Return to the Great a River: Laos

This posting covers the 14th - 20th October, whilst we were in Laos, during which time our itinerary took us to Vientiane, Vang Viang, Louang Phabang and finally up the Mekong River on the slow boat, to the Thailand border. This post was written on the journey from minibus from Suratthani to Hat Yai, in Thailand. The delay in posting has been because we are either out in the evening or safely tucked up in bed. There seems to be no middle ground. It must be age.

Before starting the post a few facts about for the knowledge hungry:

Capital: Vientiane

Population: 6.5 million

Flag: three horizontal strips of Red: Blue: Red, with the central blue strip taking up 50% of the flag and a white circle positioned in the centre of the flag.

Language: Lao

Currency: Kip (K)

Religion: Theravada Buddhism

Officially Laos is called the Laos People's Democratic Republic and is one of the poorest countries on the planet and is near the bottom of all the main rankings used by the UN and other bodies to rate a country. Laos also completely isolated itself from the rest of the world during the 1970's and a large portion of the '80s.

With this all in mind, I have to say that Laos has been a surprising gem on our travels, such that I did actually leave a little bit of my heart in the country when we crossed the border into Thailand. If it wasn't for two small but not insignificant points, Laos would have surpassed Vietnam and be proudly sitting at the top of my leaderboard.

Firstly, Becs and I didn't find the food quite as mouthwatering as what we had tasted in Vietnam and Cambodia, plus we already knew that Thailand was going to blow our tastebuds. The main local dish, which I did actually enjoy, was Laap, but I will leave that to Becs' food orientated blog to describe. All I would add is that Becs didn't do a cookery class in Laos. Enough said.

I think the main reason it's food doesn't live up to neighbouring countries is, because of the period that Laos withdrew from the rest of the world, it hasn't had the outside influences in its cuisine. Also, as it is probably the poorest of the countries in the region, Laos food is quite basic and not as flavoursome.

The second reason that denied Laos top spot was that I didn't quite as enjoy the towns and cities as much as the other countries. Most of the places were quite small; didn't have the interesting architecture, history and sights of the previous places we visited; and we didn't quite fit in with the other travellers quite as much.

I don't know what it is with the Tarquins and Rupert's of this world, who travel courtesy of the 'Bank of Mum and Dad', but they seem to think that just because they buy a bandana that they have been to Woodstock. Talk about 'too cool for school'? It was unfortunate that some of their antics made the locals resent tourists so they weren't quite as friendly as those from other countries. 

This, I think, accentuated the closeness of the Laotians, probably again a direct consequence of its time in isolation, demonstrated by most people's curiosity and bewilderment by even the most routine of tasks or action that would be normal in most countries. Also there were fewer people that we could communicate with in English, if we needed some assistance that was not served by our 6-10 awkwardly pronounced Lao words and/or phrases.

I am all for people having a laugh but, as an example, the sight of seeing a sexually confused young man, drunk and high as a kite, kneeling in broken glass head butting a wall after regretting snogging a ladyboy will live with me for some time...

Anyhow, back to the beginning. Our flight from Cambodia to Vientiane was very quant and I imagine a throwback to bygone eras. Not only was the plane a small propeller plane but the procedures at the airport were far more relaxed. We didn't have enough Dollars to pay our entry visa but the immigration staff simply allowed us to walk through immigration and out of the airport to withdraw currency. We just slipped back through a side door and completed the formalities before entering the country officially. They also let me bypass security a few times to buy and send a couple of postcards; seemingly not worried about security scanners.

Even the baggage hall in 'arrivals' at Vientiane was something to behold, as it consisted of a single track of rollers. If you didn't pick up your bag in time it just fell on the floor at the end. With bags saved from their Lemming-esq swan dive we proceeded to travel into the centre of the capital to decide on the next steps. Once the locals had recovered from Beetlemania, a Korean popstar also landed at the same time, we sorted out an illegal minibus and was dropped off in the old quarter.

We had read in a few places that Vientiane was a quant but not the most imposing of capital cities lacking significant sights. Both bits of commentary played out so, with our tight schedule firmly in mind, we pottered about the old town for an hour or so, hopped into a Tuk Tuk and saw the sights on route to the Northern Bus Terminal; where we picked up a minibus to Vang Vien. The minibus was quite a good experience as we were the only tourists. It is also cheaper and quicker than the VIP. I think it is quicker than the coaches as it is obviously more nimble but it also doesn't double as the main mode of courier/despatch. This is quiet important as it only stops at certain places for people to disembark, unlike the regular buses who stop seemingly everywhere to pick up and/or drop off parcels, packages and post.

We spent a day and a half in Vang Viang. As previously stated, the other backpackers weren't quite my cup of tea. They were either much younger than us (smug bastards...), extremely hippy and/or pissed/high as a kite. The highlight there was the couple of hours floating down the river on inner tubes and caving, albeit everyone, locals and tourists alike, were gobsmacked that we didn't get smashed or sample the 'happy-shakes' whilst tubing. Still, we did have to travel to Kasi that evening.

The trip to Kasi was spectacular. Not only did we travel in a 'Songthrough', which seems to be a long range Tuk Tuk, but the scenery was breathtaking. We arrived in Kasi a little after dusk and was met by Uncle Tom; a Welshman who is a Tom Jones lookalike that has set up a motorcycling school in rural Laos. I was starting to doubt myself whether I hadn't sampled some of the happy-shakes after all.

