Maureen's Travel Blog

Leisurely breakfast before we set off at 8.30. The sun is shining and it’s as hot as ever. We stopped at a craft centre where uneducated Cambodians have the opportunity of learning a craft to give them a job and future and also keep the ancient Cambodian crafts alive.   The crafts were wood and stone carving, silk making, painting Silk, etc.

Further on we stopped at Rose’s home town, Pouk, 15000 population. She showed us where she went to school: she had to walk 5k there and back every day. Her family had just 2 bicycles which her parents used to get fish from the lake and then take to the market to sell. Rose has 2 jobs to help keep her family – tour leader and growing and selling vegetables.

Back on the road, every once and again you see a white cow stand motionless on the side of the road, as if made of stone, while blue/black ones are grazing up to their chests in paddyfields.  The land is flat and green with rice crops and the main roads are long and straight. Every so often we slow down as we pass through a small settlement.
We stopped at a restaurant in Bantay Mean Chay for lunch. I just had a tomato and cucumber salad.

We stopped at a roadside stall selling ‘sticky rice’. This came in the form of hollow pieces of bamboo filled with rice and coconut and then steamed with a leaf in the top for flavour. Rrose showed us how you peel back the pulped and dried bamboo to reveal the sticky rice inside. It was delicious.

Stopped at a stall that sold barbecued snake, rat, grasshopper and frogs. I tried some snake – a rainbow water snake. It was nice – tasted like chicken!

We finally arrived in Battambang at around 2.30. There is a population of 7000 people, many speak Thai In 1907 it was returned by the French to Cambodia. Quiet and untouristy.

After checking into our comfortable ans spacious hotel, Gill and I decided on a swim after viewing quite a reasonable sized pool below our bedroom window.

Jac later joined us and from the pool we could see Rose in the gym.  She is so fit and energetic!

At 5pm the group met up for an orientation walking tour of the town.  We stopped at a monastery clad in gold where we were told what it means to be a monk.  At one time it would have meant complete abstinence from every day life with their families, etc. and following a strict code of conduct within the monastery which would require a long period of training, usually a year with no media.  But this has become more relaxed and they are now allowed mobile phones.

We walked on to a bustling market where Rose led me through to a stall where I could buy some whole pepper.  As ever, this market sold all manner of fruit, vegetables and fish with women sitting on their haunches at each stall as if it was the most natural posture to them, and of course it was.  I was most impressed as many were probably older than me!

We eventually arrived at our restaurant for dinner.  Clearly one of the popular restaurants in town with an extensive milkshake menu.  I chose mango and pineapple!  I then ate a huge dishful of chicken and cashews with fried rice and vegetables… very nice.

We walked back to the hotel along the river.  It was a pleasant evening and still very warm, though not oppressively humid.  One last stop at the bakery for those young things who didn’t think they would survive tomorrow’s long journey to Bangkok. without snacks.

…. a stark reminder of how fortunate we westerners are to live in the time and place that we do!

Alarm set for 4.15 but I was awake on and off most of the night feeling like my head would explode.

We set off in the dark to watch the sunrise at Ankgor Wat.  Our guide found me a chair so that I could sit and watch it by the lake.  I think she was glad I managed to come as I had felt so ill the evening before.  The sunrise was quite spectacular – we were lucky the clouds cleared for it.  

Then we had some breakfast in the open  – muesli and fruit brought from the hotel. We returned after breakfast to look around the temple. I sat at the entrance waiting for them as there were many steps to climb and I was still feeling rough.

We returned to the hotel at about 10 where I rested again until lunchtime. There was a walking tour with the guide which Gill and Gareth went on but everyone else was too sleepy.

I joined the group for lunch at a restaurant in the city.  I chose a light Caesar salad while the others had beef burgers and chips!  Rice is off limits today!  There were one or two optional activities during the afternoon including quad bikes and zip wire. I declined both but the boys had a great time on the quad bikes!

