How to get to Dalat? Of course, our favorite Sinh Cafe bus once again. Sinh Cafe (in the South of Vietnam) has disproved Ren's theory about buses—specifically, that buses suck for travel. We took an early morning, 7 hr bus ride from Ho Chi Minh to Dalat. It was clean. Actually pleasant. We had no problems. Before our vacation began, we would have guessed that we'd never, ever consider such a long bus ride. But now with bus rides in Cambodia and Thailand behind us, we know its no problem. Not even for Patty's back.

So you're in Dalat. What do you do? Little. This is a place to vacation from your vacation. We ate. We drank (wine actually – Dalat is where Vietnamese wine is made. Of course, the wine was plain bad).

We tandem biked. And we toured just a bit. We visited the post office. And, the post office cafe. Maybe the biggest accomplishment in Dalat was Ren purchasing a black ink pen for his diary. Blue was getting tiring.

Hightlights? Well, there was at least one. One that might rival every other highlight in the trip. One that, unless we saw it and did it ourselves, we might not actually believe it possible.

[pictures]

We were told “ostrich rides” and we didn't actually understand what was meant. Actually sitting on an ostrich and riding? Was that even physically possible? Well, it took two men (maybe boys-- they probably weighed-in at a buck thirty) to hold down the unruly ostrich and push it towards the loading stairs. “Jump on” they said to Ren, as the ostrich struggled to get free. Ren obeyed, jumped and held on for dear life. The ostrich somehow escaped from the guys and off it went -- Ren bucking on its back as it ran down a path in the park. Eventually, the boys caught the unyieldy beast (and the ostrich as well) and shortly after the ride was over. For sure, this is inhumane for the ostrich. And Ren is likely wanted for contributing to ostrich delinquency. But you know... it was a hoot. Probably the silliest thing during the entire trip.

Another memory, especially for Patty, is the high tea at the Sofitel hotel (this is not where we stayed). The hotel is quite grand in a traditional way—even among other the Sofitels it seams to stand out. There we enjoyed a Vietnamese take on the British high tea. Not quite scones and clotted cream but instead pancakes and waffles!! Tea—of course—or super sweet vietnamese coffee.

Our hotel in Dalat kicked some serious ass. This might rival Alum Shanti for our favorite hotel—though for entirely different reasons. The Ngoc Lan (a 4 star hotel) was a truly modern, comfortable hotel with great amenities, lots of style... and well, it's not what most folks would want for their vacation in Vietnam but it was exactly what we wanted. Btw., if you're visiting Dalat, it's worth shopping around for hotel rooms. Some hotels we saw in a narrow price band were putrid while Ngoc Lan and another hotel just a bit more expensive, the Blue Moon, were perfect examples of affordable luxury.

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We were struck, however, by how little emphasis appears to be place on France's role in Vietnam's historical plight. Museums may contain a few pictures of attrocities by the French (e.g., enslaving of Vietnamese and beatings of slaves) but the vast majority of the attention goes to the war the Vietnamese call the “American War".

A quick history-minute (as retold by Ren and Patty): France spent over 100 years trying to colonize Vietnam. Their goal was to profit from Vietnam's resources and cheap labor. France's efforts to make themselves rich while exploiting Vietnam created fertile breeding grounds for populist movements and ultimately the Vietnamese communist party. Eventually, the French colonial dreams failed. Enter the US (who had already been funding French efforts). The US' misguided efforts were to crush communism (anywhere) at (practically) any cost. And in guerilla warfare, that involved many deaths of Vietnamese villagers. Some of which were certainly soldiers. Some were Vietgong supporters. And others were just innocent, poor people stuck in the middle.

We expected to read a bit more about Vietnam's history with France, but this just wasn't the emphasis of the Vietnamese government and its museums.

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We arrive in Ho Chi Minh to learn that we forgot to pack something very important: our scooter helmets. Here on the streets you're either riding your scooter, siting on it or you're just in the way :-) More so than any other country in SE Asia, Vietnam is scooter central. And the scooter capital in Vietnam is Ho Chi Minh. Look up any street and you'll see an endless sea of scooters spewing dirty, black, two-stroke engine fumes. Most everyone wears masks while scootering. Sidewalks for pedestrians? Think again. Any pavement is fair game for scooters. This was our first impression of Ho Chi Minh. Sadly, we're not exaggerating.

Ho Chi Minh highlights:
+ Near here are the famous Cu Chi tunnels dug by the Vietcong for the "American War". These tunnels highlight how tough guerilla warfare truly is. Vietcong would attack US soldiers and dissappear into tunnels. Booby traps are spread through-out. Most traps involve a US soldier falling into sharp wooden sticks. His weight would further impail the dirty sticks into this legs, torsoes, everywhere. Its horrible to imagine. Of course, any tour of such areas isn't complete without explanation of how heroic, honorable and brave the Vietcong “American killers” were. Its a one-sided view of war around here. No doubt.

+ The Mekong delta was quite interesting to visit. We took a 2 day trip in the region where the mightly Mekong river finally lets out into the ocean through the vast mangroves and delta region. Its a super fertile rice growing area (Vietnam is the #2 rice producer in the world). Saw lots of silly stuff (e.g., coconut candy making, puff rice cooking). We recommend the Sinh Cafe tours to the delta. Top notch for the price.

