I just returned from a week's vacation in Southeast Asia. I went with a friend from work, Carlos, and we visited Vietnam, Bangkok and Cambodia. Below are some highlights of the trip:
Vietnam
We flew on Cathay Pacific Airways via Hong Kong to Hanoi, in northern Vietnam. We were met at the airport by a guide and driver. Given the logistics of what where we wanted to go, I felt it best to organize this in advance. In researching Vietnam, one place caught my attention in particular. Halong Bay is an area along the coast about 170 km east of Hanoi. It's an area where the Red River flows into the sea, connecting with the Gulf of Tonkin and the South China Sea. In this bay, there's a unique set of islands that are limestone in composition, and have been eroded over time in such a way as to produce some incredible islands, caves, and lagoons. Some 3000 small islands are scattered throughout the calm, placid bay. This area appealed to me because it reminded me very much of the magical, mystical limestone-carved landscape I had seen in Guilin, China during a riverboat ride along the Li River in southern China in November 1997. My interest peaked when I found that Diethelm Travel offered a 2-day sea canoe trip around the bay.
From the airport, we drove east to the port city of Haiphong, had lunch, and proceeded south to Halong City. En route we had two ferry crossings near the coastline. We arrived at the resort town of Halong City around 4pm and settled into our hotel after an exhausting 36 hours of journey time since leaving Dallas (via Toronto, Anchorage, Hong Kong and Hanoi!) Saturday afternoon and evening were free, so in our zombie states, we blew off dinner and slept till dawn.
Sunday morning, we awoke, had breakfast and proceeded to the port to board the boat for our 2-day adventure. It turned out that we had a privately chartered, 30-foot boat complete with captain and crew of 4, our tour guide and our sea canoe guide. We set out at 8am and cruised 1 1/2 hours to our first canoe launch site. It was a beautiful, sunny day with temperatures in the comfortable mid-70s. En route, we were fascinated by the beautiful limestone outcroppings on the little islands that dotted the bay. Even more impressive was the fact that few other boats were seen. You see, most tourists who visit Halong Bay take a short 4-5 hour boat ride out from Halong City. However, since we were doing a 2-day cruise (overnight on board), we were able to venture further out into the bay, and thus encountered sights that most tourists never see.
We anchored in a little inlet and boarded our 10-ft. long yellow, rubber canoe. Our canoe guide sat at the stern, with Carlos and I anternating between the front and middle positions. We proceeded to enter a limeston cave, hallowed out by the sea water over thousands of years. We shone our flashlights in the increasingly darkened cave to reveal a number of stalagtites and stalagmites. After manoevering around a couple of bends in the cave, we saw a light in the distance. We soon found that the cave opened up to a mountain-lined, enclosed, private lagoon. It was one of the most spectacular sights I've ever seen. I virtual paradise - and so completely serene and peaceful. Carlos was so impressed, he jumped overboard for a quick dip in the lagoon.
The next two days were spent doing morning and afternoon canoe launches that lasted 1 1/2 - 2 hours each. We anchored at a couple of different sites, and were impressed at variety of vegetation and sea life that we saw. The waters of the bay are rich in ocean life, and we dined on freshly caught fish, calamari and shrimp for lunch and dinner both days. Large, colorful jellyfish dotted the lagoons as well.
On Day 2, we docked back at Halong Bay around 12 noon and hit the road for our 3-hour drive back to Hanoi. We arrived early, so our guide showed us some sites in the city. It was a serious case of culture shock for me. Here I had just spent the past two days totally at peace and at one with nature, and then I was thrust back into the hustle and bustle of citylife. Just walking along the narrow streets of the market quarter of Hanoi was an exercise in self-preservation. There was a continuous stream of honking mopeds, motorcycles and bicycles, with an occasional taxi or car thrown in. At most intersections you literally had to step off the curb into this sea of two-wheel monsters and hope that you didn't get run over or run-into! Stop lights? Yield to pedestrians? You've got to be kidding! My culture shock and discomfort were quite visible on my face. Needless to say, I was happy when we were safely in our chauffered car heading back to the airport to catch our flight on to Bangkok.
We caught an evening Air France flight to Bangkok and stayed at an airport hotel. This is where Carlos and I parted ways. The next day I embarked on the "cultural" aspect of my trip in Cambodia while I left Carlos to play and have fun in Bangkok.
Cambodia
On Tuesday morning, I caught an 8am, one-hour flight aboard Bangkok Airways to Siem Reap, in northwestern Cambodia. Siem Reap is a small, provencial town that serves as a launching pad for tourists visiting the world-famous temples and ruins of Angkor Wat. The Angkor monuments comprise a vast area of 77 square miles, and were constructed 10th and 11th centuries. The architectural greatness of this complex is unrivaled, and in December 1992, Angkor was added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. This honor recognizes Angkor as one of mankind's most significant cultural heritage sites. The area is now protected, and carefully guarded for historical preservation.