Our evening meal was a cultural affair, spent with a local family.  Again very humbling.  We were invited into a home shared by three families…. just four rooms!  A tiny kitchen, a big sitting/dining room, half under cover with earth floor and two bedrooms which everyone shared!  The women were out at work when we arrived by tuk tuk.  The men had prepared a delicious meal of fish soup, beef amok and a vegetable dish with lemongrass.  Rose’s two young sons joined us as Siem Reap was Rose’s home town.  The family had just acquired a new music system and were eager to try it out with us so after dinner members of our group took part in karaoke, led first by one of the young Cambodians and the Rose’s older son, who was only 14 and had a lovely voice.  The evening was rounded off with us all dancing to the YMCA song before being taken back along the dark bumpy track to the main road and our hotel.

Gill and I noticed buy one get one free cocktails on the roof, so after packing our bags yet again for the onward journey in the morning, we rewarded ourselves we a Banana Daikeri and a Pineapple something or other.  There was a jacussi on the roof but we refrained from sitting in it with our cocktails!

Woke up this morning feeling awful…. picked up a cold from somewhere…

It was pouring with rain and we walked around 3 temples Ta Prohm, Banteay Srey and Angkor Thom. The fine detail of the stone carving on every piece of stone was pretty amazing, especially when each piece of stone was joined and built up to form a picture or pattern, and each picture told a story!  These temples date back to the 12th century and there were about one and a half million people living there at that time.

It was quite incredible the way the roots of trees had grown through these ancient buildings over the centuries.

There were monkeys nearby but we we told not to go near them in case they had rabies.

We were taken to a restaurant for lunch but I had no appetite and just had a pineapple juice.

On the way back we stopped at a roadside stall where they sold pink dragon fruit – I had only eaten white before.  It supposed to be good for breast cancer and is deep pink inside with tiny black seeds.  I bought two!.

Stopped again to see how sugar is taken from the palm and made into sweets or just sold in jars as a sweetener.
I was glad to get back to the hotel and rest as I was feeling rough.
Later in the evening everyone went out to dinner then to a local market but I still wasn’t hungry and just stayed in bed. Later Rose, our guide, came to my room with some tiger balm to rub into my feet. Apparently that helps a cold. She also brought some rice to eat but I only had a spoonful. We needed leave at 4.45 the next morning for the Angkor Wat sunrise and I was determined not to miss it.

Wet start on bus with talk about spiders – our next stop.  Spiders make useful medicine for malaria and for pregnant women. Crickets, water beetle, silk worm, spider.  Skun town is where they sell the insects for eating near the Mekong River.  We stopped at the ‘spider town’ where the locals sell deep fried insects.  Here is a photo of our guide eating her tarantula.  I ate one too!  It was crunchy but not a lot of flavour.

We drove along the motorway then on to smaller roads where we stopped at the roadside to buy some lotus fruit, tastes like unripe nuts. The lotus flower is offered to the Buddha.

As we continued along the highway, the rain was torrential so probably still on the cusp of the rainy season. Glad we brought our plastic ponchos – although ever tried going to the loo in a wet plastic poncho where the toilet is a hole in the ground and there is no loo paper!

The land either side of the road flooded with muddy brown water. I noticed a type of palm not seen outside Cambodia which was tall with a Pom Pom shape at the top.

We stopped for fuel. Fuel very cheap imported from Thailand 75c per litre.

Early lunch stop at a silk farm. Interesting watching the process from the Silk worm eating the mulberry leaves and creating the cocoon from which the silk is spun. The silk worm grubs are edible and I ate one. It tastes like peanut.
We enjoyed a delicious homemade lunch, a variety of home produce fresh from the garden. Our money helps to support the workers on the farm.