The day of the 16th October was great fun as both Becs and I learnt how to ride motorbikes. I had already had some exposure whilst working as a Jakeroo on a Cattle Station in Australia, but that was a long time ago now. The morning was spent familiarising ourselves with the basic operations around a field as the back of our home stay followed by a more challenging circuit round a local airfield. After that we went out on the roads and, more spectacular, off-road on some dirt tracks along the crest of a hill range.

When the riding school was finished, around 2pm, we had some lunch whilst the home stay put out a simple sign of consisting of one symbol on a page of A4 paper attached to a bambo stick wedged into a milk crate. I wasn't convinced that it would work, to be honest and was already setting my mind to what impact the extra night in Kasi, when a sixty seater superbus stopped outside after spotting the sign.

I think that you have just to accept that things work differently in Asia. Including, I might  add, that Asians seem to be as photosensitive as Gremlins.  The ride from Kasi to Louang Phabang was up there with all the scenery offered up by Laos to date, but most of the other passengers on the coach had not only curtains drawn but had shades on. Still their loss as they missed plunging valleys, shimmering horizons and beautiful contrasting shades of green.

The longest night market I have seen in a small town aside, I wouldn't say that there was anything noteworthy about Louang Phabang. Yes it had a quant palace and some pretty waterfalls but it was more of a pleasant stop and vital stepping stone to the slow boat up the Mekong River than a highlight on its one. The slow boat was one of my non-negotiables when agreeing the itinerary and something I had been really looking forward to.

Quite simply the next two days matched my expectations and some. To spend two days on a slow boat meandering upstream against the flow of this great river through some captivating countryside was a thrill. Most of the boat was made of friendly locals and was great for people watching. The boat was bustling with interesting things to ponder, including Millennium Falcon-esq smuggler compartments on board to store our luggage. Was the conspiracy theory about the CIA establishing a cocaine plant and smuggler route in Loas to further threaten the VietCon actually true? Still not sure on that one yet. More google searches I think.

The slow boat actually was two slow boats. At about 5-ish on day one we docked in a small town called Pakbeng, that has to rely on the showboat for its existence as it seemed the whole of the town emptied its houses to hawker itself the moment the boats moored up. After a night at Pakbeng we departed around 7:30 am to spend the second day continuing to meander up to Houay Xai on a slightly smaller boat.

The other real highlight of the trip up the Mekong was meeting Stacey and Pete; an American lady and Devon chap who met in New Zealand, and have been travelling as a couple ever since. Scary thought, I know, but I found myself on the same wavelength as Pete and the fact that he had a rather fetching big bushy beard was a real bonus. Stacey was also really sweet and I think like my wife, she welcomed the relief from our incessant chatter. The other travellers on the boats where great too and it was quite relaxing to play out conversations over the two days paced by the flow of the river. 

All I would say is that there seems to an unhealthy ecological interference building in the region as the Chinese seem to be having a negative affect on the area. A substantial bypass already has been constructed can reduce the two day boat trip to a matter of hours by road. This has been sold to increase the attraction of the region to tourists but seems to part of a Chinese play in the area. 

An Australian, who lives in the region, said that China is able to comply with various quotas imposed on itself as it is building an alarming amount of Dams on the Mekong River to generate power. The Chinese also seem to have an aim to make trade routes to Thailand easier by constructing a vast number of roads and railway lines across Laos and are making significant donations to make these projects possible.

Hopefully, but I fear they are losing the battle, Laos will not be ruined by these 'gifts'. I imagine that a lot of people are getting rich on approving the schemes and the public are buying into the economic prospects being promised. If this is the non-benevolent state that I know any wealth generated through these schemes will be safely tucked under the mattress in Beijing. 

So after seven days, which was way too short, we headed over a bridge to the Thai Border for our forth country. Goodbye Loas. Gone but not forgotten and I have sneaky feeling I will be back!!!

Sohk Dii Der Goodbye

Rivendale: The Temples of Angkor

This blog narrates the segment of our journey that we were in Siem Reap and includes our visit to the truly spectacular Temples of Angkor. It covers the days from Saturday 11th till Tuesday 14th October and is written on the days after completing our Scuba diving training on Koh Phangan, before our ferry rider back to Suratthani on the mainland of Thailand.

I was already really looking forward to the bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, as in a lot of instances I consider the journey better than the destination; in life generally as well as travelling. However, I was also buoyed for the 6 hour trip as my iPad was full of $1 USD movies, including the Imbetweeners 2 and Good Morning Vietnam, from a slightly dubious shop near our hostel in PP. After a few days spent learning about the darker side of humanity I was in dire need of a laugh.

After leaving PP a little after 14:00 we meandered through some spectacular rural landscape and small hamlets. The bits of Cambodia that we passed through were much flatter than we saw in Vietnam and what was upcoming in Loas. Even some of the steeper bits I would describe as undulating rather than hilly. I had just finished watching 'The Life of Brian', I think when we approached our only stop on the trip.

Now, most people who know me wouldn't expect that I would be picked out from the passengers for the coach driver to get a second opinion on an issue he was having. I think it was because I was the only western man on the bus. Still I, did rise to the situation and did the only thing I could think of. 

