Sen Monorom - Motorbikes and Elephants

The Wooky having a well earned rest

My life lesson on this part of the trip was that that despite the fact that I seem to fall off/drop motorbikes on an alarmingly regular basis and they are obviously capable of much greater speeds than your average elephant (and therefore the risk of injury is increased many times over),

I would take a motorbike over an elephant as a means of transport any day of the week.  But more of that later.

After another hair rising minibus ride, we breathed a sigh of relief when we reached Sen Monorom in one piece.  

Angkor Wat - The Wonder of the Khmer Civilisation

Angkor Wat at sunrise on day 2

It’s difficult to write about Angkor Wat and keep it interesting.  Basically it is an ancient site with a load of old temples dotted around a huge area in central Cambodia and unless anyone has a real interest in this type of thing it will all seem a bit dull and little of what I have to say about our experiences here will hold anyone’s attention for very long.

However, for personal reasons we would like a record of how we spent our time here but friends and family (and anyone else) can be forgiven for glossing over this particular chapter although anyone who wishes to visit may find some useful information on how to tackle a visit there.

Siem Reap - Gateway to Angkor

The Spirit House at our hotel

We travelled by minibus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and it was probably the most uncomfortable, not to mention terrifying, journey we have had so far.  It took about 5.5 hours, the promised air conditioning an exaggeration, but the most memorable aspect was constantly living in fear that we were going to crash at any given moment because the driver was handling the vehicle like an absolute lunatic.  It was exhilarating if nothing else.

There are few transport options available in Cambodia, none of them particularly safe (and that includes walking) and most involve travelling by road.  We were quickly beginning to realise that we really didn’t like any of the road options with the notable exception of tuk tuks.  Tuk tuks are, as Paul continues to remind me at any given opportunity, the mutt’s nuts.  But at this point we were yet to discover our love affair with this mode of transport so I’m jumping ahead.

Phnom Penh (2) - The Atrocities

It is hard to write about the day we spent at Tuol Sleng Prison (S-21) and Choeung Ek (one of the infamous Killing Fields) and do it justice.  What we have learned about the recent historical events in Cambodia profoundly affected us both and the day we spent at Tuol Long and Choeung Ek was harrowing..

Phnom Penh (1) - Our Introduction to Cambodia

The spirit house shrine at the
Cambodian border

The boat trip from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh took about 5 hours including border controls.  Before we reached the Vietnam border, not long after we left Chau Doc, our passports were collected and we paid the $20 visa fee.  We were checked out at the Vietnam border and a few minutes later, docked again, where we received our 30 day visas for Cambodia.  It was all very painless and soon we were travelling up the Mekong through Cambodia.

Once again, we were surprised by the lack of industry along the river.  The style of temples changed as soon as we crossed the border and, once again, we were amazed how the simple act of crossing an invisible line in the landscape changes in culture and custom so quickly.

Travelling by boat is definitely the way to go in this neck of the woods and the journey time passes really quickly.  We arrived at Phnom Penh in the mid afternoon and took our first tuk tuk ride to the guesthouse we had booked.  We have to confess we had booked into an Irish Pub.  Not exactly authentic but it was hot in Phnom Penh and priorities were (a) cold beer (b) a balcony and (c) cold beer.  We are pleased to report that Rory’s provided everything we needed: cold beer on tap served in frozen glasses and a balcony overlooking the Royal Palace and museum.

Mekong Delta (3) Chau Doc - Chasing Away Evil Spirits

Lowering the tone at the Victoria Hotel

After we arrived by bus at Chau Doc Bus Station, our onward mode of transport to the hotel was to be cyclo.  This contraption is a bicycle with a pram-like trailer attached where you place yourself and your heavy rucksack, and as you balance precariously you are then pedalled to your destination by a really skinny Vietnamese man who, despite appearances, seems to have the strength and stamina of 5 horses.

We (when I say “we” I mean Paul) felt a bit guilty as his cyclo had a bit of heavier load, but we later spied some cyclos squeeze 3 generations of one family onto their trailer and they still manage to get a bit of a wiggle on.

So we arrived at our hotel after 10 minutes hard slog (not on our part though but it was a bit tiring to witness) and the privilege of being conveyed in this manner cost us the measly sum of 80 cents (40 cents each but we paid a dollar – they both earned at least that!).

Mekong Delta (2) Can Tho - Rice Wine and Pickled Worms

Sailing up the Mekong to Vinh Loc

We journeyed up the Mekong from My Tho to Vinh Loc by boat.  The journey took about 5 hours and we were expecting to pass some uninteresting scenery along a major river route but we were pleasantly surprised that the trip was actually really very scenic.  It was also a much more pleasant mode of transport than a crowded hot bus.

Phi brought us to the harbour where we said goodbye to him and climbed into our little boat which would take us as far as Vinh Loc.  After that we would be transported to our hotel in Can Tho by motorbike.

Our boat driver spoke only a very little English but seemed quite happy perched on the back, squatting on his haunches Vietnamese-style, steering us through the Mekong, chatting away on his mobile phone.

Mekong Delta (1) My Tho - Sailing on the Mekong

Chilling out at Chalet Suisse in the Mekong

So we were setting off on our final leg of Vietnam through the Mekong Delta.  We had booked into a little place called Chalet Suisse which we thought was in Ben Tre but it turned out it was about 4km outside My Tho, between My Tho and Ben Tre in a place called An Thanh.  The bus journey was only 1.5 hours so we set off from Saigon in the usual confusion but miraculously arrived at our chosen destination.

The bus station in My Tho is very well disguised as nothing in particular and when we were dropped off with our bags we could have been anywhere.  Luckily for us, there was a man there called Phi who could speak English and who kindly arranged for a couple of motorbike taxis to take us and us bags to the Chalet Suisse Guesthouse about 4km away.  I don’t know how they manage to balance us on the back and our rucksacks between them and the handlebars but ten minutes later we were deposited in one piece at Chalet Suisse.