Vietnam and Cambodia

monk at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, Phnom Penh
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Libby and I planned to spend our two week Christmas break in Vietnam and Cambodia. We wanted to take advantage of the long vacation and also wanted to travel on a budget. The cheapest flight we found into the area was a flight into Ho Chi Minh City (still called Saigon by the locals).  Libby is a professional at staying in "backpacker" hotels,... me..., not so much. I was very interested in the idea of traveling with low expenses so I jumped into the plan with both feet. We flew into Saigon on Dec. 20 and arrived very late. We checked into our first hotel in the "backpacker" district, District 1. The Hong Han guest house was on Bui Vien Street, it was clean, had hot water and the staff was friendly and helpful. I must say the room smelled like a litter box to me though. We stayed there for 2 nights for $25 US a night and that included breakfast.

memorial built in honor of those executed in the "killing fields", the tower is full of human skulls
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The highlights of Saigon included walking through the crowded Bin Tanh Market (many of these Asian markets in various countries look very similar to me). There wasn't anything I absolutely needed to buy in this market. We also headed over to the Reunification Palace, modern building with 70s decor. There were a few other buildings on this site prior to this one, but this building was named Independence Palace and was home to South Vietnamese president Nguyen Van Thieu. It was the president's home until he departed in 1975 when the first communist tanks arrived in Saigon and charged this palace in April. I was most interested in the basement with its network of tunnels, telecommunication center and war room.

From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated two million Cambodians, almost a fourth of the country's population.

on top of the ferry boat for the 6 and a half hour ride to Siem Reap
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Another must see, although quite difficult to see, was the War Remnants Museum. It was first opened in Sept. 1975. On display are US armored vehicles and weapons. It was very hard to see the exhibits that clearly presented the horrors of war. So many victims were civilians. There were many photos of women and children affected by the bombing and napalming that I could not look at. During the Vietnam War, 3 million Vietnamese were killed (2 million of them civilians), and 2 million people injured. It was overwhelming to take it all in.

views from the ferry on the Tonle Sap Lake
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Two other sites we saw, that are right next to each other, were the Main Post Office and the Notre Dame Cathedral. The post office was built between 1886 and 1891 and is the largest post office in Vietnam. It is a beautiful French-style building with a glass canopy and iron frame. I was surprised to see so many Christmas decorations in Vietnam, including a large Christmas tree in the foyer of the post office. The cathedral was built between 1877 and 1883. It is "neo-Romanesque" (I had to look up what that meant).  It has two 40m-high square towers tipped with iron spires. A large statue of the Virgin Mary stands at the front of the cathedral. Even without any stained glass windows, this was a beautiful building to see inside.

at Ta Prohm, the "jungle" temple
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To get back and forth to all these locations, the cheapest and easiest transportation option was to hire a motorbike ride. For about 15,000 VND (which is less than $1 US) we quickly and easily got from point A to point B. The traffic in Saigon is crazy, really crazy. There are mostly motorbikes on the road, but there are plenty of bicycles, cars, buses and trucks too. No one stops at the end of a road, they just pull right out and merge with the traffic. It somehow works out, the cars on the road just adjust and let the turning motorbike or car blend right in. This makes for an interesting adventure when it comes to crossing busy streets on foot. You just have to step right out confidently and keep moving steadily across and the cars and motorbikes work around you. It is a leap of faith, don't stop in the middle or you will disrupt the flow.

one of the many faces at the Bayon
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On Monday, the 22nd, we boarded a bus heading to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We left Saigon at 8:00 am and arrived in Phnom Penh at 3:30 pm. We had about an hour and a half stop at the border while the bus tour guide took care of our visas, and a random 30 minute stop when the bus was pulled over by Cambodian police for some unknown reason. This bus ticket only cost us about $10 US. It was worth it to us to drive instead of fly because it was so cheap and we had the time to do it. We only stayed one night in the capital of Cambodia because we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time in Siem Reap to see the temples. We stayed in a nice guest house, Boddhi Tree Del Gusto. It was the only one I was in charge of booking and was the most expensive room we stayed in during the trip, $50 US a night.

the steep steps of Ta Keo
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We decided that while we were in Phnom Penh, we would go to the Tuol Sleung Genocide Museum to try and comprehend the horror caused by the Khmer Rouge in the 70s. The building was originally a high school but from 1975-1979 it was the Khmer Rouge prison known as S-21. It is believed that somewhere between 13,000 and 20,000 people were sent to this prison over the years to be interrogated before their death. The Khmer Rouge government, with their leader "Pol Pot", sought to create a pure utopian agrarian society and to achieve this they believed they had to eliminate threats and traitors. So Khmer Rouge soldiers were sent out to hunt down teachers, doctors, lawyers, architects, civil servants, police officers and other leaders and had them executed en masse (even people with glasses were seen as a threat). Then they sent out more soldiers and this time they gathered the wives and children of these "traitors". From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated two million Cambodians, almost a fourth of the country's population. I must admit that I knew little of the details of Cambodia's recent history. This exhibit was incomprehensible. I kept saying over and over...."this was only 30 years ago." Every single person we came across in Cambodia was directly connected to this horrible time just 30 years ago. Each person either lost a brother, sister, father or maybe their whole family. How does a country move on? How is it possible that these people are still so warm, kind and welcoming when they are still trying to recover from this horrendous time? I have nothing but respect for them. As if this wasn't enough, we then took a drive to the site of the "killing fields". This was the location of the executions, what a sad place.

detailed carving in the pink sandstone of Banteay Srei
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That night, we were exhausted and went out to dinner at the FCC, Foreign Correspondents Club, to sample some Cambodian food. Travel back and for in Cambodia was done by hiring a "tuk tuk". This was a motorbike with a carriage on the back that could hold 4 people. This was another cheap way to travel.

