Vietnam and Singapore- December 2005 to January 2006

HCMC- We caught the early morning bus from Phnom Penh back to Ho Chi Minh City. We spent our last remaining days in Vietnam shopping, going to museums, the Presidential Palace and down to the Cu Chi Tunnels and Cao Dai Temple.

Singapore- SHOPPING, SHOPPING AND MORE SHOPPING. We bumped into JJ just before New Years! We spent New Years Eve shopping and we saw the fireworks from the Convention Centre. We also went on tour through the city and spent half the time on Orchard Rd. Good way to end the perfect trip!

Cambodia- December 2005

Phnom Penh- The people here are so friendly! On our first day in Phnom Penh we visited the National Museum, Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda. We caught up with some Dutch guys we met on the bus the day before for lunch at 'Friends', a restaurant set up to train street kids. The next day we went to Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields, it was really sad. The following day we took the bus up to Siem Reap.



Siem Reap- We spent 5 days in Siem Reap checking out the markets and taking electric bikes out to the temples at Angkor. Angkor Wat was amazing! We also saw the Bayon, Baphuon, Terrace of Elephants, Phimeanakas, Ta Kea, Ta Prohm, Prah Khan, Neak Pean and Pre Rup. We spent another day taking a tuk tuk out to Kbal Spean and Banteay Srey, a long way on a dirt road but well worth it! We also went to the Landmine museum just out of town.

Battambang- The next morning we got on the boat to Battambang. 8 hours later we were finally there! We spent 2 days going out seeing the countryside with two moto drivers Sam and Thony. On the first day we went out to Wat Phnom Sampeau and the killing caves. Another really sad place, they say 10 000 people were killed here during the Khmer Rouge. We got back on the motos and went out to Wat Banan, a temple older than Angkor Wat. Sam was filling us in on his Aussie slang, so funny! We made our way to the Bamboo railway. The locals assemble a bamboo platform and motor on the railway tracks to transport just about anything. Next day we went out to Wat Norea, an orphanage run by local monks who look after children affected by HIV, and Kamping Poy, a huge dam made by hand during the Khmer Rouge. We went out on a little boat with a man and his son. The boy was picking us lotus flowers and singing, it was awesome!


Phnom Penh- Next day we caught the morning bus back to Phnom Penh. We spent the rest of our time in Phnom Penh at a local orphanage. On Christmas eve we went to the market to get presents for all the kids. On Christmas Day we went to see the kids again and out came the powder. It was everywhere!!! Later that day all 30+ of us got into 2 tuk tuks and headed out to the water park. What a way to spend Christmas, the best yet! We didn't want to leave but we had a plane to catch back in HCMC.

Vietnam- November 2005

For all those who missed out on stories from our last trip, here you go...
Cutting a long story abit shorter, we flew from Sydney to Hanoi 3 days after my last HSC exam.

Hanoi- We stayed 3 nights in the Old Quarter of Hanoi. People and motorbikes everywhere! We spent three days visiting all the tourists sites like Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, the Temple of Literature (1st university in Vietnam), One Pillar Pagoda, Hanoi Opera House, the 'Hanoi Hilton', the water puppet show and oh so many pagodas! We went on a day tour to the Perfume Pagoda, an emorous cave with shrines inside. We took a boat to the bottom of the mountain and walked hours to get to the cave. We met "Smiley" and "Smiley Jnr" our lovely tour guides who we would see again on our trip to Halong Bay.


Sapa- We came across the Kangaroo Cafe in Hanoi and we were able to plan a 3 day trek in Sapa. We met another Aussie, Katherine and we got on the overnight train to Sapa. Next morning we arrived at Lao Cai station and got a bus up to Sapa. We spent the 1st day checking out the markets and picking up some cool handicrafts. The next day we set out on a 2 day trek with our Hmong guide Zia. IT WAS ALL MUD!!! 2 days of walking in mud but it was so fun! We spent the night in one of the villages. Raining and SO COLD! Next morning we headed back up to the road and got a Jeep back to the hotel, before catching the overnight train back to Hanoi.

Halong Bay- After a day recovering from the Sapa trip we headed out to Halong Bay for 2 nights with the Smiley and Smiley Jnr tour. It was so beautiful! We sailed out to some caves then went for a swim before spending the night on a traditional junk. Next day we walked up to Navy Peak, it was steep and really hot but it was all worth it seeing the amazing view. We headed back down to the boat and went out kayaking for the afternoon, before making our way to Cat Ba Island to spend the night.

Ninh Binh- Once we got back to Hanoi we jumped on a bus to Ninh Binh not knowing it was going to be the bus from hell! Full of backpackers wanting to stop every 10 mins and people getting motion sick. We finally made it to Ninh Binh where we found an awesome hotel! The staff were so funny. 'Kurt' the chief who spent his day sleeping behind the bar and watching Chinese soap operas, the receptionist who was usually catching up on sleep, and of course the boys who would greet mum everytime we walked past "hello mother!". We spent 3 days with our guide and went to Kenh Ga Floating Village and caves, Phat Diem Cathedral, Cuc Phuong National Park, Hoa Lu ancient capital and Tam Coc caves. Our guide was really interesting and he told us stories from when he fought for the North during the Vietnam War.

Hue- We took the overnight train from Ninh Binh to Hue where we spent 3 days. On the first day we went to the Imperial City and Citadel. Next day we went on a day tour up to the DMZ where we went to the Vinh Moc Tunnels where locals lived underground for 6 years during the war! We also went to Khe Sahn Combat Base, the 'Rockpile' and a branch of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Next day we went on a boat tour up the Perfume River and saw 5 temples. The next morning we got up early to catch the bus to Hoi An.

Hoi An- We made it to Hoi An after stopping at Marble Mountain along the way. Hoi An was beautiful! We stayed in a hotel with a swimming pool and free cocktails! Spent 3 days getting clothes made and checking out the sights. We also took a day tour out to My Son ancient temples.

Nha Trang- We went back up to Danang to catch the train down to Nha Trang. The weather was crap so we only spent the night before catching the bus to Ho Chi Minh City.

Mui Ne- The bus stopped at Mui Ne on the way to HCMC. This place was so beautiful. We stayed 2 nights in a cute little resort right on the beach! It was so good just to relax for awhile, apart from the bad sunburn!!!

Ho Chi Minh City- After a couple days on the beach we got back on the bus to HCMC. What a difference, so crowded and noisey! We stayed 1 night and headed out on a Mekong Delta tour the next day.

Mekong- We went with a tour group through the Mekong where we spent 3 days seeing the floating markets and how different foods were being made. We spent the night in Can Tho and Chau Doc. After the second day we had to "bye-bye the bus" and our tour guide to jump on another bus with our "mean tour guide" who was shouting abuse at just about everyone on the bus. We spent the full day on 2 boats to cross the boarder into Cambodia and head up to Phnom Penh.