Chad and Sharon Moore

After the sleepiness of Mui Ne, Nha Trang seemed lively and bustling and we were ready for it !  Nha Trang has a lovely long beach but you do get bothered constantly by touts selling everything from drinks, snacks, massages to pedicures.  I have noticed that in Vietnam they tend to invade your personal space. There will be miles of empty beach and they will choose to sit within a metre or so away, and it won’t be one or two people but about 10 !  They are also very touchy feely and think nothing of manhandling you.  Aside from this, they are very friendly and trusting and go out of their way to help you. 

We arrived late on a Friday evening and after knocking on about 10 or so hotel doors, we finally got the last (windowless) room in a cheap place.  Nha Trang ís very much a Vietnamese holiday/party place so gets especially busy at weekends.  We actually stayed in another 2 places, one of which was La Suisse ($22) which was nicely furbished but our room was above the kitchen so it got rather noisy early on in the mornings.  The last place was Perfume Grass Inn ($12) which was not as posh but had a great shower, fab breakfasts and was cheaper :-)

We went on a boat trip and visited four islands which was great.  The first time I went into the sea I wore a life jacket, tyre and my float !  I could hardly move and the jacket kept sliding up to my ears!  I was so buoyant I could have saved everyone on the boat if it went under :-) We đid a bit of snorkelling first which was amazing, there were so many wonderful fish.  I did actually go into the water with just the tyre on and it was an awful lot more comfortable !  Chad and I got stung by jelly fish and I have to say, it was quite painful.  Loc (our tour guide aka Funky Monkey) put some white vinegar on me which helped.  Chad had to suffer with his as he is a man :-)

We stopped for lunch which was a huge table laden with soooo much yummy food such as tuna, prawns, noodles, spring rolls, etc :-)

When lunch was over, we were introduced to “Nha Trang’s Boy Band” which was Loc and a couple of the other guys from the crew.  They were very entertaining.

After lunch it was time for free happy hour at the floating bar.  I donned my new best friend, my tyre, and I was in the water like a shot and merrily splashed my way over for a drink or three… hic :-)  The stuff they serve is a bit strong but it is such a fantastic feeling just bobbing around in the water.  There are even cup holders on the bar.  I was allowed to take the tyre onto the next island with me which was great.  I am soooo going to buy one when we get back home.  I can just see myself at Shelly Beach bobbing around with a nice chilled bottle of Hardys…. he he :-)

We actually did the same boat trip again a few days later as it was such good fun.  Funky Monkey remembered us and gave us a free beer….. sweet :-)

 We even managed to fit in a couple of rugby matches which were showing at a local Irish bar called Shamrock.  We watched Australia lose in the Tri-Nations against the All Blacks, the bar was heaving so even though we lost, it was a good atmosphere.  I treated myself to a manicure/pedicure whilst Chad was watching the rugby and it was very cheap. 

We thought we’d have a break from the beach so took a stroll to Long Son Pagoda and climbed the 152 steps :-( to the white Buddha (14m high) which is seated on a lotus blossom and has great views of Nha Trang.  Luckily it was early evening so the steps were not too much of a struggle.

We enjoyed ourselves at Nha Trang and were impressed by how many restaurants and bars there are. 

We have bought ourselves ‘open tour’ bus tickets which take us from HCMC to Mui Ne, Nha Trang, Hoi An, Hue and finally Hanoi.  All of this for only $18 each :-)  We have our first overnight trip coming up so we'll see how that goes.

Next stop Hoi An which i've been looking forward to as i've heard so much about the tailors.

We arrived at Mui Ne, a quaint little fishing town on the south central coast of Vietnam, and it was a welcome break from HCMC.  The beach was lovely and long and best of all, quiet :-)  We checked out a couple of places and managed to get a bungalow on the beach so that we could hear the waves ... sweet :-)  It also had a couple of pools, one of which was a baby one which was perfect for me! :-)

Mui Ne is known for its sanddunes, they are lovely and remind us of Maspalomas in Gran Canaria.  Chad was disappointed that there was no nudist section here though :-(  He is developing a cute pair of flesh coloured boardies (shorts) that only I get to see :-)

We did absolutely nothing in Mui Ne, just relaxed and chilled out :-)  We did get back into our romantic evening activities, no, not that, I mean jogging along the beach at sunset together :-) We even woke up early one morning to catch a sunrise, how romantic.

