We're back home!
All our pictures can be found at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/matt.a.crawford
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Mekong & Siem Reap
Since we last wrote...
Saigon
We spent our 3rd day in Saigon partaking in a tour of the Mekong Delta... we woke up early, again, and got a egg-sandwich (street food) and took our 2 hour ride. As with the rest of our bus rides, we made a 25 minute pit stop at a "handicap craft" shop, where the locals painted pictures of everything Vietnam had to offer... Unfortunately, we didn't buy anything and were on our way.
At the Mekong, we took a boat to a local village. The village was known for their coconut/rice candy, and their fish (Which was known as "Elephant Ear" fish, comparable to a Catfish, for $7/kg...needless to say we didn't enjoy the speciality). In addition to the fish, they also had a bee hive, for local honey, and a large python which Elizabeth shouldered for a few pics (will certainly post these upon return).
Afterwards, we took a rowboat through some water palm trees (words don't do these justice) and an occassional house built into the river bank. At this island we watched "Traditional Vietnamese" singing (which was a ploy for tips), and ate fruit (pinapple (with a salt/chili mixture...sick!), mango, papaya, banana and lychees. Afterwards, we knew we had to try the durian (for those of you who don't know, Durian is local to SE Asia, and is supposed to have "the smell of hell, but the taste of heaven." If you haven't tried it, it smells a bit like rotten eggs, and tastes like a sweet version of the aforementioned. Nothing to brag about...
We met some English/Swedish friends on the tour, and had dinner with them at "Pub", and spent the evening partaking in pool, darts and drinking large pitchers of Tiger beer (the thai beer of choice). Unfortunately, the night was cut short due to our 8am flight the next morning...
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Siem Reap is located in North/Central Cambodia, and is home to the renowned Angkor Wat Temples. The complex is about 37 sq mi, and is the largest man made religious temple in the world.
We flew into Siem Reap, from Saigon, on a small prop-plane (no gate at the airport to hop on the plane, it was about 4 steps off the runway...). We landed in Siem Reap at 945, and were greeted by a driver from our hotel. We first drove by Angkor Wat, and then pulled into the hotel (I would call it a resort, but who's asking...). We were served a cold wash cloth, before our ice tea in a martini glass (with a bamboo straw) unlike anything we had experienced previously. We dropped our bags off in our room, and headed to the "Market" for lunch.
We found a restaurant from the Lonely Planet "Tin Fish" and ate curry, beef with onions, a couple beers and a few things which we can't describe. The restaurant was also known for its crocodile pit and its selection of wine (which we somehow missed both!). We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging at the pool (think resort pool). The evening hours were spent at a large temple watching the sunset over Angkor Wat. Unfortunately, the clouds/smog prevented a good viewing, but we sulked over beers/curry at the Red Piano for dinner (this is where Angelina Jolie, and crew, made favorites during their filming of Tomb Raider).
We woke up this morning at about 0430, to meet our tuk tuk driver "D", for a 0515 pickup to see the sunrise. We took some pretty amazing pictures from inside Angkor Wat, and then rode on to Da Thom & Ta Phom (where Tomb Raider was filmed) and ate mangos/pineapples throughout . The temples were amazing (our pictures will put it all into perspective)!!!
We spent the late afternoon at the resort/pool, and made it downtown for dinner at the Khmer Kitchen. Curry, Stir Fried Pumpkin, Angkor/Tiger beer filled the pallet and we're in for an early night!
We've got a long day tomorrow at the pool/on the plane to see Bangkok/Carrie & Janelle. Plus, we'll be pub crawling Bangkok to celebrate St. Patricks day on Saturday - we need to be well rested!!!!!
Saigon
We spent our 3rd day in Saigon partaking in a tour of the Mekong Delta... we woke up early, again, and got a egg-sandwich (street food) and took our 2 hour ride. As with the rest of our bus rides, we made a 25 minute pit stop at a "handicap craft" shop, where the locals painted pictures of everything Vietnam had to offer... Unfortunately, we didn't buy anything and were on our way.
