We couldn't leave Asia without reminiscing about all the amazing things stuffed in our face! The smells and flavours of a country are one of the first things I recall when thinking to my favourite places. South East Asia has amazing food so we've put together a list of our favourite eats. This list, in part, is to encourage us to try cooking some of our favourites when we get back and maybe entice you to try something new if you're in this part of the world! Nasi GorengThis is what a traditional breakfast looks like in Bali, Indonesia. It's not just for breakfast though. We found variations of this dish all over South East Asia and they were all fantastic! Basically just rice, some veggies, chicken and a fried egg. So easy yet soooo good! Pad ThaiThailand has strong noodle game and Pad Thai is one dish you can't leave here without eating! You can get it with chicken, shrimp or veggie at pretty much any restaurant in Thailand. SataySeasoned meat on a stick, how can you go wrong? Finding this at street markets is the best way to go, it's cooked on the spot and is an easy take away. Often it's served with super tasty peanut sauce. We found this in every country we visited in S.E.A. so we ate it alot! Fruit Shakes and Fresh CoconutsIt's humid, hot and you're tired. What better way to perk up an afternoon of temple exploring than with a fresh fruit smoothie or a coconut! We were careful where we bought our shakes to make sure they used safe ice. Most touristy places we didn't worry and we never got sick as a result. Every country has their own twist and seasonal fruit to pick from. Coconuts were available only where they were in season, super cheap and very good! Pho!Finding Pho in Vietnam is easy. We fell in love with Pho 2000 located near the Bing Tang market in Saigon. Rice... LOTS of rice.It's not a meal without rice! Rice comes in every form, in a coconut, pineapple, plain or with meat and veg you name it. It's a safe bet if you're a picky eater (like me). Coffee... mmmmmhhhhThey seriously know what they're doing in South East Asia. The coffee scene is huge and there are tons of funky cafe's to match the quality of the coffee they serve. Animal poo coffee (Civet or Luwak Coffee) is popular, a bit pricy but very tasty if you're wiling to try! Spring RollsThey come deep fried or not and both are amazing. Our favourite spring rolls were found in Canggu, Bali served with peanut dipping sauce, a match made in heaven! We even learned to make our own while in Vietnam, super easy! Honorable MentionsThese are a few of the one offs we tried that are worth mentioning as well because they were all fantastic! These are just a few of the most delicious and fun things we ate during our 2 months in South East Asia. There is lots we left out (and don't have photos for) including Thai Green Curry, Mango Sticky Rice, Coconut pancakes, Fried Noodles and so much more! If you're a foodie at heart than this is a region worth visiting!
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There are countless beautiful beaches to chose from in South Thailand. For us we wanted somewhere with great food, snorkeling and fewer people . Koh Lanta fit the bill perfectly for us. Where staying at the super cute Lanta Mermaid Boutique House just across the street from Klong Dao Beach on the North/ West end of the Island. The staff here have been incredible and the price was fantastic! It's the first time we've spent Christmas abroad just the two of us so sometimes it was sad when we considered everything we were missing back home, especially our friends and family. While we miss everybody a lot we had a fantastic time over the holidays! The locals in South Thailand are mostly Muslim and Buddhist so they don't celebrate Christmas themselves but with the influx of visitors from Europe and North America they do it up for our benefit. It was a funny sight while having dinner on the beach Christmas Eve and seeing dozens of board short wearing, sun burnt people rocking santa hats. Christmas day we had a great skype with both of our families after breakfast before heading to the beach. It was the nicest day we've had since arriving to Thailand! Sunny, slight breeze and beautiful. We spent the morning reading and swimming. We went for an incredible $10.00 massage at one of the many beach side massage places before having a tasty Thai lunch with our feet in the sand at Easy Bar. Klong Dao beach has life figured out! That night we headed back to the beach and ate at Koala, another feet in the sand beach side restaurant and celebrated Christmas with some flaming Fajitas and a beer for dinner. We've got another week to explore the island and neighboring reefs so a lot more adventures to be come!
Merry Christmas! Krabi is very nice, unfortuntely my mood wasn't when we arrived. Whatever illness I felt while in Chiang Mai decided to get worse and had me feeling like total caca during our first few days here. I hardly ate a thing and spent most of the first two days in bed. Pretty sure the flight here didn't help any. Thankfully our hotel was fantastic! We stayed at the Ao Nang Phu Petra Resort which offers spectacular views of the surrounding cliffs. It rained a lot during our time here so it eased my guilt about being inside most times. I managed to rally a bit on day two so we went to Ao Nang beach for lunch but after poking at my rice for 10 minutes I gave up and we headed back to the hotel. We decided to try our luck and head out for Phi Phi Islands on day 3 after finding a great price for a day trip that looked neat. That morning at 7am I really wasn't feeling very good and it was still raining out a bit but it was too late to cancel so I made the choice to go and suck it up. Chris and I had very different experiences that day. The trip took us to several small, white sand beaches around Koh Phi Phi including Bamboo Island, Rantee Bay, Pi Leh Bay, Lohsamah Bay and a couple others. The beaches to Chris' credit were beautiful with white sand and clear water. What got me was the 800 other people enjoying the beach around us taking endless selfies and of course that much needed scarf blowing in the wind above my head photo. I was pretty miserable to be around I must admit but Chris didn't let on. He's mastered the tuned out nodding skill every good husband learns, which worked beautifully because I mostly just felt like complaining at that point. Later in the afternoon I found my happy place snorkeling in the crystal clear waters with beautiful multi- coloured fish. They took us to two places to snorkel and both were excellent. The coral wasn't particularly nice however, a lot of the coral was dead and bleached. This happens when human activity upsets the marine ecology from polution, fishing and other causes. There is a problem of tourists snapping off pieces of coral to take home as well, it's really shameful. We were happy to see quite a few fish in this area though and the hope is that the reefs start to recover with better practices being managed by the Thai government and more mindful visitors. Overall I'm glad I went out but it was certainly not my favourite day trip we've taken. I took a bunch of cold pills that night slept 12 hours and was feeling a lot better the next morning! We relaxed on Ao Nang beach, had a nice big lunch ( I was starving after 4 days not eating) and it was a really nice way to end our time in Ao Nang.
