Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Island Life

Our family spent our last week in SE Asia on the island of Koh Samui.  Mark’s sister Linda met up with us, and we rented a lovely oceanview villa in a quiet part of the island.  We were surprised to find that the island was more developed than expected with shops and businesses along the roads like we’d seen in other parts of Thailand, and resorts along the beaches.  While there wasn’t much undeveloped beachfront, it didn’t feel overly crowded.  

We took two day trips from our base of Koh Samui, one to explore the 42 islands of Ang Thong National Marine Park and one to snorkel off of Koh Tao and Koh Nuan Yuan islands.  The marine park excursion included kayaking through rock arches and turquoise coves and hiking to an island viewpoint and to see the clear, vibrant green Emerald Lagoon.  



We took a speedboat to the other two islands for snorkeling, which was an adventure in itself because we boated through a storm front.  Pelted by rain, we laughed when we saw the boat captain had donned a crash helmet with a plastic visor.  Fortunately, the storm was brief and we enjoyed sunshine for the rest of the trip.  Upon arrival we found crystal clear waters, multicolored corals, and tropical fish count and variety that rivaled the Carribean and Hawaii.  We snorkeled off a beach at Nuan Yuan and in a protected cove off Koh Tao.  The snorkeling was spectacular in both spots, and we had a great time exploring and showing each other the fish and urchins we spotted.

The six of us passed most of the rest of the week exploring the island, swimming and sunning at different beaches, and enjoying the cool pool at our villa that looked out over Choeng Mon Beach.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Siem Reap, the Angkor Ruins, and a Village Tour

We spent five days in the town of Siem Reap, north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. One of these days was spent on a tour of a local village, seeing how most Cambodian lives. It was very interesting to see the differences in daily life between America and Cambodia. Most houses were one room and on stilts, with the family's livestock and rice paddy on a small plot of land. Later, we were fortunate enough to help with an English class at the local NGO, Journeys Within Our Community. After learning about the programs provided, we talked for an hour with Cambodian teens with varying levels of English.
One of the neighbors' many cows (Photo Credit: Emily)

Our guide preparing a few fresh coconut drinks (Photo Credit: Emily)


Our time as a family over the remaining four days was spent differently based on interest levels. Emily, Sarah and Michelle spent more time exploring the town, while Mark and I spent more time in the Angkor complex. We all spent two days together exploring many ruins.

From the 9th to 14th century, the Khmer Empire built many temples dedicated to various deities in both the Hindu and Buddhist religions. We started out with the two most famous, Angkor Wat, built in the early 12th century as a Buddhist temple, and Angkor Thom, the city complex located less than a mile away. These extensive ruins were built on a foundation of brick and laterite, with sandstone carved over the top. Pediments, lintels, columns and walls are intricately carved with Hindu and Buddhist motifs depending on the religion to which the temple is dedicated. Within the Angkor Thom city walls is the Bayon, a stunning temple with faces on many of the sanctuaries.
The east entrance of Angkor Wat (Photo Credit: Becca)

The gate of Angkor Thom, with four faces of Buddha reminiscent of the Bayon (Photo credit: Becca)
The second day, we explored Pnohm Bakeng, Preah Khan, Banteay Srei, Banteay Samre and Ta Prohm. Built during various eras with different materials by different kings. The most well known ruin was Ta Prohm, with large trees growing over the ruins (and a setting for Laura Croft: Tomb Raider). My personal favorite was Preah Khan, as our guidebook led us to find many cool hidden bas reliefs.

A sanctuary on top of Phnom Bakeng (Photo Credit: Emily)

Mark navigating the many twists and turns of Preah Khan (Photo Credit: Emily)

Banteay Srei (Photo Credit: Emily)

The central sanctuary of Banteay Samre (Photo Credit: Emily)

One of the iconic spots within Ta Prohm (Photo Credit: Emily)
The day after the village tour, Emily, Sarah and Michelle spent a quiet day in town, while Mark and I took a tuktuk to explore many more temples. We started in the town of Rolous, just south of Siem Reap. There, we saw Preah Ko and Bakang, two much older temples. We then visited Eastern Mebon, Pre Rup, Banteay Kdei and Ta Keo. This was lots of fun, and by the end of the day, we were able to discern the Hindu stories on the bas reliefs without the help of our guidebook!

Preah Khan (Photo Credit: Becca)

All in all, we had a great time in Siem Reap and I would highly recommend a visit if you are interested in history.