+ And we saw a lot of poverty. Based on what we witnessed, Vietnam is solidly in the third world. There may be a few, special economic areas where production and wealth are manufactured, but thus far that's escaping us.

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Get the idea?

Now, imagine you're on a scooter travelling 30-40 miles an hour and someone throws a huge bucket of ice cold water at your face. THROW!! As fast and as hard as they can. And its a whole bucket. Scooters diving and darting everywhere to avoid being hit. You're just trying to stay on your path to avoid a huge accident. And when we weren't moving, we were stuck in a traffic jam caused by the water revellers throwing water, slapping white powder on each other, and blocking traffic. Its reminiscent of a huge, drug induced rave except you are forced to take the drugs and join in. In fact, because you're a foreigner, you're targetted. You can't get away. Songkran is everywhere. And it lasts 3 horrific days. Everything you might have wanted to do is out the window because mobs of wild, dirty people stop you on the road, sidewalk, everywhere to have their fun on you.

Could it be fun? Sure if you're a sadist and you're the one throwing the water at unsuspecting drivers. Or if you're 20-something and you just want to party for 3 days in dirty, water-filled streets. But it sucks for everyone else. Nor suprisingly, Songkran is the #1 period for road fatalities in Thailand. TV seems to urge folks to use restraint and only politely splash water on others who are willing. That's not how it works. Let's be clear: Patty and Ren didn't care of it. Think carefully about your trips to this part of the world during Songkran. If you're not keen to party Songkran style for 3 days (day and night), you'll be held hostage.

April 14-15:
By the way, we returned to Bangkok during Songkran and had to cancel our sightseeing.

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We chose to call Bo Phut home in Samui. Our moderately useful tourbooks called this “their favorite beach” because it was removed enough but still offered nicer restaurants and shops. Well... they're probably right about the shops and restaurants, but the beach? No way. Coarse sand and very little of it. No doubt the place to go to is Changwa beach. Changwa is the busy, famous beach with extremely clean, blue water and white sand. Coming to Samui and not visiting Changwa would be an error. Perhaps other beaches rival it, but we doubt it.

Beaches aside, Ren took his second diving trip from Samui. As famous as Samui might be for diving (at least for those of us who don't know any better), it turns out that all of the diving here actually takes place on or near Koh Tau. So, I went with the BoPhut diving school to enjoy two more dives. The first off the shores of Koh Tau and the second at Sail Rock. Absolutely amazing! Really, no doubt one of the best experiences I can hope to have during the entire trip. The boat we were on was great (and fast). Fun divers together with me. The first dive on Koh Tau (my 3rd dive) was straightforward and easy. At the end of 50 minutes or so, I still have 70 bars of tank pressure. So, while others were getting instruction and completing training, my dive instructor told me just to hang around. I did. But my tank really lasted a long time, so I swam around on my own for another 40 minutes. I went probably around 10 meters deep and checked out the area. I also practiced some skills like removing my mask completely underwater and putting it back on. Sounds impossible, but its quite easy to do. I stayed under until my tank was fully exhausted.

The second dive though... wow. Sail Rock was majestic. This is a 40 meter deep wall in the middle of the ocean. There's no bottom for us beginners because we're supposed to stay above 12 meters. So we're literally just gliding along in water checking out fish, eel, shrimp, corral, anemonies and more. Our max depth was 21 meters and we even swam through a “swim hole” where you enter a cave at 18 meters and exit above at 12 meters. Very cool for a complete beginner. I definitely wish I had taken the time to get cerified. By the way, if anyone is thinking of getting certification, definitely do it in Koh Tau. Its about $300 for everything including housing during the 3-4 days of course work.

Thai Beaches: Koh Samui remains copyright of the author dacostas, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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The beach where we stayed was ok. Compared with some of the areas we had previously seen, we'd not give it 5 stars. However, there are plenty of highlights around. We rented a scooter to give us some freedom on the island and to hop around beaches. Ren went North from Long Beach and visited Koh Mah beach further North. That was simply amazing. A long, sandy beach with crystal clear water. While snorkeling around he saw a small sting ray among many other fishies. Lots of swimming to be enjoyed.

Another trip took him to the North East side of the island. The road there was quite tough to traverse on an automatic scooter. Seemed like the other other, occasional, vehicles on the broken, red-dirt roads where 4-wheel drive trucks and motorcross bikes (kicking up dirt on his face). But once he arrived at the beach, the trip was easily justified. Another amazing set of view of beaches, bays, crystal clear waters. Simply wonderful. And the Northern stretches features backpacker bungalows right on the beach. Probably some of the super cheap accomodations that people romantisize about in Thailand that's quite impossible to find just about anywhere else.

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Railay is small. Its the tip of a tiny peninsula off the coast. Since its separated from the rest of the land by huge, dramatic, rocky mountains, it seems like an island. A teensy-weensy little one. You can be cross it on foot (the only way to get round) in about 7-9 minutes. A single stoney path leads you across the island. All of the useable land is either beach or hotel space. No living area for locals, as far as we could tell. And a super upscale resort claims much of the space. If you're into $500+ nights, its definitely the place for you in Thailand.

