Like all too many people passing through Cambodia, we didn’t spend enough time here! My usual war cry here, yet again, was next time, next time! Wedged in-between Vietnam and Thailand, most visitors to this small but fascinating country usually whip through as they pass from one side to the other, often not fitting in much more than Angkor Wat. But Cambodia is so much more than Angkor! We should have spent less time in Vietnam, we both kept repeating to ourselves. Hindsight is such a tremendous thing really!

We decided that our first stop would be Phnom Penh, the country’s capital. We also found out very quickly that in Cambodia, pretty much all roads lead to Phnom Penh , or at the very least, pass through it! It was a short boat ride to the border, Vinh Xuong on the Vietnamese side and Kaam Samnor on the Cambodian. The border formalities, well were not very formal, and after passing through both borders, we were left to our own devices. We soon organised a bus, and were on our way to the capital. Although the distance between the border and the capital is not necessarily a big one, the roads in this very poor country are horrendous, making the trip unnecessarily long. We arrived both tired and quite late, and we both dislike searching for accommodation in the dark. Surprise, surprise, someone jumps on the bus and has a “recommendation” for us. So, off we go, and……………it was atrocious! Filthy, dirty and seedy, and I told them so! Needless to say, they didn’t appreciate my getting upfront and personal. Stiff! I wish I could remember the name of the place so that should you ever go to Phnom Penh, you never end up there. We were both cranky and tired, but were adamant about not sleeping in a crud hole. We eventually found Malis Guesthouse, a quiet place run by a lovely local family. We were happy to be able to dump our packs, but we were also starving. Luckily there was a little restaurant upstairs, so we relaxed whilst having a bite to eat, and promptly went to bed! I cannot say that I was overly fond of the area that we were staying in, but I was too tired to care!

We realised the next day that we were in the area known as Boeng Kak, which is a backpacker strip along the eastern shore of Boeng Kak Lake. Most of the guest houses here are built on a seriously polluted body of water. Having said that, we also soon realised that it was an area full of alcohol guzzling foreigners, Cambodian prostitutes, and drug pushers! I would categorically describe the area as a ghetto, and was quite appalled by it. On a number of occasions, Alex and I were offered the whole gamut of illegal substances, from weed to cocaine. Don’t even get me started (as Laura and I would fondly say!). Supply meets demand! It is appalling and unethical that any foreigner should accept any drugs from any of the locals, as they are only doing it to fund those people’s habit or whim! If you want to damage yourself, that is your choice, but please do not damage others through your own selfish choices! When asked (on a multitude of occasions) if I wanted marijuana, I resorted to saying very loudly, “No thanks, I don’t smoke marijuana”, to which I was told to keep my voice down. On one occasion, I lost it, and told the person offering me the drugs that I didn’t do any drugs at all, and that he should take a good look at me, including my profile, and circulate my nationality and looks around to all the other drug pushers, leaving him with, “I don’t do drugs! Don’t ask me again!”. He was flabbergasted, but the tourists watching my little scenario more so! A couple of them were quite taken aback, saying that they did not understand what the big deal was about, and voicing their opinion that perhaps I had been a little OTT (over the top). I took a big breath in, and breathed out slowly, telling myself not to go there; I have recently come to the realisation that I cannot change the world single-handedly (although in essence I would dearly love to) . I breathed in again, and looked at them…..probably the very people whom had bought some drugs only moments before I had passed through. My point had been made!

We spent our first day wandering around central Phnom Penh, observing and checking out the sights. Overwhelming, eye-opening, mind-boggling and paralysing are some of the words that come to mind in a bid to try and describe this city. Whilst each of these adjectives aids in capturing a part of this place, none seem to encompass its entirety or complexity! Children begging and running on the street naked, often pushed forth by their mothers; more Lexus cars than you could poke a stick at; billboards stating that “Sex with children is a crime”; foreigners being offered 7 year old girls for sex; people with no arms, or legs, or neither! Talk about tugging at the heartstrings. I felt like they’d been ripped out completely, and then placed around my neck in order to strangle me! I felt alternate waves of nausea and devastation come over me so many times, as I found myself wondering, yet again, where humanity was really heading!

