Good morning Vietnam!

Welcome to Vietnam

After a night in Savannakhet, a quick stop at the border and a stop at a local garage to fix a flat tyre, we made it to Hue in Vietnam.

Flat tyre on the way to Vietnam

Hue is listed as a Unesco world heritage site, and for good reasons. Its located on the brink of the “perfume” river (didn’t quite smell like perfume to be honest!) It became the capital in 1802 instead of Hanoi and Emperor Gia Long build his palace here inside a citadel. And this 2m thick and 10km long wall with its imperial enclosure was the main attraction for most of us.

Sunset over the Perfume River

Dragonboats in Hue

Mel

Bamboo bike, grow your own...

Citadel

LOTS of bikes

What is that?

Stop at a statue factory enroute to Hoi An

After 2 nights in Hue it was time to move on.. to Hoi An, probably Vietnam's most atmospheric and delightful town. Nested on the shores of the Thu Bon River, it used to be a major port but the river silted up so ships could no longer access. Although the old town's tea warehouses, Japanese merchant houses and Chinese temples have gradually been replaced by tourist oriented business like lounge bars, boutique hotels and tailor shops, Hoi An is still a wonderful place, where you could easily spend a week.

Yippee!  A swimming pool

Daniel enjoying the pool

At the markets in Hoi An

Keyrings for sale

Eat your vegetables before they eat you

Hoi An ferry

Beautiful old buildings

The Japanese Bridge

The symbol of Hoi An

And to top it up, we were there during the mid-autumn festival!! (aka the lantern festival where thousands of people flock to the riverbanks to set lanterns afloat for good luck).

Mid autumn festival

aka the Lantern Festival

Floating lanterns Hoi An

Bruce

Lanterns for sale everywhere

Family setting lanterns on the river for good luck

After a lovely couple of days in Hoi An, it was once again, time to get off the beaten track. We headed down the coast to Jungle Beach a quite remote (and rustic) beach camp run by a very nice French-Canadian guy called Sylvio.

We slept in simple bamboo huts, just a few metres from our own secluded beach. Mask and snorkel (and bikes) were free to take and while some were snorkeling, others were chilling in one of the hammocks that were strung out everywhere. It was proper chill time!

Jungle Beach

Daniel

Mark in a traditional Vietnamese fishing boat

Dave on the way to the beach

Lorri working on her patchwork

Cal spotted a very nice lizard

Bonfire on the beach - Stephen & Daniel

Sunrise

So with the help of beach bonfires, lovely (free) meals, cheap rum and the crystal clear sea, our 2 nights here went way too fast!

From the peace and tranquility of Jungle Beach, we headed to the hectic and buzzing Ho Chi Minh City former known as Saigon. We stayed at the lovely Madame Cuc’s hotel, close to all the major sights.  With loads to do here, and very different interests, the group went in all directions. Some went, on a tour, to see the Vietnamese war tunnels while others visited on (or several) of the historic museums that is scattered all over HCMC.

Tina on the sleeper bus to HCMC

The Reunification Palace

War Remnants Museum

Mark shopping in HCMC

Jason, Mel & Jordan

Jordan looking like a local

After a long drive from HCMC we crossed into Cambodia and arrived in Phnom Penh.

Eggs benedict at our hotel

Mark at breakfast

Luke & Louise caught in the rain

Cal & Lorri

The next day we spent a harrowing day visiting the Killing Fields and the Toul Sleng Genocide museum also known as S-21 prison.

On the way to the Killing Fields - still smiling at this stage

Mark loves the tuk tuks

The Killing Fields

Jordan, while doing the audio tour

Louise

Victims of the Khmer Rouge regime

The tree where babies were killed by being hit head first against the tree as bullets were too expensive

The Killing Fields is now a very peaceful but harrowing place about ½ an hour's tuk-tuk drive outside of Phnom Penh.  The actual museum ground isn’t that big and could be walked true in a matter of minutes, but thanks to an excellent audio tour, we all finished with an understanding of the atrocities committed here.  Everybody started off in a good mood but came back after the tour deeply affected by (the very recent) dark story of the Khmer Rouge regime led by Pol Pot who was responsible killing millions of his own people in the late 1970s.  It wasn’t till 1979 that the Vietnamese army overthrew the Khmer Rouge and forced them to retreat into the jungle. Pol Pot was never brought to justice and died in his own home in 1998.

Next was the S-21 Prison (Aka. Toul Sleng Genocide Museum)

This former high school was converted into a secret torture prison during the Khmer Rouge regime.

Our guide was a very knowledgeable lady, who remembered the horrors herself. Mostly educated people (and their families) were tortured here until they admitted to, often false, accusations and then sent to the killing fields to be executed. Between 15,000 and 20,000 people was brought here, only seven survived! While we were there, we were lucky enough to meet one of the 2 still living prisoners.

S21 torture prison

Prisoners

The cells

One of the two still living survivors

Something many had been looking forward to was seeing Angkor Wat the biggest Hindu Temple complex in the world located just outside of Siem Reap.

We hired a guide and a handful of tuk-tuks and of we went. First to the main site Angkor Wat.  It was built in the 12^th century by the Khmers. It covers more than 1000 square meters. More than 5 million tons of stone blocks was used which all had to be transported by boat from the quarry. An incredible feat (and done in just under 40 years!)

Angkor Wat

Jason posing

Next stop was the Angkor Phrom also known as the “Tomb Raider” Temple. This temple has for many years been left alone so the trees roots have been able to find their way through the little cracks and eventually into the ground. In 2010, it was decided that the temple should be rebuilt, which meant that some of the trees had to be cut down. Luckily, most of the trees that give this place its character have been left alone.

Luke looks a bit overwhelmed

Wayne

Jordan

Local lizard

If you can fit in, it brings you good luck!

Luke

Jordan

After a nice lunch (in a AC restaurant so cold that we quickly had to drink our drinks before they froze solid) we were off to Byon Temple. Byon’s most distinctive feature are its 216 massive stone faces. Byon lies inside the Angkor Thom area, which means “Great City” and used to be home for almost 1 million people.

Bayon Temple

Keith, Cal, Wayne & Lorri

Stephen, time to return to our guesthouse

After seeing the Byon temple some people was “templed out” but a few opted for more and went off on their own to see a temple or two more before returning to Siem Reap.

Tomorrow we have time to relax.. but soon… it’s once again time to pack our bags and cross the border back into Thailand and head for crazy wonderful Bangkok!