Wow, it has been a while since our last post. We have been on the road or in the classroom for the majority of this time, and then it doesn't help that our computer has been giving us fits lately. But enough about that, we want to share with you our latest travels that took us to Vietnam and Cambodia.A while back we sat down and had a conversation about what we wanted to do with our time off for the Chinese New Year vacation. It was to last an entire week and we felt that because of the mass travelers moving throughout China during this time, it was best to vacation internationally. That left us thinking where should we go? For the answer we decided to seek out the assistance of our good friend Warren from Iowa. This man has traveled to over fifty different countries so we thought it would be worthwhile to see where he wanted to visit for the break.
Warren shared with us that Angkor Wat was a destination that he had always yearned to see. Unfortunately, both Pazi and Adan had no clue about this location (lack of world history knowledge). After researching the area, we thought it looked like a great place that was fairly close and safe to visit. Thus, Warren and his wife Terese and Pazi and Adan agreed to make this a group vacation. Quickly, we went to work booking the trip.Getting the reservations for this vacation turned out to be a bit of a headache. We soon learned that Siem Reap, Cambodia, where Angkor Wat is, is not the cheapest destination from China. For this reason, we decided to take a detour through Vietnam and then head over to Cambodia. We ended up buying plan tickets from Hong Kong to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh), and then Saigon to Siem Reap. This actually saved us a little bit of money and allowed us to add another leg to our trip in southeast Asia.
Making Our Way to Saigon
It was actually a very smooth trip going from Dongguan to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Vietnam. We decided to fly in for a late check in to the hotel so we could get a good jump on things for the next day. We quickly learned that Saigon is probably a crazier place to be than China when it comes to traffic. The streets look like an endless sea of motorbikes zig-zagging their way, weaving in and out and around buses, cars, and trucks. It is insane to see just how many families have up to four people on these small scooters.After a short taxi ride, we arrived at the Duc Vuong Hotel to crash and prepare for the next day. This hotel ended up being a great little place to spend our time in Saigon. It was priced right at just over $20 bucks a night and had a location that allowed us to see the few sites this area had to offer. It was strange to learn, but Ho Chi Minh City really lacked the major tourist attractions of other large cities its size.
Even though the attractions were limited, we found plenty to do. Our first day started out fantastic. We learned that every year the local park near our hotel held a flower and plant sell that covered every square inch of the grounds. We just so happened to arrive in Saigon in time to see the last day of the event. We were very lucky! This tradition for the New Year celebration had an amazing display of several thousand flowers and plants ranging from brilliant orchids to small dragon fruit trees. And the people were not lying about it being the last day of the event, for when we got up the following day and passed by the park, not a single flower petal was left littered. Literally over night, the sellers and park staff worked overtime to clean it all up.The next major event that happened was a bum deal for our friends Warren and Terese. As it turns out, Saigon has the famous Ben Thahn Market for shopping. We decided to head that way and see what it was all about. The location lived up to the hype in regard to having endless stalls selling knockoffs of everything, but the sellers had no where near the same level of respect as those in China. The ladies selling clothing for example were quite rude to all of us when we asked to see different colors or sizes. It was as if they despised us because we made them work to sell! Pazi and and Adan got very turned off by this and decided to merely browse. Warren and Terese attempted to buy but ultimately walked away with very little.
Then as we exited the market something strange happened. Two motorbikes zoomed by Warren, the first one almost taking him out from one side and then the other on his other side. It was a very strange sequence for as soon as they brushed up to him they flipped around and took off. None of us thought much about it, but an hour later when we all went to change some money, Warren reached for his wallet and found nothing. He believes that the two bikers snagged his billfold, and they very well could have. This meant that Terese and him had to go back to the hotel and make all the appropriate phone calls to get everything straightened out. On the positive side, he still possessed his passport due to our hotel's policy requiring us to leave our passports at their front desk. This helped us all avoid a real sticky situation.At this point we broke off into two groups. Pazi and Adan had a pleasant lunch outside in a neat little restaurant that had customers cook their own skewers and served pineapple fried rice in lotus leaves. We enjoyed the time relaxing in the shade watching the streets of Saigon and its people. After the meal, our location was in a great spot to visit the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, Municipal Theatre, and the Notre Dame Cathedral. Later we would go with Warren and Terese to visit the Reunification Palace and the City Post Office after they finished taking care of their business matters. As we said earlier, these points of interest were interesting but not all that exciting.
