travelopp

Ever since I started planning this trip, I have been looking forward to Halong Bay - a Unesco World Heritage site due to its approx 2,000 pinnacle-shaped limestone and dolomite rocks or small islands sticking up out of the bay. According to legend (per DK Eyewitness Travel Guides), the bay was formed when a gigantic dragon - ha long means descending dragon - plunged into the Gulf of Tonkin and created the myriad islets by lashing its tail. Geologists have explained that the karst topography is the product of selective erosion over the millenia. The result is a labyrinthine seascape of bizarrely shaped outcrops, isolated caves and sandy coves. In very simple terms, it’s an awesome site - looking out and seeing all of these limestone rocks sticking up out of the water. As I was ... read more

It's our last day in Siem Reap. We're a little tired from the early morning yesterday and still catching our wind from the long flight over. We meet Lep and Votha around 9:30 AM. We enjoyed touring so much yesterday with Votha that we hired him for another day. Votha told us that there are over 3,000 tour guides in the Siem Reap area. Our itinerary for the day was driving for about an hour through the rural Cambodian countryside through small villages for about an hour to the temple of Banteay Srey. On the way back, we will stop at the Landmine Museum. This was the hottest and most humid day that we've had so far. The temp was around 100 degrees out at Banteay Srei and around 80% humidity. It was nice driving through ... read more

Day 2 - Saigon to Siem Reap After getting up early (I usually do after the day of arrival), a refreshing shower, an enjoyable breakfast, we were ready to head off. Breakfast was great. I had the western breakfast - an omelette, orange juice, fruit (I always enjoy the local food at lunch/dinner but usually prefer the western breakfast). Erin was ready to dig-in to the Vietnamese breakfast - a bowl of pho (noodles with beef). It was really good - a little on the spicy side especially after Erin added chilis to it. We chatted one last time with the owners as we paid our bill. They seem like very warm and hospitable people. Many of their family members live in the hotel building - their shoes are deposited on the steps outside the hotel. ... read more

On Monday, after eating breakfast, we left the Dead Sea and headed to southern Jordan for Petra - the number one tourist site in Jordan and one of the seven modern wonders of the world. It took a little over three hours to reach our destination. Petra was built by the Nabataeans in the 3rd to 1st century BC who made it the centre of a vast trading empire. In 106 AD, Petra was annexed by Rome. Christianity arrived in the 4th century, the Muslims in the 7th and the Crusaders briefly in the 12th. Thereafter, Petra was forgotten until 1812 when rediscovered by JL Burckhardt. It’s located next to the small Jordanian town of Wadi Musa. After checking in to our hotel - the Moevenpick Petra, we headed off to see the sites. After walking ... read more