The Ruins of My Son

Located about 40km southwest of Hoi An, lie the Champa era temple ruins of My Son (pronounced Me Son). A sacred place for the Champa, who ruled what is now central Vietnam from around the 7th century AD until 1832, My Son contains a number of 7th to 11th century temple-complexes dedicated to the past and present ruling god-kings. It was rediscovered by the French during the French Colonial period and was actually fairly well preserved until the 1960s when it was bombed extensively by American B52s  attempting to flush out the Viet Cong who were using it as a base.

A Stela laying on an angle in front of the ruins of  Group B

Buried in the dense jungle and littered with bomb craters, My Son was definitely interesting to see - though difficult to get to without having your own transport or joining a tour. It's also advisable not to wander too far off the track as there remains a great deal of unexploded ordinance in the area.

A broken frieze from behind Group D.

Charmed by Hoi An

One of the fore-courts of a traditional 17th century Cantonese Temple.

With the trip up along the coast to Hanoi from Ho Chi Minh City seeming far too long at 30hrs, it was decided that we should split the journey up with a stop midway in the UNESCO World Heritage Ancient Town of Hoi An. It was in no way a choice we regretted making. In fact, though the city can get quite touristy around midday and has a bit of a preserved feel to it, nearly everyone I've met who has been (including ourselves) says they wish they could have stayed longer.

Boats on the Thu Bon River.

In addition to being only 5km from a lovely 20km stretch of white sand beach which attracts the visitors of today, the city's placement on the Thu Bon river historically made it and excellent location for trade. Somehow spared from the bombs that rained down during the war, the Old Town along the river front boasts beautiful old 15th-19th century Vietnamese, Cantonese, Funanese, Japanese and European-style trading houses, temples and assembly halls alongside museums, excellent but inexpensive tailors and an ancient Japanese covered bridge. On nights of the full moon (which we sadly missed), all the lights in the centre are turned out and the town is lit by lanterns floating down the river. All in all, the city just oozes a relaxed sort of charm that makes you never want to leave. I'm also told the food is delicious but wasn't able to judge for myself due to illness. Guess I'll just have to go back.

A traditional fruit seller markets her wares.

Saigon

With it's wide boulevards, urban atmosphere, colonial buildings, and activity-filled public spaces, Ho Chiinh City (formerly Saigon), particularly in the old quarter (still called Saigon), resembles nothing so much as it does a European city - particularly those in France. That is, of course, until you notice the scooters - and with somthing like four to six million scooters for the eight million people living there, they are somewhat hard to miss. Speaking from experience, I can also say that riding on the back of a moto-taxi (xe om) here is a far more harrowing than anywhere else.

A statue of 'Uncle Ho' outside City Hall.

Even just walking around central Saigon is pleasant - the atmosphere is a thoroughly enjoyable one to soak up. Sites-wise, I had a few favourites. The post office next to the Notre Dame Cathedral (told you) with it's awesome old-school map murals inside is definitely worth a peek in.

Saigon's Notre Dame Cathedral.

Likewise, the remarkably hideous-on-the-outside-until-you-recognize-its-ingenuity-from-inside Reunification Palace built in 1966 to replace the former French Indochinese governor's palace is possibly one of my favourite buildings of all time. I can not describe how amazingly light and airy it was inside, nor how 60s chic - both of which (though maybe less so the latter) are uncommon in political residences. The James Bond style roof top garden, bar, dance floor and chopper landing site were also a plus. As was the underground bunker in the basement from whence the Southern Presidents worked during the war. It was also here that the war symbolically ended - with a tank driven through the gates and acting South Vietnamese President Tran Van Huong taken to the radio station to announce surrender.

The not supremely attractive exterior of the Reunification Palace.

The interior of the Reunification Palace.

Finally, the somewhat biasedly presented, but factually correct and utterly heart wrenching, War Remnants Museum is an absolute must see. Documenting the atrocities of the Vietnam war (albeit completely one sidedly in favour of the North), the museum houses weapons, casings, photographs and stories of those involved as well as information on the war and a recreation of the American/South Vietnamese prison on Phu Quoc. Particularly devastating are the rooms dedicated to the ongoing effects of the use of biological and chemical agents, such as agent orange, not only on those (on both sides) who came in contact with it, but their descendants as well.