Once on Railay you just kind of beach. Or eat. Or spend time just sort of walking around the tiny, sandy paths, checking for places to eat Among the highlights is the visit to Praband beach (I think that's the name). This beach is nestled in between huge rock cliffs at one end of the island. Again the pictures below tell the story. Its quite amazing really. There we sunbathed, purchased food from the food boat (pad thai and spring rolls). Probably one of the coolest beach meals we've enjoyed. There was a small rocky island about 100 or 150 meters off the beach to where you could swim or kayak.

Perhaps not surprising was the volume of long tail boats coming to drop off tourists from other near-by areas at the beach. Since the local culture puts preservation and serenity aside when a quick buck is to be made, noisy boats spewing black smoke covered nearly every meter of the pretty by around 11am. They come right up to the sand and throw down their ankor. If you happen to be swimming along its path, you had better move. In Ren's perspective, the indiference to nature, scerenty and beauty (specially as it relates to touristy areas) reigns supreme in every part of Asia. Really makes you appreciate real government at home and the role of rules and regulations.

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Phi Phi is one of the areas that was most extensively damaged by the Tsumani in 2004. Considering the geography of the island, its easy to imagine how scary and terrible the event must have been for those here. At one point in the North island, it's only about a 5 minute walk between its Eastern and Western beaches with some development in between. Probably only a few feet above sea level along this 5 minute path. Elsewhere there are incredible hills, but much of the development is around the sea, of course.

Today, Phi Phi is supposedly back to how it was pre-Tsunami. Its a backpacker ghetto of sorts with limited living space for locals. The backpacker area isn't quite 4 stars territory but its not unpleasant. And while we didn't party with the kids till the wee-hours of the night, we rather enjoyed the bars, restaurants, etc.. on the island.

Among the highlights was our snorkling trip to several of Phi Phi's beaches and few stand-alone islands. We visited Maya Bay which, if you ever come to Phi Phi, you'll learn is where Leo DeCaprio's The Beach takes place. I'm sure you've not seen the movie; Patty and Ren hadn't either until coming to Phi Phi. (btw., don't bother to watch it). However, the scenery is amazing and yes, its real and really beautiful. The water is blue as blue can be. Fish everywhere. That was my favorite place to snorkel until the next stop, and the next and so on. Perhaps the highlight is Bamboo Island—a tiny little island with sand all around it. It almost doesn't seem real. Turns out you can camp there too.

Ren also went SCUBA diving in Phi Phi. ½ day 'discovery” course. Some very limited training and before you know it you're told to jump into the water equipment strapped on. At about 5-6 meters depth, you practice adjusting your depth level, blowing out water from your mask, placing the air regulator in and out-of your mouth and then you're off. Better be comfortable; definitely not for those who feel unsure underwater. Visibility was probably about 10-20 meters. We dove as deep at about 15 meters. Ren thoughts, “I focused on surviving so I don't recall much other than just the WOW! I'm underwater! I'll definitely do it again--no doubt. Much better than skiing.”

Food was quite nice at Phi Phi. Since the island has so many backpackers, backpacker prices reigned supreme. And we watched the above mentioned The Beach movie at one of the bars. Movies at the bar are among the common night activities. Seems that every other place was playing a Will Ferrel movie. Our favorite food joint was Cosmic. Surprisingly good pasta and pizza.

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Some detail for those not famaliar with Thailand's islands, Phuket is and has been Thailand's top beach destination for some time. Perhaps 20 years ago a tourist at Phuket could experience something like the idealized, perfect beach—you and your gal along with miles of virgin white sand and blue water. Sounds good. But now, 20 years later, Phuket's been discovered by many-a tourist and commercialization has been in high-gear for years. Today Phuket is one of three things: an over-run tourist mecca where fat, burley Euros (and Australians) come to vacation in cheap motel digs, or a location for top-notch 5-star beach luxury for those with the disposable income, or a stop over until you can find your way to Koh Phi Phi. Patty and Ren are in the latter group.

Somewhat of a surprise, we were quite pleased with our short stay in Phuket. We chose to visit Kharon Beach on the West coast. Kharon offers a long stretch of very white sand, ocean breezes and a handful of sea-front shops, hotels and restaurants. Just South of Kharon you can find some 5-star luxury, and just North you can find some busier, backpackery locations. Kharon is properly nestled right in between. Pictures do the beach better justice than words.

Other noteables:
Hotel rates went up a bit for us ($100 was the minimum we were finding), but we did get a bit more for the extra few dollars. Food and tuk tuk costs went up as well. We're attributing the prices to the tourists in Kharon; they're willing to pay it. Many of the vacationers here are families from Europe (particularly from Scandanavia). Food prices were closer to what you might expect at B level restaurants in Europe. ie., $10-15 US per person for a standard Thai dish rather than the $2-5 we had been finding elsewhere. We even saw someone tip a tuk tuk 100 Baht (about $3). When we were tuk-tuking around Chiang Mai, we'd argue bitterly with tuk tuk drivers over 10 Baht!

