Fri 27 Mar – Phnom Penh, Cambodia to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), Vietnam

Our bus trip over the border to Saigon means that we have caught buses all the way from Hat Yai in Thailand to southern Vietnam (excluding the round trip from Bangkok to Chiang Mai). That’s around 2,400 kilometres – roughly the equivalent of Geelong to Mackay.

Vietnam has around 84 million people, making it the 13th most populous nation. Yet in terms of landmass it is closer in size to Victoria than any other Aussie state, which has a population of 5.2 million, making it a very dense. Hence, the highway from the Cambodian border is consistently lined with townships. For the record, Vietnam has an area of 332,000 square kilometres compared to Vic’s 238,000.

The difference in development between Vietnam and Cambodia provides a strong contrast either side of the (efficiently-run) border. Vietnam is ordered, green and clean. Its streets are swept of dust and debris, the fields neatly arranged and efficiently irrigated. Cambodia is comparatively dry and ramshackle. Given that the two countries share the same border, climate can be immediately dismissed as a reason for the distinction. Before hitting Vietnam, the level of development that we’ve seen has generally decreased with every new destination reached, beginning with the clean and streamlined Singapore to Phnom Penh, where it felt as through you had stepped back in time.

Having said all that, my impressions of the Cambodian people improved with each new day, and you can only commend them on their resilience once you learn of the plight in recent decades.

Although officially known as Ho Chi Minh city, to the locals this is still Saigon. I’ll stick with the locals preference from here on. Plus it’s easier to type.

The Dong is the Vietnamese currency and it’s not user friendly. The current rate is 1 AUD = 12,000 dong. Withdrawing cash today became the first, and hopefully not last, time that I took over one million from an ATM… and it was two!

Australia’s influence on South-East Asia has been prominent throughout our travels – be it the availability of Aussie beers or the abundance of tourists from the land Down Under. Another example is the Australia television network that broadcasts throughout the region. And to prove that Aussie Rules really is the biggest winter sport in our nation, the network shows, on delayed telecast, AFL games in the prime timeslot of 7:30pm Friday and Saturday nights. Tonight’s broadcast was the Cats v Hawks game, so we set up camp in the suitably-furnished, Aussie-themed Blue Gecko Bar in downtown Saigon to catch the game with a couple of other Melbourne-based Cats fans.

Listening to the likes of Kevin ‘Bloody’ Wilson, Hunters & Collectors and Midnight Oil, watching the footy on a big screen TV in a bar whose are walls adorned with signed photos of Gary Ablett Snr, Mark Yeates and the 2007 Premiership team, I couldn’t help but think that this was all just put on for me.


Sat 28 Mar – Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City

Myself & Libe consider ex-72 Canterbury Rd housemate Jen Tran to be a culinary guru, so we had to take her advice and head to the Quan An Ngon restaurant for tea. We’re happy to say Jen’s advice didn’t let us down (not that it ever has!). We arrived there at the reasonably early time of 5:30pm and watched the queues steadily grow, to the stage where at 7pm hungry patrons were lined up well outside the door. The young staff were very eager to please, literally fighting over each other to serve us. Perhaps the low prices on offer meant that they rely on tips for a decent paypacket? (I hope not - they must have been sorely disappointed by our apparent lack of generosity!). Most important of all, the food, cooked in the open air underneath the garden patios, was awesome.

It’s hard to remember a city like Saigon where its colonial rulers have had such a visible impact. The French controlled the city for over 70 years from the 1880s, and their long-lasting presence is clearly felt when walking amongst the small townhouses, the tree-lined boulevards and the grand theatres and museums. This place immediately recalls to mind our prior experiences of Paris. The city that is, not Hilton.

Amongst the major activities today was a trip to the War Remnants Museum. A government-controlled exhibition, it is as damning towards the US as can be, portraying them akin to genocidal monsters. The photos and quotes relating to Agent Orange, the herbicide and defoliant used by the U.S. military in its Herbicidal Warfare program, are particularly hard-hitting, especially those coming from American officials during their post-War reviews. In total, 4.8 million Vietnamese people were exposed to Agent Orange, resulting in an astounding 400,000 deaths and disabilities, and 500,000 children born with birth defects. It is certainly worth everyone reading up on this atrocity and supporting the efforts of those seeking to get just compensation from the creators and users of Agent Orange – there are numerous Facebook groups such as “The Global Agent Orange Walk 2009 Supporters” to join for those interested.


