Angkor Temples, and Angkor Wat one of the New 7 Wonders of the World!
Temples of Angkor! “Capital of Temples” is about 4 miles North of Siem Reap. The most famous is Angkor Wat though Bayon and others are fascinating as well. There are over 1000 temples in the 400 acre area all built between 9th and 13th centuries origionally they were Hindu temples. In the 12th century they were transformed into Buddhist temples.
In the early 1900’s the French ruled that region and established a commission to restore the area. However, not much happened until the early 1960’s and it was a little too late as Cambodia was headed into a civil war in the 1970’s. Regardless France, Germany and India all supported the renovation and upkeep of the temples.
In 1992 the area became a UNESCO World Heritage site. At that time there were not many visitors. From the early 1990’s until today the number of visitors has risen from a few thousand to over 500,000 by the early 2000’s and most recently over 2 million visitors last year. If you can get there before even more visitors take over the area, visit now!
We did not feel the urgency to do the sunrise or the sunset visit. Many people do and from everyone we talked to that did the early morning visit, they all said it was NOT worth it. We were picked up at 8 a.m., immediately went to get our tickets and finally to the temples. We spent about 6 hours touring the different temples (saw 7 all together).
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Landing in Cambodia
12/22
My best birthday present was leaving HCMC and arriving in Seim Reap Cambodia. This is where I was meant to spend some quality time. Our tuk tuk driver was there to get us at the airport. But first we had to get our Cambodian Visa’s. You DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT need to have a photo for this visa. We simply paid $30/per person and had it in about 5 minutes.
Our driver was so sweet he took us a bit out of the way so we could get a picture of the sunset, which was beautiful. Then he got us to our hotel which was just a sweet place. Old teak wood everywhere, a pool and the nicest people!
When we asked about getting a driver to take us to Ankgor Wat the next day, he said, how about your tuk tuk driver? We were thrilled. For $16 we hired him to take us for the entire day!
Onward that evening we walked into town (1/2 mile ish) to what is now called Pub Street. This street is 1000% geared towards tourists. We did NOT want to spend much time there, so we ventured 1-2 streets off of that street and enjoyed a fabulous Indian dinner. Then walked through the night market. All and all a nice relaxing, enjoyable day in a beautiful area.
Biggest AH HA about Cambodia~ they take American money. If your bill is $12.50 and you give them a $20, you will receive $7 American dollars back and the ‘change’ will be a few hundred of their bills, NO coins. Basically it is interchangeable. Interesting indeed.
Float down the MeKong
12/21
Opted for a day trip to float down the MeKong, it was sort of a flop of a trip but what did we expect for $16/pp.
First stop was to visit Vinh Trang Pagoda with 3 distinct Buddha’s. Happy Buddha who one would pray to for their future, Standing Buddha that one would pray to about the present and lastly Sleeping or Lying Buddha that you pray to for those that are no longer here with us. 
Though it is advertised as a cruise it is boat ride at best! We got in a wooden open aired boat and went across the Tien River to the Qui (Tortoise island ). On the way we passed Dragon, Phoenix and Unicorn islands. Once off the boat we walked through a village, ate local fruit, listened to some local song, tasted local chocolate and honey and eventually made it to lunch.
After lunch we got a short small boat ride thru the mangroves, then we headed back to the bus and back to HCMC. It was an okay day but a bit touristy for us. Not as good as our other day trips. But what did we expect for $16.
Ho Chi Minh City/ Saigon; In some ways just another big city
12/18-12/22
We flew to HCMC / Saigon arriving late in the afternoon. Took a Grab to our super nice apartment ($25/night) and simply walked around the area for dinner. Also found a pharmacy to get some medication because I was getting really sick (throat/sinus).
First full morning we took “Grab” into the city on the days we were in HCMC as we were out near airport in a more residential area. It was only 2-3 miles but took upwards of 30-45 minutes to get back and forth. Typically it took about $2-$4 for the ride.