Yesterday we took a 3 hour ferry from Ao Nang to Koh Lanta where we're spending Christmas and New Year. We're really loving it here and thankfully Chris didn't catch my flu so should be a really nice couple weeks here! Chaing Mai has been on my radar for a long time so to finally be here is fantastic! We're here for a short 6 days, 2 of which are at the Elephant Nature Park. We're staying at a great little guest house called Green Tiger Vegetarian house. It's on a quite side street in the old city and serves up some amazing vegetarian food! Wandering the old city was a fantastic way to spend our first day. By this point we've been looking at temples for over a month, since early November when we arrived to Bali, so the excitement over exploring temples is starting to wane. Because of this I had looked up the most impressive and most popular temples in the old city and chose 3 or 4 for us to visit. Wat Chiang Man, Wat Phra Singh and Wat Chedi Luang were our picks and we weren't disappointed. They all offered something unique and were beautiful to explore. The old city was excellent unforuntely by mid afternoon I started feeling really unwell. At the time I thought it was the heat but it's nearly a week later and I still feel like crap so pretty sure it's a touch of the flu. I spent that afternoon recovering and fortunatly felt well enough that night to head out to watch a local Muay Thai Fight! This was largely for Chris' benefit but I atually really enjoyed it as well! The next day everything caught up with me and I spent the day in bed. This really sucked but was the right decision because the following day we had a big adventure lined up! The main reason we came to Chiang Mai was to visit the Elephant Nature Park located about 2 hours drive north from the city. It will go down as one of the most gut wrenching yet amazing experiences so far in my life. I love elephants, a lot! In fact I have a large elephant tattoo on my back I love them so much. I absolutely couldn't wait to meet some in person. Before coming to Thailand I had done a lot of research trying to find the best park and I'm confident we found it with the Elephant Nature Park. This is a sanctuary for injured and abused elephants from around Thailand. There is no riding, no tricks and no unnatural requests of these animals here. It's all about giving them a happy life and sharing this with people interested in learning more about these animals! If your squemish I would skip this next part but I urge you to read it to understand the reality of Thailand's Elephant problem. Thailand is famous for it's elephants, people travel from all over the world to see these amazing animals. Sadly most of the Elehpants in Thailand have been plucked from the wild to work in the tourism trade. To make them obediant elephants go through a stage referred to as crushing. They are chained up so they can't turn their head or move and tortured and restricted to crush their spirit and make them obediant. This could take 3 days to a month depending on the age and personality of the elephant. A mahout has to stay with the elephant during this stage 24 hours because sometimes the elephants try and commit suicide, choking themsevles with their trunks. Once they've been crushed they are sent to work in the circus, trekking companies to carry tourists or they are sent to walk the city streets for photo ops. When an elephant doesn't obey their mahout they get a nail behind their ear where tourists can't see or they'll get a bull hook to the head or ribs. Many people don't understand that riding the elephants and making them do tricks is extremely harmful to their mental and physical health. Sadly most people don't understand or know about this reality so elephant painting, tricks and riding is still extremely popular. Another source of enslavement happens for illegal logging. Elephants are set up in chains and carry heavy logs through the forest in dangerous conditions where many get mangled in the process. Sometimes they elephants slip, step on land mines or trip and break legs. This is why the Elephant Nature Park was established. It's a place where these elephants can be kept safe and rehabilitated. The 70 + elephants in this park each have a sad story that brought them here. Several elephants are missing parts of their feet from stepping on land mines or snares. Some were malnurished and had infections from the bull hooks used during circus tricks. Some have spine and hip issues from carring people on rides or from forced breading. Many of the Elephants were blind in one or both eyes from people taking flash photos and city lights that their eyes can't handle. Their past is sad but the ending is happy. The park is big enough to give the elephants a lot of space to be themselves. Each animal has their own Mahout (keeper) who tends to the animal everyday and ensures they are happy, fed and safe. No need for bull hooks, if the animal isn't interested in something the Mahout let's it go do what it wants and follows along. They bring fruit and food baskets out to the elephants throughout the day so visitors have a chance to feed them and take photos (without flash). If an elephant isn't interested and decides to walk away nobody forces it to stay just for our sake. This rarely happens ofcourse becasue these guys love to eat! On top saving elephants there are over 200 rescued dogs, many were brought here after the extreme flooding in 2011. They also have cats and water buffalo. Some of the elephants don't like the buffalo or dogs but mostly everyone seems to get along quite well. One of the reasons I love elephants is because they appear strong on the outside but in reality are caring, tender and smart. The emotional damage caused from their past is in some cases too much for them to be around people or other elephants. These elephants have a separate part of the park where they are kept for their saftey and the saftey of visitors and other animals. There is always hope that over time they will be introduced to the main area of the park but this isn't always possible. Most of the elephants in the park are very friendly and always keen for a feeding. Our guide Sum was great at explaining about the