Trip Report: Taipei, Vietnam, and Cambodia

The ceremony was more interesting than some changing of the guards ceremonies. The guards did some fancy spins and manoeuvres with their rifles. I was fascinated by how they could synchronize these perfectly, even when they were facing away from each other.

After the ceremony we went back to the main floor and ordered cakes and drinks from a concession there. We then decided to continue looking at the gardens on the other side of the memorial. There were a gaggle of photographers taking pictures of the blossoms, or so we thought. We then realized that their primary interest was capturing the little, yellow, canary-like birds in the trees, sipping the nectar. We tried to ask someone what type of bird it was, but she didn’t speak English. Later, a search revealed that the birds were Swinhoe’s White-eyes aka Japanese White-eyes. The gardens at the Memorial Park are truly lovely, with koi ponds, an arched bridge, and many trees and flowers.

We then headed to the nearest MRT station. We wanted to go to the Shongsan Temple, but we needed to figure out the best way to get there. Google Maps gave us directions that were complicated and slow. So, we went into the station and looked at the map. We found a Shongsan Station on it, and decided to head there and see if we could find the temple and night market from the station. Well, it turned out that they were right next to the station, so our instincts served us better than Google did, in that case.

The temple was over-the-top amazing, with its many intricate sculptures and decorations. It was also extremely busy due to the Lunar New Year holiday. People were burning incense, buying fireworks, and making offerings of food and drink for their ancestors. The air was thick and fragrant with smoke. There were many kinds of lanterns on display and the architecture was detailed and colourful. Engravings on the floor noted that the temple was established in 1753. It was special to witness the New Year ceremonies there.

From there we walked through the Raohe Street Night Market. We noticed that a side street led to the river, and we came across the Rainbow Bridge. This is an S-shaped, pedestrian bridge with a large arch over it. Apparently, this arch is lit up in rainbow colours at night.

We were tired by then, and we returned to our hotel around 1:00 pm. It was still too early to check in, so we had lunch at La Rotisserie, a restaurant on the 6th Floor, next to the lobby. Ironically, they were having Canadian Days, where they were serving Canadian food. Well, it was their version of Canadian food. The poutine was fries with a Cheez Whiz like sauce on it (no cheese curds; no gravy). There were thick pancakes with maple syrup for dessert, I guess because they are cakes. :) Someone dressed as the god of wealth (Tsai Shen) was wandering through the restaurant. Our server explained the significance and asked if we wanted a photo with the god. Of course we did. He carries a golden yuanbao replica (an ingot once used for money), and rubbing this yuanbao is supposed to confer prosperity and good luck. After lunch, we decided to try to check in a bit early, and we were able to do so. We settled into the room, which was nicely decorated but a bit dark. We had a snooze, reviewed our photos from the day, and ate lunch leftovers for dinner.

Cont'd

The next day, Wednesday, we went back to the 6th floor restaurant for our included breakfast. There was a huge buffet with both Asian and Western offerings. Afterward, we went to the nearby Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park. We wanted to stay close by, as we had friends coming to meet us for lunch. My husband had been to Taiwan on business 5 times before, and these were contacts from those trips, as well as from trips the same people had made to Calgary. They were kind enough to come to our hotel to see us on the busy last official day of the New Year’s holiday—two of them had to travel for 4 hours!

Anyway, the SYS park had ponds containing fish and large turtles. The residence was in a Japanese style, which was interesting, although there wasn’t much furniture in it. There were photos of SYS, though. Outside, birds were singing loudly, and a couple of photo shoots were going on. One involved a young woman doing some sort of cosplay as a fox or cat character.

After we returned to the hotel, we met up with our friends in the lobby. There were six of them, and they had gifts for us. One gift was a chalk stamp that had a message of luck and prosperity in Chinese characters. Another was a framed calligraphy (again in characters) of an ancient poem that says the simplest life is the best life. The calligraphy was created by our friends’ wife. (Because we travel with such small bags, we had to take the calligraphy out of the glassed-frame and leave the latter behind.) Lunch was again in La Rotisserie, and this time, there were candies shaped like gold fortune cookies, as well as chocolate loonies (Canadian $1 coins) on the tables. The god of prosperity came around again. We visited for so long, the staff eventually came and asked us to leave, because the restaurant was shutting down until dinnertime. We left, but not before we had multiple goodbyes and photo shoots.

One of our friends accompanied us to Taipei 101, because she had never visited it before. She led us through the huge crowds of New Year’s travellers in Taipei Main Station to get to the Red Line. The next few hours were spent in masses of people. Taipei 101 is, as its name suggests, 101 stories tall, and it was once the tallest building in the world, until Dubai built a taller one. It was a bright, sunny day and the views from the observation deck were spectacular. We had fun looking out and posing for pics with our friend. Afterward, we said our goodbyes, and she gave us a fridge-magnet souvenir of Taipei 101. We got back to our hotel around 6pm, ate lunch leftovers for dinner, and looked through our photos. It had been great to see our Taiwanese friends again.

Cont'd.

On Thursday, we visited a hot springs area. The easiest one to reach from Taipei is Beitou, because it is close, and it’s on the metro line. However, I really wanted to visit one that had a fish spa and scented pools, for something different. My research showed that Jiaoxi, a city about an hour by bus or 2 hours by train, had such a place. So, after breakfast, we set off to catch the bus. The bus station was just around the corner from our hotel, which really was in a fabulously convenient location. The station is huge, but we found the ticket windows for the Kamalan bus company and got tickets for Bus 1915 to Jiaoxi at 10:25 am. We were told to go up to the 4th floor to catch our bus. On our way out of Taipei, we saw many people burning papers in fires set up on the sidewalks for that purpose. We later learned that Buddhists burn joss paper, which is paper representations of money and luxury items, to send these items to their ancestors to use in the afterlife.

We arrived at the Jiaoxi Bus station about an hour later, after travelling through some tunnels, including one that was 13 km long, the fifth longest in the world. (This is why it is so much faster to travel by bus than by train, which does not go through the tunnel.)

Near the bus station, there were free, public foot-soaking pools and a lot of bunny-themed statues. There was a TI right there, and we went inside to find out the best way to walk to the Chuang Tang Spring Spa, our destination. Note that many hot springs in Taiwan are housed within private hotels or their grounds, and such was the case with our choice. Then we stopped for a foot soak, but the water was very hot, so we didn’t stay long. We set out on our way, using the Google map setting the woman at the TI had set for us. As we walked down one sidewalk, we went past a stall selling papers and incense for New Year’s offerings. A woman walked past us and spoke to me. I didn’t understand what she said, but a moment later it became clear that she was warning me. As soon as we had passed the stall, a string of firecrackers went off right behind us. It was noon, and we heard other firecrackers being set off around the town.

The town is very densely packed with high rises, spas, and hotels. We stopped where Google maps indicated and couldn’t figure out, at first, where the spa was. Then I spotted a small sign in English across the street. That was the place! We entered and paid for our admission and locker. The spa was really amazing, with 3 main areas: a kids’ waterpark/play area; an outdoor area with various pools and scented steam rooms; and an indoor section with different massage jets and pools for adults. We headed first for the fish spa. As soon as we stuck our feet in, the fish made a beeline for us and started nibbling. It tickled, but not in an unbearable way. I loved it! Some kids pointed, apparently noticing that we had far more fish nibbling our feet than they had. I smiled and said, “It’s because we are sooo yummy!” I think they understood me, because they laughed. In reality, of course, it was likely because their feet were young and smooth, whereas as ours are old and rough and have more dead skin to offer.

We then headed to the “flavoured soups” which is how the names for the scented pools translate in English. We couldn’t read the signs indicating the scents, but Google Translate helped us there. Some of the scents included grapefruit, coffee, mint, and tea. We tried some of the other non-scented pools, and watched some people playing Mahjong on a stone board in one of the outdoor pools. Then we went inside to the massage jet pools. Some of the jets were very strong and relaxing! The spa was busy, but not too crowded, since it was the day after the official NY holidays ended. I think we were the only non-Asians there.

Cont'd.

After 2 1/2 hours at the spa, during which I returned to the fish spa a couple of times, we walked back to the bus station by a different route, looking for a place to have lunch. We didn’t see anything that looked promising, so we got snacks from a 7-11 and ate them in a park. We enjoyed the walk back, during which we passed a small temple and walked along a stream where an egret was fishing. Back at the bus station, we secured tickets for the 3:25 bus and arrived back in Taipei at 4:30--a quick trip!. We ate bananas and leftovers for dinner, rested, and packed for our flight to Vietnam early the next morning.

Friday

It was easy to get up and moving well before our 5:30 am alarm, since we were not yet completely adjusted to the time. We decided not to risk waiting to have breakfast at the hotel, instead having bananas in our room, and then we checked out at 5:35. It’s a long walk through Taipei Main Station from the entrance near the hotel to the airport train platform, and it was about 6:10 when we boarded the 6:20 Airport Express to Terminal 2. When we entered the terminal, we could not believe how crazy-crowded the departure gate was. The lineup for security snaked back and forth through two sections of the terminal. However, the line moved amazingly quickly, as the workers hurried people along, and we were at our boarding gate by 7:30, well in advance of our 9:15 boarding time.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/aZMfvTAqKcJMwquqb7sOtBDAxktkYZvcsXRAZJ8RI5G?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Hoi An, Vietnam

Oh I have been waiting for this! Just sitting down to read now! Yea!

I was going to message you, but I see that you have noticed it.

Me too. Going to make a ćup if tea, relax, and read.

I’m looking forward to hearing about Viet Nam!

We mostly dozed on the ~3-hour flight, so it passed quickly. Shortly after I woke up, I could see the coast of Vietnam out the window. Of course, I had to do it. I said, “Gooooood morning, Vietnam!” I didn’t say it loudly, but I saw the man in front of me turn his head and smile.

We landed in Danang, the nearest city to an airport to Hoi An. We had ordered our multiple-entry visa in advance of our trip, so going through Immigration didn’t take too long. (We needed a multiple-entry visa, because we were going to be travelling to Cambodia from Vietnam, and then returning to Vietnam.)

Our hotel, Little Riverside Hoi An, had sent a driver to meet us, which didn’t take long, as the airport is small. As we drove, our driver pointed out some landmarks, such as the Dragon Bridge in Danang. We noticed that the streets were lined with Vietnamese flags (yellow star on a red background), and our driver said that was done for special occasions, such as New Year’s. He taught us how to say Happy New Year in Vietnamese: Chuc Mung Na Moi. He also mentioned, as we passed a sign advertising it, how much he liked Com Ga (chicken rice).

Traffic was fairly light, so the trip to Hoi An was quick. The hotel is lovely—bordering the river, as the name suggests, and our room had a balcony with a river view. After settling in, we went out to find a bank machine, because we hadn’t been able to obtain Vietnamese Dong in advance. Just getting to the bank machine was an adventure. Pedestrians certainly do not have priority in Vietnam. The sidewalks were blocked by parked motorbikes and cars and the streets noisy with the cacophony of honking vehicles. Crossing the street in Vietnam is its own form of adventure tourism. At this point, I was starting to wonder if we had made a mistake in coming to Vietnam. (We did eventually almost get used to it, though.)