Unfortunately, when someone mentions "Cambodia" in the West, the first
words that come to people's minds include "Khmer Rouge", "The Killing Fields", "Pol Pot", etc. While it's quite true that this country encountered an incredible amount of turmoil during the last quarter of the 20th century, great strides were made after a new government was established in the early 1990s to restore order to the country. As a result, a concentrated effort has been made to clear the country of landmines, improve the infrastructure, and boost tourism. In a lot of ways, the preservation and promotion of Angkor as a world-class tourist destination plays heavily in Cambodia's economic recovery.
I was amazed by the way that life seems to be running with some sense of normalcy in this country that was wartorn for so many years. The genocidal horrors and atrocities of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge ravaged the country of 3 million of its inhabitants. Still, these short years later, I got a sense that these people are optimistic about their future. Riding their mopeds, drinking Coke and listening to the latest American Top 40 tunes, the Cambodian people desire to be a part of the international community.
Upon arrival at the tiny Siem Reap airport, I handed over my paperwork, passport photo and $20, and was issued a visitor's visa on the spot. Quite efficient in terms of international immigration! Outside the terminal, one is accosted by a swarm of Cambodians, eager to drive you to your hotel. The guide books all listed $5 as the applicable fare to the town of Siem Reap, a short 7 km away. However, supply and demand dictated that I would only have to pay a paltry $2 for that ride. During the ride to the hotel, my driver offered his services for the day to take me around the Angkor complex. Further, he offered the tour guide services of a friend of his as well. Sensing that his car was clean, and he seemed legit and eager to please this foreigner, I accepted his $20 proposal. Thus, for $60 ($20 car/driver, $20 tour guide and $20 park entrance fee), I had my time at Angkor mapped out. This was nice, as it was one of the first times in my life where I paid less for something than the price advised in the tour books.
We entered the vast Angkor complex at 10am. Since I wanted to maximize my one-day park pass, I negotiated with my guide on the best sites to visit. We started in Angkor Thom with the magnificant Buddhist monument of Bayon. This monument, while currently undergoing repair, offers some beautiful examples of bas-relief wall carvings. These bas-reliefs depict ancient Buddhist stories and war conquests of the Khmer people hundreds of years ago. There is also an interesting mix of Buddhist and Hindu influences, as visitors find depictions of Shiva, Vishnu and other Hindu gods interspersed with the Buddhist images.
From Bayon, we walked north past the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. We viewed a couple other minor temples, and by 1pm, I was dying in the heat of the sun. We agreed to take a break, so my driver took me back to the hotel for a short siesta and picked me up again at 3pm for a 3-hour tour of Angkor Wat, the most famous of the Angkor treasures. Angkor Wat faces west, so it's best viewed in the grandeur of the afternoon light. It's actually a Hindu monument, and serves as a grand-scale mausoleum for the King who commissioned its construction - Suryavarman II, during the 12th century.
Angkor Wat is breath-taking. The sheer size and majesty of the structure is awesome. We took a good 2 hours to walk through the complex, and my tour guide provided explanations of the various Hindu bas-reliefs that adorn the walls of the structure. Buddhist monks and nuns tend the gounds of the Angkor complex, so the appearance of the safron-robed monks and shaved-head nuns engaged in prayer or meditation is a common sight.
We finished the day with a visit to Phnom Bakheng, a temple mountain northwest of Angkor Wat that rises 250 feet above the surrounding plain to afford visitors a birds-eye view of the entire Angkor complex. Sunset from this vantage point is incredible, especially with Angkor Wat serving as backdrop.
After an exhausting day of walking around the Angkor complex, I headed back to my hotel for a little air-conditioned relief. The following morning was spent walking around Siem Reap, doing some shopping, writing some postcards and packing my bags. That afternoon I flew back to Bangkok and connected onwards to Hong Kong and Los Angeles on Cathay Pacific, followed by a short flight home to Dallas.
This trip to Southeast Asia provided me with some unique insight into an area of the world that had, until just recently, seemed unsafe to visit. Both Vietnam and Cambodia offer visitors some incredible natural beauty and historical monuments. Though the internal conflict with the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in a lot of deforestation in the area around Siem Reap, the area is now experiencing a renaissance of growth and development as foreign investment continues to pour into the area. New hotels with all the modern conveniences are springing up around the town. At the same time, I got the impression that the world has not yet realized the treasure that is Angkor, so the area is not yet overrun with tourism.
A couple of websites that I found helpful in planning this vacation include:
www.diethelmtravel.com
www.seacanoe.com
Happy Travels!
Mark
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