Well hello, Mark here leaving another post. Since we last left word we have visited two more cities in Vietnam: Nha Trang, and Hoi An. These two towns are what I was expecting from Vietnam and am glad that they delivered.
We took the train from HCMC to Nha Trang. It was the loudest train ride either of us have ever been on. The TV was playing Vietnamese movies, and the speakers were cranked. Even I had to wear ear plugs. Once we arrived in Nha Trang we walked to our guest house, and pretty well went immediately to bed after showers. Upon waking we went to the dive shop to book our night dive. Don't know if I've mentioned but Liza and I have been trying to do a night dive since we left Canada. We are looking to satisfy a dare (put forth by Steve Bell) as well as our own curiosity about marine night life. After booking that for the following evening we wandered around the town and enjoyed a culinary experience (Pizza), and then relax the day away.
The next day we went to a place to do a mud bath. You sit in these large concrete tubs and they fill it with mud. After that you dry in the sun and then shower. Following this you sit in a hot mineral spring bath, and soak. Quite a nice experience, and well worth it. Only downfall the two local teens being just a bit inappropriate. Kinda reminded me of the Takhini Hot Springs:). That night we went and got geared up for our night dive. We walked across the main road with tanks and weight belts (quite a work out). Upon getting to the beach the waves were coming in pretty hard. We tried anyways but were rejected by the sea. The dive company agreed to let us try again the following evening.
So we went to a little french restaurant. The chef (a young vietnamese woman) apparently won the best young french chef of 2004. I don't know if that was local, national or international, but the food was excellent. Liza had been planning this special meal for a few days - We were served up a nine course meal on one plate "for darlings to share." The meal was complete with a bottle of french wine. The pate was incredible and the meal was finished off with a vietnamese coffee and rice liquor.
The coffee here is so good. I have been looking for this coffee they have called Weasel coffee (Ca fe Chon). Apperently the beans are fed to weasels and then regurgitated. This gives the coffee a distinctive taste and is apperently considered the best coffee in the world. It is difficult to find and quite expensive. Apperently only 400 pounds of the stuff are produced a year and 1 pound costs more than a hundred dollars. An alternative is the gold legend coffee. It is not real weasel coffee, but with careful bean selection and roasting, they are able to reproduce the flavor. I saw one package of this, but figured I would find it elsewhere... I haven't. I can order it online but it is way more expensive. I will keep my eyes open today.
The next evening we walked by the beach on our way to the dive shop and the waves were just as mean looking. We went to the dive shop and as soon as they saw us they were already shaking their heads 'no.'. We decided that I would go for a day dive the next day and Liza would have a quiet day of her own. Liza is getting a bit bored of the coral diving (she wants something new!)and it's important for us to have seperate days on occasion:). At 7:20 am I took off for the boat and sailed to the dive spot. It's a small protected marine park about a 45 minute boat ride away. I befriended a british couple on the boat and we shared stories of our travel. The first dive was just okay. I didn't see anything too interesting and it seemed I was on the begginer team. The other divers kept kicking up silt and were not controlling their buoyancy well. I was the same when I started. The second dive was much better as I decided to venture off a bit and explore the many corral formations more closely. I did almost lose my dive master a couple of times but really enjoyed the freedom anyways. After this dive I began speaking with one of the two guys I was diving with only to find out that he was from Greece. I was able to practice my greek and was pleasantly surprised by how easily it flowed. Thanks Dad. It was really a great day of diving and I was able to see a Cuttle fish that wasn't on my dinner plate, the largest eel I have ever seen, and christmas tree worms(beautiful).
After the dive I returned to Liza and we went shopping. We found an art gallery that had silk stitching. It was all very nice but the shipping would have been very expensive. Some of these pieces took 3 years to make. We were taken to a work shop to watch people learning to do this. It seemed like painstaking work. Before we left Nha trang we stopped at a brew pub for a pint. It was very good beer. (Darcy I took pictures just for you). We returned to our hotel and then took a sleeper bus to Hoi An. It was difficult to sleep in this thing as it was so top heavy it felt as if it would flip on every corner.
