More Cambodia

It was a very very long bus ride from Phnom Penh to Kratie in the east of Cambodia. The bus wasn't anywhere near the luxurious one we traveled with the other day. But this one was a real local bus, the bus the locals travel and not one made for tourists. So although it wasn't the same comfort, it was a better experience. 

It took almost seven long hours to reach Kratie, a small town along the Mekong River. Our hotel was overlooking the river and we arrived just in time for an awesome sunset. 

After our trip leader had showed us around the little place me and S bought a beer from a small shop and sat down on the riverbank watching the locals gather in groups all over the sidewalks having dinner. Some even brought their karaoke machine.

We on the other hand went to one of the local restaurants and had another lovely meal.

The next morning we got up early, had some kind of a breakfast. It's difficult when there is a language barrier. We took the 8 o'clock ferry over to the little island. Here we rented bicycles and took a slow ride around the island (approx 15km) including many photo stops. I also stopped and asked a family if they would let me pick a Pomelo in their garden, and for $2 that was fine! 

Back on shore we had the pomelo before it was time to get going to the next adventure - kayaking on the Mekong River. 

It was a hard 15km to paddle, but it was beautiful. We paddled through the sand islands, that appear in the dry season when the water level in the river drops. After that we got to see some of the flooded forest, and last but not least we reached the highlight of the trip, the dolphins, Irrawaddy dolphins. 

There are only around 90 dolphins left in Cambodia and around 25-30 of them live in this part of the river when the water drops, as it is the deepest part. They feed on deep sea fish only. 

You have to be quick and observant to see them, and have a lot of luck of course, as it is wild animals in their own environment.

We were lucky to spot quite a few, and by this time the sun was starting to set.

I had to pinch my arm, was this for real. Was I really sitting here, in Cambodia, on the Mekong River, in a kayak, at sunset, spotting dolphins?!? WoW!! 

Slept well that night, tired and happy!

Next morning was another early morning, and another bus ride. We travelled back the same way we came, just not the entire way. We stopped in Kampong Cham. Another small little place with not much to see. 

We had the afternoon free and myself and S did what we always do best - went exploring by foot and with no plans.

We found a little restaurant that looked good for lunch. They didn't speak any English, we couldn't even get them to understand vegetables. But with pictures, sign language and help from a customer that knew a few words, we got a lovely lunch and another fantastic experience.

It was a pretty little town to walk around and explore. Lots of interesting architecture and a fascinating market, where we found a hair salon in the meat and fish area, a lady sleeping on her table right next to the meat she was selling, a lady in a hammock above her table with chickens and much much more. It was a joy!

As we came further down the river the boats started to come in and a small fish market was taking shape on the sidewalk. The fish was still flapping around and gasping for air - can't get much fresher than that I guess.

Today it was time for another long bus ride. This time we have our own van. A small very uncomfortable van, that also got some issues with the accelerator after a short while. The driver run around after scissors, rubber bands and what ever else we don't know, and while diving in under the steering wheel assuring that all is ok! 

We stopped at a "Spider Market". Where I had a little snack, a mix of insects. I had one cricket, one maggot and two legs of a tarantula. Don't think I need to say more about that. 

It was the first (and probably last) insects I've eaten by choice. I don't count the flies and other small buggers that sneak in to my mouth while bicycling or similar.

We stopped for an early lunch as the driver wanted to fix the van. Before we continued, what felt like an endless drive.

Normally I have no problems sitting hour after hour watching the scenery pass by. I actually love it since it gives a good insight of how people live. But today was not one of these days. There's been too many hours in busses the last few days to really enjoy it. 

More Cambodia

After another lovely day by the beach, where we walked to the end of our beach and back (12km), had another lovely swim in the warm sea and a delicious meal just by the water it was time to move. 

Since the condition of the roads in Cambodia are not always the best, a short travel may take very long time.

We travelled to Kampot, where we changed our van to tuk tuk and traveled 18km on very bumpy roads to a pepper plantation and got more info about pepper than a person can digest, we even got to have a pepper tasting, meaning being given different pepper corns to shed as they are. Something I never thought I'd do. On the bumpy road back we stopped at a salt field, however no salt there that day.

Me and S ended the day with a lovely boat cruise along the Kampot river to see sunset and fire flies. 

Next stop was Phnom Penh. We got there in a very fancy bus, that we almost missed as the pick up from the hotel was very late and almost gave our tour leader a heart attack. 

We stayed in Phnom Penh for two nights. The Water festival was going on, so the city was packed with happy people. Boat races on the river, illuminated boats and fireworks in the evenings and vendors and people all over!! They celebrate that the rainy season is over.

However Phnom Penh wasn’t just joy and happiness, we also visited S-21 (one of the security prisons during the Khmer Rouge regime) and the Killing fields. It was very interesting but so awful! How could this happen, and so resent? Unbelievable!

It was still dark when eyes had to be open and body needed to move. The time was 05.30 when the taxi took us to the airport. It was time to leave Vietnam and go explore Cambodia, one of my big highlights on this trip. 

After queuing for hours for check-in, immigration and security we boarded this tiny little propeller plane. The plane had almost passed its "best before day", but at least it managed one more short flight to take us to Sihanoukville, Cambodia. 

On bumpy roads that could need some TLC we were taken to our accommodation. A little hotel three minutes walk to the beach, but without sea view due to the big complexes being built in front. Apparently the Chinese has taken over a lot of the beachfronts building massive luxury hotels and casinos etc. So very sad to see. In the area we stay there is still a bit of the original character left, but also big building sites... 

We took a walk on the lovely white sand beach, and had a couple of dips in the bathtub warm ocean. How lovely!! All I missed was a "noodle" so that I could float around there the entire day. 