At the Mekong, we took a boat to a local village. The village was known for their coconut/rice candy, and their fish (Which was known as "Elephant Ear" fish, comparable to a Catfish, for $7/kg...needless to say we didn't enjoy the speciality). In addition to the fish, they also had a bee hive, for local honey, and a large python which Elizabeth shouldered for a few pics (will certainly post these upon return).
Afterwards, we took a rowboat through some water palm trees (words don't do these justice) and an occassional house built into the river bank. At this island we watched "Traditional Vietnamese" singing (which was a ploy for tips), and ate fruit (pinapple (with a salt/chili mixture...sick!), mango, papaya, banana and lychees. Afterwards, we knew we had to try the durian (for those of you who don't know, Durian is local to SE Asia, and is supposed to have "the smell of hell, but the taste of heaven." If you haven't tried it, it smells a bit like rotten eggs, and tastes like a sweet version of the aforementioned. Nothing to brag about...
We met some English/Swedish friends on the tour, and had dinner with them at "Pub", and spent the evening partaking in pool, darts and drinking large pitchers of Tiger beer (the thai beer of choice). Unfortunately, the night was cut short due to our 8am flight the next morning...
Siem Reap, Cambodia
Siem Reap is located in North/Central Cambodia, and is home to the renowned Angkor Wat Temples. The complex is about 37 sq mi, and is the largest man made religious temple in the world.
We flew into Siem Reap, from Saigon, on a small prop-plane (no gate at the airport to hop on the plane, it was about 4 steps off the runway...). We landed in Siem Reap at 945, and were greeted by a driver from our hotel. We first drove by Angkor Wat, and then pulled into the hotel (I would call it a resort, but who's asking...). We were served a cold wash cloth, before our ice tea in a martini glass (with a bamboo straw) unlike anything we had experienced previously. We dropped our bags off in our room, and headed to the "Market" for lunch.
We found a restaurant from the Lonely Planet "Tin Fish" and ate curry, beef with onions, a couple beers and a few things which we can't describe. The restaurant was also known for its crocodile pit and its selection of wine (which we somehow missed both!). We spent the rest of the afternoon lounging at the pool (think resort pool). The evening hours were spent at a large temple watching the sunset over Angkor Wat. Unfortunately, the clouds/smog prevented a good viewing, but we sulked over beers/curry at the Red Piano for dinner (this is where Angelina Jolie, and crew, made favorites during their filming of Tomb Raider).
We woke up this morning at about 0430, to meet our tuk tuk driver "D", for a 0515 pickup to see the sunrise. We took some pretty amazing pictures from inside Angkor Wat, and then rode on to Da Thom & Ta Phom (where Tomb Raider was filmed) and ate mangos/pineapples throughout . The temples were amazing (our pictures will put it all into perspective)!!!
We spent the late afternoon at the resort/pool, and made it downtown for dinner at the Khmer Kitchen. Curry, Stir Fried Pumpkin, Angkor/Tiger beer filled the pallet and we're in for an early night!
We've got a long day tomorrow at the pool/on the plane to see Bangkok/Carrie & Janelle. Plus, we'll be pub crawling Bangkok to celebrate St. Patricks day on Saturday - we need to be well rested!!!!!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Ho Chi Minh City
The 80 degree and sunny weather lasted the entire time we were in Saigon... perfect!
Upon arriving, Matt and I walked around the city a little bit after booking our trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels at a conveinent travel agency right next to our hotel.
We both got a "street food sandwhich" consisting of a couple different kinds of raw meat, some type of mayo, mustard, veggies all on a baguette... no too shabby! After finishing this, we had dessert... two kinds of fruit we both had never had before!
Matt purchased a lovely bright red shirt with a huge yellow star in the middle (Vietnam flag) and I a new journal to write down our daily adventures in, since we mistakenly left our last journal behind on Cat Bay Island... sigh :(
We wandered through the "Old Quarter" and found our way to the Carivel Hotel where we went to the rooftop bar (Saigon, Saigon) to watch the sunset! After this we ate dinner at the "best Viatnemese restaurant in all of Saigon", called Lemongrass.
