The Joy of Travel!
Once again, I was anticipating a ‘VIP’ bus
trip: A ferry from Don Khone, bus to the Cambodian border, and then onwards to
Phnom Penh. The journey promised to be
long, and who knew what style of transport would await?!
The first surprise was when the ferry
actually arrived on-time for my 8am pick-up… I was basically ready (just
clipping up my bag when the girl came to get me), but I had been looking
forward to at least half an hour of relaxation in my hammock (based on the
theory of ‘Lao time’ being at least 30minutes late).
It was a very quick trip to ‘mainland’ at Ban
Nakasang, where I joined a large group of other foreign travellers, milling
around waiting for a bus. There was a
guy offering to take care of your Cambodia visa (I think his rate was
$30). I figured (a) I could do it myself
– and there was no value in ‘saving time’, since the bus would have to wait for
me anyway, and (b) the actual visa fee was supposed to be just $20…
Another short journey took us to the border,
where we had to alight, pick up our bags, and then proceed through on-foot. The border process was lengthy and
bureaucratic, with multiple opportunities for money-making (I guess I shouldn’t
expect anything less from Laos/Cambodia?!)
·
The first step was to EXIT Laos: queue up, and
pay $2 for a stamp.
·
Next, was the health quarantine tent: fill in a
form, declare I am healthy, lady points some infra-red gun at my head (no clue
if it actually did anything?!), hand over another $1 and get a stamp on my form. As far as I could tell, no-one actually
looked at this form at the Visa office, though they claimed I wouldn’t get a
visa without this stamp.
·
Then, on to the visa office, another form,
another $23, but at least I got an official document in my passport for the
cash!
·
Finally, another checkpoint, another form, and
my passport was stamped for entry into Cambodia (cost $2)!
·
I staggered (under the weight of my pack you
understand) over to join the other travellers waiting in a small patch of shade
next to a line of food & drink stalls.
All up, the border process had cost me $28, making the $30 option to
have it done for me less costly – BUT, then I would have missed all the fun;
experiencing the insane process I’d just been through! A couple of the other travellers actually
argued with the officials about several of the charges – and managed to avoid
some of the costs. I couldn’t really be
bothered with this, and just handed over the cash I was asked for; however, I
understand there is some principal here: it’s not clear how many of the costs
were real officially sanctioned fees, and how much were opportunistic
additions.
We all assumed that after the border crossing
we would board a bus, and carry-on… More fools Us! We were now told we had to wait at the
Cambodia border for THREE HOURS for another group of travellers to arrive – We
were NOT happy! Eventually, the other
group did arrive (as it turned out, had been sold tickets to leave Si Phan Don
at 10am – rather than the 8am trip I’d booked), and we left after ‘just’ two
hours waiting around – although not before we ascertained there were not enough
seats on the bus. After a lot apparent
confusion (and some stress on our part as bags were moved in and out of the bus luggage storage), a
small group of people were filled into a mini van, and the other ‘extras’ were
provided with plastic kiddie-chairs (or sat on the floor) in the aisle.
The remainder of the bus trip was mostly
uneventful; just very LONG (our scheduled 7pm arrival in Phnom Penh clearly
wasn’t going to happen – in the end I think it was around 10pm). We stopped a couple of times for food /
toilet breaks, and I got my first introduction to the Cambodian dual-currency
(US$/Cambodia Riel); more on that later.
When we finally arrived in PP the ‘bus stop’
was a piece of road apparently miles from anywhere… with a waiting group of Tuk
Tuk drivers ready to capitalise on us ‘stranded’ tourists. I had already booked a hostel, which was
unfortunately a little further away than where the other travellers wanted to
go, however I decided to share at least as far as the central riverside
area. With three others, I got my first
glimpse of PP city at night: along the riverfront is lined with hotels and
restaurants, lots of lights, and seemingly bustling late at night. We dropped the first couple at a hotel, and
then tried to find a place for Sayo (the third passenger in our Tuk Tuk). Her first choice was fully booked, and (needing
somewhere) we agreed to let the Tuk Tuk driver take us to his ‘cheap good
place’… Probably a mistake, but sometimes you get desperate late at night… the
hotel wasn’t far from the main strip, but was down a quieter, not very
appealing street. Sayo looked, and said
‘no’. At this point, I tried to
negotiate to be taken to the place I’d booked: I was fully aware that we’d have
to pay more, but in actual fact, the Tuk Tuk driver just became difficult – he
demanded a price way above what was reasonable, then told us that it was too
far and he didn’t want to go there late at night – “you get another
driver”! We did eventually manage to get
him to take us back to the main road, paid him off, and got another Tuk Tuk
(for a slightly more reasonable price, and with a driver with a more pleasant
demeanour!) Hoping for a place for Sayo
as well, we arrived at the ‘Mad Monkey’: the dorm rooms were all full (apart
from the one I’d already booked), but there was a private room available – so,
as seems to be the way with travel, I ended up sharing a bed with a girl I’d
met about 30 minutes prior.
