After leaving Siem Reap, Cambodia (Angkor Wat) we took a bus to Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. Phnom Pehn is the capital of Cambodia and is the largest city. We found it incredibly busy, with a short tuk-tuk ride to our hotel being the most crazy driving experiences we have ever seen. It involved going through oncoming traffic that appeared to have no room for navigation at all. The amount of scooters, tuktuks, and cars on the road was something to behold. At times I felt that movement wasn't going to be possible at all, but then we managed to push our way through the crowd. It took 20 minutes to go about a mile. Never seen anything like it.
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| Mekong fishing boat |
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| Cambodia house |
Our hotel had been booked by our previous hotel in Siem Reap, so we were dissapointed to find that they didn't have airconditioning as we had requested, but for only $8 a night we decided to go for it and save some money. It was HOT, i mean lay on the bed with a fan on you, and just be HOT. The hotel had safety standards that wouldn't pass inspection in the US. For example, the room had only one window and it had metal bars on it. All other windows on the floor appeared to be barred as well, meaning in case of fire you must go downstairs to the front entrance which is a gated door that remains locked at night. To exit you must awaken the night watchmen who then unlocks the door. All of this and no smoke detectors. I didn't feel entirely safe considering we were on the top floor...
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| bottled gas |
The next day we decided to do a cultural activity by heading to the Khmer Rouge killing fields and the torture prison S-21. It was truly a horrific, but enlightening experience. We were quite disturbed to hear the stories of all the men, women, and children who had been killed by the fanatic communist regime. And to see the temple that housed many bones of those who had been killed for such a cause well let's just say it was terrible. On the way to the killing fields we crossed especially poor neighborhoods and the poverty of the people was also something to take in. Couldn't really drink it in, I'd say it was more like drowning. As we headed to the notorious prison called "S-21" which used to be a school we passed more neighborhoods. One of the things we saw on the side of the road were small shacks selling bottles of yellowish liquid from glass pepsi bottles. They contain gasoline and are apparently on the black market as the gas is not legal to be sold. That being said they were everywhere so enforcement isn't an issue. It was interesting to see scooters being filled up with gas from pepsi bottles using dirty rags as filters. Cassie and I began to explore S-21, though I began to feel quite sick and a headache I had experienced for a few days became severe so I opted to just sit in the shade. We didn't take any pictures of either the prison or the killing fields as I just didn't feel it was right.
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| mekong river ferry |
We left Phnom Pehn the following day as the coast of Vietnam was beginning to look better and better. We took a bus from Phnom Pehn and rode for a few hours before we crossed the Mekong river. The bus just drove onto a vehicle ferry and we got on. While sitting on the bus we noticed people selling baskets of an almost unidentifiable food, using the camera we saw beaks. Not sure what kind of birds they were. At another stop we saw baskets of cooked insects. We did not try either. I guess we are not that adventurous. We crossed the border into Vietnam without issue and by late afternoon we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (also called Saigon) it was a bustling metropolis and was obviously far more wealthy than anywhere we had been before, though there was still plenty of poverty around. We took a taxi from the bus station to the train station with the intent of leaving the city that same day (we were kind of done being hot and in cities). The train terminal was very fancy compared to the one we saw in Bangkok, and the tickets to go from HCMC to Nha Trang were about $25 each for an overnight sleeper train. There are four bunks to a room on the train with a tv and airconditioning. When we boarded, Cassie and I were distraught to find that one of our bunkmates had an infant who was incessantly crying. The beds were comfy and the temperature good it looked like a good purchase. The baby quieted down and we settled in for a bumpy night of sleep. The morning light was just starting to come through the windows as we arrived in Nha Trang and we took a taxi to the main cheap tourist area and watched the sun rise over the ocean while we waited for the hotels to open (it was still only 6am). We decided on the Perfume Grass hotel which was only $14 a night including breakfast and is about 200 yards/meters from the beach. We spent the day on the beach relaxing and enjoying the break from the hot weather.
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| meat with beaks |
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| nha trang sunrise |
That night my headache (which still hadn't gone away) became severe again so I decided to email Cassie's brother to get his take on the headaches. He said they were normal side effects which made me feel better. After consulting with Cassie I decided to stop taking the pills as the headaches (almost certainly caused by the Doxycycline malarial pills) had made me (and therefore Cassie as well) pretty miserable. After stopping the pills my headache gradually disappeared over the next few days.
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| boats in nha trang |
The following day we took a snorkeling tour to some islands for about $13 each which included the shuttle bus to the boat, lunch, water and equipment. It was fantastic with amazing corals and some very nice fish. We both enjoyed ourselves immensely, though Cassie who had been very careful to wear longsleeves and plenty of sunscreen still managed to get burned. Another common side effect of the Doxy pills is to easily sunburn. Yesterday we rented a scooter for the day which was only $5 and rode about 17 miles south of Nha Trang along the coast to a more remote beach to escape the crowds. It was a beautiful beach and had many small seafood restaurants that had buckets of saltwater and a variety of live seafood inside. We decided on a shrimp lunch which was about $12 for a pound of 6 huge shrimp which they cooked over charcoal after letting me video them taking them out of the bucket. Very simple and very tasty. It was a nice relaxing day. The food here in Nha Trang has been excellent and last night we ate at an Indian restaurant that serves local Nha Trang beer. The beer is the only local one we've found on draft and it was only 50 cents for a pint. It tasted great. Apparently because of the production style it must be drank within 24 hours of opening so we drank quickly :)
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| snorkeling |
We leave Nha Trang tonight for Hoi An, a small historic town north of here, we'll take an overnight sleeper bus tonight at 6pm and arrive at 7am tomorrow. For only $11 each we can travel 300 miles and not pay for a hotel tonight. Hopefully we will arrive well rested, though I suspect with the frequency that horns are used we will sleep a bit fitfully.
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