After a long day of traveling, we went back to our hotel for some shut eye.
Waking up around 7:00am the next day, we knew we needed breakfast before meeting our bus that would take us to the Cu Chi Tunnels (these tunnels were an underground commmunity and form of transportation unit for the Vietnamese people to survive the War). We found... surprise, surprise... a street vendor who made a great bread and omelette sandwhich with chilli sauce, cucumbers and tomatoes for 7,000 dong.
The bus we took to the tunnels did not believe in AC and so we all convinced the driver to let us open all of the windows on the bus and get some fresh air! Two hours later, we had arrived.
We watched a propaganda video about how awful Americans are for their actions throughout the Vietnam War and then went on to explore how The Vietnam people survived the whole thing.
We saw different traps used to kill the US soldiers, holes that were dug for fresh air while the people were living in the tunnels (looked like snake holes), got to taste the Vitanmese potatoe, called "Tapioca" and even got to crawl through a 40 meter tunnel!! (Those who suffer from claustrophobia, I would not recommend doing this!)
We left here and made it back to the travel agency to book our trip to the Mekong Delta for the next day! After this, we went to the Vietnam War History Museum... soooo sad.
We spent about an hour and half here, then took a motorbike ride to "Cholon", their Chinatown :) I was pretty excited because I thought we were going to get to eat Chinese food, no such luck. The market was nothing worth recommending, in fact, we got there and spent about 15 minutes walking around only to take a motorbike ride back to the Binh Tah Market that we had discovered the night before.
We found our way through to a back alley that had a handful of Vietnamese restaurants, in which we were the only foreigners :) We had a filling dinner, but no clue as to what we ate!
After leaving here, we went back through market, I got a really cool necklace, and then we sat to have another beer and some crabmeat spring rolls!
We left here and it was time for bed... another ending to a very culturally fulfilling day :)
Upon arriving, Matt and I walked around the city a little bit after booking our trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels at a conveinent travel agency right next to our hotel.
We both got a "street food sandwhich" consisting of a couple different kinds of raw meat, some type of mayo, mustard, veggies all on a baguette... no too shabby! After finishing this, we had dessert... two kinds of fruit we both had never had before!
Matt purchased a lovely bright red shirt with a huge yellow star in the middle (Vietnam flag) and I a new journal to write down our daily adventures in, since we mistakenly left our last journal behind on Cat Bay Island... sigh :(
We wandered through the "Old Quarter" and found our way to the Carivel Hotel where we went to the rooftop bar (Saigon, Saigon) to watch the sunset! After this we ate dinner at the "best Viatnemese restaurant in all of Saigon", called Lemongrass.
After a long day of traveling, we went back to our hotel for some shut eye.
Waking up around 7:00am the next day, we knew we needed breakfast before meeting our bus that would take us to the Cu Chi Tunnels (these tunnels were an underground commmunity and form of transportation unit for the Vietnamese people to survive the War). We found... surprise, surprise... a street vendor who made a great bread and omelette sandwhich with chilli sauce, cucumbers and tomatoes for 7,000 dong.
The bus we took to the tunnels did not believe in AC and so we all convinced the driver to let us open all of the windows on the bus and get some fresh air! Two hours later, we had arrived.
We watched a propaganda video about how awful Americans are for their actions throughout the Vietnam War and then went on to explore how The Vietnam people survived the whole thing.
We saw different traps used to kill the US soldiers, holes that were dug for fresh air while the people were living in the tunnels (looked like snake holes), got to taste the Vitanmese potatoe, called "Tapioca" and even got to crawl through a 40 meter tunnel!! (Those who suffer from claustrophobia, I would not recommend doing this!)
We left here and made it back to the travel agency to book our trip to the Mekong Delta for the next day! After this, we went to the Vietnam War History Museum... soooo sad.
We spent about an hour and half here, then took a motorbike ride to "Cholon", their Chinatown :) I was pretty excited because I thought we were going to get to eat Chinese food, no such luck. The market was nothing worth recommending, in fact, we got there and spent about 15 minutes walking around only to take a motorbike ride back to the Binh Tah Market that we had discovered the night before.
