An introduction to Cambodia.

March 9, 2010

Finally, we're on our last leg of the boat trip that will take us from Vietnam to Cambodia.  We're going to be making two stops along the Mekong river.  The first, to get the paperwork for our visas (or whatever we had to stop for.  Sometimes, you never know what's going on on a "tour" and just have to trust your guide; or have faith that you're going where you're supposed to be going - which ever one works best for you); and the second, to go through the border to get our visas and passports stamped.

Our guide asks us for our passports and papers.  What papers?  You know, the customs declaration or departure card... ah yes, those papers... the ones I threw away when I first got to Vietnam?  Ya, those ones.  Perfect.  I'm on a slow, I mean fast boat on my way to Cambodia - am I going to have to go back?!? Oh My God.  Our guide, who doesn't speak much English, keeps repeating my own sentiment out loud, "Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God" when he learns I don't have this paper anymore.  His reaction is making me feel so much better.  There's no way I could be the first one who has lost this piece of paper.  So I ask him if there's anything I can do and he tells me to give him 200,000VND or $10USD and it should be fine!  So what was he freaking out about?!  Afterall, we are in a country where you can pretty much pay for, or pay someone off for anything.  Minor heartattack,  but I'm good now.  Good, until I see the dock we're about to land at to get the visa paper work (or whatever).

It's our first stop and it's pretty comical because it's common place here in Vietnam - a totally unsafe way of disembarking and embarking a boat.  Oh I wish I had a picture this CRAPPY dock, or should I say crappy PLANK that is maybe a foot wide or so, about 10 feet long and no railing.  One unbalanced move and you've just earned yourself a parasite (or two) from the Mekong.  My foot slips about half way so I end up almost crawling the rest of the way.  This poor woman who was about 65 or so literally crawls across the entire thing on her hands and knees.  Seriously - they do this trip EVERYDAY!  You'd think they'd put up a proper dock because in Vietnam "safety [is] first".

The border stop is no better, you know, it's only THE BORDER!  Infact, the plank (it's not worthy of being called a dock) is worse, and the kicker is that we sail right by a perfectly "newish" dock with a proper ramp and railings to get to the crappy plank.  I ask our guide why we couldn't we go to the dock that is actually safe and the guide says he doesn't have enough money to pay the guards to dock there.  Huh? I think with a tilt of my head and squinting of my eyes...  you only do this trip EVERYDAY! Oh right, we're in Vietnam...

The last time we walk the plank is actually in Cambodia, but this time we have our backpacks and bags, which makes it even better.  But we're all alive and without parasites to tell the story.  Okay I'm being over dramatic but it was quite funny.  Bu-bye Vietnam.  Hello Cambodia!

We board the bus that takes us to Phnom Penh.  We'd heard rumours that when you get off the bus there's security guards to hold off the tuk-tuk and motorcyle taxi drivers from the new tourists.  No word of a lie, security is there when we arrive... and for good reason.  As we look out the windows of the bus, the tuk-tuk and motorcycle taxi drivers are like vultures who haven't eaten in a week waiting for their prey.  You couldn't make eye contact with them in fear of being eaten alive.  Beth and I look at each other with wide eyes and gave a knowing nod that we'd stick together.  We already don't like this place. Thankfully, we're able to seek refuge in the cafe by the bus stop as the vultures aren't allowed in.  We plan where we we're going to stay in "peace".
After Justin does a quick survey of the neary-by hotels, we take a tuk-tuk to the riverfront and find a nice little hotel. So far not a great vibe in Cambodia, I hope it gets better...

Cambodia or bust (through the Mekong Delta)

Okay, so not quite finished with Vietnam, but almost... 

I've also inserted a slideshow at the bottom.  Let me know if it's good or bad on your side... it could be really slow loading. 

Before leaving Vietnam I really wanted to get a sense of "country" or "river" life here.  To see the locals in their setting versus being in the middle of the big touristy areas.  So I decided to take a 3 day trip through the Mekong Delta to get to Cambodia.  Don't get me wrong, the tour itself was completely touristy - it was a 3 day organized trip - haha, I'm not a true backpacker... yet! 

Nevertheless, this was really a great way to see the countryside. I spent 3 days floating down the river canals seeing local markets in action and local life along the river.  I visited a rice paper factory, a coconut candy place, and a fish farm, it was really really interesting.  They do almost everything by hand here.  It's impressive. Health Canada would have a hay day here with the lack of health regulations.

The best part was floating down the river at sunset.  At this time of day the temperatures are much more managable and people are home after a long day of work in the steamy heat.  Families are bathing in the river, women in their pajamas, men in their shorts and naked babies.  They are also washing their clothes, pots and pans and going to the bathroom in the river.  Yikes, you wouldn't catch me in that river if my life depended on it.  It's pretty disgusting, but kids and adults a like have fun romping around in the water, the greeny grey murky water... getting clean?  Not to sure about that one. 

