Raiding Tombs

A ghostly history, too many skeletons (literally!) in the cupboard and I'd heard lots of scary situations that backpackers had landed themselves into. I can't say hand on heart that I was looking forward to venturing into chaotic Cambodia.

I expected Gary Glitter type men with very young prostitutes, armed body guards on buses, tourists being mugged or held hostage at the border crossings.

See I'm not selling it to you, and I wasn't convinced either....

Until I went....

On the bus journey into the country from Saigon (HCMC), my palms were sweating... but it went surprisingly smoothly. We had a pleasant local ride in, we were even given food, drink AND hot towels (good for the old palms!)

Looking out the window into the capital, Phnom Penh, there were lots of golden temples, a large palace and lots of greenery. This place had a majesty to it, a lot of history both good and bad. Which country doesn't? Unfortunately this country had some very horrible things happen that only ended just over a decade ago. I guess the past comes back to haunt you, but here the country is still trying to get over it's.

Three Main Towns to Visit in Cambodia

Phnom Penh
Tourists come here to see the eery Killing Fields, the Genocide Museum, the school where the torture took place under the old regime, the Khmer Rogue. The one day we had in Phnom Penh, I ended up going into the Phnom Penh Post and then headed to the palace, so we didn't get chance to see the rest. From what I've heard though, it's tragic and it's brutal - it's also surreal and hard to get your head round; you detach yourself from it. You still see bones and skulls untouched in the mass graves. Not for the faint hearted. This is history at it's rawest.

Sihanoukville
A much needed break from the horrific Killing Fields. It has a beach, a few clubs - the place had potential, but while we were there it closed early and only one bar and one club was open!
There are also nice restuarants here, it's cheap and it's friendly.
There is poverty lurking everywhere. Children with lost limbs will disturb you on the beach begging.

Siem Reap
If you like seeing ancient buildings, then add Angkor Wat (City Temple) to your list. The Pyramids of Giza are impressive and these temples hold their own against them. Built in the early 12th century, they started off as places of worship for the Hindu faith, but were eventually updated so that they had a Buddhist feel to them. To say they are beautiful is an understatement.
They are breathtaking.
Bayon is the site with the huge stone faces carved onto the walls, there's the famous Tomb Raider and Angkor Wat that sits grandly on the river, to name a few.

However, a little secret... I couldn't really appreciate this until after I'd looked through my pics. Stupidly we'd decided the night before to go for ONE drink down Pub Street. The bus crew, who we'd travelled with for over a month through Vietnam, were heading to Bangkok and we were diverting to Phuket (to avoid the Red Shirts and riots in Bangkok), so it was our final goodbye. FIVE pitchers later... yep you guessed it, we spent the only day we had in Angkor Wat, in the 40 degree heat, with a serious hang over!! And I may have, just may have, thrown up a few times in a plastic bag I'd brought with me to the temple when I first got there. I am so sorry and so ashamed! The history junkie that I am, I should have been relishing in these ancient monuments and all their glory... but instead I was sleeping off my hang over in a hammock ten feet away, with Lynsey - who was feeling just as ropey - taking snaps on my camera for me! I did walk around a few sites - don't get me wrong. I will definitely have to go back one day, and make sure I don't drink the night before!

So to sum up, Cambodia is brimming with culture, it's full of life, has a very diverse history from glorious ancient sites to mass genocide graves. It's one of the few places in Asia I've been that you get to witness the horrors of the regime but also marvel at how beautiful it is. The ghosts are still very much there. It's really worth going to see. If you want to see something real, and feel you've really learnt the truth about the place.... then this is definitely the place to go.

Hand on heart I recommend it.

The Race Is On....

Two weeks, three night buses, a boat trip, hardly any sleep, a bus gang of friends who were powering through the country in a short space of time like us.... There was no hanging about, we sailed through Vietnam in a flash.

It's not as touristy as Thailand, there's not as many young people as in Laos. You walk into a shop, try and order something, the shop keeper gives you something else. You argue it's not what you ordered, then they say, "same same but different". Which actually doesn't make any sense.

Six Places I advise to Visit In Nam

1) Hanoi
One of the craziest and busiest cities I've experienced so far. Guaranteed to see at least a hundred mopeds on one street at one time. Whether on the road or parked / sprawled across the pavement. There are random shops especially tacky toy shops dotted everywhere. Hanoi has no traffic lights, so you pretty much take your life into your own hands when crossing the road.

Must Sees - Ho Chi Minh (a previous leader), The Embalmed Turtle Temple in lake (we went but missed the turtle, as you do. We're clueless, you knew this already!), Water Puppet Show - different and ancient, the only drawback is that the whole hour long show is in Vietnamese and pretty hard to follow.

