As I mentioned in my last post, I travelled to Vietnam and Cambodia for a week with my friend Lea (who also won the Boren scholarship). I feel in love with each country and I would go back in a heartbeat to travel there for at least a couple of months. Who knows, maybe I can find a permanent job there in the future.
We left Seoul in the afternoon and arrived in Hanoi after a 4.5 hour flight. We checked in our hotel in the Old Quarter and then walked to a nearby lake to explore a little before we went on our food tour for dinner. At between 90-100 degrees with very high humidity, the weather in Hanoi definitely stood out. I consistently sweated, which made showering pretty useless but it did make AC feel exceptionally pleasant, haha.
A street in the Old Quarter.
Hoan Kiem lake.
The food tour we took was by far my favorite part of our trip in Vietnam. We met up with four other tourists for a 3.5 hour tour all around the Old Quarter. We ate around 20 different things and I posted a sampling of what we ate and drank. Vietnamese food blew me away. The flavors were so vibrant and fresh. I've had a lot of good food in my life, but Vietnamese food is the best I've ever had. I need to explore it more in the US because I'm not ready to let it out of my life just yet.
Fish, noodles, and various leaves topped with peanuts and fish sauce.
Crepes with beef inside topped with fried onions.
Mother's milk: coconut wine.
Spring rolls.
Duck in tamarind sauce.
Jelly ice desserts with various fruits.
Egg coffee, egg beer, and egg chocolate. The restaurant takes egg yolk, sugar, and creme and whips it up making the drink very sweet and creamy.
We then woke up bright and early the next day to take a 4 hour bus ride to the famous Ha Long Bay. Ha Long Bay consists of large limestone formations that are very unique, resulting it a very popular tourist destination. When we got to the Bay, we ate lunch on our boat and then cruised around the formations, stopping by a floating fishing village and a cave.
The boat we took around Ha Long Bay.
The beautiful Ha Long Bay with rock formations.
Exploring Thien Cung cave.
After our bus ride back to the city, we ended the day with some food and more egg coffee (it is so addicting). We prepared ourselves for yet another long day, but this time at Vietnam's ancient capital and Tam Quoc, a.k.a. the inland Ha Long Bay. This time the bus ride was only 2.5 hours, and after we arrived we headed to the ancient capital to visit a couple of temples. While we were exploring, I asked our tour guide several questions about Vietnam, since I don't know much about the country and its history. I was curious about the language, since during the time of this capital's existence, Vietnam was under Chinese rule. Only the elite spoke Vietnamese, while everyone else spoke Mandarin. When the French colonized Vietnam, they forced everyone to speak French and then after Vietnamese independence, the Vietnam language as we see it today was created, which uses Latin letters (Chinese characters were used previously).
Gates to the ancient capital.
We then ate lunch before heading on a boat ride through the inland Ha Long Bay, a very memorable experience. The landscape was otherworldly and just so beautiful. The hour-long boat ride was also very relaxing.
A river in Tam Quoc.
Riding under a cave.
Another view of the rock formations.
After the ride we took a short bicycle ride (around 20 minutes) to enjoy the beauty of what was around us even more. When we got back to Hanoi at night we grabbed dinner and then headed to a water puppet show, a uniquely Vietnamese art form. I was very impressed by the show. The puppeteers stood in water and controlled the puppets from behind a screen. The majority of the puppets were also quite complex with some spewing smoke and others coming in parts (like the men riding a small boat).
The water puppet show.
The next day we left Hanoi to leave for Siem Reap, but not before throwing in some last minute trips in the city. I really wish we could've spent much longer time in Vietnam, because our trip was just too short. I could easily spend a couple of months exploring Vietnam. But I guess I'm glad I know this information so I can plan another trip in the future.
Before going to the airport, we started off our day with pho, a traditional soup eaten at breakfast. I thought it was peculiar that pho is eaten for breakfast, because everywhere else in the world people eat the dish for lunch or dinner. The reason why the Vietnamese eat pho in the morning is that they make the broth the night before and it's at its freshest in the morning. It was indeed very fresh and incredibly delicious. I don't even want to attempt to eat pho again outside of Vietnam because it just won't taste the same.
Enjoying pho for breakfast.
We then headed to a famous prison just outside of the Old Quarter: Hao Lo Prison. The prison was used by the French during colonization to imprison rebellious Vietnamese and then was later used by the Vietnamese to imprison American POWs. The existing building is only a portion of what used to be there, but it was still fascinating to see how big the prison cells were and how the prison used to operate. What was also interesting was how the museum text talked about American involvement in the Vietnam War. The writing was very anti-American, which didn't make me feel insulted but rather intrigued. The writing was also very expected, though, considering the country is technically socialist.
