Day 17 - Going home

WE'RE HOME! The journey back wasn't as chaotic as the journey at the beginning of the holiday, pretty much no traffic getting to and from airports. Before we left our hotel in Siem Reap we spent a few hours by the pool before we had to vacate our rooms.

We had to fly from Siem Reap to Bangkok which is just under an hour long flight, which is good. Once at Bangkok we had 3 or so hours to kill at the airport before our midnight flight from Bangkok to Heathrow. Our flight home was about 12 hours, in which I got about 4 hours sleep, watched a film and some programmes and did some work.

We got back home about 10am and have had to stay awake, despite how tired we are so that we get back into the UK time and don't remain jet lagged. It's been a really good holiday, and it's a shame it's all over, but we have about 1000 photos from the holiday and dozens of videos.

Day 16 - Ta Phon and the last night.

Roots of a huge tree reclaiming the temple.

Big damn trees.

Today we went Ta Phon, the last of the 'big 3' must see temples in Cambodia. This was the one used in one of the Lara Croft films. Ta Phon was probably my favourite of the temples, even Angkor Wat, as it is almost as though nature has claimed it back. The temple is very overgrown with huge trees growing out of the ruins and roots all over the buildings. As a result its very awe inspiring and mysterious looking. It took roughly an hour and a half to get all the way through it, from East gate to West gate. Out of all the temples this was the one with the worst hassle from locals, but it was still extremely mild and definitely not anything to whine about, and it only occurred at the East gate.


After we had got back from the temple, we predictably stayed by the pool for a few hours before heading back out to 'Pub street' to find somewhere for dinner. We ended up at a place called 'Red Piano' which did international cuisine as well as Cambodian and other South Asian food. I had a Cambodian curry which was pretty decent followed by a huge pancake covered in cream and chocolate sauce which I can't decide whether or not I regret (make of that what you will). But overall a decent meal and ending to the day as we soon went back to the hotel to pack and sleep.

Pancake of regret?

Day 15 - Angkor Wat & Bayon temple

Angkor Wat

This morning we went back to Angkor Wat to have more of a look around. After walking around for a couple of hours we headed back to the pool at the hotel for a bit. Later in the afternoon we went to Bayon temple which is a smaller version of Angkor Wat basically.

At Bayon temple there were monkeys walking around the temple, MONKEYS! Bayon temple is in less good condition than Angkor Wat, but its smaller and easier to navigate and so it's arguably more enjoyable to look around.

Weird and awkward.

After Bayon temple we went to the night market, found a restaurant where we watched Arsenal (somehow) beat Norwich. Once the match was over we walked around the market some more and then got persuaded to get a foot massage. My sister had a manicure and pedicure while me and my dad had a foot massage. My masseuse was some weird grumpy old woman and was possibly the most awkward and weird experience of my life.

The gate to Bayon.

Day 14 - Market and Angkor Wat

Me touching BOOBIES!

Today was our first full day in Cambodia. We started off by heading to the French quarter of Siem Reap where the markets are. As Siem Reap is more tourist orientated than the other cities we've visited in south east Asia, with over 3 million tourists a year coming to Siem Reap, as a result their markets are more westernized. However you can still see fish being beaten to death, or skinned alive by old women sitting in the middle of the market. It's hard work to walk around for more than 45 minutes or so due to the heat and humidity so we found ourselves frequently stopping at cafes for drinks. My sister and I were forced to go into countless numbers of art shops, where of course, we bought nothing.

After a couple of hours at the market, we took a tuk tuk back to the hotel and stayed by the pool for a bit, and freshened up before we headed back out, this time to Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat

We arrived at Angkor Wat just before 5 as we were hoping to look around for an hour or so before seeing the sunset at 6:15. Its easy to see why Angkor Wat is one of the wonders of the world, as not only is it huge, but the detail is also incredible, a lot of this detail being on statues of nude women, which seems to be a popular theme in South Asia. It was at one time the largest city in the world, and was constructed in the 12th century. It was very cloudy so we didn't really get a chance to see the sunset.

After Angkor Wat we went to the night market and a street called 'Pub Street' where we had a Cambodian BBQ. During the meal, it began to rain, it was like a 'Day After Tomorrow' downpour. I took an empty glass from our table and held it out into the rain and it filled up to the top within a minute. Once the rain had died down, we took a tuk tuk back to the hotel and went to bed.

DAT ASS

Day 12 & 13 - Old town and another long journey

Temple

Yesterday we went back to the old town for a proper look around, as we didn't see all of it last time. We went into a couple of cafes by the moat and walked around the old town's market's and small temples. Afterwards we went to the shopping centre for dinner and then back to the hotel to pack.