We passed a funeral procession. Then stopped to see hammering of the fresh rice. Mixed with banana and coconut is sweet to eat to celebrate the moon. It is the season for rice and the fresh rice mixtures are used to celebrate the water festival 13-18 November when they have floating candles down the river. Six people in one family working together in the business at the side of the road. They also have cows and chickens behind.

Old sandstone bridge 12th century, one of only 11 left
Frangipan flowers growing nearby.  Roz picked some and we put them in our hair.

Tonle Sap Lake freshwater from the Mekong River, brings thousands of fish. 3m live around the lake and build their houses on the lake on stilts and grow rice. Snakehead fish over exported.

Intrepid funds help road improvement so tourism helps the local people

Great boat trip on the lake through the village of stilted houses. There was even a primary school and a hospital. We were very lucky that the weather had dried up for this trip and pond fascinating to see how people live their whole lives on water. It reminded me very much of Inle Lake in Myanmar.
Arrived at our hotel about 6pm. Out again to a local cultural show and dinner at the Kulen Restaurant. Put my posh dress on and taken by tuk tuk.

Reasonably good night in the Bloom Hotel.  Breakfast on the top floor with an outside area and view of sorts over the city.

About three and a half hours to the Cambodian border with a comfort stop. Passing through was fairly straightforward with the local guide collecting our completed immmigration and visa forms and passports so that we could go through quickly. It cost 800 dongs or $35 US.  We did NOT need passport style photos as had been instructed by Trailfinders before we left.

We then stopped at the duty free area for half an hour for lunch. I had chicken and rice. Here we were all desperately trying to get rid of dongs as the currency changed to riels, although they use mainly dollars in Cambodia.

I noticed lots of water across the land as we entered the country.  I don’t think this was because of recent rains as many of the houses appeared to be built on stilts.

After a further comfort stop, we finally Arrived Phnom Penh – Phnom means hill, Penh is the person who founded it.  The local guide started telling us about how teachers and doctors and any educated or intellectual people were separated from farmers. They were told they would be sent for further training but were sent instead to prisons then out to killing fields. They had to dig their own graves, were killed with a hammer or sticks because bullets were expensive.

Communism meant people were not allowed to go to school, choose a partner, or get married, only be a farmer. King Polpot who was defeated in 1979 killed intellectual people. Started to have elections in 1998 and the new president still rules today – liberation day. Current president corrupt – city of heaven and hell – rich and poor. King was dishonest so many were lost in war. These are just a few notes for now – more detail tomorrow when we go to the Killing Fields.

Checked into nice hotel with pool but half an hour walk to centre. Our room is nice and with a balcony and view of the city.

We followed Rouz down to the restaurant Kabbas – half hour walk.   It was run by local people who we would be supporting. I chose a delicious Amok curry which was heavily flavoured with lemon grass and a fresh lime juice. Afterwards they wanted a drawing recommending the place which they put up on the wall with hundreds of others.

We have to move hotels this evening. We were introduced to our local guide for the day, ‘Tiger’ (after Tiger Woods because he plays golf). We sadly said our goodbyes to Quan then left on the bus (with all our bags) for Cu Chi. Here is a picture of Quan taken yesterday on the sampan.

Tiger tells us about Saigon history and I am making notes while he talks to us on the bus… no longer communism although there is still a communist party. Clinton was largely responsible for capitalism and the introduction of Coca-Cola, Nike, etc. The population of Saigon is 13000,000.

Tunnels in Cu Chi accommodated 7000 people, little oxygen, booby traps poisoned spikes, scorpions, snakes. Tunnel 1 meter wide and high max. People had to crawl. Tunnels connected to bunkers zigzag to avoid fragments from bombs. Many babies born underground. Vietcong lived like animals in the jungle eating fish from the river and vegetation.  It took them 4 months to move from north to south.  Half a million tons of shells and bombs dropped by Americans – many unexploded which killed people after the war.