There’s actually quite a lot to see and do in Cambodia’s capital, let alone observe. We also arrived here in time to go to the Australian Embassy to vote. We didn’t have to, as we had so oft been reminded, but we oh so very wanted to! I am not about to enter a political tirade here, but I will say, yet again, that things do not change due to the masses sitting back and simply hoping that change will actually vapourise, or simply come to be! Remember my thing on complacency? So, off we both went and voted. This was Alex’s first time voting as an Australian citizen. You may or may not recall that Alex became a True Blue (Aussie) in August 2006, just before we embarked on this long adventure. Ask him how much easier life has been travelling on an Australian passport, rather than an Ecuadorian one! So there he was, Ecuadorian born, now citizen of Australia, voting for the very first time….and in Cambodia!

We visited the very interesting National Museum of Cambodia, which is home to the world’s finest collection of Khmer sculpture. It is housed in a beautiful traditional building, with a delightful courtyard, from where one can sit and observe. It was a great introduction to what we would witness later on, especially Angkor Wat. Wat Phnom was another place of tradition and tranquility. Set up on a 27 metre high hill (the only hill in town) it provided some arresting views. Other places of interest were the Independence Monument, built in 1958 to commemorate the country’s independence from France and the Psar O Russei (or Russian market), full of anything and everything you can imagine, from food and second hand clothes, to designer label rip-offs and pirated CDs, movies, and computer programs. My favourite market, however, was Psar Thmei, the mustardy coloured art deco building also referred to as the Central Market. Quite obviously, it’s in the city centre. Whereas the Russian Market was somewhat over priced and touristy, the Central Market seemed to cater much more to the local population. Having said that, it still has a bit of a name for overcharging. Having said this, markets frequented by locals, are an amazing way to help understand a culture. Markets are without a doubt one of my favourite cultural activities! Not bad for buying some unusual and exotic food either.

Coming to Phnom Penh and not visiting Security Prison S-21 or the Killing Fields would be like having a shower after bush walking and not using soap! They are both pretty full on, so we chose to do them on separate days. We decided to go the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, 15 kilometres from the city centre first. Our mode of transportation was a motorbike……that’s to say, Alex and I both on the one motorbike behind the driver! Whilst I would not call the drivers in Cambodia aggressive, I would certainly regard them as risk takers! I had seen one too many motorbike accidents in Vietnam and Cambodia, and hoped that we were not about to become statistics ourselves. Nothing could really have prepared me for Choeung Ek, the site of a former orchard. Between 1975 and 1978, approximately 17,000 men, women, children and babies were brought here, after having been detained and tortured at S-21. Effectively, this was an extermination camp, where the excessively cruel and ruthless Pol Pot Regime, often had them bludgeoned to death, so as not to waste precious bullets. Thus the name, The Killing Fields! The area is not large, but the overwhelmingly sad energy is of gargantuan proportions! It’s an instant knot in the throat that brings immediate tears, and leaves many questions unanswered!

On entering, and reading several panels of information the brutal reality of this place slowly unfolds, and along with it a total revulsion! The remains of close to 9000 people, many of whom were bound and blind folded, were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves. What makes the experience so eerie and spine-chilling is that several of the communal graves have been left totally untouched, and fragments of human bone and bits of cloth are still scattered around the pits. Somebody’s mother’s top! Somebody’s father’s pants! Somebody’s daughter’s bones! It was gut wrenching, and I felt a wave of nausea sweep over me as I tried to reconcile the evil before me! How had this happened? What sinister forces had been at work here? We keep saying “never again” after what happened in Nazi Germany, but it did happen again, and continues to do so in a multitude of other countries today. Why, why, why????? Why do we persist in making history repeat itself? How could we allow this to happen? So many questions, yet so very few answers! Funnily, or oddly, enough it was at this very time that Blood Brother Number 2 (as opposed to Blood Brother Number 1, being Pot) was finally being tried. Too little too late!

As if all the fragments of bones and clothes weren’t enough, there is yet another imposing, very brutal reminder of Cambodia’s horrific past. Also at the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, is the infamous Memorial Stupa, holding more than 8000 skulls, behind clear glass panels. The skulls of adults, children and babies that had been maimed , killed and destroyed, for some supposedly higher purpose or ideal! It was erected in 1988, lest we never forget the brutality that occurred. It seems that “lest we never forget” , however, is a phrase that falls on deaf ears, as that’s all we seem to have done as well as continue to do….forget, forget, forget! The silence in that stupa was phenomenal. Everyone who stepped in was quite obviously moved. I wept inwardly, and outwardly, as I again pondered the cruelty of man, in his quest for………..what, exactly! It is moments like these that continue to profoundly change my life! The impact has been and continues to be prodigious!