-Becca





Arrival in Cambodia


We began our visit to Cambodia with a flight to Phnom Penh from Saigon.  Our introduction to Cambodia was filled with contrasts -- lyrical, tranquil beauty mixed with urban life and busy traffic. Young families with adorable children was juxtaposed with horrific history of torture and death.  The experience was fascinating and disturbing at the same time.


During our time in Phnom Penh we learned about Cambodian history, culture and arts  by visiting the Royal Palace and National Museum.  Our family hired a guide who gave us a fascinating tour of  the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, known commonly as S21, the former high school that was converted to a prison during the reign of the Khmer Rouge.  We also met two of the 7 survivors of the 20,000 prisons detained, tortured and ultimately killed in the prison by the Pol Pot regime.  
 



 

Walking around the city we saw monuments such as the Independence Monument and the historic temple, Wat Penh.  The girls enjoyed seeing tiny kittens that were wandering in the park.  We discovered Khmer cuisine, which resembled Thai foods in some ways but was distinct and delicious.  Mark particularly enjoyed his dinner of Stir Fry Beef with Red Ants.


Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Saigon


On the 29th we flew from Hoi An to Ho Chi Minh City (aka HCMC, aka Saigon).  Our hotel was in a great location in the Dong Khoi area with a view over the Saigon River and the still mostly undeveloped District 2 beyond.  Our flight was in the middle of the day, so by the time we made it to the hotel we just unpacked and found a place for dinner.

Our first full day we did a half day tour of the city with a guide.  We went through a food market we probably would never have found ourselves.  The variety and the unusual nature of the items were amazing.  Fish, eels, different types of mollusks, and snails were all on display.  One stall had live frogs tied together in bunches of five or six.  They would all try to hop in different directions and wind up going nowhere.  Nearby another vendor had frogs beheaded and skinned still hopping around in a shallow pan. The market seemed to be truly a local market. Some of the locals even took pictures of us!

Our guide also took us to the Jade Emperor Pagoda, a small Chinese pagoda that blends Taoist, Buddhist and Confucian beliefs.  Since most of Thailand and Laos is Buddhist, we had not been exposed to any other religious traditions on our trip.  There among the statues of Jade Emperor Ngoc Hoang and the God of Hell Thanh Hoang and the smoke from hundreds of sticks of incense, our guide explained many of the local beliefs and rituals.  We finished with a tour of a local shop that still makes lacquer-ware by hand.

In the afternoon we toured the War Remnants Museum.  The top floor had an excellent exhibit of the work done by photojournalists from many countries who died covering the war in Vietnam.  One floor below was a sobering exhibit on the devastating effects of dioxin from Agent Orange on the Vietnamese people.  These include genetic defects, with the consequence that the victims are not just those exposed to the chemical, but their descendants as well.  In the evening we attended a show at the Opera House called the A O Show, which was a sort of Vietnamese Cirque Du Soleil - a blend of music, dance and gymnastics using props made from bamboo poles and wicker baskets.  It was very original and very entertaining.

After the show, our guide took us to see the roof of the former Pittman Apartments.  One of the most famous pictures from the Vietnam war was taken by Dutch photojournalist Hubert van Es.
The original photo.  The building is often miss-identified as the American Embassy.
 It recorded some of the last South Vietnamese collaborators air-lifted out of from Saigon from that rooftop before the fall of the city to the North Vietnamese forces.  
Same rooftop today

It is not open to the public, but a few dollars in coffee money into the right hands got us onto the roof for a few pics and beer provided by the guard for a toast.  
With our guide on the roof of  22 Lý Tự Trọng Street
The building is scheduled for demolition, so this was a unique opportunity to see a part of history that will soon vanish.  

We finished the day with dinner at restaurant where you grilled your own food. We were surprised when the prawns arrived on skewers with the legs still wiggling! We had heard the seafood was fresher than we were used to at home, but we didn't expect it to be that fresh. At least we didn't have to skewer them ourselves! 



The second day we toured the Reunification palace in the morning.  The building was originally built for Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm, who was killed in a coup before it was completed.  It was used by General Nguyễn Văn Thiệu and briefly by two successors until the fall of Saigon.  The palace has been preserved almost unchanged from the day when North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the front gates in 1975.  It is considered one the the architectural treasures of

In the afternoon, we attended a cooking class near our hotel.  We made three dishes: a sort of spring roll with mustard leaf wrapping, a deep fried sticky rice dumpling with beef and carrots and a BBQ pork noodle salad.

