We are still alive, we just haven’t had consistent access to wifi. Istanbul was fantastic, so much history and architecture, and ferry boats and funiculars which are all good in my books. We’ve moved on to Goreme and Cappadocia which is a fantastic change in climate from Istanbul–no humidity yay! Stay tuned folks…
I have been trying to find a way to get back into writing for a while now. Let’s not fail to point out it has been just over a year since anything was last updated. This isn’t because the two of us haven’t been out and about in the world, but more so because I wanted to take a step back from spending time online. Ironically, by quickly posting photos on Facebook, the majority of stories feel like they’ve been told. (And, then there’s Pinterest, which is completely counteractive to anything productive!)
However, writing about our travels is something that I actually enjoy. Even if I’m only one of a handful of people who reads any of this now, it is a great way to remember where we’ve been. In an effort to catch everyone up to speed, I will be filling a few missing posts from Asia, and a lot of posts from New Zealand. My return from New Zealand was pretty much where everything shared here stopped; there were a few Middle East posts to let friends and family know we were still alright on our trip, but nothing of significance. At that time, I had spent a lot of time writing and editing photos from the trip by creating a book for Fazh. With any luck I’ll be able to use some of the book as photo essays, and you’ll be up to speed in no time. Then, to tackle the entirety of Jordan and Israel, and Mexico after that.
On our flight to Hanoi, we had a few hours at Pudong Airport. Waiting for our flight to Hanoi, while traveling from Vancouver to Vietnam, we had a few hours in Pudong International Airport. For something to do, we took the Maglev to check it out. “What’s the Maglev?” you ask.
It’s a high-speed train propelled by magnetic levitation. That’s science folks! And, this train doesn’t just leisurely roll along, it moves at a speed of more than 430km/h. That’s no typo…FOUR HUNDRED THIRTY! (FYI: Max speeds during testing were over 500km/h.)
It’s the World’s Fastest Train!
We made the 30km trip from Pudong International Airport into Shanghai in approximately 7 minutes. Not too shabby for a commute that long. Google maps estimated it would be about an hour by car.
For the layover in China on our way home from Bangkok to Vancouver, we opted to do some sight-seeing.
In the short few hours, the two of us visited Yuyuan Gardens, took photos of The Bund (from afar), and made it back to the airport in time for our flight home.
What do you do to break up the lengthy airport layovers?
~j
For years my only knowledge of Cambodia was that there was a need for landmine removal. In the late 90’s, an uncle of mine was stationed there for landmine removal, and at the time, I thought nothing of it. Cambodia was a country that I never dreamed I’d be visiting. To have that opportunity now, so amazing!Aki Ra and his organization devote all of their donated funds to clearing Cambodia’s rural “low-priority” villages. These villages, populated primarily by poor farmers, do not always receive first dibs for minefield clearance projects because of their remoteness and limited traffic. At times, they’re completely overlooked.from: www.cnn.com
Anthropologists believe that the Khmer Rouge managed to do away with approximately 80 percent of the country’s literature, even using the National Library of Cambodia as a pig stall. Of the few remaining texts, most were saved because copies were stored outside the country, especially in ex-colonialist France, or by refugees who fled the country.From: Granges et al. National Geographic Traveler Cambodia 2010 edition.
If you are in Cambodia, and spend any time in Siem Reap Town, be sure to visit the Landmine Museum. You’re able to donate to the cause at the facility. There’s a wish list of items on the website that you can pick up in any of the markets to deliver when you’re there too!
During our time in Siem Reap, we allotted two days to explore the temples of The Angkor Complex. The Angkor Complex and surrounding area is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Most people call the entire area Angkor Wat, but in actuality, Angkor Wat is just one of the many incredible temples in the area.
Because we had a lot of ground to cover, we had to decide how to best plan our visit. There are many options for transportation through the temple grounds–cycling, tuk-tuk, car. You would be extremely inefficient and ridiculously limited without transportation. The complex is gigantic and spread out.
We decided that day one we would use a car, and day two we would use a tuk-tuk. Our driver, Dora, was quite possibly the nicest person ever! He gave us so much information about the area, about himself, and about Cambodia in general that we decided to scrap the tuk-tuk day two, and go with him again. He was awesome! (FYI: It really was nice having the air-conditioning. We were spoiled Day 1, so that was a definite bonus!)
The temples were built between the 9th and 15th centuries AD, starting with Preah Ko (AD 875-890), and ending with Bayon (AD 1175-1240).
Of all of the temples in the complex, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom are the most impressive. Angkor Wat is the said to be the world’s largest religious structure. It is definitely the most famous and most ornate. We started the day at Angkor Thom.