So, after kicking the tyre I was confident it had a puncture. More worryingly for all concerned it seemed he hadn't seen the oil pouring out the underside of engine until I pointed it out. To this day I am not sure whether he was either an unlucky driver, the coach was in dire need of maintenance or whether the coach driver was on the blag. My money is probably on the blag, if pushed.

Still, it mattered not as we had to wait for a replacement coach to be sent from PP, meaning we incurred a delay of five hours. This meant I could charge a few devices and also do what any right minded Englishman would do, have a few beers.

During the extended stop we befriended an elderly French lady and a young Vietnamese guy who were on their first trips out of their respective countries and were getting a little flappy because of the delay. I think they were both worried by the knock on effect to their pick-ups on arrival in Siem Reap; especially as we eventually arrived at 00:30 rather than the more sedate time of 7pm.

I am always conscious about the fact that you are representing your country whilst traveling and it is good Karma to help other people out who are in need. Besides the Dwarves and Elves were sworn enemies until Gimli and Legolas befriended each other, and we know how that one turned out in the end. The current issues in the world are caused, in my opinion, by extremists of all faiths claiming that we are different, so the more bridge building the better.

So a new fellowship formed such that we had four of us in the Tuk Tuk and proceeded to drop the other two off at their accommodation before we ventured to ours, arriving at ours around 2am. It just meant that Becs and I were both in a serious need to recharge our batteries before a day of touring the temples.

It has been proved over time that I am more impressed by the natural world and geekish love of engineering and public transport than temples and architecture, but I was blown away by the complex of temples. I also loved the fact that they sold advertising space on the benches around the temples. I have found people from South East Asia very entrepreneurial such that they are always looking for ways to make more money and do a deal.

We decided to push bike to and around the temples, which meant that we were independent and could complete the longer tour around the temples at our own pace. The distance from SR to AW is only 8km over flat terrain on good roads. Becs kept on saying that she felt like a presenter on Top Gear during the day, which is fine I suppose to say in Cambodia, but we might need to keep that reference to ourselves when we get to Argentina if we want to make friends.

I would just advise anyone to get their entrance tickets on route as we had a few issues and had to cycle back to town to buy the tickets. I left Becs at the ticket inspection booth to rest, only to be told at the ticket office that she needed to be present to have her picture scanned on the ticket. I have never been more pleased to see her when she peddled into the complex a few minutes later after being informed of this fact after I left her.

The main Angkor Wat temple that most people know of, is spectacular. It is not the most imposing of buildings, height wise, but it more than makes up for this in terms of depth and the annexes that are contained within the outer walls. The inside is made up of four separate squares which were swimming pools when it was first constructed and the tombs that form the boundaries of the square were in fact libraries, which surprised us. We were told that the Royal family stressed the importance of learning. 

The other vaguely interesting fact that we found out is that Angkor Wat is the only West facing temple in Cambodia as the others do not want to be associated with death. Apart from Inca trail I am not sure what else could trump this in my leaderboard on our tour as it lived up to my expectations, and some.

The rest of the temples, which are all over nine hundred years old, we saw on the 20km cycle were nearly as spectacular, with the exception of the one used in Tomb Raider. This one is in quite a bad state and is currently being repaired. The locals say that Hollywood ruined it with all the equipment and stunts. I reckon it really did fall down after a relic was removed... ;-)

Each temple was built in honour of a separate member of the royal family as their final resting placing, with Angkor Wat built for the king. They are all an engineering masterpieces as well as beautiful. They all took 37 years and have 37 steps to the top as the religion of the royal household has 37 steps to heaven. They also seemingly chose 37 as Cambodians do not like even numbers and odd numbers are associated, rather bizarrely, with immortality. 

My engineering fetish was fully satisfied when I found out that they brought all the materials in on boats and then used Elephants and tree trunks for rollers to move the rocks into place. Ingeniously they actually used the dirt dug out of the ground to create the moats and swimming pools, to increase the height of the ground on one of the side of each temple. This meant they could simply roll the rocks into place. I was also intrigued by the temple that was built on a manmade Island right in the centre of a substantial lake as I could just imagine the look on the workers faces when informed by their supervisor as to what their next project was to be.

The remaining two days in SR was spent cycling round the town sandwiched around  two cracking nights. The first night was spent having dinner with Hayley and Luke after Becs had completed another cookery class and I had a cultural evening watching locals kick two shades out of each other at Khmer Boxing. The second night was down pub street watching a local heavy metal band with two new people we met that night.

Our short stay in Cambodia was complete as the next day we were going to fly to Laos.

LeeHi

The Old Forest and Barrow-Downs: Phnom Penh, Choeung Ek (the Killing Fields) and Toul Sleng Museum

This post of the Blog covers our time in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, as well as our visit to the truly horrific, yet respectfully done, Killing Fields and Prison Museum which occurred on the days of 10th and 11th of October. This blog is authored on the bum crunching minibus ride from Vientiane to Viet Vang, so please be willing to accept the odd typo more than normal, as not the easiest typing on the iPad whilst summersautimg through the air...