We arrived in Hoi An at about six am and walked to our guest house. The town is really small and has streets lined with silk shops where you can get a tailor made suit for about 70 usd. Silk lanterns and pillowcases, everywhere on these old thin roads lined with french colonial buildings. It is quite a scene, and really is stereotypical Vietnam, for the first time. We were able to do some shopping at a fair trade cooperative, that employed disabled vietnamese people. They were really lovely people and very helpful. Tonight we are doing a cooking class, and then tommorow we take a bus to Hue. Hue was the capital in ancient times. The following day we head for Laos.
I guess this is a farewell to the chapter of Vietnam. Other than the few scammers, and rude ones, I think the people are the kindest smiling souls. The food is some of the best I've had, and everywhere there is something to catch your eye. Liza voted Vietnam last on her list of favourite places - constantly being ripped off really turned her off. I really have enjoyed my time in Vietnam and would love to return someday. Farewell.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Gooooooooooood morning Vietnam.
Well hello all. Mark writing this time. Liza is beside me talking with Hazel. Oh SKYPE you awesome creation you. Well we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) last Tuesday. We get off the bus and are immediately surrounded by taxi cab drivers offering us a lift. I ask a driver to show me where we are on the map. He shows me an area several blocks from the hotel that we had reserved. So we agree to get in his cab as he has a meter. Before we know it (2 mins.) we are up to 8 dollars USD. The meter is going like the dash computer in the Delorian. Liza and I start saying things like this is expensive and tell the driver that we might have to get out as we didn't have very much money on us. He drops us off at the hotel (12 USD later). we pay him and as we are checking in we mention how much it cost to the hotel clerk. She was shocked. It is at this moment that Liza notices that I have forgotten a package on the bus. I get the hotel clerk to draw me a map to get back to the bus stop. It is literally a 1 minute walk from the hotel. Good job Vietnam with those first impressions. The bus is gone and all the offices closed, so I consider the package lost. We set the alarm for 5:30 am so I can run back to the bus stop to try one more time. I speak with this very nice lady who tells me to return at 9:30am. I do, and after her frantically speaking on the phone and radio she turns to me and smiles, saying she found it. I almost wanted to kiss her. She told me to return at 11:30 at which time the driver would bring me the package. There was a lot of praying to ST. Christopher during this. He has never let us down, even though we thought he was the patron saint of lost things. He is actually the patron saint of Travellers (which makes sense as well. St Anthony is the patron saint of lost things, in case you're wondering.) So it's easy to paint a whole society because of the minority (no matter how visible that minority is), but there are some lovely people here.
We stayed the first 5 days in HCMC, in the backpacker area... and it's quite nice. There are street vendors every where. You can get a belly busting feed for less than 3 dollars. every night for a week and never have the same meal twice. It truely is a culinary heaven. I can't wait for Hoi An. We'll be doing a cooking class there. The coffee in Vietnam is some of the best I've ever had. It's strong and people like to put sweetened cream in it. So the food is delicious and I'm learning how to barter with people about the cost of it.
We spent three days in My Tho (pronounced Me-Tah). It's a small town along the Mekong Delta. The Mekong is huge, it makes the Yukon river look like a stream. There really wasn't much to do in this town. You can do river cruises but we never got around to it. I went to a snake farm for a day. It's run by the Vietnamese army. They use the snakes for their venom (making anti-venom). I saw snakes eating frogs and was offered a cobra for lunch. I had to decline (unfortunately) as I didn't have enough money on me at the time. The following day we returned to HCMC. We took the local bus to and from.
Tommorrow we have to go to the Indian Consolate to pick up our Indian Visa's. After that we are taking a train to Nha Trang. Here we will do a night dive, and have a good time. Nha Trang is the top diving and party spot in Vietnam. After a few days we will head to Hoi An. This is the cultural centre of the country.... Maybe. Lots of arts and silk for sale, cooking classes, and fine dining. After that we will head to Laos. Today we decided to not go to Hanoi and instead go to Laos a few days early. The bus ride from Hanoi is 24 hrs, and we have heard far too many horror stories. like tourist being stuck sitting on the floor, or being stranded in the middle of nowhere. This way we break the bus ride up into a couple of days and apparently the people of Laos are not as likely to rip you off. It's sad that we have to think that way but when it comes to transport, Vietnam is #1 for scams.