Mark made the prettiest rolls
Ditto on the dumplings

The third day we spent the morning at Cu Chi tunnels north of Saigon.  We were a little apprehensive after reading something on the internet about someone who was stung by a scorpion in the tunnels and died.  Going into the tunnels was actually a little anti-climactic.  The parts we traversed did not require any crawling on hands and knees, just crouching.  Every 50 feet or so there was a outlet if anyone felt too claustrophobic. 

Going...
Going...

Gone.  Well almost...

More interesting was learning about the history of the tunnels, which dated back to the war of independence with France in the late 1940s.  The most amazing part was the sheer size and complexity of the tunnels, over 200km worth all dug by hand over 25 years.  While the people could emerge in times of safety and obviously had to grow food outside the tunnels, almost all other aspects of life could take place underground.  There were dining areas, meeting rooms, surgical centers and weapons manufacturing areas.  Children were even born in the tunnels.

In the afternoon we strolled through one of the nearby markets, took a quick tour through the fine arts museum and had lunch at the local chain restaurant Ph  24, which everyone agreed compared favorably with other phở we had eaten during our time in Vietnam.

Overall Saigon seemed much less overwhelming than Hanoi, even though it is a bigger city. I think this was simply due to the relative location of our hotels in the two cities, but it may have been in part due to cultural differences between north and south.  One thing is certain though: the drivers in Saigon do not honk as much as the drivers in Hanoi.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Paradise in Hoi An

We decided to take advantage of our beachfront resort in Hoi An and just relax.  For four days we enjoyed the ocean and beach by day and explored the quaint town with its adorable shops and gourmet restaurants by night.  The weather was very warm, so we spent much of our time swimming in the cool, clear ocean and floating in our villa’s private pool  We lounged in hammocks suspended between palm trees overlooking the beach, and the girls dove for fish and hermit crabs.  We walked on the beach early each morning, collecting tiny, perfect sand dollars and beautiful shells.  

Hoi An was above all a scenic locale, so we've decided to post photos instead of words to describe this part of our trip. All photo credits go to Emily.










  


In all, we had a great time!  We agreed that Hoi An is our favorite place in Vietnam so far.  As we drove from Hoi An to Danang for our flight to Saigon, we passed several places of historic importance during what the Vietnamese call the “American War.”  We saw a former American air base, hills where soldiers hid during combat, and the beach where troops landed at Danang.  It seems incongruous to look at a white, tropical beach populated by resorts and think of the turmoil and loss of life that occurred there not so long ago.

Friday, August 1, 2014

Historic Hue

Our research had told us that Hue is a charming, historic town full of history and French architecture. We were surprised to find those elements more disperse than expected, diluted by shops, restaurants, street stands and many of the elements we’d seen in other Vietnamese towns.  We enjoyed visiting several historic and scenic places -- they were just fewer and farther between than anticipated.  




We explored the ancient Citadel and Forbidden Purple City, a huge complex of mostly empty buildings of varying periods, some of which had been damaged by war.  (Hue is very close to the DMZ.)  A visit to the Ancient Artifacts museum taught us about the progression of royal families that have lived in the area and illustrated the changes in their  lifestyles over time.

We chartered a dragon boat to travel down the Perfume River and visit the Thien Mu Pagoda.    The boat ride and accompanying breeze were a welcome break from walking through the heat.  However, the boat operator took advantage of having a captive audience and laid out a mobile souvenir shop for us.  She spent most of the trip trying to convince us to buy one of her many trinkets, which were the same as the other souvenirs we’d seen in most every market and street stall in Vietnam.  The souvenir hawker did not want to take “no” for an answer and was very persistent.  On the way to the pagoda, we felt guilty and tried to feign interest to be nice.  On the way back we were more firm, which seemed to work but clearly irritated her.  While we have encountered street vendors in all three countries so far -- Thailand, Laos and Vietnam -- the vendors in Vietnam have been by far the most aggressive.  


Our hotel in Hue was particularly interesting.  It’s simultaneously a 4-star hotel and a vocational school run by the Vietnamese government.  The staff of the hotel consist of instructors and students completing internships in front desk reception, culinary preparation, food service, and other areas of tourism and hospitality.  At any given time, there were multiple staff in each area of the hotel eager to help, whether serving our welcome drink or holding the door as we entered the breakfast room in the morning.  The favorite part of our stay was the small package of tea cookies tied with a red ribbon and fortune statement that was left on each of our pillows during turn-down service each evening.  

