Amanda Wheatley Photography

After the not so delightful hustle and bustle of Hanoi, we were excited to be heading 3 hours south east to Ha Long Bay. We had been told by friends that a Ha Long cruise was a must do when in Vietnam…. we’re so happy we listened. We did some research ahead of time and knew that we wanted to book a cruise with the Red Dragon Junk company. Red Dragon has exclusive rights to certain parts of Ha Long Bay, so instead of cruising with a hundred other boats, we were off on our own course. We opted for the 2 night/ 3 day cruise and it was everything we hoped for.

Our cabin was one of four, so there only 9 passengers on our Junk which made the cruise that much more personal and enjoyable. We had a crew of 8 that took care of all our meals, led kayak excursions, steered our course and kept us happy.

We sailed, boat jumped, kayaked, had a BBQ on the beach and visited one of several floating villages. The bay is home to some 457 people, all fisherman and their families who live on the the water. The men fish, the women dig for oysters and crabs, some of the children attend school in the floating village but most start working as fishermen at age 4 or 5.

Upon arriving in the village we were greeted by a gentleman who was very excited to see us and to host us. He made us green tea that tasted like seaweed and urine and insisted on refilling our cups once they reached half empty. He would down his tea, smile like it was the best thing he had ever had and then start clapping, he was very endearing. Some of the local ladies took us on a tour of the village in their boats. They gave us traditional hats to keep the sun off and took us on a serene tour of their home.

Every couple of days some of the village will head into land to the market where they trade their fish for other provisions like rice, vegetables, sugar etc. The journey to the market take four hours by boat. This is not an easy life. I can’t imagine living in a one room house with an entire family, in an isolated cove on a huge bay. Despite the poverty and isolation, the people were friendly and welcoming and seem genuinely happy.

It is crazy to see how different life is in different parts of the world. We loved Ha Long Bay, this was definitely the highlight of our trip, it’s definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth.

We’ve made our way along the coast of Vietnam and finally reached the capital, Hanoi. They say that first impressions last a lifetime, sadly Hanoi’s first impression is one we’d like to forget. Hanoi is the most busy, populated and aggressive city we have encountered on our trip.

We arrived at night and headed out to find a bite to eat. Instead of a nice welcoming dinner, we were greeted with a torrential rain storm, very few open restaurants, and limited menu choices. We ended up at KFC (by the way, KFC is the only western fast food chain we saw in SE Asia) and were told that the full menu wasn’t available and that we had a choice of two items. The food was less than stellar and our first night in Hanoi did not leave us wanting more.

Day two, we wandered around the streets of the bustling city and were nearly run over on numerous occasions. After walking around the lake front area and watching a music video being filmed, we ended the day on a good note with free Wi-Fi and fancy ice cream at Fanny’s!

We were told that Hanoi is a city of 8 million people and 7 million motorbikes. This we found to be true.

Day one in Hoi An was perfect. Hoi An is a beach town and it definitely gives off that vibe. There are two main modes of transportation here, bicycles and scooters. Having never driven motorbikes of any kind we naturally decided to rent one for the day. All in all we got around stress free and safely, although we definitely had a few “close calls”. The best thing about scooters is that you can park them anywhere, literally anywhere, the most popular being the sidewalk.

We spent the entire morning at beach lounging and reading, it was deadly hot and the breeze was minimal. I was surprised we lasted as long as we did. The water was beautiful and refreshing. Trey nearly burned the bottom of his feet off while making the 200′ trek to the water.

We retreated to the cool of our hotel room for a couple hours and then headed out to dinner and to the land of custom tailoring. Hoi An is the place to get custom clothes made, the streets are lined with tailors trying to get you into their shops. I thought I would love this (and I did), but it was way more overwhelming than I had anticipated. We had to choose the style, the pleats, the cuffs, the color, the pattern, what type of material etc. etc. the list goes on. But with help from the friendly staff at A Dong Silk we managed to customize a suit for Trey. Watching the laddies grope him while taking his measurements was rather hilarious, mostly due to the expressions of horror on his face.

Across the way I noticed a sandal shop, the color were vibrant and the styles were plenty so we wandered over to check it out. Within exactly 7 seconds I had two sales ladies hover over me handing me different styles asking me if I liked it. To be honest I don’t like the “hovering” style of the Vietnamese sales people, it makes me not want to buy anything, but I know they’re only trying to be helpful. I left the shop with an order for 3 custom pairs of sandals, we’ll see how they turn out tomorrow!

More of Hoi An to come.