The
oddest thing I found in Cambodia was the way it operated on a dual currency
system. The local currency is the
‘Riel”, but a lot of things are priced in US dollars. There is a standard, simple conversion of $1
= 4000 Riel. Services and items may be
priced in US$ (accommodation, most restaurant food, and imported grocery items)
or in Riel (local food stalls), or both.
Either, or a combination, is accepted as payment; for instance, for a
bill of $1.50 you could pay $1 + 2000 Riel, or pay $2 and get 2000 Riel as
change. Often, the ATM machines ONLY
dispense US$ - but this isn’t a problem, since this is always accepted, and it
is possible to get the local currency as change through various
transactions. The locals are very adept
mathematicians (or at least, they are expert in their ‘4x table’) and can
easily convert between currencies.
Phnom Penh: The Charming City
PP gets mixed reviews from travellers: some
like it, some really REALLY don’t. So, I
was interested to see how I would find it.
I didn’t spend long there, but I am in the positive camp. The area where my hostel was located was very
leafy and green – the British International School was just around the corner,
and the houses, restaurants and bars appeared to cater for both the tourist and
expat communities. I met a couple of
expats living in PP (who loved it), and I understand that there are a lot of
Westerners there. I heard on several
occasions, that the rate of change in PP has been exponential in the last few
years: high rise buildings that were not there 5-10 years ago are now dotted
around. However, that’s one of the
things I liked about PP: it didn’t’ feel particularly built-up. This feel was aided by the many green spaces
(mediums between roads, in the middle of roundabouts, and green squares. The paved walk along the waterfront was nice,
and the road was lined with cafes and restaurants with bright lights and river
views. There was a banner hanging across
one of the main streets which claimed “Phnom Penh: The Charming City”, and I
think they might have some right to make that claim.
Our first day in PP, Sayo and I decided we’d
try to do the main sites of interest: the Killing Fields, S21 (the Khmer Rouge
prison), the central markets, and the Royal Palace. Securing the services of a Tuk Tuk driver for
the day, we headed out of the central city area. En-route, our driver stopped and procured a
couple of face masks for us – this was very much appreciated in the busy, dusty
streets (they worked much better than the usual scarf around the face method).
The killing fields were a real
experience. It’s not one of those things
that you can say was ‘enjoyable’, but it was very well presented. The location itself is now a tranquil park-like
area, with a central monument, and a pleasant lake around the back. There are park benches to sit on, and the
whole area is surrounded by rice paddy fields.
So, there isn’t a lot to see – only a very few reminders of what
occurred there, and even those wouldn’t be immediately evident. However, with the entry fee we were given an
audio guide: at each point around the park there was a description of the
buildings that once stood there (and the disturbing functions that they
performed). Even more poignant however,
were the accounts from the survivors guards – stories of atrocities witnessed,
and the ongoing pain felt by those who survived. It was very well done. Also disturbing, was the information that
‘you might see bits of bone or cloth along the path – these surface with the
rains’.
One of the additional ‘benefits’ of listening
to the audio guide was that all the visitors were very quiet – making it feel
like a more respectful place. Although
I’ve read a little about the Khmer Rouge (I recommend the book “First they killed my father”),
listening to the stories in the location where they occurred was different - it
is unbelievable what humans can do to other humans.
Our next stop was S21 – the old school that
was converted into a Khmer Rouge prison.
From the outside, it looks very much like a school anywhere: 3-storey
block buildings, arranged around a central courtyard / gardens. The only real give-away is the barbed wire on
the outside of the outer corridors.
