Siem Reap, Cambodia

We knew we had arrived in Siem Reap when I heard the window slide open next to me and felt someone scratching at my arm shouting 'tuk tuk!'. I sat up and took a look outside... the bus was absolutely mobbed by Cambodian men, all trying to get you on their tuk tuk or get you to go and stay at their guesthouse. It was absolute pandemonium. I struggled to get to my bag, and once I found it I had lost Reena! There were about ten men in my face screaming and shouting at me, the same happening to Reena. I could hear one English girl in the background who had already booked somewhere to stay shouting "Leave her alone!". I managed to push myself to the front of the crowd and cross the road in an attempt to get some air to breath, but they all followed me! I got myself into a better view point, saw Reena, then signaled for her to come over. She came across with her own swarm of Cambodian men... we had to scream at each other at a distance of 1m in order to hear ourselves speak! Eventually I just started laughing, managed to read one of the many placards that were being shoved into my face and said "yep I'll have that one". Immediately the circus was over and we were whisked away to a tuk tuk, back on the other side of the road - phew!

The main reason to stay Siem Reap is to visit Angkor Wat and the other ruins in the area. We got up early the next day to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat.

It was definately worth the 04:30 wake up!

Angkor Wat after sunrise. Built around 1150.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat

Bayon. Probably my favourite ruin. There are huge smiling faces built into it. This ruin felt more maze like in structure - fun to get lost in! Built around 1180.

Me at 9am trying to avoid the already intense sunshine!

Preah Khan. I only noticed that big crack above my head once I looked at the photo! Built around 1190.

Ta Keo. An unplanned stop on our tour, but worth it! What a climb. It was an unfinished temple, but still very mighty looking. Very tall with incredibly steep and thin steps. Built around 970.

Ta Prohm. Built around 1190.

The famous tomb raider tree in the Ta Prohm Temple. Its a temple thats now overun by the jungle. Very impressive, but it somehow feels like you're walking through a movie set. There are lots of walkways and screens up where renovation work is taking place.

We spent one more day in Siem Reap just taking it easy. It would have been great to have taken a few days to wander around the many nearby ruins, but weather, cost and time weren't permitting, so we left Cambodia to reach our next destination of Koh Tao, Thailand.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

They say you would never treat humans that way.... Dont you think this looks very much like a cattle truck?!

I was a little grumpy when I arrived in Phnom Penh. I think it was just a combination of it being too hot all the time and not getting enough sleep. My mood didn't really improve the next day either.. poor Reena! I was ready to pack up everything and fly straight to Perth where the temperature was a much cooler 19 degrees, but I decided to stick at it and get through the rest of our stay in Cambodia as quick as possible. That way we could spend the rest of our time in Asia chilling on a Thai island until our scheduled flight to Perth. It gets really tiring being on the move all the time, and the heat just drains all your energy.

Block C of the S21 Prison.

We only stayed in Phnom Penh for one full day. We made it to the S21 Prison, a former high school which was converted into a concentration camp used by the Khmer Regime. People of all ages were detained here and were tortured until they confessed to working for the CIA or KGB. A vast majority of the victims were innocent, with simply the torture producing their confessions. There are hundreds of photos of the victims on display, along with the various torture implements. I can't count the number of times I got chills down my back while walking through the museum... and I dont know why I spend so much time looking at photos like that. It stops me from sleeping at night!

Cells built in what were orginally class rooms

Barbed wire prevented the detainees from escaping or from commiting suicide by jumping to their deaths.

After the confessions were made they were transported to the Choeung Ek extermination center, better known as the Killing Fields. We took a trip there early the next morning. The first thing you notice when you arrive is the tall stupa. As you walk up to it, you quickly notice that its packed full of human skulls. Over 8000 in total. With a closer look you can see the injuries that must have caused the deaths of the people brought there. Its really easy to spot the skull fractures. Quite a few of the skulls have sections missing due to the heavy blows to the head. I think it was the 'hack' marks from sharper objects that troubled me most. The skulls on the bottom shelf that were within easy viewing were those of girls aged between 15 and 20 years.

