Ao Nang

The last stop on our tour is a touristy city on the main land. It has lots of shops and restaurants along a long beach. It’s pretty busy compared to the other spots we’ve been. 

I took the optional tour to go out to the Phi Phi Islands for the day. They are absolutely beautiful, but I wouldn’t recommend going. It feels like every tour boat does the same couple stops at the same time. It was very crowded- and again apparently this is nothing compared to pre Covid numbers. 

First off was a speed bot ride to Maya Bay. Made famous and heavily damaged by filming The Beach with Leonardo DiCaprio, it has slowly recovered. During the lock down the park staff noticed the return of black tipped sharks so they decided to ban swimming in the water. The bay is a gorgeous colour with high limestone walls around it. And we saw a baby shark swim close to shore!!

The next stop was another lagoon for a short swim, then we cruised past Monkey Beach and the Viking Cave. We saw the monkeys but not the wall art of an apparent Viking ship. The cave isn’t hope to tourists, though people do harvest birds nests from that cave. 

We had a quick snorkel stop before going to Phi Phi Don for lunch. It’s the largest of the Phi Phi islands and has some hotels and shops there. Another lovely beach but it was cheek to jowl with speedboats. 

Finally we went to Bamboo Island for another swim and snorkel spot. We parked on the beach for an hour and it was really a lovely spot to sit in the warm waters and chat. 

We are back on the boat now, racing back to Ao Nang. This will be our last night of the tour. And I’ve made an impulsive appointment for tonight- I’m getting a bamboo tattoo!!

End of the Sticky Rice Adventures.

We had one last border crossing to do with the tour group- that our first local guide had named as the Sticky Rice Family.  We drove from Siam Reap to Bangkok. It took most of the day. We did stop for lunch as well as the border probably took about an hour. 

When we arrived in Bangkok there was enough time to check out the roof top pool before going out for the final Final Dinner. Our guide showed us the street market that is just crazy in Chinatown. Vendors just pop up everywhere. Some set up little tables along the curb. 

After a tasty dinner we took a tuktuk to Khao San Road, which is basically a party street. Dozens of bars lining the street. Each with a massive sound system. Each blasting different songs. And people trying to sell you everything under the sun (including scorpions on a stick) while you have a drink. 

We didn’t stay long. 

The next morning the group began to break up as more and more people headed home. I slept in and then wandered the market with a friend and got some street food. We had Bao and Goyza that were amazing. And a Thai tea latte from a vending machine which was delicious.  We also visited the golden Buddha- the worlds largest pure gold Buddha at 5.5 tons. 

The next day I booked a tour. We started at the floating markets. Thailand built a series of canals connecting two major rivers and now there are markets lining the edges. We got to take a boat up and down the shops. And order drinks from a passing boat. 

There was also a couple stops to the royal palace and more temples. We saw a huge reclining Buddha and the emerald Buddha (which is actually jade.)

I finished my day by going to the Icon Siam mall. Which is swanky. Filled with high end luxury stores of all types. And a crowd of girls screaming towards the Bulgari store. Though I never found out who they were screaming at. 

My last day before the new tour involved more relaxing by the pool, having lunch at a Michelin Plate rated noodle stand, and trying to cram all my stuff back into my bag before the next flight. 

Hopefully the next group will get on as well as the last. Either way I am looking forward to the beaches of southern Thailand!!

Finally, Angkor Wat

An absolute highlight of this tour is that we visit the Angkor temple complex. I actually hadn’t realized just how extensive it is. I was very familiar with the famous Angkor Wat building, but I didn’t know much about the rest of it. 

Construction started in the area around the 12th century with different temples being added by different kings. Many of them were originally Hindu, but now the temples are mostly dedicated to Buddhism, with some having the Hindu gods removed and replaced by Buddhist statues. 

The first day we started at a temple that is famous for its faces. The temple has 54 towers, and each tower has four Buddha faces looking in each direction. And they are huge. It’s a beautiful temple. And the walls have intricate carvings telling the stories of the king, or life lessons of Buddhism.  

We saw another temple that was pyramid shaped and you could climb up to the top to look around, it had a massive reclining Buddha carved onto the north wall. Then we walked along the paths across a few other ruined sections of temples, lots of trees over growing everything. 

The last day in Siam Reap was an early start. We left at 5am to go see the sunrise at Angkor Wat, they most famous temple complex on the site. We certainly were not the only group there, but apparently the crowd was nothing compared to the pre-Covid numbers!