I decided on the LOTR references of the Old Forest and the Barrow-Downs for Phnom Penh and the surrounding area as I felt the spell-like trance that was put on the population by the Khmer Rouge was appropriate. This allowed Pol Pot to carry out his murderous agenda, like Old Man Willow and the Barrow-wights. Thankfully, the UN stepped in, like Tom Bombadil, and released the population from the spell.

Like every new country the most tense journey is the one into the country, similar to when your comfy slippers are thrown away and you have to break in a new pair. All the pillars from the previous country disappear: money, language, food, traffic rules, what beer you like the best and also, the most nerve wracking, the visa process and immigration. 

I know Becs and I really felt for this Sri Lankian chap who had to show $1,000 USD to the immigration officials to prove he had enough money to fund himself when in Cambodia. Personally it seemed a corruption scam to illicit money from tourists from certain counties. Unfortunately he didn't have the money to hand and we were unable, and unwilling if I am honest, to provide. I know it might sound unsympathetic but I did not want to be dragged into a visa dispute and was also concerned that the border officials might take a portion of the money, which he would then be unable to repay. Still we didn't have the money on us so that took the decision out of our hands.

So, after a little delay he unfortunately had to leave the coach and sort something out at the crossing. I did keep an eye out for him in PP but didn't see him. Hopefully he was able to sort it all out and jumped on the next bus to the capital. We got a touch lucky with night bus as it could have turned out completely different. Thankfully there were only seven people booked on the bus for the night portion of the journey, so we were able to all spread out. This meant that rather than Becs and I being wedged into two parallel berths I had two berths to my own. This turned a potentially crippling trip into one of near palatial luxury; in the bus world. 

The bus journey was reasonably uneventful apart from striking up a conversation with our first Cambodian, a young chap who got on the bus soon after crossing the border into the country. He was heading to PP for the day, as he was participating in a speech competition for his college and needed to attend a pre-selection English test. He was very nervous as seemed comforted by me saying that he had the best English of anyone that I had met in South East Asia so far. A little white lie it might have been but his grasp was excellent and he bounded off the bus when he reached his drop-off place. 

We spent the first hour or so walking from the bus station to our hostel, which was slightly uncomfortable, as it was hotter and more humid than most of Vietnam. We were also pestered quite a bit by Tuk Tuk drivers who were mystified that we would walk 6km rather than pay the $7 USD for the ride. All mounts up.

Like on the Ha Long Bay tour, I think I am probably going to go down in Cambodiam folk-law as the tightest traveller of all time. A bit like Samwise the Brave, I expect to revisit South East Asia and hear songs in my honour with verses about me negotiating Tuk tuks and meals down by 3-5 USD; renting the cheaper bikes rather than mountain bikes; and also getting more bang for our buck. I have to admit even I was chuffed when I managed to negotiate the price of the push bikes in Siem Reap down from $20 USD to $12 USD and got them to throw in a free map and some noodle soup. I know I might seem a little cheap but personally I don't care. Not only is it great fun but more importantly it is keeping us within our daily budget so I feel fully justified.

Becs has mentioned though that it's funny that I don't negotiate on the beer. Well some things are too sacred...

The Killing Fields and Prison were truly horrific and heart wrenching. I was surprised that, apart from the killing tree, which they used to hit babies and toddlers against, that I wasn't more affected on the day. I don't know whether it was my lack of knowledge about the genocide by The Khmer Rouge, or that I had visited Auschwitz as a young adult, but my impression on the day was of how respectful the Cambodian authorities had been to the victims, how informative both museums were and, surprisingly, how tranquil the Killing Fields are. 

If you didn't know what you were visiting you could easily be mistakenly think that you have visited was an old Chinese Cemetery, which was what Choeung Ek used to be, prior to being converted by Pol Pot for his barbaric and disgusting torture and execution of fellow citizens. Every now again there were little, subtle reminders of the past with hundreds skulls and skeletons presented in the memorial pagoda or the bones and rags peeking through the ground as they do after rain. The Killing Fields have collectors, staff that pick up these pieces so they can finally rest in peace. 

Whilst it was tranquil now, I can't begin to imagine how chilling the place was when it was an operational human slaughter-yard. They played continuous revolutionary songs day and night. Partially to trick locals that it was a Khmer Rouge training facility but also at night to cover up the cries of the dying.

'Enemies of the state' were transported at nighttime from the Prison, blindfolded. Most thought they were being released so we unaware of their fate. Some were executed immediately whilst, towards the end when there were too many prisoners to 'process' in one day, the remaining few had a stay of execution and were incarcerated to morning. I shiver thinking about them spending thee last night of their lives in complete fear as they could probably hear the cries of their fellow citizens and knew the gravity of their situation.

One phrase that was written everywhere and was included on the audio many times was, "to kill grass you have to remove the roots". This meant that they didn't just kill a dad, mum, son or daughter, but their children, parents and extended family. I think Pol Pot's sick thought process is best summed up by his twisted mantra that, "it was better that an innocent person died in error than an enemy of the state lived in error."

Not only was it barbaric and sick, but I cannot begin to understand the impact on the country as every teacher, professor, professional and eminent thinker was terminated, with a large slice of the farmers and industrial leaders suffering the same fate. People were chosen if they were educated; were monks or nuns; left handed; wore glasses; were bald; etc. the random 'lottery' goes to demonstrate how paranoid Pol Pot and his contemporaries were. Most of them were teachers or professors, so they obviously feared a younger version of themselves such that they not only killed all the teachers but also banned state education and symbolically converted all the schools into prisons.