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HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PATTYWATTY!

Ah! Bangkok. Patty and Ren have wondered what this truly BIG Asian city with immense congestion, over-growth, wealth, indulgence, poverty, lady-boys-galore would offer us. We heard stories—good and bad—along the way, and we're ready for whateve the city will offer during our short 24 hrs on land.

ANd yes, Bangkok was the location for Patty's birthday – March 30th. Birthday activities were: touring and a movie. Touring was fine. We've little to say about it other than the Palace is cool.

Some images:

But as our friends know, this tired Calforinia couple enjoys their movies and Wow! What a movie experience we had. Bangkok has a theater at the Siam Paragon called the Nokia Ultra Screen. There you enjoy a movie in first class luxury. The full size theater holds only 30 or so people. The leather chairs, arranged in cocooned pairs, are reminiscent of a top-notch first class flight chair. They're fully recling and come with a fresh blanket and pillow. Order drinks right from your chair. The setting was awesome and the movie was ok. We watched “My Blueberry Nights”.

Other notables beyond the birthday:
+ The Siam mall was huge and full of high-end stores, fantastic food stalls (nothing crappy like what we might expect in a US mall) and excellent restaurants with white linen, cloth napkins, etc.. Patty's birthday dinner was, in fact, at the mall at an Italian restaurant. That was one of our favorite meals in the trip.

Here we are enjoyin it!

+ We were taken-back by how ruthlessly crooked the tuk-tuk drivers are in Bangkok. Its a no holds-barred effort to cheat turists. And its not remotely suttle. The tuk-tuk driver with which we most engaged told us that the sights we wished to see were closed and that we ought to go somewhere else, with him, to take a river cruise. This after the usual questions: where are you from, what's your name, etc.. We walked away from him in disbelief over his misuided efforts. Other tuk-tuk drivers weren't much better. They quoted prices well above an AC taxi's metered rate. And they'd not negotiate. Very odd to us. And very different than our other stops in Thailand. The blame lies with (a) indifferent government that doesn't much mind how turists experience Bangkok and Thailand (b) gullible tourists and (c) rotten and dirty people who prefer to cheat rather than earn their living honestly.

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pictures are coming soon... believe us!

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We start our Thai adventure in Chiang Mai—the once upon a time Northern capital of the various different kings and tribes that were in area. Chiang Mai is a short 1hr flight from Luang Prabang. Or a 2 day boat ride down a brown, dirty river. No cabin. Just a seat. We flew. From Chiang Mai we'll be traveling south through Thailand until we reach the beaches of Koh Phi Phi, Krabi coast, Koh Samui, and more.

For those who know Chiang Mai from 10 years ago... it seems to have grown a lot. We believe its the 2nd largest city in Thailand. And it shows. It has all the quaintness and serenity of a sprawling, dirty Asian city with little planning and zoning policy as constraint. Vendors here have had years of dealing with westerners and tourists and it's rubbed-off on their general surliness. Their perspective: tourists are here strictly for the locals' profit. Their goal is to extract money from our wallets. Little consideration goes towards providing a pleasant experience for the customer (and perhaps winning return visits). And don't expect smiles.

There are several highlights, of course. They begin with Do Suthep temple at the top of Chiang Mai. Do Suthep sparkles with gold leaf. Things are of giant stature. It's a very cool temple. And it's very different than any of the old Khmer ruins you see in Cambodia, Laos or elsewhere in Thailand. Most memorable is the huge golden temple (maybe its called a 'Chedi'?) housing the most prominent Buddha statue.

Some pictures of Doi Suthep:

Patty covered in gold?

We also visited the winter palace, BhuPing palace, of the royal family. It's still a functioning location. US dignitaries have stayed there. There, you tour the gardens, which are quiet, lovely and very naturey. Quite a difference from the old concrete jungle that dominates Chiang Mai. Ren wishes he could enter one of the buildings. But ok, the flowers are pretty. This one`s getting ready to bloom.

We really enjoyed the Sunday walking street. It's not just another market; it has a pleasant air to it. The food was great and cheap--lots of fresh stuff, and freshly fried stuff. You could pick and choose little items (almost a dim sum like approach) and sit down at your leisure to eat. We both really dug it. Plus, the casual shopping there was very pleasant. There's reason for it—the folks at the Sunday street aren't paying for the their booth all week long. It's a once per week business for them. Thus, they've less financial pressure and less interaction with tourists to frustrate them. And, it really shows. Many smiles around. Negotiation didn't frustrate them and banter was welcome. Both of Patty and Ren purchased crud that night.

Ren at the Sunday walking street feasting on a fine drink of `Birdy`.

And the happy couple enjoying a foot massage later on the same Sunday.

This is remarkably different from the “Night Bazaar” which takes place every night of the week. Vendors there are tired of tourists. There's no pleasure in the air. And there's less variety in the merchandise in the stalls. To their defense, these vendors are paying for stalls everyday, and this is likely to be their only business endeavor. It seems like they're under greater pressure. Just the same, neither of us cared for it. And the food we ate was below par. Well below.