different elephants history and which ones were okay to pet and which ones to keep a bit of distance. All the older elephants roaming are females, the large bull is kept in a seperate pen so they don't end up with babies they can't support. They hope to release the male back into the wild one day. He was born in the park and is healthy and ready to be released once the government permits it. We were really happy we stayed overnight, our sleeping hut (which was incredible btw) was next to the sleeping pens where the elephants are kept. You can visit the park just for the afternoon but the overnight gives you a much better experience The Elephants are kept in large pens at night so they arn't stolen and so they don't destroy the gardens etc. Some elephants sleep in the same pen to ease anxiety. They have best friends or family they perfer to be around just like people. It was really neat to look out our bedroom window and see them next to us. At night and in the morning volunteers with the mahouts would come and treat any wounded elephants and feed them. They had a large number of volunteers who spend 1 or 2 weeks here helping out. These people usually fund raise before coming to pay for their stay and help support the park. We had a real shock as we enjoyed our second day at the park to see just across the river a group of tourists riding elephants down to the river, leading the elephants into the water to 'wash' them. Apparently there is a trekking company just next to the Nature Park that offers the rides. We were meant to go in the river with the elephants that day but because the weather was cold the elephants weren't interested in a bath and the mahouts don't force them to go in. It was actually fairly cool out and the thinner elephants were wearing blankets to keep them warm. Elephant skin is very sensitive to chilly weather and they can get sick when they're too cold. All this in mind it was hard not to run over and preach to these unknowing tourists about how harmful their actions were. We couldn't do that of course so instead we all silently judged them and hoped next time they would make a better choice. We spent two incredible days at the Elephant Nature Park before returning to Chiang Mai. Our last day in Chiang Mai we took it pretty easy as I still wasn't feeling very good. The most exciting thing we did was pick up the tailor made clothes we had ordered a couple days earlier. Chris got a fancy new sport jacket that fits him like a glove and I had a skirt and a top made from silk I purchased in Malaysia! They turned out beatuifully at a very decent price! That night went out for dinner and wandered the Sunday Night Market. This was a huge market that took over several streets in the old city offering food, goods and lots of live music. It was super packed at 8pm unfortunetly making it difficult to get around and shop so we didn't stay too long but it looked like some really interesting stuff could be found here.
We were sad to leave Chiang Mai as there was quite a bit we didn't see in the North but we were excited to head south for some beach over Christmas. We're now in Krabi for a few days before we ferry to Koh Lanta where we'll spend Christmas and New Years! Luang Prabang has surprised us in many ways. In 1995 Luang Prabang was listed as a Uniesco World Heritage Site due to it's extremely well preserved architecture, religious and cultural practices. This is what brought us here. What we didn't expect was finding every block of the main street has a adventure tour shop, atms, french cafes, excellent restaurant selections, spas and handy craft shops. Not to mention the abundance of English speakers! We had our translator app all ready and ended up not needing it at all. It's a quite, easy paced town small enough you can walk everywhere. We quickely found our happy place here with $1.50 beers and Lao Lao (local whiskey), $1.50 fruit smoothies, river front cafes, afternoon strolls through temples, and finish it all off with dinner at the night market. We're staying at a small guest house, Lakhangthong, about 10 minute walk to the centre of Luang Prabang on a quite side street. It's a fantastic little find, huge rooms and excellent staff. Only down side is the extremely thin walls and some frisky neighbours (if you catch my drift...). Though the town is small it's packed with things to see and do. We walked along the streets the first day wandering around seeing the sights until we found ourselves at Utopia. This is easily one of the most relaxing places you can land yourself for an afternoon. Over looking the Nam Khan River, reasonably priced drinks and chill vibes it's a fantastic place to unwind. We found ourselves here more than once during our week long stay. Temples are easy to find in Luang Prabang so choosing the right ones is key. It's easy to get 'templed out' when you've got so many to chose from. We visited Wat Xieng Thong, Wat Sene, Wat Mai and Santi Chedi Pagoda. The most impressive was Wat Xieng Thong. The temple dates back to the 16th century and is covered in glossy glass tiles giving a really spectacular image when the sun hits the temple just right. The Santi Chedi Pagoda took us on a 45 mintue walk with no side walks and crazy traffic. By the time we reached the golden pagoda we were sweaty, dust covered and tired. It was worth the visit but I recommend taking a tuk tuk to this one! The other temples were easy to find around the main street. We considered an Elephant Trek or Overnight Safarii. Everything was a bit out of our budget and we were happy enjoying the local sights so we stuck close to the town. We did find one tourism office that doesn't ride the elephants which made me happy to see. I'm strongly against riding elephants, there is a whole rant on animal misstreatment I could get into but wont in this post. Unforuntely elephant riding is still really popular here with signs offering cheap day trips everywhere. If you are interested in seeing elephants in Laos I recommend checking out Manda Lao tours. They offer half day and full day treking with the elephants where you walk beside them, treat them to bananas and wash them in the river but do not ride them. They include 6 hours with the