Today we left the IndoChine Palace in Hue and traveled to Cambodia. First we had a 2 and a half hour drive to an airport, as Hue's airport was closed for renovations. We took a domestic flight from Da Nang airport to Ho Chi Minh airport and from there flew to Siem Reap in Cambodia. We were one of the few westerners on this flight, and clearly the most used to flying as almost everyone else on the flight was praying ferverently or running to the toilets and being ill.

We arrived at the airport to be greeted by yelling Cambodian people grabbing at us and shoving us towards passport control. After a short drive from Siem Reap airport we arrived at our hotel, ordered some room service, I ordered a Cambodian chicken curry, which was quite nice, mildly spicy. And then sat down to watch the Chelsea vs Rubin Kazan. During which time we have already experienced 2 power cuts, something I expect will be quite common during our stay in Cambodia. Despite all this however, Cambodia does look like an amazing place and I'm looking forward to seeing more of it in the coming few days.

ITS A HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA!

Day 11 - Pool and the Pagoda

Despite the lack of improvement in the weather, we were determined to use the hotel pool. So straight after breakfast we hung around the pool for a couple of hours and braved the icy embrace of the water.

Pagoda.

After we had dried off from the pool we washed and got ready for our 3pm boat ride to the Pagoda. The Pagoda was situated on the 'Perfumed river' on the North and South Vietnam divide. An area which saw some of the worst fighting during the war of independence. The pagoda which has 7 ridges apparently symbolizes our 7 senses. The added 2 Vietnamese senses being the mind and speech. After walking around the Pagoda, which, like a lot of monuments in Vietnam is basically a temple, we headed back to the boat. On our boat ride back to Hue, we were basically forced to buy souvenirs which the boat owners sold, which was uncomfortable, as the whole journey consisted of them shoving t-shirts and crappy wooden carvings in our faces.

Once our awkward boat ride was over, we headed to DMZ, a bar/restaurant specializing in typical fast food: pizza, pasta, burgers etc. At this bar you can write on the walls which is always fun when you find a scrawl written by someone local. If anyone visits DMZ, which I do recommend, as the food and service is good, maybe you will find our message.

My sister looking terrified on the rickshaws.

When we had finished in the restaurant we decided that we would get rickshaws back to the hotel. My dad signaled to a group of rickshaw drivers and suddenly hell broke loose. It was almost as if every rickshaw in the city was crowding around us; drivers yelling, and trying to pull us all into rickshaws, people arguing. It was manic. A bit later, once we were in our own individual rickshaws, and the dejected, rejected empty rickshaws had left, we were suddenly on the streets weaving in and out of mopeds and cars, heading into oncoming traffic. Terrifying. Somehow we survived the journey and made it back to the hotel. I definitely recommend getting a rickshaw at least once when you visit Vietnam, but be prepared to cling on for dear life as mopeds pass inches from you as you go through red lights on cross roads.

The eyebrow King.

Day 10 - Hue and the Forbidden Palace

At the forbidden Palace.

The weather sadly won't be as good as it has been for the last 10 days of the holiday, and looks as though there's going to be rain in the coming few days. Despite the bleak looking weather we went to the main tourist attraction in the city of Hue, the forbidden palace and ancient city. As impressive as the Palace was, it is hard to get a real sense of its grandeur and royalty due to its dilapidated and poor condition. If you go to Hue it is a must see, but expect to see overgrown gardens, broken tiles, stairs and ornaments.

Once we had left the Palace we walked around the ancient city, which to be honest looks like any other part of Hue. We went through some markets and saw a group of female vendors all screaming at each other. This was the first public argument I have seen in Asia as anger is a taboo over here.

Back at the hotel which had been previously empty, a wedding party had arrived. After dinner at the hotel we went back to the rooms, watched a film and then hit the sack.

Day 9 - Train to Hue

Today was our last day in the Victoria hotel in Hoi An. We had booked a train journey to take us from Hoi An all the way to the ancient capital of Vietnam, Hue. To get to the train station we had to navigate the chaotic roads of Vietnam, thousands of mopeds driving around in seemingly no order at all, completely ignoring road signs and lights.

Walking on the tracks to our train.

To get onto the train we had to walk along the tracks, while vendors continuously yelled for us to buy their wares. As we took our seats at the back of the carriage we realised there was some luggage stuffed behind our seats, on closer inspection we realised it was moving, they were was large boxes of bugs. Our train journey through the picturesque rice fields and mountains of Vietnam took just under 3 hours. The only downside to the journey was that the carriage stunk terribly.