We've sampled the cheap Vietnamese rolls, baguettes typically filled with pate, cheese spread, salad and soy/chilli sauce plus choice of meat, a great little snack for about 40 - 50 cents.  We've also sampled some beer, Vietnam doesn't have a national beer as such so there are quite a few local breweries.  I'm looking forward to trying more regional beers as we travel north.

We have had to hang about Phnom Penh for a few days in order to sort out our Vietnam visas.  It’s not the best place in the world but it does have a certain charm about it.  It’s a largely french designed city due to being part of the old French Indochina and was once known as the Pearl of Asia.  Wars have since ravaged the city and it wasn’t until the 1990’s with help from the UN that Phnom Penh really returned to life.

One of these wars that happened in our lifetime was when the ultra communist Khmer Rouge took control.  Many people will remember the film “Killing Fields”, the harrowing true story of a journalist trapped in Cambodia.  We took a tuk-tuk out to the Choeung Ek memorial which is built at one of the many killing fields across Cambodia.  There were over 100 mass graves and about 20,000 people, including foreigners, executed there.  The memorial itself contains thousands of skulls and does serve as a horrific reminder of what took place.

Sharon had read the book “First they Killed my Father”, a true story of a young girl’s fight for survival during Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge reign and was keen to learn more so we also visited Toul Sleng.  Toul Sleng is a former high school which was converted into a prison and interrogation facility and renamed S-21 by the Khmer Rouge.  It now serves as a museum and much of it has been left in the state it was abandoned in 1979.  It contains thousands of photos and extensive records which send a shiver up your spine.

It hasn’t all been depressing though, Phnom Penh Royal Palace and the National Museum were a lot more pleasant J  The Museum contains many Angkorian artifacts taken from the Angkor temples we visited when in Siem Reap.  It was good to see the real thing and helped lend context to the whole era.

We’ve once again been spoilt with delicious food, Cambodian food or Khmer food as its know here, continues the high standard of yummy asian tucker.  Especially loving the local curries, not spicy but absolutely full of flavour.

Being woken up early by the traffic isn’t really part of our plan but it has enabled us to watch the various types of exercise going on in the park across from our balcony.  Cambodians have waaaaaay too much energy in the morning, Thai Chi, football, badminton, jogging and general aerobics and all before 6.00 a.m !  It really is quite tiring to watch whilst straining with our own workout of drinking a coffee J 

Whilst touring around the city we noticed a queue outside a local hospital, I thought maybe they were there for free vitamin shots or vaccinations but later on we watched a news report from Cambodia on Australia tv which gave us a bit of a scare.  It turns out that Cambodia is in the midst of a dengue fever crisis and the hospitals are struggling to cope.  Deaths are at a record high so let’s hope our super tropical mosquito spray keeps up the good work!

Talking of watching tv, we have managed to watch the Aussie football team play terrible in the Asian Cup.  I can imagine the papers are saying “bring back Guus!” At least the mighty Sea Eagles are still soaring, it’s been more fun watching them J

The money situation is confusing here as they use both American dollars and the local currency, reil at the same time.  The reil isn’t that strong so sometimes you can end up with a wad of cash that is worth next to nothing but it does make you feel like a drug dealer J Have I mentioned that I have been asked many times if I’d like to buy drugs ? Maybe it is the way I look.  

Next stop is Ho Chi Minh City or the old name Saigon, so it’s goodbye to the strange smells and strange sights of Cambodia.  Once you get used to the beggers, landmine victims, dust, sewer smells and worst of all, using American dollars combined with the local currency riel, it’s not too bad

The next stop on our trip is Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.  We hopped onto one of the local buses (US$3.50) for the 6 hour journey.  We were right at the front of the bus and had a great view :-)  Why are Cambodians so horny you may ask?  Well, we first noticed this whilst being at the front of the bus watching the driver honk every time he overtook something, letting them know he was coming I imagine.  On a country road this is fine, a good idea even, but when in a city environment that equals a lot of honks from a lot of people!  Our room is positioned on a busy crossroads, great for watching the hectic goings on from the safety of our balcony but absolute hell from 6 a.m. when the morning traffic begins!  It is great fun watching people try to cross the road - you take your life in your hands just trying to get across!!!  If it wasn't for Chad I'd probably get run over!