Afterward, we headed to the riverwalk to avoid all the traffic and stroll in the direction of Old Town. We didn’t go all the way to the centre, but we admired the architecture and looked around a bit. We bought some snacks and water and returned to the hotel for a rest. We went to the hotel’s restaurant patio for supper, and we were the sole customers, although the food was excellent. We both had noodle dishes, and we enjoyed watching the colourfully lit boats go by while we ate, although we did not enjoy their noise. After dinner, we went to our room and were in bed by 9.

Saturday

Central Vietnam is hot and humid, so although I’m not normally a morning person, I had to become one here, so we could do the main part of our walking around before the heat became unbearable. We had breakfast at 6:30, and then again headed along the river walk towards Old Town. Old Hoi An is a Unesco World Heritage site, and is known for its lanterns, its architecture and its covered Japanese bridge. Approaching the market area from the river, we passed people with live chickens in cages and dead chickens in various stages of being plucked. Further along, we saw an eel trying to escape a plastic bowl filled with eels, and a tray of octopi, in addition to many kinds of fruits and vegetables for sale.

We continued past the docked tour boats that had been plying the river the evening before. Already their operators were trying to solicit business. At this point, I had to go into a shop to buy a hat. I bought one of those cliché conical hats, because many people, tourists and locals alike, were wearing them, and once I put it on, I realized why. I usually can’t stand wearing hats in the heat, because they make my head sweat too much. But these hats are very lightweight and, because of their shape, they sit lightly on the head while providing good shade.

Cont'd

We were looking for the Japanese Bridge, but we were having trouble finding it, even though we were following a map. We enjoyed all the old buildings, huge trees, and colourful lanterns, though. We came across a temple and went in to see it. There were enormous, black bees enjoying the flowering trees. My husband put his hand near one, so I could get a photo showing how large it was, and it started to go after him, so he pulled his hand away in a hurry. We stopped for a fruit slushie and then continued on, looking for the bridge. We searched again online and learned that Japanese bridge was closed for reconstruction. We did find it, but it was boarded up.

It was getting very hot by then, so we decided to return to the hotel for a break at the pool. The pool is a rooftop infinity pool, and one can order lunch and drinks there. So, we cooled off and had cokes and margarita pizza for lunch. We had booked massages in the afternoon, so we showered and then headed to the basement, where the spa was located. Massages in Asia are a little bit different. First, you are given a cool drink, and then the therapist washes your feet in hot, scented water. Then, during the massage, the therapist climbs right up onto the table with you and gets the leverage to apply pressure that way. It was excellent! After the massage, you are served ginger tea and a small snack. All of this, including the one-hour massage, costs about $25 Canadian.

We went back to the room for a rest and another shower, followed by dinner at the hotel restaurant. Then, we walked along the river in the opposite direction, towards a lighted, crescent moon bridge that leads to an area called “Hoi An Memories Land.” We didn’t pay the fee to visit Memories Land, but we learned that there is a show there. People on the boats were launching lit lanterns into the river. It was a lovely way to cap off the evening.

Sunday

After breakfast, we walked towards Old Town through the streets, instead of along the river, because we needed to stop at the ATM. We came upon a square with a huge New Year display, and nearby there was a rat shrine with incense burning in it.

As we continued, we admired the many beautiful, colonial buildings along the street. Once we got to the centre, we explored along some smaller streets, and were rewarded by an encounter with a couple of lizards. We ended up on a dead-end street with a restaurant called “Avocado Resto” along it. It looked appealing, because the tables were shaded by trees, and we were already hot. So we went in for a morning snack. I tried egg coffee, a Vietnamese speciality, and coconut ice cream. My husband had coconut coffee and mango-misu. Egg coffee is made with raw egg yolks and sweetened, condensed milk. As such, it is very rich, but good, although I prefer a cappuccino or latte.

After our break, we headed for the river and crossed to the other side, which we had not yet explored. This is the area that is the night market, so not much was happening at this time of day. We ended up along the river on the other side, so this area was on an island or peninsula. Along here, there were shacks and boats where people lived. There were roosters crowing and kids crying.

We crossed back to the other side of the river to look for Bahn My Phuong, a restaurant made famous by Anthony Bourdain. We found it and ordered bahn mi and cokes to eat in the park across the street. My husband had the ostrich (banh mi phung), and I had the pork. They were good, but are they the best in Vietnam, as Bourdain claimed? We couldn’t tell, since we didn’t have anything to compare them to.

We walked back to our hotel, ready for a break after four hours in the heat. We again went to the pool and then had another massage. Sigh. Life can be rough. :)

Cont'd

After a rest, we left the hotel with the goal of eating com ga, a Hoi An speciality and one previously mentioned by our driver, for supper. I looked online and found that there were a couple of highly-recommended places that serve com ga back near Bahn My Phuong. As we were walking there, we passed by the square where we’d seen the big New Year display that morning. Now there was a family fair going on, with games, rides, music, and snacks. We were looking around there when, suddenly, everything in the square went quiet and dark. They’d blown a fuse, we guessed, so we moved on. We found one of the com ga places, Dac San Hoi An. It was packed, and so was the street, but we saw a couple of seats right by the wide-open front window. We ordered com ga, and my husband had a Tiger beer. It was insanely busy in there, and as soon as we were finishing up, people were already asking us for our table. It’s no wonder, as the food was really good.

We walked around old town, enjoying the nighttime atmosphere with all the lanterns, but not enjoying the crowds. When we got to the river, there was a section with many small boats decorated with lights and many lit lanterns floating around them. It was a fantastic sight!

We walked slowly back to the hotel along the River Walk, enjoying the sights and sounds.

Monday

On Monday, we enjoyed our last breakfast at the hotel. We tried an Asian dish called “cau-la,” containing pork and fresh vegetables, and it was great.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/2lfRTgb1U8itoYWxjVBsF3llNSTozY7aqbusKMUpAuH?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: My Son and Ba Na Hills

I was in Hoi An for the lead up and beginning of Tet this year. As you say, Tet impact lasts longer than 3 days. The museums in Hoi An were closed longer, and some restaurants 5-7 days.
Did you figure out the Japanese Bridge is under construction so now closed up inside a building and almost totally dismantled. I was so disappointed. I will admit to being disappointed with a lot of Hoi An, but that was due to Tet closures, Tet traffic, and our tour hotel being a 25 minute walk from centre Town.
The saving grace is the Precious Heritage Art Gallery Museum by the photographer Rehahn (I have to put that plug in for people reading this and p,anning future trips to Vietnam).

Yes, we did figure out the bridge. That was a disappointment, for sure. Nothing else seemed to be closed, though.

I liked Hoi An, but I also found it to be really tourist-focused and busy. I was glad we were staying just outside the Old Town and not right in the thick of it.

A couple of things I forgot to mention:

Hoi An is one of those places where you can have custom-tailored clothes made quickly. We didn't, but I thought I'd mention that, in case that's of interest to anyone.

Many of the toilets in Vietnam, be they public or private, have a hose beside them with a trigger nozzle on the end. This serves the same purpose as a bidet, but the water is not heated. It's not as bad as it sounds. When the weather is really hot and humid, it can be rather refreshing. ;)

My Son and Ba Na Hills, Vietnam

We had booked a private driver through Adventure Journeys to take us from Hoi An to Hue with stops at My Son and Ba Na Hills along the way. The driver picked us up promptly at 8 am.

The drive was interesting. We crossed one way bridges. We saw water buffalo, and we saw people bent over, working in rice paddies. We saw people with all kinds of loads on their motorcycles. (This was the case throughout Vietnam and Cambodia.) We saw road signs that puzzled us, at first. One had an image of a city with a line through it. No cities allowed? What? Another had an image of a trombone with a line through it. Then we saw one with an image of a city with no line through it. However, these did not seem to correspond with whether or not we were driving in an urban area. So, we figured out the trombone one fairly quickly. We think it means, “No honking.” I don’t know how they can possibly enforce this, though. It seems as if the vehicles in Vietnam cannot operate without honking. ;) We had to ask about the other one, and it turned out it has to do with speed limits. The “no city” signs mean one can drive faster, as it’s more of a freeway. The “city” signs means a lower speed limit applies.

We reach My Son in just over an hour. Although it was in a hilly area, it was stinking hot there. Fortunately, there were open-sided shuttles that took us the first ~2 km towards the site. My Son (pronounced mi (me) sun), is the site of a number of ancient Hindu temple ruins that date from the 4th to the 13th centuries and were built by the Cham people, who were similar to the Khmer people of Cambodia. It was abandoned when the Cham people fled from the Chinese and rediscovered and partially restored starting at the end of the 19th C. Unfortunately, the site was used as a base by the Viet Cong, and was heavily bombed by American forces during the American War (as the “Vietnam War” is known in Vietnam). However, the structures that remain are fascinating, especially some of the carvings on them. The evidence of the bombings, in the form of craters, also remain. Besides the ruins, we were fascinated by the large butterflies that were in abundance there, as well as the lotuses in the ponds that, I think, were formed by bomb craters.

The site was busy with visitors, including many folks from India. Then a dance show began, and we didn’t attend that, because it gave us the opportunity to explore the site with hardly anyone else around. We spent nearly two hours there, and by the time we returned to the car, we were sopping with sweat.

Cont'd

We then drove through a mountainous area to get to Ba Na Hills, Sunworld. This is an enormous, over-the-top (literally and figuratively) theme park. The entrance area is beautiful, with many flowers, ponds, and bridges. One must buy entrance tickets that include a ride on a cable car to get to the theme park. This cable car travels nearly 6 km (over 3 1/2 miles), with an elevation gain of almost 5000 feet over several peaks before it deposits you at the theme park, which seems to be at the top of the world. We could see other cablecar lines and buildings that may have been hotels or condos on the way. The highlight is at the top is the “Golden Bridge,” a pedestrian bridge that appears to be held up by two colossal hands. It is a great lookout, and as such, is a very popular and crowded spot. It was several degrees cooler at the top, and the sun was behind clouds for most of the time, thankfully. The theme park has different sections, including a French village and castle, a roller coaster, and more, but we explored only the area near the Golden Bridge. This included a “love park” and a giant Buddha. It would take a whole day or more to experience the entire park, and it’s probably best to stay overnight, if you’re into that sort of thing.

However, we were ready to get to our hotel in Hue after a couple of hours. We stopped for hot dogs and cokes before riding the cable car back down and finding our driver. We set off for Hue just after 2:30, driving through more lush mountains, passing elaborate tombs on the outskirts of Hue, and arriving at our hotel just before 5:30 pm.

One puzzling thing we noticed in the mountains were steep steps built into a number of the mountainsides. Are they for farmers? For hikers? For utility or construction workers? We still don’t know.

There are day trips to My Son and to Ba Na Hills from both Hoi An and Hue, but I like the way we did it, combining our travel time to Hue with stops at those sights.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/n5iApA2PeC98l5tPRqddbiOCGjqm91gokSYoREWKtvC?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Hue, Vietnam

This is all very helpful! Btw, I ordered that kaftan!