The next day we were up early to get on the 7:30 am ferry to cross the Tonle Sap lake to Siem Reap. The boat held about 30-40 people, we chose to sit outside on the top for the whole ride. Yes, we did wear sunscreen. Parts of the lake are so wide, it looks and feels like you are out in middle of the ocean, no land in sight. At one point, in the middle of the lake, we had to stop the boat because our motor got tangled with nets from a passing fishing boat. As we got close to Siem Reap, we passed many homes along the lake, including part of the "floating village". We arrived in Siem Reap at 2:00 pm and checked into the Mandalay Inn. It was clean, but very small, with the shower head that sprays right over the toilet. Another highlight of this inn was the troll sheets on the bed. We walked across the street to see if there was a better room in that hotel. We took a look at a room that was bigger and cleaner and cheaper....$8 US a night! Four dollars a night each?! How could we refuse?! So after one night in the troll sheet inn, we moved across the street to the Angkor Park Hotel. It had no character, but the staff was kind and helpful.

making palm sugar in the village
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Siem Reap is the small town that is easy to stay in while you venture out to explore Angkor Wat and the many other temples. It is very inexpensive to stay in this town, cheap meals, cheap transportation. We bought a 3 day pass to enter the temple park. There is no way to see them all in 3 days, and it is also hard to take in all there is to see in such a short time. On the first full day, we hire an English speaking guide and a tuk tuk driver, Mr. Savann. We loved our tuk tuk driver! He was always there when we needed him at all times during the 4 days we were in Siem Reap. The English speaking tour guide on the other hand was not too impressive. He was knowledgeable, but it was very difficult to understand him. We were out for the whole day and we explored the "small circuit" route of the park.  We saw: Ta Prohm (sometimes called the jungle temple, it was built in 1186 as a Buddist monastery, it is engulfed by enormous kapok trees), Ta Keo (very steep steps to climb, not crowded with tourists like some of the other temples), Bayon (a temple built in the late 12th century with more then 200 faces of Lokesvara, this is in the walled city of Angkor Thom) and Baphuon (which was under repair, we didn't get to see much there, it was built in the 11th century).

children in the village
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On the second day of our Angkor Temple adventure we saw: Banteay Srei (built with beautiful pink sandstone, the carvings are amazingly still in tact), Pre Rup (literally meaning "turning the body" was a crematorium built around 962), East Mebon (erected in 953 was built for the king's parents, there are almost life-sized elephants at the corners of the temple), Ta Som (built in the 12th century, tree roots surround the Buddha at this small temple), Neak Pean (literally meaning "entwined serpents", it has 4 ponds, scholars dispute the symbolism) and Preah Khan (means 'sacred sword', the sacred sword is said to be a weapon ceremonially passed by the king to his heirs, whoever possessed the sword had the right to country's throne).

inside the South Vietnamese president's Independence Palace
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On our third day, we set the alarm for 4:00 am to see the majestic Angkor Wat temple at sunrise. Mr. SaVann, our trusty driver, picked us up at 4:30 am and we drove out on his tuk tuk to Angkor Wat in the dark. Libby brought her tripod and set it up carefully for the perfect moment of sunrise. We waited patiently, the sky slowly began to lighten....there was no sunrise, it was an overcast morning! We made the best of it, it is still an incredible site! Angkor Wat was consecrated around 1150 to the Hindu god Vishnu, scholars believe it would have taken 30 years to complete. It is believed that the temple was used by the king for worship during his lifetime, and became his mausoleum when he died.

front of the Independence Palace
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The evenings in Siem Reap, after temple explorations, were filled with good food, market meandering and a couple of massages. When we returned back to the hotel after visiting temples, we immediately showered. We were constantly covered with dust from the red dirt roads riding on the tuk tuks and walking on the temple trails. Khmer massage is similar to Thai massage, but not quite as rough. As about $8 US an hour, I had a massage 3 days in a row! On Christmas day, we went out for Khmer (Cambodian) food. I tried to Skype my family in the States on Christmas Day from an internet cafe but we had a horrible connection. One afternoon, we arranged to go on a bike tour with our own private English speaking guide to get a glimpse at village life outside the town of Siem Reap. It was a great trip, lots of authentic life to see. About one third of the way into the ride, I felt faint and had to get off the bike. I rode in the safety truck for the rest of the trip through the village. It was not how I had planned to spend the afternoon, but at least I was still able to see all the village sites.

