25th – Go west!

Today’s main plan was to jump onto a bus at 0800 from the hotel and take it to cross the border into Cambodia and drive to the capitol Phnom Penh. Our guide had informed us that instead of a private bus we would be going on a public one, so I was expecting a day on a rickety bus barely holding itself together. Instead we were picked up by a very nice bus with functioning AC (the most important) and even though every seat was booked and eventually occupied there was – relatively – enough space for a fairly comfortable drive. There were two small kids that were quite rowdy for most of the time, though, and their parents didn’t really do anything to keep them in check. Oh, well, you can’t have it all.

Nearing the border a guy with the bus collected all our passports and visas or visa applications to make sure everything was in order, and when reaching the Vietnamese border he then handed them back. We went through the border, returned to the bus, and those without visas handed in their passports once again. We drove for a few minutes through no man’s land before reaching the Cambodian side where we with visas could go through immediately. I realized that I couldn’t, though, because somewhere between collecting my passport and handing it back he had thrown away my entry/departure card (and visa proof of purchase) so I had to find a new card to fill out first. I managed to get through, and when the last group had crossed the border (those with visa applications who got a visa on arrival) we returned to the bus and continued.

After a few minutes’ drive we stopped for lunch before continuing the drive which around 1645 brought us to our hotel. At some point along the way the bus-passport-guy returned my visa proof of purchase – but my arrival/departure card was still missing. After having filled out a new one the old was irrelevant, but still, as the two had been in the same place the entire situation was just weird.

At 1730 we went on a cycle tour – seated in a seat on the front of a bike with a local driver so we didn’t have to do any work ourselves. We came by a statue of Lady Penh, according to legend the founder of Phnom Penh. From there we went by the independence monument before bringing us down near the river where we were picked up by tuk-tuks that took us a bit out of the city to a private family who had a local dinner ready for us. It was absolutely delicious; spring rolls, beef & noodles, chicken curry, vegetables, meat skewers and of course plenty of rice. We ended the day when we returned to the hotel at around 2100.

Independence monument.

This little fellow was hanging out at the dinner place.

When entering Phnom Penh it felt a lot like HCMC, but with less scooters and more cars. Seems to be slightly more orderly, too. There are a lot of large buildings and large buildings being built which you didn’t really see much of in HCMC, so in that sense this city seems a fair bit more modern.

24th – Island hopping

We were to leave the hotel at 0800 so my alarm was set to 0700, an hour after I ended up waking up. So the day started well.

A quick breakfast later we left the hotel and drove for a couple of hours to get to the Mekong Delta where we all boarded a boat that took us around to some smaller islands where we got to see some local industries. We visited someone harvesting honey and making candy and drinks from it and a different place making various chocolates. From there we got on tuk-tuks and went to a village where we got to taste local papaya, pineapple, dragon eye fruit (longan, the lychee’s less aromatic cousin) while listening to locals performing some traditional songs.

Dragon fruit.

The bees drank any spills they could get their tongues on.

From there we went back to the boat and went to a second island where we got to see people making coconut candy with various additions (chocolate, durian, ginger, etc.) – basically a local variant of caramel. From here we got into some small narrow boats and were transported down a narrow river (or rather stream) back out to the boat. It was a pleasant 10-15 minutes, with trees and vegetation on both sides most sounds from outside were blocked. 

A big blob of coconut candy.

So serene.

We had lunch before getting back into the boats, and from there we went back to the mainland and returned to the bus that took us back to the hotel. Because it is the 24^th of December no busses or trucks are allowed in the city after 1600 so we had a hard deadline to make. Arriving at the hotel at 1500 (after having a nice nap in the bus that had surprisingly good legroom!) we got together to fill out the necessary forms for the border crossing into Cambodia tomorrow.

For the afternoon I went for a walk and ended in Saigon Skywalk after it got dark. HCMC isn’t the most inspiring city to look at even if night and all the lights makes things a bit more interesting. The skywalk was indoors with massive windows which in itself wasn’t an issue, but because they had concluded it would be a great idea to illuminate the entire indoor area and hang large bright information posters you got a lot of reflection in the windows which was really frustrating.

