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Published: April 3rd 2009
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Cu Chi Tunnels - Kev
Kev entering the unknown, in the heat Its been a while!!!
We've been having problems with our camera and so not been able to load up pics, plus too busy sitting on beaches, drinking and eating, which sounds a better excuse.
Vietnam Cont.... Ok, so the last update we did was in
Saigon, the day after we headed to the
Cu Chi Tunnels which is where the Vietnam Communists soldiers (North Vietnam) used to hang out during the war. Fascintating place, see the pics of us in the tunnels, which were tiny, even for Maria. Kev got to fire off an M16 sub machine gun in the fireing range, just like COD5 he said! Though Maria thought it was just so loud. We got to see the different traps they used to stop the Americans, pretty nasty stuff with man traps and 9 inch nails. Back in Saigon at 6 in the evening the whole main park turns into Mr Motivators exercise class with all shapes and sizes doing workouts,,, hilarious. The blokes though mostly spend their time kicking odd shuttlecocks to each other,,, so Kev bought one! Although it's still in its packet now. Really enjoyed the chaos and culture of Saigon, although not the
Cu Chi Tunnels - Maria
Investigating the theory that there was a cool place. Maria starts the 100m crawl. mossies,,, Maria had 24 in total after leaving this place.
From Saigon we headed toward the
Mekong Delta (no, we didn't get Bird Flu). Lots of wetland areas, houses on stilts and waterways. We jumped on a boat through a floating market and back onto the Mekong River, again! Had a great lunch at a restaurant eating Elephant Ear fish, although on the way Maria found that having no brakes, a seat to high and a slope backwards is not a great combination. A bruised bum and slightly bruised pride we headed on. After lunch we got to hold the family Anaconda,,, as you do (see the pic), not many dogs or cats around for some reason. The following day we crossed the border into
Cambodia (a Floating Border Control of course for a change) and continued on our way to
Penom Penh. By far the hottest boat journey we've ever had. We were up on the roof expecting a cool breeze and not a oven blasting heat. Lots of great views but hot hot hot!
Cambodia Arriving in
Penom Penh was a bit scary. Its a bit like the guide books say,,,, and reading them had already
Kev in his new toy
Big Tank that the Americans forgot to take back made us a bit wary. So we headed to a local restarant for curry and beer and it felt better after that. Next day we headed to the river for a look around, much nicer and even more bars and restaurants. Though the heat was turning up again and the trip around the royal palace was almost unbearable. So we had to go and find a drink. This turned out to be a bar called the FCC (Foreign Correspondance Club), where all the journalists used to hang out during the civil war and the Khymer Rouge days in the 70's. Very colonial, very cheap (during happy hour) and had a good pool table. The views over the Mekong were great too.
Next day we headed out with our personal Tuk Tuk driver (Dave), to the Killing Fields Genocidal Musuem. About 14km outside the town. Essentially this is where Pol Pot and his Khymer Rouge cronies took people to dispose of them in over 120 mass graves. A large Stupa (temple) with over 9000 skulls greated us in this odd place. Odd because there was still clothing coming out of the ground in places, what when on there with the
M16 shooting
Kev showing his COD5 friends the real thing! attemp to extinguish a culture and the fact that you could hear the local school children playing and having fun down the road. Just showing that life moves on. In the afternoon we went to the 'Tuol Sleng' (S21) jail, (former high school) where the people were interrogated, tortured and sent blind folded in trucks to the Killing Fields. A very thoughtful day of what goes on in the world, and in our lifetimes. Dinner at the Happy Herb Pizza emporium with Maria in her new 'Chanel' sunglasses,,, bargain $3! On that,, everything is in dollars, you barter in them, get your change in Riels,,, odd!
From Penom Penh we escaped and had a 4 hour bus journey to
Siem Reap in the NW of the country. Again pretty hot, and very dusty when we arrived, although no scramble at the bus stop, all the Tuk Tuk drivers wanted the locals and not us. We found a nice Guest House a stones throw from this modern and funky place. Basically the starting point for everyone to investigate the temples at
Angkor Wat. So that's what we did....we got a Tuk Tuk for the day and were driven around most
The cute house pet
Kev loving it, Maria a tad scared. of the outlying and internal temples. (see some pics) we didn't realise that there were so many to see. The second day we did the main temples, but by bicycles! Much more relaxing, though even hotter. We were getting through about 5 litres between each other a day, with lots of pineapple too. We went to 'Ta Prom' where they filmed Tomb Raider, and 'Bayon' which has 180 stone carved faces throughout. Finally visiting 'Angkor Wat', which is just as amazing. Just the moat alone was wider than the Thames. In the evening we went to a local Restaurant 'Red Piano' where Angelina Jolie used to hang out, and even has a cocktail she initiated in there. We had beer.
So for the final leg in Cambodia the next morning we were up early for a 10 hour trip back to
Bangkok. We realised we were getting short of time, so best get to the islands of Thailand soon. Flights were expensive, so the bus it was. After some indifferent driving we arrived in Bangkok and took the decision to get to
Ko Samui that evening. Another 10 hour trip!!!! So another bus was boarded and we did an
Happy Hour
Maria in the FCC overlooking the Mekong... in typical pose! overnight to the ferry port. So finally arrived in Ko Samui after a marathon 30 hours of travelling and sore bums.
Right, just so you don't all get really bored,, Thailand will be on the next blog entry,, including,, Who did we bump into? What new beers did we try? How many mossie bites do we get?
Speak to you all soon.
Kevin and Maria..
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