Reluctantly, I boarded another bus(run by the same company as the last one) for yet another six hour ride, this time to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Three things were true about this ride: Trey and I were the only two white people on the bus, the bus surprised us with actual cold air (not luke warm)blowing from the vents, and the journey was a total of 240 Km with an estimated travel time of, yes, that’s right SIX hours.

We made it through the boarder and to Ho Chi Minh City (also formally known as Saigon) with no hassle whatsoever, I have to admit it was a pleasant trip. Trey gave me an “A”, which is a huge improvement from the “D” I got after our trip to Phnom Penh.

We arrived in Saigon anticipating that we wouldn’t like it, it was a big city with lots of people and lots going on, thankfully Saigon proved us wrong. We took a look at the map and the local tourist attractions and decided against sight seeing and opted for just wandered the streets. This was a good decision. We spent the entire day bartering at the local market, buying fruit and presents, and we picked up some art too. I stumbled upon an Optical shop and ended up getting an eye exam for free and prescription sunglasses for $60, not bad!

To our surprise the english in Ho Chi Minh City was really bad, actually I’d go as far as to say that it’s almost non-existent. This was very surprising. It was difficult trying to communicate, but we managed somehow. The Vietnamese may not have English skills, but they sure know how to replicate… I have never seen so many knock-offs in my life. There wasn’t just handbags, there were paintings, watches, North Face backpacks and Jackets, sunglasses, you name it, they made it. And for you lay-dee very cheap price!

Ho Chi Minh was definitely cheaper than Cambodia which was surprising. To end our time in the city, we stopped in at one of the 50 massage shops on the street to get pampered. We went in wanting massages, once we got in there was no chance I was getting a massage….. Trey had warned me, he had told me to lower my standards and to mentally prepare myself for “non-spa like” conditions, I thought I had done this, apparently not. I settled for a mani/pedi and Trey got a pedicure since he had to wait for me, it was interesting to say the least all for the bargain price of $10 total.

The next day we headed to the “spa” that our hotel recommended to get massages in a good environment, ah my luxurious side always seems to slip out. We both got 90 minute massages ($12 each), we opted for the Thai/ Shiatsu combo, neither of knew what it was. Next thing we know, we’re laying on massage beds on the ground with a divider between us and two little Vietnamese women climbing all over us and pulling our limbs in every direction. I twice looked over at Trey and almost burst out laughing, it was good and the hot stones (which we didn’t know we were getting) were the icing on the cake!

One of the most popular dishes in Ho Chi Minh is Pho, sort of like chicken noodle soup with veggies. I was a fan, Trey was not.

PS: Dad the picture below with all of the hydro/electrical wires is for you. Thought you’d get a kick out of it.

So long Saigon!

After a very LONG and  very HOT six hour bus ride, we arrived in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I have to admit that my ruggedness escaped me a little on this trip, I was  never so happy to get off a bus in my life.

We spent a total of two nights and one full day in Phnom Penh, and honestly that was plenty. The city was crowded and dirty, the history was very interesting and very heartbreaking, but the sights themselves left much to be desired. On July 19th we hired a tuk tuk driver and spent the day seeing the city. We started with the Killing Fields at 8am (we were the first people there), then went on to S21 (the prison the Khmer Rouge used to house it’s victims), we rounded out the day with the National Museum and bartering in both the Central Market and Russian Market. We have yet to figure out why it’s called the Russian Market

By evening we were exhausted but alas, it was our two year anniversary so off to dinner we went. It wasn’t exactly how I had envisioned celebrating our two year anniversary but it was good, cheap and memorable. Happy Anniversary to us!

On to Ho Chi Minh City!

On our third and last day we had a number of things we wanted to do: Khmer cooking class, go to a silk silk farm, and go to a floating village. Somehow I decided that we should be “more adventurist tourists” and head off the beaten path, so we headed for the floating village of Kampong Phluk. Meang (our guest house host) told us that we would need to go by tuk tuk for 40 minutes, then switch onto the back of two motorbikes for 8 Km (due to the low season, the road that is normally flooded is drivable, but only by motorbike), and finally take a 30 minute boat ride out to the floating village. So naturally we said OK!

I was excited and nervous, but we left the guest house at 7am regardless. I’m not going to lie, I questioned our choice a few times throughout the journey. Not only was it a long journey, it was remote and our driver’s english was minimal. We got to the end of the tuk tuk portion and our motorbike drivers were waiting for us, so we each hopped on the back of a motorbike with a driver we had just met. The next 8 km were long but awesome. The road that normally floods was now a dirt road, with hills and bumps and sketchy bridges that looked as though they would collapse upon impact. My butt was fully off the seat a good number of times due to the many bumps and due to my driver who promised to “go slow” at 40 km/hr.

