Kampot, Kep & Sihanoukville, Cambodia

(see map) trin: We visited Kampot intending to see Bokor National Park. Upon our arrival, we learned that park was closed. Ok. We just rode the bus for five hours to get here. Now, what are we going to do?

A friendly local girl at our hotel gave us some suggestions on what to do. Not really sights we would normally go out of our way to see but since we were there... We rented a motor scooter and set out for a day of small town sightseeing.

First stop was a local cave with a giant suspended boulder.

Some local boys followed us on their bikes and gave us a tour complete with flashlight.

Rice paddies along the way.

Mike and his bike.

We planned to stop at the Kampot Pepper Plantation but we never saw the turn off. So, we kept on to Kep, a mellow little beach town.

Mike walking back from a swim on the narrow beach. The sand was imported from Sihanoukville before the war but very little of it remains today.

I guess it works because the locals don't actually sit on the beach. Instead they rent covered spots on the sidewalk.

The thing to do in Kep is eat fresh seafood. At random we picked one of the seaside shacks and ordered some Kampot peppered crab. The crabs are kept in woven baskets in the shallow surf just outside the restaurant. A woman waded out to collect our lunch.

It was finger lickin' good. Literally.

The sky was ominous as we hopped on our scooter and started back to Kampot. The journey is about fifteen miles and the sky opened up when we still had thirteen more to go. No big deal in a car... but a motor scooter is a different story.

We were soaked to the bone, long bolts of lightening blazed across the sky and the small road narrowed as it started to flood.

To wait out the storm we pulled over at an abandon school where we sat under a wooden shelter with a stray dog and some chickens. We were laughing at ourselves. It was all we could do.

The next day we caught a bus to Sihanoukville where we rented a small basic bungalow on Seredipity Beach. We have mixed feelings about the town. While the beaches are physically beautiful, the town has a seedy undertone. We saw many older western men (usually fat and wearing a speedo) with young Cambodian "girlfriends."

There was also a constant stream of aggressive vendors on the beach. After traveling for eight months, we are no stranger to saying no to hawkers but in Sihanoukville it was overwhelming. To avoid constant harassment, we spent a lot of time on our porch where we read and hung out with the kitties.

I don't like to write bad things about places. So, I'll end by saying it was a really nice porch and we watched several amazing lighting storms from it.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

(see map) mike: Once considered the Pearl of Asia, to us Phnom Penh lacked the energy of Hanoi or the vibrancy of Bangkok.  After spending some time here and learning about its traumatic recent history we would better understand why.

We also noticed a distinct divide between the rich and poor. As we ate dinner at a street side cafe, a constant stream of new Lexus SUVs and sedans cruised by carrying Phnom Penh's elite. At the same time barefoot children with trays of pirated books, maimed men, and overeager tuk tuk drivers jockeyed to gain our attention.

After dinner I stopped at an atm and to my surprise received US dollars instead of Cambodian Riel. Turns out the USD is the currency of choice. Included was a new five dollar bill which we were convinced was counterfeit monopoly money. The giant purple five in the bottom right hand corner just did not look right. Regardless, it was nice to use the greenback after eight months of calculating exchange rates.

Our first site was the impressive Royal Palace complex. 

Trin chatting with a hard working water salesboy near the entrance.

Temple of the Emerald Buddha

Precarious painting. We thought it was interesting that he was touching up the palace with a can of gold spray paint. 

Have you heard of the Khmer Rouge? I hadn't beyond associating the term with some bad guys in SE Asia. The regime, lead by a man named Pol Pot, was Cambodia's ruling party from 1975 to 1979. Its goal was to create a completely farming based society and in doing so directly or indirectly caused the deaths ~1.5 million of its own citizens. More info available at wikipedia.

Near Phnom Penh are numerous killing fields where the Khmer Rouge executed and buried its victims. We visited Choeung Ek where our tour guide told us how he lost his entire family during the period. The below stupa contains the eerie site of 5000 skulls exhumed from the site's mass graves.

Between visits to the National Museum, Royal Palace and Killing Fields we caught up on the blog poolside. Our hotel, Blue Lime was brand new and the pool was an awesome oasis in the middle of the hot hectic city. 

Trin Foot Update :  Scabs are gone but there is still some pink, tender and swollen skin. 

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

(see map) mike: Known as Saigon until 1976, Ho Chi Minh City feels a lot like Hanoi. They share the same motorbike excitement, cyclo taxis, sidewalk restaurants, and women sporting conical hats. Having honed our street crossing ability in Hanoi we thankfully acclimated much easier.

Our first site was the Reunification Palace which is analogous to our White House. The fall of Saigon occurred here (wikipedia info) when tank 843 crashed through its gates and raised the North Vietnamese flag signifying "liberation and reunification" of Vietnam.

Preserved today as a museum, its 1960s/70s decor includes a red velvet movie theater and this gambling room/lounge Austin Powers would surely be proud to call his own.

The latter half of the tour took us into the extensive underground wartime command center of the South Vietnamese.