It is cruel luck that the socio-economic and political issues at play in Cambodia in the early seventies coincided with some bright young individuals who had a mixture of charisma and, I presume, mental illness. Affected by the Vietnam War it seems like Cambodia was a melting pot similar to Germany post-World War One. These conditions created a vacuum around the country and facilitated the indoctrination of angry and starving people.

After the Killing Fields we headed back to PP and went round Toul Sleng Museum, which was the former Toul Svay Prey high school that the Khmer Rouge set up a prison on the site to detain and gruesomely torture and murder people accused of opposing the regime. Toul Sleng, which roughly translates as 'poisonous hill', was also referred to as S21 ('Security Office 21'). The prison showed mugshots of many of the ordinary Cambodians who were identified by the KR as opponents to their regime, taken when they arrived, the conditions of incarceration and various torture techniques carried out on a continuous basis.

Since the visits the impact has grown such that it affected me considerably once it begun to sink in. This especially is because we met an American restauranteur, who is Cambodian by birth but has just recently felt able to return to live. He escaped as a young boy with his Father, Mother and elder Sister to the U.S. via a border crossing into Thailand over one of the mountain passes on foot, with only 5 USD to their name. His family was selected as his Dad was left handed and had a Science Degree. As I listened it numbed me to the core that he was describing my family and that his family was the lucky ones. The vast majority weren't as lucky and ended up following the route from Toul Sleng to Choeung Ek.

At the Prison we walked into Hayley, a Geordie who we met on the tour of the Cu Chi tunnels. After a tough day we all headed to the nearest place that served beer and also had Snake-on-a-stick and fried Frog. We were joined later by her travelling companion Luke and went to a restaurant that reminded me of an old soviet meeting hall, were we eat some local deliciouses that were cooked at our table on a hot plate; all for £8 for the four.

The bus from PP to Siem Reap, which was eventful, as you will find out in the next post, which should be posted in the next two days.

LeeHi (Cambodian for goodbye)

Scores of the Doors, George Dawes: Leaderboard (after Cambodia)

Like the 'Dove from above', find below the leaderboards after both Vietnam and Cambodia.

Countries: 

1) Vietnam

2) Cambodia

Cities/places: 

1) Angkor Wat

2) Ha Long Bay

3) Hoi An

4) Mekong Delta (Vietnam)

5) Hai Van Pass

6) Hanoi 

7) Cu Chi Tunnels

8) Train Hanoi - Hue

9) Siem Reap

10) Minibus Vientiane - Viet Vang

11) Hue

12) DMZ

13) Phnom Penh

14) Denang

15) Saigon/Ho Chi Minh

17) Train Hue - Denanag

Soo-a s-day Cambodia: facts and history

Fast facts:

- Capital: Phnom Penh

- Population:12 million

- Language: Khmer

- Currency: Riel (R)

- Main religion: Theravada Buddhism

- Climate: Tropical currency

- Flag: three horizontal bands of blue and red with Angkor wat in the centre

Hello Cambodia, which is officially known as the 'Kingdom of Cambodia' and with a population of circa 12 million it ranks as the 69th most populous country on the planet. Cambodianwas once known as the Khmer Empire, a Hindu-Buddhist Kingdom, which stretched across xxx.

The official religion, Theravada Buddhism, is practiced by 95% of the population, with Vietnamese, Chinese, Chams and various hill tribes making up the remaining 5%. Cambodia is now a constitutional Monarchy, with a monarch chosen to be the head of state.

The Khmer Empire ruled Cambodia for over 600 years and built the monumental temple ruins at Angkor to honour the King's family, with the most famous, Angkor Wat, built by the king as his resting place. Since the 15th century Cambodia has been ruled by a variety of its neighbours and, more recently, the French as part of its Indochina empire.

Cambodia became independent in 1953 but became embroiled in the Vietnam war, which allowed the murderous Khmer Rouge regime to sweep into power in 1975 and force communism on their compatriots. Between 1975 and 1979 they drove the country back to the Stone Age and carried out a genocide of the population that was responsible for over a million deaths. Thankfully the Khmer Rouge were only in power for four years and were ousted by the Vietnamese in 1979 which led to the Cambodian-Vietnamese War between 1979 and 1991. I packed my Vietnamese cap at the bottom of my backpack after reading this...

Since the  peace treaty of '91 it was briefly governed by the United Nations (91-93), before being handed back to the people as part of democratic elections in '93 but there was a political coup by the Cambodian People's Party in '97. Since 2997 the country has been run as a 'vaguely communist free-market state with a relatively authoritarian regime and a superficial democracy'.

I am sure I will include some more history and facts about Cambodia in my posts that cover our time in the country. As we are still following a gruelling itinerary round South East Asia, we only have four days in the country split 50:50, with two days in Phnom Penh and two days in Siem Reap/Angkor.

Before signing of this post that serves as an introduction to Cambodia, I have two corrections and one decision to inform readers:

1) Corrections: 

a) I actually omitted the most obvious communist country from the post covering history and facts of Vietnam, North Korea, so there are actually five rather than four communist states left in the world; and

2) The exchange rate between Vietnamese Dong and pound sterling is roughly 30,000:1 VND:GBP.