That's good. :)

Hue

We checked into the Melia Vinpearl , where we had a room on the 31st floor with a fantastic city view to the east and south. After settling in, we went to the executive lounge to have complimentary snacks. We went back to the room to order room service for dinner. I had Chicken Pho, in the land where pho was invented. It was delicious. I wondered if what we get at home is faux pho.

Tuesday

We got up early and went for breakfast on the 7th floor. It was the biggest breakfast buffet we’d seen yet, and there was a big outdoor deck where we could sit, which was great, as we still prefer to avoid eating in indoor, crowded places whenever possible.

After breakfast, we set out to see the Imperial City. Hue (pronounced like whey) was once the capital of Vietnam, during most of the 1800s. It was about a 30 minute, leisurely walk from our hotel to the entrance of the citadel. We were getting good at braving the traffic when crossing the streets, but we were still taken aback when, on a particularly wide and busy street, we crossed on the walk light, but the traffic kept coming.

A tip: a guide we had later in our trip in Hanoi says there are 3 things to do when crossing the streets in Vietnam. 1. Be confident. Step out like you’re the queen, even if there’s a horde of vehicles coming. 2. Don’t stop. Maintain a steady pace. The vehicles are calculating where you’ll be, so they can pass behind you or in front of you by a few inches. If you stop or slow down, it will throw off their estimate, and they’re more likely to hit you. 3. Use your hands. Put a hand or hands out as you cross, to indicate your intentions. It’s intimidating, but it works. We never saw anyone get hit.

The citadel is amazing, in spite of damages it has sustained through cyclones and war. It consists of a moat around an outer wall with guardhouses on top of it, and then an inner wall enclosing various palaces and pavilions with lovely gardens and ponds. There are several lavishly ornamented gates, too. We enjoyed exploring this lovely place.

Of course, it was another hot day, so we were glad to take a break for ice cream and frozen bottles of tea. The tea was wonderful not just for drinking, but for holding against our necks to cool us down as it melted.

There were a lot of people dressed in traditional garb doing photo shoots in the citadel. It was fun to see.

We spent 4 hours at the citadel before walking back to the hotel. When we got back, we went to the Executive lounge for cold drinks and cookies. Then we went to the pool on the 8th floor. There was hardly anyone there, and the water was warm, but not hot, so it was refreshing. We spent the rest of the afternoon and evening going through our photos and packing for Cambodia.

Cont'd

Wednesday, Hue to Danang

After breakfast, we checked out and were picked up at 8 am by our driver from Adventure Journeys to take us to the airport in Danang, with stops along the way. Our first stop was at the City of Ghosts, An Bang Cemetery, near the ocean. This is a 250 hectare “city” of huge, extravagant mausoleums, mainly funded by expat Vietnamese sending money home. These mausoleums are frequently set up like luxurious mansions for the dead. One even had music playing. These tombs cost millions of dong, in a country where many people live in shacks. It was both an awe-inspiring and shocking sight. Our second stop was at a Lap An Lagoon where oysters are farmed. This was a real tourist trap. It was thronged with tour buses and vans, but it was interesting and beautiful, nonetheless. Our third stop was supposed to be at a viewpoint along the Hai Van pass. However, as the vehicle wound its way up the road to the viewpoint, we could see what looked like a waterfall of mist flowing over the viewpoint. Of course, when we arrived, we were in the mist and couldn’t see much, so we didn’t stop. It was still a lovely drive, though.

We were at the airport two hours too early, so we went outside and got lunch from a take-out place. We sat outside playing a computer game until checkin opened. We had to check our carryon bags here because, even though the size was all right, Cambodia Angkor Air takes into account the total weight, including personal items, and we were slightly over. It was a quick flight—just over an hour—and we had lovely views of the sunset as we flew to Siem Reap.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/tG34RokgLRHknFnBdJBhmqNfLX5WcVppvSksyW2jbPA?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Siem Reap and Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Enjoying your report. Not sure about egg coffee! I've always wanted to go to Angkor Wat, but it directly clashes with my aversion to heat/humidity.

This is so fascinating and timely! We will be there in 18 days--leaving April 12. I really appreciated all your observations and insights. Your photos look so vibrant and colorful. Such a feast of the senses. I am a bit apprehensive about this first trip to Asia. We will be in Da Nang and Hoi An. We are going for my nephew's wedding. Longest flight we have taken since Australia in 2006. We are flying to Seoul, then Da Nang. Spending three days in Da Nang, and then four in Hoi An, where the wedding will take place. We are so far scheduled for a day long Da Nang/Hoi An tour the day after we arrive, and a cooking class while we are in Hoi An. Most of the trip is pretty much open as far as a schedule, along with wedding-related activities. Of course the heat sounds like an issue, which we were expecting. I am not a big crowd/traffic person, so that will be an adjustment. Also, the markets with live animals for sale will be hard for me from an animal welfare standpoint, so I'm bracing for that. Sounds like you did really well with food. Our doctor who we had a travel consult with said many Vietnam travelers get ill, so that was not great news to hear. On the way home, we have a 13 hour layover in Seoul, so are planning on taking one of the day tours offered at the airport while we are there.

Oh, how wonderful! I hope you have a great time, and I hope you will post a report afterward.

Some tips: When we travel to countries where water and street food might cause problems, we always get azithromycin from our doctor or travel clinic. We've rarely had to use it, but it's nice to have it as a sort of insurance. It's supposed to be a last resort (only if and after things like immodium haven't worked), but if I had a wedding to attend and was having symptoms, I'd probably use it then. We also travel with quick dissolve immodium.

Another tip: if you aren't supposed to flush toilet paper in the toilet, the water probably isn't safe to drink, as this is an indicator of the infrastructure. There aren't always signs in hotel rooms about not flushing tp (although public washrooms will usually have them). You can usually tell this is the case if there is a garbage bin right beside the toilet.

Anyway, before relying on medication, our first line of defense is to take the following precautions.

1. Don't drink the water. Drink only bottled water or water that you know has been filtered. (Some places we've stayed, such as in the Galapagos, have water dispensers with filtered water, instead of using individual plastic bottles.) Don't brush your teeth with the water. Don't rinse with the water. Don't even open your mouth in the shower. (My husband did forget once, and brushed and rinsed with the water in Hoi An and didn't get sick, but don't risk it.) In Vietnam, the hotels are a bit stingy with water, and most provide only one bottle per person per day. So, we bought a large bottle of water in Hoi An from which refilled our personal water bottles. Be careful, though. We did pass a vendor on the street who was selling large bottles of water, and they had clearly been opened and refilled. Maybe the refilled water was filtered; maybe it wasn't, but we weren't going to risk it. We purchased from a shop and checked to make sure the cap seal wasn't broken.
2. Don't eat fresh fruit or vegetables that can't be peeled, unless you are sure they have been washed in filtered water. We felt comfortable eating all the fruits, vegetables, salads, etc. in our hotels in SE Asia, but not in restaurants or from street stalls (with a few exceptions, when we had a recommendation for the place).
3. Check out the place. Does it have a way to keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold? Is the turnover pretty quick? We saw restaurants, especially in Hanoi, where the dishes were being washed in plastic bowls on the sidewalk. We didn't eat at those places. If you eat street food, eat at a place that is busy and the food is freshly cooked and hot. We did make a few exceptions, such as the bahn mi, and such as a couple of places recommended to us by a local in Hanoi (places that we would have passed by, otherwise).

All that said, don't be so afraid that you miss out on experiencing the local food and culture. Use your best judgement, but do try local food.

Enjoy!

BB--thank you so much for this detailed response! This is bringing back Peace Corps memories from South America. We are leaving with quite the load of gastro-intestinal meds so we have some peace of mind there. Plus typhoid shots for both of us. Yes--couldn't flush tp in Ecuador either, so I am used to that. The water is certainly the main thing to look out for. We do hope to enjoy the Vietnamese cuisine ( I am vegetarian but my husband is all meats), and the wedding should be quite the cultural experience.

@Pete. I just returned from 6 weeks in SEAsia. Take more PeptoBismal tablets than you think you need. Some doctors recommend chewing one or two before each meal...but as it can cause constipation, I never went that route. I did find it was ample treatment for any tummy adjustments. It is hard to find and expensive there, so a bigger supply never hurts. I found it hard to adjust to the very big breakfast buffets and heavier meals. Pho for breakfast is lovely, but took some getting use to.
Most other stuff is accessible via the many pharmacies. They can provide stuff without prescription and very good at diagnosis.
Some sport drink additive could help with the heat if on the go all day...and don't be shy about wesring a wet bandana around your neck to help cool down.
Have a great time.

Have you posted a TR, MariaF?

Thursday

We had hired a guide in advance for the four full days we had at Siem Reap/Angkor Wat. Reviews online had led me to choose James Bon Thai (aka James Tours Guide), and we were very pleased with our choice. James had communicated with us extensively in advance of our trip to put together a custom itinerary that met our interests. In particular, we wanted to avoid crowds as much as possible, and we wanted to have mid-day breaks on the days when we were touring close enough to our hotel to do that. He had a lot of good suggestions for us, most of which we agreed to, and a couple that we did not (such as visiting a killing field).

Anyway, unlike most tourists, we had elected NOT to get up at 4 a.m. to go and sit for 2+ hours to get a good spot to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. (FYI, although everyone refers to the entire, huge site as Angkor Wat, it is the iconic, main temple that is actually called “Angkor Wat,” and this is where people like to photograph the sunrise, because of the ponds that reflect the colours and the temple.

However, we still got up fairly early, in order to avoid the heat and crowds as much as possible. James and his driver were picking us up at 7. One of the amenities in the private pool villas at Templation is to have (the included) breakfast served on a floating tray and eat it in the pool. So, we did that. It was a fun idea, but, in reality, we found it awkward to eat in the pool, and we didn’t want to drop food in our pool water. So, we did it that first morning, took photos, and didn’t do that any of the other mornings. We did discover that our pool had built in, cement loungers at one end, and these had jets. The water was cool, but this was a good thing in Siem Reap, even early in the morning. We also said hello to the bunny we had seen the night before, as it was still hanging about.

We meet James and our tuk-tuk driver at 7, and he gave us lanyards for our multi-day Angkor Wat passes that we had purchased online in advance. (This costs a little bit more than stopping at the ticket booth the day before or just before entering, but we didn’t want to waste time on that in the morning, and our arrival was too late for that the evening before.) There are various checkpoints where someone scans the passes.

At James’ suggestion, we had a tuk-tuk for the first day, when we were visiting temples that weren’t too far from our hotel (i.e. temples in the “inner or small circuit”), and then have a car for the remaining days, when we’d be venturing farther afield. This turned out to be an excellent suggestion. It was fun riding in the tuk-tuk, and, when we were moving, the air was somewhat cooling, but it would have been too slow for our subsequent days.

