The water festival

Writing this after the event, we now know how tragically the festival ended. It's so incredibly sad, especially as our experience of the water festival was of a very fun and friendly event.
George and I arrived from Kampot on Friday evening. Our bus could only take us to the outskirts of the Phnom Penh as all vehicles had been banned from the city centre (motorbikes and tuk tuks evidently aren't considered vehicles). We piled into a tuk tuk to head to the centre, along with approx 4 million other people! We weren't sure exactly what the water festival would entail - the only information we could find was that it had something to do with the change of tides? We thought the river front would be the best place to aim for, so headed down. The streets were full of people celebrating and an impressive firework display was underway. Stages were set up outside the Pagodas with various musical performances taking place to an audience of very excited Cambodians. There was also a series of floats parading up and down the river with incredible light displays on them. We decided to head to the FCC to enjoy an arial view of the activity from the balcony along with a cold drink.
The following day we experienced the boat racing element of the festival - teams of 40 or so rowers, all dressed in team colours would race down the Tonle Sap, whilst everyone cheered on from the waters edge. It was kind of like Henley Regatta without the hats and copious alcohol! Stalls lined the streets, selling anything from clothes to souvenirs to cleaning goods (we guessed all at discount prices). There was also an impressive array of food stalls. The deep fried spiders, snakes and beetles looked particularly appealing. We decided to try out some of the street food, which was delicious. One lady, who we bought spring rolls from, insisted that we squat down next to her to eat them. She found this hilarious and we drew a few amused looks from locals as we tried not to fall over!
We left the following morning after thoroughly enjoying the festival. We heard the terrible news once we were in Siem Reap, a few hundred kms away. The whole country was in mourning and it was incredibly sad to see all the Cambodian flags which people had put up at half mast outside their houses. The prime minister announced a national day of mourning and said that this was the worst tragedy which had occurred since the Pol Pot regime. It was really hard to take in what had happened after such a celebratory event.

Sihanoukville & Kampot

We left Phnom Penh bound for Sihanoukville, a small town on the southwestern coast of Cambodia which sits between Vietnam and Thailand. After a 4 hour bus ride to the soundtrack of a number of random Cambodian songs played at distortingly high volume we were in a tuk tuk taking the short but bumpy trip to Serendipity beach.

We checked into a small guesthouse at the very end of the beach with bungalows sitting in the trees and with a bar that sat about 3 feet from the waters edge. After dumping our bags we took a wander to get ourselves acquainted with the area. This involved finding a sun lounger and relaxing for an hour or so before grabbing a spot further along the beach with an Angkor draught and watching the sun set over the ocean. It was tough!

The following day consisted of more of the same, walking along the beach, swimming when it got a little too hot and eating fresh fish with the waves lapping at our feet. The only thing we had to worry about was how to tell the various sellers who roamed the beach that we were not interested in threading, massages, deep fried fish, fruit, jewellery or the many other items on sale, (although Jill did end up having a massage, like I said, it was tough).

One service that many of the women provided, and that they were insistent I had, was toe nail clipping! They would walk past and then scream in exaggerated shock "Oh my no, so long, so long! I cut for you! Oh, so long!" followed by a near by allie echoing her disgust "Oh, so long!" I ended up burying my toes in the sand in an attempt to hide my shame, they weren't even that long, but I made a mental note to clip them when I got back to the room.

On our final day in Sihanoukville we got a small boat out to some of the nearby islands for some snorkeling before stopping for some lunch at aptly named Bamboo Island. It was great to leave the mainland behind and see the islands of various shapes and sizes. The itinerary and timings for our trip seemed ever changing and we ended up waiting for our ride home on the beach for 2 hours in the sun. We returned to the mainland looking more like lobsters.

After a relaxing and very different few days in Sihanoukville we were back on a bus, Cambodian karaoke booming, and off to Kampot only a couple of hours east. Here we spent 2 days meeting the locals, cycling around the villages near by. It was such a great way to get a feel for the country. Seeing the children in their crisp white uniforms on their way home from school, on bikes that were way too big for them with younger siblings on the back, people running out of their houses waving hellos as we went by, everyone had a huge smile for us. Jill managed an early morning run which was consistently interrupted with enthusiastic hellos. The landscape is amazing too, skinny white cows standing out against the lush green rice paddies which stretch out as far as the eye can see, dotted with people working the land and the occasional water buffalo. I think it is safe to say that we like Cambodia a great deal.