A woman in a traditional aojai walks past some of typical communist-style posters found all over Vietnam.

For a great side trip just 40km outside of Ho Chi Minh City, it's definitely worth checking out the Cu Chi tunnels - a network of over 250km of tunnels in which the Viet Cong (the southern communist guerrilla forces) hid out and lived for nearly 20 years during the war. 100m of the tunnels, along side model booby-traps, decoys and a shooting range, are accessible to tourists at Ben Dinh. If you go on a tour you will also stop at one of the government craft centres for the disabled. While I am opposed to the voyeurism involved in checking out the workshop, the work they produce is fabulous. While the tunnels have been widened to accommodate foreigners, even I found them to be on the unpleasantly tight side - and I'm tiny! Hard to believe anyone could live down there for weeks on end.

It should also be noted that Ho Chi Minh City (and Vietnam in general) is home to some absolutely fabulous food - special thanks to Jackson and Vanessa for taking care of us in that regard, you can come visit me for food in Toronto anytime!

The Floating Markets of Can Tho

Located part way between Ha Tien and Ho Chi Minh City, which act as bookends to the fan created by the Mekong Delta, is the Delta's largest city and busiest port - Can Tho.

Sunrise over the Mekong.

The last city to fall to the North Vietnamese army (on May 1st 1975, the day after the fall of Saigon), Can Tho is home to the (sadly mostly Vietnamese language) Ho Chi Minh museum, which depicts the valiant struggle by the local peoples in cooperation with the National Liberation Front  (Viet Cong) to win their freedom and reunify the country. Definitely interesting to see.

More famously, Can Tho is home to the Delta's largest floating markets at Cai Rong and Phong Dien - both of which get their start at the bright and early hour of 4:30am so that the purchasers of produce have time to boat their wares up to Ho Chi Minh City in time for the morning markets there. The action begins to wind down quite early, with action becoming increasingly more local and less frenzied as the sun rises, and dwindling completely by 9am.

The late(ish) morning action at Cai Rong

It's possible to either rent a boat and driver or join a tour from the pier in Can Tho in order to get a peek - I definitely reccomend the former, but be prepared to bargain. I got it down to ten dollars to have a boat take me out to Cai Rong for 4:30am and then wend me back gently through farm lined canals en route home. I also tipped the lovely lady who rowed me out (with a sprained ankle!) an extra five for making her take me out rather earlier than most tourists do and for treating me to snacks - I also saw some others buy their boaters breakfast as a thank you.

A banana and coconut palm lined canal off the Mekong.

Loitering at the base of the Mekong Delta in Ha Tien

For much of history, what is now Vietnam's Mekong Delta actually belonged to Cambodia under the ancient Khmer empires. Laced with rivers and streams, boats are the the primary mode of transport in the area - though local buses-come-delivery-vans also trundle their way along narrow streets with rice paddies, coconut groves and water buffalo lining their sides. The area is beautifully verdant - especially in contrast to the dry season in Cambodia. I don't think I understood the true meaning of lush until I crossed the border! As many of the area's residents are ethnically Cambodian, there was little change in culture apart from the sudden appearance of the ubiquitous traditional Vietnamese conical hats.

The Beach at Mui Nai

While the most common way to visit Vietnam's Mekong Delta is on a day trip to the lovely towns of My Tho and Ben Tre from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), I decided to hop on a local mini bus from Kep in Cambodia to the tiny Prek Chak-Xa Xia border crossing in the far south and hitch the 10km to Ha Tien.

A view of the buffalo filled rice paddies from Thach Dong.

What became immediately evident upon renting a bike and setting off to explore the area, was how few foreigners actually stay in Ha Tien beyond the few hours necessary to catch their next bus or ferry -and how glad I was that I actually had. I'm not sure what the best part of that 15km cycle was: buying roasted bananas encased in rice and palm leaves from local ladies on the side of a rural country road, getting into an epic splash fight with two adorable local 8 year old girls when I stopped off at the beach on the Mui Nai peninsula to cool down in the (rather warm) waters of the Gulf of Thailand, or exploring the Buddhist Temple built inside the bat-filled Thach Dong Cave. In any case, the day also ended wonderfully with explorations of Ha Tien's treat-filled night market and local kids playing bumper carts on the water-front promenade.