We had chosen to visit Ta Prohm, the site of university buildings and libraries, first, for a couple of reasons. One is that the bulk the sunrise watchers would still be in or near the Angkor Wat temple, so we wanted to start off in a different section. Another is that Ta Prohm is also very popular, since Tomb Raider was filmed here and it is very picturesque, so we knew it would get busy before too long, and we wanted to beat the crowds. (James had worked as an interpreter on the film.) It is known for the huge strangler figs that crawl over the buildings, and this is also what makes it so photogenic. There were parrots here, and our experience was enhanced by the their calls. We met a young woman from Brazil who wanted to take a photo of me in my red caftan. I said that she was beautiful, and I should take a picture of her. We ended up having our photo taken together, two strangers from different continents. One carving of note in Ta Prom is of an animal that appears to be a stegosaurus. There is a lot of controversy about what this carving actually represents.

Cont'd

After Ta Prohm, we went through the Victory gate into Ankgor Thom. Angkor Thom is a walled compound within the larger city of Angkor Wat, and it has five gates that lead into it. Each gate is topped by a giant head with four faces looking in different directions. Each face has a unique expression. There are 54 statues, 28 lining each side of the road leading up to the gate. On the right are the bad men or demons, pushing the tail of a snake, and on the left are the good men or gods, pulling the head of a snake. The railing is the body of the snake. Many of the heads were missing from these statues, however. James led us up a pathway on one side of the gate where we could look out at the road and get some wonderful photos, closer to one of the faces.

We then visited Bayon temple which has over 100 faces carved on its towers, and bas-relief murals on the walls. These murals depict both scenes from mythology and scenes from Khmer life and history. One mural shows a battle between the Khmer (Cambodian) people and the Cham people (who were Muslim and bearded). The Khmer people lost the battle, and one carving shows an alligator munching on a Khmer warrior who had fallen into the water.

Our tuktuk and driver were waiting for us nearby with cold water, wipes, and snacks. There was a troupe of monkeys (macaques) hanging around, and one was climbing on a tourist and drinking from his water bottle. We had read that the monkeys at the temples can be quite cheeky and aggressive, because tourists feed them, and we were soon to learn the truth of this. After taking some pictures of the monkeys, we climbed into the tuktuk, and our driver offered us bananas for snacks. We each took a banana, and suddenly, my husband said that there was a monkey behind me. It climbed onto my shoulder, reached out and grabbed the banana from my hand, and ran off with its prize. Yes, I literally had a monkey on my back. Then, a mother monkey with a baby clinging to her back climbed right into my husband’s lap to try to grab his banana. He yelled, “No! No! Get away!” and then he threw the banana away from the tuktuk. Another monkey grabbed it, and so, the mother monkey, not wanting to leave empty handed, I guess, tried to make off with the packet of wipes. Our guide took them away from her, and we left the area to eat our snacks in peace. (I must confess to being kind of excited that we had that encounter, though.)

After our snack, we went to the Elephant Terrace and the Terrace of the Leper King. Across the way there were small buildings that had served as prison cells. The Elephant Terrace is adorned with carvings of elephants, and the Terrace of the Leper King was where the king sat in judgement. At that site, James reenacted the way prisoners approached the king and received the judgement. Next we walked past two pools (that had been used for swimming) and, nearby, was the imperial palace, where the royal residences had been.

We walked to Baphuon pyramid. A lot of people like to climb this, but we chose not to, because of the heat. There are rocks that were retrofitted at one point to form a reclining Buddha on one side of the pyramid. One has to use a bit of imagination to make this out. We left Angkor Thom through the South gate, which, like the Victory Gate, has 54 statues lining the road leading to the gate, but these are better preserved than the ones at the Victory gate, and many retain their heads.

Cont'd

After our rest, we found James waiting in the lobby at the appointed time, and off we went to visit Prasat Kravan. There were some market stalls nearby, and I bought a hat, since James had advised me not to wear my conical hat. He said that the Cambodian people dislike these hats, because when the Vietnamese had invaded Cambodia and installed a government there (late 1970s to late 1980s), they did not permit the Cambodian people to wear the conical hats. So, not wanting to cause offence, I had refrained from wearing my hat, but I didn’t want to sunburn my face. I used my Cambodia-purchased hat for the rest of my visit there, but I did not like it as much as the conical hat, as it made my head sweat.

Anyway, Prasat Kravan is a brick temple that is well preserved and has reliefs in the interiors of the towers. Across the street was Srah Srang, a manmade lake with a small, white temple in the middle of it. The lake is filled with fresh water, and there is no swimming or boating allowed. During the height of the dry season, the water is low enough that people can walk out to the temple. On the dock, there are carvings of snakes (naga) guarding the lake.

Our final temple for the day was Banteay Kdei, a temple close to Srah Srang. Here, there were more stone naga and lions, as well as monkey statues, and bas-relief carvings of dancers and an eagle. James described one of the towers as a place for the king to change and another as a place that was used a a crematorium.

After this we returned to our hotel, tired and hot, but happy and awe-filled. We had a dip in the pool and, again, had room service for dinner. For dessert, I tried Mango Sticky Rice, and I fell in love. It’s my new favourite dessert, but it’s impossible to come by at home. You see, the mangoes in SE Asia are a different variety than the ones we can get at home. They are much sweeter and more flavourful.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/NfhwHxAoR1vkHsekwJBoc06shCCffLgSDGGlhP6fYBj?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: More Angkor Wat (It won’t be as long as this one. I promise!)

MariaF--Thank you for this recommendation--will take the Pepto too along with the heavy-duty meds our doctor prescribed for us. What foods were a definite yes for you in Vietnam? I have read you really have to make sure you are getting vegetarian when you ask for vegetarian. And I'll take electrolytes from my hiking supply for our liquid during the day.

Can’t wait for the next installment! Maybe I missed this, but how long total was your trip?
@MariaF—yes, we would live a TR on your trip!

@Pete, yes it may be difficult to be truly vegetarian if you avoid any traces as in broth or fish sauce.
I am gluten sensitive, so can take traces like in soy sauce, but there is a lot lost in translation when you ask questions about ingredients...even with Translate.
There is always a section of 'vegetables'. What may go it is the question. It will depend on how pure you expect it. If you are pescetarian, then the fish sauce won't be a problem. It is in many things.
@Tammy and BB, BB's telling are bringing back many memories and doing a wonderful job at describing the countries and locations. My style deteriorates to step by step lists. Now a fun report to read. I'll bow out from this thread to allow for the wonderful tales to flow.
@BB, you tell wonderful tales of Siem Reap. Thank you.

Tammy, our trip was 3 weeks long, but just 19 nights "on the ground." Well, actually, it was 20 nights, but that's a story for later.

MariaF--If you are pescetarian, then the fish sauce won't be a problem. It is in many things.

Yes, I am so at least the fish sauce issue will be OK. (Many years ago I actually wanted to be totally vegetarian, but my husband was like--can you just eat fish so we can go out to dinner or eat fish and seafood at people's houses? So we compromised on that! Ha ha).

Friday

We didn’t get up quite as early on the second morning, because we were visiting temples in the grand or outer circuit that aren’t as busy. We were travelling by car now, and our driver, Mr. Majura, would be our driver for the next 3 days. It was nice to have air conditioning (although it wasn’t always strong enough), cold water, and chilled, jasmine scented face cloths.

In the morning, we visited the following temples: Banteay Srei, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Ta Som, and Banteay Samre.

A couple of things I forgot to mention before is that many of the temples have both a Hindu and a Buddhist influence. They started off dedicated to Hindu gods, such as Shiva and Vishnu, but as Cambodia became more Buddhist, they began to be used for Buddhist worship. Many of the large faces, which are often thought to be of Buddha, might actually have been the image of one of the kings. (The kings were thought to be, or to represent gods, anyway). Also, because many of the structures are places of worship (and there are still signs of worship there—such as incense burning, and offerings left in front of statues), visitors must dress respectfully, the same as one would do in European churches. So, as tempting as it might be to wear shorts and a tank top in the heat: don’t. Shoulders and knees must be covered.

Anyway, Banteay Srei, sometimes known as the Women’s Temple, is a pretty temple made from pink sandstone, and it has a lot of lovely carvings. It may have been originally dedicated to the Hindu monkey god, Hanuman, and as such, has many simian statues.

East Mebon is an impressive temple, with large elephant statues at each corner.

Pre Rup is a temple that was probably used for funerals and cremations.

Ta Som is a temple complex that is being swallowed up by the jungle, which makes it very photogenic, like Ta Phrom.

Banteay Samre had a group of musicians busking along the pathway that led to it. One was in a wheelchair. James told us that these were war veterans who had no other income, as they aren’t given any kind of pension. So, we gave them some money.

Because we were travelling longer distances today, we had more time to talk in between temples. We learned that James had been orphaned as a young boy, during the Pol Pot regime, and he had no other surviving family. Eventually, he ended up in a refugee camp where he was adopted by missionaries. It is sobering to learn firsthand of the hardships some people have endured. There is still a lot of hardship in Cambodia, too, as many people are very poor, and there are still many landmines remaining around the countryside.

After Banteay Samre, we went for our break back at the hotel. We ordered room service for lunch and cooled off in the pool. I had a green mango salad, and it was really good, until I made the mistake of popping a pepper, carved like a flower, into my mouth. I thought it was a red bell pepper. It wasn’t. It was a very, very, very hot pepper. My lips and mouth were burning, and I didn’t want to drink water and swallow it, because I didn’t want my throat and innards to be burning, too. So, I kept rinsing out my mouth and spitting it out. It took about 10 minutes for the burning to ease, during which, I kept thinking, over and over, “Make it stop! Please, make it stop.” Lesson learned.

We left the iconic Angkor Wat temple for last, in order to avoid the usual crowds there, and to see the sunset reflections. So, James and Mr. Majura picked us up at 3 pm.

Cont'd

Angkor Wat is an impressive sight, indeed. It is the largest temple and has three levels, representing hell, earth, and heaven.

On the bottom level, there is a huge courtyard. Platforms at the middle level were likely used by people alighting from elephants.

We started by climbing the very steep stairs to the third level. (There are railings installed to help with the climb.) Hindu gods in each of the 4 directions have been replaced with Buddhas. People remove their shoes, make offerings, and say prayers. Here, people were asked to remove headwear. The main level has large reliefs with stories of Hindu gods and wars, hell and torture, and the creation story (churning of the sea of milk). (The statues of demons and gods pushing and pulling a serpent, that line the road to the gates of Angkor Thom represent this story, also.) Unlike the smaller temples that have intricate and dense carvings and passageways, Angkor Wat has scale and grandeur and so it can be seen easily in the couple of hours we had for it.

We learned that we had chosen well in visiting Angkor Wat on this day, as the third level would be closed the next day for full-moon ceremonies.

We left by the west doors, along the main walkway A large, male monkey was sitting on a stone bench, and a young woman hurried up and sat right beside it, very close, for a photo. It snarled and scratched at her, and she shrieked and got off the bench. She didn’t seem to be seriously hurt, but, really. What was she thinking? It’s a wild animal.

We continued on and sat by the pond on the right (facing the temple) to take pictures and wait. There were others but it was not too crowded, even though the left pond was roped off, because of some restoration that was happening.