2) Decisions:

I am going to restrict my Lord of the Rings references with one of the books dedicated to each subsequent continent. Book One, The Fellowship of the Ring, will cover Asia; Book Two, The Two Towers, will serve Australasia; and references from Book Three, Return of the King, will be utilised in South America. References from the Hobbit will feature in posts in North America, the journey home and the post-traveling wrap up. 

Lee-a howy

I'll Miss Siagon (and Vietnam)

This post covers the train trip from Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh (HCM)/Siagon, trip to the Cu Chi tunnels and another one to the Mekong Delta from the afternoon of Tuesday 7th and midnight of Thursday 9th October.

Even though time constraints have meant that we have had to keep up a gruelling pace down Vietnam and miss out some highly recommended places, I have grown to love this country. With this in mind I was feeling a tad said getting on the train to our last destination, before leaving for Cambodia.

All this was forgotten when I got chatting to a couple of American travellers at the station and one of them asked to take a picture of my backpack. One of my wind-ups since starting travelling has been about Becs' backpack. Not only has her one not got zips or different access points into the main compartment but it hasn't even got a swanky cover that zips over the straps to convert it into a suitcase.

Converting it into a suitcase makes it easier to check in on flights, unlike Becs who has to check hers in at the oversized luggage counter. I keep on suggesting we swap rucksacks. I know Becs is keen but she knows that I wouldn't let her forget the trade. If only it was a little bigger Dad my rucksack would be perfect... ;-)

The train journey from Denang (nearest train station to Hoi An) and Saigon was reasonably uneventful: apart from Becs dropping a rather chunky book from the top bunk onto the head of a sleeping Vietnamese guy, ouch; and our two Vietnamese cabin buddies laughing at Becs and I getting up on the top bunk and playfully checking the supports. 

The train ride has also made me even more certain that the two most used words in the world are OK and Hello, as everyone seems to use these quite freely in their own languages, especially on phone calls.

We arrived in HCM at 6 am on the 8th and, after the now customary row about directions, arrived at the hostel and checked in, before booking a tour around the Cu Chi tunnels that afternoon, a trip to the Mekong Delta the following day and our bus to Phnom Penh. Accommodation, food and drink is ridiculously cheap but travel and tours take up a large slice of your daily budget. Two second class rail tickets from Hanoi to Hue or from Denang to HCM cost between $40 and $60.

I don't know whether it is because we are traveling south and have visited Hanoi and Hoi An but I was a little disappointed by HCM. Aside from being the gateway for some magnificent tours as well has having excellent landmarks and museums, HCM didn't possess quite the same character or other places we had visited. The streets weren't quite as quaint and the banks of the Saigon River not as captivating. It was just like any another bustling metropolis you find around the world with the vanilla Starbucks and other franchises of American food outlets.

The morning was spent strolling round the city taking in the sights and visiting the Ho Chi Minh Museum, Opera House, Revolutionary Museum, Cathedral Notre-Dame, Independence Palace (which was the old American Embassy that was evacuated as the U.S. withdrew from the war) and War Remnants Museum.

The Ho Chi Minh Museum mostly covered the revolution against France and the main protagonists in the struggle. It was quite amusing that we both wondered why Ho Chi Minh was 'Brother Number 1' when most of the museum is dedicated to Nguyen Tat Thanh. It was only when you had pictures of HCM and NTT alongside each other that the penny dropped and we realised that he had given himself a new name similar to the Chinese Communists who inspired him.

The rest of the HCM Museum and the Revolutionary Museum was a comparison of life preceding communism to life immediately after the revolution as well as now days. Whilst interesting, there was a thick wedge of propaganda as how can you compare horse drawn carriages with trains and industrial power plants? Isn't that just part of progress rather than down to any political ideology...

The most interesting, yet gruesome, museum was the War Remnants. This contained many artefacts from the Vietnam War, including some heavy duty American military toys jettisoned during the withdrawal or shot down/captured. There was also the prison that was used to incarcerate Viet Cons captured during the war and couple of floors dedicated to Napalm and Phosphorus Bombs.

Whilst absolutely horrific I had to take it all into perspective that the post-world war two planet was a vastly different place to now, with vastly polarised ideologies. Whilst I wouldn't personally send troops into war to fight because people disagreed with my politics, it has to be considered that very few communist regimes have not turned into totalitarian regimes that have persecuted and killed many citizens; and that is coming from, a socialist with communistic leanings. Still, it is no different to fascist regimes at the other extreme of the spectrum.

I don't agree with the decision of the American Generals to use Napalm and Phosphorus bombs (and think there should have been some people held accountable for war crimes) but if I was put in same situation I fear I would have made the same decision. I think it would take a very disciplined and moral person, when faced with an invisible enemy that was killing many of your troops, not to sign-off off an order to gas the underground tunnels and utilise other more extreme methods. 

Still, that aside, I personally fundamentally disagree with the carpet bombing of the country and the destruction of firtile fields by crop dusting, as it has affected innocent people more than the people they were fighting against as it has destroyed their means to feed themselves, their livelihoods and caused variety of conditions and disabilities to have affected future generations of Vietnamese citizens.

