So Cambodia... On our 45 min flight they managed to crank out a meal and beer, not sure why, but it was ridic! We arrived in the evening and had already arranged for a driver/guide to take care of us for our short time there (thanks Seth and Romi for the great recommendation, happy to share info about our guide with others headed that way). Mom was excited to see a "Fetterhoff" sign at the the small Siem Reap airport. We got to bed early anticipating a long couple days. Our first day we bypassed the main attraction, Angkor Wat, and hit six other temples... who knew?! The temples were amazing, dating back 900+ years, dedicated to mothers, fathers, common people, etc. A highlight was the temple used in the film Tomb Raider. I really don't think mom was sure why we were in Siem Reap until she saw the temples... and she was instantly impressed.
The temples really were like something just out of a movie and were better than what I was expecting. Our second day began with a 4:30am wake up, arriving at Angkor Wat for 5:30am sunrise. It was a bit of a tourist zoo, but once the sun rose it was obvious to see why hundreds of people had shown up for this awesome occasion. After touring Angkor Wat we visited a small monastery before visiting Angkor Thom. Angkow Thom is another nearby temple with 250+ faces. For those of you "Legends of the Hidden Temple" fans, this is where Omek had to have come from! It was another amazing temple and really capped of the temple visits nicely. After that we visited a floating village. This was a fun boat trip to basically see fisherman who live in floating houses. It was a bit touristy, but also very cool.
A bit about Siem Reap... It was a dusty town that is growing up quickly because of tourism. It reminded me a lot of Central American towns, but more developed. They have a hilarious "Pub Street," much like Bourbon Street, with all the bars. Siem Reap has a major advantage though b/c they sell beer for $.50-1.00... I can drink a lot of .50 beers! We stayed right near downtown Siem Reap and were accessible to many bars, restaurants and markets. We did some damage at all of them, but at very little expense. It is a backpacker haven and I think anyone could find some fun there.
From Siem Reap we hopped a flight to Hanoi, Vietnam. Arriving later in the evening we didn't have a good chance to see much of Hanoi on the first night. but were there long enough to know that this is a city of chaos... and I'm speaking mostly of the traffic. It was like nothing I had seen before... more on that...
We had a early wake up after our first night in Hanoi and were shuttled off to Halong Bay for a 24-hour cruise of the bay. It was a painful 4.5 hour shuttle from Hanoi, but worth it. Halong Bay was definitely one of the most picturesque places I have been (and seen many pictures of in the past). We had a fairly luxurious cruise with about 14 other awesome people from around the world, where they fed us like kings and treated us to some awesome sights and experiences. We had a couple very touristy excursions to a floating fishing village (yes, 2 in 72 hours) and a cave. I wasn't expecting much from either, but was pleasantly surprised by both. Also there was a bit of swimming, cooking lesson, happy houring and thai chi (which mom was really into). Great experience overall.
After an equally painful ride back to Hanoi, we checked into a hotel and relaxed before hitting the town. Hanoi is chalk-full of motos. It is almost too crazy to cross the street. I really have seen no place like it. In the old city there are no stop signs or traffic lights and hundreds of intersections... proceed with caution is the name of the game. I coaxed mom into eating dinner at a street stall about 6 blocks from our hotel. After one bia hoi (local .25 draft beer) and friendly staff and neighbors sitting around us, she was convinced this was a good idea. Once the tasty food arrived that helped! Also 6 beers and 2 meals for $6-7 seemed like a good deal.
Today, mom and I had a good wander around the city. During the day we probably dodged 500 motos, no joke. We visited the "Hanoi Hilton," the former prison in Hanoi for POWs and a beautiful lake Hoan Kiem, in addition to some other awesome sights. Despite the chaos that is Hanoi, it was relaxing day filled with more good food, beer and immersion into this fascinating way of life. Everywhere you looked it was easy to say "you're not in Colorado Springs
anymore."
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