elephants during the full day tours which is more than you'll get when riding. They include transportation and meals as well! We're doing something very similar in Chiang Mai this week so we decided to skip it, but it sounded amazing! You can check them out here; http://mandalaotours.com In between temples we visited the Palace Museum. It's not what we expected but was still interesting. You're not allowed to take photos inside and must dress conservately so we saw a number of people turned away or charged an extra fee to get in, so be aware! The inside of the palace has a grand entrance, waiting room and throne room which is in direct contrast to the very plain back of house where the family slept and ate. The throne room was incredible, it was decorated with mosaic pieces and gold trim. Outside the main building there is also a relfection pond with koi and a very ornate temple. Laos is a Buddhist country with over 200 monks residing in and around Luang Prabang alone. Every morning the monks come out around sunrise to collect morning alms, also known as Tak Bat. One morning we woke up at 5:15am and headed out to watch. It was interesting to see locals and several visitors setting up with a mat and their offerings on the road side preparing for the monks to come by. Eventually the monks came along in a long line of orange robes and collected the offerings. This daily ritual is one of the reasons Luang Prabang is listed as Unesco Heritage Site as it still performs these traditional givings. The downside to this is the mass of tourists getting in the faces of the monks as they went about their business. There are signs clearly posted all over Luang Prabang kindly asking that you dress modestly and view the monks from across the street so not to disrupt them. Apparently these people didn't get the message or didn't care because they were incredibly rude and disruptive. If you visit here and you'd like to participate in giving alms you can purchase appropriate food items at your hotel or from a street vendor. You kneel on the street and must not touch the monks or stand taller than them while giving alms. Whether or not you're giving alms women should wear a sarong that covers the knees and both men and women need to cover knees, shoulders and chest out of respect. After some sleep we headed up to Mount Phou Si for a bit of a hike and some epic views. Once we reached the top we were rewarded with a spectacular view over Luang Prabang and a small temple at the top. The way down on the opposite side of the mountain was also interesting with a small cave shrine you can enter (not good for claustrophobic people!) and a shrine for a rock formation called Buddha's foot print. It actually looks like a big foot print! After our mountain hike we were excited to find the bamboo bridge that crosses the Nam Khan river had been repaired in the short 4 days since we first saw it! It's not for the faint of heart but once we got going it felt strong so our worries went away as we crossed. Once across we found a great river side eatery, Dyen Sabai, with board games, Lao fondu and cheap beers over looking the rivier! What more can you ask for! One of our favourite things about Luang Prabang is wandering down side streets and coming across neat little eateries and pubs. We had lunch and dinner somewhere new every day and were never disappointed. One of our favourites has to be BroTherHouse, a cute little restaurant by the river set in a garden. They offer Laos BBQ where you cook your own meat on a hot plate and veggies in hot broth, absolutely delicious. The really awesome part is that it was only $10.00 for drinks and BBQ for two! Luang Prabang has exceeded our expectations. It's definitely a touristy town but it's not so overrun that it loses it's charm. Our favourite experience here has to be the Kuang Si Falls and Moon Bear sanctuary. Yesterday, our last full day here we hired a tuk tuk to take us to a local waterfall called Kuang Si Falls. The ride there was 45 minutes of hoping to god we didn't roll the tuk tuk on a pot hole. Our driver got us there and back in 1 piece thankfully! Side note: We paid 200,000 KIP (abour $30 canadian) for the ride there and back. According to a french man we met on the way back we over paid. When we considered the cost of gas we felt like it was absolutely fare however. Gas is nearly 1 USD per litre which is very similar to what we pay in Canada but they earn much less so it ends up being very costly to drive people around. This in mind we had no problem paying the fare. When we arrived to the national park the first thing we saw was the bear santuary on the way to the waterfall. The bears in this area, called moon bears due to the cresent shape on their chest, are all rescued animals. Many were missing limbs or had injuries due to snares and poaching. There is a trade occuring where bears are captured and held in cages so small they can't move. They are starved and deprived water in many cases all the while having their bile removed with needles. The bile is then sold to various markets for Chinese medicines. It's a really disgusting trade so to see the efforts here was really encouragine. The best way to stop this type of animal cruelty is to make it known internationally so it garners more attention and public outcry. The bears were extremely cute, playing with each other, some sleeping in the hammocks and enjoying a better life for themselves. After spending a good amount of time with the fuzzy friends we continued to the waterfall. The first few levels of the cascading water is all I expected to find. When I looked up this water fall on Instagram I only saw the area where people are permitted to swim. I dipped a toe in but it was freezing so we skipped the swim! We kept walking and as you continue further a larg waterfall reveals itself! They've built up the area very nicely for sitting and enjoying the waterfalls so I grabbed an ice cream and we found a sunny spot to relax. It was an excellent way to end our stay in Luang Prabang. We would have loved to see more of Laos but as we keep reminding ourselves we can't do everything! Today we're flying out to Chaing Mai where we've got some awesome activities lined up!