The next day we visited the Tuol Sleng Museum, in the heart of Phnom Penh. In 1975, Tuol Svay Prey High School was taken over by Pol Pot’s security forces and turned into a prison, known as Security Prison 21 (S-21). It went on to become the largest detention centre and torture chamber in the country. Between 1975 and 1978 some 17,000 people were taken from this very place to Choeung Ek, to effectively be executed and annihilated. Like the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge were meticulous in keeping records of its barbarism. What is now simply an empty shell of a high school, still has an eerie if not calm feel about it. It’s not a place to scream and yell, but one of profound contemplation. Whilst there are still some items of torture laying about, and several cells that would barely fit a single chicken, it’s the room after room of harrowing black and white photographs of each and every person that would later be killed, that is so disturbing. Nobody had a name, but everyone had a number! I was profoundly affected! I was, again, looking at someone’s daughter, someone’s father, someone’s brother! Name unknown, destiny confirmed! I walked from room to room with a lump in my throat. The magnitude of my sorrow was immense. In this place, my tears were not silent; I went from room to room, with the tears pouring down my face!

I must say, after two days of tales of despair and destruction, both Alex and I felt a little shell shocked and emotionally exhausted. We had seen most of what we wanted to, but had to hang around for an extra day as the Australian National Elections were on, and we were definitely going to vote. I make it sound like we had to, but it was very, very much a calculated choice. Overseas or not, Alex and I both wanted a say as to who (or who was not!) going to govern us over the next four years. I was surprised at how many Australians we had met, who simply had said that they could not be bothered to vote whilst travelling! The very ones that probably whinge about the results! Gotta be in it to win it, I say!

What an eye opener Phnom Penh had been! Too much prostitution, too much poverty, far too many people without limbs (thanks to all the land mines….some still undetonated!), and too many lexus cars (thank you corruption)! We’d heard about a place called Sihanoukville, in the west of the country, known for its laid back atmosphere and for its beautiful beaches and superb seafood (that had Alex’s ears pricking up, as a lover of seafood). Sounded too good!

Ombi

Dedication: To all those people over the millennia who have died so needlessly, in the name of war! And for the many more who will continue to die in the name of war! May we realise, sooner rather than later, that war does not equal peace!

“I just want you to know that when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace” – George W. Bush. (What a profound statement from a profound man! Sorry, couldn’t help myself!)

(Photos: 1.- Border crossing from Vietnam into Cambodia. L to R: Felipe, Alex, a Norwegian friend. 2.- On the banks of the riverfront which runs through the city centre of Phnom Penh. Houses and clothes lines look very different here, with little comfort and certainly no Hills Hoist! 3.- Near the area where we slept. Although Cambodia is mostly Buddhist, there is still a degree of cultural and religious diversity, Phnom Penh. 4.- One man’s trash is another couple of girls treasure! Phnom Penh. 5.- The beautiful buildings of the National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. 6.- How the other half live. Kids on the Phnom Penh streets. 7.- First time Aussie voter. Alex outside the Australian Embassy, Phnom Penh. 8.- The lively markets of Phnom Penh. 9.- Wasted lives! Photos at Security Prison S-21, Phnom Penh. 10.- Can you read the sign under one of the trees at The Killing Fields? It reads, “Magic tree…..the tree was used as a tool to hang a loudspeaker which make sound louder to avoid the moan of victims while they were being executed”. 11.- The skulls of some of the many people that were executed at The Killing Fields. 12.- The Khmer Rouge fighters. Could have been your young son! Indoctrination started early, and the youth of Cambodia often become bold and ruthless killers! 13.- Whose son? Unknown! Simply, Number 1! Photo taken at Security Prison S-21, Phnom Penh).

We had heard horror stories about Saigon, or as it is correctly referred to nowadays, Ho Chi Minh City. Although Ho Chi Minh City has been the city’s official name since 1976, it is still often referred to as Saigon. We had heard that it was dangerous, full of pickpockets, that you would be easily robbed, that it was dirty and that it was a waste of time. We actually really enjoyed it and had no problems whatsoever. Having said that, after 15 months on the road, Alex and I have a small array of combat moves, both physical and verbal, in order to disarm anyone who challenges us. Our recent blogs have most possibly demonstrated this. If Alex is Bruce Lee, I am Madam Lash (as in tongue)! My tongue is quicker than the speed of light. Again, many of my family and friends will attest to this. I can see my Dad nodding his head in agreement!

We woke up bright and early the next morning..upon the insistence of the bus driver! For some reason, we were being subjected to Vietnamese music, up to full boar, at 5.30 in the morning. Go figure! I was not about to psychoanalyse this as well, but I did go and politely ask him to turn it down. On the bright side, it couldn’t possibly get worse than the night before (recall the kung-fu fighting)…..or could it? This is Vietnam.