After 2 days, some great food (if you are ever n Kampot head for Rikitikitavi's it's good) and experiences, it was time to move on once more, back to Phnom Penh for the water festival.

 

 

Phnom Penh

Our Cambodian adventure began in the bustling city of Phnom Penh. Well, it officially began at the border crossing from the Mekong Delta in Vietnam, which was pretty straight forward - off the boat, on to a mini-bus, off the mini-bus to wake a policeman to check our passports and visa, walk along a dusty road and back on the mini-bus to start the 3 hour bumpy ride to Phnom Penh. We fell in love with Phnom Penh straight away and celebrated the start of our Cambodian leg with a beer at the renowned Foreign Correspondents Club on the river front. It was really interesting and exciting to be in the place where so many of the foreign journalists came during the Khmer Rouge attacks, where they would kick back at the end of a long day and share horrific stories of what they had experienced. The bar was housed in a huge colonial building with balconies overlooking the Tonle Sap, ceiling fans cooling the tables and photos of the events covering the walls (along with a lot of gheckos) - there was a real sense of adventure.
We spent our first day wandering round the city and getting to know the cheeky sense of humour shared by most of the Cambodian people. We visited the central market, which is housed in a huge Art Deco dome. There were a labyrinth of aisles with stalls selling everything you could want and very enthusiastic sales pitches from the stall owners. We somehow ended up with his & hers genuine fake Ray Bans, a variety of scarves and a few books!
Weighed down with our purchases, we headed to the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. The various buildings were absolutely stunning and we easily spent 30 mins just sitting and watching the monks wandering round in their vivid orange robes.
That evening, we had planned on going to a highly recommended restaurant, where the speciality was deep fried spiders - yummy! Unfortunately there was a heavy thunderstorm and when we tried to leave our hotel, we were met by a fast flowing river where the road had been an hour before! After much deliberation we rolled up our trousers, put on our flip flops and waterproofs and waded out into the road/river. We made it to the nearest restaurant which turned out to be a Korean BBQ, which was actually really nice despite us having no idea what we were eating and just copying what everyone else in the restaurant was doing! 
The following day was very tough emotionally. We set off early to the killing fields just outside of the city. It was so incredibly sad to see what horrific acts Pol Pot and his army had done - thousands of innocent Cambodians tortured and killed and then discovered in this small plot of land years later. It was quite overwhelming to see, especially the display of the thousands of skulls unearthed and the mass graves which still had evidence of clothes remaining in them. We then visited the Tuol Sleng Museum, which was a school which Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge army had turned into a prison, where they would torture and interrogate their 'prisoners' before sending them to their fate at the killing fields. Again, it was very difficult emotionally to see this once mundane building - like any other school we had seen - and see the horrific events which took place. We felt that it was important for us to have seen these places, but were both pretty drained by the end of the day.
We set off for Sihanoukville the following day, pleased that we would be returning to Phnom Penh a few days later.

Enjoying a beer at the FCC

 

Monk watching at the Silver Pagoda

At the Silver Pagoda

The very humbling monument at the Killing Fields

Mekong and beyond

After a couple of days in HCMC we packed our bags once more for the last section of our Vietnam trip. We planned to travel southwest to Ben Tre and then follow the Mekong north to the Cambodian border giving ourselves a few days to stop along the way and meet the locals.

In Ben Tre we got a small motor boat up the Mekong taking us up the smaller canals through villages, passing men and women fishing off the ends of their boats. It was a great introduction to the area. We stopped for lunch at a tiny restaurant and had the most amazing fish. Jill and I then hopped on a couple of bikes and took a ride through the villages of the area receiving smiles and waves from everyone we saw. For some reason the old ladies love me!