Getting back to the bus trip, on one of the breaks we had we pulled into a little place selling all sorts of local food.  The favorite purchase on our bus was fried crickets!  I’ve been on many trips where the person sitting next to me is eating all types of smelly food but the fried crickets certainly get the no.1 prize :-)  Wherever I looked people were munching into their snack.  Chad said he is going to try some, I think I’ll give it a miss.

We are staying at Bright Lotus 1 ($US18 a/c, tv, fridge) which is opposite the National Museum and one road back from the riverfront.   The place is really clean and has the cutest little dog called Pinky (King Spaniel) guarding the reception.

People live wherever they can here.  There is a family living in a public toilet opposite us and also live in tiny little boats on the river.  There are also people living on the streets.  There are so many skinny children running around with next to nothing on begging, which is heartbreaking.  You can usually see their parents sitting somewhere watching the kids and telling them to go and ask you for money!  There are a few charities up and running which are helping the local children such as Child Safe and Friends.  Friends is a Cambodian version of Jamie Oliver’s 15.  It is a fantastic restaurant serving cheap but amazing food and employs and looks after youngsters learning the restaurant trade.  Child Safe employs/trains people to look after children who need help.

There are a multitude of restaurants in Phnom Penh and plenty of different dishes such as Spanish, Italian, British and a huge French influence.  Becks you would love it here, they even put chilli in their sugar for dipping fruits in :-) which I discovered after smothering it on my grapefruit.  Of course, I didn’t tell Chad this and he had the same nasty shock as me …. he he he :-)

We have noticed that pyjamas are very popular here.  Loads of women seem to wear them to go out in.  I’m thinking about getting myself a pair :-)

Update on moped watch – we saw a 3 piece suite being transported on the back of a moped :-)

We are staying in Siem Reap town because it serves as the gateway to the old temple ruins of the Angkorian era Khmer Empire.  We hired Jani, a tuk-tuk driver, for a few days and we have explored most of the legendary ruins.  It was nice not to be tied to a group tour and it allowed us more freedom to experience a bit of the adventurous atmosphere of being in the ancient ruins alone amongst the jungle.  I won't bore you with all the history, etc, of the temples but it is fascinating and being able to roam around them at your own freewill is a pleasure :-) 

Needless to say, we have taken loads of photos which will probably just look like a pile of old rocks, I'm sure they would look better if we had dressed up as Indiana Jones and Lara Croft :-)

As in Thailand, the Cambodian drivers are all  mad!  An organised chaos of every type of transportation possible, they are supposed to drive on the right-hand side of the road but this rarely happens!  We have had quite a few close calls but this all adds to the excitement I suppose.  We have seen countless unusual things whilst on the road, but the amazing use of mopeds still astound us. 

There have been a family of 5 plus suitcases, probably off on holiday.  The 3 live adult pigs strapped on the back, probably off to the slaughter.  The moped with 20 or so scaffold poles tied along the side, probably trying to joust their tea on the way home.  The mother holding a hospital drip bag attached to her child whilst the dad was driving, probably no ambulances.  Not a day goes by without us doing a double-take at the traffic and saying "did you see that?"

It has been a very busy few days, we've even had to set our alarm clock for early morning starts.  It will be nice to get back to the norm, get out of bed when bored :-)

After doing our research, we were expecting the worse, scams galore!  We were picked up at 8am and caught the ferry back to the mainland where we hung around for 1/2 waiting for more customers (a common thing in Thailand) and then we set off to the border town, Aranyon Prathet.  It was an interesting ride as its not a direct route so the driver was taking quite a few back roads so we got to see more of the non-tourist Thailand. 

We arrived at a restaurant in the border town where we were told to change onto a big bus to the border.  I wasn't surprised as I was expecting to be herded together with the other travellers from Bangkok.  We had to wait at the restaurant for an hour or so, apparently the bus was being cleaned which was bull as when we got on the bus it had leftover rubbish in it!  There was nothing else to do but wait and you couldn't wander off as the bus could be ready any minute, so, like everyone else, we had some lunch.  I noticed that when people had finished eating a lady was taking them into an office to sort out visas to Camodia.  We asked around and found that people were being charged nearly double the price of a visa!  When our turn came we refused her services saying we would get the visa at the border.  She didn't like it and told us that you couldn't get the $20 visa at the border and that the bus would not wait for us even though we had paid to be taken to Siem Reap which is 4-5 hours past the border.  We could now see why people were paying twice the amount, even though we knew a few of them were aware of being ripped off, but they didn't want to be stuck at the border.  We stood our ground and eventually we all got on the bus that took us a 5 minute ride to the border.  We all had to get off this bus and once through the border got on another bus so our original driver could have taken us straight through to the border but he was probably getting some commission from the restaurant/visa people. 