Inside, there are rooms and rooms containing photographs of the victims
(many of them were so young), there are a couple of paintings of prison scenes,
and several display rooms with information about some of the remaining Khmer
Rouge leadership who are on-trial with the International courts. Some of the rooms had been converted into
cell-blocks (divided by wooden partitions or bricked walls); they were very
narrow, and claustrophobic. The day was
hot, it was past- lunch time, and I think we were both exhausted (physically
and mentally). Without the audio, I did
find that S21 had less impact; but it was still worth seeing.
At S21, Sayo and I bumped into Hannah (with
whom we’d shared the Tuk Tuk into town the night before), so together we headed
to the central markets for a rest and sustenance stop. The markets didn’t seem the most interesting
I’ve seen; the main building is an impressive Art Deco style structure, and
inside are numerous jewellery counters, surrounded on the outside by the usual
souvenir scarves etc. However, we found
plenty of things to sample in the food section, and managed a very tasty lunch
spread.
The final stop for the day was supposed to be
the Royal Palace… ‘Supposed to be’ because we went, only to discover that we
were apparently ‘improperly dressed’. We
were each wearing sleeveless tops, but had a scarf/sarong to wear as a wrap to
cover our shoulders – this was apparently not acceptable. I found this very bizarre; everywhere else I
have been, a wrap is absolutely legitimate fashion for ensuring modestly – but
not so the PP Royal Palace: other travellers beware!! (The
Lonely Planet only mentions that shoulders must be covered). The up-side was that we avoided ‘another
palace / another temple’, saved $6.50, and instead enjoyed a very pleasant walk
along the waterfront, stopped for a drink looking out at the river, and then
managed to fit in a pedicure before dinner!
I’d originally intended to stay two full days
in PP, but with time running out before my flight to Vietnam, and with the
promise of company (Hannah and Andy) for the journey to Siem Reap, I decided to
head out the next day.
In the morning, we’d arranged to meet Hannah
for breakfast – a plan that ended in a frustrating few hours, when Sayo and I
failed to find the agreed café, and then attempted to ring Hannah’s hostel to
make contact (how did we EVER function without mobile phones?!) We did make eventual contact, and I was able
to book onto the same Siem Reap – bound bus.
Sayo and I then decided check out the Russian markets . I can’t tell you much about it – we did a
quick wander through, and then discovered the food section (surprise!) One of them stalls claimed to have the ‘best
iced coffee in PP’, and the very friendly proprietor told us he’d been making
the drink for 31 years! It was very good
J
The bus to Siem Reap was probably one of the better journeys I’ve done in recent times: A minivan, which, while at maximum capacity was reasonably comfortable (and I was even able to write some of my blog!) On this occasion, we’d booked ahead with the Okay 1 Villa & Guest House (the sister residence of the guest house Hannah and Andy had stayed with at PP). It was fantastic to arrive at the ‘bus stop’ (another random street corner – with no obvious bus-stop like features or facilities), and be met by the free pick-up service! Even more fantastic, was arriving at the guest house, it was more like a small resort-hotel (complete with roof-top swimming pool and bar) – it wasn’t super flash, but compared to some of the more basic accommodation I’d been in recently, it was a palace! There was some confusion with the rooms: the guest house in PP had told us there were a range of price options, but it appeared that the cheaper guest house rooms were fully booked. This left the villa rooms, which I believe were more expensive. However, with Hannah on the case (polite but firm!), we managed to secure a couple of very nice rooms – at amazing value.
The Temples
Clearly, the number one reason people visit
Siem Reap is to see temples. Angkor Wat,
and the town of Angkor Thom are the famous ones, but there are many others of
varying eras and styles.
Having visited the temples of Bagan in
Myanmar, I’d ‘kind of visualised something similar around Siem Reap. So, I was a little worried that I wouldn’t
really appreciate Angkor; finding myself to be experiencing a certain degree of
‘temple fatigue’! I was assured that
what I would find in Siem Reap was quite different – and this proved to be very
much the case.
·
Many of the temples around Siem Reap (Angkor Wat
in particular) are really enormous complexes comprising concentric walled
compounds; the central area of which houses the main temple. In contrast, the temples in Bagan seemed
mostly to be one single structure (of differing scales, but essentially quite
compact). I now understood why the
guidebooks suggest allowing 1-2 hours each for some of the main temples!