We didn’t stay until after the sun had set, but we got some nice photos. As we walked across the grass toward the exit, we saw more monkeys. We crossed a floating bridge that was sponsored by Canada. I saw a family dressed in traditional Khmer garb ahead of me. I ran after them and asked if I might take their picture. They agreed. Afterward, I said, “Ar kun,” which is Khmer for, “Thank you.” This really pleased them. They smiled and repeated over and over again, “Ar kun, ar kun,” and many bows were exchanged.

We got back to the hotel about 6:15, and had a dip while waiting for our dinners to be delivered. We had massages booked for 8 pm, and we enjoyed them so much, we booked again for our last day. The massages were similar to the ones we had in Vietnam, except that here, we also had an exfoliating foot scrub, and we were given stretchy, mesh underwear to put on. When I said, “Ar kun,” to my therapist, she giggled and smiled and repeated, “Ar kun.” I don’t know if not many other tourists bother to learn a couple of phrases when they visit Cambodia, but everyone there seemed particularly pleased when we made the attempt.

I must add that all the locals we encountered in Cambodia were extremely kind and helpful. Crossing the streets here is a similar adventure to crossing in Vietnam, with one major difference. In Vietnam, they try not to hit you, but James told us that is not the case in Cambodia. So, any time we needed to cross a street, James, Mr. Majura, or occasionally even a stranger, would walk out and stop traffic for us.

That was our last day visiting the Angkor Complex. We had other sights and more remote temples to see in the following days.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/KAtribYyLAuVryQ7NJvxHyk9UjHfIsJuriomOpnpyoc?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Tonle Sap Lake and Kulen Elephant Sanctuary

This is such an interesting report! I have not yet made it to Asia, so it is really helpful. Loved the pictures! Thanks for sharing!

It just amazes me how people think animals are toys, or just there for our amusement, and so get in all kinds of trouble with bison, bears, lions, or in this case, monkeys. Love your Angkor Wat description--I have always heard about it, but I had never really delved into it very much so your description was really fascinating.

Thanks, everyone. Angkor Wat is truly an amazing place.

BTW, yes, I am wearing socks with sandals. It's not only because I am decidedly uncool, but also because it was too hot to wear my sneakers, but I had burned the tops of my feet a bit wearing only my sandals.

Saturday

It took a little bit over an hour to drive out to Tonle Sap Lake. The first part of the drive was on highway, and the second part was on dirt road. It was very, very dusty, and red dust covered the fences, houses, and trees we passed. We saw someone riding in a tuktuk on that dusty road, and we were very glad we were inside a car. We stopped near the docks, and James got tickets for the boat. The cost was the same per boat, no matter the number of passengers, so Mr. Majura came along, too, this time.

We were one of the first boats out, travelling through the shallow canal easily. We passed through a village with houses on stilts, because the water can be many feet higher during the rainy season. Some seemed to be raised two or three stories up from the canal, with firewood and other supplies stored under the floor. There are fish traps set along the shores between boats and irrigation pumps serving the fields. Some of the people live under their houses in the dry season, because it’s cooler. During the wet season, the houses would seem to be floating in the water, so this village is a “floating village.” There was a very rickety-looking bamboo bridge high above the canal, and we saw some kids in school uniforms crossing it. The younger kids we saw waved at us as we passed, and, of course, we waved back.

The canal widened as we approached the lake, and there were no longer houses along the route. Tonle sap lake is the largest fresh water lake in SE Asia, and there were several fishing boats around. There were also a few floating restaurants, clearly there for the tourist trade, but we didn’t stop. As we returned along the canal, there was an increasing number of boats coming out to the lake, and we were in a couple of traffic jams. We docked and took the red, dusty road back through the farms and village and back to the highway going west to Siem Reap. James didn’t think we would have time to go back to the hotel, so he took us on a car tour of downtown Siem Reap and Pub Street.

We had booked a visit to the Kulen Elephant Sanctuary for the afternoon. They have their own transportation to take groups out there, but we had requested to go with our own driver, because we weren’t sure when we booked if we’d get back from the lake in time. Since we were in town in plenty of time, we went to the office and paid for the tour there (instead of bringing our cash to the sanctuary) and went for lunch. Mr. Majura and James decided to follow the company van to the sanctuary, since they hadn’t been there before. This was quite scary, as the van driver drove incredibly fast, passing everything else on the highway (and not always with room to spare), and Mr. Majura had to drive like a bat-out-of-hell to keep up. One vehicle we passed was a motorcycle with a plastic basket attached to the side. A toddler was sitting in the basket, bent almost double, because she was getting too big for it. She had no seat belt or helmet. I felt anxious for her, being on the highway with all the crazy traffic. It was also common to see kids driving younger kids to school on motorbikes, although they weren’t usually on the highway. The driving age for motorbikes is supposed to be 14 in Cambodia, but I’m guessing the parents are working and don’t have a lot of options.

We finally arrived, an hour or so later, physically unscathed but emotionally rattled, at the Kulen Forest Elephant Sanctuary. We thanked Mr. Majura for getting us there safely, under the circumstances.

The sanctuary is a sort of retirement home for elephants who used to work in logging or giving tourists rides at Siem Reap. This was very hard on them, in the heat, and after one of the elephants dropped dead, Cambodians started to rethink using them in such ways. There is more than one sanctuary, but this is the closest one to Siem Reap, and 11 elephants live there.

Cont'd

We were given some safety instructions and a waiver to sign. Rath was our guide, and after a drink and a talk about the sanctuary and its history, he made a mixture of sticky rice, bananas, and tamarind, coated in rice bran. Then we all lined up and formed the mixture into balls.

Then, we went out to meet the elephants. There were two groups of tourists there that day, and 7 elephants available. (The others are elderly and don’t go with the tourists, although we saw two of them later.) I was a little disappointed, as this was advertised as being limited to 14 people per group, but nowhere was it noted that there could be multiple groups. It meant that our individual interactions with the elephants were more limited, as I didn’t want to mob them.

So, our group had 4 elephants, and the other group had 3. I guess the elephants, like people, have their preferred companions and others they choose to avoid, so these groupings are selected by the elephants, themselves. They expressed their excitement as we approached by wagging their heads, tilting them from side to side. We had the treat balls we’d helped to make for them, as well as bananas, squash, and sugar cane. The two elephants my husband and I were feeding don’t like squash or sugar cane, and would just drop this food if it was given to them. One of them is blind in her left eye, so it was important to stay on her right side. Another in the other group was bitten by a green snake a couple of years earlier, and had to have part of her ear cut away in order to save her life. So, there are venomous snakes in the forest, and lots of tarantula nests, but we didn’t encounter anything nasty, fortunately.

The elephants at Kulen forest live a much freer life in retirement than in their working days, but aren’t totally free in the way wild elephants would be. For one thing, they are accustomed to routines and being told what to do. For another, if they roamed outside the sanctuary, and started damaging fields and plantations, that would be a problem, and they could be killed. So, they still “work” in a way, as tourist attractions, and they are still penned up overnight, but they seem to like their routine. Each has a mahout (handler) who guides her and keeps an eye on her health and safety throughout the day. Some of these mahouts are from the elephants' working years; the oldest is in his mid-70s.

Anyway, after feeding time, we accompanied the elephants as they walked through the forest. Two of them went into the river, so there were only 2 left that we could get close to, which is why I was disappointed with the numbers. When the whole group was surrounding those two, I felt uncomfortable and didn’t want to mob the elephants, so I went and watched the two in the river for a while.

After about an hour in the forest, we returned to the main area, and some of the elephants splashed in the pond there, while we had snacks at tables nearby. Then, we headed for the elephant wash. This was great fun! We each got to take a turn giving the elephants drinks and spraying them with hoses. When the elephants had had enough, they would leave and take themselves to their pens. We returned to the main building, washed our hands, and met up with James and Mr. Majura for the (much calmer, as we weren’t following anyone) trip home.

The elephant sanctuary visit was a highlight of our time in Cambodia. We had to skip some other good options in order to fit it in, but we felt it was worth it. (One of the other options would have been a hero rats presentation. These rats help to locate land mines.)

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/mbsOSpISfMnSLpkXU09qKcAlI88gGJuYudktBWIdTeQ?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Beng Mealea and Koh-ker

Really interesting description of the elephant sanctuary. I am glad that it exists, and that these elephants have a comparatively more pleasurable life than they previously had. I couldn't help feeling somewhat sad for them, though as I read your report. Don't know why. Maybe the idea of what their life had been like before? I guess I should be glad they have a sanctuary, eat treats, have people visit them, and can somewhat decide for themselves what they want to do. I think the elephant experience would have been hard for me--I may have chosen the landmine rats experience (although the risk of that job kind of unnerves me as well).

I know what you mean, Pete. However, I felt sad for the life these elephants led when they were forced to work. I was glad to support the sanctuary, because it sends a message that people are interested in seeing elephants in a more natural setting, doing more natural activities, instead of riding on them. It also supports their upkeep.

Sunday

On this day, we travelled to Koh Ker, which is halfway to the Thailand border, northeast of Siem Reap, with a stop at Beng Mealea onthe way. As we passed some roadside stands, James asked if we had ever eaten baby chick inside the egg. We haven’t, and don’t want to, but this is a popular food in Cambodia, and they are for sale at these stands.

The areas we visited this day have not been completely cleared of land mines, although the specific temple areas where we went, have been. Signs indicated this.

Beng Mealea temple is huge, dilapidated, and has wooden walkways to use, presumably for safety and to prevent further collapse. However, the naga (snakes) guarding the entrance are well-preserved. This was my husband’s favourite temple. He said it was the kind of temple he imagined as a kid, when he first read The Jungle Book. Like Angkor Wat, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as is Koh Ker. There are many Hindu carvings, covered in moss, and, again, places where the strangler figs are taking over. It was the second largest temple we saw, next to Angkor Wat. We had a pleasant visit here, as there was plenty of shade. We were able to use our Angkor passes to enter this site.

We then travelled on to Koh Ker. The drive was interesting, as we passed many plantations: cashew, rubber, mango. We saw bundles of what we learned was rubber tied in stooks beside the highway. So, this was literally where the rubber meets the road. I was fascinated by some of the vehicles we saw. They were trucks or tractors that seemed to have a lawn mower engine, and the drivers steered them using two long handles. James also said the area had once been inhabited by many tigers and snakes.

We needed to stop and purchase passes for Koh Ker, but they were not expensive. Koh Ker was once a city that was a rival capital to Angkor Wat for a time, in the early 10th century. It is also known as “city of lingapura,” as many of the temples contain linga, which are a symbol of Shiva. Some of the temples at Angkor Wat contain linga, also, but Koh Ker has many more. It has almost 200 structures, but only a couple of dozen are open, because the others are in deeper jungle and have not yet been cleared of mines. In fact, the first temple we saw at Koh Ker had been used as a base by the Khmer Rouge, and there had been mines places around it by the Vietnamese. Because of the travel distance, there are fewer tourists here than at Angkor Wat, and we frequently had the structures to ourselves.

This was an extremely hot day. It reached 100 F by noon. There were also quite a few wasps around at the temples.