I had read that Hue boasts some of Vietnam’s most aggressive touts, but I was not really prepared for what was about to happen upon our arrival. It was mid-morning when we arrived, and we were virtually mauled as we stepped off the bus, with a range of people trying to sell us accommodation at their hotel.

 

Have I previously mentioned how very difficult it is to listen to a multitude of people all at once? One man was tranquilly telling us about his hotel, when another almost bowled him over, wedging himself between us, and then placing himself almost on top of me, as he began to give us his spiel. In no mood at all after last night, I put my hand up to his face and told him that he would have to step back a little and wait, as I was speaking to someone else. He got all hoity-toity and aggressively asserted that, no, I had to speak to him then and there! I don’t think so! I was in no mood after last night! I virtually barked at him, and screamed that I chose who I spoke to, and when, and where! He did not like that at all! As he came towards me, and his hand approached my shoulder and pushed me back, it was again on for young and old. It was like the sequel to the night before! Again, Alex was bellowing at him to lay off me. There was another karate kick on Alex’s behalf, followed by someone hitting him on the back of the neck (luckily, he was not hurt). When I saw Alex hit, it was my turn to see red, and this time it was my turn to go wild. I was like a dog with rabies, and it was with virtual spittle oozing from my mouth that I howled at him. Livid, I bellowed that he was a disgrace to his people. I went on to cry that bullying and being aggressive is not the way to treat people. The piece de resistance, was when I was several inches away from his face, begging him to show all of his friends what a man he was by punching me! Needless to say, that did not occur and he ran away like a dog with his tail tucked between his legs! By this point I was hyperventilating, and needed to sit down and cool off! I was by no means proud of my public display of anger at all. I had had a rather large audience of both Vietnamese as well as foreigners, but I repeat, this behaviour is NOT all right, and I will not let it happen and do nothing about it! I will not be complacent! I am currently well aware that after some 14 months, patience is no longer my best friend! Not that it ever was!

With kung-fu episode number two out of the way, it was on to look for a place to stay. Luckily, we were very close to the bulk of the budget accommodation, and found a decent place to stay, rather quickly. It even came with a computer in our room, at virtually no extra charge! That was a first! But, you will later learn that it was a blessing in disguise! Once settled, we had a relaxing afternoon walking around Hue, and taking in its atmospheric surroundings. This place is all about art and architecture, and it’s packed with palaces, pagodas, temples and tombs. We were hoping for a cultural injection, and the next day provided us with just that.

Hue is justifiably famous for its Imperial City, or Imperial Enclosure, housing the emperor’s residence and the main buildings of the state. As most of Hue’s sights and population reside within the 2 kilometres thick, 10-kilometre walls that surround the city, the Imperial closure really is a citadel within a citadel. We had a wonderful, and very laid back afternoon wandering around and exploring. In true Vietnamese style, peak hours were packed with package tourists, but as they only go and look at the “main” buildings, the rest is wide open for relaxation and exploration. We felt like we had been thrown back in time, as we walked up, around and over parts of buildings that were hundreds of years old. We walked into the Halls of the Mandarins when we were suddenly shaken from our tranquil dream. This building is the one in which the mandarins prepared for the court ceremonies. I could almost imagine the royal splendour…… we walked in to find a cheesy tourist set up in which one can pose….in Imperial costume…on the throne…and…….for a price! Alex and I sat down, observed, and chuckled quietly. I think it was part of the Asian Disneyland theme!

Later in the day, we visited a museum, which was housed in an exquisite building which was once a school for princes and the sons of high-ranking mandarins. I felt the most fascinating part to be the collection of several old war tanks out the front. As I walked past, read and observed, a tingle shot up and down my spine. I have never understood, do not understand and will never understand war! What a waste of sooooooooo many things, and needless to say, lives!

 

Luckily we got in a bit of sightseeing in Hue because the next day it was all over! The skies opened and it hammered (as in poured) for some thirty-five hours! I have categorically never seen anything like it in my life! It was raining elephants and whales! Get the picture? It reached the point where it was impossible to even walk around! Step in a computer in our room! All we did over the next two days was sleep, relax, and get brilliant value out of our “in-house” computer! Occasionally, we would step, or I should say wade, out for a meal. At one point the water was knee high, and over dinner one night we actually saw a tourist jump out and have a swim in the street. I should mention that it was the rainy season in Vietnam, and only a few weeks earlier there had been a major typhoon. As my Dad will attest to, I have this amazing penchant of rocking up to places just before or after some major catastrophe has occurred! I want to make a special mention of Brown Eyes Cafe, run and owned by the very affable Bich (pronounced Big)….great food, great portions, great coffee, and a great person! As it was only a short swim away from our hotel, and due to the horrendous weather, we virtually lived there for a few days! Bich assured us that this kind of weather this time of year was actually quite normal!