It was a gorgeous spot to watch the sunrise behind the temple, with a couple reflecting pools in front to add to the beauty. Angkor Wat is one of the oldest building on the site, and is built on a perfect north/south alignment. The guide put a compass on the centre stone in the middle of the temple to show us. As well, if you watch the sun rise on the equinox, it comes up right above the central tower of the complex. It’s just amazing precision. 

We had a quick coffee break after sunrise rise before we went to tour the rest of the temple. A few in the group were hurting after staying up to watch the World Cup Final. I had bailed at the end of the first half and was still pretty tired myself. 

There is a small shrine to Buddha in the temple where monks collect donation for their charity work. For a small contribution I got a braided bracelet that the monk placed on my wrist and chanted as he secured it- for good luck. 

We then went to see our final temple, which was made famous by Angelina Jolie and the Tomb Raider movie. The filled (with permission) in this amazing little temple over grown by trees with huge clinging roots.  I was a little shocked at first that it had been allowed, but the site was little known then and the movie brought a lot of tourism to Cambodia and the area. 

But the temple was amazing. The trees were just fantastic crawling up and around the buildings. And they are doing work now to help preserve the site and restore what buildings they can. I could have wandered around there for hours. 

But all good things come to an end, and we headed back to town for the afternoon. I had my self a massage before lunch where we said goodbye to another of our number who was flying out of Cambodia. Then the last adventure of the tour was quad biking through the countryside. It was a lot of fun racing around the countryside. We watched some buffaloes crossing the river, then stopped to watch the sun set beside a rice paddy. 

We had an early dinner, after watching both the sun rise and the sunset we were beat. And the next morning was our last day, and a long journey over another border and into Thailand. I’ll be in Bangkok for four nights as this tour ends, and my next one begins. I’m still trying to decide what all to see with my three days- although tomorrow morning starts with sleeping in!!

Phnom Penh

We drove over the border into Cambodia, it was a fairly simple crossing. A few of us had to get visas at the border, it was a fairly simple process, except they forgot to put in one stamp so we had to go back, luckily the lines were very short. 

We spent two nights in Phnom Penh. When we arrived we got to do another cyclo tour of the city. We stopped at the Penh Wat temple before cruising along the main streets. Lots of statues dedicated to the recent king who got Cambodia’s independence from France with out a war. They set him up as a puppet king at 16, but he appealed to the international community to pressure France to leave. His son now is king, but a bit of a figure head as the country is still firmly ruled by a Prime Minister who hasn’t lost an election in 30 years. 

The next day was a dark day. We started by visiting the Killing Fields outside the city. It’s important to never forget what happened, but if you would like to skip the grim details, scroll down till after the picture. 

I have always been aware of the Khmer Rouge and that atrocities happened in Cambodia. But I had never realized how insanely senseless it was. Of course any death in conflict is senseless, but the Khmer Rouge just indiscriminately killed anyone. Even their own Khmer people were rounded up and sent to the rice fields to work. Men, women and children were murdered in the killing fields for the smallest infraction. 

They have erected a lovely monument on the Killing Fields to the people lost there, but there are some spots with an oppressive negative energy that won’t go away easily. 

We also visited the museum at the site of the S-21 prison.  Of the thousands of people who passed through the doors only 11 survived. 7 men who were “useful” such as artists or mechanics. They were saved when the Vietnamese invaded to stop the genocide. And four little children. To little brothers managed to hide two little babies with them in a laundry pile when the Khmer Rouge fled, and they managed to survive for days till the soldiers came to liberate the prison. 

After so much evil today, we all needed a little soul cleansing, so I had a pizza lunch by the river. Then joined a few of the others at a gorgeous rooftop pool and bar at another hotel. I’m a water soul so I definitely felt lighter after a swim. 

And then it was another early start with a long bus drive to go to Siam Reap.  Driving through the Cambodian country side has been just beautiful, and we stopped for lunch at a gorgeous spot along a river. 

Ho Chi Minh City

Known as Saigon by the French colonialist, and still has a district by that name, HCMC is the current capital of Vietnam. We had several days here to learn the history and explore the area. 

We had a tour by cyclo when we first arrived, which is just the local name for a rickshaw. It was a little wild on these rickety little things as the drivers wove through traffic. 

We started the tour at the Vietnam (or as it’s known here, American) War Museum. It talks a lot about the atrocities committed during the war, the torture of civilians and the absolute destruction of the environment by agent orange. There is also a section on the war correspondents, their photos and the stories of the ones who didn’t survive. 

The museum does honour some American soldiers who helped prevent the My Lai massacre from being even worse, and the protestors around the world and the US. It is of course presented by the Vietnamese of their perspective, but it’s not entirely one sided. 