I expect that many might disagree with my perspective and opinion on this point but hope that people realise that I am not justifying any action but trying to consider what I would have done in the same shoes. Also it is just an opinion and understand that most have different opinion such is life.

I was pleased we did the museums before setting out to the Cu Chi tunnels in the afternoon, as we had more perspective on the tunnels and the role they played during the war. The afternoon tour was very interesting and included demonstrations of the access points and traps that were used by the Viet Con. I have to admit to being impressed. Not only were the traps ingenious but they also used termite nest as air holes to the underground tunnels. 

In addition when the Americans figured out about the use of the termite nest the Viet Con first proceeded to cover them in a mixture of Chilli and Pepper to aggravate the sniffer dogs and then finally distort the smell by rubbing the nest with clothes from either captured or dead US soldiers to confuse the dogs. One other amusing thing we got told was that Ho Chi Minh invented the flip flop or at least that he invented one, made out of car tires that could be worn the wrong way round. Whilst reminding me of Kim Jong-il claiming to have run the 100 metres in less than ten seconds, it was very clever as it the foot makes in the ground made the Americans think that the Viet Con were travelling in the opposite direction.

After the tour and demonstrations we got to go inside a tunnel that was part of the level  2 system of tunnels; we were told that there were four levels that all had different purposes. I managed to get all the way through the tunnel but I wouldn't say it was comfortable by any means. Not only was I sweating buckets but it was only 1 metre high and around half a metre wide. By the end I was on hands and knees and had to go face first down a little 4 metres slidey bit that reminded me of the Goonies. 

Every now and then when I think of wars and what it must have been like to fight during them, I always think with a massive slice of luck I might have had a poor-reasonable chance to survive, but I don't think I would have stood a chance during the Vietnam war. Humidity aside, the U.S. were fighting an enemy in their own country who had all the tricks up their sleeve and were motivated by what they felt were imperialist invaders. Besides, it seems obvious to me that the US underestimated the Viet Con and that some of the generals made so poor strategic decisions and tactical errors.

Our final day in Vietnam was spent on and around the Mekong Delta, which is the final leg of the 12th longest river before the water ends up into the Pacific Ocean. The Delta has been formed by four thousand years of sedimentary process resulting two main branches: the Upper and Lower. The Upper branch splits into a further seven branches and collectively they are known as '9 Dragons'.

The day was very relaxing traveling by boat and then traditional canoes, visiting Buddhist statues, floating markets and seeing Vietnamese in traditional settings either fishing or working in paddy fields. I think Vietnamese are very entrepreneurial as even the benches in the Buddhist temples were sponsored and each paddy field had a homemade graveyard in the centre as it increases the price of the field if someone wants to purchase it off the family.

I include a link to an interesting blog about the culture and the origins of the famous hats: http://xotours.vn/blog/2013/03/26/try-to-wear-this-hat-backwards/

With the tour completed we headed back to HCM for the bus to PP. Currently there is a lot of construction work going on across the country building bridges, bypasses, tunnels, roads, underground trains, airports etc. I thought this must have been a central pillar in the latest five year plan but the tour guide corrected me by saying that these have all been sponsored and/or donated by foreign governments, which is good to see and making a dramatic difference to the lives of ordinary people. The trip from HCM to the Mekong Delta used to take half a day but now only takes 1 hour...

So the first country has been completed and we were about to travel to Cambodia. I did reflect on the fact that everywhere we stayed in Vietnam began with a H and was curious to see whether that trend might continue, but realised that this was about to be blown out of the water in only two more days.

So for the last time I sign off with, Tam Biet... Goodbye Vietnam... :-(

Redhorn Pass and Dwarf Mines of Moria: the DMZ, the Hai Van Pass and Hoi An

This post, which was written on the overnight train from Denang to Ho Chi Minh/Siagon, covers the days from the 4th till midday of the 7th October which we spent: in Hue; at the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), due north of Hue; traversing the Hai Van Pass, which is in between Hue and Hoi An; and our time in Hoi An.

We arrived in Hue at 10 am on the 4th of October and I have to admit to telling a white lie. Before leaving the UK, Bec's and I made a pact that we would walk everywhere humanly possible, so that we could stretch our budget out as far as possible. As the walk from the train station to our hotel was around six kilometres, this was the first real test of the pact. Rather than putting the distance out there for public consumption, I simply decided to lie and tell Bec's that we were only 2km from the train station.

Whilst we made it to the hotel reasonably easily and without too much moaning, it was quiet a tab as we were fully laden with our backpacks (both circa 15kg) and front packs of around circa 5kg each. At this point I feel inclined to answer the question I received via a private message through Facebook; if the Blog is Lord of the Rings themed, which one of my wife and I is Frodo, and which one is Samwise?

Begrudgingly, I have to admit that Bec's is the brains of the operations and, as she has planned the route that we are taking for the six months, I am happy to concede that she is Frodo. She also seems to be weighed down by the bag, that has become already her 'One Ring', but an alternative view is that I am the ring that weighs her down and the source of mischief and strange stuff.

