows.

Once safely over to the other side, we were handed our sexy tubing gear (helmets and head torches is always a great look on anyone) and descended into the dark, swirling rapids of the caves. Luckily there was a safety rope as it really was quite dodgy in there, what with the strong current, slippery rocks and lack of visibility. A bit of screaming ensued – once when somebody let go of the rope and another when someone thought they felt something in the water grab their leg. I doubt there will be many other times in my life when I sit on a large black rubber ring and rope burn my hands to get from A to B, but it was definitely an experience I’m glad I had.

In comparison the kayaking experience after was a walk in the park. I shared with Justin, who sat behind and proceeded to use his oars to purposely flick me with water. I just about let him off as he had cut himself in the caves and no doubt needed a respite.

That afternoon a couple of people went rock climbing, while others visited the Blue Lagoon, followed by a hangout at the riverside bars. Some sound advice was written on one bucket.

Back in the old days of only a few years ago, these riverside bars would have featured heavily when tubing down the river – which they severely discourage you from doing now as there were sadly a few tourist fatalities from the combination of alcohol and fast flowing water.

You probably won’t be surprised to learn that we ended up back at the Kangaroo bar later.

Bangkok to Chang Mai

This was the first official day when our group really got going on sight seeing and the getting to know you process. It also turned out to be something of a memorable night as we rode the overnight train to Chang Mai, and I made firm friends with the old lady wandering up and down the aisles selling orange juice (not). 
Jet lag waning but heat adjustment still slightly dragging its feet, we set off for the Grand Palace, AKA the Disneyland of Thailand, where we met our local guide. Wat Po, just directly south of the Grand Palace, with its famous reclining Buddha, art and other colourful statues, was also ticked off our list whilst in the city. 

Contained within the magnificent palace complex are the Royal Reception Halls and the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, which, due to being so popular, only let a certain amount of people in at a time. Glittering gold surrounded us and I was glad I’d left this attraction till last, to see with the group. It was very busy and something of a challenge to snap photos without people’s heads getting in the way, but it is definitely worth a visit. In-fact, it would be something of a crime to visit Bangkok and NOT see it. 

Afterwards we hopped on a Khlong boat cruise to see the Bangkok canals whilst chucking large pieces of bread overboard at the rabid fish, who had gathered in a feeding frenzy. Once back at the hotel, we showered and hung out by the pool before saying goodbye to our lovely accommodation and hopping on the coach to the train station where our overnight adventure was awaiting. 

No sooner had we rushed onto the train, shoved our luggage underneath the seats, and plonked ourselves down, then someone said ‘Eww, what’s that smell?’ Our group was spread out over two carriages which quickly became one as everyone squeezed in together to avoid the odour. 
Eventually settled, we set to chatting and playing card games. When it got dark, our beds were pulled down and set up by staff. It was roughly around this point that the old orange juice lady trundled past and asked us if we wanted to buy any. I asked if there was any water instead, to which she shot me a look of disgust and wandered off. 
Twenty minutes later and she was back, so I politely tried again. Shaking her head and muttering to herself, she took off and ignored my request. 
“That went well” I said to Alicia, who was laughing like a hyena. The third time I saw her approaching she had a face of thunder, so I hid under my blanket. I didn’t even dare ask for orange juice. 
Meanwhile, some people had visited the bathrooms and came to report back on the situation. They were cramped, there was a ‘bum gun’ by the loo – (a hose replacement for toilet paper, common in these parts of the world) – the windows rattled and were set low into the wall, which any passengers on platforms could potentially peer through as you pulled slowly into stations.
It was time to sleep as we had an early start, but many of us were still wide awake, excited no doubt by the novelty of riding an overnighter for the first time in our lives. We bundled Justin into his top bunk, six foot something James squeezed into his, while Alicia cheerfully offered to sleep on the top bunk, where she didn’t remain cheerful for long after having had an entire night of blasting air con and full beam ceiling lights in her face. Those of us on the bottom bunk, despite faring better, still felt the effects of a night of being tossed around by the rickety train. 

We emerged into Chang Mai, bleary eyed and relieved to be standing on solid ground again. 
A dog and a cockerel were standing on the train tracks, as you do.