·
The temples of Cambodia are spread out over a much
wider area than Bagan (I didn’t visit the farthest out, as they were several
hours drive). This meant that, although
it is possible to cycle around Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, alternative
transport (Tuk Tuk) is required for the rest.
Even Angkor is several kilometres (along a fairly busy road) from Siem
Reap town.
·
Angkor is very picturesque, on account of it
being in the middle of the jungle: the roads that I rode through (in my Tuk
Tuk) were lined with trees, and many of the temples were accessed down pleasant
paths of greenery. (Often, these pleasant walks were accompanied by an incredibly loud
chorus of high pitched cicada noise – sometimes the volume and pitch was
actually a little painful: those little insects sure can make a racket!) The ‘flip-side of this, is that (unlike Bagan)
you can’t see from one temple to the next – so you don’t get the panoramic
views of temples dotted around the landscape.
·
As with Bagan, there are the famous sun-rise and
sun-set spots; but unfortunately, the days I was there were not really clear
enough for any dramatic displays of light.
So, essentially what I found was that you
can’t really compare the two places.
Yes, Siem Reap and Bagan are both home to thousands of old temples and
ruins, but that is where the similarities end!
I had three days in Siem Reap, and spent the
first two dedicated to some serious temple check-list completion. By day three, I decided I couldn’t do
anymore; so I had a relaxed and enjoyable day checking out the town itself.
I bought an illustrated guide book of the
temples on my first day. This purchase
was an experience in itself, as I didn’t know where any book shops were, so
went to the old market in Siem Reap (hundreds of stalls selling tourist
paraphernalia). None seemed to sell
books, but all the vendors greeted me with “what do you need / how can I help
you?” so eventually I asked one lady where could I find a book… Not a problem:
she could get for me (of course) - just wait a few minutes. I duly waited, and in a short time she was
back with a selection of options for me.
In the meantime, I’d also been befriended by the lady at the next stall
with the nice scarves… I selected a book (and a few scarves), and attempted to
bargain a little. I didn’t feel in a
strong position: I needed a book, and I couldn’t afford to waste more time
looking elsewhere! Finally, I made my
purchase (it wasn’t too expensive), and was on my way J
I spent the next two days in varying states
of bafflement while trying to follow the written guide’s tours around the
complexes:
·
For a start, the headings were usually based on
compass directions, and I found great difficulty determining where was
North-South-East and West. This was very
frustrating, as I think I’m usually not too bad with this, but I really did
struggle – trying to check the sun direction. (Dad has since pointed out to
me that, (1) Cambodia is Northern hemisphere, so the sun would be in the south
at midday – which while I am aware of in theory, isn’t instinctive for me, but (2)
actually it’s nearly on the equator, so in the middle of the day the sun is
just directly overhead – not north or south).
·
The directions just became more complex from
there: “at the south-facing side of the north-wall of the third gate, turn left
50 metres and look to your right; high up above the lintel you will see a very
fine example of dancing apsara (goddess)”… I admit; I did make that specific example up…
but they were (nearly) that obtuse.
·
Regardless of that, the book was still worth
having, as it gave me at least some idea of what I was looking at.
Day ONE
On my first day of sightseeing I met my Tuk
Tuk driver, who was very lovely, but spoke basically no English: so while we
smiled and gestured to each other for the next two days, communication was somewhat
limited!
I started with the Roluos group (one of the
oldest groups, dating from the 9th century – older than
Angkor). The guidebooks suggested seeing
these first in order to get an appreciation of the progression of architectural
styles – probably a little lost on me; but it seemed as logical an itinerary as
any! I visited Preah Ko and Bakong,
skipping the third temple in the group (Lolei) to save time. Bakong is a five-terraced pyramid in the
‘mountain temple’ style… the first of MANY sets of stairs I would have to
climb!
At some
of the temples, the stairs were near vertical; reaching the top felt like an
achievement!
In the afternoon, I visited the temples of
the ‘Grand Circuit’- a well-worn path of temples outside of the walls of Angkor
Thom:
·
Preah
Khan is a large and somewhat crumbling complex, being partially overgrown
by trees – similar to the more famous ‘Ta Prohm’ (the Indiana Jones one) – but
a little less overcrowded. The areas
within the walls were cool and the surrounding trees very pleasant. I quite liked this one!
·
Neak Pean
was accessed along a long wooden boardway between mangroves (or at least, trees
growing out of the water!): very picturesque.