I’d say if we had it to do over we would have stayed here less days and the rural areas more days. The city is just that a city. It is loud, it has a lot of eye pollution and just not that much worth seeing after a few days. We even took a day off and sat by the roof top pool at our apartment building.
In HCMC we visited:
1. Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica of Saigon. It was under renovation so we could only see it from the area that was outside the gates. It was built in from 1863-1880 by the French colonists. About 10-15% of the population practices Catholicism.
2. Saigon Central Post Office. It too was built by the French and was built between 1886-1891. It is directly across the street from the Basilica. It seemed much more like a building in Europe than something in Asia, even though the hallways are full of trinkets from this region.
3. Gia Long Palace now the HCMC Museum. This is an overlooked museum by a lot of visitors (or so it seemed). Unlike the Independence Palace or the War Remnants Museum the foot traffic here is less. It actually is quite informative and covers a lot of the history of Saigon and how it’s growth to what is now a modern city. The ground have a lot of greenery and some war remnants, such as fighter planes, anti aircraft gun, canons etc. There is a special charge for wedding parties to enter and indeed there was one in there during our time, we guess is it a great place for photos! 
4. Ben Thanh Market is in District 1 and the most popular market in HCMC. It has been around since 1914 (and some of the trinkets may be that old too J). If you want something you can get it here. It is huge and when it closes down later in the day the streets take over and become the market.
5. Ben Thanh Street Market was near the market mentioned above. It was such a nice relief with options to eat. It was a nice balance between street food and restaurant food. It caters to tourists and that’s okay! We had Vietnamese food, Indian food and Thai food, all were good. It was a bit more pricy than street food, but not bad at all. We stopped here 2 times and enjoyed the food both times. 
6. Rex Hotel Roof Bar was where we had the most expensive drinks on the entire trip. I almost chocked when I saw the cost, but reminded myself it was about the experience NOT the bill! The drinks were okay and it was fun to sit atop the room of this historical hotel and look over the plaza. The hotel was built in 1927 for the French of course and was originally a car dealership and garage. It became a hotel in the late 50’s early 60’s. The hotel became most famous during the wary when it hosted the daily American news updates and the war correspondents stayed there. The rooftop bar was a favorite hangout for the correspondents.
Hoi An a MUST visit while in Vietnam
12/17-12/18
Will only say that our flight got in late to DaNang and then the hotel was NOT a 9* as Bookings.com had indicated. We would have walked out if it had been earlier. DaNang was a let down as well, and though we had always planned to go to Hoi An we went sooner that planned and we were glad we did! DaNang is equivalent to Las Vegas. We work up early 6 a.m. and were on our way to Hoi An by 7 and in a new hotel there by 8:30 a.m.! Turning lemons into lemonade.
Hoi An was probably one of my favorite places on this trip (along with Siem Reap in Cambodia). Quaint little town with just over 100,000 people. In 1999 it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our hotel was near old town which is a well preserved area where there is little motorized traffic and a lot of foot traffic, yet it was a street or two off that area and was quite quiet.
Hoi An actually means a ‘peaceful meeting place’ and it holds true to that reputation. We met back up with the mother/son, Penny and Tom from our cruise and enjoyed dinner with them at a Mediterranean restaurant that was a nice diversion from Vietnamese food.
The lanterns hanging along the street, the carless roads (still scooters), and the cobble stone streets made our visit here so enjoyable. We walked through the market a number of times, we snacked on fresh fruit simply enjoyed our time in Hoi An.
IF on your visit you want to get some clothing made this is the town to do that in. We did not, but our new friends did and they loved the craftsmanship!
Ha Long Bay Cruise
Dec. 14-16, 2019
We opted for the 2 night 3 day (though it is only 48 hours) cruise as there was more optional day trips with this, and we were not let down.
Again ride picked us up at 9:30 and we had about a 2 hour ride to the bay. By noon we were loaded on a small boat that took us out to our larger boat. The small boat was tied to the back of the larger boat the entire time and what was used to get us back and forth to our day trips.
