Pippa and Matt's Blog: Saigon, Cambodia, and Back to Thailand!

Saigon is probably one of the busiest cities we have ever been to, and it is appropriately named "Moto-City". A city of 9 million people, there are about 3 million motorbikes. There is no point in driving a car here, you won't get anywhere.

Saigon really was the place to learn more about, and see the effects of the Vietnam War. From the War Remnants Museum to the Cu Chi tunnels, even people disfigured by the war, selling books and things on the streets. On our way to a tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, we actually drove over the bridge where the famous photo was taken, of the girl running along the street naked, moments after the South Vietnamese planes bombed her village. There is a lot to learn in Saigon.

Visited the Mekong Delta one day, setting off to see how the lifestyle differs here from other parts of Vietnam. We were told it was more relaxed, which was definitely true! We took a boat through the lush vegetation of the Mekong Delta, into the lively floating market. People set up at this market for months at a time, or until all of their stock has sold. Fresh vegetables, fruits, etc are the main trade, and to advertise what each boat sells, they attach long poles to the front of their boats, and hang one or two of each of their products from the top. In this part of the country you will see rice paper hanging to dry outside homes, people slowly paddling along the winding rivers, and kids, dogs, and adults lounging everywhere. No motorbikes here! (well, less at least).

We ended up running into 2 different groups of people that we had met over New Years in Nha Trang, which was so great to see them again! We stayed in the popular backpackers area of District 1, but it is still hard to resist saying, "it's a small world!"

From Saigon, we took a 6 hour bus to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. It was quite a smooth border crossing, and overall journey. Being so hot in Cambodia, one bus station actually had a misting spray, just as you'd see in the veggies aisle of a grocery store! At one point our bus transferred to a small ferry to transport us across the Mekong River. This river has been a constant within our trip, as we have now crossed it in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Just as we were getting off the bus, saying how lucky we were in all of our travels so far, we jumped into one of the tuk tuks (they were pretty fierce in getting our business - they apparently make their money by booking tours for the following days to the Killing Fields, Museums etc). Well, as we were about to take off, a screaming match took place between two of the drivers! One man was yelling at our driver in Khmer, and he told us to get out of the tuk tuk, and started throwing our bags at the other guy. We had no idea what was going on. It turns out the one guy had been waiting for hours at the station, and had an arranged deal with the bus company.

One of the first things we noticed about Cambodia were the smells. Phnom Penh had the worst garbage problem we had seen during our four months. As we drove to one destination, an enormous, beautiful lush green field took up the whole left hand side. We were suddenly overpowered by a horrible smell - and drove by a large patch of white foam. We have no idea what it was, but it looked like it was draining right into the vegetation.

I had picked up one of the photocopied books in Vietnam (some are so well done you'd never realize it until you open the book!), to learn more about the Khmer Rouge, and the Pol Pot regime, before we arrived in Cambodia. The book was called "First they Killed My Father", told through the eyes of a 5 year old Cambodian girl, who along with 3 of her 7 brothers and sisters survived. I really recommend this book to anyone. Seeing the Choeung Ek Genocidal Centre (Killing Fields) in person, including the holes from the mass graves and the memorial stupa filled with over 8,000 skulls, and the Genocidal Museum (elementary school turned security prison 21) was unbelievable. To think this had taken place only 35 years ago. Above all, the Cambodians are some of the most friendly people that we have met in South East Asia. We are greeted with a smile when we say no thank you to the tuk tuk offers (compared to the snubs we received in Vietnam).

From Phnom Penh, we traveled the 6 hours to Siem Reap to visit the temples of Angkor. After eating some suspicious vermicelli in Phnom Penh (actually it was more the bean sprouts sitting in a tub of dirty water that we noticed when we went to pay), we experienced round two of food poisoning. Matt had the brunt of the battle this time. Our room was really nice, very clean, however there is no bathroom inside. It would be fine if it was down the hall, but we actually had to walk down three flights of stairs to get there! It all started yesterday when we went to visit the temples. We only made it as far as Angkor Wat and Bayon, the temple with the faces. As you can imagine, in plus 35 degree heat and riding around in tuk tuks, Matt had to make a fast one while leaning over the edge! Needless to say we had to leave early - Matt instantly made best friends with the garbage can inside our room. I was feeling much better the next day, and decided to head back out and see it all (Matt unfortunately wasn't in any position to move).

The sheer beauty and wonder of the temples of Angkor takes your breath away. There are apparently over 1,000 temples in the area, stationed in a national park, and these range from piles of rubble to Angkor Wat, identified as the largest single religious monument in the world. Built between the 9th and 14th Century, when the Khmer civilization was at its peak, the temples weren't discovered by the French until the mid 1800s. There just wasn't enough time to barely even touch seeing all the temples, but did manage to see the majority of the temples stationed within the "mini tour".

