Good Night, Vietnam

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How fast things change, how soon you forget. No, not forget, but new impressions tend to overlap with old ones.
I have now arrived in Cambodia. Fortunately not via Bangkok like my friend Hartmut who was a day late as he got stranded in Thailand. He quickly gave up on planes and made his way to Siem Reap over land. So, after spending three and a half weeks in the company of my sister I was on my own again, if only temporarily. I am not a scaredy cat, but if it's night, your hotel transfer is nowhere to be seen once you have left immigration, and the taxi driver takes you to an area which isn't only just bumpy lanes but also pitch dark ....
A good night's rest and an explorative walk early the next morning to familiarize yourself with your surroundings, and all is well again. Time to take a Tuk Tuk and get my first glimpse of Angkor Wat, one of the great wonders of the world. heaps and heaps of stones, but 1000-year-old stones, piled up high in the fantastic architecture of the old Khmer empire.

But I am digressing. This blog was to fill in gaps of the last one and to give you some kindof summary of my impressions of Vietnam: What fashion helmets are all about, the traffic situation, why the Vietnamese women laughed when they took my measurements for the fitting of my silk shirt, plastic chairs en miniature and the tendency to be very very loud ... possibly rather cliche ridden, but what do you expect after only three and a half weeks.

How disappointing for you now that I will tell no more. Unfortunately for you, it is not raining and I am not inclined to stay in this stuffy Internet cafe for much longer. My priority today was to copy my photos onto DVDs so I can re-use the cards for the last four weeks. Once I am home (Christmas it is), I promise (!!!!) I will fill you in on my last adventures.
So for today I will just add a few pictures which are, I suppose, self-explanatory, which is why I won't do a translation this time. However, if it should rain again or if cambosia and laos will turn out to be incredibly boring, you will hear from me once more.

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Photos

Fashion Helmets
I am only going to wear a motorbike helmet if it makes me look good.

Internet cafe in the floating village
The two men in the foreground are spending their free time playing football on the computer.

The green stuff which makes the Pho delicious
If it's a good Pho, you get a basket with herbs and green vegetables, like Morning Glory, which you put into the soup.