The buddhist stupa containing over 8000 skulls

It became more disturbing walking through the mass graves. It wasn't until a little later that I started to notice all the clothes that were still half burried in the ground along the paths.

The unearthed mass graves

Really? Surely not... Its hard to believe people can actually do that. But they do.

Clothes still half burried in the ground

People were hung on this tree if they made any noises to drown out the moans of the other dying people.

After our time at the Killing Fields we decided to get an a bus north to Siem Reap to marvel at the greater aspects of Cambodian history.

Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon, Vietnam

We arrived in Saigon at 04:30 on the overnight train. We reached the city by 05:00. The hotels were still shut at this time... so we had to sit in a cafe (with all the drunks who'd decided to stay out all night) and have an early breakfast. The guesthouses opened at about 07:00. We finally found a room after looking in about 20 hotels. We've got so fussy recently!

We had a nap for a couple of hours and decided to check out the city. Our first stop was an indoor market. We were pounced on from all corners "Hello lady! You wan t-shirt?!". From here we walked to the Museum of Fine Arts. I was more fascinated by the actual building than the art work it contained. Again, it was in a gorgeous French style, although in need of a little loving care. Large airy rooms, window shutters, balconies, large staircases, etc.

Museum of Fine Arts.

Stained glass in the French doors opening onto the front balcony.

I loved the floors in this place. Each room had a different design and pattern - always symmetrical. Lovely! This photo just doesn't do it justice I'm afraid.

We also stopped at the War Remnants museum. It basically showed the Vietnamese version of events during the war, along with lots of disturbing photos. Yep, the Americans did some bad things too. But all war is bad, whoever is fighting and wherever. Innocent people always get hurt. I think women should run the world. I'm sure there would be less suffering!

Reena's a vegetarian so finding food for us to eat can sometimes take a little longer than normal. In every main city I always try to suggest going to a purely vegetarian restaurant. These places normally offer meals with lots of imitation meat, e.g. sweet and sour underside and cumin mutton (these two we had in Beijing). More often than not it feels like you're chewing on stewed fat! We stopped into a little restaurant in Saigon and opted for the sweet and sour shrimp. When the plate turned up it looked just like a load of bright pink cat turd and didn't taste much better. They even added in the black peppercorns for the protruding eyes! I only wish I took a photo.

While sitting down at an outdoor cafe, I was chatted up for the first time by a 10 year old kid... That's their way of charming you into buying their ware - chewing gum, cigarettes, books, etc. Its very sad. Kids as young as two are taught to bring chewing gum to your table and look innocently up at you. This continues to go on until the early hours of the morning. When do they get a chance to sleep at a normal hour, let alone play?!

Reena, me and (a cheesy looking)Dave.

Three years ago I met an American guy called Dave in Mainz, Germany. I heard he was teaching English in HCMC so decided to try and catch up. It was great to see a friendly face after all our struggles in Vietnam. He took us out for the two nights that we were there, and had a great time! Thanks Dave!

The rest of the English teaching lot... Grant, Dave, (little) Reena, Me and Paras (a Harrow boy... small world!). I later learnt that the guy sleeping in front of us was called Peter, from Nigeria.

South Vietnam was a complete turn around for my opinion on Vietnam. The south really is more palatable!

Hoi An, Vietnam

We planned to spend a couple of days in Hoi An. It quickly became double that... Hoi An is famous for its tailored clothes and shoes. Over the space of four days we shopped, shopped, and shopped, stopping only to eat and sleep!

Hoi An

In hindsight we spent far too much time and money here. We just got so swept up in the moment of it all! I bought:

- 5 suits (not all for me!)
- 12 shirts (again not all for me...)
- 2 trousers
- 3 dresses
- 1 winter coat
- 2 pairs of shoes
- 1 pair of boots

One of the shirts that I had made was too small. After two fittings in the shop, it was still too tight. They put me on the back of a motorbike and drove me direct to the tailors. When we arrived we walked into a small room with one woman and about six young girls. They saw the shirt on me, and about four of them fussed over this shirt, refitting it another two times. This really didn't sit right with me at all, since I was only paying 5 pounds for this shirt.