Hoa Lo Prison.
Lea and I begrudgingly left Vietnam to start our new adventure in Siem Reap, Cambodia. Cambodia really reminded me of India is that is underdeveloped, but there is way less people in the country. The lack of people is what stood out the most to me, especially since Siem Reap is one of the more populous places in the country. I also had a sad realization when I noticed almost no old people in Siem Reap, due to the past genocide and a lack of health care, a stark contrast to developed countries like South Korea and the United States.
We spent the first night hanging out with our hostel owner and his family, who are incredibly friendly. He and his wife run the hostel and they have a toddler who was fun to hang out with during downtime. They invited us to join them for dinner and drinks and we talked about Cambodian history and politics. Being somewhat unfamiliar with the current situation in Cambodia (I've learned about the genocide in the past), the conversation was very interesting and memorable.
We caught up on our sleep for the night before we spent the day exploring the countryside. Our hostel owner took us out on his tuktuk (a wagon/carriage attached to a motorcycle, a very common form of transportation in Cambodia) to the nearby Tonle Sap lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. On the lake are several (I want to say close to 100, but I forget the number) floating villages where people live on rafts/boats as their homes. We took a boat out on the lake to explore the village, which was something I've never seen before. I couldn't imagine living on the water all the time, but I guess you would get used to it. We also visited Cambodia just before the wet season began, so the lake was very, very low (around a foot). I was honestly surprised boats were even making it through the water.
Riding the tuktuk in the city and then in the countryside.
Boating in through the floating village.
We then took the tuktuk back to Siem Reap where we grabbed a late lunch and explored the downtown area, which included markets and restaurants. To capture the sunset, we went to the famous Angkor Wat temple. The one-day pass we purchased was for 24 hours, so we could see the sunset the day before and then all the temples the following day. The temple was breathtaking, but it was only an introduction to the many temples we would see afterwards. After sunset we headed to Pub Street, basically a street dedicated to drinking and eating. For foreigners, the prices are incredibly cheap, making the area a large attraction. Beers are $0.50 and mixed drinks were around $2, so you can imagine what the atmosphere was like.
A view of downtown Siem Reap.
Pub Street.
The following day was a long one. We woke up at 4 a.m. to see the sunrise on the temple and then went to visit several temples for the rest of the day. From what I remember, we visited around ten, but there were so many more in the area that we could've visited. I was pretty "templed-out" but the end of the day though, so I don't think I could've visited more the following day. Angkor, the capital of the Khmer Empire, was the largest pre-industrial city in the world, and it's evidenced by the huge outlay of temple remains. I couldn't believe how large the land area was for the temples, and we barely scratched the surface. Each temple is unique as well, and I posted a sampling of photos below. I took a ton more photos of Vietnam and Cambodia that I posted on my Facebook, so if you want to see more (which I recommend because there's so much more to see), then visit my profile.
Standing in front of Angkor Wat.
We ended our long day (we visited temples for about 12 hours) with a cheap shoulder and back massage and dinner. The following day we had a late flight out of Siem Reap back to Hanoi, and then from Hanoi to Seoul, so we took advantage of having time during the day. Lea persuaded me to take around an hour-long ATV ride in the countryside, and while I was very nervous about it (I get nervous about driving vehicles in general), it ended up being a very memorable experience. We drove on all sorts of roads and trails, rice paddies, and villages where we high-fived and waved to kids. Most of the roads are inaccessible by car (since they are so narrow and full of potholes), so riding an ATV or motorcycle is the best way to get around. I wish I could've captured what I saw more accurately, but I guess that's what traveling is for: experiencing a different country for yourself instead of just seeing it in someone else's photos.
The Cambodian countryside.
Riding an ATV.
While our trip in Cambodia was short like it was for Vietnam, we definitely took advantage of every moment. Our hostel owner drove us back to the airport and I was sad to say goodbye to him and his family. I felt so welcomed into Cambodia, and that's something I'll never forget.
Saying goodbye to the best hostel owner ever.
Well, I can't believe this is my last post for this blog. I also can't believe that I kept up with writing posts all year. I want to thank everyone for keeping up my adventures both in and outside of Korea, and I look forward to having this as a keepsake for when I find myself in times of reminiscence.
Goodbye!! :)