Everyone on our boat (14 of us) had been upgraded from a 4 Star to a 5 Star cruise. Did any of us now what that meant, nope but we sure did like the small numbers. There were more staff than there were guests.
Our room was so nice, we were a bit taken aback. But we enjoyed it a lot. We laughed at the first meal however as the dining hall has room for 52 people to eat and again there were 14 of us, so the tables were set per group. Every long table with seating for 8 had 2 placemats and that was it. By day 2 we asked if we could move over with a mom/son from England that we had enjoyed chatting with, and of course it was no problem, but the segregation to start with was funny.
There are 1970 Islands in Ha Long Bay. On afternoon #1 we took small boat over to land where we were able to hike up about 100 steps and go into some caves.
Afterwards Happy Hour had 2:1 drinks (still high for Vietnam rates) and got demonstration on how to make fresh spring rolls, followed by dinner.
After breakfast on day 2 we went back on small boat to shore then rode bicycles for about 2 miles to a small rural village. The similarities to Rural Alaska were quite amazing. There is a lot of subsistence living and they do all they can to live off the land. The folks could (and some do) move to the bigger cities but the CHOSE to remain (or return) to the community where they were born and raised and where their families are located. There is a K-6 school in the community but after that if folks want schooling they need to go to the bigger community and live there to attend school, it is hard for them.
Families have small plots of land that they farm. We saw a demonstration on how to make rice wine and sampled a few different versions. Hibiscus, banana, honey, cobra (as in snake) but they all taste like pure raw alcohol.
After riding back to boat we then had a chance to go swimming…wasn’t too warm outside and the water wasn’t that warm but we went anyways. Once we were in it felt good. Kayaking was an option for the afternoon, but we opted to sit on our deck and read/enjoy the scenery. Food demonstration that night was fried egg rolls.
The last day morning was basically breakfast and packing before disembarking at noonish. Our van then took us back to Hanoi but since we were flying out that evening we had them drop us at a mall (I know odd ) that was not too far from airport, but a place we could waste a few hours of time.
All in all the cruise was a nice time and we enjoyed the folks on the boat with us, especially Tina who was the staff member who took care of us.
Ninh Binh, Vietnam a MUST visit area
12/13
We had decided to go on a one day tour to Ninh Binh today. We were picked up at 7:30 on the dot. It was a full 12 hour tour that included a general visit to the area, a boat float, a temple hike up a mountain and a bicycle ride followed by lunch.
Ninh Binh is a hidden gem in Vietnam just S of Hanoi (60 miles). We did not even read much about it in advance of our visit, but I would say DON’T miss this place.
It is full of 100’s of limestone monoliths. They rise out of the ground and surround you with such lush greenery. There are NOT a lot of tourists in this area and I could see us staying here a few days if we had known.
We learned the difference between a temple and a pagoda! A temple is for kings and heroes. Gifts given as blessings can be almost anything including alcohol. A pagoda is for a spiritual being and gifts must be vegetarian and you must take your shoes off to enter. Bai Dinh and Bich Dong were beautiful and worth the visit.
On our river ‘float’ we were rowed by a woman who used her legs to paddle, it was quite a talent. We went into caves and along a stunning river at the base of the limestone structures. We saw a lot of birds on the ride including a variety of king fishers and herons. To be honest the river float could have been shorter. It was 1.5 hours and 1 hour would have been plenty.
Once we arrived back to Hanoi we had an evening walk around the lake and the Friday night market that was certainly geared to locals. It was fun to see the lake come alive and see what the locals do for fun!