Hué, Vietnam

As soon as we arrived in Hue, we knew that our time here was going to be so much better. There were no hotel touts waiting for us outside the bus, and the tuk tuk drivers accepted our first answer of 'no, thank you'. What a relief!

A pagoda in Hué - I forget the name now...

The city has the regular sights of most cities - temples, pagodas, etc. What I really wanted to see during our stay here in Hue was the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) and its surrounding sights. The DMZ is a strip of land that essentially separated the north and the south during the Vietnam War.

We booked ourselves onto a one day tour to the DMZ (I was told off by an American chap for not calling it the D.M."Zee" - it was *their* war, not ours...). I was slightly concerned that it was going to be on the back of a motorbike, but this was the cheapest option for us. I had to ask whether they were going to provide us with helmets. Leathers and gloves in 35 degree heat was probably pushing it, so I decided to wear trousers and long sleeves instead (for whatever protection they might have offered me..). I get paranoid about these things!

We visited the ruins of a church buidling in the area. The walls had massive sections blown out by bazookas and were ridden with bullet holes. Can you just imagine the mess this gun would make of a human being?! I can't even start to conceive what goes through the heads of the men that design these weapons.

The National Cemetery. Graves of the North Vietnamese soldiers who died in the South. Over 30,000 at this one site.

The tour went really well. We got to see and do all that we wanted. At one point our tour guide said "You want to see that? Ok. We'll go. You're the boss". I was so shocked to hear that! On the way back to Hué we got caught in a thunder storm. I got to use my poncho for the first time, on the back of the bike! It rained quite a bit in Hué, but it was a nice break from the heat.

A bomb hole - there are still plenty of these in the rice fields.

That evening we were reprimanded by the hotel owner next door. "You went on a tour to the DMZ today. Why didn't you book through your hotel? The man who runs your hotel, he's my friend. He's a good man." Hotels over here offer cheap accommodation in the hope that you'll also use their restaurant and book tours and transportation with them. I proceeded to tell him of our bad time in Hanoi. He wasn't going to make me feel guilty for that!

Bill, our guide, taking us down into the Vinh Moc Tunnels. The North Vietnamese dug these tunnels to evade the Americans and South Vietnamese during the war. They even had a maternity room which delivered 17 babies! Bill was 22 during the war and worked as an interpreter for the South. He told us lots of amusing stories about the young American soldiers, as well as the devastating effects of agent orange on his own family.

Hanoi and Halong Bay, Vietnam

Halong Bay

We arrived in Hanoi without a guide book. Big mistake. We were like sitting ducks, wandering cluelessly around the Old Quarter with our big backpacks on. Everyone seemed to want to sell us something or another, and they simply didn't take "no" for an answer. They'd follow us up and down the road, then back up and down the road again. When you try to ignore them they'll keep saying "Hello! Hello! Hello!" or start grabbing at your arms. Walking in the heat, with your 15kg backpack, attempting to cross the roads that are swarming with scooters, trying to figure out where your hotel is, is an ordeal in itself. When you add in the hounding locals, it really is an unpleasant experience. From the moment we touched town in Vietnam we were hassled, pestered, shouted at, sworn at, scammed and ripped off. It was such a horrible start to our stay here.

I'll come back to that...

Once we were finally settled, we managed to stroll around a few of the sights.

The style of houses here is really peculiar. They keep the building really narrow (apparently to avoid extra taxes) and then just build straight up. They only paint the front of the building too.. the sides are just left bare and grey. Really funny looking.

Temple of Literature
Basicaly an old school. It was too hot to get overly interested in it!

Hao Lo Prison
Death row. This prison was also known as the 'Hanoi Hilton' by the American fighter pilots who crashed during the war and were detained here.