We visited the corner where the Buddhist monk self immolated to protest religion laws. There is a large monument to him across the street now. We also saw the presidential palace, the post office that was designed by Mr Eiffel, and Vietnam’s Notre Dame cathedral. It was modelled after the famous one in Paris and designed by French architects. 

A number of years ago the cathedral was damaged by a storm, and Vietnam had to ask the French to come back to help fix it as they are not familiar with the architectural style.  Annoyingly the restoration was paused halfway through as everyone was called back to France to help with a different Notre Dame restoration. 

In the morning we went to the Chu Chi Tunnels outside the city. This is where the VC hid during the war, creating miles of small tunnels through the woods to help survive the constant American shelling.  I volunteered to climb in one small concealed entrance- and got a bit stuck. I have more hips than the average Viet Cong soldier. I needed some help wiggling out in the end. 

The creepy thing for me about Chu Chi, is there is a shooting range where visitors can fire off a variety of guns. So as you walk through the jungle learning about the battle, there is an echo of guns in the distance. I would not recommend for people who’ve been to war zones and have some PTSD or issues from that. 

For our free afternoon I went to the local market for lunch and to walk around. We ordered Bahn Mi that came on delicious fresh bread before exploring the shops. Lots of tourist knickknacks amid the North Face gear and fresh food stands. 

We had a lovely dinner to say good bye to some of the group- five of our number we’re staying on in HCMC while the other 8 continued on the extended tour to Cambodia. Though we still had one more day in Vietnam, which was a trip to the Mekong River Delta. 

We took a little boat over to the islands, tasted lots of fresh fruits grown there while listening to some native singing. We got to take a small boat ride down a stream, which was paddled by two people who gave us traditional hats to wear. 

On another island we saw how they made coconut candy, before taking a tuk tuk ride to where we had lunch. And a final treat was a coconut to drink on the boat ride back to the shore. 

We had a final relaxing night in HCMC before an early morning start so we could get across the border to Cambodia for the next stop of the tour- Phnom Pehn. 

City of Lights

 We spent three nights in Hoi An, which is a small but beautiful old town near the coast. It still has old wooden building that have been lived in by generations of the same family. The entire city is a UNESCO site. 

After arriving by bus we had a quick tour of the city. During the morning and the evening many of the streets are closed to motorized traffic, which is very nice for walking around. 

Our hotel was on the small island of An Hoi, which is where the night market is. It was a short walk over to the old town. There is also a limit to how much light can shine, so most of the light comes from paper lanterns. It’s just so gorgeous. 

The town does have a flooding issues, at high tide the river did over flow a bit. It wasn’t too bad today though. 

Hoi An is also famous for its tailors. I ordered a few pieces, and with a couple fittings they would be ready within a couple days when we left. And they fit so perfectly. 

It was mostly free time in Hoi An. We did do a noodle cooking class with a local charity that helps get disadvantaged children off the streets and teach them a skill to help them get jobs in hospitality. 

But mostly it was exploring the old houses and temples and gathering areas of the city. It’s a blend of Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese cultures and buildings.  An absolutely beautiful city. 

One night a few of us took a boat ride down the river, small thing with one oar like a gondola, and lots of paper lanterns floating down the river. I lit one to send wishes for a friend back home that needs some positive energy right now. 

Our group also enjoyed the simple things- lots of massages and watching the World Cup in the Irish pub in town- lit by green, white and orange paper lanterns. 

I think Hoi An is an amazing little town to visit, I would highly recommend it to anyone visiting Vietnam. For us, it was time to head south. We had a flight in the morning down to Ho Chi Man City. 

Hue

Despite many of us being exhausted on arriving in Hue, we still had a full day. As it was once the capital of the kingdoms of Vietnam, there was an imperial city with a palace we got to visit. Our local guide gave us lots of information about both the feudal history of Hue and the modern wars. Hue was badly damaged by the French while fighting China over the area, as well it was very close to the DMZ separating the north and the south. Most of the historical building have been destroyed, though they are rebuilding. 

The citadel with the imperial palace was our first stop.  The palace was based on the design of Bejing’s Forbidden City. It’s a beautiful location and unesco supported reconstruction means it’s all original materials. 

Next we stopped at a Buddhist monastery. It had a “relic” from the protests against the puppet president set up by the Americans.  The president was a Catholic so came down very hard on the majority Buddhist population. A monk drove down to Saigon and self immolated in protest. The photo taken of him sitting in front of his car is famous, and was used by Rage Against the Machine as album art.  His car is now at the monastery we visited. 