Other highlight was our kitschy trip to see the hilltribes. There are several tribes of non-Thai (perhaps once upon a time from China) people who live in the borders between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar. They're not wanted by Myanmar—in fact they're running away to safety. While they're not allowed to be Thai citizens, the colorful tribes bring tourism dollars into Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. Particularly the Karen tribe with the long-neck women (they wear coiled chains around their neck from childhood through adulthood giving them the appearance of elongated necks). As such, they're welcome by the Thai government. And the tourist agencies. The tribe folks are authentically tribe people. They remain farmers and the men work in the field while the women put on a show for the tourists. With support of the Thai government (?) there are some efforts to improve their quality of life. We did see some solar panels in a few of the towns we visited.

Some pictures:

Ren bothering the local children...

Images of the Karen tribe...

Financially, our hotel cost has hit an all time low ;-) This isn't necessarily by design, but our little home away from home is clean, safe, in a reasonable location, provides AC, wireless internet access, and a tv. It just thoroughly lacks style. And, the beds are too soft. All of this can be yours for less than $40/night at the Sri Pat Guesthouse.

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Luang Prabang left us with a very different feeling than we had at Vientiane. It has all the quaintness and charm that Vientiane lacked. There's a main street with the standard selection of ok restaurants, tour agencies, shops etc. Along that street, a nightly bazaar takes place. There you get all the touristy junk anyone could want (surprisingly, none of the fake watches, purses – instead supposedly hand made fabrics and woven stuff that look alarmingly like haight-ashbury chatscke.) The part of town you visit has rivers on either side (its a small peninsula). One of the rivers is the Mekong and the other a tributary. There are handful of “wats” or buddhist temples throughout town.

Scenes in the city streets and its Wats:

An amazing daily event is the "saffron trail" in the early morning when the monks receive rice from the locals.

Do they really eat peanuts?
There are a range of small day tours to do outside of town. Several are of the outdoors adventuring type. However, we chose to visit an elephant camp. Both of us absolutely loved our time with the elephants. We traveled on elephant back. Drove the elephants (kind of), fed them and washed them. While it was silly, the whole thing was quite a hoot. Hands down one of the funner days of the trip.

Getting to Luang Prabang:
We chose to fly from Vientiane to Luang Prabang. There's a 10-12 hour bus option as well. However, we read fairly negative things about the bus (shootings, terribly windy and bumpy route, did I mention shootings?) so we opted to fly. Once in Luang Prabang, we spoke with a handful of travelers (of the young variety) who bussed. It seems that the bus isn't all that bad. But, as I wrote earlier, busing isn't our thing.

Laos: Part 2 remains copyright of the author dacostas, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Scenes:

We have a hard time remembering what we did in Vientiane. There's some small tourism in the city to see in its tiny revolutionary museum (funny political propaganda and some facts) and perhaps textiles in the making. There are a few cute hotels. And some grizzly looking guest houses. The Mekong River flows through so there's some night time activity by the river. Two days in the city is enough if you're there (as we were) as a stop-over to continue planning the rest of your trip and, really, just to “see” the city. That's about it :-)

Sticky rice at dinner:

Making textiles:

Earlier comment about not settling for your hotel (See Cambodia, Phnom Penh) is very true here as well. Our original hotel was described as having pleasant rooms and a pretty garden. Sure. If you consider old, withered plants pretty.

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No tarantulas here; just bugs and bbq'ed baby chicks:

Political History:(as retold by the da Costas):
Thus we arrive in Phnom Penh (Pronounced P-nom Pen)... First, a little bit of history. 1975 was the fall of Phnom Penh . That's when the Khmer Rouge (China backed) defeated the Lon Non gov't (US backed) and marched into the capital. In theory, Lon Non led a democratic gov't. But Lon Non's gov't, too, wasn't all that warm and fuzzy—roving murderers and thieves are a better description. Photos books document their soldiers proudly carrying the heads of Cambodians they suspected of being revolutionaries. These were trophies.

Enter Sarloth Sar (aka Pol Pot) and his Khmer Rouge. They took the capital as the West was retreating. Suppressed, tired and hungry Cambodians (ethnically Khmer people) were cheering in the streets; the evil Lon Non gov't had been sacked. Unknown to practically everyone, 48 hours later Pol Pot's regime would begin a level of genocide unprecedented in human history. This is in 1975 and backed by China! All citizens were ordered to leave Phnom Penh immediately and go the fields. Following Mao Tse-tung logic, Pol Pot was instilling a return to natural Cambodia without the evil influence of Western industry. Banks, mills, healthcare services, sewage systems, and any visible industry was destroyed. Buildings blown up. Cars burned. Ultimately Phnom Penh citizens were taken to labor camps where they worked on the land with hand tools if not their hands. Families were split (actually outlawed) and individuals could be shipped anywhere. Dissension meant immediate death. Foreigners who didn't leave in time were killed. Any Cambodian who spoke any language other than Khmer was killed. Cambodians who wore shoes (ie., they were wealthier) were separated and eventually killed. Men older than 16 were put to work and underfed in order to starve them and eventually kill them.