From Hanoi we wanted to spend a couple of days in Halong Bay (used in the James Bond movie 'Tomorrow never dies'). We decided to book the two day tour with our hotel. The tour included visits to two caves, kayaking, swimming, hiking, and an overnight stay on a boat. To cut a long story short, we saw one grotto, were held on the boat for one hour before our tour guide would pay the boat owner money owed, then were dumped at a hotel and informed that there would be no swimming, no kayaking, no hiking, and no overnight stay on a boat. Reena and I kicked up a fuss in the street with the locals watching on. A French group heard what was going on, then decided to start laying into him too! But there really wasn't anything we could do. The tour guide said that it was our hotel's fault. On the journey back to Hanoi, we felt even more upset because we heard all of the stories of other tourist who had a great time in Halong Bay.

In the grotto. This was the only section of the grotto that still looked natural. Elsewhere there were lots of fake lighting in all the colours of the rainbow making it all look really tacky.

When we got back to Hanoi we had it out with our hotel manager. Again there was a lot of raised voices. His excuse was "there isn't enough time on a two day tour to do all of these things", but his advertisment which was still on the wall didn't say that. He also argued that "well the quality of what you got was still good though", which we couldn't deny. Reena and I had our own bed for the first time in about a month! It wasn't so much the money that we were concerned about. As we said to him, we would have paid the extra bit since we only had a short time in Vietnam to see and do as much as we could. What we really couldn't cope with was all the cheating, lying and deception, just to gain a few extra dollars. They dont really have any idea about the concept of false advertising.

After storming out of the hotel we stopped into an internet cafe. I had to check my email. After 10 minutes of trying to load up yahoo.com, nothing happening. I got up and refused to pay the cafe anything since I wasn't getting what I was supposed to be paying for. Again, shouting in the street! I was ready to just break down there and then. Reena saw the tears welling up in my eyes, shoved the 1000 dong (only 3p) into his hand and dragged me out of there! I cant believe I got so stressed about 3p, but it was the principle of it all. It felt like everyone was trying to take advantage of us in one way or another. I was near breaking point. Fortunately we bumped into the Finnish boys we met in Laos and all complained to each other over dinner. They had their own bad experiences in Vietnam. Even on the bus journey south, we heard so many other stories from other tourists of their troubles in the North. The people of North Vietnam have made a corner of the world which is really beautiful into something really ugly in my eyes. It is a shame for Vietnam.

We were not alone as tourists feeling bad about that place. We met an older Vietnamese couple on our Halong Bay tour. They had escaped Vietnam in 1980, and made a new life in Sydney. They felt that the tour was really badly organised, and confirmed that the people in the North are really not that friendly. Apparently the southerners are much more pleasant. They blamed it on experiences of the northern people under communist rule. They said that they now grab at anything including money, without considering other people. Ironically, thats what critics of capitalism say.

After five days in the north I was elated to be leaving, heading south.

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane was our last stop in Laos. Its the capital city it still has such a laid back vibe. The US government donated money to Laos for concrete to rebuild their airport runway. Instead they spend the money on building a replica Arc de Triomphe with a Laos twist! Its not like they need a good runway anyway. There's only six flights that depart per day!



I think even the builders to this temple were not too bothered when they built this golden thing. Its all wonky. There isn't proper symmetry... You can see that the little spires dont line up. That bothers me. Just like when people leave lids off of pens... Why would they do that?!

We all went to the discotek after 11pm (since everything else shuts down then). I found the whole experience pretty disturbing. I was really uncomfortable to see older western guys, over 60ish, picking up young asian girls who probably weren't any older than me. I didn't even escape the night without a Laos boy trying to get my number or email address. Very sad.

Steve with a random Laos boy...

It was our last dinner with our friends we had met in Laos. (We bumped into the Finnish boys again in Hanoi.) We were very sad to say goodbye to Steve. He'd been a great travel buddy and looked after Reena and I so well. We'll miss you! See you in London, x.