The temples here that were most memorable for us include:

Prasat Pram is a picturesque temple. It has three towers, heavily covered in strangler figs.

Prasat Neang Khmau is a uniquely blue/black temple dedicated to Shiva. Its name means, “Black Lady.”

Prasat Prang is a large, 7-tiered pyramid, which is part of a complex known as Prasat Thom, complete with a moat and reservoir. It was the centre of Koh Ker (in terms of importance), and its construction is thought to have started prior to 921. There’s a staircase for tourists to use to climb to the top, but we chose not to do that in the heat.

Cont'd

Prasat Thom has more amenities than the rest of Koh Ker. There are souvenir stands, restaurants, and restrooms here. So, we had lunch at a restaurant where James has known the owner for many years, and we felt confident that it would be all right to eat here, because James was very careful of our safety. By, “restaurant,” I don’t mean a restaurant in the North American sense. This was an open-air facility, with an overhead thatched roof for shade. As we were eating, a couple from France with whom we’d spoken at Beng Mealea came in with their guide. The couple asked us how the food was, and we said that we liked it. However, they looked around, and then told their guide that they weren’t hungry. (We knew, however, that they were afraid to eat there, and were being polite about it.) They headed for the ruins. A few minutes later they returned, and we heard them telling their guide that they weren’t allowed in, because the woman’s skirt was too short and didn’t cover her knees. James then spoke to the restaurant owners, who lent her a cloth to tie around her waist. I hope the couple bought something—at least cold drinks—from the owners when they returned.

After a trip to the restrooms (James asked Mr. Majura to drive me, over my protests, because they were a little distance away), I looked around at some of the items for sale. At one stand, a woman was roasting seeds that looked something like large pumpkin seeds. I was about to buy some, when James came up and bought a bag for me. I still don’t know what kind of seeds they were, but they were good.

We visited a couple of small temples after lunch, and then decided to head “home,” because we knew it was a long drive. On the way, James wondered what we thought about people eating things like cat, dog, and rat, and if we had ever tried those. Apparently, some people in Cambodia, especially older people, still eat these. Given the poverty that exists there, this did not surprise us, and while we would not want to eat these ourselves, we are not about to judge what people in other circumstances need to do to survive. James also discussed how Cambodia has no real manufacturing of its own. Nearly everything has to be imported. Other than tourism, people live by fishing, subsistence farming, and working on plantations. We also discussed the impact of Covid 19, and we learned that the government did not assist the people at all when they could not work, and most things were closed.

When we arrived back at our hotel at about 4 pm, we said our heartfelt good-byes to James and Mr. Majura. We had tips for them, and they had gifts for us: peppercorn, Angkor Wat cups, and Khmer cloths.

We spent the evening as usual, cooling off in the pool, eating dinner, and looking through our photos.

Monday

Our flight to Hanoi was at 6 pm, so we had arranged a late checkout (3 pm) and booked massages for 11 am. We had thought about going to the botanical gardens down the street, but found out that they were closed on Mondays. To be honest, we didn’t mind spending the day relaxing at our luxurious hotel, as we’ll probably never be able to stay at a place like that again.

We had booked a shuttle to the airport through the hotel. The driver was chatty and talked for the entire one hour trip, wanting to practice his English, which was very good. He spoke about the airport being built by the Chinese, but now that it’s open, there are currently far fewer tourists from China than there were pre-2020.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/RnKGDYGSHFBQ8jn5P6X9BNcw6v88dZlYbvQvsY9ndEP?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Hanoi

These are really great, detailed reports! I had a really good tour to SE Asia about a year and a half ago, this brings back memories. Yes, Cambodians can eat just about anything containing any protein -- bugs, tarantulas . . . we did try a few of these things. The linga reference reminded me of a trip to Nepal quite a few years back, I was on a day tour in the Katmandu area, visiting some temples, and there was a couple from California who were very inquisitive -- nothing wrong with that of course, but you know the type, asking the guide to explain this, what is that, and so on. They asked about the meaning of a particular statue, and he said, "that is, manifestation of Lord Shiva." A bit later on, what is the meaning of that statue? Guide looks a bit thoughtful (or desperate), and says, "that is . . . other manifestation of Lord Shiva."

You are more adventurous than I, Slate. I'm insect-phobic, so the thought of eating tarantulas or scorpions gives me the heebie-jeebies.

Our guide at the elephant sanctuary did talk about capturing tarantulas to eat, when he was pointing out all the nests to us.

Hanoi

We arrived in Hanoi after dark and had some trouble locating the taxi arranged by our hotel. None of the signs people were holding displayed our name. I sat down on a ledge to wait, while my husband walked back down the row of people, when, suddenly, the man in front of me, who was already holding a couple of signs showing other names, pulled out a third sign with my name on it. He called our driver over, I waved down my husband, and off we went. The driver had a bit of trouble locating our hotel. He didn’t speak English, but we could tell, because he stopped, spoke to someone on his phone, and then turned back the way we’d just come. Our hotel, Shining Central, was right in the heart of Old Hanoi.

The hotel had an elevator, and I may or may not have wished “chicken rice” on a man who held the door open for us. (“Com ga” means “chicken rice”. “Com an” means “thank you.”) Oops.

It was after 9 pm by the time we checked in, so we settled in and went to bed.

Tuesday

We had nothing specific planned for this day, other than to explore Old Hanoi a bit. After a delicious breakfast—another buffet with both Asian and Western selections—we asked which direction to head to Hoan Kiem Lake, which we knew was nearby.

It was a short walk to the lake, and the Huc Bridge leading to Ngoc Son Temple was right by the end of our street. So, the first thing we did was visit the temple. One of the more interesting sights at this temple are the 2 embalmed turtles inside. At first, I thought they were fake, since they're so odd-looking, but they are Swinhoe softshell turtles, a highly endangered species. They used to live in the lake and were believed to be the guardians of a sword that the lake’s turtle god lent to Emperor Le Loi, in the 15th century, to use against Chinese invaders. He then returned the sword. Anyway, turtles hold a special significance in Hong Kiem Lake, which also has a small tower in it that is known as “Turtle Tower.” We did see some small turtles near the Huc Bridge, too.

The bridge and Ngoc Son Temple were busy, but the walk around the lake was quieter. We crossed the street at one point to visit Ly Thai To Park, where there is a statue of Emperor Ly Thai To, the founder of the Ly dynasty, who had moved the capital to Hanoi.

After we encircled the lake, we returned to our hotel to warm up (Hanoi was cold) and figure out lunch. I looked online and was interested in a place called Quan Que, which had good reviews. I mentioned it to my husband, who was just looking at an article that listed Quan Que as one of the top 20 things to do in Hanoi. That clinched it, and off we went.

This proved to be an excellent choice. The restaurant was filled with colourful lanterns, but not, at that time of day, with other diners. The staff was friendly and helpful. We ordered Banh Xeo (sizzling cake) as an appetizer, and Beef Pho (me) and Duck in Orange/Passion sauce, and a Hanoi beer (dh). The server showed us how to assemble and eat the Banh Xeo, which involves putting meat, vegetables, and pieces of crunchy rice pancake on a rice wrapper, rolling it up, and dipping it in sauce. Delicious!

After lunch, we explored the streets of Old Hanoi some more. We had to sidestep fires in the middle of the sidewalk, in which a woman was burning paper items (presumably to send to her ancestors). After a while, we started looking for dinner. A lot of the places looked iffy to us, especially the ones where people were washing dishes in plastic bowls on the street. We ended up choosing a place near our hotel, and ordered fried rice with meat to take up to our room. Not feeling adventurous, we passed on the “Pho with steak, testicle and cock.”

We had an early morning the next day, so we got our stuff ready and relaxed. We had a jetted tub in our bathroom, so I had a hot soak before bed.

https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/MqqJeLW62voBQzSpirHIwQ3e8ixjF4FgdeUHBMyxiCB?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Ninh Binh

Wednesday

Ninh Binh is a province in Vietnam that is known for its spectacular karst mountain scenery. I had booked a driver (through Ninh Binh Tourist Centre) to take us there and had requested a 6:30 a.m. pickup. The hotel staff had kindly suggested we come to the breakfast room a few minutes early, and they provided us with take-out containers, so that we could bring breakfast with us. We arrived at Trang Ang in Ninh Binh just before 8:30. It was a chilly, drizzly morning, so we bought a couple of rain ponchos to use on our sampan ride on the river. When I was throwing away the plastic packaging, I saw a woman vomiting in a trash can, so when I realized I had forgotten to say that we wanted our own boat (usually it’s groups of 4), I spoke up and said we’d pay the extra for that, and Than, our driver, kindly ran back to pick up two more tickets for us. I'm still Covid cautious, and we preferred to pay a little extra to avoid being in close contact with potentially sick people for three hours.

It had been really crowded at the dock, but most people had opted for shorter routes than we had, so, there were often no other boats in sight. The river was calm and quiet, and the silvery mist gave everything an ethereal aura. The shores were lush and green, and there were small ducks in the water. It was magical!

The route we had chosen took us through a number of caves, and the woman paddling our sampan warned us to duck when we got to the first cave. It had a really low entrance. My husband ducked in every cave after that, too, until he realized that our captain was an expert at negotiating the passageways.

We stopped to visit temples and shrines along the way. Some of the people taking the trip were there to worship and leave money and goods at the shrines. That’s one reason our route was quieter. Besides being longer, it didn’t have as many of the shrines that were the main draw for the Asian travellers, whereas we were there for the scenery and the experience. Ninh Binh is sometimes called “Halong Bay on land,” and some reviewers say they prefer Ninh Binh. I think both are worth seeing.

After we returned to the dock and met up with Than (who had transferred his contact info to my What’s App, so I could message him when we were finished), we drove to Tam Coc and stopped for lunch at Tam Coc Memory Restaurant. They have a set menu there that includes mushroom soup, cabbage salad with sesame dressing, spring rolls, chicken with vegetables, goat with lemongrass, eggplant, steamed rice, and pineapple. It was very good. I opted to eat out on the patio, because there were a couple of patrons inside who were coughing a lot.

Next, we drove to Mua Cave. At the base of the mountain, after the entrance to the site, is a park like setting surrounded by karst mountains. There’s a lagoon where lotuses grow, as well as various restaurants and amusing photo spots. We noticed a group of statues that included a pig and a monkey. We had seen a similar group in Ba Na hills. Later, we looked it up and learned that the statues represent characters in an old tale known in English as “Journey to the West,” about a Monkey King.

Cont'd

The main attraction at Mua Cave isn’t the cave, but the viewpoints. There’s a steep staircase leading to these. Partway up, it splits into two staircases. We started up and saw a couple of goats along the way. We took the right fork, and the stairs got steeper. They aren’t evenly spaced, and they are rough and rocky. There were people in traditional Mongolian and Vietnamese garb doing photo shoots. The path led to a pagoda with beautiful views of the valley and ponds below. The peak overlooked the lotus ponds, and you could see the other mountains in the background. We could see the other viewpoint, with a long dragon statue on it, across the way. When we climbed down and reached the fork in the path, we decided to climb up to the dragon viewpoint, too. This was an even longer climb, but we took our time. Fortunately, it wasn’t sunny, even though it had cleared up a lot. Before we reached the dragon, there were viewpoints over the river, where we could see sampans ferrying tourists through the Tam Coc route (a different route than we’d taken.) Below the dragon was a shrine with a statue of the Goddess of Mercy in it. This goddess also features in the Monkey King tales. The dragon is perched on jagged, pointed rocks, and we opted not to climb onto those, but I did climb onto the base of a fencepost to get a photo.