I hope that this finds every one well, and would love to hear tales of your adventures.
With love;
Mark and Liza
We stayed the first 5 days in HCMC, in the backpacker area... and it's quite nice. There are street vendors every where. You can get a belly busting feed for less than 3 dollars. every night for a week and never have the same meal twice. It truely is a culinary heaven. I can't wait for Hoi An. We'll be doing a cooking class there. The coffee in Vietnam is some of the best I've ever had. It's strong and people like to put sweetened cream in it. So the food is delicious and I'm learning how to barter with people about the cost of it.
We spent three days in My Tho (pronounced Me-Tah). It's a small town along the Mekong Delta. The Mekong is huge, it makes the Yukon river look like a stream. There really wasn't much to do in this town. You can do river cruises but we never got around to it. I went to a snake farm for a day. It's run by the Vietnamese army. They use the snakes for their venom (making anti-venom). I saw snakes eating frogs and was offered a cobra for lunch. I had to decline (unfortunately) as I didn't have enough money on me at the time. The following day we returned to HCMC. We took the local bus to and from.
Tommorrow we have to go to the Indian Consolate to pick up our Indian Visa's. After that we are taking a train to Nha Trang. Here we will do a night dive, and have a good time. Nha Trang is the top diving and party spot in Vietnam. After a few days we will head to Hoi An. This is the cultural centre of the country.... Maybe. Lots of arts and silk for sale, cooking classes, and fine dining. After that we will head to Laos. Today we decided to not go to Hanoi and instead go to Laos a few days early. The bus ride from Hanoi is 24 hrs, and we have heard far too many horror stories. like tourist being stuck sitting on the floor, or being stranded in the middle of nowhere. This way we break the bus ride up into a couple of days and apparently the people of Laos are not as likely to rip you off. It's sad that we have to think that way but when it comes to transport, Vietnam is #1 for scams.
I hope that this finds every one well, and would love to hear tales of your adventures.
With love;
Mark and Liza
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Thank you Cambodia
Hello everyone! Mark is reading a book on our beach bungalow deck, and I am in a tiny internet room with a few geckos. I am really excited to share our experiences in Cambodia with you all - it has been amazing and I think Mark would agree that we are leaving large pieces of our hearts behind here.
From Singapore, we took a plane to the capital of Cambodia, Phonm Penh, via a brief stopover in Thailand. From the moment we stepped off the plane, the magic began. Riding down the busy streets in Tuk Tuks, sharing smiles with children yelling 'hello' from the side of the road, and listening to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, our emotions ran in every direction. Prior to coming here, we had read a book (can't remember the name) about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime -- it was a collection of children's memories. It moved me to tears on more then one occasion. Needless to say, I was already invested in Cambodia prior to our arrival.
For those who, like I was, are not aware who/what the Khmer Rouge was, I will give you a brief summary as I understand it. This summary will not do it justice, and really, the passion and compassion will likely be lost in these words --- but when we return we can talk more about it!On December 31st, 1975, the Khmer Rouge (like an army, but really Cambodian teenage solders; under the leader Pol Pot) made all the Cambodians living in the city leave for the country. They told them that the Americans were going to bomb the city, and that they needed to leave for a few days - it was not an option to stay. What inevitably happened was that they were all separated into groups (men, woman, children), forced to work in rice fields, starved, beaten, and killed. Killing was the solution to everything - you complained, dead; you looked the wrong way, dead; you were educated, dead; you looked like you stole a grain of rice, dead. About 2 million Cambodians were killed in 3 years. Of course, those that were not killed were tortured. The Vietnamese eventually over took the Khmer Rouge, and the Cambodians slowly returned to their destroyed cities to find what ever family they might have had left. I still can't believe that this happened in my lifetime.
It is important to mention this history in order to appreciate what Cambodia is today. Not a day goes by that I am moved to tears by the smiling faces of people who experienced hell. The Cambodians wounds are still fresh, but you will not see any of them complain. The cities are developing, the traditional arts (that were forbidden and destroyed) have started to rebuild their roots, and the people continue to survive. No matter what happened in the past, they never forget, but they keep moving forward --- and smile the whole time doing it!!! One cannot help but discuss the differences between the Cambodians and some of the people we work with .... but that conversation is for another day!
