Our last day in Vietnam was one of the nicest has we had very little running round to do and got talking to one of the nicest guys. He tried to sell us some postcards in the old quarter, but as soon as we said no thank you he just sat quite happily and chatted with us, practising his English. It was the first time we had felt like we had the opportunity to ask questions about Vietnam and the Vietnamese people and he was keen to ask us about the UK and Europe.  Nice to restore some postivie feelings in us towards the Vietnamese people. When we were having lunch in a nearby cafe we noticed several western couples coming in, all with newly born Asian babies. The babies seemed too young for them to have been flown over from Europe or the States, so we wondered if they had been adopted from somewhere locally. We'd seen this eslewhere in Hanoi, so thought that there must be a 'baby shop' somewhere nearby...!

 

We took a shuttle bus to the airport and then caught our flight off to Luang Prabang in Laos. It was supposed to be a Vietnam Airlines flight, but the plane was Lao Air. This is an airline with a very dubious safety record and the UK Foreign Office recommend that you don't fly with them - oops! A couple of people complained, but in the end got on. The plane looked fine (better than one in Cuba, Xana had previously flown in) and we even got fed on our 1 hour flight. We made it through safely and touched down at the tiny Luang Prabang airport (makes Norwich airport look like Heathrow!!). And it's true what they say - as soon as you arrive in Laos, you just go 'aah' and relax. It is such a laid back place and it is such a contrast to Vietnam. You can wander around the markets with no one constantly hassling you and not everyone sees you as a dollar sign.

 

On Monday we wandered around LB and saw a few of the sights. We climbed the central hill at late afternoon for some great views over the surrounding countryside.

 

Yesterday, we were supposed to both go out to a nearby village to see a boat racing festival, but Xana wasn't feeling to good (headache) so decided to stay behind. I went off in the booked minibus through some lovely Laos countryside to the village. There were thousands of locals from all the surrounding areas and quite a market. The boat racing was kind of like a souped up Oxford/Cambidge boat race and went on for some time. We had no idea what was going on, but settled in at a restaurant overlooking the action for a few hours and managed to enjoy a few beerlaos. That night we enjoyed some good Laos food (some sort of soup and a pork with basil dish) in a cheap and cheerful restaurant, only for it to be our best meal in ages. Lovely. We also booked a table for Thursday for a restaurant where you can try and selection of 'unusual' Laos dishes - will let you know how we get on!

 

Today we went up to an Elephant sanctury this morning. Got a ride on a elephant. It was great to see them so close up. The place where we did this is supposed to treat the elephants better than some of the other sites around, but you never know. Hopefully they are treated okay - we gave them plenty of bananas anyway... Our elephant was called Manham. After that we went to a really nice waterfall, where you can sit in lots of different pools and generally dive around. After lunch we kayaked back into Luang Prabang, about 14kms. It took three hours, so were pretty knackered by the end. We'll sleep well tonight...It was nice kayaking throught the beautiful scenary, past water buffalo and small kids mucking about in the river. We also went through some small rapids and I was nearly a goner when we went sideways into a tree!

 

We caught our overnight bus to Hanoi from Hue - a 'sleeper'. This means that we had a 'bed' each. They were about a foot too short, but still much more comfortable than the usual seats. The bus sropped us off at the edge of town and the guy from the bus company said that they had laid on taxi's to take us on into the town centre, to their offices. Naturally, we checked to make sure they were free before getting in. Yes, the journey is free, we were assured. So we travelled into the old quarter, got out of the taxi and, surprise, surprise, there was a fee. No, we said, the bus company should pay and we're not going to cough up. The driver didn't speak any English, but we tried to tell him that we weren't paying and that he should go to the bus company if he wanted any money. After a few minutes of this we were starting to get pretty annoyed and tried to walk away with our bags. At this point the taxi driver turned really physical, grabbing our bags, our arms, anything to stop us walking away. Unsurpisingly, we thought that this was pretty unreasonable, especially as the bus company had lied to us. It was pretty unpleasant, with a bit of shouting going on and soon a crowd of locals formed around us. At this point it got really unpleasant, with one guy, who had nothing to do with it, being really aggressive, getting right in our faces and shouting and swearing at us. Luckily there was a woman who spoke some English and we tried to explain what had happened and she spoke to the taxi driver (meanwhile the other guy was still swearing at us in English and being very threatening). She then said that 'this is Vietnam' and that we had to pay. After trying to say that we didn't see why we should pay anything as we hadn't done anything wrong, we eventually settled on giving the taxi driver less than he wanted, just to get out of the situation. Seconds later the original guy from the bus company turned up and, naturally enough, we gave him a piece of our mind. We eventually got through to the hotel we had booked at and they sent someone to get us (for free), but we never did get our money back. It was a pretty nasty situation, made worse that the passerbys seemed to thing it acceptable to gather round and swear and shout at us as well. Even more annoying is that it's all over just a few dollars, but it doesn't seem fair that we're treated like that just because we are foreigners here.