It's an amazing thing to travel the world but it's even more amazing when you get to enjoy it with family! Chris' parents, Jim and Jocelyne, joined us recently in Hanoi, Vietnam for a few days! We stayed in the old quarter which is made up of chaotic old streets filled with shops, markets and restaurants and the most intense traffic you'll find anywhere. We got very good at dodging traffic, it's nuts. Hanoi is an interesting city with French, Chinese and traditional vietnamese architecture tied together with a lake in the city centre offering a fantastic spot to relax and take romantic strolls. Jim and Joce had been in Hanoi for a few days be the time we arrived so they took us to a couple of their favorite spots including a pub on the lake. The next morning we packed up and took a 4 hour bus ride together to Halong Bay! When we finally arrived to the port we were taken to our home for the night. We stayed on a junk ship iconic in Halong Bay for it's unique sails. The tour director was fantastic and everything was timed and organized impressively well. The cruise through Halong took us through the unique rock formations that makes the region famous. It's absolutely stunning here, very other wordly. It was a bit foggy but still incredibly impressive. We made our way to a cave formation which required a good number of stairs but was well worth it. Inside the caves there are two impressive caverns with massive rock formations carved out by water over time. They've done an interesting job lighting the interior to give the cave a colourful, almost tacky appearance but was fun to walk through. The entrance and exit to the cave also offered some great photo ops over Halong Bay. There are hundreds if not thousands of people in Halong daily with nearly 200 junk boats like ours available in the area not to mention the day trip boats popular with local Vietnamese. Despite these masses of people it's still incredibly enjoyable and doesn't have that tourist trap vibe to it that you might expect. The next morning we were treated to 6:30am sunrise Tai Chi on the roof. Can't say any of us were particularly well coordinated but it was a nice way to wake up! After breakfast we headed out for a kayak! Seeing Halong Bay in a kayak has to be the best part our time here. Being at water level gives you a much better appreciation for the size of the huge lime stone rocks scattered about. During our ride back to port we had a quick cooking class of spring rolling. I think I'm a natural at it. After another 4 hour drive back we had 1 more day to enjoy together before heading our separate ways. We decided the next afternoon to hire a tuk tuk bus to give us a tour. Definitely a fun way to see the buzzing old Hanoi without having to dodge traffic! That afternoon we headed out to the airport together and said our fare wells. Jim and Jocelyne headed over to Siem Reap and we headed to Luang Prabang.
We left Phnom Penh and headed into Vietnam at 5am. It was a trend on the river to cruise until 11pm and get a rude wake up when the anchor dropped and another rude wake up at 5am when they pulled the anchor back up to continue the journey. Being in the room nearest to the anchor didn't help any. Pretty sure I didn't sleep more than 4 consecutive hours the entire 7 days on board, in hind sight I should have sorted out some ear plugs. Entering Vietnam it was hard to tell that we were in a new country because this part of the Mekong Detla used to be part of Cambodia before the French seperated it to Vietnam. It's still home to many families of Cambodian decent. Our first stop in Vietnam was a bird sanctuary. This is easliy one of the most amazing places we visited. It's a section of swamp protected by the government where hundreds of birds call home. We were taken through the park first in a long motor boat then transfered to a small canoe. The scenery was increidble and very peaceful. The birds were squaking and flying around us all over the place. Very cool experience! We had a really exotic lunch here. It's not fare to say it wasn't good it just isn't anything we're used to. Aside from this meal everything we ate in Cambodia and Vietnam was excellent! We spent the next few days cruising towards Siagon (aka Ho Chi Mihn City) with stops at several markets and pagodas. They were all amazing but I have to admit after a while they start to look alike! The markets had everything you can think of. The meat and fish sections were questionable and a little off putting however. A memorable lunch took us to a small island where they farm crocodile, procupines, frogs and snakes for eating. Chris was brave to try the crocodile turned out it tastes similar to chicken! I stuck with a veggie noddle dish, the market turned me off of meat for a bit I have to admit. On this Island they also produce popped rice and coconut candy. The popped rice was super neat to watch. They put rice in a large pot and stir it over a fire until it pops like pop corn. It only takes a few seconds for this to happen then they mix it with sugar and fruit flavours to create some truly excellent snacks. Even better Chris can eat them despite his allergies! After a few more restless nights on board we made it to Saigon! It's a remarkable city with a lot of French influence and about 8 million motor bikes. We stayed at the Continental Saigon hotel dating back to the 1880 which claims to be the first hotel in Vietnam, located in the heart of the city. Our G guide to us to a well know Pho place near the Binh Tay Market called Pho 2000. Bill Clinton graced this place in 2000 during his visit to the city and they've used this to popularize the restaurant. On top of photos of the former US president scattered around the restaurant they have what he ate listed at each table. Chicken Soup Pho with a Mango Smoothie. If it's good enough for Bill Clinton it's good enough for me, and it was! Highly recommend Pho 2000. That afternoon we took a 4 hour bus ride out to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It's an immense serious of underground tunnels used by Viet Cong sodiers as hiding during the Vietnam War. They would set up boobie traps and land mines to keep from being caught by American soldiers. They'd hide the dirt from the tunnels in bomb craters and use dirt mounds to hide air holes. For cooking they had a serious of chimneys filled with cotton so the smoke would be absorbed and spill out of small openings several meters away so low it looked like fog in the morning. It's extermely impressive what they accomplished here. They also used old tires to make backwards shoes so when you walked one way it appeared you had walked the other direction. These shoes were tell tale signs of what side you were on and if you didn't wear this who you'd be shot by the Viet Cong Soldiers. Most of the tunnels are off limits to visitors due to saftey concerns but some tunnels have been created so visitors can get a sense of what it was like. We went through a few meters of tunnel and it wasn't comfortable to say the least. The Cu Chi site also has a gun range so as you're going through the tunnels you hear gun fire going off giving the whole place a very erie feeling. Chris and a few other of the boys shot off some rounds during our visit with the big guns. Our second day in Saigon we explored the markets, a local art gallery and went out for one last dinner with some of our new friends we met on the G tour. The over all experience with G Adventures was exceptional and I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a unique and easy way to explore Cambodia and South Vietnam! We took off for Hanoi after this and met up with Chris' parents for 4 days in Halong Bay.