Box of bugs directly behind our seats.

After our long train journey through rural Vietnam, seeing farmers plodding waist deep in mud pulling cows behind them, as well as all the paddy fields and small villages, we finally arrived Hue. After we had relaxed and unpacked in our new hotel it was time for us to find somewhere to eat for dinner. We had been told that most people in Hue eat in shopping centre food courts, so we decided that we would too. The food courts here in Vietnam are so much better than the British ones of Mcdonalds, Burger King and Pizza Hut. The only western food place was KFC, all the others were Vietnamese fast food outlets and other South East Asian outlets, I went for a Thai green curry, and a Vietnamese stir fry (I was hungry, don't judge me). The food was a lot better than I expected, and I even got persuaded into eating a pig's ear (yum) which was different. The weird thing was that it was obvious that not many Westerners eat out at the food court, as we were the only Western family there, and as a result were stared at for the vast majority of the time.

Once we had finished and looked around the shopping centre we headed back to the hotel to watch some tv, in this case the Hobbit film and then went to bed.

COW!

Day 8 - Pool & Marble mountain

Today was our last full day in Da Nang before we head off to the next part of the holiday. We spent the morning by the pool, as usual, adding to my tan. By early afternoon it had started clouding over, the first time that I had seen clouds in the time I've been abroad.

View from Marble Mountain.

Later in the afternoon we went to Marble Mountain, a natural tourist attraction in Vietnam. It is a series of 5 small mountains close together jutting out of an otherwise completely flat Vietnamese landscape. Despite the overcast day, the view was still quite impressive from the lookout points on the mountain.

We learned that the main cave in the mountain had been used as a military hospital for the Vietnamese during their war of independence. Our tour guide, despite being a very nice and friendly person, was however very full on with his views on Buddhism and materialism. It seemed as though most of time we were getting a philosophy lesson.

A cave that was used as a military hospital.

Once back at the hotel I went to the gym and then we all had dinner in the bar and then went back to the rooms. The wind outside is amazing, reminiscent of England, its that bad.
I'm now just sitting in bed keeping track of the football scores, its currently half time between Charlton vs Leeds and it's 0-0. I'm not going to bed till full time, hopefully it'll be a Charlton win.

Your dad.

Day 7 - Lazy day

Today was a relaxing day with the majority of it being spent in and around the pool. It got so hot (35C) that the hotel was forced to empty huge ice cubes into the pool as it was getting too warm. I also did some more work for my American studies essay.

In the evening we went to Hoi An again where we went to a couple of bars and looked around the markets. We bought some bits and bobs before heading back to the hotel to have dinner in the bar by the pool.

Day 6 - Motorbikes, massage and pool

Today began with an hour long Vietnamese motorbike ride. There were two motorbikes, each with a sidecar. My sister and mum sat in the sidecars while my dad and I had to sit on the back of the bike behind our drivers and cling on to anything. During the ride, the motorbike I was on with my sister got chased by a dog for a while. And we almost hit a massive Vietnamese cow which had decided to lumber towards the bike as it sped across a dirt path.

Halfway through our motorbike journey we stopped to look around a Vietnamese vegetable and herbs farm. Where we saw how the Vietnamese water their crops. A tiny female farmer offered for myself and my sister to attempt to water the crops. Which is a lot more difficult than it sounds, it consists of two big, metal sprinkling cans attached to a long thin piece of wood being balanced on your back.

My sister attempting to water the farmer's crops.

Once we got back to the hotel we relaxed by the pool for a couple of hours, listening to music and doing some studying.

Later on in the afternoon it was time for our massages. We headed down to the spa where my mum and sister were taken to a different massage room than my dad and I. It was my first ever massage, and for the first 10 minutes I was trying very hard not to laugh, as it is a weird experience, but very relaxing.

Showing us how it's done.

Afterwards, we hung about in the rooms before spending dinner and the remainder of the night on the beach, having a few drinks and listening to music.

Day 4 & 5 - Pool and Hoi An

Yesterday was pretty uneventful, with the majority of the day being spent relaxing by the pool. For dinner we had a restaurant booked, but failed to make any note of its name. This led to some awkward conversations with Vietnamese staff who couldn't understand us and we couldn't understand them, as to whether it was the restaurant we had booked. Eventually we found it, and had a decent meal.

Dad and the Vietnamese fisherman.