 

Anyway, the rest of that we slept at the hotel (the staff of which were really friendly) and then had a bit of a wander to get our barings.

 

The next day we went off early to see a nearby temple on the lake and then to go and see Uncle Ho (Ho Chi Minh), himself. He is kept, preserved, at a mausoleum nearby (apart from some time in October, when he goes off to Russia for a touch up). We queued up for a while (which is interesting in itself - seeing all the locals come to see him) and then, for about 30 seconds, you are in the room with him. He's kept in a glass box, surrounded by four stock-still guards. Very bizarre. That evening we had tickets for the water-puppets. This is good fun, very sweet and was quite funny in places.

 

On Thursday we went on a tour of Halong bay. This is a bay about 3 hours away from Hanoi which was formed by a huge earthquake millions of years ago and has resulted in some beautiful karst limestone scenery. We had an overnight trip booked, with a stay on a boat out in the bay. Our boat was a nice wooden one with a double room for ourselves - with air-con. Definite plus. We set off and cruised aorund the bay, in and our of the dramatic sheer cliffs of the bay. We then stopped off at a massive cave for a quick explore. The food on board was some pretty seafood - well worth the upgrade to VIP class. The people on board were nice as well - a Belgian couple, a couple from St. Petersberg, a family from Malaysia and a group of English dentists!

 

Next day we went for a quick bit of kayaking in the bay before heading back to Halong City and on to Hanoi.

 

Today we've been out to the very good Museum of Ethnology, to find out lots about some of Vietnam's ethnic minorities and the period directly after the war, when the country was under rationing. Very interesting.

 

So, we left Ho Chi Minh City - but not without a moments panic when, ten minutes into our taxi ride to the airport, we realised that we had left our passports with reception at our hotel. Whoops. Our taxi driver got on the phone and soon a motorbike with our passports on it was winging it's way through HCMC's nightmare traffic to us! That was close... Panic over we carried on to the airport and our late night flight to Danang. HCMC was a better city to visit than we thought it would be, but it'll be nice to be somewhere where I don't get offered hard drugs every five minutes...must be my gangster looks (!).

 

A short taxi ride from Danang airport later, we were safely at our Hoi An hotel. This was going to be a relatively luxiourous stay - the hotel had a pool and included breakfast, so it was a bit disappointing to see a cockroach in our room within ten minutes of checking in. Luckily we didn't see another all stay and it turned out to be a very nice hotel, with very friendly staff.

 

Next morning we got up and the first thing we did was get a doctor to come out to check out Xana's legs, which had not improved. He confirmed that it was the anti-malarial pills that had caused the problem and prescribed some stronger pills and cream to remove the rash. Hopefully, all this will work, this time. We then went for a wander into town and had our first glimpse of tailor overload! This is a town where almost every other shop is a tailors! Over two hundred different tailors, in fact! Luckily, Tina had been here previously and pointed us in the direction of a reputable place (so reputable, in fact, that the Queen of Spain visited a few years back!). Xana got measured up for a few things and we then went for a wander down to the old part of town (a UNESCO world heritage site). There are some lovely old buildings here and it's a lot more relaxed than HCMC.

 

On Thursday we tried to stay out of the sun, for Xana's legs sake and chilled out by the pool. We did make it into town for some fantastic chocolate mousse at an italian run restaurant. The staff were miserable as hell, but the mousse was worth it! We then picked up Xana's completed clothes. That night we enjoyed a great meal at a nearby Indian restaurant.

 

Friday was our last day in Hoi An and another nice relaxing day was required. We spent some time by the pool and then I went for a walk into the old town to grab some photos. Half an hour later, we were suffering from monsoon style rains and I had to hide out in a nearby cafe with a beer for a while. That night we went back to the Indian restuarant and then the Italian for another helping of that chocolate mousse!

