Unimaginative Title 1: In Vietnam

So.....the last entry was all very mundane, but i'm sure you all will be pleased to here that recovery is complete and the trip is in full swing once again.
The last couple of days we had in Phnom Penh we spent not doing a hell of a lot - we did go to the killing fields which are, as you would expect, a very sombre and sobering place. The fields are about 15km (or a 30 minute fear-for-your-life tuk tuk ride with a blundering drunk Cambodian, if you prefer to look at it that way) and are where the prisoners of Tuol Sleng detention centre (which we visited earlier) and a number of other 'prisoners' (read women, children, intellectuals etc) where slaughtered and buried in mass graves. I think there were about 8000 people buried there in a relatively small area, but the graves were exhumed in the 80's and 100's of the skulls of the victims are on display in a buddhist stupa on the site which is dedicated to those killed. There is a primary school right next door so as you are walking through the fields and hearing stories of people being forced to dig there own graves, you can hear children playing and laughing which is a very chilling thing. As the graves were dug up they are now shallow pits, from which it is still possible to see fragments of bone and clothes of the victims breaking the surface. One of the most chilling aspects was a huge, beautiful tree that was used by Khmer Rouge soldiers to kill children (in the Tuol Sleng museum we saw a painting of a soldier hitting a baby against this exact tree) as it saved them bullets. Many of the skulls in the memorial are also testament to the brutal killing methods, as you can see where the skull has been fractured with a spade, hammer or axe. It was tragic knowing that this was the resting place of all the hundreds of people whose photos we had seen at the museum, but, although these places are hard to visit I think they're very important too.
The next day in Phnom Penh I finally tracked down the doctor who was able to sort things out very quickly which was great. Phnom Penh is an interesting, chaotic city but it doesn't have much in the way of sightseeing and things (one of the travel agents recommendations was a trip to a municipal rubbish dump - not quite the image of South East Asian travel I had in mind!) so we really didn't do much at all - except being absolutely caned in Connect 4 by 6 year olds.
We came to Saigon by bus from Phnom Penh on the 5th (I think), and it was an easy 6 hour trip on thankfully paved roads. The whole concept of being able to cross into another country overland is still so bizarre to me (one foot i'm in Cambodia, the other i'm in Vietnam!) and it is fascinating to see the differences between the countries become apparent even from the window of the bus. There seems to be a lot less poverty in Vietnam (I say seems as this is an entirely subjective opinion) and Vietnam seems a lot more modernised and prosperous (which all makes sense in light of the history of Cambodia, although Vietnam has its fair share of historical problems). The traffic in Saigon is astronomical - we thought it was bad in Phnom Penh but it's nothing compared to here! It is fascinating to watch though, and although it appears diabolical is just seems to work. I think i've got the crossing the road thing pretty much figured out (favourtie tactic is jsut to shadow some old Vietnamese woman) but it's still a pretty scary experience being in a bus which is overtaking on blind corners and coming within a millimetre of countless motorbikes. We got dropped off in the backpacker-y area here which is absolutely buzzing with life and is a fantastic place to people watch and just hang out. We stayed in a lovely little guesthouse run by a mother and her son (who we have to wake up from his bed in the lobby everytime we come home at night). Our first Vietnamese meal of Pho (the famous noodle soup) didn't disappoint - I think i'm, going to like the food in this place!
Our first day here we did a good amount of sightseeing and hit many of the typical tourist stops (yes Mams, I have a photo of the huge roundabout for you!). We walked to the central market which is the place to go if you're in the market for some snake wine, fresh offal, lovely floral 2 piece outfits or metres and metres of silk. I love markets (except for the rotting meat smell and overpowering heat) and this place was great. We also walked to the City's opera house, the Notre Dame (to which Daryn declared he was "a bit disappointed to be honest", and then proceeded to be fascinated by a well trimmed tree nearby), the Reunification palace (ok, i'll admit to being a bit disappointed here - i'm no Vietnam war buff so perhaps the significance was lost on me a bit) and the War Remnants Museum. The Museum was very interesting - loads of photos and information on the impact of the war such as the continuing birth of babies affected by Agent Orange. I don't know much about the war so it was good, especially to get a different perspective on what is here called the American War. Seeing photos of American GI's lauging as they torture civilians and posing proudly wtih beheaded bodies is quite a different side than I bet the American history books give of the war.
The next day here we did a trip out to the Mekong Delta, where we saw (apparently) the floating markets. These were not quite the markets you see in the photos are were more just a selection of dingy old boats with piles of old potatoes on deck - I guess i'll just have to buy a postcard of the real thing. We also went to see coconut candy (I hope you all like it as it was very cheap, so I stocked up) and rice paper being made, and had lunch in a little village along one of the canals off the Mekong, after which we went for a nice scenic bike ride and a row boat ride down one of the canals. It was a good day, but quite far to travel for a day trip.
Yesterday was a bit of a right off thanks to the amount of Kim's special punch consumed the night before, but Daryn did go for a huge walk and manage to get himself absolutely and completely lost. He didn't know the name of the street we're staying on so described it to a Moto driver the best way he could - it's by 2 Kfc's and a huge roundabout. He got dropped off somewhere which met the aforementioned criteria, unfortunately it was in completely the wrong part of town.
Today we went to a place called Dam Sen park which is a bit out of the city and a huge fairground/amusement park complex very popular with the locals (in fact, I think we were the only westerners I saw all day). It is absolutely kitsch but was good fun - we rode paddle boats, a log flume (which trumps Rainbows end by far) and a haunted house, and had our photos taken with a couple of Vietnamese girls who were fascinated by us, particularly Daryn (which is quite a common theme here, as he is sooo much taller than all Vietnamese men).
Tonight we are off to Nha Trang on an overnight "sleeper" bus which shall be interesting. Apparently they don't have the best safety record, so if you don't hear from me in a week or so you can probably find us in a ditch somewhere between here and Nha Trang.
Well I should go and find Daryn and catch this bus!

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