The Good - True to it's roots. Hardly anyone speaks English, so it's not too touristy and it's cheap.
The Bad - Nightlife, although we had fun in an Irish Pub on St Patrick's day, apart from that it was pretty dry. There's also nowhere to get food late at night.
The Ugly - Traffic and also clothes shops. Think Joan Collins, Dynasty, zebra print with shoulder pads!

Rate out of 10 : 3

2) Ha Long Bay
This place is in the process of trying to earn recognition as one of the natural wonders of the world. It's picturesque, tranquil and a nice break if only to get away from hectic Hanoi for a bit!

Must Sees - Two or three day boat trips. Luckily for us our bus gang came on the trip so it was more of a booze cruise than anything else. The Caves are interesting, they have unnatural lighting and man made springs, unfortunately. Tour guides will try and convince you that rock formations look like certain things, but it's a bit like cloud gazing and down to your own personal opinion. We saw a remote floating village (including ATM and souvenir shops!). You can also go kayaking and swimming in the beautiful surroundings. Cat Ba island has a mountain you can climb which has a great view. We were under the impression we were taking a 20 minute stroll on flat land, so wore dresses and flip flops for this! I did have to trade my sandals with the tour guide for his trainers as it was nearly impossible to climb.

The Good - Nature and scenery
The Bad - The Tour Guide's English
The Ugly - No set price for the trip. Some people pay 30 US dollars, some pay 40 dollars, some even 70 dollars and they all end up on the same boat trip.

Rate out of 10: 6

3) Hue
For those history junkies like myself, this place is teeming with it. The DMZ tour or Demilitarized Zone Tour takes you into the small and restrictive tunnels where people hid for years during the Vietnamese War. You also visit a US army base and learn exactly what happened in the lead up and during the conflict.

The Good - Interesting tour and not too upsetting.
The Bad - Again tour guide not speaking great English. Between what I knew, had googled and the email my dad sent me breaking it down into understandable snippets of information, I managed to work out what the tour guide was talking about.
The Ugly - Outside the US Army Base some punters were trying to sell genuine badges and medals, which they'd taken from corpses.
Rate out of 10: 7

4) Hoi An
Like stepping into a pretty French riviera town, this place boasts fancy restaurants laced in ivy, boutiques, dress and suit shops on every corner, a meandering river with spectacular Chinese lanterns dangling from it. It definitely has class. Here we ate well and even had dresses and shoes made (and for cheap!)

The Good - Excellent quality of clothes, which you can have personalised or a high standard copy made.
The Bad - You get harassed all the time for suits/ clothes/ shoes.
The Ugly - It's hard to find much ugly about the place, I guess I'd have to say the nightlife stank. There was nowhere that stayed open late and one very small bar that had nobody in it.

Rate out of 10: 6

5) Nha Trang
This place has a beach, so it propelled itself quite highly in my estimation before we even arrived. Unfortunately there was no sun to go with the beach, just huge waves and lots of rain. A lot more nightlife than Hoi An here too.

The Good - The beach would have been good if there had been even a hint of nice weather. Also, the food in the Sailing Club, which was fancy and inexpensive.
The Bad - Nightlife as I said before was better than Hoi An, but then again my living room has more life than that sleepy town! Nha Trang had two places - Why Not Bar, which was okay and usually busy. Then the Sailing Club. That was it though.
The Ugly - The Redbull in the vases (drinking vases). I didn't sleep for about three days.

Rate out of 10: 7 and a half


6) Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)
Markets, night markets, food markets.... wait... more markets!

The Good - It's like Hanoi, but better as you can walk down the street
The Bad - The traffic, but better than Hanoi... only just.
The Ugly - Did I mention this place had markets? Well did I mention the stroppy market sellers? They're annoying, persistent and quite rude also.


So Vietnam.. we rushed through it, but we still did everything we intended. Vietnam is unique, different, untouched, frustrating and beautiful.

The thing that made it good for me was the bus crowd. It was nice helping each other along the way to find hostels, or tell each other what to see, where to eat etc.
The bad bits were the language barriers, but on the flip side, apart from in the markets, you weren't hassled too much.
The ugly part was the traffic, the driving, the lack of traffic lights, the way families would pile onto a bike with no helmets on, the pollution and the constant noise of horns beeping drove me up the wall.

Besides that, I had fun, I'll never forget it, and I'm knackered now.
Although it's typically Asian, it seems to be like nowhere I've ever been before in South East Asia. Same same but different I'd say... So would a local for that matter!