Having had some understanding of the recent history it was essential, in fact mandatory, that Mark and I visit Prison S-21 and the killing fields. Prison S-21 was a high school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a prison, complete with torture rooms. Mark and I walked in and around the torture rooms -- we saw the battery boxes that the prisoners used as a toilet, and the iron claps that kept them chained to their 'beds.' We also saw the exact items used to torture the innocent inmates and the pictures of how the (dead) bodies were found in the room. It was horrific and, for me, a life changing experience. There were other rooms with rows upon rows upon rows of pictures of men, women, and children that had been killed at the prison (the Khmer Rouge kept notes and data). Mark and I were only able to make it to the second room -- seeing the children proved to be too much for us to handle. The air was thick at Prison S-21, and we knew we were walking with ghosts. Although the last killing was about 30 years ago, the fear of death is still alive there.
The prison has rightly been renamed the Genocide Museum.
After wiping our eyes and taking deep breaths, we went to the killing fields. These are huge fields with big divots in them .... bodies were just thrown there and left to rot. Seeing them reminded me of seeing the bodies being thrown on each other during Hitler's regime. There was also a monument there, filled with the skulls of the bodies that were later found in the fields. We payed our respects and, exhausted from emotion, headed home to our guest house. The ride home was silent.
*************************************
Despite seeing some pretty heartbreaking things, Mark and I were also able to explore and have some fun! We left Phomn Phen and went to Siem Riep -- we went to the Russian Market where we saw REAL fresh fish for sale .... so fresh it was still jumping! We also went to a mall and got a detox and played a few games of bowling!!! There is no 10 pin in Whitehorse so needless to say, I was soooooooooo excited!
We spent a day seeing some of the temples of and around Ankor Wat and Mark was in heaven. He has a real interest in the temples and I would do an injustice trying to even talk about what we saw! The pictures are up on facebook ....
We also took a Khmer cooking class which was great fun! We made 2 dishes each and despite not writing the recipes down, have a pretty good idea what to make when we are itching for some Cambodian food. The class did not teach us how to make fried crickets or tarantulas, but have no fear, Mark and I were still able to try them! During our bus ride to Siem Reap we stopped at a roadside market. Crickets, beetles, tarantulas .... you name it, they had it! And we bought it! We tried the crickets and spider, but not the beetles. The cricket was gross but the spider was sweet. I tried a leg, but Mark went straight for the arse and abdomen. He didn't like it.
Following Siem Reap we went to Shianoukville, where we are now. We are staying at the beach, in a bungalow, just relaxing until Vietnam (2 days). Our time in Cambodia is coming to an end, but we will not say goodbye when we leave; instead, until we meet again.
As many of you know, I was really looking forward to volunteering at an orphanage during our time here. After doing some research and being completely disgusted at some orphanages being used as ''tourist sightseeing destinations" I did some soul searching. I decided that now is not the time -- 2 weeks volunteering would be for me, not for the children, and that is not what my goal is. There will be a next time.
Thanks for reading and for commenting! We love hearing your thoughts and miss you all!
Until Vietnam,
Liza
From Singapore, we took a plane to the capital of Cambodia, Phonm Penh, via a brief stopover in Thailand. From the moment we stepped off the plane, the magic began. Riding down the busy streets in Tuk Tuks, sharing smiles with children yelling 'hello' from the side of the road, and listening to the horrors of the Khmer Rouge, our emotions ran in every direction. Prior to coming here, we had read a book (can't remember the name) about the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge regime -- it was a collection of children's memories. It moved me to tears on more then one occasion. Needless to say, I was already invested in Cambodia prior to our arrival.