Sun 29 Mar – Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City

Although we have a lot in common, as with any relationship, there are individual tastes that Libe and myself don’t share. One of these is my seemingly endless curiosity to anything concerning history and related, to which Libe has an average level of interest. This difference meant that we split up for a lot of day, myself heading out on a field trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels while Libe sought some retail therapy in the city centre.

The Cu Chi tunnels is a network of tunnels dug by the Viet Cong for use during the War for all purposes, in particular attack, defence, living, first aid and communication. Some parts of the network have been enlarged for Westerners but not to a size suitable for anyone with the slightest bit of claustrophoba. The tunnels are tight, hot and long, requiring a doubled-over walk or crawl for up to 40 metres at any one time. What we saw was only a small section of the full network employed by the Viet Cong – up to 200km of tunnels existed in the Cu Chi district alone. Other highlights of this place included an open-air shooting range equipped with real machine guns such as AK47’s, and replicas of traps used to great effect by the North Vietnamese soldiers for sabotage.


Mon 30 Mar - Saigon to Singapore

The last week or so has arguably been the busiest period for us. In the 9 days from Sunday 22nd to Monday 30th (inclusive) we have taken in four countries. Add 3 more days, to include Thursday 2nd May, and there will be five nations in this stretch. And as there has been a higher proportion of day travel in that period, as opposed to overnight travel, we could be excused for looking to settle somewhere for a few days.

It was back to Singapore today via a Tiger Airways flight to Singapore. This might be a useless fact, but Singapore is one of what is probably a select group of countries that has an international airport but no domestic one. Dubai comes to mind as another. There are probably a few others, particularly among the smaller states in Europe and the third world countries in Africa, but without conducting further research I don’t know of any.

I am really disappointed to say goodbye to Saigon, and I think Libe feels much the same. It is a place that I knew little about before our visit, but my opinion of it when leaving is that it’s a wonderful city with a great mix of eastern culture, Asian and French architecture, a lush environment and a top social scene. This is a place to which I’ll happily return if the opportunity arose.

There are numerous strong differences between Singapore and the rest of South-East Asia that we have travelled through in the last month or so. One of these is that we could notice what day of the week it was from the city’s activity. Monday night means first day of the working week and thus the streets of Singapore were largely empty. In the other places, perhaps excluding Kuala Lumpur, there were no such noticable variances in the level of activity on the city streets between the days of the week. I feel as though we are well and truly back in the Western world.

Besides that, Singapore has been the only place where English is the true language. As always, it has been enjoyable to converse with locals in their native tongue and to see the smiles on their faces when you surpass the low expectations they have of your multilingual abilities.

Good weather has been a constant feature of our trip. The only place that we might have seen rain is Krabi, but if there was any that fell there it was not enough to provide any significant inconvenience. According to travel literature March occurs during the dry season here, so we perceive these documents to be correct.

Tue 31 March - Singapore

Second last day of the trip, last full day. I’m already fighting off PTD (Post Travel Depression).

Much of the day was spent on Sentosa Island, the southernmost point of the Asian continent. A very-well created resort and playground for the local people, the highlights here include swimming in beaches while looking out at numerous freight ships sitting off the Singapore shores and wandering around Fort Silosa, a former military base which re-creates the Japanese invasion, occupation and surrender. For Australians the fort is certainly worth a visit as our country and its brave men had a significant role here in WWII.

Wed 1 April - Singapore

Singapore is a really good city but not in my great category. The great ones have a constant edge and intangible atmosphere that separates them from the class below. My list of great cities – limited to those I’ve been to – are:

• New York
• Paris
• Amsterdam
• Hong Kong
• Bangkok
• Saigon
• Prague
• Melbourne

Florence would be included in there if you recognise it as a ‘city’ – its size could be the question.

