Vietnam and Cambodia
We had an awesome time on our Christmas/New Year’s vacation to Vietnam and Cambodia. The food was great in Vietnam and we enjoyed the hot weather. Henry and Ginger had fun while participating in an ultimate frisbee tournament. We stayed at a nice hotel that had a great breakfast buffet located on the roof with a view of the Saigon River.
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During the 4 days we were in Saigon , I had like 3 days/6+ hours of spa and massages! It was great! After the tournament and a day of chilling out in Saigon, we headed to Siem Reap. Our flight was slightly delayed and I had a bit of déjà vu imagining our Philippines’ flight debacle. The temples around Siem Reap were amazing! My favorites were probably Angkor Wat itself, Bayon, Banteay Srei and Ta Prohm.
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We even woke up before dawn to catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It did not disappoint. The water lilies were blooming, too, and they were beautiful. We were slightly unprepared for the 1500 meter hike up a mountain to see Kbal Spean but it was well worth it for the jungle views and carvings of river rock and to see the waterfall.
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I have to admit that we enjoyed the food in Vietnam more than in Cambodia but the friendliness of the people and amazing sites made up for it. We did quite a lot of shopping, too. I learned that you shouldn’t stop to look unless you might buy because they will end up offering you a ridiculously low price that you can’t pass up! We bought pepper and other spices and scarves, etc. I also had a visit to the Doctor Fish! Small tubs/aquariums that set up on the sidewalk filled with small (and some not so small) fish that apparently like to eat dead skin. Kind of a natural pedicure I guess. It was very weird at first to feel little nibbles on my feet and I guess my feet weren’t too bad since they were not mobbed by fish the way some other people’s feet were! EEWW!
I also tried out some of the ice cream and fruit shakes at various restaurants in downtown Siem Reap (and not across from the temples at stands with no refrigeration so I wouldn’t pull a Shawn). After leaving Siem Reap, we headed back to Vietnam. We flew to Danang, what looked like a nice beachy resort area, but stayed in Hoi An, a more laid back, well-preserved riverside town filled with tailors! We relaxed and biked around the small town, getting a massage and had suits, pants and dresses made!
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Hoi An is also well-known for the silk lanterns that light the town at night. They were quite pretty.
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After another night in Saigon, we headed back to the cold of Tokyo.
Posted by diana in notebook |
01.16.2010 2am | tags: Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Bayon, Cambodia, Hoi An, Kbal Spean, Saigon, Saigon River, Siem Reap, silk lanterns, suits, tailors, ultimate frisbee, water lilies
No problems with your tummy after drinking shakes and eating ice cream in Cambodia, eh?
Nope. We kept it pretty safe. Although our guide was telling us that even he gets sick from eating at different places sometimes…