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Cambodia

Cambodia - Vietnam,

I am writing this in May - some four months after the trip. Some of our friends who are interested in these places have asked us to report on or impressions - fleeting though they have been - so here they are.

We started out Jan 13 from LAX by Cathay Pacific via Hong Kong to Singapore. First time we flew this line, service was excellent, and business class paid for by Seven Seas Cruise line helped too. We actually slept on the plane and arrived fresh as daisies. We had not been in Singapore for quite a while - not much has changed except more apartment buildings left and right of the airport road. The cruise line put us up atthe Regent, a fine hotel, but as we stayed two night beyond the two paid for by the line we changed to the Shangri-La where we had stayed so many times and feel very much at home. On Jan 16 we took Silkair flght 662 from S'pore to Siem Reap in Cambodia (entry formalties into Cambodia could stand a little simplification), were met by a guide and taken rather poor roads ("our infrastructure is in bad shape" said the guide in barely intelligible English) to the Grand Hotel d'Angkor - some 6 miles. A very fine hotel. We had equipped ourselves with all manner of foodstuffs - quite unnecessarily as the food, and the accomodation, were really excellent, and so was the service. This is still far and away THE hotel in Siem Reap. Newer ones exist, some new construction is on hold as tourists are still somewhat queasy about coming. (We did see many foreign tourists - Korean, Thai etc.) I believe the Khmer language is impossible to learn. It seems based on Sanskrit and Pali, the script looks a little like Thai which I think has the same origin.

The same afternoon we went to see Angkor Wat from a low mountain not far from the temple. After clmbing up what seemed to be at a 45 degree angle over big boulders we found the vaunted view of the Wat was not really worth it and we took an elephant back- very bumpy ride!) Excellent dinner at hotel.

Next morning we went to Angkor Thom which is a very large area with many temples, Angkor Wat not being one of them. The most impressive sight was the Bayon with its four-headed huge Brahma stone-carved images.

Our guide, whose real name I can't pronounce and who told us to call him Boot-Key, had one eye and one finger missing. I found out - diplomatically referring to my lack of sight in one eye- what happened: he had been tortured by the Khmer Rouge, like tens of thousands of his compatriots who survived the Killing Fields. But the Khmer Rouge are not the real danger right now as they are holed up in the mountains near the Thai border and are not likely to stage attacks. The real danger are the over 10,000 landmines scattered all over Cambodia courtesy of the USAF.

We had to stay on the beaten paths, no straying off into the jungle! - We saw many cripples - those who lost an arm,. a hand, a leg - land mines! In the afternoon we went to Angkor Wat, an unforgettable experience. Nine tiered towers rising out of a square walled compound and reflected in a square moat encircling the temple area, decorated with intricate bas-reliefs based on the Hindu epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. That brought up the question: are the temples Hindu or Buddhist? The answer is that they are both. There as many images of Buddha as there are of Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma and the other many deities of the Hindu pantheon.And it does not really matter, neither to us, nor to the people.

The evening in the hotel was a strange contrast. Gourmet food (excellent curry) with wine, accompanied by Bach's Orchestral Suite No.2!

Next day we went back to Angkor Thom where there was very much more to explore. All in all there are some 200 temples in that area. But Angkor Wat - located outside Angkor Thom - is certainly the most impressive one. Took time out from sightseeing to visit local markets where Roz found exciting fabrics at extremely reasonable prices. People in general are a little reserved, not really all that used to tourists. (The Vietnamese - see below - are much more forthcoming.) One more day in Cambodia and we used it to drive to Banthey Srei - a temple outside Siem Riep and at least two hours drive over an incredibly awful road. That temple is very different: built of reddish sandstone it features delicate statues and bas-reliefs, again based on the Hindu epics. Wonderful statues of Apsaras (Heavenly Dancers) and Hindu deities. The return trip was much better and we never could find out why as our guide insisted that was the same road on which we came, and we did see some road working crews, but they couldnt possible repaired the road that fast. A mystery...

We were sorry to leave the next day for Phnom Penh, the capital, as the 4 days in thre Angkor Area seems barely enough. At the Siem Riep airport, while waiting for our flght, I found to my surprise an e-mail facilitiy and sent out some mail from there!

The flight to Phnom Penh took an hour or so, They tried to make us go thru the same entry nuisance until I finally made it clear to them that we were already in the country and that the flight was a domestic one. This time no guide at the airport, just crowds of people (while the airport in Siem Reap was small and quiete), so we took a cab for $4 to the Hotel Le Royal which belongs to the same group as the Hotel d'Angkor and is almost as fine.

Our guide ("Phal" or similar) showed up the next morning full of apologies. It didnt matter, we have had years of practice of finding our own way from the airport to the hotel. We saw the main sights of the capital but avoided the horror spots (the Killing Fields and the Hall of Skulls). The Royal Palace - where King Norodom Sihanouk still reigns and gives audiences - is very beautiful, similar to the royal palaces in Bangkok, in fact the style is quite similar. We entered the Silver Pagoda, so called because the floor consists of over 3000 solid silver tiles. Saw an incredible statue of a seated Buddha almost fully encrusted with diamonds, some quite large, as well as a standing solid-gold Buddha. Very ornate royal throne hall where the King receives delegrations. I have to add here that the King is only a figure head. The real power is President Hun Sen who did share power with the King's son, but booted him out and now runs the country single-handed. Theoretically, Cambodia is a democracy - well, Asian style.