Angkor Thom is more like a city of temples, (see the map above) including Bayon, Baphuon, Phimeanakas, the Terace of the Leper King and the Terrace of the Elephants. Our first impression was of the massive causeway and gates. The Asura statues lining the causeway are all slightly different than each other.
The temples are filled with details, from panels depicting various scenes of day to day life, to bas-reliefs of apsara dancers, to walls and walls of carved writing. It’s overwhelming, and impossible to see all of it in two days. Even writing this now, I’m finding it difficult to focus on just one thing. Let’s let the pictures do the work!
Here are some of the lovelies we saw:
Angkor was “rediscovered” in the 19th century, having been abandoned for centuries, and was once again lost to the world during the 70’s due to war. Since the collapse of the Khmer Rouge in the late 90’s, the temples have undergone massive restoration efforts. Mines (unexploded ordinance) had to be cleared from the area, not to mention an overgrowth of vegetation.
Restoration efforts were prominent, and globally funded. Given the importance of Angkor archeologically, and to the Cambodians economically, conserving the site is of utmost importance.
There is so much to say about our time at the Angkor Complex. So much history, so many interesting things and people that the photos will have to do a lot of the work.
If you have the opportunity to visit Cambodia, you won’t be disappointed. The people were the most gracious hosts, and the small bit of scenery we saw was unbelievably gorgeous.
~j
We’ve seen countless shows about how many scams there are in Bangkok. It’s true! Although it is an intriguing city, there are certainly some things to be wary of. The scam we encountered was at The Grand Palace. Note – The Grand Palace is open every day!
At the first entrance we encountered “wily strangers” who told us the temple was closed for the morning due to monks being on the premises. Only, we’d just seen a whole tour bus of tourists let in! He said women weren’t allowed in at that time because it was too distracting to their prayer. The official-looking man tried to get us into a Tuk Tuk for other sight seeing. We didn’t go with it.
We stayed near Phra Sumen Fort which gave us the opportunity to explore on foot. We were able to visit the impressive Buddhist temples of Wat Pho, Wat Saket, and Wat Arun. While we were there Songkran festival, Buddhist New Year in Thailand, was taking place.
Siem Reap is one of the most welcoming places we’ve ever been to. It is an oddly dichotomous place in that is a major tourist hub with a 100% tourist related enterprise as the main focus. And, then there are obviously Cambodians going about their day to day business. Kind of like Las Vegas – there’s the Las Vegas strip, which most people from Vegas would avoid like the plague, and then there’s normal Las Vegas where people live, work, go to school etc. We were lucky enough to see both sides Siem Reap.
As we had limited time in Cambodia, we had a lot of ground to cover. Our first day was spent with Ta from Peace of Angkor tours. This has got to be one of the most memorable vacation days we’ll ever have. He took us to Kompong Khleang and along the Tonle Sap. We also visited Beng Mealea, and climbed along the walls of the ancient temple. Ta was fortunate to be one of first people to “rediscover” the temple, and said at the time, there were actually tigers on the temple grounds.
We were privileged to see a wedding, where they asked us in closer to take photos of the bride and groom. And, we also saw/followed a funeral procession for a while. Richard, a person we were with, said we almost had “hatches, matches and dispatches,” covered.
The tour also took us through the process of making puffed rice, rice paper/wraps, coconut candy, and fed us a bizarro lunch, complete with live traditional Vietnamese singing. The fish looks kind of disturbing in the picture, but it was “crusted” with puffed rice, and was actually tasty. The fresh Vietnamese spring rolls were not my favourite, but Jon ate them–cucumber, pineapple, fish and all!
For me, the most interesting part of the day were the stilt houses on the delta, and the different styles of housing, methods of fishing, and strategies for gardening we saw.
Seeing a different lifestyle, and how it all just falls together made the day trip worth doing, even if being on a tour was slightly cheesy.
Happy Travels,
~j
We visited the Reunification Palace to try to escape the heat for a bit, but that plan didn’t work. FYI: None of the buildings had air conditioning, so it was just as hot inside as out! Reunification Palace, though not as cooling as we’d hoped, was worth the visit.
As headquarters for the South Vietnamese during the war, there were a lot of maps, and historical memorabilia on display. *(The elephant leg trash cans were uber-creepy!) April 1975, the civilians and employees at the building were part of Operation Frequent Wind, with an escape taking place minutes before the building was overrun. On April 30th, 1975, a tank from the North Vietnamese army rammed through the front gate, and ended the Vietnam War, and reunified Vietnam into a communist state.
Nothing can prepare someone for Ho Chi Minh City traffic. This video pretty much sums it all up.
Traffic in Frenetic HCMC, Vietnam from Rob Whitworth on Vimeo.
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