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Published: February 18th 2007
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Siem Reap
The toad that scared the hell outta' me Suwais diy my family and friends,
My trip has come to a close. I am sitting in the Northwest Airlines WorldPerks club - decided to splurge on a day pass as my Minneapolis layover is a dreadful 10 hours and (you're not going to believe this...) I had money left to spend (eek!!! I didn't do enuf shopping!!). ha ha Anyway, its pretty swanky in here, I feel kinda' guilty. I AM enjoying the complimentary internet, snacks, bevies and comfortable/relaxing atmosphere. 10 hours is a long time. I am ready to come home.
Let me back up to where I last blogged. I was in Hanoi. Enjoyed the water puppets (its exactly how it sounds), visited the museum of ethnology and women's museum, the temple of literature, walked around the lakes and shopped the markets. Got really into enjoying the 'pho' (the Vietnamese eat pho pretty much all day). No 2 bowls taste alike. Basically, it is just rice noodles in a flavoured broth with fresh cut spring onions and beef pieces that have just been seared in the broth. VERY TASTY!!!! Experienced my first moto-taxi ride (against my better judgement) and honestly, it was exhillarating. Also rode a
Hanoi
Rice paddies cyclo around Hoan Kiem lake 2x. I was to be at the tour office that I booked my bus trip at 6:40pm; I went at 6:30pm and the guy was not there AND the place was closed (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!). I waited for an hour (the bus has left by this time) and he did not return. Oh, it gets better; I had taken my big mamma pak to the office for them to store as I didn't want to lug it around all day. So I had to get a hotel for the night AND I was without all of my stuff!!!!!!!!!!! I was some upset, I tell you. I didn't know if the guy had jumped ship and stolen my bag or what!! It was an agonizing night. I stayed at a place directly across the street from the tour office so I could see when they were open in the morning the next day. Well, my bag was there safe and sound (lots of bugs in it, mind you - ick!!) thankfully. The girl working in the morning explained that the office is supposed to be open until 9:30 pm and that the guy working is new. HE FORGOT
Hanoi
More rice paddies; see the tombs in the middle of the field? If you farm the land, when you die, your family bury you there to remember you as they farm around your tomb ABOUT ME!!!!!!! I explained to him (in the calmest way I possibly could as they do not comprehend anger or loss of temper) how much distress he caused not to mention how this would affect the course of my trip. His manager made him pay for my hotel stay (he said he could only afford 1/2). Because of this delay and after reading the fine print on the bus ticket, I realized I would not have the time to get to Ho Chi Minh with the number of stops and time in btween departures for how long the country of Vietnam is (LONG!!) and still go to Cambodia for the end. So, I had to revise the plan yet again. I cashed in the bus ticket, and signed up for a 2 night Halong Bay tour and was really happy with my choice. Halong was beautiful!!! We lucked out with nice weather for what the area usually experiences and I even got to swim in the south China sea. We toured around the limestone formations in an amazing Junk boat and ate like royalty and slept in the boat - so very nice!! Met a new batch of ppl -
Hanoi
It' Valentine's day; why not go for a romantic swan-ride on the lake? in particular, a lovely Brittish family who adopted me as their own and it was so nice to feel their warmth as I was missing family back home. We navigated some caves on foot and by kayak (fun!!) and saw a HUGE jellyfish floating along the top of the water (didn't have the camera with me that time...shoot!). We ate seafood the whole time and enjoyed being spoiled by the great service of the staff and our lovely tour guide Mei. There was one incredibly anoying man in our group who made things unenjoyable at times for everyone ( I won't disclose his nationality as I don't wantto scrutinize others) but he got his just dessert in the end....
Flew from Hanoi on the 14th to Siem Reap, Cambodia and totally came into a HEATWAVE!!!!!! YAY!! What a great way to end the trip. I absolutely loved Cambodia. I was only there a very short time but managed to really make the most of it. I visited the famous temples of Angkor Wat and surrounding areas over a day and a 1/2, shopped the market, enjoyed some yummy Kmer cuisine, took in a dinner and traditional Apsara dance show
and visited a silk farm to see how it is processed. Very cool. I was able to fit in so much thanks to the speedy and efficient service of the moto-taxi driver I hired - Jhan - a very nice fellow who taught me alot about Cambodian culture and a little of the language too. I even managed to get a tan my last couple days -I believe it was nearly 40 degrees there. Don't worry, I've packaged up some of the heat and am bringing it home with me.
I'd like to go into alot more detail about the experiences I enjoyed over the last few days but am too tired and now that I am nearly home, I'd rather wait to give you the 'colorful version' in person.
I am going to go have some eats and then jump on my plane in a couple hours - and I'll be home shortly. Looking forward to seeing you all soon, thanks for following along with me!!!
Love Pamela xoxox
P.S.
Yes, I know.....I totally SUCK for not getting photos up on this blog. I will be able to do it with ease from my pc
Hanoi
Street life (and I do plan to post them still) if you care to return to see them there. If not, it'll give you an excuse to come on over for coffee and a visit!!!!
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Colleen
non-member comment
hi from T.O.
Pamela, you are a trouper!! At least you'll have lots of exciting stories to share once you return home:-) Glad you were able to fit Cambodia in and that you had the heat you were hoping for! Thanks for sharing all of your adventures in such wonderful detail...I was able to picture things the way you described them and felt like I was there with you:-) Keep smiling:-) Love Colleen xoxoxo