Our last sunset in Laos

Vang Vieng, Laos

About to jump in!

Vang Vieng is a town south of Luang Prabang thats known for its 'tubing'. You hire a big rubber ring and float down the river. We arrived in Vang Vieng after lunch, and by the time we found accomodation and had something to eat, we didn't get on the river til about 3:30pm. That still gave us a couple of hours to paddle along until dark. There are various bars that you can stop at along the way that tempt you with their loud music, cheap drinks and their famous swings. Check Reena out!

Reena. She was the only one that started screaming... I couldn't stop giggling! Sorry Reena! I was too chicken - I panic in deep water. I'm so proud of you Reena! We both learnt to swim about two years ago.

Steve - good effort!

There's got to be a video of me too....

Everyone that we met before we arrived in Vang Vieng, without fail, told us of how 'wasted' they had got there, and how their days turned into weeks. The restaurant menus had a 'special menu' slipped in from which you could order 'happy banana shakes', 'opium teas', and 'happy mushroom sandwiches'. There was a much younger crowd here in town bragging about what they'd done the night before. Vang Vieng was great for its tubing and scenery. Once we'd ticked that box we decided to leave the next day.

Other tubers along the river.

Me in my tube - that sandwich bag kept my camera dry. You have to think about these sort of things!

Luang Prabang, Laos

Luang Prabang, Laos

View over Luang Prabang from Mount Phousi

The main street in Luang Prabang at 6am!

Luang Prabang has definately got to be my favourite place of the whole trip so far. UNESCO designated the city a World Heritage Site in 1995, and its not surprising to see why when you arrive. Its an absolutely beautiful, laid back town on the banks of the Mekong River in central Laos. There is a real colonial feel to the place, having been previously ruled by the French. The old buildings in the city (though they're starting to fall apart) look like they're out of a film set with their balconies, trailing vines and wooden window shutters. I took so many photos of just the buildings! The food here is great too. The coffee is super strong, and they make a brilliant effort at baking bread and other cakes and pastries. It was almost like you were in a French countryside village that had been plonked in the tropics. Even the older Laos women would start babbling in French to us!

One of the typical French style houses in Luang Prabang

The Lao BBQ was a very fun and tasty affair. They bring out all the raw ingredients and convert the middle of your table into a bbq. On one grill, you can cook your whole meal from the noodle soup to the grilled buffalo. Reena, a vegetarian, looked horrified when they start placing her tofu on our pork fat smeared grill - we got her her own bbq :) Steve and I shared one. Steve, being the typical man wanted to be Lord of the Fire... so I let him have the chopsticks. He did a good job of it too!

Reena and I with the bbq at Lao Lao Restaurant

We hired bikes to take a tour of the many temples around the city. Poor Reena managed to get a flat tyre! The people of Luang Prabang are so chilled out too. You dont get hassled at market stalls or hounded by touts. There doesn't even appear to be any road rage. While cycling we managed to cut a few people up on the road (no one seems to obey any sort of highway code in south east asia), and all they did was let us go by and laugh at us. They found it highly amusing! Why cant everywhere be like this?!

One of the Temples on our bike tour

One of the fruit markets we also passed

We heard that the monks get up early every morning and walk the streets for almsgiving. So after a late night at the bowling alley (its the only place open after 11pm), we got up at 05:30 to watch the monks walk by in the rain. The locals line up along the road and place food, e.g. morsels of sticky rice, in their baskets. Its a massive tourist attraction too with many foreigners snapping away on their cameras. Me included!

Monks queueing up

Monks walking by barefooted in the rain

Another nearby attraction are the waterfalls. We spent an afternoon at the Kouang Si waterfalls, hiking up to the different tiers and jumping in the blue plunge pools. It didn't even matter that it was raining!

Kuoang Si Waterfalls

We were very sad to leave Luang Prabang. I could easily have spent another week here just wandering around the streets and sitting at coffee shops watching the world go lazily by.

Sunset over the Mekong