We finally arrived at Cu Chi to see all this for ourselves. Basically the local people of Vietnam conducted the war against the Americans with their sheer ingenuity! They thought of everything underground and made all they needed from recycled American equipment either during conflict or left behind when the American army pulled out. They even made their sandals from old tyres. These could be worn round the other way so that the Americans would be put off the scent! An exploded American tank was buried by the Vietcong and used as a secure hideout.

The clever but simply designed booby traps were deadly! American sniffer dogs were put off the scent by using the clothes of dead American soldiers around hidden entrances to their holes.

We eventually went down a tunnel ourselves. It was horrible – dark, claustrophobic, hot and too low- even bending down. One or two of us left the tunnel at the earliest opportunity.

There was a rifle range and Jac was keen to have a go although she said it was very difficult to hit the target. The deafening shots were a reminder of what it must have sounded like hiding in the jungle… many of the local fighters were women.

My sobering thoughts as we left the area went back to what I was doing in the 60s while this dreadfully war was going on…. listening to the Beatles and being part of the ‘Flower a Power’ scene.

We returned to the bus for the 60k journey back to our new hotel in Saigon – The Bloom.

Entry to this part of the city meant sitting for ages in interminable traffic jams with hundreds of motor bikes weaving their way in and out on roads, on pavements… anywhere there was a space to get through.

We set off for lunch with Michael leading us to one of his special recommended restaurants and then afterwards to a great coffee shop hidden away that we would never have found by ourselves.

Gill and Laire and I went to look at the Old Post Office and the Notre Dame while the guys returned to the hotel.  Laire then had to say goodbye to us as she was flying direct to Seam Reap.

The Post Office – a beautiful building designed by Eiffel – it took 5 years to build and was opened in 1891.

Gill and I finally found our way back to the hotel where we had a meeting at 6 with our new guide for Cambodia (Ros) and we were joined by 5 more group members – all from Sydney. After introductions and a chat about our itinerary, etc we all set off together in search of an alternative restaurant to the one the guide was offering which we had learnt from experience would be much more expensive.

We had a good meal then left the guys at a beer bar while Jac, Gill and I made our way back to the hotel.

An hour and a half journey including motorway. Quan speaks of differing cultures in north and south Vietnam and about the river which is over 4000 km long from china, through Burma, Cambodia and Vietnam. He spoke of dry season when the wells and river have only salt water.

We arrive at Mekong and take boat ride on the brown water scattered with floating water hyacinths. Lan (one of Quan”s many concubines, so he says!) talked to us about the river’s history and the local people as we made our way across to a small Island.

Here we were led to a place where they told us everything there was to know about coconuts. They grow everywhere here and are used to make everything from the tools they use to the houses with their palm roofs and their boats; also bags, cooking, vessels, bath oils and various foods. We watched their amazing coconut sweet production line from the shelling of the raw coconut, removing the inside, desiccating, cooking with malt and sugar. It is then flavoured with chocolate, ginger, peanuts, coffee etc. then kneaded and rolled out and cut into little squares. They even had girls wrapping each individual sweet and packing them all for sale. There were many other coconut products for sale but we bought mainly sweets – buy 5 get one free!

Then we tried some very strong coconut liquor. This one with a snake and ginseng was supposed to be good for men’s virility and also for bad backs so I thought I should try some. This was before I saw the snake inside!

We were then shown the process for making rice paper and crispy nibbles all out of rice paper.

Next a tuk tuk ride through the jungle. These are motorbikes (or Hondas) with little carts on the back.  We were taken to a clearing in the jungle where we were offered delicious refreshing fruits – papaya, pineapple, water melon and sweet grapefruit, then lay in hammocks under the palms like lazy tourists!

Back a different way by tuk tuk with palms flicking past us we arrived to find a table all set for us for lunch. All manner of delicacies arrived starting with elephant ear fish!  This was the ugliest bird I have ever seen!
A final nap in the hammock before we were taken to step aboard our banana boat which was quietly paddled through water coconut trees along a narrow river back out to the Mekong where we met our boat again with Lan for the return trip to where our boat was waiting.