Back at the hotel we continued to soak in the pool, until a storm came in. It rained hard for a short while but cleared up nicely so that we could find a lovely spot where they served local beer for $0.50 and fresh spring rolls, where we sat and admired the sunset. A new storm blew in and it was very dark, so time to go back and have an early night after a very early morning.

My time in Vietnam has now come to an end. It has been a fantastic experience and I'm so glad I finally got here, although it is 20 years too late, as big parts of the country has become very touristy. 

I started in Hanoi 17 days ago, where I met up with my travel buddy and a few days later with the little group we were joining to show us the highlights of the country.

The first few days we explored the old quarters of Hanoi on foot. No maps, just walking plan less deciding at the street corners what direction to go next. Some places we wanted to leave straight away, some real little gems to further explore. I liked that part of Hanoi, very lively, clean to be such a big city and very friendly. 

We also got to visit the Ho Chi Minh "Uncle Ho" mausoleum and the president palace, an old citadel and many lovely holes in the wall for lovely local food.

Our tour started with a cruise to Halong Bay, a bay with an archipelago of thousands of limestone formations. Absolutely breathtaking. We cruised (along thousands of other boats filled with tourists) this beautiful scenery for two days, visiting a big cave that was just amazing, a little inland where we could climb to the top for breathtaking views and some did a short kayaking trip.

Back on the mainland and a stopover Bäck in Hanoi we flew south to Hue. Another place to walk around and explore, with a few differences from Hanoi, less traffic (but as crazy) and rain!! The first day we got a little rain, but managed to miss most of it while having lunch and also escaping into a market. 

Our second day in Hue we joined a local tour for visiting three tombs and a pagoda. The tombs were amazing, however the weather wasn't. It was pouring with rain most of the days. We finished the day with a short boat trip on the Perfume River. 

Next morning we got picked up with our own mini van, to take us to Hoi An, and yes, more rain on the way. One of the highlights on the drive was the Hai Van Pass. When we left Hue they were concerned we wouldn't go over the pass due to the weather, but as we got closer the weather improved and we started the climb. We managed to get some glimpses of the view before the rain came back, and how it rained, it was bucketing. We quickly lost the view but could see poor people trying to climb the pass by bicycle in this massive rain.

When at the top the weather was so bad you couldn't see your own hand in front of you. No use to even get out and get wet, so we started our drive down on the other side.

Close to Hoi An you find Marble Mountain, five sacred "mountains" (Water, Air, Earth, Fire and Wood) where people have come for hundreds of years to worship. They were also very important during the war as an American base is based close by, the Vietnamese was hiding in the mountains spying. 

We visited "Water Mountain". It has many stunning caves with carvings of Virgin Mary and Buddha. Me and my buddy climbed to the highest peak and got a fantastic 360 view of Dan Ang and the area around.

We arrived in Hoi An and took a walk around the old part by the river. I Immediately fell in love with this small town. Small narrow streets and allies, beautiful houses, what a fantastic place. We stayed here for three nights, I think I could have stayed at least another three. Me and my buddy S we walked and walked, found our way into the residential areas, small pathways along the rice fields and experienced fantastic things.

Our last day in Hoi An we joined a cooking tour. After being picked up and taken shopping at the local market we took a boat about 30min out of town, where we changed to a small rowing boat and ended up at a little island where we cooked four courses of lovely local cuisine. What a stunning day.

Late that night we boarded the sleeper train to Nha Trang. Nha Trang was a dirty and unfriendly places, I didn't like it that much. We had one really great experience here though, a Mud Bath, Me, my buddy S and and a third guy from the group had a lovely day soaking in mud, mineral pools, and under the sun. After a relaxed afternoon on our balcony (the only positive with the hotel here) we went for dinner at a recommended restaurant that served fantastic food, however the food memory I will bring from Nha Trang is the Bó Né from the little hole in the wall in a small ally.

We left Nha Trang for the vibrant Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon). Oh my the traffic here is crazy... The part of town we stay in (District 1) is pretty nice for being a big city like this. Our tour leader took us for a walk and showed som of the sights. We also visited the War Museum, that was very interesting and very overwhelming. I find it hard to take in the brutality the went on for so many years. Sad, very sad.

The next morning we took of for the Mekong Delta, one of my highlights of this trip. The drive there was pretty long, but it was great to finally see som countryside. As we entered the delta we left the mini van for a boat the took us into the delta. We had a boring and expensive lunch at what they called a local traditional restaurant, the we visited some very interesting places, a fruit nursery, a pottery and a coconut candy place, before we were taken to our Homestay, where we would spend the night.

Me and my two hooligan friends, also called the terrible trio, took a bicycle ride to a close by village. The pathways were narrow and uneven, and the bikes had seen better days, so it was a real adventure. 

Back at the homestay we had to help cooking our dinner... a multi course lovely meal enjoyed outside. 

The second and last day in the delta we travelled with our bigger boat to a place where two ladies in rowing boats (water taxis) took us along the small narrow canals while we were zipping on a fresh coconut.

Bäck on the bigger boat we passed the floating market and visited a bee farm and got to taste their honey tea it was time to head back for the mainland. 

I would have loved to stay in the delta longer and explore more of it, but I guess I have to save that for another time.

Our last day and a half we spent in Ho Chi Minh City, shopping at H&M (hahaha), having a lovely Indian dinner, experience the nightlife, getting lost in narrow little allies and visiting the botanical garden... 

It's been an amazing trip around this lovely country. A bit touristy at times, but I can only blame myself for not coming here earlier, 

The highlights has been so many I cannot chose, but I love Hoi An the most and the best memories will be the interaction with the "real" Vietnam, the meals in the holes in the walls and the exploring of tiny allies of "real life".

It's time to cross the border to Cambodia and get to know a new country!