City hall by night.

At 1930 I met with 3 others at a food market where we visited various stalls for dinner; beef pho, Chinese bun with pork belly and pork dumplings were delicious. This was followed by a visit to a brewery before returning to the hotel a bit past 2200.

The roads were slightly crowded.

The traffic was insane tonight – there are so many scooters out and about it’s impossible to cross the road as normal. You actually have to find a crossing and wait for a green light to have a chance to cross. Crazy! Apparently, while the locals aren’t Christians they do use this date as an excuse to party and go out, so the traffic is worse than it would otherwise have been on a normal evening.

21st – 23rd of December – Leaving and arrival

As I was leaving on a Friday evening I decided to go to the airport directly from the office and as the departure was late-ish there was no rush for me to leave the office. It was also the last workday before Christmas so I quickly found myself among the last few people left in the office. I realized I’d rather spend extra time in the lounge with free food than at the office just waiting to leave, so I got my stuff and went to the airport. After a bit of a slow check-in I leaned back in the lounge, relaxing, digging into the salmon, hotdogs, cheese and the classic Danish Christmas dessert; ris a la mande. 

Only delayed a few minutes we boarded, but we ended up being almost an hour late before finally taxiing from the gate. My Christmas gift for me: flying on business class so I kicked back and relaxed, stretched out and accepted drinks coming my way. The flight itself was quite uneventful and I passed time by watching The Predator, Mission Impossible Fallout, Hidden Numbers and first episode of Patrick Melrose. Despite being a bit late when arriving in Hong Kong I still had time to visit the lounge which turned out to fortunately be almost right next to my departure gate. A bit different from the one in Copenhagen; food bar, bar, noodle bar, tea bar, relaxation rooms and more spread out in a large area. I had had enough to eat so far so I sat in the tea bar – where I promptly raided the cake buffet. It would be impolite not to taste.

The flight to Ho Chi Minh City was similarly quite uneventful and filled with great service and food while killing time watching Jumanji (2017) and first episode of Hang Ups. Arriving in HCMC I quickly got my bag, got picked up and driven straight to my hotel. I checked in and left immediately to go and have dinner at a restaurant recommended by my guide from the Thailand/Laos/Vietnam tour where I had a delicious beef pho. Going back to the hotel I relaxed and eventually fell asleep. My roommate won’t be arriving until later so I will have my own room for two nights!

Despite not sleeping much on the flights I felt much more relaxed on arrival as usual, having a nice seat and comfortable conditions really do make a difference, it isn’t just something marketing says! The cabin crew on the first leg was, as far as I could tell, all Swedish with two I suspect were Chinese. The second leg they all looked local, apart from the captain who sounded very Australian. I realized the Swedish chef who came pushing the dessert cart during service (so you could see your options and make a decision not only based on the menu) was a very, very nice person based on the following conversation I had with him:

-          Chef: What would you like for dessert? We have cheese, fruit, chocolate and ice cream.

-          Me: Well...

-          Chef: One of each, then?

-          Me: ...

-          Chef: One of each it is. Would you want port with that?

Before meeting with the group in the late afternoon I just spent the day walking around HCMC taking in the views. The town hall, a small photo gallery, the war museum and the pagoda were all visited. In between I had lunch consisting of a duck pho – can’t have too much pho when in Vietnam! I was a bit disappointed to find they hadn’t removed the bones from the bird (the thigh-piece was less of an issue) but I just needed to poke the meat for it to fall apart. Needless to say it was very tender!

City hall.

The traffic needs some getting used to, but that was as expected. Pretty much as it was in Hanoi, so fairly crazy.

I arrived back at the hotel just in time for the meeting. We were 4 at the meeting who would be joining the existing group on the last leg to Bangkok. From there we went to the restaurant I had visited last night, it seems quite popular among the guides, especially considering last night almost half the indoor space was occupied but another group, where we were now sitting.