After an hour on the bikes we were back on a boat and back to Ben Tre. From here we travelled to Can Tho famous for it's floating markets. The following morning we were up at 6 to get to the market to see it in full swing. It was great, they were busy haggling with each other and trading bananas for pineapples or sweet potatos for mango, each boat had a tall pole at the front with whatever they were selling hanging from it. We then again headed into the smaller channels of the river to a village which had amazing fruit orchards growing all the things we had just seen being sold.

After no time at all we were off again north to the town of Chau Doc, our last stop before we hit the border. We thought it would be nice to slow the pace a little and enjoy a relaxing last day soaking up the last of Vietnam. Our relaxing day ended up being the day we climbed a mountain in the midday sun (not recommended). However from the summit we could just about see Cambodia away in the distance. On our way back down Sam Mountain we stopped, hopped in a couple of hammocks and admired the view with a cold drink, it seemed like a fitting way to close one chapter and begin the next.

And so the following morning we got the boat to the border and over the line into Cambodia.

Nha Trang & HCMC

From Hoi An we took the sleeper bus south once more this time stopping in Nha Trang, it rained non stop for must of the journey and with reports of floods and closed road we were not sure what would await us. But as morning broke the sun rose over a cloud sprinkled blue sky, we were in luck and for the next two days we enjoyed sunshine and sand with a touch of Siagon (our beer of choice in these parts).

We spent an afternoon lounging by a pool at a bar which had it's own stretch of beach and it's own brewery! Iit felt great. The following day we went up to a mineral mud spa and spent the day wallowing in mud which we were assured would leave our pores clear and our skin clean. It was a little random but fun non the less, and Jill was in her element. As we headed back to the centre of Nha Trnag we saw some of the impact the rain had been having, landslides had taken away entire homes and water had brought mud and sand into the luckier peoples front rooms. It was sobering to see.

After two days of not doing too much we took a day bus 8 hours (actual time = 12 hours) southeast to Ho Chi Min City where we planned to spend a couple of days taking in the history of country we had now seen so much of. We arrived after the sun had already descended to more chaotic scenes of terrible weather, people waist deep in water that surged through the streets. We were staying further from the river and so were not directly affected by the rise in water but it was a shock.

We spent our time in HCMC staying at a guesthouse run by Ms Thu, a rather strict and chatty women, but at $10 a night including breakfast, with satellite TV and AC in the room you can't go far wrong. We spent our first full day getting to know the city, walking the very busy and noisy streets to the Ben Thanh market where we were asked, "You want t-shirt?" "What you looking for? we got!" every 5 feet. It was great! The're a nation of hagglers.

We visited the Reunification Palace which we a strange experience, it is as if time stopped the day the tanks broke through the gates more than 35 years ago. A place of huge significance for all Vietnamese. We then went to the War Remnants Museum which was a hugely moving experience despite the massive bias that you encounter. It brought home what an horrific time these people have had to endure over many decades. For me the most moving moment came when looking at the photography exhibiton Requiem which has been put together by Tim Page and shows some of the most amazing, shocking and memorable images of the conflict. It also focuses on the people behind the lense, many of whom died on the front line trying to make the world aware of what was happening. It was exteamly sad to see the caption to indicate that this was the last reel of film the photographer used. Understandable we left this feeling quiet low but at the same time very glad we had seen it.

The following day we drove out to the Cu Chi Tunnels, north of HCMC and where a lot of bombs were dropped and fighting took place. After the previous day it hit home even more. We went into one of the tunnels and went through the 20 metre section, you can go the entire 140 metres but 20 was more than enough for me, it was hot, tight and very dark, and these are the enlarged tunnels twice the size of the originals!

In the afternoom we explored more of the city and made plans to head into the Mekong Delta for our final few days of our Vietnam leg. We had both warmed to the Vietnamese people over the last couple of weeks and are finding the south much more friendly and outgoing than in the north and I think doing this section last has been great. And so on to the Mekong . . .