One of the very few unmemorable items of our trip has been the smell of a particular fruit, known as a ‘Durian’, that is common throughout this part of the world. Unquestionably strong, some perceive the smell to be ‘fragrant’, while others think of it as overpowering and offensive. I’m agreeing with the latter group of people. Like it or otherwise, the Durian is banned from a many hotels and public transport systems. For the record, the other real dislike has been the Cambodian border officials in Poipet (although the Jetstar baggage handling system will soon be added to that!).

Singapore is a certainly in the list of the most expensive places I’ve been to. In fact, it may actually top the list. Using a common example, a bottle of Baileys in a Singapore supermarket, one of the cheapest places to buy alcohol here, is SGD (Singapore Dollars) 56, or approximately AUD 59. Only a few days ago the same bottle was costing USD 13 (AUD 20). Taxes appear to be the major expense component, hence why one litre bottles are available duty free at Changi Airport for only SGD 32 (AUD 34).

Unfortunately our trip ended tonight with two flights ahead of us to reach Brisbane (Darwin being the other location involved) by tomorrow morning (although my main backpack would not reach Logan until early next Monday).

Hope you enjoyed reading of our travels (if anyone reads this!) as much as I enjoyed noting the remarkable and not-so remarkable. And I hope I enjoy reading this in the future when I come looking to my own blog for inspiration. I’m not sure when and where our next adventure will be – I only hope it’s not too far away and it’s somewhere near as good as this one has been!

Wed 25 Mar – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I think I have a new favourite dish! Take the old one – the Thai Green Chicken Curry – add a satay taste, some small spuds and carrot slices and you’ve pretty much got the Khmer Curry which we received last night at the Grand View Guesthouse’s restaurant. Here’s hoping I find the same dish at a similar quality level soon. Either way, I’ll certainly be attempting to cook it upon our return home.

A mid-morning trip to Psar Tuol Tom Pong, aka the Russian Markets, saw us part with some solid USD for plenty of DVDs. Our backpacks will now be significantly heavier for the remainder of our trip, thanks to the first five series of both Entourage and Family Guy, a 26-hour long World War II documentary series (only a history buff like me can work through something that long!), a 100-documentary National Geographic collection and the first five Harry Potter movies – plus a few others! In case no we’re unable to find employment for a while back in Australia, we will instead be employing the services of the couch and remote controls.

Between Boeng Kek and these markets, occupying what would otherwise be a rather innocent-looking school complex, is the Tuol Seng Museum. Previously the Tuol Svay Prey High School, Pol Pot and his cronies turned it into Security Prison 21 (“S-21”) in 1975. The complex then became the largest centre of imprisonment and torture for the Khmer Rouge regime – an astounding 100 people per day became victims here during the early part of 1977. The graphic images and items displayed paint a gruesome picture of the events of this period – items particularly troubling include skulls with which the cause of death is prominently evident, tiny solitary confinement cells and pictures of the deceased which were taken for the regime’s records. The Museum is not for the faint of heart but is a must-see in Phnom Penh.


Thu 26 Mar – Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Decisions, decisions, decisions. What to eat. Always difficult. The choice is certainly not helped when the menu you’re perusing provides around 150 available dishes, occasionally more, and that’s excluding beverage options. Such large menus have been a common feature in our travels, sometimes to our inconvenience when all you’re wanting to do is to confirm that a Thai Green Chicken Curry and a large Tiger are available. Tonight’s selection proved consistent with our prior experiences, offering 158 individual meals.

More Khmer Rouge-related sights today, this time the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, 14km south-west of the CBD. This is where most of the Tuol Sleng S-21 detainees were transported to for their final moments, and where they were dumped into one of 129 mass graves. The simply astonishing death count here was around 17,000, over half of whose skulls are exhibited in the white stupa (a large Buddhist-style monument) built amongst the fields. Human bones and clothing poking out from the soil may upset a lot of hardy souls but the Fields are a poignant reminder of the atrocities experienced by the Cambodian peoples in years past.