It was a nice dinner – we will be 15 when we leave the city and head west towards Cambodia. At the moment, though, we were quite a few more, as some of those arriving from the north would be leaving, making room for us newcomers. This meant that for some this was also to be their farewell dinner.

The group is a bit different than what I usually encounter on these trips; 3 families with 1 or 2 kids, and us four newcomers. Us newcomers are around the same age, the rest are a fair bit older or younger than us. I doubt it will be a problem, though, they all seem nice.

Impulsive return to Southeast Asia

So… This was not planned just a few days ago. I blame the rest of the group from my most recent trip as they kept posting photos from their continued travelling after I was gone. It has absolutely totally nothing to do with my lack of self-control when it comes to travelling whenever I have a few days off at some point. Or… 11 days off in a row by only having to take 3 vacation days.

It’ll be a long flight (again) but Cambodia just looks too damn inviting, and going during the end of the year means that I will be there in the dry season, hopefully avoiding rain. Travelling during Christmas will be a first for me but having the holidays line up just perfect it was difficult not to take advantage of it.

Anyways – on to the itinerary.

21^st – 23^rd of December

Flying out to Ho Chi Minh City where I will arrive the day before the tour starts, giving me a night and almost a full day in the city to explorer by myself before meeting with the rest of the group.

24^th – 25^th of December

We spend a day in Ho Chi Minh City before we on the second day drive west-wards and leave Vietnam and enter Cambodia, ending up in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh.

26^th – 27^th of December

Spending a day touring Phnom Penh and being all tourist-like before going north and driving to Siem Reap.

28^th – 29^th of December

Spending time in Siem Reap, with Angkor Wat being the main attraction. There will be plenty of time sightseeing at the temple complex, seeing floating villages, museums or otherwise just exploration and relaxation.

30^th of December

After these few days we will be leaving Siem Reap and heading further west, now leaving Cambodia and crossing the border into Thailand and ending up in Bangkok.

31^st of December

Got a flight just past midnight so I’ll probably have to cut the departure evening short. It means, though, that I will be coming home the 31^st early morning, letting me celebrate New Year’s at home (if I don’t fall asleep before).

As an added bonus, when I was looking into flights I realized that by just paying a bit extra for the flight down I’d be able to upgrade myself from economy to plus, giving me bigger seats, more legroom, larger monitor and better food. It was hard not to do. On the way back the price was almost double for the upgrade though the economy was fairly cheap – so after a short deliberation I decided I’d be allowed to also upgrade this flight. It is only Christmas once a year, after all!

5th – 6th – Last day and heading home

As my 2-week trip was only a part of a larger 30-day tour I was only 1 of 3 people from the group that would be leaving today. So I got up early to say goodbye to the group leaving at 0800, had the reception book a taxi to the airport at 1800 and to extend my room until that time, and then I went back up and slept some more. 2 people joined the group for the next leg and it just got more British; we were originally one Dane, two Americans, two Australians and 10 Brits. The group lost the Dane and two Aussies and the newcomers are Brits. I don’t think I have ever seen such a majority of Brits (or just one nationality) in a group before.

At around mid-day I finally got out and around and my plan was basically only that I wanted Pho (more or less a noodle soup) for lunch and otherwise just having a walk. The guide from our street food tour had recommended a restaurant for Pho but it was closed until dinner so I walk around randomly until I found one that looked promising. Got a beef Pho and it turned out to be… phoking fantastic. I circled the Hoàn Kiếm Lake and ended up in a Harry Potter themed bar called Always where I had a Polyjuice Potion (which tasted better than what the books hinted at).

Pho!

Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

St Joseph's Cathedral.