Tailor made in Hoi An

We arrived at Hoi An full of excitement after hearing so much about the place and weren't disappointed. We were very lucky to be staying at the lovely Hoi An Beach Resort for 3 nights courtesy of George's parents for his 30th birthday. Unfortunately there had been some wild storms and the beach had pretty much landed on the road outside the front of the hotel - our taxi driver would have been better off in a dune buggy to get us to the front door. The storms had made the beaches off limit, but regardless of the weather, we made use of the hotel facilities - two swimming pools, a gym and a very tasty breakfast buffet!

Hoi An was a real highlight. It's a beautiful old town, set on the river, which was one of the few which escaped being destroyed in the war. The old buildings had been meticulously maintained and gave us a real insight into how Vietnam must have been years ago. We hired bikes and spent a day cycling round the old town and the surrounding paddy fields. The town is famed for its tailors and you can get anything made to measure from shirts to dresses to shoes - a very dangerous and tempting place! Walking down the narrow lanes was quite a challenge and felt a bit like running the gauntlet of tailors with cries of "come into my shop", "ït's free to try" and "lady - you buy a new dress/skirt/shorts from me?" (delete as appropriate). The temptation was too much in the end and I took one of my favourite dresses in to one of the shops, chose some material and then returned less than 24 hours later to pick up my new version! They did a fantastic job and even threw in alterations and a repair to another dress for $20! Bargain! George was cornered by a shop owner and after her very realistic English impressions comprising of repeating the phrase "lovely jubbly", he agreed to having a couple of shirts made to measure. We could have gone mad were it not for our budget and the thought of carrying everything around for the next 4 months!
The second most memorable thing about Hoi An, after the clothes, was the amazing food! We enjoyed some lovely meals in restaurants set in old colonial buildings which had a real French feel to them. We tried the local specialities of grilled fish in banana leaf (my personal favourite) and white rose, which is prawn wrapped in rice pancake and dipped in chilli - definitely recommended.

It was refreshing to stop for a few days to catch our breath (and get some laundry done) before heading further south towards Nha Trang and Saigon.



No Hue!

From Hanoi, we headed south to a small town called Ninh Binh. Unlike it's Australian name-sake, it wasn't a hippy retreat with lots of 'happy cookies', it was the base from which you can visit various pagodas and the inland Halong Bay, Tam Coc.
We spent the morning leisurely walking up hillsides (see below) and enjoying the tranquility after the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. It was really nice to see the countryside of Vietnam and have a less touristy experience. The main attraction was the inland waterways of Tam Coc, which are enjoyed from a small rowing boat with the original technique of rowing by foot! We decided to take a boat and then saw with guilt the tiny frame of our oars-woman! We set off at a very slow pace and were overtaken by lots of other boats. I'm sure she was getting lots of comments from the other rowers along the lines of "unlucky, you got the big bloke" (sorry George). We felt so bad that we ended up helping her and grabbing the spare oars and joined in the rowing. The scenery was stunning as we floated up through the waterways flanked by huge limestone formations and paddy fields, it was definitely worth it. 

That night, we had booked a sleeper bus for the journey down to Hue. We were shown lots of glossy pictures of the luxury seats which recline into a flat bed. Great we thought, a night's accomodation and a long journey in one! We boarded the bus and tried to get into our 'beds', which once you were in, resembled small coffins! They felt tight to me, so George had no chance! Amazingly we managed to sleep (in one fixed position only) and woke to the sound of classic 80s Vietnamese hits being blasted out at 6am! George has only just regained feeling in his toes, but at least we made it!

We were met in Hue by drivers from the hotel we had booked and expected them to show us to a bus or car, but instead, they led us to their motorbikes which they proceeded to strap our backpacks to and told us to jump on the back. After seeing the crazy driving in Hanoi, we were a little concerned, but lack of sleep made it hard to make any decisions so we thought what the hell and climbed on. It was amazingly safe and easy, so much so that we agreed to a motorbike tour of the city that day (sorry Mum & Dad!) The motorbike tour was so much fun and enabled us to see parts of Hue which we would never have reached on foot. We rode out through paddy fields to the country where we met some local women who showed us how to make rice - well actually she sang to us for the majority of the lesson - and to various Pagoads around the city. We strolled around the old Citadel, which was actually pretty sad - the once grand capital was in various states of ruin following the war and there isn't enough money currently to restore it. Our last stop was to a pagoda where we had the priviledge to watch monks chanting, which was really moving. We made it back to our hotel in one piece and George has now vowed to get a scooter when we get back to the UK! 