The original communication and electrical system are still on display which I instinctively presented to the group as the first SmartBits.

After the palace we happened upon a packed techno blasting restaurant & bar complete with motorbike valet. The youthful 100% Vietnamese crowd (excluding us) was slowly sipping cocktails and enjoying conversation. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Trin asking me "can we take them all home?" at a mobile dog shop.

Next we checked out the War Remnants Museum which contains exhibits and graphic photos detailing America's use of agent orange, napalm (flammable liquids), and extensive civilian bombing during the war. The visit was a sobering view (though one sided) of the brutality of war and seeing it from the perspective of the North Vietnamese was definitely eye opening.

See more photos. Warning: Very graphic.

From here we'd catch a bus to Phnom Penh in Cambodia.

Hue & Hoi An, Vietnam

(see map) trin: In the spirit of backpacking, we decided to take a night bus to Hue about twelve hours south of Hanoi.

"Oh #*%#! I am going to be on this bus for how long!?" - The bed was about a foot too short. The driver laid on the horn throughout the night. It was extremely claustrophobic as extra passengers rolled out straw mats and slept in the aisles. At one point, Mike awoke to a guy climbing over him on his way to the bathroom. Even with my personal space preferences/issues, I was able to get over all of this.

But, I could not get over the low quality, close to porn, video that played several times on the bus' television monitors. On what planet, is unattractive bikini clad women moving around seductively to awful music appropriate? All of the backpackers were baffled!

To recover from the hellish bus ride, we locked ourselves in our air con hotel room and watched US television on cable while eating Oreos from the mini bar. We emerged later that afternoon to see the Citadel, a walled imperial city that was nearly destroyed during the war. There has been some restoration but progress is slow.

To see the sights, we took a boat tour along the Song Huong River. Unfortunately, our camera battery died shortly into the trip. Someone (not me) forgot to charge it. We saw the Thien Mu Pagoda, Tu Duc Tomb, Minh Mong Tomb and Hon chen Temple. To be honest it was so hot that day, we were just going through the motions.

The sole photo of the tour - The bows of the tour boats along the river shore.

On the boat we visited with a couple from Humbolt who were finishing up So. East Asia and returning home to drive down through Mexico, Central America and perhaps into South America. It's funny, we've been a lot of places but I was still intimidated by their itinerary. This happens a lot. I think an unknown place is going to be scary or hard to navigate. Once there it's like, what was I so worried about?

Next stop was Hoi An where the main tourist attraction is custom-made clothing. I am not kidding. It's in Lonely Planet.

The picture doesn't lie. I was excited! I wasn't the only one. Mike got into the spirit and ordered a new suit and several shirts.

How it works: First, you pick the design. You can bring in a photo or choose from their photo binders and pattern books. Next, they take your measurements and ask your preference on length, buttons, pockets, etc. Then you pick out the fabric. The quality of fabric determines the price. The next day you return for the first fitting. The final fitting is either later that day or the following day. We shipped our new clothes home but a lot of people end up buying another suitcase. People get seriously carried away. While waiting for Mike, I eavesdropped on the following conversation -

girlfriend - I don't think they wanted to sell me anymore.

boyfriend - What else did you get?

girlfriend - A few more dresses.

boyfriend - How many is a few?

girlfriend - Like five.

This was in addition to the number of things I saw her trying on the day before.

During our stay in Hoi An we alternated between the beach, pool and tailor shop. The town is charming and walking back and forth was enjoyable.

Halong Bay, Vietnam

(see map) trin: Halong Bay is a must for anyone visiting Vietnam. The unique sea/landscape is a pleasant retreat from the busy streets of Hanoi. We decided not to rush and stayed two nights on a "junk." The boats are not authentic junks but have been fitted with sails to give tourists the illusion.

Embarking from Halong City.

We had read that the bay would be overcrowded. While there are a lot of boats (500 on any given day), it certainly didn't feel that way once we left the harbor.

Mike cooling off after climbing to the top of one of the islands. I was still nursing scabs from my accident (it takes forever to heal in this climate) but the heat won out and I jumped in too. The European tourists were probably thinking, what the heck? as I was floated on my back while Mike propped my injured feet and ankles above sea level.

Several of the three thousand islands in Halong Bay.

A massive cave filled with stalactites where Vietnamese hid during US bombing of North Vietnam.

After the cave tour, Mike and I moved to our own junk. Cruising around we couldn't help but feel environmentally guilty. It was just us on a giant boat with a crew of five.

We should have been king and queen for the day but Mike preferred the role of pirate.

Local fishing village where the people live in floating houses. Most of the homes have fish farms where Californian Ranchers have manicured lawns.

A fisherman hauling in his net.

Back on our original boat, with a new set of passengers, Mike worked his way up to the top deck where he finally took the plunge.

Early evening in the cove where we kayaked through a cave into an area completely enclosed by the giant karsts rising around us.

The sunrise on our last morning in Halong Bay.