 

After being couped up for a couple of days, we decided that it was time to move on. It had not stopped raining completely, but at least the elephants and whales seemed to have stopped falling from the sky. So, we booked an overnight bus to Hoi An, which is further down the coast.

Hoi An was once a sleepy riverside village, but now firmly set on the tourist trail, well, the tourists are now busting from its seams! And speaking of seams, this is the place to have anything sewn and made -up, from jackets to shoes! This is definitely one of the town’s claims to fame! The old, or historical centre oozes charm, with its old wooden buildings, many sitting right on the edge of the Thu Bon River. Whilst we did spend a couple of days here, it pretty much rained the entire time, but not as heavily as it had in Hue. Having said that, it was heavy enough to not be able to hire a bicycle, and/or explore properly on foot. Yes, I did attempt to get a couple of pairs of shoes made, which ended up being a small disaster, but I managed to escape without the disastrous shoes, and persuaded the lady to sell me a newly made “sample” pair! I am personally not into having things made up. My theory is if you try it and fits you, buy it! Having things made up especially seems to include too many “unknown” factors and probabilities. Not into that! The street food was also great here. To be honest, it seems to get better as you move down the coast and get further away from China, where it begins to lose that Chinese influence (as it has up north).

Rain, rain, go away, come again another day! Over, over, over it! Time to move on, so we booked another overnighter to Nha Trang. What can I say, another day (or night!), another adventure! What was supposed to be an overnight trip, ended up finishing at around 1.00pm the next day? Why? Because part of the road was so flooded that it was impassable! The bus had to stop for some 5 hours, as we waited for the water level to drop enough to…well, pass! Needless to say, we were so over it upon our arrival, and all we wanted was a place to dump our bags and chill out. We settled on a small, and clean room, in a quiet part of town, which was still central. This part of the country also had rain predicted, but we had to stop somewhere. Luckily, we were in luck, so to speak. We only spent a couple of days here, and the weather was great! Great, as in no rain!

 

Nha Trang is known for its pristine beaches and its scuba diving. The former? Well, I am Australian, and a thus a bit of a beach snob! Yeh, the beach was OK. The latter? After weeks of alluvial downpours, we were told that the visibility was shocking. So, we bypassed both and opted for a mud bath at the Thap Ba Hot Spring Centre. It was a five-kilometre walk out of town, and an interesting walk at that. We had to pass the Cai River, where we saw traditional houses on stilts, lots of fishermen, lots of fish drying out in the open (and on piles of rubbish at that!), and the subsequent smell that came with it! It was obviously an area which was quite poor. It’s amazing to see how the real people live, only kilometres out of the central area, where most foreigners end up staying. We also stopped to see Po Nagar Cham Towers, which were built between the 7th and 12th centuries. The pagodas and temples are very beautiful, and very tranquil, and to this day Cham, ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese Buddhists come to pray and make offerings, according to their respective traditions.

 

A little further on, we arrived at the Thap Ba Hot Spring Centre. What a brilliant way to chill out and do something both different and healthy at the same time! Our experience began with sitting and slopping around in a wooden tub full of hot thermal mud, after which we baked in the sun for a while, waiting for it to dry. A bit like a face mask, but all over your body! We then washed off and got to soak in another wooden bathtub, this one full of soothing natural mineral water. After this “treatment” there were plenty of other pools of varying temperatures to laze and lie about it. We did them all, and loved it! Needless to say, we felt exhausted after all the pampering and relaxing. Not about to walk back after all that, we caught a ride on a couple of motorbikes, which is very much the done thing in the country.