I was interested in the educational approach and the curriculum, so on our last morning in Hue I toured the grounds of the tourism school with one of the administrators.  I was surprised to see the simulation classrooms (complete with front desks for reception and computer labs for travel agent training) and learn that students studied tourism and languages for two full years, followed by one year of practicum before earning their degrees.


In the evenings, we walked along the waterfront and observed the locals enjoying cafes and conversations on the street and in the park.  We were surprised to see local wildlife in town -- bats and VERY LARGE rats (gasp!).  We split into teams and challenged each other to a couple of mean games of Jenga in a local restaurant where each table was equipped with a game. One evening we watched the sun set from a panorama rooftop bar. The view of the city, river and surrounding countryside was spectacular!



Monday, July 21, 2014

Cruising Halong Bay


Typhoon Rammasun almost preempted our cruise of Halong Bay, but once again the weather gods blessed us.  Even though our guide called the cruise company several times over the two days preceding our trip, including multiple times during the drive from Hanoi to Halong City, we didn't know whether we would be able to board until we arrived at the cruise terminal. All trips out on the bay had been cancelled for three days due to the storm. Lucky for us, the wind and rain stopped and the sun came out just before we were scheduled to leave on our cruise.





We were met by the crew on the pier in Halong City, where we boarded our Vietnamese junk with anticipation.  While our boat was large with 14 cabins, there were only 10 other passengers on board.  Our cabins were more spacious and luxurious than on a typical cruise ship, with teak paneling and vases of roses in each cabin.

Photo credit:  Emily
Photo credit:  Emily



We settled into our cabins and then set off immediately to explore the bay.  We watched the islands and ships go by as we enjoyed a multi-course lunch.  Then we set off in kayaks to explore a floating village, complete with a school and museum.  It was fascinating to see how people lived on the bay; most seemed to subsist by fishing.  One of our favorite sites was the floating mini-mart that approached our boat.  An elderly woman in a fishing boat held up a can of Pringles to see if we'd like to purchase a snack.  Who knew that Pringles were available in tiny fishing villages?


Photo credit:  Emily





The second day we boarded a private day boat to explore more remote areas of the bay.  Our family had the boat to ourselves for the day, with the exception of a crew of 4.  We were pleasantly surprised to learn that the day boat was quite large, with a dining room, large air conditioned lounging area, huge sundeck with chaises and tables and chairs, bathrooms and showers.  This boat also towed kayaks, which enabled us to take excursions to explore caves and lagoons.  In addition, we were ferried by bamboo boat to a pearl farm, where we learned all about cultivation and took a tour to see each step in the process.

Once again we were served a multi-course Vietnamese lunch consisting of local seafood and vegetables.  While there was much more food than we could possibly eat, it was fun to try a number of traditional dishes prepared with local ingredients.  I could get used to having a personal chef and waiter....  While we were enjoying lunch another junk sailed by.  We looked across and saw that the passengers of the other boat were also enjoying lunch.  Much to our amazement, we recognized three of the other passengers as the family from Wales who joined us as elephant caretakers at Patara in Thailand.  It truly is a small world!

Photo credit:  Emily
On the third day we disembarked to visit Ti Top island, named after the Russian cosmonaut Gherman Stepanovich Titov who holidayed on the island with Ho Chi Minh in the 1960s.  We climbed to the top of the "mountain" to see territorial views and the 1969 islands and islets within the bay.  After the climb we descended to swim and sun on the beach.  The water wasn't as pristine as we had hoped; we were surprised to see litter floating in the water.  Throughout our trip I've thought of the benefits of environmental regulations -- and the impact of dense population without the standards to which we're accustomed.

Photo credit:  Emily
Evening activities on the boat were simple but fun.  We attended cooking demonstrations and learned how to cut fruit and vegetable garnishes (not nearly as easy as it looks) and how to roll fresh spring rolls.  Mark and I enjoyed watching movies set in Vietnam while the girls tried their hands at squid fishing off the boat.  After two long evenings of effort, Emily caught two squid with her bamboo line. We were amazed to see how much ink one squid could squirt, and how much they jumped around in the bowl!  While I advocated for catching and releasing the squid, the crew opted to cook and eat them instead.

At the end of the cruise we were sorry to get off the boat.  We enjoyed the relaxation and leisurely exploration.  We braced ourselves to return to the chaos of Hanoi.           - Michelle

Photo credit:  Emily