I returned to the hotel, checked out and left for the airport, checked in and went through security without a single issue or having to wait. Got a bowl of Bun Bo Hue at Hanoi airport, and despite it only being a two-hour flight to Bangkok we were also fed on the flight, and it was a full-sized Boeing 777 they used on the route (which is built for long range, i.e. CPH-BKK or CPH-SIN), but considering it was completely full they must have needed it. To kill some time at Bangkok Airport I ended up in a Japanese restaurant and got Wagyu sushi and a "I don't know what to get so I'll just get the big one"-sushi. It was delicious with bigger pieces of fish and higher quality than I usually see at home. I was happy – despite having to rush the last pieces due to getting close to boarding.

Returning to the airport.

Wagyu sushi.

A boatload of "a bit of everything"-sushi.

On the leg home from Bangkok I was entertained by Red Sparrow, Downsizing, Hostiles and first episode of Black Lightning. And I actually managed to get some sleep, so that was actually quite nice. Arrived in Copenhagen on time, got my stuff and took the train home, everything according to plan. And that was it.

This is not quite the type of trip I usually do; I usually travel for trekking/climbing or wildlife, while this was more travelling through countries and seeing sights on the way. A slightly cultural trip. While I did at times feel that trip was missing a bit compared to my usual trips it was still worth the time going there. Great sights and people. Big thanks to Amanda, Jonjo, Ollie, Joe, Teri, Rosie, Wazim, Craig, Shay, Nick, Sophia, Michelle, Paul and Ann, and our guide Bun for being such amazing people and being great fun on the trip. I miss you all and hope to see you again some other time!

Full album can be seen here.

4th – A generous mix of genres

We left the hotel at 0830 to go and see the Ho Chi Minh Complex where we started with the mausoleum just outside the complex. It’s a massive soviet-style concrete-looking building containing a wax-figure of Ho Chi Minh as he wished to be cremated after his death. It wasn’t open today so we didn’t get to see it but if it had been the case we would potentially have been stuck in a 4+km long queue with people wanting to pass by seeing the figure. It is also only open 5 days a week in the mornings so the pressure is on when it is open.

From there we continued on entering the complex and seeing the buildings he had lived in, a bunker and the hospital he died in. It was all placed around a lake with coifish and seemed very serene ignoring the hordes of people. The last stop before leaving was the one-pillar pagoda which was basically what the name implies: a pagoda built on top of a single pillar.

Inside the Ho Chi Minh Complex. Here a lake with one of the houses that "Uncle Ho" lived.

The house he moved to the last years of his life.

The one-pillar pagoda.

From then on we were free until 1700 so some of us went to see the Literature Temple, (what was left of) Maison Centrale aka Hanoi Prison aka Hanoi Hilton and the museum inside, and the Woman’s History Museum.

The temple was interesting enough, in the end it was a temple of worship of Confucious, a scholar from before when the temple – then university – opened in 1070, which makes it one of the world’s oldest.

Inside the Literature Temple.

Confucious.

The Hanoi Hilton was quite interesting and not as horrifying as I had expected, and far from as bad as the two UXO museums, but still quite unnerving as places like that are. In the end I got the impression that while people were treated quite badly in there (but the American pilots shot down during the Vietnam war were treated significantly better) it didn’t feel much different that similar prisons around the world. The significance comes from the role it played in the country’s fight for independence from the French, with many of the survivors ending up working for the government. 

  

Inside the Hanoi Hilton.

The power lines have been looking quite chaotic on the entire trip, but this is the first time we saw it starting crawling out onto the sidewalk. 

The woman’s museum was pretty much Vietnam’s history seen through the eyes of the women. Unfortunately we had to rush a bit as we were running out of time getting back to the hotel in time.

At 1700 we met up and went to see a Water Puppet show. While the introduction was in English the entire show was in Vietnamese, so nothing really made any sense, but the live music was nice and the show itself looked good and was interesting to watch.

Leaving we went and had a nice dinner and greeted two new members of the group, both of them Brits. The group will continue south to Ho Chi Minh City where some will leave and others will join, and then continue back west through Cambodia and end up back in Bangkok.

After dinner some of us went out for drinks, we started in a nice and quiet place where it was easy to have normal conversations but being part of a younger group, we ended up in a place with very loud music. From there some of us went back to the hotel while others, just getting warmed up, went to a night club.