Today was a lot more interesting, we traveled by boat to Hoi An. This was a beautiful hour long journey along the Thu Bon river. On the way a small fisherman boat pulled up alongside our boat, where a man hopped on and proceeded to make my dad do some fishing. He did this by thrusting a net at him and yelling a lot, mainly yelling 'ONE' for some reason. Twice the net was thrown, a huge total of zero fish were caught. But it was a very funny and rememberable experience.

Dad throwing out a net.

After this the driver of the boat decided that I was the one who should be driving, much to my horror. The thought of my family's lives in my hands as I drove a boat was terrifying, I've never even had a driving lesson in a car let alone a boat. But it was pretty fun, it's very unresponsive though, you turn the wheel to the left and a couple of minutes later you're going quite a strong left. But I didn't crash the boat, no one was killed and no one yelled at me so I think it went well. Its definitely going to be one of my favourite memories, as I doubt i'l ever drive a boat in Vietnam ever again, or any boat for that matter.

View of Hoi An from a terrace bar.

Once at Hoi An, which is a bit of a tourist trap, but very picturesque, we walked around and bought some bits and bobs from vast number of shops and stalls. After that we had a really good meal and got a cab back to the hotel. We then chilled out by the pool for a little bit and then went back to the rooms.

Day 3 - Another journey

Today we left the Hilton Millenium hotel in Bangkok and began our journey to the Victoria hotel in Hoi An. Despite being a long and tiring journey, it was still not half as bad as the journey to Bangkok from London.

An hour and a bit drive from the Hilton to the airport, half of that spent in traffic. Once at the airport it was pretty smooth process. We quickly got through security and passport checks, despite me getting stopped again as they don't think my passport picture matches me. I need to renew my passport in the next few months, and to definitely get a new picture, there's nothing scarier than being made to confirm personal details and confirm that I am who I say I am under a stern looking security guard. Other than that, it was fine.

We got a 2 hour flight from Bangkok to Ho Chi Minh airport, had a 2 hour wait and then another 2 hour flight from there to Da Nang airport. Once at Da Nang it was a short 45 minute drive to the hotel. Where we had a look around, I visited the gym and then we went for dinner. We came back to our room to find a gecko or 2 in there. Where they are now, I have no idea. I'l probably wake up with one on my face in the morning.

Day 2 - China town and markets, Bangkok

Our second, and our last full day in Bangkok before a day of travelling to our next destination tomorrow. The day began in typical holiday fashion, stuffing our faces at breakfast. The full English and an omelette for me, nothing better.

The family in the less crowded part of the market.

Once our hunger was satisfied we were on the taxi ferries to Bangkok china town and the markets. One of the most notable things about walking around Chinatown and the markets are the smells, although this applies to Bangkok in general. As you shuffle down thin congested streets with hundreds of stalls selling everything from fake nails to vibrating dildos (I wish I had taken a photo), you get blasted with tonnes of different smells every inch of the way. Small Thai women push past down the alley with a trolley in front of them full of hot coals and what you hope is skewered chicken balancing precariously on top. They stop at stalls to sell food to the merchants, yelling the whole time at anyone who glances their way. My sister managed to buy a dozen packs of fake nails for the tenth of the price of one back in Britain, as well as buying a look a like Louis Vuitton bag and a blackberry case. We then found a small temple where it seemed like the people were preparing for a wedding, we watched as they rehearsed their dragon dancing. The men in the costume must of been boiling, they were leaping around perched on thin 5 ft high columns dressed in a heavy and hot looking dragon outfit. As we were about to leave the temple we noticed a small pond, on closer inspection we observed a massive crocodile, lying docilely in the shallow water.

Once we had left the temple we tried to find somewhere to sit down, drink and eat. This proved very time consuming and frustrating. We were so worn out from the heat and walking around that when we saw a McDonald's we were ecstatic. Once we were satisfied with our Thailand McDonald's we carried on walking around. My parents and my sister needed passport photos for their visas for the next part of our holiday, for some reason I was the only one with a photo for my visa. So while we were walking around I noticed a photography shop which seemed to advertise doing passport sized photos, so I suggested for my family to go in and try and get their photos done.

My sister trying not to laugh during a very weird experience.

It was a very bizarre experience watching my family trying to have visa photos done by people they couldn't understand and who couldn't understand them in turn. Once this was all done we started heading back to the ferry and hotel. Just before we got to the ferry we saw an absolutely massive lizard wandering on the road.

Once we were back we chilled by the pool for a little bit, had dinner and started packing our stuff for an early start tomorrow morning.