Well, I guess that makes me Sam, and secretly I am delighted by this. In my opinion Frodo wouldn't have got out of the Shire without Sam, let alone to the Fires of Mount Doom. Also, I still have the Boy Scout in my psyche, which means I have almost anything possible that we could need on our trip (head torches, first add kit, bottle opener, whistles, etc.) stuffed in one place or another in my two packs. The other similarity to Sam is that I carry more than my far share and during the long walk from the train station a few other items were cross loaded from Bec's to my backpacks. Its nice to feel needed though... ;-)

Still, back to Hue. Hue was once the capital of Vietnam, but is quite a small place with the Perfume River flowing through its heart. It boasts some of the finest Sino-Virtnamese architecture still remaining in the country, which is a legacy of Vietnamese Emperors; with pride of place reserved for the Imperial City, a high walled compound that is known as the Citadel. Alongside these, are some large impressive French Colonial houses that line the main road from the train station on the opposite side of the Perfume River to the Citadel.

Like any respectable Hobbits, Becs and I started the day sampling some of local specialities that Hue had to offer before beginning our sightseeing. I shall leave the naming and describing the food to the master and in fact now that Becs has published her first posting of her food orientated blog, I can include its address: 2ramblingeggs@blogspot.com.

One way we have been able to sample all the food on offer and keep cost to a minimum is to follow the dietary lead of the said Hobbits. So with first and second breakfasts consumed we made our way to the Citadel. To write that we almost never went in as the entrance fee is 110,000 VND (£3.30) per person is embarrassing, but thankfully sense prevailed and in we went. Whilst some internet sites bemoan the lack of information, I was suitably impressed. Either people had unfairly high expectations or it had improved of late, which is possibly the case, as it is going through extensive restoration to return it to its previous glory. Apart from the demise of my flip flops, such that I had to walk barefoot for most of the day, it was money well spent and was really impressive.

Like most palaces and imperial cities I have visited, the Citadel is a labyrinth of courtyards, walkways, living quarters and large halls for royal events and ceremonies. I was quiet perplexed by a public tennis court in one segment, until we read the information board that one of the last few rulers was obsessed with western culture including tennis, golf and driving. I suppose it's not that strange when you think about it as quite a few of the British royal palaces contain a real tennis court or two. After the Citadel we decided not to do a boat trip down the river but have a wander round the streets and consume first lunch, second lunch, late lunch, etc.

The original plan for the 5th was to simply take the train from Hue to Denang and then the bus to Hoi An, but an executive intervention by Samwise the Brave (and you have to be brave to propose a change to your wife's well laid plans) meant that we booked a private driver to take us up to the DMZ where the River Hangh Lil serves as the old border between North and South Vietnam and the Viet Con tunnels, which reminded me of the Mines of Moria and would be an excellent place to play hide and seek. You just had to take the anti-US propaganda with a pinch of salt.

After the DMZ we headed back past Hue and then down to Hoi An via the stunning Hai Van Pass, which made me think of the Redhorn Pass from LOTR. Either side of the pass were many stunning lakes (including the imposing Tam Ziang lake), bays, coves and the Marble Mountain, where Vietnamese marble is mined. 

Not only did it actually only work out a few dollars more expensive but we managed to take in a few recommended sights that we would otherwise have missed due to time constraints. The only downside of the day was the weather, which was mostly torrential rain, but we did get invited into a Vietnamese house to shelter from the rain at one point, so it wasn't all bad as it satisfied the 'people watcher' in me.

We arrived in Hoi An sometime after six pm on the evening of the 5th and had a gentle wander about town. Hoi An is even smaller than Hue and is like the a Vietnamese equivalent of a Cornish costal fishing town with a funny language, but less about Cornwall. It is an historic port with narrow cobbled streets and two hundred year old merchant shop-houses that have been passed down and are still run by family descendants.

The first night ended with a Vietnamese lock-in to watch the West Ham game and the second day involved Becs doing a cookery class. Not only will these classes be a useful respite from each other over the coming months but I hope I will also be able to continue to eat the delicious food that Becs has prepared. That evening we went across one of the foot bridges to the ancient town to look around the Night Market and see the spectacular array of lanterns that light the entire town, which was Gondor-esq.

The morning of the train (7th October) was a bit of a lazy one, albeit Bec's went to the market to get some of the famous local baguettes (Banh ... ) and I went for a run to the beach, as I have started to resemble Fatty Bolger.

Before ending this post I also need to thank Sara and Scott Reilley, without which Becs and I wouldn't be making this trip. They convinced Becs one night in Dubai to go travelling and we are in fact following some of the routes that they have either individually or collectively traveled in the past. For these reasons they are the Bilbo Baggins of our adventure out of the Shire, as without Bilbo there would have been no LOTR. Many thanks and I already can't wait to share our tales with you five the next time we meet up in the UK. I think that's enough LOTR references for one post... :-)

The next post of the Blog will cover the train from Denang down to Ho Chi Min/Saigon and our time in, and around the city. I am hoping to be able to book myself on a half-day fishing tour on the Mekong Delta, to learn how the Vietnamese people fish. 

I have now started to get into the rhythm of writing a blog again, such that I write my notes quickly in a pad during the day and simply need to type it up last minute before bed, which depending upon how many beers we have drunk that day/evening can only take 30-40 minutes. Usually there is one final proof read after I wake up in the next morning before breakfast and it is published. At least this way it is not becoming too intrusive.

Tam Biet