After leaving Hoi An, we spent some time in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). We had heard rumours of the scooter traffic and the perils of crossing streets, and it definitely lived up to what we expected. Taking the first step into the hundreds of oncoming motos was always the "step of faith'' but everything after that was fine. We'd grab hands, each take a direction to look and then slowly shuffle across the lanes of traffic while they manuvered around us. The drivers are like a flock of birds and they seem to all read each other very well. We did witness one scooter collision in Hue and a few knock-overs, but it is not a lot of damage considering the scene!
In Ho Chi Minh city we spent some time at the War Museum, which opened our eyes to various accounts of the war history. We both found it very heart wrenching and educational.... some amazing pictures! From Ho Chi Minh we headed in to Cambodia by bus. We spent a short time in Phnom Penh before leaving for Siem Reap. After the War Museum in Vietnam, we decided to pass on some of Cambodia's tragic sites. They have had a crazy history with the Khmer Rouge and just learning about it and seeing how happy the people are in the aftermath is inspiring...
Our last few days have been spent exploring the temples of Angkor. The expanse of Angkor is much larger than we both expected; it goes on for kilometers with temples all around the city.
We hired a tuk tuk driver who drove us to a good portion of the temples (about 25) which barely scratched the surface. It would be easy to spend weeks appreciating the ancient architecture and art. The temples are a split between Buddhism and Hinduim depending on the dominant religion during their construction. The intricacy of the carvings blew us away time after time. We've got PLENTY of pics for those who are interested :)
Today we fly to Luang Prabang in Lao. You may have noticed the change in our travel style from dirt cheap buses (generally slow) buses in South America to one hour flights here in SEA. We have realized that with our limited time frame it is the only way to see all that we are hoping to see. To get an idea:
Siem Reap > Luang Prabang by bus and boat = 4 days
Seim Reap > Luang Prabang by air = 1.5 hours
We've heard great things about Lao and we are both super excited to get there. We'll update in a few days.
Heather & Zay
2 comments:
Great photos!
Manage to stay clear of the millions of kids trying to sell you stuff in Ankor Wat? =)
WOW those photos are amazing! You guys look like you are having a great time. I am jealous :)
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