Cruising the Mekong, in my opinion, is the best way to experience Cambodia and South Vietnam. Life is dependant on this body of water and the people have adapted in unique ways to exploit it. We travelled on board the Toum Toui II with G Adventures and a group of 24 other fantastic people from all over the world including Australia, Switzerland, Germay, USA, Canada and UK. Our first stop was at the village of Chnok Tru where the locals specialize in silver and copper punching. Along with a demonstration we were greeted by a group of children who ran around holding our hands and playing. The older children were selling jewelry made by their parents making it difficult to determine if it was appropriate. In many cases the parents keep them out of school and use the money to buy beer but in other cases it's actually funding their schooling. What to do! A little girl stole my heart as we walked along the village chatting away with me in very impressive english. Another little girl played with my skirt and held my hand. For a few days after all I talked about was babies successfully driving Chris nuts. I later learned it was common in this village for young people to sell items in the morning and attend school later in the day easing my concern. We were also treated to a talk from a local teacher who survived the killing fields during Khmer Rouge. He's 72 now and runs a local school free for students to learn reading, writing, math and a bit of french. There are public schools in Cambodia but it's not always an option for the students to make the trip out to them so this is an excellent way to ensure they get some studies in every day. With our guide as a traslator the man told many horrifing stories from the days of Khmer Rouge which began in 1975. He explained how during Khmer Rouge intellectuals were rounded up and sent to jails all over the country to be tortured and later sent to the killing fields to be murdered. Because he was a teacher if the soldiers found out about him he would have certainly met his death. Fortunately someone warned him not to expose his profession so he lied when asked suggesting he was a farmer. He had to pretend over and over again that he couldn't read or write. The soldiers would look at this hands to see if he was lieing as well. Because he went to the gym regularly he had rough hands like a farmer saving him from being discovered. This went on for a long time as he was forced into harsh farming conditions along with some 2 million others across Cambodia, taken away from their villages and family. Many people died from starvation during this time with the soldiers thinking that a hungry person worked harder and a well fed man is lazy. After Cambodia was liberated in 1979 the teacher returned to his village where he was reunited with his surviving family and started the school. He was one of the luncky few with roughly 3 million people being killed by Khmer Rouge during this short time. Now he runs this school which survives off donations and contributions from the local village people. It's a vital source of knowledge and opportunity for the local village children. He is an inspiration and we were lucky to have met with him, it was one of the most memorable parts of our trip in my opinion and taught us a lot about Cambodia's complex and sad history. Our afternoon was much lighter as we cruised through one of the largest floating villages in Cambodia. Despite the village being in Cambodia it's made up of mostly Vietnamese families. Cambodia's traditionally build their houses on stilts where Vietnamese will opt for the floating house. It's an extremely interesting way of life completely dependent on the river for transportation and food. We headed ashore to Kampong Chhnang where we bicycled through the village to the house of a local pottery maker. It was a really fun ride but also nerve wracking with motorbikes whizzing by in all directions. The way back was even worse because it had gotten dark by the time we left for the boat! A woman greated us at her studio in the underside of a house on stilts. The way she made clay potts was fascinating to watch as she spun herself in circles beating at the clay to produce the correct shape and thickness of the clay. I imagine she's got the best behaved children in the village the way she expertly handled the whacking stick. We walked across the road to a palm sugar producer who also makes palm wine. We're pretty sure he had been quality controling the wine before we arrived because he was hilarious and all smiles! He showed us how they collect the palm juice by climbing up the tree on bamboo ladders and tap the correct branches of the palm trees. From there they reduce the palm juice in a similar way to making maple syrup to create the palm sugar. We all had a taste of the sugar and the wine, good stuff! We probably needed the liquid courage to cycle back so it worked out well. Day two on the Mekong we made our way to one of the oldest Buddhist monasteries in Cambodia, via Ox Cart. It's as luxurious as it sounds and fast too, only took us 20 minutes to get 2 km (insert sarcasm). The monastery looked pretty beaten up and the newer buildings surrounding it made it look even older. Several monks live in the monestary most are elderly people and some orphaned children as well. They are taken care of by the local villagers and in return the monks assist with village ceremonies, blessings and anything else they can do to support the village. We were privledged to have a monk bless us during our visit. We're not religious in any way but it was nice to have him say kind words over us while flicking water and after this he tied a bright red bracelet to our wrist for goodluck. That night we arrived to Phnom Penh where we had 2 days. We were treated to a cyclo tour (rikshaw) of the city upon our arrival. G Adventures supports a cyclo project which gives underprivileged people a job and also helps save the dying tradition in Cambodia. Many of the people who operate the cyclo bikes were at some point homeless, lacked proper education and training so this is fantastic opportunity for them. It was pretty hilarious to be taken around the city with them, my driver was a cheery chap who knew a few words of English and was all smiles to have me on board. We had a good laugh together when a young man on a motor bike with his girlfriend on the back smiled at me and said hello promptly followed by a hard smack in the head and a couple beats on the shoulder from the young woman on the back on the bike. That night we had the option to join a local family for dinner, 10 of us decided