Khmer Rouge were in power until in 1979 when Vietnam defeated the Pol Pot regime. How recent is all this? Our tour guide in the infamous S21 prison in Phnom Penh was a child in 1975-1979. Shortly after Khmer Rouge took power, she never heard from any family member again. She lost her whole family. Parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins. She's the only survivor. Why? Just random luck.

Inside S21:

Today in Phnom Penh:
Eager to move beyond its gruesome history, Phnom Penh is rebuilding itself. There seems to be several ex-pats living in the city. The city is none too small. It does feel like a city with proper businesses, restaurants, entertainment, services and perhaps even gov't. Its not a top tourist destination, but it was something to see.

Us in the city:

The palace:

If you're traveling there, note that new hotels are probably springing up quickly. Its likely that there are better (more modern) hotels right by the one you're booking. Once you arrive, take a stroll around your area to consider alternatives. We did and we were happy with the results. This is true for Cambodia and Laos in general.

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For now, let's focus on something nice—Siem Reap and Angkor Wat. Siem Reap is a cute town/city. For tourists, its just about perfect. The touristy area is well maintained. There's a mix of cheap, authentic food, cheap touristy food and a handful of mid-scale restaurants and bars.

As we all know, Angelina put Cambodia in the paparrazi map with Tomb Raider, Maddox and her subsequent visits while saving the world. There are a few spots for 5-star luxury people though their spots are a bit out of the way – e.g., the Raffles hotel. Supposedly there's a restaurant, the Red Piano, in town that Angelina frequented while she was filming. Patty and I thought the food was crap there. :-) However, we liked the Internet bars. Go Cowboys! (yep, that's my awesome 7in laptop. Sorry its not an Apple.)

Folks in Cambodia were quite warm and receptive to tourists. While you might encounter a few more smiles and hellos along the streets in Bali (specially away from the tourist hubs), Cambodia comes close. You can have a very pleasant and hassle free time while touring in Cambodia, specially while in Siem Reap. Smiles-a-plenty despite the poverty and crazy history.

Here's a neat way to get some pork on the dinner table. Scooter it. And that bad boy's alive. And he wasn't enjoying the prep for the ride, based on his squealing. The speckly stuff in the picture is dust. The town's got dust floating around everywhere. Either from burning fields or from the ever-present red dirt (kicked-up by cars and scooters).

Of course, everyone's visiting Siem Reap in order to see Angkor Wat. I'll not write here much about the history and details—wikipedia does a better job than I could ever do. However, I'll add that Angkor Wat is a complex of temples build between the turn of the century and perhaps 1350. There is the proper Angkor Wat itself which is the most famous and offers, perhaps, the most awe-striking visuals. Patty and I enjoyed Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, Ta Prom (of Tomb Raider fame), among many others. We spent a total of three solid days doing temple hoping in the area. Pictures describe what we saw better than words. We toured in air conditioned luxury for two of the days (with a driver and guide) and then opted for the cheap-skate tuk-tuk approac for day 3. Both approaches very their merrits.

Angkor Wat: front

A few general thoughts: The temples absolutely love cameras. There's a fantastic picture to be had just about in every corner. Macros, wide angles and everything in between. Plus, depending on the time of day, you'll have great lighting to help you play around with shades and brightness.

More images from inside Angkor Wat:

Food's cheap and pretty good (save for the Red Piano). While the central market's meat section might not leave you eager to eat meat (nor chicken, nor anything highly perishable), Patty and I agree that food was of good quality.

Regarding climate and bugs: it was neither as hot nor bug-infested as we had feared. There's a share of mosquitoes and other insects but its far from being terrible. There's really no need for long pants (at least not during our visit in the end of the dry season).

We also visited the floating village in lake Tonle Sap. This is a fishing village of hugely poor Cambodians and Vietnamese who, in order to avoid purchasing land, live on boats on the lake.

We didn't quite understand why the Vietnamese are there as well, but the village is really split into two: the Cambodian section and Vietnamese section. Interestingly, the Vietnamese section seems to be a bit better-off and seem to also be better equipped to host tourists and secure some money from eager tourist pockets.

Considering the temples, city and floating village together, the 5 days in Siem Reap were spectacular.

Cambodia: Part 1 remains copyright of the author dacostas, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We tried a guest house at $30 and well... we're staying at $45 and above. Through March, we're averaging about $60 per day which is LESS than what we pay for our house in Mountain View (including only mortgage interest and county taxes). Thus far, this rate has provided us with clean, pleasant and at times, stylish surroundings with AC and quality bathrooms. And, it's generally bug-free. A step up to beyond $80 would buy us more service, and perhaps more stylish surroundings with fancier bathrooms (more marble) but that hasn't been necessary. Perhaps unexpectedly, this hotel price range is consistent country to country and city to city, so far. That's a bit surprising considering the GDP per capita of countries like Cambodia and Laos is below $300.

Things may change when we enter Bangkok and the beach resorts in Thailand. Let's see what the future holds for us (financially).