Drove along the Mekong to a local retaurant where we had acceptable food. (Never has an upset stomach thruout this trip!) then to the National Museum which houses a very large collection of Buddha statues. Two days are quite enough for Phnom Penh. We had originally intended to go from here to Vientiane and Luang Prabang in Laos but our travel agent advised against it as they were, at the time, throwing bombs in the capital, so Laos will have to wait for another trip.

Silkair took us back Singapore where we boarded the "Song of Flower" (Radisson Seven Seas Line), a very fine ship which we can recommend highly), and we headed off towards VIETNAM - across the South China Sea towards Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City, if one prefers, but either name is used interchangeably by the people and even by government.We sighted land the next day and got very excited. What we saw first is was a promontory with a very large .....cross (like the one on the Corcovado near Rio), and many hotels and a long beach. Later we found out that this area is called the Riviera of Vietnam and it is indeed a resort area.

The ship slowly wound its way up the Saigon River. Endless jungle left and right but no sign of life anywhere. As we got closer to Saigon we were amazed to see a ..skyline, quite unexpected. But 25 years since the end of what the Vietnamese call "The American War" is a long time and the Vietnamese areunderstandably proud of the progress they have made since.

We docked at 15.00 and right away took a shuttle bus into town with another couple., strolling the the streets of Saigon. Even th it was a unday the streets were very busy with thousands of scooters skilfully circling around us. We went to the top of the venerable old Rex Hotel for cocktails and got a good view from there. The people are very friendly, of course, they all want to sell, especially the kids and they can be a nuisance, but one certainly does not have the feeling that we are considered former enemies. But then, half of the population is under 25 years old, and they dont know much about the war (how much do American kids know about World War II and after???)

Cruise ship put on a show after dinner featuring Vietnamese dancers. Very, very beautiful and graceful, accompanied by exotic local music instruments. All purchases are made in US dollars. The "Dong" (14000 to $1) is used only bythe people for strictly local purchases. We went into the Presidential Palace and thru the underground command rooms of the South Vietname Government, kind of boring. But we did see the North Vietnamese tank that crashed thru the palace gate and signalled the end of the war. Also the Historical Musum which features century-by-century artifacts. They put on a "Water Puppet Show" for us in the museum gardens, interesting but more for kids. The gardens were full of people strolling around, many children, all quite well-dressed and certainly well-behaved.

Visited temples (one had hundreds of joss-sticks hanging from the ceiling), Cholon China town, local markets (dirty), saw many quite dilapidated buildings and also some beggars - well, it is not an affluent country - they still have a long way to go, but they are industrious like the Chinese (from who many descend). Next day brought us to the port of Qui Nhon. Local welcome committee at pier! This place is hardly touched by tourism. We went into town on our own, saw two ancient Cham towers (the Champa empire covered the middle part of Vietnam in the Middle Ages and was a Hindu state). Went to a rice paper farm. "Paper" is made from rice seeds with some spices added and then sun-dried. Very tasty. No beggars or peddlers here, just smiling faces.

Ship docked at Da Nang next day. Not much to see here, so we took bus tour to Hue, (pronounced Hway), the old capital under the Nguyen emperors until 1945. They built an Imperial City along the lines of the one in Beijing. This was a 10-hour tour but worth it. Country here very mountainous. Visited Heavenly Pagoda on the Perfume River. Pretty bad road.

Ship was intended to make land fall at Haiphong next day but port facilities being overtaxed it went to Ha Long Bay instead This is a large bay in the Gulf of Tonkin where thousands of small islands crop up out of the water. We were shown around the bay on junks. Very scenic and worth seeing. Went also into Ha Long town in search of an e-mail cafe....and found one!

After Ha Long Bay we made for our last stop in Vietnam: Haiphong, the port for Hanoi. Took the bus tour on very good road to the capital. Hanoi is very different from Saigon, much more quiet and reserved, none of Saigon's raucousness . Many French-style buildings. We saw the Ho Chi MinhMausoleum wherethe embalmed body of "Uncle Ho" lies in state Inside strict protocol must be observed: No stopping as we walk around the sarcophagus, no cameras, no headcoverings,.can't even put a hand in your pocket. all strictly enforced by smart looking military personnel. - We then went to the palace grounds where Ho's little house where he worked can be seen, in a quiet park area. Also includes the Temple of Literature, part of the old university, where the degrees awarded were recorded on stone stelae. Return trip to Hong Kong was uneventful, even anti-climatic after the fascinating places we had seen. In Hong Kong we were put up at the Regent and we were lucky in getting a great room withan outstanding view across the water at Hong Kong's amazing, ever-growing skyline which seems like New York plus Sao Paulo and then some! Home again on Cathay Pacific, certainly the best Asian airline after Singapore's.

All in all, very memorable trip.

Frank and Roz

PS Forgot to mention the silk factory in Cambodia (French-run) where we saw all stages of silk production from the worms (who feed on > mulberry leaves), thru all the stages right up to the finished silk cloth.