We found our way through to a back alley that had a handful of Vietnamese restaurants, in which we were the only foreigners :) We had a filling dinner, but no clue as to what we ate!
After leaving here, we went back through market, I got a really cool necklace, and then we sat to have another beer and some crabmeat spring rolls!
We left here and it was time for bed... another ending to a very culturally fulfilling day :)
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Pics won't post :(
For some reason we can't get the pics to post to blogspot...
Click the following link for a few pictures from Vietnam:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/matt.a.crawford/BackpackingContinued?authkey=CR8UOp3VPa4
Click the following link for a few pictures from Vietnam:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/matt.a.crawford/BackpackingContinued?authkey=CR8UOp3VPa4
The adventure continues...
So when we left off, we were leaving for Ha Long Bay!
Our tour guide for Ha long Bay came to pick us up at about 8:00AM on the morning of the 6th. Before getting on the bus, I (Elizabeth) got to try street food for the first time since being here. A little old lady was on the corner frying eggs in a skillet and warming up baguettes in a small oven type device. For 10,000 Dong (about 60 cents) it was very delightful :)
The bus ride there was about 3.5 hours long and we had a lively bunch to ride with.. 4 English people all about 22 yrs. old, an older Chinese man and 3 other 22 yr olds from Ireland.
Once we got there, we boarded our ship and were on our way! It was pretty cloudy and kind of cold, but we still hung out on the top deck. We ate lunch and then got off the boat to explore this huge cave, in which the tour guide pointed out several "animals" within the rock formations throughout the cave. Kind of comical b/c we really could not see them at all :)
After the cave, we went kayaking throughout the bay, no restrictions, they just put us in a kayak and sent us off for an hour!
Dinner was next and then the drinking began with an older British couple (Rodney and Jan) buying two bottles of wine for the table. After dinner we returned to the top deck and payed them back with some vodka and Orange Fanta drinks that we had purchased on the way there :)
The next morning, we woke up and Matt and I got off the boat at Cat Ba Island. We went on quite a tour through the National Park, which entailed us hiking up this crazy path of rocks and trees to a tower that overlooked the entire island (Matt estimates it was only 1000 meters up, but based on the workout I got, I am going to say it was much higher!).
After the hike, we had lunch and then went to Monkey Island, which you guessed it... had monkeys!! Matt brought a banana with him to feed them, but everyone warned us not to. So we walked a little ways away to eat it ourselves when those monkeys smelled or saw us eating it, they came running after it! So Matt threw it on the ground and all of the people around us were getting a kick out of watching us run away so the monkeys didn't get us!
After about an hour on the island, we returned to Cat Ba and had dinner and then went to sleep.. jet lag was still kicking our butts!
The next morning we returned to the boat we originally came to Ha Long Bay on and took it back to Hanoi. After lunch, we were back on the bus for another 3.5 hours.
I think Matt and I both agree that last night (3/8) was one of the most fun nights we have had so far!
Upon returning from our Ha Long Bay trip and back to our hotel, we went roaming around Hanoi some more. We found a travel agent to book our flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Cambodia and then went across the street to a group of people sitting on the street corner and drinking 3,000 dong (20 cents) beers from a keg that this old lady was serving from.
Watching all the motor bikes and cars driving insanely through the 4-way intersection, this Australian guy named Sterling came up next to us and had a seat. We started drinking with him and then he saw a younger couple, about our age, that he knew from the Hanoi airport when he arrived the day before.
So the five of us are now sitting on the corner, still drinking this cheap beer. Matt decides to open a tab with the old lady pouring from the keg... Haha :) Sterling gave in to this lady taunting him to buy dried squid and I bought some pictures of Ha Long Bay from this little boy... who later tried to kiss me on the cheek... a couple times!
The younger couple had made reservations at this really good restaurant they had heard about and invited us to come along. The five of us decided to go to the restaurant via motor bike taxis! We had the best time riding through all of the crazy traffic!! (Videos to prove the ride). After dinner, we went to a bar called Half Man Half Noodle and drank some more!