We were so lucky with the weather as it rained all the way back to Saigon!

Early start @ 5am. It’s still raining as we board the bus for Da Nang International airport. Quan handed out our breakfast packs which consisted of 2 slices of bread, butter and Laughing cow cheese, a boiled egg and a banana.

Our 45 minute drive was through heavy rain but we were in good time. Several members of the group had to rearrange luggage as there was a weight limit which we hadn’t been warned about. Pretty stupid as Hoi An had been our major shopping place! Eventually we were able to distribute weight amongst the group and the heaviest group member paid for an extra bag which was the lightest that another group member carried (if that makes sense).

There was some turbulence on the 1 hour Jetstar flight but we finally arrived in Ho chi Minh city (formerly Saigon)  at 9.30 am.

On the way to the hotel we had a short tour of the city centre by bus.  We spent an hour at the very humbling War Remnants Museum, full of graphic images of the atrocities that took place during American occupation.Then on to the Notre Dame Cathedral and decorative architecture of The General Post Office.   We passed The Royal Opera House where several members of our group planned to see a show in the evening.

The minibus then dropped us near our restaurant chosen by Quan for lunch.  He had promised us we could have a baguette style meal there but no, when we arrived it was noodle soups, curries, etc again… very nice but more than we needed for lunch.

We finally checked in to Queen Ann Hotel was fine except it had a very tightly packed dining room and you need to allow an extra 10 minutes for the lift which randomly stopped at all floors going down and was known to then return to to the top floor (there were 10) before returning to the ground floor…. even if there was no one waiting.  It was also very small and often left people behind because there wasn’t room.

Gill, Jac, Michael and Gareth and I had a walk in the nearby park to get away from the noisy traffic if the city centre.  It was very peaceful here.

Later,  Jac and I walked around the streets nearby looking for competitively priced massage parlours.  I decided to have a pedicure and Jac sat with me and we chatted while this was done, while others went to the opera.

In the evening we all met up again for a meal at a bustling and very popular restaurant where you could walk around and look at the wonderful variety of foods.  So difficult to make choices.

Today was a down day (a day to ourselves).  We were able to lie in and just gather our thoughts.   Quan had a bit of an upset stomach so just as well.   Six of us met up for coffee in our favourite coffee shop before collecting our tailor- made items and returning to the hotel.  I was very pleased with my shoes – they fitted perfectly and the soft leather smelt wonderful.

Some of the others were more adventurous and had several suits made as well as shirts and shoes.

We were casually looking in shops afterwards when I somehow managed to get lured away and into buying not one, but two shirts I didn’t really need….and having them specially tailor-made and delivered to the hotel… well I guess we all make bad decisions!

Eventually, Gill and I met up with Michael to go to the beach.  We took a taxi as Michael and I desperately wanted to swim in the ocean.  When we arrived at Cui An Beach, the waves were huge and it looked to be foolhardy to attempt to swim – but in we went.  However the waves were pretty powerful and after a quick dunking, I climbed to the safety of the sandbags.

We spent several hours just sitting in this little piece of paradise, coconut palms, yellow sand and turquoise rollers topped with white froth!  In fact I felt the need to paint and did a very quick watercolour before we headed off back to the hotel.  In fact Michael had commented that it was getting a bit overcast and by the time we reached the hotel the heavens opened.

We had booked ourselves on to a cooking course in the evening which consisted of five Vietnamese dishes.  The first was a veggie and chicken  pancake, followed by spring rolls, then mackerel steaks marinated and cooked in banana leaves, lemon grass, carrot, taro, ginger and garlic salad and finally an aubergine dish…. all eaten as we made them.

sorry I had to post up all the foods pics.

Last night in our lovely hotel so here’s a goodbye pic or two. Got to be up before dawn.  Huge electric storm this evening just as we went to bed.