to do this and jumped in some tuk tuk's. The tuk tuk through Phnom Penh at night was something else, ridiculous traffic! The host's wife had prepared an absolute feast for us of local dishes that were incredible! We ate our hearts out and had a chance to speak candidly with our host and his daughter who both spoke English. He was very honest with us about the state of Cambodia and his experiences during Khmer Rouge. He explained that in Cambodia when you get married it's customary for the man to move in with the wife's family. In his house there were 5 families living together from his wife's side. 5 rooms, 1 for each family with a total of 30 members living under 1 roof. It was hard to imagine such a scenario because the house was not very large. He explained that during the day he turned 1 of the rooms into a school to teach English to local village students as well and teach them about the Khmer Rouge since schools limit what they teach about it. It was a very humbling experience and we learned alot from this man and his family. The next day in Phnom Penh was the most difficult part of our trip emotionally. We spent the morning going through the genocide museum with a local guide before visiting a killing field where thousands were sent to be killed during the Khmer Rouge. Our G guide, Sarou, was a fantastic guide and was with us all the way on our trip except for this portion. He explained that he went once when he was in school and it was not a something he needed or wanted to do again. I can't blame him, both sights are extremely emotional places to visit. They made me feel sick to my stomach and I wanted very badly to skip them. In hind sight I'm glad we visited them but it's not something I would want to do again. The Cambodian people have worked hard to ensure that their kids and future generations have an opportunity to learn about this dark time in their history so it will never be repeated and so that they appreciate what they have now.
Now the City is growing and building at an impressive rate pushing to increase it's tourism, industry and opportunities. It's really impressive how far the country has come and the future looks very bright for Cambodia. It's been a while since we've updated the blog because we've been travelling with G Adventures down the Mekong River. We started our journey in Siem Reap staying at the Royal Angkor Resort, an absolutely beautiful hotel! On our arrival day we decided to try a traditional Khmer Massage (Khmer is the local name for Cambodia). It's not like a traditional massage, instead of using oils they put you in robes and have you lie face up on a bed. Once your comfortable they proceed to kneed, slap, bend and step on you in all directions. It may not sound very relaxing to have a 100 lb Cambodian woman man handle you but once we knew what was happening it felt really great and got some kinks out! Next day we snagged a tuk tuk and headed to Angkor. Angkor is a massive complex built in the 10th to 14th century spread over 400 sq ft with over 150 temples to explore! It's impossible to see them all so we decided to visit the main temple of Angkor Wat. It's an absolutely incredible building to explore with endless sculptures and carvings to admire and long hallways leading to various parts of the temple. It's built in three layers. The top layer is comprised of the towers that are iconic to Angkor. This space was reserved for only the King, nowadays anyone appropriately dressed is welcome up to enjoy the view from the top. f you havn't got your shoulders and knees covered to the liking of the local guards you arn't permitted inside. This is because it's a still used as a holy place for the monks living next to the Angkor Wat. Once a month the top portion of Angkor Wat is closed to tourists so the monks can worship. We saw tons of monks in their bright orange robes around the complex during our visit. Some where even offering blessings to anyone interested. Here the men don't have to be a monk for life they can do it for a short time if they like, many children are sent to be a monk for a short time here as well. IThe second level includes 4 pools (now empty) representing the 4 elements where the king would bath to purify himself before heading into the top temple. The bottom level includes several walls of base relief sculptures representing various Hindu stories and stories of the king. Angkor Wat took us around 2 hours to look through and I'm sure we could have spent longer if the heat and rain hadn't washed us out. The next morning we returned to Angkor Wat at 5am to watch the sun rise over the temple. We weren't the only ones with throngs of people out to catch that perfect photo. It was worth the eary wake up to see the magnificent views. While most of the other tourists headed back to their hotel for breakfast we continued onward into the Angkor Complex. We visited a bit more of the Angkor Wat temple with our G guide before heading to Ta Prohm, made famous by Angelina Jolie's Tomb Raider in 2000. It's a beautiful temple unique because of the many tress growing out of them. Bird droppings are to thank for the massive trees that now grown within the original temple ruins creating a beautiful harmony with nature and the man made. Our last stop was Angkor Thom and the Bayon Temple. This temple is made up of 52 faces sculpted into the towers representing the 52 states of Cambodia at the time the temple was built. Its a wonderful temple complex and a great way to end our visit to Angkor. You may have noticed the water surrounding the temple, this is how they transpoarted the stones from the main river, using these man made moats. It also created extra protection for the temples and it's very beautiful. The large temples have these moats surrounding them including Angkor Wat. Makes for a really surreal setting and excellent photo ops! After Angkor we went to G Adventures Planet Terra poject, New Hope. It's a school set up in a small village where students come to learn vital skills that help them get better jobs. They teach english, cooking, bar tending and many other skills that allow the villagers to get better paying jobs in the community. We had an excellent Cambodian lunch here though the grasshoppers weren't my favorite. After lunch we drove 4 hours to the port and boarded the Toum Tiou II. It's a small river cruise boat owed by G Adventures perfect for traveling the Mekong River. The staff were incredible, rooms were great and the people on the tour with us were excellent travel companions! We did so much in 7 days that I'm spreading it over a few blogs, more to follow soon!