After recovering enough to travel, we set off back to Thailand to spend our last few days on the beach. The border crossing between Cambodia and Thailand was by far the most confusing yet! We received our exit stamps, then walked out onto this road with no signs, and no inclination of any Thai border. After almost getting into the line to go back into Cambodia, we survived the long, hot, lineup, and booked it to the Koh Chang ferry terminal. The whole experience felt like Salt Spring - the ferry terminal looked like Fulford Harbour, the ferry looked like the Skeena Queen, and even as we neared Koh Chang, the ferry dock looked just like Vesuvius Bay!

Koh Chang is a really nice little spot. Unfortunately a large majority of the island has been overrun with resort after resort, but we found "Lonely Beach", and are in a backpackers haven, away from it all. We are here for a few days to soak up some sun, then it's back to Bangkok, and home! Hard to believe it's been four months already!!!

See everyone soon,

Pippa and Matt

We visited a temple just outside of Saigon, and were able to watch the noon mass (one of four taking place that day, as they attend a service every six hours). The religion was called Cao Dai, founded in 1924. It is a mixture of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism. Although you can't see it in this picture, some of the men wore bright red, yellow, and blue robes. These individuals were full time vegetarians (the rest, seen in white, couldn't eat meat 10 days out of every month). For every five years they practiced, they would move up a step (literally) on the floor. It was not mandatory to attend church, and mostly older people did (as we were told they had nothing else to do!) The service had traditional Vietnamese music, and their constant bowing to the floor was perfectly choreographed - there was no "leader" at the front of the room, they just all went through the bowing/singing ritual together. There are about 2 million Vietnamese practicing the Cao Dai religion.

In the forest at the Cu Chi Tunnels.

One of many booby traps at Cu Chi tunnels.

The Cu Chi tunnels. There were over 200km of tunnels in Southern Vietnam during the war. Today, many of them have collapsed. Originally 80x60cm, the ones we visited had been doubled in size to cater to us tourists. We basically duck walked through the tunnels, which was all fine and dandy until someone stopped, holding up the line! There were no lights in the tunnels...

The floating market at the Mekong Delta. Notice the tall pole, advertising what produce was sold off of this boat.

Rice paper drying in the sun.

Tourist alert - Mekong River, Vietnam.

Some of the houses in the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Choeung Ek, Phnom Penh, Cambodia - The Memorial Stupa, located in the center of the grounds, built for the Cambodians murdered at this particular Killing Field, under the Khmer Rouge regime. In the Buddhist culture they believe that the souls will be unsettled until they receive a proper burial, so they built this stupa, in their honour, which is filled from floor to ceiling with 8,000 human skulls, bones, and clothing.

The skulls are arranged according to age and gender, and are placed at eye level, whereas other bones are located toward the top portion of the structure. The harsh reality is that an estimated 20,000 people were bound, blindfolded, and shot, or in order to save on expensive bullets, simply bludgeoned to death and buried here in one of 129 mass graves. Behind the Memorial Stupa are the mass graves. Fragments of human bone and bits of cloth are scattered everywhere around the pits. Signs provide the count of the number of victims that were found in each. In one pit alone there were 450 victims.

Security Prison 21 Genocide Museum. This museum was once an elementary school, before being taken over by Pol Pot. It was a very intense feeling being inside these buildings. Hundreds and hundreds of head shots were found in some of the rooms, all prisoners of this "security" centre. Eventually all but four people were tortured and sent to the killing fields.

The Russian Market in Phnom Pehn.

Mother and child, outside the temples of Angkor in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Buddhist monks at Angkor Wat.

The faces of Bayon.

The conservation workers at this temple provide you with an idea of just how steep these steps are! They were closed to the public when we were there, but one set did have wooden steps built over it, and even those were slightly terrifying to climb.

Inside Ta Phrom (famously known for being the set of Tomb Raider).

From the highest accessible point of Angkor Wat, overlooking the main entrance in the distance.

Prasat Kravan.

A partial solar eclipse! As I was walking out of Angkor Wat, this man tapped me on the shoulder, and pointed to what I though was a palm tree. I looked around and everyone was intently staring up at the sky. Good thing it wasn't a total solar eclipse or I'd probably be blind right now.

Meats hanging in a shop in Siem Reap.

A favourite snack in SE Asia - roasted corn. Notice the people in the background wearing masks. You mostly see women and children wearing them, particularly when riding motorbikes because of the pollution.