3rd – Wet, wet, wet

We started at a reasonable time around 0830 where we got picked up by a taxi that took us to three different sights in the city; Patuxay Monument, The Golden Temple and CARE. CARE is the local museum about cluster bombs, the consequences of the usage of these during the secret war, and what they do to help the locals living with them in their presence. So pretty much like the smaller UXO in Luang Prabang. 

The Patuxay Monument is from the 60s and built by the French and looks like a smaller version of their Arc de Triomphe, but built in a local style. It was possible to go up onto a viewing platform, and the two internal floors were basically just two mini-markets with anything souvenir-related. It felt a bit ingenuine but the view from the top was nice. Vientiane doesn’t have much in tall buildings so there wasn’t much to look at as such but you could get a good impression of the size of the city.

The Patuxay Monument.

The view from the top. The presidential palace can be seen in the distance.

The ceiling between the four pillars.

The Golden Temple was huge and very golden – I assume that’s why it got its name. Other than that, though, it was quite a bit like the others we have seen throughout the trip.

The CARE museum was as expected; informative and harrowing. They showed the consequences of the left over UXOs and focused on the work they do with building prosthetics from simple means, not only for victims from the bombs (though that is their priority), but also for people who have lost limbs through accidents, deceases and so on.

 We were back at the hotel at 1130 and left an hour later to pick up our ordered lunches and go to the airport to catch our flight to Hanoi. Despite the flight only being an hour long they still managed to serve sandwiches and drinks.

We arrived at our new hotel in bustling Hanoi around 1730 and 1800 10 of us went on a night market food tour. We ended up at 7 different places where we got to taste various things and when we finally returned to our hotel around 2200 we were truly full. We ended up tasting steam hot rice cakes, fruit candy, Vietnamese bread, BBQ pork with noodle soup, fruits, egg coffee (and -chocolate) and a local beer.

During the tour we got hit by rain. Lots of it. At first you walk down the street keeping to one side as the other side is forming a new major river, then you make a turn down another street and suddenly you are in water to above your ankles. And yet only shortly after it stopped raining most of the water had gone and everything was back to normal. That was quite an experience.

Notice the disappearance of feet.

Going east!

My interest for travelling to Asia has been on a low if it didn't involve some kind of trekking or climbing. This view has started to shift a bit in recent years as this part of the world is probably soon the only part I haven't visited yet and it being very different than what I am used to, I am starting to feel if I am missing something.

Because of this I have been thinking whether to do something about it. 

And it helps when finding out that Laos has removed visa requirements for Scandinavians this year. So...

22^nd – 23^rd of July

Flight from Copenhagen to Bangkok, Thailand. Arriving early in the morning which will give me time to roam the streets and do some sightseeing. And when I mean sightseeing I mean eating.

24^th – 25^th of July

Going on a tour of Bangkok before getting on an overnight train to Chiang Mai. When arriving the next day we will be getting a guided tour of the Doi Suthep temple before having the rest of the day off for relaxation or other activities.

26^th of July

Today we will leave Chiang Mai and head towards Chiang Khong via Wat Rong Khun where we will get a view of the Mekong river.

27^th – 28^th of July

Crossing the border into Laos and then getting into traditional boats on the Mekong and travelling to Luang Prabang. On the way we will get a guided tour of the Pak Ou caves.

29^th – 30^th of July

Spend time in Luang Prabang where it will be possible to go on tour in some of the local museums and see the Kuang Si waterfalls. Apart from that it’s free time open for relaxation or whatever activities that might be located and catch your interest.

31^st of July – 1^st of August

Travel to Vang Veng where we will have free time and spend one of the nights in a local village where we will get to see how to eat and live like a local.

2^nd of August

Travel to Vientiane, the capitol of Laos.

3^rd of August

Fly out to Hanoi, Vietnam.

4^th – 6^th of August

Spend a day in Hanoi of sightseeing before leaving late the 5^th and coming home the following day.