Day 1 - Sights in Bangkok

Wat Arun

Today was the first full day of the holiday, we went to Wat Arun, and the Grand Palace. When we groggily awoke from lat night we quickly headed off to a massive breakfast. When at home people (our family at least) don't eat that much for breakfast, but on holiday there's hardly enough food to satisfy us. Going up repeatedly and filling our plates for what seems like an eternity.

Once breakfast was eventually over we headed to the hotel's dock and got the shuttle boat to the main public pier, where we got a ferry taxi to Wat Arun. Wat Arun is a large impressive temple built in 1726 similar to a pyramid in structure.
There isn't much to do or see there, despite how impressive it is,  other than looking at the monument itself or going into Buddhist prayer rooms where you can stare at monks. Although you have to take your shoes and hat off to go inside and see them, which becomes more of a pain each time you do it.

MONKS!

View from the boat.

Once we had left Wat Arun we went to the Grand Palace. There are lots of entrances to the Palace, however there is only one tourist entrance. As a result the other entrances are tourist traps where you are tricked by a man into thinking the Palace is closed for 'monks to pray'. We fell for it. Next thing we knew we are being put into a Tuk-Tuk (a motorised rickshaw basically) with orders to come back in 3 hours after being taken to see some sights in the area by our personal driver chosen by the man who was fooling us. After arriving at one of the sights where we looked around (the driver waited by the entrance) we had a quick peak into our travel book, 'ignore anyone around the Grand Palace who, telling you that it is closed for the day, offers what will turn out to be a shopping tour of the city.' We suddenly realised that we were being scammed, where we would eventually end up in some family shop where we would have to spend some money. So when we went back to our waiting driver we may of had a go at him and told him he's not getting paid unless we go to the Grand Palace now.

Your mum.

After all of that we were at the Grand Palace, I was given awful baggy Aladdin trousers to wear as I walked around as for some reason you can't wear shorts in the Palace. Despite the fact that you cant go in anywhere, and you mainly walk around it and go into little temple prayer rooms with monks. By this point the heat was literally unbearable, the humidity was awful as well. When I got back to the hotel I found that I was already quite tanned, but tanned in the shape of a t-shirt. I then went to the gym, had some dinner and then watched some films. It's been a good day of sightseeing, and a lot of walking. Tomorrow we visit the markets.

One of the temples at the Grand Palace.

Journey from Hell?

As I'm writing this I have only recently arrived in the Hilton hotel in Bangkok, just over 20 hours after leaving our home in London. It's been a long and tiring journey which started off pretty bad to begin with, hitting traffic on the motorway to Heathrow and the journey taking 45 minutes or so longer than it should of done, this should of been a warning of the queuing and traffic to come.

The Foyer.

Once arrived at Heathrow we quickly checked in and headed towards the security section for our hand luggage. The queue was incredible, I regret not taking a photo of it so that I could of posted it here. It was amazing, you'll have to take my word on it, like nothing I had ever seen before, especially in Britain. This queue went down and around several rooms and corridors. It was so bad that Heathrow employees were having to go through the queue looking for people who had 9:30pm flights so that they could move to the front and make their flight, despite it barely being 7pm. Anyway after all of that we were through to the shops and later, the plane.

Our flight took off about 10:30pm and lasted roughly 11 hours. There were screaming babies, and the worst flight food I have ever had, and that's saying something. The food was so bad that my mum, who for some reason enjoys plane food, was actually physically sick from it. So far the perfect journey. A few films and tv programmes later and maybe 20minutes of sleep. 20 MINUTES! I am so tired (and hungry) it is unbelievable. At last the plane journey was over, only a 45 minute cab ride to the hotel now. Happy days.

A 2 hour cab journey later through traffic that dwarfs anything the UK can produce, I will never moan about UK traffic again, we finally arrive at the hotel. Surprisingly we are all in one piece, we haven't killed each other, or the cab driver. We're just sitting in our rooms about to go and have dinner. The view from the rooms is amazing, the rooms and the hotel is nice.

More of the impressive foyer.

We've now just got back from dinner which was one of the best, if not THE best hotel food ever, and we saw a firework show over Bangkok from the bar on top of the hotel. We've now been at the hotel for a few hours and have sufficiently calmed down from a stressful journey. We're all just looking forward to crashing out until breakfast. So despite the terrible journey, so far I think its been worth it. The worst of the holiday is over, now for a couple more nights in Bangkok until we move on to the next stage...

The view from our rooms of beautiful Bangkok.