Notre Dame Cathedral
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The last morning in Siem Reap involved a little detective work on my part. One of my friends from school here in Hong Kong, gave me a gift package to give to her favorite taxi driver that she has been in contact with since she has taken 2 trips to Siem Reap. She had emailed him, I had emailed him, but we did not hear back from him before I started this trip and I also checked my email in the middle of the trip...still no reply from him. Now, I have been carrying this bag of children's board books and a Christmas card with a money gift through Vietnam and Cambodia. I didn't want to leave without accomplishing my mission. I started showing the photograph of the driver that my friend gave me to other drivers and tour guides. Finally one driver suggested I go to the "drivers' association" office. I got directions to the office, took a tuk tuk across town and the office was closed until 2:00. I went back at 2 and the woman there said that driver has not worked for the association for 3 years. Another worker came in and looked at the picture of the driver that I was carrying with me. He said he knows him, but doesn't have his phone number. He then proceeded to call the driver's uncle, who called the driver's brother, who called the missing driver! The driver then called the office I was in and we made arrangements to meet at the hotel at 5:00. I really was giving up all hope of ever handing over the gifts to this man! I was so happy it all worked out in the end! We had a quick dinner at "Burgers Without Borders" and flew back to Saigon for just one night because we were on an 8:30 am flight to Phu Quoc Island on Sunday, Dec. 28th.

random bride photo shoot in a phone booth in Saigon
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Phu Quoc is an island off of south west Vietnam, close to the Cambodian border. Much of this trip was very weighty, learning details of the past, Phu Quoc was picked to relax and unwind. It lies in the Gulf of Thailand it is 48 km long. We rented rustic cabins in front of the beach at Thanh Kieu -Coco Beach Resort for $35 US a night. It was a real getaway. We ate almost every meal at the Rainbow Bar right in front of the resort. Ate lots of fresh fruit and drank Vietnamese ice coffee regularly (Vietnamese coffee is VERY strong, but very easy to drink when they add sweetened condensed milk!). One day, we went on a boat tour for fishing, snorkeling, swimming and lounging. During the day of New Years Eve, we hired motorbike drivers to take up to Bai Sao (south beach). It was beautiful, white sand, few people. We had fresh fruit delivered to us on the beach as we sat, read, took in the scenery and napped. That night it poured hard, but it was New Years Eve so we rallied and walked down the beach in the rain to the Eden Bar. That was where everyone was who was vacationing on this island. Libby bumped into her friend that she knows who lives in Saigon! At midnight, they lit beautiful paper lanterns on the beach and let them take flight into the sky. It was amazing (although I struggled with the concept, was this like letting balloons go that then turn into trash?) I made myself feel better about it when I realized the entire lantern was made from paper and thin bamboo rods. They looked magical as they were released into the sky one by one.

inside the old post office
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On New Years Day, we flew back to Saigon. We arrived at about noon and checked into Dai Hoang Kim Hotel, also on Bui Vien Street in District 1. We window shopped, order a dress to be made for Libby and had lunch at PHO 24, a Vietnamese noodle shop chain. I quite enjoyed the fresh Vietnamese rice paper rolls that I tried at various locations. Then we got $4 manicures, and did more window shopping. We had dinner at an excellent Indian restaurant (and cheap!), Akbar Ali, near our hotel. Then we walked around town, there was some sort of major city festival going on on this New Years Day. There were stage performances (singing, dancing, plays, etc.), food vendors, family games, balloons, arts and crafts and motorbikes everywhere!

me and Angkor Wat
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On Friday, January 2, we were up by 7:00 am to catch a 8:15 am tour bus to Cu Chi tunnels and the Cao Dai Temple. We arrived at the Cao Dai Temple by noon to catch the midday prayer sessions. Cao Daism is a Vietnamese sect that seeks to create the ideal religion by fusing the secular and religious philosophies of both East and West. It was founded in the early 1920s. Currently, there are about 2 million followers of Cao Daism in Vietnam. We then drove on in the direction of the Cu Chi tunnels. We had a passionate English speaking tour guide who shared his whole life story. He was a translator during the Vietnam war. The Cu Chi tunnels are in the town of Cu Chi. This elaborate tunnel system was used by the Viet Cong to control this rural area. At its height, the tunnel system stretched from the southern Vietnamese capital, Saigon, to the Cambodian border. They allowed the Viet Cong to mount surprise attacks even within the perimeter of the US Military base. At the beginning of the tunnel tour, we sat to watch a short Vietnamese propaganda film from the end of the war highlighting the many Vietnamese war heros. The phrase that kept repeating in my mind that I heard several times in the film was, we are proud of our...."American killer hero".  There are two sides to everything, isn't there. The tunnels that you are allowed to enter have been made larger than they were during the war so tourists can fit in them. They were so small! I can't imagine them smaller! After 4 days on the beaches of Phu Quoc, it was time to end the trip with another heavy topic!

yes, tried eating a spider, well, I just ate a small leg....
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We flew back to Hong Kong very early on the morning of January 3rd, 2009. This was an action packed two weeks full of history and culture (with some time for leisure too!). Check out the picture of me eating a spider in Cambodia!