The actual ‘temple’ was a bit underwhelming: it is situated in the
middle of a pond, with four smaller ponds around it. I thought this sounded interesting, but in actual fact it’s hard to get a good
perspective on it, as you are not allowed any further than a fence along one
side of the pools – the postcard images from above look more impressive.
·
Ta Som
is a smaller temple, with the most impressive feature being the east gopura (entrance);
which is almost wholly enveloped and supported by a huge tree. There was also a cute girl selling souvenir
postcards; I asked how many languages she could speak and she said TEN! (Although only for counting:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10)
· I finished the day at Pre Rup: a temple-mountain which is
a favourite spot for ‘viewing sunset into the jungles and rice paddies of the
Cambodian countryside’.
I chose
this one, on the basis that the more famous Phnom Bakeng sounded awful (from
the descriptions I’d read online it would be highly overcrowded). I met a guy at Pre Rup who had ‘attempted’ to
get to Phnom Bakeng the day before – he said they arrived well before sunset,
and already there was a queue of people about 100-deep trying to climb the
stairs to the top terraces; it sounded like the entire area was packed with
thousands of people – I was glad I didn’t go.
Pre Rup is
also a well-known sunset spot, so was pretty crowded in itself. I managed to find myself a spot where I wouldn’t
have anyone in front of me… to do this; I had to perch on a ledge in front of a
statue (slightly precarious, and not completely comfortable!) The sunset was a non-event: lots of cloud,
and no sun… the people viewing was more interesting: the terrace below me was
packed with tourists and hawkers – selling all kinds of crappy souvenirs (does
anyone buy these things?) A group of
young guys beside me suggested the vendors would be more profitable selling
beers… the next thing I know, their request was met with cold beer delivered up
to them by an enterprising young woman!
Day TWO
On day 2, I
left early (5am) to join the masses for sunrise at Angkor Wat. There are pools of water in front of the main
temple complex, and the best view is from the left hand side pool, behind the
water, (so that you can watch the sunrise, and see the temple reflected in the
water). With so many other people
jostling for a spot I literally stood in the muddy edges of the water in order
to avoid being crowded out. As expected,
there was a coffee delivery enterprise available: hot, strong and sweet - much
needed at that time of the morning! The
sunrise wasn’t the most spectacular – the sky gradually lightened, but I didn’t
really see the sun, however I thought the colours were quite pretty, as were
the reflections in the water.
After sunrise
I did a quick walk through Angkor Wat; it was really quiet at that time of the
morning, cool and rather pleasant. The
whole complex is rather large, and a bit hard to take in (particularly after
such an early start, and before breakfast!) so I decided to depart, and come
back later in the day.
Breakfast was
at one of the highly-overpriced food stalls within Angkor Thom. There are many options, but I was directed to
the one owned by the sister of my Tuk Tuk driver (I figured they’d all be
similar, so didn’t argue the point!)
After
breakfast, I started on the itinerary of the day: Angkor Thom and the little
circuit. To be honest, with the early
start and the heat I really struggled throughout the day, and didn’t enjoy all
of it as much as I perhaps should have.
The crowds were far worse than my first day (this is the most popular
route, with the most famous of the temples), and the hawkers were more
prevalent (I didn’t find them unpleasant, but it was occasionally hard to keep
a friendly demeanour when I just wanted to be left alone for a bit!)
·
Bayon, the famous one
with all the giant stone faces. The
walls of the temple are covered in quite amazing carvings (though I probably
spent too long looking at these, and got carving-fatigue!) There were masses of people, and I spent a
rather long time watching various tourists get their photographs taken with a
group of very bored looking performers in traditional Cambodian dance dress (a
couple of them were barely able to crack a smile for the photos!)
·
Royal Enclosure & Phimeanakas – Terrace of the Elephants
– Terrace of the Leper King Impressive
carvings, but I think In may have been feeling a little hot and tired…
·
Ta Keo: I was feeling
very tired at this point and considered going back to the hotel to rest (but
decided I didn’t really have time). So this
temple was my ‘last stop before a well-deserved lunch break’! Actually, it was probably worth going just to
ascend the ridiculously steep stairs… my thighs must have been getting a workout from all the temples requiring
energetic ascents!