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And as expected, KL was as luxurious, social and exciting as can be. Again, with family, the tuk tuks and taxis are pushed aside for German designed automobiling in the form of Danny's Mercedes (Thanks Danny). Danny met us at the airport. And he and Linda hosted us at their super house in KL. And I do mean super – you should see their kitchen. For those not familiar with KL, its quite modern and clean. New construction everywhere. There's much wealth in the city—many foreign cars as well as Malaysian cars. Western stores and Asian stores pretty much selling anything you want. While the ethnic mix is Malaysian, Chinese and Indian, mostly, English is very common here. Its not a national language, but most everyone will be able to speak it. And, of course, there are endless places to eat.

In fact, the eating and socializing began for us right away. That first night we met Carl, Moses and Pat (Carl's wife's parents) for dinner at a Malaysian eattery. Food was great. Talk was great.

The only downside was that Danny wouldn't let me pay. You'll see this theme throughtout the KL entry. Later that night we went to a bar, Ol' skools. This is the type of place that David (Naidu) would love. Live music, friendly folks. Our attempts to pay for drinks were brushed aside by Danny.

The next morning we were off to sightsee. Batu caves then Petronas towers. Caves were cool. The monkeys were mellow compared to those at Uluwatu, Bali.

Petronas is super luxurious and modern. We didn't go up but did see the mall in the downstairs. Fantastic. Again, there's a LOT of wealth here.

Of course some shopping at Petaling Street – the area where street vendors sell everything fake (goods are from China – intellectual property rights? Doesn't exist in Asia). Of course, Ren joins in the fun and purchases a Prada male purse. At least he thinks its a male purse.

The day was, however, dominated by food. Malaysian food, Indian food (banana leaf restaurant where you eat with your hands) and finally Chinese food at Danny's club. Everything was delicious. Mose, Pat, Carl and his wife Melanie joined us for dinner.

After about 3 hours of sleep, we were on the move to the airport. Unbelievably and under constant protest from both Patty and Ren, Danny drove us the entire day and night including the 40 minute ride back to the airport. We're humbled by his and Linda's generosity and kindness.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia remains copyright of the author dacostas, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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Sideman proved to be a mixed bag for us. First of all, yes, it was very pretty and perhaps more traditional and virgin than other locations one visits in Bali. People without fault would all stare at us (happily) and smile and say “hello”. Kids without fault would smile big and try their 5 or 6 words of English on us. And as we walked around, we saw Bali folks working hard along the rice paddies (make that really hard). Often barefoot. Several of the men just wearing a sarong instead of shorts. Women carrying huge heavy things on their heads while climbing the muddy paths along the rice paddy.

The hotel in Sideman left a little something to be desired (patty thinks it left A LOT to be desired). When we checked-in, we were the only guests there. Mind you, the Berkeley hippies loved the place. And, there was some charm--it was an open air hotel. So, your room couldn't completely be sealed-off from insects and spiders and such. We saw a spider that was probably about 5 inches across. (The woman, who came to give us a massage, actually touched it!!) Patty didn't care for this too much. Then that evening, we had the delightful surprise of finding ants crawling all over our bed. On the plus side, the bathroom was also an open air bathroom. That was pretty cool. Ren showered with rain water as well as the hot water from a pretty good shower. We took pictures. Patty won't let us share them.

Our most poignant memory of Sideman is likely our “small” hike. We were hoping for a 1 hr hike in the morning; ya know... before the sun rose into a scorching, burning, hellish mass above our heads. Nice idea. But when you're more or less mapless and looking for landmarks on freshly rained-on rice paddies, you might miss a few turns. Our trail of tears took us about 3-4 hours to complete.

With the noon sun approaching, we were sure we were lost. As we walked further in-land, villagers seemed to look at us whiteys more and more puzzled... “Why are they here? What do they want?” We encountered countless field workers with sickles for rice farming firmly in their hands. The sickle sure would be a simple way to shine these silly westerners. No?

Eventually we made it out unscatched though perhaps 5lbs lighter due to water loss. People, as always, were as friendly as can be. Including the topless woman bathing herself and her children along the road.

The picture below is of rice midway in the harvesting process. We saw this several times during the hike :-)

Nusa Lembongan:
We stayed in Sideman only one night. Next morning post hike, we were on our way to the next hippie-recommended location—Nusa Lembongan, a tiny island off the southeastern coast of Bali. The reason for going to Nusa was that the beaches throughout Bali were mediocre at best. Very little sand and lots of trash. We're talking real trash too—bottles, bags, old shoes, and all sorts of plasticy non- biodegrable junk that washes up ashore from other islands or Bali itself. Progress!

Supposedly Nusa would afford us beautiful clear blue waters. Thus, we planned to spend one night on the tiny island.

Getting to the island was quite cool. We took the local boat from Sanur at 8am. This was a 30 foot (maybe longer) wooden boat. Without a dock, the boat comes perhaps 40-50 feet from the shore and then we just walk towards it. This while holding onto your luggage. Watch out for the waves!

90 minutes later, we were ashore. We rented a scooter and we're off to find the hotel we reserved. The roads, if you can call them that, weren't driveable at times, but that's part of the adventure. Once at the hotel, we just kind of beached, rested, ate, etc.. We did find a pretty little white sandy beach. It's not the stuff that beach dreams are made of, but it was quite nice. We assume we'll see those types of dreamy beaches when we finally make it to Thailand. At least, we're counting on it.