 

On Saturday we took the early coach up to Hue. This was a four hour journey, but we spent half an hour sat outside someone's hotel in Hoi An, another half an hour some ten minutes out of Hoi An at a random tourist trap and then another half an hour at a beach up the coast. So, it could have been a somewhat quicker journey! We arrived okay in Hue and then walked over to our hotel, where the manager showed us a bargain of a room: 18USD for a clean triple room, with private bathroom, with hot water, air-con, cable TV, a balcony and a computer with free internet access in the room! That'll do nicely. We then booked a tour for the next day to see some local tombs, the citadel and a boat trip back along the river.

 

Yesterday we got up for our tour, saw the impressive 19th Century Imperial Citadel, a couple of tombs and a pagoda where the monk Thich Quang Duc lived. This was the guy who publicly burned himself to death in 1963 in protest at the South Vietnamese president's policies (there's a very famous picture of him on fire). We were then supposed to go on a boat trip back into Hue on the Perfume River. All of a sudden we were told that there was a festival happening and that all the boats had been requisitioned for that! Our receptionist was told this the day before but forgot to pass the message on. Bit disappointing, as this was the main reason why we took this particular tour. Oh well, after a bit of good-natured berating of the tour guide (in which Xana threatened to steal another tour's boat!), he agreed to talk to the hotel and see if we could get some money back (a dollar each, as it turned out!). Oh well. That night we went out for food and a few drinks, watched Man City beat Man United and then headed back to the hotel room to see Liverpool be robbed of victory over Chelsea because of a dodgy ref (English football is very big here in South East Asia).

 

Today, we're just hanging around, trying not to melt, whilst waiting for our overnight bus to Hanoi.

 

 

 

Next morning I was feeling somewhat better, but Xana had now developed a rash on her legs and arms! So, on a rather a pathetic feeling note, we left Cambodia. We've enjoyed being here and seeing the sights, but is a very poor country and the people have to live with so much bad history and poverty. Their attitude towards women is pretty old fashioned, to say the least. Nearly all the men will speak to me and pretty much ignore Xana unless absolutely necessary. Also, on the bus to Phnom Penh they showed a Cambodian comedy, which heavily featured men beating up or threatening women. Luckily, not all Cambodian men are this way, but it does seem pretty prevalent (even Chhy, our tuk-tuk driver, makes his wife eat seperately from us/him, with the children).

 

After a relatively painless (if disorganised) border crossing we passed into Vietnam. This is my first communist country (Xana has already ticked off Cuba), but it doesn't feel very communist so far - captialism rules here in a big way. We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and found a place to stay, but stuck close to the hotel for food that evening. We booked our flight to Danang (the nearest airport to the World Heritage city of Hoi An) and tried to sort out some accommodation.

 

On Saturday we headed up to the doctors, as Xana's rash was much worse, where she was told to stop taking her anti-malarial pills, as this was the cause! Luckily we are not going to any malarial zones in Vietnam and we can share my Malarone for Laos. After that we had some lunch and then checked out the War Remnants Museum. This is a very interesting look at the Vietnam War (or the American War, as they call it here). Not surprisingly (this is still a communist country, after all), there was a fair amount of stuff that needed to be taken with a pinch of salt, but it was a pretty uncompromising look at the war. The photos of those people who were affected by Agent Orange were particularly horrific - it was a terrible act that the country is still suffering from. After that we headed back to the hotel area (main backpacker land) for dinner. The most annoying thing here is that you are bugged to buy things whilst sitting in the restaurants having food. I don't mind it in the streets, but it feels a bit much when you are trying to eat! That night I managed to enjoy a few premier league games on the cable tv - first matches of the new season!

 

Yesterday we just took it easy. We bought a few bits and pieces, checked the net, but didn't do too much else. We fly to Danang this evening, so are just killing time until then. Unfortunately, we will have to go back to the doctors as whilst Xana's arms have cleared up, her legs are still pretty bad. Hopefully, they will feel better soon.

 

 

For our last full day in Siem Reap, we decided to go back to some of our favourite temples from the previous three days. We started off at lunch time and went straight to Ankgor Wat. Next up was Bayon, followed by Ta Prohm and Banteay Kdei. It's been great seeing all these amazing temples - although we won't miss the children trying to sell you things all the time ("you by postcards - ten for one dollar"). To be fair they weren't too persistent, and they are just trying to earn some money. That night Chhy invited us to his home for dinner. We took some beers with us (and bought some more whilst there) and he took us to his one room home on the edge of Siem Reap. There are four of them sharing the one bed and we ate a simple meal of duck and rice on low table outside. It certainly brings home the difference in living standards to the UK.