My lunch ‘break’ at
one of the many restaurants outside Ta Prohm was not completely relaxing. I was really tired, and just wanted to sit
back, rest and write a few postcards: but it was not to be! I was firstly approached at my table by
several hawkers. When I made it clear
that I wasn’t buying they stopped trying to sell, and instead three of the kids
became fascinated with my writing… because they use the Khmer alphabet
(script), so my writing was very different!
The three of them were almost on top of me, as they leaned over to get a
better look!
·
Ta Prohm is the famous
Tomb Raider temple: crumbling buildings overgrown by strangler fig trees. It is quite an amazing sight. Although the ruins are fantastic, there are
many places where the temple is not so much crumbling,
as already crumbled (into massive
piles of stone block and rubble). In
some places, there were heavy duty wires holding the walls into places, and
many danger signs, alerting of restricted areas where collapse is evident. The authorities have started doing
restoration work around the temple, which means that some of the trees have
been cleared, and wooden boardwalks have been put in: so who knows what it will
look like in a few years (hopefully they can retain some of the ‘captured by
the forest’ feel).
Being one of the
most famous temples, this place was overrun with tour groups. Particularly annoying, were the large Asian
groups hogging all of the ‘best photo spots’, talking loudly, and generally
distracting from any sense of peace or awe!
Although it was amazing, I think I preferred Preah Khan the day before.
·
Angkor Wat –
Again! I returned to Angkor at the end
of the day; in theory to explore properly.
I did spend some time admiring the bas relief scenes of ‘various
mythological stories and historic events’ (impressive). But I didn’t allow myself enough time inside
the main complex: and arrived only to find that they closed off the top levels
well before sun down! So, I can say I’ve
been to Angkor Wat… but I never reached the top! Overall, I found Angkor Wat more impressive
from a distance – the famous silhouette against the lightening sky in the
morning. It was just too big to really
appreciate from inside.
I stayed for
sunset, but it was again another non-event, so I headed home to collapse in my
room!
Siem Reap town
I made a couple of excursions into the centre
of Siem Reap town… it seemed a nice compact centre, with a similar offering and
feel to many of the other SE Asian tourist towns I’ve visited – They all have a
mind-blowing selection of cafes, restaurants and bars catering to all tastes, have
generally been beautified more than your average Asian city, and (the obvious
giveaway) are filled with tourists. Siem
Reap isn’t as pretty as Luang Prabang or Hoi An, but it’s not a bad place to
hang out for a day or so (while recovering from temple exhaustion). The night market is small, but nice to
browse, and the street-side eating establishments multiply in the evening.
I enjoyed a Khmer BBQ one evening; where I
cooked my own food at the table: the noodles and vegetables were cooked in a
broth, and the meat was grilled directly on the heated pan. As a bonus, I was sitting next to a couple of
English women who had established a charity to help kids from orphanages find a
vocation (something that was apparently missing previously, leading to problems
when the kids reached an age where they need to leave the orphanage, but had
nowhere to go). They now worked with a
range of other charities I think trying to assist setting up programs, and
provide some form of integration.
Around Siem Reap, there were a lot of ‘good
cause’ shops, selling some quite nice handicrafts. There was also evidence of some of the
outcomes of the war: I bought a book from an itinerant book vendor who had lost
both of his arms due to a land mine explosion – there were several others like
him, selling books, art and so on. So
while it was very easy to eat my ‘Lonely Planet recommended tasting platter
from Angkor Palm restaurant’ or indulge in a fruit smoothie there were
reminders that life for many has been irreversibly changed by (relatively
recent) history.
And so
I had to leave…
To get to Hanoi (to meet Mum and Dad) I had
yet another crazy routing: Late flight from Siem Reap to Bangkok – Overnight at
an airport hotel – Early flight to Hanoi.
‘Reason’: When originally planning my SE
Asian travels, I intended to do a ‘loop’ around Thailand-Laos-Cambodia and back
to Thailand. Then, fly to Hanoi about 4
days ahead of Mum and Dad, in order to visit Sapa (Northern Vietnam – which we
wouldn’t have time for). Of course, what
happened is that I ran out of time, and had to reschedule all my flights… but
it was still cheaper to get to Hanoi via Bangkok (rather than the very expensive
direct options).
As a result, I made it to Hanoi (on about 4
hours sleep), and needed a few hours of midday siesta before I could brave the
motorcycle-madness on the streets… but that’s a story for another blog entry J
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