Mesmerized By Mantas
Heading down to Ko Lanta on the Andaman coast of Thailand I had two things in mind: one last chance to go diving and one last chance to hit the beach. I splurged on myself and paid the extra money to go dive Hin Daeng and Hin Muang which are two rock pinnacles 3.5 hours off the coast. People dive here with hopes of catching a glimpse at manta rays. It turned out to be the most unbelievable diving ever! On the first dive we were mesmerized by 5 giant mantas (3-3.5 meters) dancing around us. On second dive we hung out with another 4 of these beautiful creatures for another hour. ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! So after successfully accomplishing goal number one I started on number two. I met Tracy at the pier and we found some pretty cool accommodation down the island. The only problem was that mother nature thought that cool/dry season means there should be nothing but rain all over the southern coast of the country. Long and short is that we only had one beautiful day on the beach, but can you really complain about that in December? Another of Tracy's friends arrived and we all went to check out a cave which involved crawling on your tummy to get through one section and a big cavern of bats. The photos are of a manta ray for those who don't know what I'm talking about, our place on Ko Lanta and one of the local taxis.
Cambodia
I had a whirlwind tour of Cambodia, visiting only Phnom Phen (the capital) and Siem Reap (Angkor Wat). Phnom Phen was a nice little capital right on the river. On the first day I checked out the excellent national museum and the royal palace. That evening I went to see a documentary on the Khmer Rouge and the Pol Pot regime. It is incredible to comprehend the genocide that look place here only 30 years ago. The second day I visited the Tuol Sleng torture museum and went to visit the killing fields. Then I hopped on a bus and headed to Siem Reap where I met up with Tracy. We stayed in the nicest accommodation so far, and hired a tuk tuk driver for three days to tour around Angkor Wat. All the temples date back to the 9th - 14th century and are incredibly well preserved. On the last day we went out to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat and it was beautiful. The photos are of all of Angkor as I felt the killing fields and torture museum may be a little depressing to mix in.
The Ps and Qs of Phu Quoc
With one week left in southern Vietnam is seemed sensible to meander down to the Mekong Delta for a day. The people on my trip were not so cool though. We were out on various boats all day and the first one stopped a a really cool market, but everyone must have been bored by it and went back to sit on the boat because it left early and had to come back to collect me at the dock! The trip was visually pleasant but nothing too exciting. Back in Saigon that evening I had a Vietnamese man thrust a snake in my face for fun - it almost killed me, but he found my reaction hilarious! The next day I headed down to booneyville, also known as Rach Gia, the port town to go to Phu Quoc (an island underneath Cambodia). I went by local bus and it was the first time I didn't see another single foreigner ALL DAY in this country. I also ended up being the only foreigner at my hotel on the island. Phu Quoc is known for it's peace and quiet (P & Q and is also a vaction destination for rich Vietnamese. The beautiful beaches on the island are 25 km away from all the accomodation and seeing as I don't drive motorbikes it mean't a LONG bike ride on a single speed in 30+ weather. I think 95% of the children I rode past ran out to the road to shout hello and wave as I went past. Back from Phu Quoc I headed to Chau Doc on the border and took a fast boat into Phnom Phen, Cambodia today. The best part of the trip was when we got off at immigration (the Vietnamese side) with all our bags to have them scanned and they were too lazy to turn on the machine so the bags went right back on the boat....ha ha ha. The photos are the market in the Delta, dragonfruit, me on Sao Beach on Phu Quoc, and the first tourist bus we saw in Phnom Phen (read the sign).
Hooooo Chi Minh (aka Saigon)
If you don't understand the title to this post you really need to see "Good Morning Vietnam", a Robin Williams classic. Dan and I began our visit with the War Remnants Museum which was by far the best museum we've seen. It's extremely one sided and used to be known as the American War Crimes Museum. They have an amazing collections from photographers who dedicated their lives to documenting the war; tanks, bombs, and airplanes in the yard; exhibits on the aftermath of dioxin (Agent Orange); and replicas of the prisons. This was followed up with a trip out to the Cu Chi tunnels which was an extensive network for the guerrillas during the war. The tunnels themselves turned out to be pretty tiny we found out as we crawled through them for 100 meters. It's amazing to believe that they have been enlarged by 10 cm both in height and width to allow for tourists to go through - we would never fit in the originals! HCMC also has some cool bars and on Dan's last night we went to check out one belonging to his friend Beth's uncle, and hung out with him and a bunch of ex-pats for the night. I was invited out for a Hash House Harrier run with them the next afteroon. It was a wonderful way to cheer me up after taking Dan to the airport. The run turned out to be a 10 km adventure through mud, rivers, rice fields, cow pastures....Nonetheless, I was filthy afterwards but it was a great way to justify my trip out to the beach of Mui Ne for a few days. Mui Ne was a nice quiet beach with a lot of kitesurfing to watch. They also had some really cool sand dunes to see, but all in all a very chill place. The photos are the tanks outside the War Remnants museum, the fishing village at Mui Ne, and the white sand dunes.