A Cambodian guy from the other bus company met us at the border and as we didn't have our visas he escorted us to the various spots - Thai exit control/visa service/border crossing.  When we were at the visa service they said that they wanted 1100bht each (should only be around 700 bht each).  We told them we didn't have that much money and only had US$20 for the visa.  Eventually they agreed to accept $20 plus 400bht each which was still a complete rip off but after a bit of haggling, we finally settled on 100bht each as long as it was fast tracked :-)  It has signs at the office saying that the visa is $20 only so this extra money is for the officials who issue the visas! 

Out of a bus full of about 30 people, only 4 of us didn't cave in! Even though we had left the group behind, the bus guy assured us that we would not be left behind which is contrary to what the woman in the office told us.

We all eventually got into Cambodia and were loaded onto the oldest bus in the world!  It had no air con, the seats were comfortable but didn't recline but it was great being able to look at the countryside on the way to Siem Reap (5-6 hours).  The road to Siem Reap is renowned for being really bad and is quite dangerous in places.   This road won't be paved until the contract with some airline flying between Bangkok and Siem Reap has run out.  We finally got to Siem Reap at about 11pm and it was no surprise to find out that we were not being dropped in the centre of town (as told when booking ticket) but outside a hotel (of the driver's choice) 4km from town!!

We jumped on a tuk-tuk and headed into town ($1 for 2 people).  We decided to stay near the market area of town at Ancient Angkor which is a great hotel with a pool, air-con, tv, fridge for $13 pn.  Our room even has a balcony which is great. It was 11.30pm but we had arrived, safe and sound, a lovely hot shower to wash of all the dust from the bus ride and it was straight to bed.   

We had a long journey ahead of us and set off nice and early.  A 2km walk to the bus station, 2 hour bus journey into Bangkok, a stressful 10 minutes trying to work out where to get the #511 bus from the Southern Terminal to the Eastern Terminal (someone took pity on us and helped us :-)).  Finally got on the bus which took about 45 minutes to navigate across the city, enabling me to spy lots more shops, yeyyyy (Chad not so impressed).  By this time, Chad and I were starving and spied a KFC... yum :-) 

The good thing about travelling in Thailand is that they have many tiers of fares for buses, etc and we usually take the 2nd class option which is a government bus.  Considering how cheap the fares are, the buses are actually really comfortable and even have air con !  We would take the 3rd class option but that's the one that stops off everywhere and takes a lot longer, otherwise I'm sure Chad would make me slum it more!

After a 6 hour journey and a really dodgy vampire movie, we finally arrived in Trat. We checked into a cheap guest house and after a quick visit to the night market for a bite to eat we hit the sack. 

We headed off on the ferry to Ko Chang the following day and was greeted with torrential rain.  I know it is supposed to be the rainy season but it has rained non-stop!  We checked into a hotel on White Sands Beach (SP Place - a/c, tv,etc - 500bht) which is very close to our most popular shop - 7-11, the taxi dropped us off outside the shop and the rain was so bad that we didn't do our usual checking out places we just found cover!. We haven't been doing much here as it has rained every day but it has been nice to just chill out, watch sport, movies, news and read our books.  I even had a few runs along the lovely beach a few times in between the rain.  I have been neglecting my keepfit regime :-(  We did actually have a bit of sunshine the other day and both got quite sunburnt.. doh ! We even caught a few waves in the sea with our lilo and also saw some dude surfing, this is a first for us in Thailand! Chad tells me the currents have been really bad, it's recommended not to swim in the rainy season here ( Oh dear, no swimming for me then :-) ) but it still amazes us that some parents let their youngsters out on their own, they wouldn't get away with that in Oz. We've seen many local thais watch on in dismay, it is embarassing to see they are more concerned than the parents. 

We head off to Siem Reap next, this involes crossing into Cambodia at Poipet. The whole border crossing is apparently riddled with scams so we will have to watch out. Next journal from Cambodia........hopefully! :-)