This was one of the only places during our trip where we saw a lot of mosquitoes. We stopped to wipe on repellent.

It took us an hour and a half to climb to both peaks and down again. We walked around the park a bit, taking photos, and then we messaged Than that we were ready to leave. He wondered if we wanted to go to Bich Dong Pagoda, another popular Ninh Binh sight, next, but we decided we were ready to return to Hanoi.

On our way back, we stopped at an enormous, ostentatious mansion built by a cement tycoon. It is styled to look like a palace, and is named “Thanh Thang Palace” after the man’s two sons. There are two smaller palaces in front (one for each son) and then the main palace is behind. The compound is walled, with a security guard at the entrance. Sculptures along the wall include a stone elephant and huge metal dandelions.

As we drove back, I went online to try to book a tour for the next day. We had decided to use a tour to visit an incense village and Train Street, instead of trying to visit them ourselves. Even though it was last minute, I was able to book one through Klook.

After our return, we went out to find an ATM and dinner. We decided to eat at a French restaurant, Collette Wine Bar, down the street from our hotel. (Vietnam was once a French colony, as you probably know.) We had Croque Monsieur and Fish and Chips. Both were delicious.

We were tired from all our climbing but well pleased with our day.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/dyTUcxCsbMVyaH0UjdKMqalOQCBtk8yaKt8j7STMaCV?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Quang Phu Cau Village, Train Street, Temple of Literature

Thursday

We had time for breakfast at the hotel this morning. While my husband was up getting us coffees, I heard the server ask the man at the table next to ours if he wanted eggs. The man did not understand, answering her in Spanish. I speak almost no Spanish, but I do know the word for eggs, so I went over and asked, “Huevos?” The man said, “Si.” The server asked how he’d like them. I made a scrambling motion, and he nodded. He then came over and asked if he could sit with us. So, we had a conversation using Google translate, during which I explained to him that the rest of the food was self-serve. We learned that he was from Chile and was travelling to Istanbul after Vietnam.

After breakfast, we connected with our guide, Louisa (Lulu), in the lobby.

The ride to Quang Phu Cau took about an hour, and we were the first visitors to arrive. I was really glad we had booked a tour for this, as I think it would have been difficult to locate the incense-drying areas without a tour. The area for this company was in a yard behind high walls. People come to this incense village to see the colourful incense set out in bundles to dry. Actually, it’s not incense yet, but smoothed bamboo sticks that have been dipped in dye. After they’re dry, they go through a device, one at a time, to coat them with the scent concoctions. Anyway, Lulu took a bunch of photos of us among the incense bundles, and then she took us on a tour, showing us how to make the incense and helping us to use the coating device. She gave us a few sticks of incense afterward.

We then headed back to Hanoi. During the trip, I made a comment about how hard people work, and this led to a conversation about the plight of many women in Vietnam, and how they work double, both in factories, fields, etc., and at home. Lulu also brought up the problem of domestic violence and asked if that happened in Canada, too.

Lulu also asked us if afternoon naps were common in Canada. (They’re not.) She told us that, in Vietnam, even in the city, it is common for people to take a nap in the afternoon, and many businesses are set up to allow for this.

We arrived at a section of Train Street about 15-20 minutes before the train was due. Lulu found us a table and helped us order egg coffee and coconut coffee, and we took silly pictures on the tracks as we waited. Shortly before the train was due, a couple of men folded down all the tables along the street (they were something like tv tables) and told everyone to turn sideways, lean against the wall, and keep their knees in. We were at the narrowest part of the street, so these precautions made sense.

Lulu reminded us to “press the red button” on our phones, but I wanted to take a photo of the approaching train before I took a video. Didn’t I feel stupid afterward when I couldn’t find my video and realized that, after taking the photo, I had pressed the option to switch to video, but in all the excitement had forgotten to start the video. Fortunately, my husband took a couple of short videos. I normally don’t take many videos, but I did want one of this, because it is such a unique experience, and video captures it better. You can see one of my husband’s very brief videos here, if you’re interested: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/fP0SL48YyZFOX4oCBbV17WRnZGND08nu3YwPPg7y0Vp

After the train had passed, people applauded and then waited for their drinks. Louisa gave us Hanoi beer caps that had been flattened on the tracks--such a cool gift! She also gave us a colourful envelope that had a couple of small packets of her favourite coffees in it.

She said she had enjoyed talking with us so much, she would like to be my friend on Facebook, so we stay connected now.

Con'td.

Train Street was the end of our half-day tour, and we asked if the driver would drop us off at the Temple of Literature rather than at our hotel, because our legs were still tired from climbing Lying Dragon Mountain in Ninh Binh the day before, and that would save us a bit of walking.

The Temple of Literature was Hanoi’s first university, circa 1070. It has beautiful grounds and the buildings have been restored, some with historical designs, while others are more modern. One of the buildings contains shrines, including a shrine to Confucius. As with all the shrines and temples we visited during our trip, there was incense burning, so I put my sticks of incense in the cauldron in front of the Confucius shrine.

We used Google Maps to find our way back to the hotel. On the way, we passed a shop where we could see a woman napping inside. It took about a half hour to reach Hoan Kiem Lake, where we decided to stop for lunch at Thuy Ta Legend, a restaurant with a patio overlooking the lake. Again, not feeling especially adventurous, we opted for pizza and pasta instead of the “Golden coated deep fried snake head” or the stir fried snake head. We have since learned that snake head can also refer to a type of fish, though.

We took a break in our hotel room and then went downstairs for our 75-minute hot stone massages. When we arrived, the receptionist was having her nap time. This was the first time we’d had hot stone massages, and we enjoyed them. Here, we did not have our feet washed, and we were given thin boxer shorts to wear.

Lulu messaged us some recommendations for places to eat. It was our last night in Hanoi, so we went to one for dinner and another for dessert. Both were very close to our hotel, and both were places where we would have hesitated to eat, had they not been recommended. So we had Vietnamese Pancakes at Zon. These were very much like the appetizer we’d had at Quang Que, except that the crispy rice was formed into small, individual patties instead of one, large one. Then we went to Ken Xoi for “kem” (ice cream desserts), an avocado and banana (dh) and a mango sticky rice (me).

We returned to our hotel and packed up to be ready for our cruise the next day.

I must say that I really liked Hanoi. We didn’t have time for both Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) and Hanoi, and I chose Hanoi based on wanting to visit Ninh Binh and Halong Bag, nearby. I think it was a good choice.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/MQ6YZk4FqQrpjxkRLKTzqSYyUtbsjc94wAI6CWbjG3E?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: Bai Tu Long (part of Halong Bay)

Friday

I did a lot of research on the best way to see Halong Bay, given that I had read both positive and negative reviews of people’s visits. Some people complained that Halong Bay is too busy and full of litter. So, ultimately, I chose an overnight cruise of Bai Tu Long, a quieter part of Halong Bay, with Renea Cruises, who operate smaller boats (11-12 cabins). I was hoping to have a relatively uncrowded and Covid-safe experience. Clicking on the “Book Now” button on the Renea Cruises website took me to an inquiry form that led to a booking via Inside Travel, but I’m still unclear if this is the official site or a reseller. I had also booked private transfers from Hanoi to Halong Bay, and from Halong Bay to Hanoi airport, the next afternoon.

Our driver picked us up at 8:45 am for the more than two hour drive. When we arrived at the port, a representative met us and told us to wait at a restaurant. It was really cold at the port, and I was concerned about being warm enough out on the water. So, I waded through the crowds to one of the shops and picked up a cheap and cheesy (What the pho?) t-shirt to add an extra layer.

At 12:15, our guide, Hero, came into the restaurant and called the names of everyone on our cruise. There were around 25 of us, and we followed Hero out to the dock where we boarded a tender, which ferried us to the Renae.

Once we were on the boat, we gathered in the dining room to be briefed on safety and the itinerary, and then we got our room keys. I had booked a “honeymoon cabin,” in order to have a cabin with really large windows and a balcony. This was the only option for booking that cabin configuration. When we entered our cabin, there were swan towels surrounded by rose petals on the bed, and a bottle of wine with two glasses on a small table. I hadn’t realized they would take “honeymoon” so literally! LOL.

If you’ve read this far, you may remember my conical hat that I bought in Hoi An and couldn’t use in Cambodia. Well, I was still carting it around. I hadn’t needed it in Hanoi, and it looked as if I probably wouldn’t need it on the boat, either. So, I tossed it under the bed, as there was limited storage in the cabin.

We had a few minutes to settle in, and then it was time for lunch. Lunch was indoors, because of the chilly weather. However, there was a family sitting near us who were all coughing and sneezing (the kids not covering their mouths), so I brought my plate to the top deck, and Hero was kind enough to bring the subsequent courses up to me. It was a seafood lunch, and it was excellent. Hero was surprised when he saw that I had eaten a bok choy cut to resemble a flower, and I had to laugh at myself, because I had assumed it was for eating.

Anyway, I was happy to be sitting outside, in spite of the cold, because we were passing such gorgeous scenery. The bay is filled with karst mountains emerging from the water.

After lunch, the planned activity was kayaking to a beach. We were too cold to want to change into swimsuits and t-shirts for this, so we decided to stay on the boat.

We learned afterward that the spot where we were anchored was going to be our “home” for the night. I was surprised, because it didn’t seem as if we had travelled all that far into the bay. Anyway, Hero brought us dinner in our cabin, and the chef, thinking I was sick, because he had seen me wearing a mask, sent me a bouquet of vegetables carved to resemble beautiful flowers. I took a picture of myself pretending to eat them and sent it to Hero, as a joke.

Cont'd

Saturday

We slept well and rose at 6:30 for the 7 am breakfast. We decided to eat in the dining room, as I was tired of sitting in our cabin, but we kept our masks on except to put food in our mouths. It was weird, because they didn’t have seats for us anymore, and had to bring in outside chairs from the deck. I’m not sure why, since there had been enough dining chairs for everyone the day before.

After breakfast, the tender took us to Herb Island, where we climbed up to some caves. The caves were large, with many stalactites and stalagmites, and a beautiful view of the bay outside another opening. It was really crowded in the caves, with several other tour groups there. So much for my best-laid plans!

We climbed back down to the beach, and enjoyed the views from there, accompanied by a cool dog named Lou, that decided he and I were good friends, which was fine with me.

When we returned to the Renae, we were given time to pack before meeting in the dining room for a “cooking lesson.” It didn’t take us long to pack, and I intentionally left my hat under the bed, trying to ditch it, since I didn’t want to cart it back to Canada with me.