Our final stop that day was the tomb of the 9th king. He had it built away from the city in the country side. It’s a large cluster of buildings. Mostly rebuilt after being damaged but the stone work still exists as it was just forgotten out in the country side. 

I spent the afternoon wandering around Hue near the hotel. A few of us found a nice restaurant for lunch with a local sampler plate that was a lot of fun. Then I had a foot massage before the group met up for drinks.  We had an early start in the morning to drive to our next stop- Hoi An. 

Vietnam

This is the start of a different type of travel, I’ve joined a tour. I thought it would be a good way to see South East Asia.  It starts in Hanoi, so I flew in and met up with the group the first night for dinner. 

Our first full day includes a bus trip to Ha Long Bay. We will be spending the day and night on a junk boat in the bay. We had a cute little boat just for our group and they anchored us at a beautiful spot in the Bay. 

In the afternoon we took the little tender over to another island with a look out on top and a small beach. After 400+ stairs to the top I was sure ready for a swim!! Most of the group thought it was too cold- but 20° is my moms pool in the summer!

We had a fantastic dinner, with a nearly full moon overhead. Then they broke out the karaoke. After a fair amount of wine it was a great time. And I have deleted all the evidence. 

In the morning we went out to the Surprise Caves, which were found by a fisherman in the 80’s and are very extensive. They have a beautiful pattern from the waves that formed them, and then the dripping limestone forming huge stalactite columns. 

We motored back to the mainland to return to Hanoi. Stopping at an oyster farm along the way, we learned about the art of pearl cultivation. And of course had the opportunity to shop for some pearls. 

I spent the afternoon in Hanoi walking around, I went to the lake where there is a temple that honours the legend of a turtle who lent his claw as a sword to the king who defeated the Chinese to allow his kingdom to be independent. 

Then i got my hair washed. Seems a bit funny, but it came with a glorious 30 minute head and neck massage as you lie on a table set up with the basin. Much more comfortable than a salon chair. It was wonderful. 

Hanoi finished with an overnight train to Hue. Our four bunk cabins were not the best beds I’ve slept on. But not the worst. It’s certainly a fun experience. Now we are zipping along the beautiful countryside headed south to start another day. 

Some More Singapore

Today I headed out towards Chinatown to start the day. It’s an amazing little district with a beautiful Buddhist temple, and lots of fun shops all along the streets. 

I did lots of wandering around, enjoying happy hour along side the Singapore River in the afternoon. I visited some of the fancy hotels, like the Raffles Hotel. I decided I had to try their Long Bar. If I was going to have an over priced Singapore Sling it would have to be in the bar that invented it. 

And wow, was it overpriced. But it was tasty and a fun experience. The bar is not in the original location anymore, but in 1915 the local bartender came up with the drink as Ladies were not permitted alcohol in public. So he created one that looked just like a fruit juice!

Also went back to the Marina Sands to watch their water and light show over the harbour. It is really spectacular with tons of water and laser lights. 

My last full day was more wandering, I started with Little India before wandering back towards the harbour. By the afternoon I had a cocktail overlooking the bay again before settling on an early night so I could pack. 

Seems like just a short visit to Singapore, but I also wanted to be at the airport early to check out the Jewel. It really is an amazing building with forests surrounding the open centre. The jewel is dominated by the 40 meter water fall from the oculus in the centre of the roof. It switched on at 10:00 while I was waiting, which I was happy to see it at full flow before I had to go catch my flight. 

Asia at Last

I am so excited to finally be in Asia, that is another continent I can check off the list. And I am in need of a bit of a change after three months of travel!

Singapore is just beautiful. It has so many tall modern building, but they have also preserved lots of old temples and colonial era architecture. 

I’m staying in a little hostel with my own “pod” to save some money while I’m here- because it is expensive!! I had a drink overlooking the marina and paid $20 for a beer!!!

My first day here I slept late, 24 hours of travel will do that to you, and then just wandered around. I passed a few of the iconic old hotels. Found a shopping centre where I had a late lunch, then ended up at the marina. 

I saw the statue of the Merlion, which is half fish half lion to honour the cities fishing heritage and original name means “City of the Lion”

I had a very overpriced beer overlooking the harbour, before heading back to my hostel. The next day I chose to take the hop on hop off tour of the city. It covers the various districts and drives up and around the botanical gardens. 

That night I went to the Gardens by the Bay, which was also hosting a Christmas Market. It was really fun to walk around the Supertrees and see all the holiday cheer- though I don’t understand why so many people had light up bunny ear headbands. 

I went up to the super tree observation deck which had a beautiful view over Singapore and the park. I watched the light show twice, once from the observation deck and once from the ground. They were very fun to watch with the Christmas music.