After all of this excitement, it was time to retire... what a crazy night!
This morning we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City where it is 80 degrees and sunny! More to come....
Our tour guide for Ha long Bay came to pick us up at about 8:00AM on the morning of the 6th. Before getting on the bus, I (Elizabeth) got to try street food for the first time since being here. A little old lady was on the corner frying eggs in a skillet and warming up baguettes in a small oven type device. For 10,000 Dong (about 60 cents) it was very delightful :)
The bus ride there was about 3.5 hours long and we had a lively bunch to ride with.. 4 English people all about 22 yrs. old, an older Chinese man and 3 other 22 yr olds from Ireland.
Once we got there, we boarded our ship and were on our way! It was pretty cloudy and kind of cold, but we still hung out on the top deck. We ate lunch and then got off the boat to explore this huge cave, in which the tour guide pointed out several "animals" within the rock formations throughout the cave. Kind of comical b/c we really could not see them at all :)
After the cave, we went kayaking throughout the bay, no restrictions, they just put us in a kayak and sent us off for an hour!
Dinner was next and then the drinking began with an older British couple (Rodney and Jan) buying two bottles of wine for the table. After dinner we returned to the top deck and payed them back with some vodka and Orange Fanta drinks that we had purchased on the way there :)
The next morning, we woke up and Matt and I got off the boat at Cat Ba Island. We went on quite a tour through the National Park, which entailed us hiking up this crazy path of rocks and trees to a tower that overlooked the entire island (Matt estimates it was only 1000 meters up, but based on the workout I got, I am going to say it was much higher!).
After the hike, we had lunch and then went to Monkey Island, which you guessed it... had monkeys!! Matt brought a banana with him to feed them, but everyone warned us not to. So we walked a little ways away to eat it ourselves when those monkeys smelled or saw us eating it, they came running after it! So Matt threw it on the ground and all of the people around us were getting a kick out of watching us run away so the monkeys didn't get us!
After about an hour on the island, we returned to Cat Ba and had dinner and then went to sleep.. jet lag was still kicking our butts!
The next morning we returned to the boat we originally came to Ha Long Bay on and took it back to Hanoi. After lunch, we were back on the bus for another 3.5 hours.
I think Matt and I both agree that last night (3/8) was one of the most fun nights we have had so far!
Upon returning from our Ha Long Bay trip and back to our hotel, we went roaming around Hanoi some more. We found a travel agent to book our flights from Ho Chi Minh City to Cambodia and then went across the street to a group of people sitting on the street corner and drinking 3,000 dong (20 cents) beers from a keg that this old lady was serving from.
Watching all the motor bikes and cars driving insanely through the 4-way intersection, this Australian guy named Sterling came up next to us and had a seat. We started drinking with him and then he saw a younger couple, about our age, that he knew from the Hanoi airport when he arrived the day before.
So the five of us are now sitting on the corner, still drinking this cheap beer. Matt decides to open a tab with the old lady pouring from the keg... Haha :) Sterling gave in to this lady taunting him to buy dried squid and I bought some pictures of Ha Long Bay from this little boy... who later tried to kiss me on the cheek... a couple times!
The younger couple had made reservations at this really good restaurant they had heard about and invited us to come along. The five of us decided to go to the restaurant via motor bike taxis! We had the best time riding through all of the crazy traffic!! (Videos to prove the ride). After dinner, we went to a bar called Half Man Half Noodle and drank some more!
After all of this excitement, it was time to retire... what a crazy night!
This morning we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City where it is 80 degrees and sunny! More to come....
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Hanoi
After our last post, we spent the rest of the day in Bangkok. Highlights of the day include meeting a baby elephant in the street (a baby elephant was taller than me, but alot smaller than I envision an elephant - hence, baby) , ate pizza with corn, pineapples, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms with the cheesist crust possible (yup, we're in Asia and had a western meal....), managed to take the subway, called the BTS, to the downtown area where Carrie works, spend a couple hours walking around and return without getting lost!