Chilling in Kep and Kampot

While I didn't get the chance to make it to the Cambodian beach and backpackers paradise that is Sihanoukville, I did decide to make a stopover in the nearby charming smaller towns of Kep and Kampot on my route to the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. Such a great decision! Kampot was the perfect place to just chill and Kep's un-crowded beach 35km away was just delightful (even if I got to visit it only very briefly and didn't get to try any of the local crab). I just wish I could have stayed longer!

A morning view of the Chhou River at the base of the Elephant Mountains in Kampot , Southeastern Cambodia

It should be noted that the roads down to Kep, Kampot and Sihanouville are pockmarked dirt things that are thoroughly enjoyable if, like me, you love bumpy rides but, which can make a journey in a large bus take rather longer than it does in the (small, un-airconditioned and frequently rather packed) local share-taxis which also ply the route.

The Ruined French Colonial Church on Bokor Hill

While I loved the rural-ness of Kampot (being the only foreigner in the local market was super fun), it was not my primary reason for going. In addition to sporting lovely beaches and a swimable/kayakable/tubable river, the Kep-Kampot area was used as a countryside retreat by the French during the colonial era. Abandoned after the civil war, the region is now dotted with numerous crumbling and over-grown colonial structures. Hoping to see some of these, I managed to convince some of the staff and other travellers staying at Naga House (located on the river, awesome staff, perfect for those loving a chill party and backpacker culture and only $2 US/night) that we should rent motorbikes and ride them (or, in my case, that someone should take me on the back of theirs - Thank you Chanda!) up to the National Park on Bokor Hill to see some of them (it's also possible to take $10 day tours to see them). Although somewhat marred by the heavy real estate development now going on up top, the adventure still turned out to be well worth our while.

Watching the mist come up over the side of the mountain from the ruined terrace of one of the old colonial hotels. This particular ruin was undergoing some restoration but was still fun to explore - especially in areas where some of the original flooring was still visible.

The Angkor Ruins

Being me, one of the main objectives of my going to visit Cambodia was to see the Angkor ruins up near Siem Reap. Although most people are aware of the World Heritage Site (and Wonder of the World) that is Angkor Wat, few are aware that the Angkorian ruins in the area cover hundreds of square kilometers, with many ranging even further afield. The Angkorian Empire (AD 802 -1431) did, after all, at it's height cover all of what is now Cambodia and Laos as well as most of Thailand and much of Vietnam. Fortunately, my mother, with whom I was travelling at the time, is similarly interesting in archaeology and, so, we not only got one, but three days, to explore the temples in the area - including Banteay Srei to the North and the Roluos group to the East. Sadly we didn't have time to make it to the temples further up the mountains to the north, but they are meant to be especially beautiful in wet season, which it was not. Below is a selection of some of my favourite sites.

Main Site

One of the five  four-headed gates into Angkor Thom. Angkor Thom is the largest of the ruin complexes, covering an area of 9km square and encompassing many other sites within its walls. Definitely a must see. My favourite temple inside was Bayon - imagine a pyramid topped with 54 many-headed towers. The Terrace of the Elephants and Terrace of the Leper King with their many carvings were also nice to see. Angkor Thom itself was built by King Jayavarman VII in the late 12th and early 13th centuries AD and was the last great Khmer (Angkorian) Capital, housing up to as many as a million inhabitants.

An end of day photo of Angkor Wat itself. This photo was actually taken on my birthday after I had cycled back up from town to watch the sunset, catching it from the uncrowded back gate. Angkor Wat is the most complete of the temples in terms of what remains. It was built in the mid 12th century as the temple and mausoleum for King Suryavarman II and is home to incredible bas reliefs which cover the hundreds of meters of walls in the first gallery which surrounds the inner temple. As the temple was initially dedicated to Vishnu, the reliefs depict scenes from central Hindu myths such as the Ramayana and the Churning of the See of Milk.

A view of the Jungle from atop the towers of the central  sanctuary.

One of the still red-painted Apsara dancers carved on the walls. Apsara is a traditional Indian-Indochinese dance form with holy connotations for both Buddhists and Hindus in the region and, so, such carvings are found undestroyed on many of the temples. The red colour comes from when all the temples were converted (re-converted in some cases) to Buddhism in the 16th and 17th centuries - long after the area had ceased to be the Khmer capital. ( The capital was moved south after the invasion of Siam in 1431.)