“Hanoi Hilton” and other Historical areas of Hanoi
Day 12/12
Started the morning by walking to the St. Joseph Cathedral, (15% of Vietnamese are Catholic). There were many young children on a field trip to the Cathedral. This was the only church we were able to enter during the trip, and so we lit a few candles for those that we’ve lost. 
and then continued onto the “Hanoi Hilton” or the Hỏa Lò Prison. The experience in there was very difficult to process. The French originally built this for Vietnamese political prisoners and first opened the prison in 1880’s. Later it became better known by Americans during the Vietnam War as many American POW’s were kept there including John McCain. Though prisoners reported much torture and interrogation techniques, in the museum today the Vietnam would have you believe that the prisoners loved their time there and enjoyed a happy social life while captivated including time playing cards, chess, shooting pool, and eating a lot of chicken, eggs and food.
Much of the propaganda in the museum currently would have you believe that it was like summer camp for the prisoners. I took photos of how the Vietnam highlighted how other countries helped them during the war and protested the Americans invasion. I showed some of these pics to friends from one of the countries highlighted and she laughed and replied that NONE of those pics were from a protest but rather from a parade for the New Year and one of the other pics didn’t even have the correct language on the store signs. More examples of propaganda on their part.
We then took at tuk tuk (motorcycle with a riding cart behind it) to Truc Bach Lake the lake that John McCain landed in when he was shot down in Hanoi. It is one of the largest lakes in the city. There is a beautiful pagoda on the lake called Tran Quoc and it is the oldest pagoda in Vietnam. It was built in the 6th century. It is built more like an Indian Stupa.
From here we walked to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, which was built in 1975. It reminded me of our Lincoln or Washington Memorials. It is a stand alone structure that is to honor the beloved Ho Chi Minh. There is a paved plaza out front that is long enough for a plane to land on.
Lastly we met our friends for dinner on “chicken street”, where every single stall had chicken and the most desired treat were chicken feet. Harry tried one, but I passed 🙂 My favorite item was the dessert… They took french baguette and smashed them flat then roasted them over an open fire. After they got a little grilled they put honey on it and roasted it some more! Yummy.
On our walk home we saw some street dancers inviting us into their restaurant! 
Hanoi, Vietnam first stop of our trip
The noise and the hustle bustle will be what I remember. The streets are packed with scooters and I mean packed. Everyone drives and rides them.
Day 12/11
We landed at 11 pm and took the advise from the person we rented our apartment from; arrange for a pick up, $20 for the two of us! Was so worth it, Dong our driver was there with a sign and got us straight to our apartment! It was a crazy night in Hanoi as they’d just won a huge Soccer championship and the streets were full on celebration.
We rented an apartment in Old Town and it’s perfect. We are right beside Hoan Kiem Lake and blocks from the Dong Xuan Market.
We started morning by getting cash, $2,000,000 or about $85. Crazy high bills! Then we stopped and got a SIM card. 15 G data and 15 minutes of calling for $14! We’re set.
We started out along Lake Hoan Kiem enjoying the nice park walkway along the edge. From one end we walked a few more blocks to visit the Opera House. Sadly no tours just open for operas in the evenings. Then headed over to Metrepole Hotel which was built in 1909 and survived the bombings during the war.
We continued back to the lake and around to the end where the Rising Sung Bridge takes you to the Ngoc Son Temple on Turtle Island. Entry fee $3 for the two of us.
Onward to the Dong Xuan Market and as warned in the guidebooks it’s basically a market where Vietnamese shop for clothes and accessories. Lots of knock off, nothing too appealing for us.
However outside of the market were lots of food for sale, fruit, corn, beans, vegetables, etc. we bought some apple bananas as we love them.
We then got a brilliant idea to walk across the bridge over Red River. The Long Bien Bridge was the longest in Asia when it was built. It’s a historic bridge for pedestrians and scooters only, no cars. It was longer than we thought; over 1 mile but was a fun walk. It was a great relic of the past. If you look close, you can still see the marks and pillsleft from American bombs.
We did bring a cab back over the bridge for < $1. Everything is so reasonable.
Lastly we had dinner with a former student and walked around the lake in the evening with an almost full moon!
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