Day two of our trip gave us an unexpected treat. Because Warren and Terese booked their plan tickets just a few hours earlier than we did, they got the last tickets on the early flight to Cambodia. That meant that Pazi and Adan would end up spending an extra four hours in Saigon. Adan enjoyed this because he wanted to explore the city more. Warren and Terese's flight left at 10:00am which meant that they would get up, have breakfast, and then go directly to the airport. We didn't fly out until after 2:00pm.
We decided to spend our morning alone in Cholon, Saigon's Chinatown. Since it was the beginning of the Chinese New Year, we noticed lots of decorations and displays everywhere to celebrate the occasion on our taxi ride over to this district. Once we arrived we were very blessed to have our entire morning perfectly fall into place for us. After walking around on foot for about half an hour, we were approached by a cyclo driver. If you don't know already, a cyclo is a cycle rickshaw where the passenger sits in front and the cyclist rides elevated in the back.
For two solid hours our drivers would tour us around the Chinatown visiting temple after temple. To top it off, each location we went to had colorful dragon dancers performing to commemorate the new year It was like going to a free live performing arts show time and time again! The cylco service definitely ended up being worth the cost of around $10-11 dollars. Our drivers were incredible guys that made our experience very memorable. If you ever get a chance to ride in a cylco take advantage of the opportunity. You won't regret it.Cambodia Here We Come
After our short stay in Saigon, we were off to Siem Reap. It is only a one hour flight to the airport there. When we arrived we really liked the design and feel of the airport. It was a traditional Cambodian-style building and it was very small and friendly. Getting in and out of immigration and customs was a breeze to compared with other airports we have been to. We grabbed our bags, found a taxi, and headed off to find our hotel and Warren and Terese.Since they had arrived several hours before us, it was their task to find a reasonable way to visit the abundant temple complexes in and around Siem Reap. Most people and tour books recommend a tuk-tuk which is basically a motorbike rickshaw. This is what they arranged. The streets were definitely less crowded than in Saigon so this mode of transportation made sense, especially since we were able to pull over and take snapshots whenever a scene developed for photographs.
The next three days in Cambodia were truly unbelievable. The complexes of Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and several other ruins of the fascinating Khmer Empire amazed us with their spectacular structures, detailed carvings, and sheer numbers. We visited nearly a dozen temple sites that each had their own unique designs and histories. Since we knew very little about the Khmer civilization, this was a great "on location" history class for us!One note of interest about Siem Reap and all of the temples sites is that for a three day pass you will pay $40 dollars to get unlimited access to the locations. And when we write "unlimited" that is almost exactly what is given. It blew our minds that temples dating back to the 12th century had no or very little security. Everyone was given access to climbing in, up and around almost every structure. This seems like an exciting feature, but it scared us to see people climb on craved stone elephants and jump up and down on top of them! Give Siem Reap a few more years and see how these few poorly mannered individuals will deny the rest of us the wonderful privilege of getting up close and personal to these amazing sites.
Days at the Temples and Nights on the Town
So obviously our days were spent seeing the fantastic historical sites of Angkor, but our nights were much different. Siem Reap does it right by having superb restaurants and all night markets. This allows even the most experienced Indiana Jones traveler the opportunity to enjoy every aspect of the town. Let us tell you that the food in Siem Reap was mind boggling. You almost do not believe the menus when you see the prices. We are talking about plates that cost between $1.50 and $3.00!!! We were a little skeptical of the food for obvious reasons, but it turned out to be as good or better than dishes we get in China. Pazi had a ball ordering mango, or papaya, or coconut (probably her all-time favorite) shakes for $1.00.
Then after eating a tremendous meal and having a few drinks, we were off to shop at the night markets. We must say that shopping in Cambodia is also a great experience. Pazi bought several beautiful items dirt cheap. Shirts, skirts, shoes, purses these dealers had it all, and were friendly and willing to negotiate. As for Adan, the only thing he wanted was a stone elephant and he eventually found a dealer that was willing to meet his asking price of $12 dollars.Blessed with More Adventures
We definitely feel blessed to be given the opportunities we have to travel. The experiences we had on this last trip far surpassed what our original expectations were going in. Saigon was a great short excursion location. We definitely think Vietnam would be a cool place to travel the coast from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. Then we were blown away by the oasis that Siem Reap truly was. The chance to see such an area so rich in history was something else. What a holiday--Chinese New Year 2009.
