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Published: February 8th 2010
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First a sporting note ... a really good result for England on the first day of the 6 Nations (sorry Jo and all our friends in Cardiff!!). We tried to stay up to watch the match, but coverage stopped after Ireland vs. Italy (which wasn’t exactly impressive), and it was getting too late to find an alternative.
Anyway, back to our travels. This morning sees me writing this as we’re travelling by public bus to Cambodia. There was the normal angst over the journey which occurs whenever we’re taken out of our comfort zone. I think we were dreading ‘the chicken bus’, our name for the local buses which look to be overcrowded and you could end up sitting next to someone with chickens -not particularly pleasant for long journeys. Mark actually decided not to take the chance and bought plane tickets instead!
But once again our fears appear unfounded - Yes, I could do without the video playing Khymer music, even if it is quiet and non-abrasive, but we have nice comfy seats and have already been plied with doughnuts and bottles of water.
We have been driving for an hour so far and are still in
Saigon due to the really heavy traffic. This is something we certainly won’t miss about Vietnam - it really can be quite terrifying at times, and you feel as if you’re taking your life in your hands trying to cross the roads. Just when you think you’ve got it sorted, a motorbike will come down the wrong side of the road, the wrong way on a one-way road and skip up onto the pavement in front of you ... and then have the cheek to beep its horn at you!! The number of motorbikes is staggering and the traffic jams something to be seen to be believed as bikes, cars and buses swarm in various directions as if in a badly choreographed dance. I am intrigued to see what will happen when everyone can afford cars...
Although we are told that everything is quiet during the New Year celebrations themselves as its very much a family affair, we are lucky that we’ve been here in the lead up to the big day - the decorations are beautiful. ‘New Year’s Trees’ are on sale in the parks and market gardens. These are trees that are just coming in to blossom,
traditionally pink blossom in the north and yellow in the south, although there’s a mixture of both. We’ve also seen people carrying what looks like decorative hampers which are given as presents.
So, my impressions of Vietnam? A very vibrant country that is embracing the 21st Century with frenetic energy. There is still a strong bureaucratic undertone, but its not oppressive. I haven’t noticed many people in uniform - indeed, one of the only policeman we saw was sitting in a traffic control box just watching as motorbikes were mounting the pavement and swarming amongst the pedestrians (ie US!). When we asked our guide why he wasn’t doing anything, the answer was along the lines of ‘what can he do?’
We have travelled from the country where they are farming without machinery, as they have no doubt farmed for centuries, to cities that are rapidly catching up with new technology and a more ‘modern’ way of life. Its not for me to say which is best ...
What I would say is that Vietnam’s best asset is its people - wherever we’ve visited, we’ve found the people warm and friendly (except the border guards who have been
genetically designed to be cold and humourless!).
Thanks Vietnam - its been fun!
Negotiating the border between Vietnam and Cambodia is a little chaotic even though we’d paid the bus company $5 to ease our passage. Firstly, there are 3 forms to complete, an exit form for Vietnam, a Visa form for Cambodia, and a health declaration. The bus dropped us off at the first customs station, gathered our passports and, whilst we scanned our baggage (there didn’t seem to be any inspectors!) they were handed over at the customs booth. We then joined a confused and rather frenzied crowd waiting for our names to be called. This took an age but eventually we all got back on the bus for the short trip across no-man’s land to the Cambodian.
Thankfully, the Cambodian side was much calmer and more ordered (apparently many of the Vietnamese creating the chaos at the previous post only go as far as no-mans’ land - don’t know why), but involved three separate stages, the final health check involving a man in uniform putting a gun to your head! Thankfully, it was checking your temperature and luckily, nobody was detained.
The journey through the Cambodian countryside to Phnom Penh was very scenic but also very hot as we were on the sunny side of the bus. The Cambodians can pack more onto their motorbikes and lorries than even the Vietnamese. Luckily there isn’t much traffic on the roads and they say the only traffic jams are likely to be caused by cows on the road -probably true as we saw several with no road sense! Apparently Cambodia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world, as well as one of the poorest. There are approx 13 million people, 50% of whom are under the age of 20. There were approx 85 million in Vietnam ... no wonder it was so noisy!
The main highlight was the ferry across the Mekon river, where we saw lots of children playing and also horses bathing in the river (a sight we’d missed when in Malta.) There was also a very funny moment when a policeman walking in the middle of the road concentrating on something looked up to see our bus bearing down on him and had to leap out of the way - gave everyone in the front of the bus a jolly good laugh!
We finally got to Phnom Penh at 4ish, cooled off and then went out for a walk round along the water front and past the royal palace before sinking gratefully into an armchair in a bar with a very cold glass of beer (or 2...). We rounded off the evening with dinner and a film about the rise of the Khymer Rouge. Before retiring, had a brief chat with a girl in the bar who had just returned from a wedding. Over here the bride has at least 5 dresses, all of different colours, which she has to change into at various times of the day. Weddings start early, at around 7am but tend to finish by 9pm.
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