Posted on September 25, 2007
Filed Under Cambodia, SE Asia Trip | Leave a Comment
We gave Cambodia the short shrift on this trip in order to have more time in Vietnam. In retrospect, this was kind of a bad decision as we felt that we spent a little too much time in Vietnam and certainly did not spend enough in Cambodia. As it was, we went to Cambodia for 5 days and focused the trip entirely on the ruins at Angkor Wat, staying nearby in the town of Siem Reap. What you can you say about Angkor Wat without sounding cheesy and starstruck? Nothing really. It was life-changing, incredible, something everyone should do, amazingly beautiful. Does it convey the magnitude of awesomeness to tell you that we took over 600 photos of the place? Maybe and maybe not. Just take my word that if you have any amount of time in your life that you could possibly meld into a trip to Cambodia to see the ruins, DO IT.
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Posted on September 15, 2007
Filed Under Vietnam, SE Asia Trip | 4 Comments
As we were heading down the coast of Vietnam we were trying to figure out whether to go to Nha Trang or Mui Ne. They are both beach towns. Nha Trang is heavily developed, and pitched as a top class tourist resort. Mui Ne has more of a backpacker and windsurfer / kite boarder scene. We weren’t too excited about the reports from either of these places, and the logistics of getting there and out again were a little daunting.
Then we read about Phu Quoc island. It is off the south-west coast of Vietnam, in the Gulf of Thailand. Famous for its fish sauce, a laid back beach vibe and cheap return flights from Saigon. It sounded perfect.
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Posted on September 6, 2007
Filed Under Vietnam, SE Asia Trip | 3 Comments
Saigon holds somewhat mystical proportions for me due to its role in the Vietnam war and thereafter in U.S. popular culture. Much more than Hanoi, Saigon for some reason seemed to represent all of the chaos and foreignness that the war evoked in the American psyche. Maybe it had something to do with repeated watchings of Good Morning Vietnam and listenings to the lesser-known Charlie Daniels hit, “Still in Saigon.” Whatever the cause, I expected Saigon to be a dramatic experience for me. I was kind of surprised when it turned out to be a fairly comfortable and familiar (somehow!) place.
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