Cambodia is certainly the least developed of the places we’ve been to so far (although, of all the places I’ve been to, I think India has significantly greater numbers living in poverty), and that is evident in the number of kids and disabled adults begging here. Our guidance is to be generous to the disabled, particularly those who are legitimately trying to earn a living by selling items such as books, as there is no social security system for them. However, as common to less developed countries, donations to child beggars should be avoided. Especially when you can see their mothers sitting lazily nearby, forcing their offspring to beg rather sit through a day of school. The temptation to pass some money onto these kids is tempered by recalling the old adage, “catch a man a fish and feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime”. Encouraging kids to beg by giving them cash does nothing to promote personal development and self-reliance.

Another indicator of the relative lack of wealth in Cambodia that could be considered is the number of Western chain restaurants. A solitary KFC has been spotted in this country, no Maccas and (if this can be comprehended) no Starbucks!

Mon 23 Mar – Siem Reap, Cambodia

Some consider that we are lucky as our native tongue is the world’s common language. Sure, it does make it easier for heading around the world, but I’m happy to argue that I’d rather be one of the unlucky ones. To have been required to learn another dialect for travelling would be a welcome burden. Everywhere throughout our travels we have encountered tourists and local people communicating in their second languages – Germans and Malays, Swedes and Thais all engaging in commerce with English. The English world’s lack of need to develop such an alternative means that we aren’t as multi-skilled as all these people that I’ve just listed and the many others like them.

We’ve only got one full day in Siem Reap and that means that today’s itinerary is non-negotiable– a trip around the nearby Temples of Angkor. In fact, these structures, considered a contender for the wonders of the world, may sit at the top of the list of must-do things on our entire Asian tour. There are hundreds of temples around Angkor, built between the 9th and 13th centuries, which makes them much older than Machu Picchu. For much of its prime, Angkor was a city of 1 million people, dwarfing little London’s 50,000 populace, and was the centre of an empire that stretched from Myanmar (Burma) to Vietnam, so we’re not talking about a small remote civilisation here.

There is literature which suggests spending up to a week browsing these temples, but that might be directed to those who love ruins more than Barney Gumble enjoys a Duff. Our solitary day (actually, it was only 8:30am to 2:30pm) took in the three ‘big boys’ – in order, Ta Prohm, Angkor Thom (including Bayon) and the daddy of them all, Angkor Wat.

Although it was hard to appreciate at the time, all of these sites, which were not just temples but also settlements and communities, were remarkable, considering how advanced their structural engineering was and how they have stood the test of time. Not even Pol Pot and his devastating Khmer Rouge policy of no religion was able to defeat them.

Summarising the first of the three, Ta Prohm is a 12th-century Buddhist temple that has had little restoration or maintenance since its construction. As a result, nature is gradually deafeating it; vegetation such as strangler fig trees are growing within it with startling consequences. It has been used as a set for Tomb Raider and one of the Indiana Jones flicks and thus does look somewhat familiar to the first-time visitor.

Angkor Thom is a fortified square city, with huge stone walls around 2.5 km long on each side. A lot of the area inside it is occupied by small forests, however it also holds Bayon, a temple built around 1200 AD that was my personal highlight of the day. The temple looks more like an imposing fort than a religious monument, such is its commanding nature, particularly with 216 gigantic faces having been carved into its stone edifices. You could imagine this temple under siege during one of the many wars fought in this area, with the local peoples using its steep and complicated structure to defend it from the invaders, much like the beachside hills of Gallipoli were used by the Turks against our Anzac soldiers.

Last but certainly not least was Angkor Wat, officially the world’s largest religious monument (but arguably passed by Flemington?). This temple is a national source of pride for the Khmers (the native Cambodians) and we were to see its image throughout the country, particularly in the capital Phnom Penh, on shirts, souvenirs, art, the national beer’s can label and many others. It differs from the preceding two temples as it’s outstanding feature is its symmetry. Including the first walls encountered upon entrance, which sit across a moat which would ‘make European castles blush’, there are 4 distinct areas, each feeling isolated from the others. Indeed, it was only when we saw a miniature model of Angkor Wat in the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh that we truly appreciated this feat of construction.