The Beach and Beyond
On our last day in Hoi An, Dan and I went to check out the My Son ruins which were built by the Cham people and date back to the 7th century. They were neat to see but the weather was over 35 so the heat definitely made things harder. From Hoi An we took an overnight bus down to Nha Trang to enjoy the beach for a few days. Nha Trang has quite a resort feel to it, but who really complains about renting beach lounges under an umbrella for the day to enjoy the sun, cold drinks, and a good book? Dan and I also went out for a morning of scuba diving in the protected marine parks. The visibility was great and the water was a balmy 27 degrees. Since the area is protected, the coral reefs are beautiful and there is a lot of marine life to see: moray eels, trumpetfish, lionfish... Nha Trang also has a really cool nightlife and we found a couple cool hangouts. From here, we headed to the central highlands to the city of Dalat. We spent a day canyoning here which entailed abseiling down a series of waterfalls, cliff jumping, and natural waterslides. The last two abseils we did were by far the best - one was down a 25 meter waterfall, and the second was called "The Washing Machine." "The Washing Machine" was actually kinda scary as you absiled throughthe middle of a waterfall, dropped into a little crevise and got spat out down river. Pretty exhilarating though! Today we went for a hike up to the Langbiang peak which is supposed to have a lovely view of the city and surrounding area, but unfortunately we were caught in the middle of a cloud at the top which decided to rain on us for the descent. Still, it was nice to get out for the day. The photos are of the My Son ruins, the beach at Nha Trang, Dan on the dive boat, and me on our canyoning trip.
Heading Down the Coast
Dan and I headed out to Ninh Binh which is really not much of a town at all. We rented a motor bike and took the 70 km trip out to the Cuc Phuong National Park. Once we got out of the city the ride became much more enjoyable as we were no longer dodging traffic, but just local animals who run all over the road. We went for a hike in the national park which was hot and humid, and Dan spotted a baby snake. On the way out we checked out the Endangered Primate Rescue Center which protects primates native to Vietnam. We got to see langurs, gibbons and even some adorable baby monkeys! From Ninh Binh we took an overnight bus down to Hue to check out the ruins of the ancient city. Hue was the only city in southern Vietnam to be held by communists for more than a few days and suffered the bloodiest battles of the 1968 Tet Offensive. From Hue, we ventured further south to the UNESCO town of Hoi An. It's a lovely little city that used to be the major port of Vietnam, but the current claim to fame is the tailoring shops that can make you just about anything to a perfect fit. Dan and I had no intention of shopping, but now for some reason we are about to go pick up some pants and jackets we've had made for very cheap prices. We checked out the old sites of Hoi An today and then rented bicycles and headed to the beach for the afternoon. The photos are of Dan and our bike in Ninh Binh, the traffic we encountered on our drive, Hoi An, and it's beach - Cua Dai. Oh and don't worry - we know all about the BIRD FLU in Hanoi and have boycotted chicken entirely!
Hanoi to Halong Bay
I finally ended up in Hanoi, Vietnam after a long 22 hour journey from the west coast of southern Laos. Hanoi is a pretty city with a lovely lake in the center of the Old Quarter, but the downside is that you could easily be killed crossing the street. There are 4 million Vietnamese living here and there are 4 million motorbikes, in addition to taxis and vehicles making the roads absolutely insane! I met Dan at the airport and we spent two days in Hanoi. It's unfortunate that Ho Chi Minh is currently in Russia having some touchups down on his body (I believe he is embalmed) but the masoleum is still impressive to see from the outside. We also visited the Temple of Literature which is the oldest university in Hanoi dating back to 1070. The Museum of Ethnology was also a good cultural collection to see. Then we headed up to Halong Bay for a two day boat tour. It was absolutely stunning to see the 3000 islands rising out of the water. The massive Hang Sung Sot cave was impressive to check out and we spent a little time kayaking as well. The photos are of Hanoi houses, one from the mausoleum complex that was just so "Vietnamese" we couldn't resist, and Halong Bay.