Ha Long you got!

And so after the fun of Ha Noi we headed east towards Ha Long City where we planned to spend a couple of days before meeting up with Dave and Jodi, who were fresh from their journey northwards from HCMC via Nha Trang, Hoi An and Hue. After a strange bus journey involving 2 flat tyres we made it to this strange 'city' which sits on the coast over looking one of the most amazing landscapes on earth but doesn't actually have anything to offer itself. We spent the afternoon searching for the heart of the place but had no luck and so resigned ourselves to sitting tight, researching the best boat options and hoping that Dave and Jodi would arrive sooner rather than later.
As there was very little to do here and as it was my 30th birthday we decided to check into a hotel with a pool and relax in the sun and cool off when neccessary, (this travelling lark is tough work).
We had done some legwork and found a great deal for 2 nights aboard the Indochina which sail around the limestone islands with their huge orange sails raised like a proud peacock. And so we were very much looking forward to our next few nights.

We got down the the wharf bright and early, well, almost, Dave and Jodi had both been a little unwell in the night and so the well worked on tan had been replaced by a grey-green and the happy smiles had been replaced with a cold sweat. But we were about to set foot on the Indochina, nothing could dampen our spirits. We were introduced to our 'guide', I will use that term very loosely indeed, a fellow named Bang, who took us to a small boat with peeling paint and a few too many rusty nails. "Are we going to the Indochina?" we ask in unison, "It's being clean, we got to one just as good" Huummmmm?
So out in the bay we pull up to the mighty Heritage Cruise, or more specifically, the Her t ge  rui e. This Red and Yellow beast of the sea put the Junk in Junk Boat. We were shown to our '19 square foot room' it was about 6ft wide and we couldn't fit our rucksacks in and be in the room at the same time. We voiced our disappointment to our 'guide' and decided that we were in Ha Long bay and we should make the most of it. But as we sailed out into the bay passing the entire fleet of Indochina boats it was hard not to feel a little ripped off.

Our 'guide' then took us to a cave and displayed his in depth knowledge of the area by pointing at various rocks and telling us they looked like a range of animals, "look a monkey!" at one point he even said "look a lion, or a dog?" We were then taken to the spot we would be spending the evening and dropped anchor before having the chance to do some kayaking. Our 'guide' took us around a few of the islands to a cave which opened up into a lagoon at the centre of one of the linestone islands, it was beautiful, tranquil and still, then a monkey fell off the cliff into the sea, (you don't see that everyday!). As night fell we realised that our 'guide' had left us and so we made the journey back through a bit of guess work.

Back on the boat we decided that despite the obvious frustrations we were in one of the great natural beauties of the world and we had to make the most of it. And so as we flung ourselves from the top deck of the boat into the South China Sea our frustrations washed away. After dinner we cracked out the karaoke, Jill starting the night we 'Hit me baby one more time' before Dave and I took to the mic for an hour long set which included a wide range of classics like Lionel Richies 'Hello', a wonderful rendition of John Lennon's 'Can't buy me love' by Dave in a soprano voice and finally the theme tune from 'Flipper'. It was a great evening.

The following day we sailed through the bay seeing more of the area and getting a real feel for the scale of it all before we jumped in some kayakes and explored for an hour. It was after the kayaking that Dave and I thought that we should be trying some more impressive  dives from the boat and begun to encourage some silly behavour. Dave did a successful if not beautiful flip from the top deck so I felt I should follow suit. After a couple of minutes trying to get my head around the angles and speed needed to make a perfect entry and getting some helpful advice from the others I made my attempt. Rather than a 360 spin, I managed a 270 which resulted in a pretty impressive and loud back-flop (see picture below for the results). It was a painful but very funny end to what had ultimately been a funny and memorable time.

The following day we headed back to Ha Noi to say our goodbyes to the Hogan-Clayton clan before making a move south to try and get some miles under our belts. Next stop Ninh Binh!