Eight Km later we entered a village that will become part of the “floating” village during the high season when the Boeng Tonle Sap Lake floods. For now you can see the houses suspended 6M in the air on stilts. We were greeted by our boat drivers (two guys that couldn’t be more than 17 yrs old) and proceeded to our boat. We weaved through a channel of sorts that was lined with houses, boats and fisherman in the water until it opened up into a huge lake. We made a loop through the village (pictured below) slowly but surely. There wasn’t a ton of activity but we did see a few boats bring back goods from land, some fisherman and some kids on porches. An interesting (and isolating) way of life.

We have been met with beggars, and little children selling scarves, postcards, water etc. for $1 everywhere we’ve been. So instead handing out money we brought a bag of candy with us to give to the kids. Once we were back on land I told our driver that we’d like to hand out candy, with one quick yell I had nearly 30 kids swarming me pulling at every limb. It was overwhelming to say the least. I know the kids were happy  but it was frustrating not being able to communicate with them. Many kids would hide their candy and come back for more, we did our best to make sure everyone got something but we can’t be sure.

As my husband and some of my good friends know, my motto is “rugged luxurious”, this adventure definitely helped me show my rugged side! Off to Phnom Phen for one day and then onto Vietnam on July 21.

We decided to take it easy on day two so we only went to 2 temples (Banteay Srey & Banteay Samre) and the landmine museum. Although we really enjoyed day one with our guide Secal, it was really nice to go at our own pace (slow) and not have to take in quite so much detailed information. Both Banteay Srey and Samre were magnificent, the shear size and intricacy in the stone carvings was amazing. In and around every temple there are children trying to sell you something, one little girl asked me to give her a dollar because I took her picture…. not really sure how that works!

On the way back from the temples we stopped off at the landmine museum, it’s makeshift and small but it tells a very real and very eerie story. Aki Ra was a child solider for the Khmer Rouge at the age of 10, his first weapon was an AK-47. During the reign of the Khmer Rouge it is estimated that nearly 6 million landmines were planted throughout Cambodia. Nowadays, Aki has dedicated his life to de-mining the Cambodian country side. In addition to de-mining, Aki has turned his house into the landmine museum and has taken in two dozen children who have been victims of landmines. it is estimated that there are still 3 million active landmines today.

After lunch in downtown Siem Reap we decided to walk the streets and stumbled upon the Old Market. This is a covered market and we walked past it the day before not even noticing it. It’s “the” place to go for everything! We entered the market and immediately Trey was hovering over all the exotic fruits, he ended up buying 2 watermelons, a bag of mangosteens and a bunch of mini bananas for $2. Pretty amazing and pretty delicious!

We ended day two with an evening cello concert at the Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospital and dinner with a couple from Australia. Dr. Beat Richner a Swiss doctor, founded four Kantha Bopha Children’s Hospitals in Cambodia, the hospital provides medical care for free and accepts every patient that walks through the door. “Beatocello” (Dr. Beat Richner’s stage name) plays the cello and puts on a free concert every Saturday night for the public in an effort to raise awareness and raise money (and blood) through donations.

We departed from Detroit on July 13 and 24 hours later we climbed into bed at Hotel Cara in Phnom Phen Cambodia. The very next morning we boarded a 12 passenger van and buckled in for the 5 hr drive to Siem Reap. The van was air conditioned, the roads were bumpy and our driver’s hand remained firmly on the horn at all times, all for the bargain price of $10per person. This was the start of our three week journey through South East Asia.

While in Siem Reap we stayed at the Prohm Roth Guest House and for $13 per night it’s amazing! Our host Meang is incredibly welcoming and helpful, as is his cousin Sinat who has been our tuk tuk driver for the past 3 days.

We began day one with a hearty Cambodian breakfast of beef noodle soup and we hired a guide and headed for the temples. Secal (our guide, pictured below) was full of information about the local people, the town and of course the temples. We started the day with an elephant ride around the Bayon Temple which provided a good vantage point for photographs. Next up we channeled our inner Lara Croft and toured the Ta-Prohm temple better know as Tomb Raider (it served as the site for the filming of Angelina Jolie’s hit movie by the same name). To round out the day we finished up with the famous Angkor Wat Temple (pictured below reflecting on the water). In one of the temples there was a little Cambodian girl handing out Buddhist bracelets and incense sticks, she was adorable (and very entrepreneurial) so of course I got a bracelet and she got a dollar. I asked to take her picture and she agreed and immediately threw up the peace sign, I love her!

The temples are truly amazing and a definite must see, but after a full day of “templing” in 98 degree weather with 100% humidity we were exhausted, drenched, and ready for dinner.