For those who, like I was, are not aware who/what the Khmer Rouge was, I will give you a brief summary as I understand it. This summary will not do it justice, and really, the passion and compassion will likely be lost in these words --- but when we return we can talk more about it!On December 31st, 1975, the Khmer Rouge (like an army, but really Cambodian teenage solders; under the leader Pol Pot) made all the Cambodians living in the city leave for the country. They told them that the Americans were going to bomb the city, and that they needed to leave for a few days - it was not an option to stay. What inevitably happened was that they were all separated into groups (men, woman, children), forced to work in rice fields, starved, beaten, and killed. Killing was the solution to everything - you complained, dead; you looked the wrong way, dead; you were educated, dead; you looked like you stole a grain of rice, dead. About 2 million Cambodians were killed in 3 years. Of course, those that were not killed were tortured. The Vietnamese eventually over took the Khmer Rouge, and the Cambodians slowly returned to their destroyed cities to find what ever family they might have had left. I still can't believe that this happened in my lifetime.
It is important to mention this history in order to appreciate what Cambodia is today. Not a day goes by that I am moved to tears by the smiling faces of people who experienced hell. The Cambodians wounds are still fresh, but you will not see any of them complain. The cities are developing, the traditional arts (that were forbidden and destroyed) have started to rebuild their roots, and the people continue to survive. No matter what happened in the past, they never forget, but they keep moving forward --- and smile the whole time doing it!!! One cannot help but discuss the differences between the Cambodians and some of the people we work with .... but that conversation is for another day!
Having had some understanding of the recent history it was essential, in fact mandatory, that Mark and I visit Prison S-21 and the killing fields. Prison S-21 was a high school that the Khmer Rouge turned into a prison, complete with torture rooms. Mark and I walked in and around the torture rooms -- we saw the battery boxes that the prisoners used as a toilet, and the iron claps that kept them chained to their 'beds.' We also saw the exact items used to torture the innocent inmates and the pictures of how the (dead) bodies were found in the room. It was horrific and, for me, a life changing experience. There were other rooms with rows upon rows upon rows of pictures of men, women, and children that had been killed at the prison (the Khmer Rouge kept notes and data). Mark and I were only able to make it to the second room -- seeing the children proved to be too much for us to handle. The air was thick at Prison S-21, and we knew we were walking with ghosts. Although the last killing was about 30 years ago, the fear of death is still alive there.
The prison has rightly been renamed the Genocide Museum.
After wiping our eyes and taking deep breaths, we went to the killing fields. These are huge fields with big divots in them .... bodies were just thrown there and left to rot. Seeing them reminded me of seeing the bodies being thrown on each other during Hitler's regime. There was also a monument there, filled with the skulls of the bodies that were later found in the fields. We payed our respects and, exhausted from emotion, headed home to our guest house. The ride home was silent.
*************************************
Despite seeing some pretty heartbreaking things, Mark and I were also able to explore and have some fun! We left Phomn Phen and went to Siem Riep -- we went to the Russian Market where we saw REAL fresh fish for sale .... so fresh it was still jumping! We also went to a mall and got a detox and played a few games of bowling!!! There is no 10 pin in Whitehorse so needless to say, I was soooooooooo excited!
We spent a day seeing some of the temples of and around Ankor Wat and Mark was in heaven. He has a real interest in the temples and I would do an injustice trying to even talk about what we saw! The pictures are up on facebook ....
We also took a Khmer cooking class which was great fun! We made 2 dishes each and despite not writing the recipes down, have a pretty good idea what to make when we are itching for some Cambodian food. The class did not teach us how to make fried crickets or tarantulas, but have no fear, Mark and I were still able to try them! During our bus ride to Siem Reap we stopped at a roadside market. Crickets, beetles, tarantulas .... you name it, they had it! And we bought it! We tried the crickets and spider, but not the beetles. The cricket was gross but the spider was sweet. I tried a leg, but Mark went straight for the arse and abdomen. He didn't like it.
Following Siem Reap we went to Shianoukville, where we are now. We are staying at the beach, in a bungalow, just relaxing until Vietnam (2 days). Our time in Cambodia is coming to an end, but we will not say goodbye when we leave; instead, until we meet again.
As many of you know, I was really looking forward to volunteering at an orphanage during our time here. After doing some research and being completely disgusted at some orphanages being used as ''tourist sightseeing destinations" I did some soul searching. I decided that now is not the time -- 2 weeks volunteering would be for me, not for the children, and that is not what my goal is. There will be a next time.
Thanks for reading and for commenting! We love hearing your thoughts and miss you all!
Until Vietnam,
Liza
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