 

The next morning we were up early to catch the boat to Battambang. This was advertised as a six hour journey - although we suspected it might be longer... In the end it was eight and a half hours riding down the river to Tonle Sap (the large lake at the centre of Cambodia) and then back up another river to Battambang. On the way we had a moment of heart stopping agony. Our camera - with two months and nearly 500 photos on it's memory card slipped off our seat and into the river! Luckily it was still in it's case and seemed to be floating. I had to run down to the front of the boat and try to explain what was happening and ask if the boat (with about 40 odd people on it) would turn round and try and retreive it!! Thankfully, the driver agreed (after a translation of what had happened from a local) and we were soon heading back up stream towards it. Luckily, it was still afloat and we headed towards it. Our first pass missed and we then saw an old lady in a one-man boat crossing the river. She ageed to pick the camera up and passed it over to two very relieved tourists! We turned the camera on - but nothing. Would the photos on the memory card be okay - it would be an anxious few days before we got the chance to find out!

 

On Wednesday we hired a couple of motorbikes (with drivers) to take us out to a nearby temple (Wat Banan) and for a drive through the picturesque Cambodian countryside (lots of rice fields). On the way we stopped off at a Cambodian winery! The owner was a very interesting and strong woman - not something you see so often here. That afternoon we went to see a monk friend of some friends of ours who had passed through here a month previously. He taught English and we wanted to see if we could do anything to help. He invited us back to his evening class and we turned up to talk about ourselves, help the students with their pronouciation and to ask them some questions. It was really nice to talk to the students and help them with their English. After the class we went into the temple and saw the monks praying.

 

Next day, we again hired a couple of drivers and bikes. This time we headed to Phnom Sampeau, where there are a number of caves that were used by the Khmer Rouge to kill people and dump their bodies. On the way our guide, Mony, told us a lot about the Cambodian culture and religion. He also told us about his own history - a very sad story. I was starting to feel a bit unwell by this time so we headed straight back to Battambang. I spent the rest of the day in bed with a fever, hoping that it was food poisoning - and not malaria or dengue fever!! Xana spent the afternoon doing a few errands and going back to see the monk and give another lesson in English. By this time our camera, miracously, had dried out and was actually working again! We quickly checked the memroy card and, yes!, everything seemed fine. Xana quickly went off and burnt the photos onto cds. It seems like we got away with it!

 

Today, I've felt a lot better (if not back to normal yet), so am hoping the worst is over. We had to spend six hours in a very cramped bus travelling back to Phnom Penh. Tomorrow, we take the coach to Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Next morning we had a 5.30 pick up by our tuk-tuk driver, Chhy. We headed straight off to Angkor Wat, the most famous of all the temples in this area. You have to cross a moat and then pass through a gatehouse, before getting your first sight of the temple. We spent nearly two hours wandering around the huge site - unfortunately several hundred other people had the same idea! It definitely took something away from the atmosphere of the place, but it is still a very spectacular acheivement. We then drove off to Ta Prohm. This site contains some of the most famous images of the Angkor temples with many tress intertwinning their roots around the temple stones. Unfortunately Ta Prohm was even more popular than Angkor Wat and we actually had to queue to leave! After this we moved Banteay Kdei, one of our favourites. Finally, for this day, we saw the smaller Prasat Kravan. This is not much to look at, but has some great carvings inside. That night we ate at the cool (literally and figeratively) Blue Pumpkin.

 

On Friday we had an even early start to see sunrise at Angkor Wat. The sunrise was not that spectacular and there were at least two thousand people there, so we quickly moved onto Angkor Thom - the main city of the Angkor empire, which once held up to a million people. We passed through the impressive South Gate (with it's beautifully carved causeway and multi-headed gatehouse) and then onto Bayon. This was another of our favourites as it contains many large faces that look at you from all over the complex - believed to have been the face of the king who built it to keep an eye on his subjects! Next up was Baphuon, which was under repair. After a quick look round a couple of terraces we saw the site of the Grand Palace and Phimeanakas. We then drove up to Preah Khan, another large temple complex. This was followed by the, now-drained, pools of Neak Pean. There were two more temples to finish with, Ta Som and East Mebon, before retiring back to Siem Reap and a meal at the Red Piano, a restored colonial building.