Ta Phrom - easily one of my favourite sites as it's so overgrown with massive trees! It was originally built by Jayavarman VII around the same time as Angkor Wat and was dedicated as a Buddhist Monastery. Subsequent (re-) conversion of the area to Hinduism in the period following meant that many of the carved Buddha's on the walls were defaced, destroyed, or turned into Hindu ascetics as at most of the other temples from the period. Based on an inscription at the site, it appears that twelve thousand people lived at the monastery with almost eighty thousand villagers supporting them. 

Banteay Kdei. Another of my favourites. Dating from the same period and located close to Ta Phrom, but not quite as tree covered, Banteay  Kdei is still a lot more rubble-filled and less reconstructed than many other temples. It is also less touristed, giving it a much more peaceful air.

Looking down from the top of Phnom Bakheng. Built on top of a small mountain, it is actually the oldest temple at the main site, built by Yasovarman I in the late 8th century AD. As the hill on which it's built rises 60m above the rest of the plain, Phnom Bakheng provides a wonderful view of Angkor Wat and other temples rising out of the jungle as well as of the Tonle Sap lake to the south. Strangely (to me at least as it lies northwest of it) the site gets flooded with tourists in the late afternoon who hike up to watch sunset over the Angkor Wat, leaving it nearly empty in the early morning and throughout the day.

North Group

Banteay Srei might be one of the prettiest of the Angkor Temples. Built in the  10th century, it;s like a pink sandstone, much more delicately carved version of some of the later temples. Definitely worth visiting (possibly after you've seen the others so that you have something to compare it to), it lies 30km north of the main sites through some great countryside (I wouldn't recommend cycling it (we certainly didn't) unless you have a lot of energy and most of the day). The Mine Museum is also on the way.

Roluos Group

Before the capital was at Angkor, it was a dozen or so kilometers east of Siem Reap at Rulous. The Rulous group is now comprised of three main sites: Lolei (not pictured here but which sports adorable tufts of hair-like grass on top of its four towers and is home to a Buddhist monastery, orphanage and language school),  Preah Ko and Bakong.

Built as a Hindu funerary temple for his ancestors by Indravarman the first, Preah Ko is a fairly small site. The best part about it is Dy Proeung's stone carving workshop opposite. A master architect and carver who survived the Khmer Rouge purgings, now 80-some odd year old Dy Proeung has carved miniatures (which are still several meters large) of many of the main temples. He was even recognised by the former king for his work. Go visit him.

On of my favourite of all the temples, this is Bakong (with my mother in the foreground).  The oldest 'temple mountain' (pyramidal temple) in Cambodia, it has some delightful statues, nice crumbly bits, a lovely moat, beautiful flowers, stairs on every side and many, many fewer tourists than the other sites. As it's the oldest, the carvings also differ, with many of the women on the central towers doing things other than dance.

In terms of getting to the temples from Siem Reap. A number of options are available. You can easily hire a tuk-tuk for the day for up to four people (should be around $20-$25 US for the day depending on the number of people and whether or not you are making your poor driver wake up for sunrise), rent motorbikes (not sure of the price), join a tour, or, my personal favourite way as the area is mostly flat, rent a bike ($2-5 US/day depending on the quality) and cycle. Bear in mind that if you are cycling, the closest ruins are 10km from the city (took about 23 mins on a not-great-bike) and cover an area much larger than that - in other words, if you are cycling, bring a lot of water and sunscreen and be prepared to take some rests in the shade.  It's also possible to hire guides for the day ($20-25 US for English, other languages are more expensive, add five dollars for sunrise, likely more if you expect them to cycle with you). Most of the local children around the ruins sell knockoff guide books with excellent info in them if you want to do it yourself. Temples are all open 5am - 6pm (except Banteay Srei which closes an hour earlier). Entry to the sites (including the main site, Roluos group and northern groups) is $20 US for one day, $40 for 2 or 3 and $60 for 7, you can enter and exit as many times as you want per day with no penalty.

Siem Reap itself is very much a tourist town, but a cute one for all that. Other things to do are to explore the countryside or take a boat ride out on the Tonle Sap (which floods so much in rainy season that it becomes Asia's largest freshwater lake) to visit the floating villages (be prepared to pay $10-20 US/person).