The kids were adorable and everyone yelled "hello" and waved as we passed them by.  Lots of kids chased our boat down the river banks.  And if you were the first to wave it was greeted with a huge smile and a friendly wave back.

While the Mekong is touted as laid back country-life I was surprised at how developed some of the river cities were, like Can Tho, where we spent our first night.  When we approached the city by boat it looked like we were docking in casino-ville.  Bright lights and music.  Turns out it was a public holiday and everyone was celebrating - Women's Day!  I dig it.  Still, lots of buildings, some modern, international restaurants and a good amount of traffic for this small town.  I guess that's what you get with tourism!

We got to our crappy hotel and my room is on the 5th floor with no elevator and no AC in the central part of the hotel and the air hasn't cooled down yet from the day, so it was still hot and muggy - Great. I arrived at the top of the stairs to two rooms with one big open room behind them.  The big room had no exterior wall (like it was being demolished) and there were bats waking up for their night flight.  Wicked cool.  NOT.

To make matters worse, after climbing the five flights of stairs with my too-heavy backpack,  no AC in the building and the air still  hot and muggy, I quickly learned that there is no AC in my room, which I paid for.  So, I headed back down the stairs, looking like I just got out of the shower, to sort it out.

A TOP TIP:  I learned some good traveling lessons here - look at your receipts to ensure they clearly state what you paid for, keep them if you are able (sometimes they take them like tickets), and be firm!  

When I booked the trip, I upgraded to a single rooms with AC and the fast boat (vs. slow boat) to Cambodia... (fyi - when I'm finished my trip I'm making a movie called "The Princess Backpacker").  Upon telling my tour guide the issue, his first reaction is "do you have your ticket?" "No." I said "I gave it to you.  Do you still have it?"  Conveniently, he does not.  He told me that I can get AC for an extra $5.  I told him I've already paid for it and if he could call the booking agency to confirm that would be great. Of course, his mobile phone is dead.  What did you expect? Grrrrrrr. I know $5 isn't a lot but relatively speaking it is and I'm not paying it out of principle, so there :p  Then he asked me for my boat ticket, which he gave to me all crumpled up when we left Saigon.  When I uncrumpled the ticket I realized that it said SLOW boat and not FAST boat.  Now I'm really not happy because there's no way I'm spending 8 hours on a boat that's louder than thunder, arriving in a new city, in a new country at night time. Not thrilled, but still amiable, I left to get some dinner.

While I strolled around on my own to find some dinner. I stopped at a small restaurant and I asked for a table for one outside.  The server clearly did not want to give up the last outside table for 4 to a single person. Awesome, this made me feel like a real winner. A girl who was watching the scene unfold asked me to join her and her friends who were all traveling solo but met on the boat coming from Cambodia into Vietnam.  Nice!  This is what I love about traveling and backpackers! Emma, Sue from the UK and Hammy from South Korea. We had a great time giving each other tips on the countries we just coming from and going to. We had some Vietnamese barbeque along the river, it turned out to be a great night.

When I got back from dinner, my guide had called the booking agency and confirmed that I did infact pay for all of these upgrades. This is fantastic because there are so many scams in Vietnam, no such thing as customer service, and most guides would have been like, sorry it's not my problem, I really didn't think I was going to get my AC or Fast boat. But, lucky for me, my guide was great and sorted it all out! So check your receipts, keep them if you can and be firm! Also recognize and appreciate when you have a great guide because they aren't all that way. 

The next afternoon a few of us, including some newcomers, boarded a boat that would take us to Chau Doc where we would spend our last night in Vietnam.  The boat trip was great and relaxing and here I met Beth and Justin, a fantastic couple from Minnesota.  I ended up traveling with them for the next week.

After a night in the crappy floating hotel on the river and a visit to the not-worth-seeing Cham Village, we boarded our last boat which would take us to Cambodia...

If you can't see the slide show click here or copy and paste:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/mophotos/sets/72157623638025394/


More soon...
xoxo

Record number of people on 1 scooter. (Picture only)

This is the most people I saw on one scooter. Count'em!  6!  This was in Mui Ne, Vietnam on our trip to the sand dunes.  5 is somewhat common, but never had I seen 6! 

Final Thoughts on Vietnam.

I can't believe it's been 10 days since my last update.  It's been a busy week finishing off Vietnam and traveling into Cambodia.

To be honest, I'm quite happy to have moved on from Vietnam.  In retrospect I didn't love it there.  At first I thought it was me and my attitude - you know adjusting to a "backpacker" lifestyle (which takes some getting used to!), being sick and aren't you supposed to love traveling to a foreign country taking in all that it has to offer?!  I thought I was feeling a bit like a spoiled brat but it turns out I just didn't really love it there overall.