Best part of Bangkok: street food on every corner, buying a piece of raw meat wrapped in seaweed and eating it (I actually thought that's how the thai's eat it...little did I know that they just store it in the seaweed before they cook it), and the crazy tuktuk ride.
Now, on to Vietnam.
We arrived in Hanoi last night, on a small plane that didn't have AC. We found our hotel ($10/night), had a quick dinner and went to sleep around 11pm. Now, to put this in perspective (pictures will be added later), our room is tiny, without windows and has a shower head above the toilet. At about 2:00, we woke up. Man, were we pissed - we thought jet lag had stolen whole day from us. We both showered quickly, got dressed and walked downstairs to start the day. But, it was still dark outside!!!!! Man...we were confused. Back to bed...
We woke up, ate some soup (typical vietnamese breakfast) and strange egg pancake some beers and we were on our way. Hanoi has about 3.5m residents, and it's rumored to have more than 3m motorcycles. Everywhere you look, there are motorcyles and bikes. It's not like there aren't a plethora of idiot driving cabs, either...there's both. Stop lights practically don't exist, and when they are, no one cares. Everyone just drives, and swerves...and honks nonestop.
After breakfast, we tested our luck on the back of a bike and went to an ethnology musuem and booked our trip to Halong Bay for the next 3 days...
We forgot the cord to upload pics in the internet cafe, so you'll have to wait until we get back to Hanoi on the 9th to upload some more!
Best part of Bangkok: street food on every corner, buying a piece of raw meat wrapped in seaweed and eating it (I actually thought that's how the thai's eat it...little did I know that they just store it in the seaweed before they cook it), and the crazy tuktuk ride.
Now, on to Vietnam.
We arrived in Hanoi last night, on a small plane that didn't have AC. We found our hotel ($10/night), had a quick dinner and went to sleep around 11pm. Now, to put this in perspective (pictures will be added later), our room is tiny, without windows and has a shower head above the toilet. At about 2:00, we woke up. Man, were we pissed - we thought jet lag had stolen whole day from us. We both showered quickly, got dressed and walked downstairs to start the day. But, it was still dark outside!!!!! Man...we were confused. Back to bed...
We woke up, ate some soup (typical vietnamese breakfast) and strange egg pancake some beers and we were on our way. Hanoi has about 3.5m residents, and it's rumored to have more than 3m motorcycles. Everywhere you look, there are motorcyles and bikes. It's not like there aren't a plethora of idiot driving cabs, either...there's both. Stop lights practically don't exist, and when they are, no one cares. Everyone just drives, and swerves...and honks nonestop.
After breakfast, we tested our luck on the back of a bike and went to an ethnology musuem and booked our trip to Halong Bay for the next 3 days...
We forgot the cord to upload pics in the internet cafe, so you'll have to wait until we get back to Hanoi on the 9th to upload some more!
Bangkok - Take 1
We made it!
After about 22 hours of flying, waiting at airports and cab rides, we finally arrived at Carrie's place in Bangkok. In the middle we had a 13 1/2 hour flight to Tokyo with 3 meals on the plane, (none of which were any good), a plethora of free gin/vodka tonics & white russians, and a few naps, a seaweed salad in the tokyo airport, a 7 hour flight to Bangkok, extended conversation with a German christian "missionary" who preached to us, some more naps, and a crazy cab ride.
We got a good sleep our first night (we haven't been hit with jet lag too badly yet) at Carrie's apartment on a stiff bed....Apparently all the beds in Asia are that way.
We went to lunch, Elizabeth had Pad Thai and Matt had Red Curry. We took a boat ride down the river to the Grand Palace, Wat Pho and KhaoSan Road (Khaosan road is the area of bangkok where all the tourists hang out...). We stopped for lunch and went back home.
For dinner, we (including Carrie and Janelle) met Matt's dad and some of his suppliers at a Seafood market. We ate the lopster that Matt is holding!!! After dinner we made a brief stint in Padpong, went to a nice bar for a few drinks and took a tuktuk ride home.
Now, we're off to Vietnam!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