Sediman and Nusa Lembongan island (Bali) remains copyright of the author dacostas, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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On the way from Seminyak to Ubud, we made a few stops at touristy silver, wood working businesses. The stuff that tour buses want you to believe is a vacation. Since we were on our own, we looked quickly and forged ahead. We did make a good stop at the Bali Bird Park. Patty was swarmed. Evita would be jealous.

And eventually we arrived in Ubud.

Little did we know this would be our favorite location in Bali. Ubud is towards the center of the island. Far from the intense tourism of Juta and Seminyak. There one can unwind in rice paddy walks, visit temples, eat well and make a good, relaxing vacation of it all.

During our 4.5 days (4 nights) there, we accomplished most of that, but certainly not the relaxing. We've yet to master how to squeeze in time to relax.

Here's the view from our hotel window. The dark volcanic looking thing is the volcano in Bali.

We visited the local palace and template during our first evening. Here's Patty desecrating something likely highly religious.

We took the time to try out a Balinese cooking school. We tried the LakaLeke cooking school close to the Alam Shanti hotel. This was one of the highlights of the trip.

Our instructor was, of course, Balinese. And he took Balinese gastronomical traditions to heart. We started everything with fresh ingredients from the garden. Everything was ground by hand using a mortar and pestle. The kitchen was open-air and we were the only students. The pictures will hopefully convey how wonderful everything smelled and tasted. In particular, for Renato, the chef made several of the dishes firey hot. It was kind of a religious experience for him. And for Patty the equivalent epiphany was the banana desert. Small banana dipped in simple batter. Boiled with a vanilla bean and then coconut shavings on top. It was divine.

Otherwise, food in general hasn't been particularly remarkable. Its good. Its fresh. Its cheap. That's about it. Both of us have really like the $1 fruit smoothies. Banana and pineapple in particular. Ren's enjoying spicy food, though Balinese food certainly isn't spicey and more than a few waiters have been surprised with how much chili he's consumed. Patty's favorites so far, beyond the banana desert, have been a few of the Western food restaurants we tried. Her staple was Mie Goreng (fried rice with stuff). We developed the Mie Goreng index in Bali – a quick way to see how expensive or cheap a new restaurant was.

Among the many highlights was our walk through the rice paddy. The falling rain added to the mystical quality of the morning

Ran into a few monkeys in town.

This one was swinging around wildly.

And joined in a hindu festival celebrating the approach of Nepi - Hindu new year.

Panestanan:
Patty and I ventured into two small towns after enjoying Ubud. One was Panastenan --a short day trip from Ubub -- the other a new destination on the other side of the volcano's mountain. More about that later.

Panastenan was our effort to go "real" Bali... a little further away from congestion. It was just that. Gorgeous rice paddies. Beautiful scenery. Just over all wonderful. At least, it would have been if we had rented a scooter. :-) Rice paddies are terraced. They feature intricate irrigation systems that depend on gravity. That means hills. That means our choice of locomotion -- the bicycle -- was our undoing. Luckily, we did survive the trip.

Patty during happier times :-)

Besakih
Leaving Ubud, we visited what's probably the largest and most significant temple area in Bali, Besakih. It was much grander than we anticipated -- we were impressed by the size of the temple area. And it was quite interesting to learn that they used some of the stones that came from the volcano explosions on the island.

Ubud, Panestenan and Besakih (Bali) remains copyright of the author dacostas, a member of the travel community Travellerspoint.

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We've arrived in Bali where we know no one nor anything. Its all up to us.

Our hotel.

We were immediately struck by endless buzz, smoke and "beep-beep" horns along the moped-filled streets. You hear mopeds and scooters honking everywhere in Bali. Patty and I weren't ready for it. We had idyllic visions of pretty, serene beaches, temples and forests. Rice farming, right? Seems like the Balinese have other plans. They've moved on and are working hard to advance their lives. So this is the "real" Bali -- scooters, congestion, trash on the streets, as well as beautiful ceremonies, people with great smiles, amazing history and everything in between. Its life moving forwards here.

Settled-in, we began the tourism by visiting Tanah Lot. Patty will tell us about it later. I'm just adding some cool pictures.

On the same day, we continued to Nusa Dua where we beached a bit

Then lunch at Jimbaran, a fishing village. A great place to eat.

then sunset and a cacophonous holy ritual. That's probably the one and only we'll attend.

Some hungry little monkeys around us.

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Patty and I made it to Singapore relatively unscathed 24 hours later. We used the extra time in California to complete a few more mundane travel prep tasks. And then we were off.

First stop in Asia was Singapore! As land came into sight, I pulled down hard on the bus-stop signal cord and shortly after we touched ground. Singapore was a quick visit for us. We hung out with Marc Naidu and girlfriend Vanda. Marc was nice to host us at his swanky flat. We also saw Diann, boyfriend Andy and Mr. & Mrs. Naidu.

We did the standard touristy stuff one does in Singapore. Arab street, China town, Little India. And a Singapore Sling at the Raffles.

Breakfast at Botanical Garden

Patty enjoying some dumplings

Ren at the Raffles

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