Tues 24 Mar – Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, Cambodia

After our shortest stay of our tour (one day, two nights), it was back on the road to Phnom Penh. This bus trip was better than our preceding one in the same country two days ago, as the private sector here seems to be quite reliable and honest in its dealings with tourists. As suggested by the fat little guidebook, Cambodia’s progress occurs despite the government, and not because of it. Today’s bus ride did nothing to disprove that thought.

Bringing back memories on India, the dusty, dry conditions of Cambodia make every open-air vehicle trip (i.e. tuk-tuks) a battle. The best method to handle the dirt that gets blown into your face is to wear sunglasses and to wear a face mask to filter the air, as the locals often do. I’ll pass on the second option, without any logical reason, and instead hope that I can avoid a doctor’s appointment upon my return to Australia to help clear any lingering particles from my throat.

Our accommodation here in Phnom Penh is interesting to say the least. The Boeng Kak lakefront area is one of the two most popular backpacker haunts in the city. It has numerous rickety guesthouses, thin but long, stretching out over the water on stilts. The atmosphere amongst the travellers is relaxed, possibly indirectly caused by their need to have faith that the many imperfections in the guesthouses’ structures won’t lead to a catastrophe.

But there are some quite shady characters on the streets of this area for sure. Already tonight I’ve been offered products like weed and opium multiple times. Even though I’m as drug-resistant a person as there is, I’d think that the jaw-droppingly beautiful sunset view from Boeng Kak, particularly from the rooftop restaurant and lounge of our guesthouse (the Grand View), would be intoxicating enough to make superfluous the need for any such social items.

Photos - South-East Asia #9 - Siem Reap

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=86776&id=636580665&l=ba177b42ea

Photos - South-East Asia #8 - Chiang Mai & Northern Thailand

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=85623&id=636580665&l=e9cfb957de

Sat 21 Mar - Bangkok

Back to the amazing hustle and bustle of big Bangkok! Even at 5am the city is a hive of activity and commerce – the bus station was busy with travellers arriving and departing, taxi and tuk-tuk drivers hassling and haggling, and bleary-eyed street vendors already flogging and selling their rip-offs.

Although tired, we managed find and catch a bus to Banglamphu, walk through Thanon Khao San and Soi Rambutri, have a just-average breakfast and find some accommodation nearby. The Bella Bella Guesthouse was only average in standard but that doesn’t surprise as I’m now taking the sleeping advice of Lonely Planet with a grain of salt. From now on I’ll be relying instead on HostelWorld.com, which has found us the two best digs of our trip (the Equator Hostel in KL and the Parami Guesthouse in Chiang Mai). The website features ratings and comments from a large number of travellers, as opposed to the fat little guide book which is based on one person’s opinion, so in hindsight its greater reliability should be expected.

The traffic in Bangkok has to be seen to be believed. I can’t recall seeing roads as congested as these. Heading from Banglamphu to Siam Square on local bus number 3 seemed easy enough until the midday traffic reduced our progress to around a few hundred metres in half an hour. Hence, the small fare was written off and haste made to the river taxis. My advice to anyone heading to this city is to not rely on the roads in the major areas and to use the other options instead, such as the rivers and trains.

I’ve resigned myself to carrying a third bag for the remainder of our travels as today’s regular visit to a G2000 store finally reaped a new suit. I parted with around AUD 200 each for 3 suits in Hong Kong in July 2007 and today the sum of AUD 160 was added to the accumulating credit card debt. With a heap of stores in Singapore it might not be the last.


Sun 22 Mar – Bangkok, Thailand to Siem Reap, Cambodia

Sitting at the Poipet International Terminal pounding the keyboard, dominating my thoughts is that this is the worst first impression of a country I’ve experienced. Corruption and dishonesty are the words that come to mind, and unfortunately I’m talking about the Cambodian officialdom. I’ll have to reserve opinion on the real Cambodians, as suggested by the fat little guide book, for a few days.

The alarm was set for 4:30am, courtesy of an early morning bus ride from Bangkok to Aranya Prathet, on the Thai side of the border. By 10am we had arrived at the crossing town. The next four hours have been as unfunny as diarrhoea in a spacesuit.