Parting thoughts:

• Becoming one with the traffic!  You know you've been here too long when you walk into on-coming traffic with no hestitation. 
• Camel-toe socks - I don't get them at all.  Aethstetically unpleasing and I can't imagine that they are comfortable.
• The French infleunce makes this Vietnam really unique.  From the architecture to the food, it's an interesting and special fusion of cultures - French and Chinese. It might not have been good while it was happening but it really makes this part of the world quite special. I loved this aspect throughout Vietnam.
• The "Roach Coach" overnight bus from Hue to Mui Ne - I'm SOOOOOO glad I never have to do that again.
• Staying in a hotel within a maze of alley-ways in Saigon - this is what I pictured Vietnam to be like.
• The War Remnants Museum is absolutely astonishing.  While there are everyday reminders of the war from the affects of Agent Orange to army coloured clothing they wear, it's amazing that they seem to be past it so soon.
• Strange to see people wear clothing with USA logos etc. on them.
• It's crazy how toursity some places are but how totally unsafe they can be like: boarding boats - no proper docks or steps (you should have seen the one at the Cambodian border!  More on that later!), no preparation for things that could be harmful like snorkeling at Cham Island with massive rocks that you could easily cut your foot on - no wonder they didn't want us to jump in - they could have told us why, or going trekking which really meant climbing straight up the moutain and you should probably not do it if you don't have proper shoes... nope... just go for it!

Overall, I didn't find the people particularly friendly, they are very aggressive and some quite rude particularly in the north (although I guess you get that anywhere in the world),  it's ridiculously polluted, specially in Hanoi and Saigon (HCMC), the traffic is too much in the big cities.  Would I come back here?  Probably not, but if was to it would be to Hoi An.  It's quite lovely there.  I did learn alot about their history and culture.  Am I glad I went?   For sure.

More soon... with pictures too
xoxo

Miss Saigon

Cartoon care of my sis.

Golden

Damn it, I forgot to watch the Men's Gold win this morning. Go Canada Go!   I was up early (5am) to catch the sunrise instead.  It was amazing- a ball of pinky orange fire.  I'm in Mui Ne, a smallish beach resort "town" working on my tan.  After being away for just over a month (hard to believe) I still look like I just got off the plane.  So now I'm working on the tan before I head to the choatic city of Saigon in a couple of days.

Before getting here I spent one day/night in Nha Trang, a big beach city.  It's all a bit of a blur after another hellish 12 hour "sleeper" bus ride, which I'm now affectionately calling the "Roach-coach", because yes there were tiny little cockroaches running around on the floor... And this time I was on the ground level.  Ugh.  Thank God for the new sleeping sheet I bought in Hoi An to keep me somewhat protected.  I'm so glad I never have to do that again!  Anyway, after arriving at my hotel around 7am, too early to check in, I was whisked away to the Thap Ba Hot mudbath spa, where I sat in a tub full of mud for 20 minutes, then a mineral water tub soak for 45 mintues, followed up by a full boday massage.  A great way to get over the horrific previous 12 hours.

It's hard to believe that I've been away for just over a month now.  I have definitely been taking my time through Vietnam, keeping to the typical tourist path, although now I'm feeling rushed to get to through Cambodia and into Laos.

Mui Ne is not really a town, more of a strip of hotels and resorts along the beach.  It's full of wind and kite surfers.  It's a really nice change of pace from the rest of Vietnam.  No relentless horns, clouds, people trying to sell you stuff or give you a ride somewhere.  It's quiet here and the air feels cleaner.  Hopefully, doing some good for my lungs/throat, which now I can't tell if I'm getting better or just getting used to sounding like I'm in a continuous state of puberty (if I were a guy). 

The beaches here go on for miles and miles.  They are beautiful... if you can overlook the garbage that either is dropped on the beach or washes up on shore.  The Vietnamese aren't ones for the environment, throwing their garbage off their boats or out their car door windows (the highways are littered with gargage.  The roadside vegetation looks like it's been decorated with plastic bags like a Christmas Tree, it's disgusting).  It's a shame really because it could be sooo beautiful.

This morning was definitely a moment of am I really here?  Some days it's painfully obvious and others it's like a dream, like today.  I got up and watched the sunrise, relaxed on the beach, read (on the 4th book of the trip already), had a relaxing lunch, read some more... rough day.

Oh and I've started doing the self-pic from each city and getting over how dumb I feel doing it because when you're traveling on your own you don't get in lot of the shots, obviously, and not that I really want to be anyway but... here's the beginning of them!  And don't mind the hat... I look terrible in hats. The one I took with me my sister told me it was the ugliest hat she'd ever seen so now I can't bear to wear it.  Don't know about this one either but it was necessary for the boat trip I took that day.

More soon....
xoxo