 

We only had a little over a week left before our Vietnamese visas would run out, so we decided to move on, and check out Dalat in the central highlands. The weather was pleasantly fresh here, and the vibe quite different to the coast. Actually, it was quite different to anywhere we had visited in Vietnam. Once a former French colonial outpost, it looked a little more like the French Alps. Whilst it did not pour, there was certainly on and off drizzle. We managed to eat some great food here, finding a local place with some girls who were able to help translate the menu (as we were the only foreigners in there). This ensured real, traditional food at local prices. Remember the old saying when you are into a good thing………….yep, we stuck to it, and went back several times. We also walked a few kilometres out of town and took a cable car to a temple close by. The views of the surrounding and very lush countryside were breathtaking, and the temple was an oasis of calm. A beautiful end to our short time in Dalat. Very close to the Xuan Huong Lake (created by a dam in 1919), I went for a run here for the short duration of our stay here. It can be circumnavigated along a 7-kilometre path which runs all the way around it, and past many of Dalat’s main sights, including a flower garden. So, I got to sightsee whilst running!

 

Speaking of running, time to move on. Last but not least we would be off to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), from where we wanted to cruise the Mekong Delta by boat, before finishing up in Cambodia.

 

Ombi

This time I will leave you not with a quote, but a poem of sorts. It (along with some comments)was sent to me by a friend, Samantha Bulmer, after she read our last blog. She writes:

“First they came is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemöller(1892 -1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group.

 

When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I wasn’t a Jew.

When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.

This poem is the perfect punctuation for the story of the hotel bully. As soon as I read your blog I remembered this poem. Poignant. Perfect. Enjoy yourselves and keep out of trouble. If that is at all possible.”

Thanks, Sam! The poem and your comments simply further aid in highlighting how destructive and damaging complacency and inactivity are. Until we take a stance, we will continue to see history repeating itself!

(Photos:1.- Communist, or is that socialist propaganda? 2.- Hue architecture. 3.- Eaves on a traditional house in Hue. 4.- Inside the Imperial City, Hue. 5.-Inside the Imperial City, Hue. 6.-War memorabilia, Hue. 7.- Trying to keep dry in the alluvial downpours, Hue. 8.- Another day, another alluvial downpour, Hoi An. 9.- Buying some fresh produce at the local market, Hoi An. 10.- Taken from the bus, as we made our way from Hoi An to Nha Trang. 11.- Stilt houses and boats along the canals, Nha Trang. 12.- Soaking up the mud, hot springs, Nha Trang. 13.- Washing “on the line”, Dalat. 14.- Competition for China? What exactly is a long dung? Want our version?)

 

Check out our interactive map on our Start Here page to see where we are now and where we’ve been?  There are still so many countries that are still on our to-do list. What would you recommend? Where would you like to go?

You can also check out our Travel Resources page for some great advice, ideas, tips and travel hacks.

Check your visa on arrival here 🙂

 

Vietnam is surprising “easy” to travel in. Perhaps too easy! There are so many organised tours and buses, that if not careful, your whole time here could potentially turn into one big, extended tour! Tam Coc, although only a couple of hours south of Hanoi, is no exception, and is definitely a popular day trip from Hanoi. Not to be deterred, the aim was to do it ourselves!

After a week or so in the quiet and more tranquil northern part of Vietnam, we found ourselves suddenly being thrust into the buzzing and very loud capital of Hanoi. What a contrast! We arrived at the train station rather early, 5.30am to be exact. We hung around for a while trying to get our bearings, as well as deciding what to do. We knew that looking for a place to stay this early would be a waste of time, so we decided to get ourselves to the Old Quarter, and hang around in a cafe over a slow breakfast. At least that way, by the time we started looking for a place to stay, some others might be checking out, thus giving us the opportunity to check in.

As I mentioned, walking to the border and crossing on the Chinese side was easy, and it looked like the Vietnamese side was going to be too! Wrong! Armed with our passport and Vietnamese visa, which we had obtained in Hong Kong, it was supposed to be a “stamp and walk through”. In theory! In practice, the visa had been issued for a month from the 16th September to the 16th October. We had been told that we would be granted a month from the date of entry. Wrong again! We would only be granted the days that were left from the date stamped on it. Now, I am no genius at maths, but we arrived on the 8th of October, which meant that we would have to leave Vietnam by the 16th of October. That was so not going to happen! Alex was the one to pick up this “discrepancy”, once the visa on our passport had been stamped. We could not believe it! We tried to negotiate, and tell them that there had been a mistake. Several minutes later we were discussing our plight with several others, some of whom spoke English. The bottom line is that they stuffed up in Hong Kong, and that you do not get a month from the date of entry, but rather, a month from the date that is placed on your visa. No use arguing! An error had been made, and we had to rectify it! Despite their friendliness, we were being told that they could organise an “overnight” visa for us for USD$50.00, which we knew was exorbitant. The solution? Make our way down to Hanoi and organise it ourselves!