The cooking lesson turned out to be a demonstration of assembling a spring roll. DH and I were more interested in the scenery, and so we went up on deck. We were there to see the bay, after all. Unfortunately, the boat returned to port by the identical route as we’d taken out, so we saw the exact same scenery as the day before. Occasionally, we could see other boats paralleling us on the other side of some karsts, so, in my opinion, it would have been easy enough for the boats to switch routes back, so the scenery would be a little different.

I have to say that our guide and all of the crew were kind and wonderful. However, a friend of mine who was in the area a couple of weeks earlier booked a last minute Halong Bay tour and ended up with a private tour, just by chance! Also, I’m not convinced that staying overnight means seeing a lot more, since we travelled for only a couple of hours each way, along the same route. So, if I were to do things differently, I might spend an extra day in Hanoi and do a day tour of Halong Bay.

Before disembarking, we had a lovely lunch. We were assigned groups (1 and 2) and told that the tender that would be coming to get us wasn’t big enough for all of us with our luggage. DH and I were assigned group 2. So, when people started boarding the tender, we didn’t follow, thinking that was just for Group 1. From the deck, we saw our luggage on the tender, so we decided to board it, anyway, as we didn’t want our luggage to be left on the dock without us there. It turned out that everybody else was there, too, no matter which group they were in, so we must have misunderstood. And, sitting on top of all the luggage was my conical hat! (I later threw it out at the port.)

Almost everyone else seemed to be going to Hanoi on a bus with Hero, so we headed into the insanely busy port building on our own, but we found our new driver easily, as he was holding a sign. Inside Travel did a good job of making sure we were looked after.

Our driver didn't speak any English, and as we got closer to Hanoi, he used Google Translate on his phone and showed it to me. It read, “my grandparents flew internationally.” I was puzzled for a split second, but then realized that this was his respectful way of asking us if we wanted the international terminal. We did, as we were returning to Taipei, on our way home.

At the airport, we exchanged our Dong for US dollars. We couldn't help but overhear the family in front of us at Immigration. They were detained because the woman had overstayed her visa. I don’t know what happened to them or if they made their flight.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/zuBXCv8mfu1mpiPROrChmJiJEDbGvSQ0F1YhALOOSOx?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Next up: One More Day in Taipei, Return Snafu

Love those towel swans--and great looking dog. Are there many stray dogs? It always pains me but I got used to it in South America. My husband will really feel for them and it will be hard for him. The bay looks beautiful! I would have expected more cruise boats out there with you.

There were two other boats operated by Renae Cruises, plus a couple of others--probably 5-6 boats in the same area overnight.

That dog wasn't a stray, but yes, there were a lot of seemingly stray dogs in SE Asia.

We arrived at our hotel, the Novotel Taoyuan Airport, after 11 pm. The hotel decor was nicer than we were expecting, and, although our room was a standard room, it was well-appointed and comfortable. Best of all, the hotel was right next door to a metro stop. That made it easy to go into Taipei proper the next day, before our evening flight.

Sunday

We weren’t sure what we wanted to do this day. I had looked into visiting a town that was famous for cats, but the trip there and back would have taken a long time, so we didn’t want to risk it. We decided to visit the Madame Chiang Kai-shek house and gardens. We took the metro to the airport station, where we switched to the Airport Express to Taipei Main Station. This was a familiar route for us by this time. We switched to the red line to Shilin Station and walked from there to the gardens. There were a lot of people heading to the gardens, and we soon learned that the annual Shilin Residence Tulip Festival was taking place. So, that made the visit special and fun. We did not tour the residence, but spent our time in the gardens, looking at the tulip displays and art installations. It was very crowded.

Afterward, we headed back to the hotel, showered, checked out, and went to the lounge downstairs to wait for our 9 pm shuttle to the airport. Our flight was scheduled for 11:30 pm.

Photos: https://www.amazon.ca/photos/share/WWKeDtXK4RQk5C5RL6alxOcGEo9pyPqeohv9YiYESvD?sort=sortOldestToNewest

Monday

It was scheduled for 11:30, but we did not take off until 2:30 a.m. The flight itself was good—we slept most of the way to Vancouver—and faster than expected. A man who had been tracking the flight said that we had broken the sound barrier a couple of times.

I had let our flight attendant know that we had a connecting flight to Calgary and were concerned about missing it. She said she would look into it. When we got off the plane, there were airline reps holding signs with some people’s names, but ours wasn’t included, so we decided to try to get to our gate as quickly as we could. Had I been more with it, I would have realized that we didn’t have time, but in my head, I had subtracted an extra hour from the time change and was in too much of a rush to stop and confirm the time.

We got through both immigration and security quickly, but it was a long way to our gate. The signs were saying something like “final boarding” for our flight. We asked for courtesy transport but were told there was none available. As we were rushing through the terminal, I flagged down one of the carts that was empty and convinced the driver to take us to our gate. At the gate, we hopped off and rushed to the gate agent, but it was too late. Sigh. We were directed to an Air Canada desk to see about rebooking. The lineup there was long and slow. We got into line, and then I decided to find the nearest restroom. That’s when I realized my purse was missing.

Sh————t!

I told my dh and said I was going to head back towards security to try to find it. I knew I had left it either on the courtesy cart or at security, because I remembered taking my iPad out of it at security. Off I went. I did have my passport and Nexus card in my neck wallet, as I always do in airports, but, still, there was stuff in my purse I wouldn’t like to lose, including my phone and iPad.

Cont'd

I asked at an information desk if there was a Lost and Found. The clerks there said that it was closed at that time. They directed me to another desk, nearby, but the person there told me to go back to security, which was where I was headed, anyway. I turned away from the desk and started walking toward a set of steps, and then I saw the cart we had taken, and my purse was tucked in a squarish opening behind where the passengers’ feet go. It was half-hidden, which is why I had missed it when I got off the cart, I guess, and why nobody else had noticed it afterward. I was so lucky that the cart was right there and facing in a direction where I could spot my purse! Whew! Later, on another cart, I saw that a panel covered what was probably a similar opening. That panel must have been missing on the cart I took, allowing my purse to slip in, so it wasn’t just my own stupidity, although that was certainly part of it.

Anyway, we let a young woman go ahead of us in line, because she still had a chance of getting on a flight that night (morning?) She got a new boarding pass, and we all cheered. The rest of us were out of luck, because there were no more flights to Calgary or Saskatchewan, where most of us were headed, for at least 24 hours. Apparently, many flights out of Vancouver had been delayed or cancelled due to snowstorms all across Canada, so that had had a domino effect.

When we reached the desk, we were told that we had to go to the Eva Air desk, upstairs, because our booking was through them. So, back through the airport and up the stairs we trudged, only to join an even longer lineup. It took over an hour before we reached the desk, and then we ran into another snag. You see, back in Hanoi, when we checked in (which we were required to do in person), the agent, trying to be helpful, attempted to link our Hanoi-to-Taipei flight with our Taipei-Vancouver-Calgary flight. We had booked the Hanoi leg separately. We didn’t ask him to do this, but we thought he had ultimately succeeded when he handed us three boarding passes, one for each segment. However, it turns out that he had, instead, unlinked our Taipei-Vancouver-Calgary segments, so it no longer appeared that we were booked on one ticket. This is probably why we weren’t automatically rebooked, as we should have been, and there was nobody meeting us to help us when we got off the plane.

Fortunately, the two hard-working and conscientious Eva Air agents decided to rebook us and send us to a hotel, anyway, and figure out the logistics later. We asked to book two nights at the hotel, since our flight to Calgary wouldn’t be until almost midnight. They agreed, and they also gave us an email address to submit our taxi receipt, since the hotel shuttle had stopped running by this time. We also received food vouchers that were good only at the airport, only on that date, and were advised to spend them before we left the terminal, unless we wanted to return to eat. We didn’t, so we bought all the sandwiches and snacks we could at the couple of places that were still open, and brought them to the hotel with us.

We had been the second-last passengers in the lineup for the EVA Air counter. We thanked the agents for staying late and looking after everyone, and they said they weren’t going to leave until everyone was taken care of, and they were even going to check around the airport for people they had on their list but who hadn’t seen them to rebook yet. We knew that some people in the downstairs lineup had given up and rented vehicles to drive to Saskatchewan (through the mountains in bad weather—yikes!) and told them so, but there may have been others, of course. Kudos to Eva Air for having such helpful employees!

We stayed in the hotel all day, DH working remotely until we had to leave at 9:30 pm. We finally made it home to Calgary, a day late but not a dollar short. We were thankful that everything else on our trip had gone so smoothly.

Next up: A few tips.

If you’ve managed to read this far (sorry, I get carried away), here are a few tips:

-EVA Air is an excellent airline. I wouldn’t hesitate to fly them again.

-We’ve used What’s App before, in South America, but in SE Asia, it’s almost a necessity for keeping in touch with accommodations, drivers, tour guides, etc.

-The heat in Central Vietnam and in Cambodia is oppressive, and we were not there during the hottest month (which, in Cambodia, is April, we were told.) We were very glad to be staying in places with pools and air-conditioning, even though we might forgo those in other places.

-Almost everywhere we went in Cambodia and Vietnam, and even to some extent in Taiwan, there were temples to see, so even if the weather is hot, keep in mind that modest dress is required in temples.

-What did I pack and not use?
I brought two sleeveless tops that I never wore, due to the requirement to have shoulders covered in temples, and wanting to avoid sunburn.
I brought more insect-repellent wipes than I needed. We encountered a few mosquitoes in Cambodia and a cloud of them in Ninh Binh, but that was it. It could have been due to the time of year (dry season).

-What do I wish I had packed?
I had a hoodie-jacket set out to bring, and I let my DH convince me I wouldn’t need it. I was wishing for it in Hanoi, Bai Tu Long, and the second part of our Taipei visit.

-What am I thankful that I brought?
I have a couple of large, gauzy scarves that are treated with permethrin (to repel insects). These come in handy in so many ways when I travel (a shawl, a head covering (to protect head and face from sun), a swimsuit coverup, etc.)
Silks. I ordered some cheap silk underwear and socks to use on this trip. They were breathable, not too hot, and quick-drying.
Cottons. I ordered some gauzy cotton clothing to use on this trip (and other visits to hot places in future). It gave me good coverage without being overly hot.
I treated myself to a tomato-red Eagle Creek International Carry-on Rolling Duffle during the post-Christmas sales. I really liked travelling with this bag. It fit everything I needed it to and was easy to pull and to lift (handles on several sides).

Thanks for reading. Happy travels!

Thank you for this wonderful Asian saga! It has been very helpful, informative and motivating as we prepare to leave for Vietnam next week. We are going through Seoul, though as opposed to Taipei (just two hours on the way to Da Nang, but 13 hours on the way back). That is quite the over-the-top tulip display in Taipei!

Have an absolutely amazing trip! I look forward to hearing about it when you return.

What a fantastic trip report! I learned so much! Thank you so much for telling us about your travels!!!

Thanks for sharing. My stomach DROPPED when you lot your purse!

Thanks so much, Eef.

So did mine, Mary!