Kuala Lumpur was not on my radar when we started planning this trip. Originally we were going to go straight to Cambodia from Bali. Turned out the least expensive flight put us through KL so we decided to check it out! So glad we did because it's a pretty cool city! We stayed at the beautiful Face Suites Hotel in the KLCC ( Kuala Lumpur City Center). Our studio apartment on the 50th floor was incredible, it was massive and well outfitted with a washer dryer, kitchen, walk in closet and beautiful marble bathroom. The real selling feature is the view! Overlooking both the KL tower and Petronas Towers it's a spectacular sight. Just above us on the 51st floor was a large infinity pool and gym overlooking the city. I still can't believe we only paid around CAD $100 per night to stay here! Our first 24 hours in Malaysia was a bit unexpected. During our drive to the hotel our driver warned us to stay away from certain parts of the city and to not wear red or yellow. Turned out a major protest was taking place over growing tensions towards the Malaysian government. After trying to find more details about this situation I found it difficult to find much about it. We decided to stick around the hotel that day and enjoy the rooftop pool. In the afternoon the protest of yellow shirts marched right past our hotel. Thousands of people showed up in various parts of the city wearing red or yellow shirts depending what side they were on. Despite all this there were no major injuries or incidents and the police seemed to handle everyone and traffic really well. These protests are illegal but the government doesn't seem to react harshly to them as long as people behave. Several of the organizers were arrested however. On Sunday with the protests over we headed out on a bus tour. Our first stop was at a pewter factory just outside the city. This may not sound very exciting but it was actually really interesting what they can do with this material and how integral it is for the growth and wealth of Kuala Lumpur. Malaysia's economy, especially that of Kuala Lumpur, boomed upon the discovery of what our guide referred to as white gold and black gold. Black gold includes the tin used in pewter which is mined throughout the region, oil and coal as well. White Gold includes palm oil, sugar and salt. The rainforests of Malaysia are rich with spices and herbs that fetch a high price as well. Because of this Kuala Lumpur is one of the fastest growing and most developed cities in South East Asia. Kuala Lumpur has plans to construct 300 new high rise buildings by 2020. It's easy to see the gentrification taking place especially around our hotel in the hear of the city where new buildings are going up. At the same time of it's growth Malaysia has pledged to reduce it's emissions by 45% by 2030. Time will tell if they can meet these lofty goals. Our next stop was to a craft store where they hand paint silk. It was beautiful to watch, we even picked up a couple items. Our final stop was the famous Batu Caves. The caves are home to Hindu temples and have been used in one form or or another for centuries. The temples seemed out of place in the cave with their flashing lights and brightly painted deity figures. The temples are still used and construction is constantly going on to build up and reinforce the caves and expand the temples. The caves themselves were spectacular with high ceilings and impressive stalactites. Next to the Temple Caves is the Dark Cave experience where you can pay a small fee and be led through an adjoining cave in the dark. We didn't have time unfortunately you take advantage of this but it looked awesome! Our last day in KL we hoofed it and covered a lot of the city. First we headed to China Town. Malaysia has an absolutely huge Chinese population making up about 30%. There were excellent markets here where you can find just about anything at a great price. After a romp through the market we headed to the Butterfly gardens. This is a must do for nature lovers in KL! The garden isn't very big but it's home to hundreds of different types of butterflies in a tranquil setting. We made a quick stop at the I heart KL sign at the KL City Gallery (gotta get that photo op in). The Gallery was pretty lame to be honest, the highlight was the scaled city model of KL which was pretty impressive. Our last stop was Bukit Bintang an area known for shopping and entertainment. We had a heck of a time trying to find it and got lost several times. By the time we found Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang, KL's most famous street, we were too tired and hot to stick around for when it gets busy. Jalan Alor is a street dedicated to food and is open from 5pm-12am daily, it doesn't really get going until after dark though.
We only scratched the surface of all that KL has to offer. It's a entertaining city worth a few days if you find yourself this way! Now we're on our way to Siem Reap Cambodia! We're joining G Adventures here for a 10 day cruise down the Mekong and we can't wait!! |
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