 

On Saturday we got up a little later and drove the hour and a half to the more distant Banteay Srei. This has some fantastic carvings and is great to wander around. For a couple of dollars more, Chhy then took us up to the more remote Kbal Speanm where there are a number of carvings in a river. On the way back we stopped off at the fantastic Landmines Museum. This was set up by a former soldier who had helped lay thousands of mines and is now involved in removing as many as he can (there are still an estimated six million landmines spread around Cambodia). The museum also helps look after some children whose lives have been impacted in some way by the landmines. After this moving and interesting site we stopped off at the final temple for the day, Preah Rup. That night Chhy took us up to see a concert at a local children's hospital. He took his wife and two very shy boys along for the ride as well. The concert was a cello concert and talk by the doctor who set up the hospital. It was very interesting and, sometimes, controversial talk covering what the hospital does and the three main reasons why healthcare in Cambodia is so bad (basically, the civil war, corruption and the attitude of the West towards assisting poorer countries).

 

Yesterday we took a day off from all the temples and spent the day in Siem Reap. We couldn't see as much as we had hoped as the weather wasn't very good, but we did find time to visit the FCC (Foreign Correspondence Club) for a few happy hour drinks and to do some shopping!

 

 After the last update we took a boat journey down the river and ended up near the Grand Palace. It would be closing soon, so we decided to save it for when we come back to Bangkok in about six weeks. Instead we got talking to a guy who said he was a teacher. He told us about a Wat (temple) that is only open one day a year - today. He showed us where it was an negotiated a cheap tuk-tuk ride across town with a really nice tuk-tuk driver. Our first tuk-tuk ride was something you have to do when in Bangkok. Great fun, dashing in and out of traffic. The temple was good and it was only open because it is the first day of the Buddhist equivalent of Lent. All the monks go into the monastries for three months and there is a festival. We had heard that there would be one close to our hotel, so we wandered over to where we thought the festival was. Went into a large area-type space. We thought it was strange that there would be so many police around for a Buddhist festival, but thought it was really strange when the guys on stage started shouting into the mic and the crowd began responding. They were being whiped into a bit of a frenzy (albeit, Thai-style) when a lady nearby told us that this was a political rally demonstrating against the military coup that happened here last year - ah. That would explain all the police and the cameras recording who was present... Deciding discretion was the better part of valour we wished them luck with getting democracy back (there should be elections next year) and made our way out to the park next door - where we found the Buddhist festival... Hopefully, there will no problems at the border...

 

Next day we had breakfast near to the hotel and then took a bus to the airport. A few hours later we touched down in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We took a taxi to the guesthouse we hoped to stay in. Driving here is very interesting. Most people drive motorbikes or scooters and tend to drive down both sides of the road - in either direction. Everyone drives quite slowly, so, surprisingly, we haven't seen any crashes yet - plenty of near misses though. The guesthouse was full, so we picked up our packs and headed down the road to another place. They only had the cheapest room available, but it looked okay, so we took it. About half an hour later we had seen two mice - but at least they weren't rats and we could move to a better room the next day, so decided to stick it out.

 

On Monday we went off to the Vietnam Embassy to drop our passports off to get a visa for Vietnam. We then took a motorcycle back into town - just one motorcycle for the two of us. Very interesting journey - shame we couldn't get a picture of us struggling to stay on as the guy weaved through the traffic! The bike took us safely (!) to a massage place where all the people are blind. It is a way of giving blind people jobs in a country where there is no social security safety net. An excellent and thorough massage each later we headed into town to a shop where all the artifacts are handmade by disabled people - again a good way for disabled people to make some money. After lunch we headed to the Royal Palace, for some serious Khmer architecture.

 

Yesteray we went back to the embassy to pick up our passports and then our tuk-tuk driver took us to the Tuol Sleng Museum. This used to be a Khmer Rouge prison, where thousands were held and tortured over the four years of the Khmer Rouge reign. Only 7 people survived. As you can imagine, it was a very emotional place, with many photos of people who had died there. Unfortunately, it wasn't so good at explaining why it had happened or how the Khmer Rouge took power in the first place. The guides were all busy, so we headed off to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek. This was where people were taken to be executed. This time we hired a guide who was really good at explaining to us what had happened and to try and explain something of the why. After this we went back into town for some shopping and food. That evening we eat in the guesthouse with some nice Spanish and Austrian girls staying there. The guesthouse put 'Shawn of the Dead' on, but I don't think the Austrian girls got most of the English humour...

 

Today we had an early start and then a five hour bus journey to Siem Reap. When we got off the bus, we were absolutely mobbed by dozens of tuk-tuk drivers, all offering to take us to our guesthouse for free (on the hope that we would hire them the next day to go to Angkor Wat). We managed to find a nice seeming one and eventually found some accommodation. Tomorrow we start our exploration of the Angkor temples - can't wait!