Our tuk tuk driver, operating for a generous but unchallenged 80 Baht fare, was instructed to take us to the border, but took us to a tourist agency. Here we were informed that they were the issuing authority for Cambodian Visas for 30 USD. Knowing that the official rate was 20 USD we did not agree and insisted that we were taken to the border. In hindsight, perhaps we should have deducted some, maybe half, of our greedy driver’s fee. Anyway, the I’m bringing the Siam Frontier Tour and Travel Ltd companies’s name up in disgrace and with a warning that it is to be avoided by all tourists.

Leaving Thailand was not a problem, which is consistent with the overall good tourist infrastructure in place there. Entering Cambodia was a pain though. Tourist visas are to be purchased at the border entrance for US 20, a fact clearly pointed out on the sign above the service window. However, when attempting to make the purchase, each tourist is shown a hand-written sign stating that unless 1000 Baht (over 40 AUD) is paid the visa will take a day. Payment will ensure that the visa is magically produced within a couple of minutes. After I made my intentions clear that I knew what the price was and was not going to pay any additional fees, the window was promptly shut.

If I had my time over again, here would be where I stood my ground further and not moved from the window, ensuring that no visas would be processed until mine was completed at the official rate. However, we did cave in somewhat and paid 100 Baht (4 AUD) as the bribe. My thoughts now are that if all tourists were to stand their ground and not pay any bribe whatsoever, this problem would gradually go away.

The next area we were herded into was the dilapidated immigrations office. There is no fee payable here but that did not stop some of the tourists appearing to hand over a small amount of cash for having their passport stamped. I’m happy to say that both of went through this procedure without paying a single cent. When others has been paying their bribe, we both simply took our passports back and walked out.

The fun didn’t stop there. We were met by a young man who insisted that we board a free tourist bus which would transfer us to the “Poipet International Terminal”, an empty large concrete building around 5 minutes away from the border and in the middle of nowhere. Not having any real good guidance for other alternatives (another hole in the fat little guidebook’s advice) we agreed.

(Ironically, a few days later I’ve found some guidance printed from the web by Libe that provided good instructions on how to get a share taxi in Poipet to Siem Reap for about USD 25).

There are two onward travel options from the Terminal – bus or share taxi. The bus costs USD 10 but leaves when full. After lengthy deliberations and considerations we elected for the bus, despite the fact that we were told it was to leave two hours later. The touts, including our supposedly genuine guide, push travellers towards the taxis, whose price is negotiable but generally is around a hugely inflated USD 60. Again, it is only because tourists submit themselves to such prices regularly that this poor market exists, and I’m glad we stood our ground for the bus, even if the bastards did continue the dirty tactics (e.g. bus delays) to try to sell the taxi option. The bus itself was actually quite good and certainly more comfortable than a cramped share taxi would’ve been.

I’ll finish my rant about the Cambodian tourist infrastructure there but am happy to provide advice on how to circumnavigate all of these pitfalls to anyone else using the road from Bangkok to Cambodia.

There is a clear distinction between this country that is new to us and the Thailand that we were in for two weeks. Comparatively, the Cambodian landscape we saw was flat, dry and underdeveloped. Categorising the two, Thailand may possibly be classified as a second-world country and Cambodia into the third.

We both really enjoyed Thailand, so much so that of the three countries we’ve been to so far it’s probably the one to which I would return to first. The country is as cheap or expensive as you make it, although our loose spending habits mean that we’ve spent more cash than we thought we might have. It is a comfortable place to tour around and well recommended to anyone thinking of making the trip here.

We finally arrived at the Garden View guesthouse around 6pm, after around thirteen hours of being in transit. Our initial thoughts of the ‘normal’ Cambodia (excluding aforementioned bureaucracies) is that it seems expensive – except maybe for alcohol. US 60c for a pot of beer, $13 for a 750ml bottle of Baileys sounds pretty good to me. Food and transport, two of the other main costs, appear likely to accumulate quietly but significantly. The fact that the country’s most used currency is the US Dollar (the official currency is the Riel) certainly contributes this. A lot of items will be cost a minimum of 1 USD, yet if the Riel was used (which currently trades at around 4,200 Riel for 1 USD) fractions of this amount are likely to be involved instead.