Greetings from Cambodia!
We arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, this afternoon following an interesting week in Vietnam. Correction: we are 11 hours ahead of Detroit. Here's what we've been doing:
Wed 9/7/22: Fifty years ago, who would've imagined we'd be walking the streets of Hanoi, Vietnam, today? It's a thriving city with 9 million people and 4 million motorcycles! So much traffic; and the rules of the road are oh, so flexible and frightening. After breakfast Phó, various buffet items such as sushi, unfamiliar fruits, French bread (remaining influence of French occupation in the region), we walk the streets of the Old Quarter, imagining Anthony Bourdain in the hole-in-the-wall cafes and dining areas that are everywhere. We walked around Hoan Kiem Lake (the lake of the Recovered Sword), then returned to the hotel to adjust to the time change. We have snacks and drinks in the 10th floor bar, from where we see many rooftop gardens and patios. Vietnam is a very progressive Communist country, but there is no CNN or Sky News on our TV. After centuries of Chinese occupation, they escape Chinese influence and use no characters in their language; it has 29 letters and various diacritics. $1 USD = 23,590 VN dong. There are 54 different ethnic peoples.
Thurs 9/8: Overnight lightning and thunder; 80% chance of rain today. We meet our guide Pfung and driver Cuonc. We travel through the Red River Delta, seeing rice fields. Vietnam is the 3rd largest exporter of rice. After a 2-1/2 hour drive, we arrive in iconic Ha Long Bay for a "junk boat" cruise through some of the 1,969 islands. We have the 24-person boat to ourselves and enjoy various fish dishes for lunch. The hilly islands are made of limestone and schist. We are approximately 70 miles from China. We return to Hanoi.
Fri 9/9: The Queen is dead; long live the King. Today is a harvest festival holiday celebrated for the children. We visit the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex and it's lovely gardens. I need to read more about Ho; he was very concerned for his people. We return to the lake to visit the Ngoc Son Temple (Tortoise Pagoda), then we walk to a little hidden cafe for a famous Egg Coffee (latte coffee, sweetened condensed milk, egg yoke, wine whipped to a thick froth). On our way to the airport for our flight to Saigon, we pass Hanoi Train Street. Google it; it seems so dangerous when vendors, customers and tourists have to jump out of the way when the train passes through this very narrow street. We have loved seeing the bright markets and hidden cafes of Hanoi. Thanks and goodbye, Pfung. After our 2-hour flight to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), we meet our guide Sang and driver Bên, who takes us to our hotel. Sang calls the city Saigon.
Sat 9/10: We walk through the Independence Palace, formerly the Presidential Palace; then we spend some very emotional time in the War Remnants Museum. In the post office, built by the French years ago, our spirits are lifted when we meet 7-year old Daisy, who politely asks if she can practice her English with us. She is so bright! Her accent-less English needs no practice. She even used the term "vim and vigor". I told Sang that the term is rarely used in the USA; we wonder how she even learned that. Her bashful mother speaks English with a strong accent. Anne fell under Daisy's spell; they talked and laughed for about an hour and will be buddies in the future. Then we drove by the Opera House and the City Hall before stopping at a Buddhist Temple (previously visited by Pres. Obama) to give thanks for the harvest. Sang is easy to talk to, and we discuss many topics. He is 45, from a small village, married and the proud father of two very intelligent daughters.
Sun 9/11: Today we again remember the awful events from 21 years ago. We leave the large modern city of Ho Chi Minh and head northwest to Ben Tre province. In the south, there are three crops of rice annually. They each take 85 days. In the north, they can only do two crops annually. On a small boat, we visit a couple of the islets along the Mekong River. On Unicorn Island, we stop for refreshing drink and fruits at an outdoor Cafe where we hear traditional Vietnamese songs. Then 3 or 5 gals gather around our table and sing "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" in English for us. They were so sweet. We enjoy watermelon, guava, dragon fruit, jack fruit, longan (similar to lychee) along with a dish of salt and chiles for dipping. From this end of the island we take a tiny row boat to Phoenix Island. Somehow we didn't tip the boat over. A wonderful experience! But there are challenges everywhere. There is heavy row boat traffic here. We see large fishing boats that go out into the ocean at night. Our lunch today is fried elephant ear fish, which is wrapped in rice paper with pineapple, cucumber, rice noodles. We enjoy excellent vegetable soup, fried rice, fried pork spring rolls with various sauces for dipping. I prefer the tamarind sauce. Coconut products are very popular here. I haven't mentioned how green everything is, with many beautiful flowers. It's warmer and more humid here in the south. Back in the car, we have a 5-hour drive to Chau Doc. Our excellent driver Bên drives through so much heavy rain. We see rice paddies everywhere. Our hotel has a great view across the river to Cambodia.
Mon 9/12: Great thanks and farewell to Sang and Bên. It seems we've known them for a long time. We were refreshed by the coldest ever water and wet wipes in our travels with them. We learned so much and were treated with kindness. We board a speed boat at 0700 to Phnom Penh, the two old ladies with about ten young travelers. We are on the boat on the great Mekong for about 1-1/2 hours before we de-board to go through Vietnam passport control. Back on the boat. A little farther up the river, we de-board again to check in with Cambodia passport control. Back on. Not some easy feats. But we're up for the adventure. We see a lot of commerce on the river from tiny boats to large commercial boats. We see villages along the river and farmers in the rice fields, golden pagodas and temples, freighters, oil tanks and big docks. Anne sees a reclining Buddha while I napped. We pass under a long modern bridge crossing the Mekong after a couple hours. At 1300 we see many tall modern buildings (built by the Chinese, I believe) and arrive in Phnom Penh. We meet Chan Proseth and our driver Heang, and we have a restful afternoon at the hotel. More excitement to follow!
Anne and I smile when we imagine two little girls from Detroit growing up and finding themselves on a speed boat in the Mekong River. Hope you are all well. Fondly,
A & M
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