Siem Riep, Cambodia

The locals feeding Adam to the fishes.

 

Our condiment selection (the one on the right is catsup), not quite as large as Vietnam, but provided us with adequate spice for our sandwiches.

Our transport for the first two days - tuk tuk

Saigon - Sights

There are many beautiful Buddhist pagodas in town, this one was filled with incense.

There was no climbing in Saigon.  Sigh.

The War Remnants Museum (formerly Saigon's Exhibition House of American War Crimes) was explicitly informative about atrocities committed by Americans during the war, including fetuses deformed by Agent Orange. Despite the propaganda, one message was clear: War is brutal.

Saigon

We took a rest day today and didn't go to the Internet cafe to blog. Sorry!

We're leaving for Siem Riep, Cambodia tomorrow morning to see Ankor Wat. Visas at the border, wish us luck! :)

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Be glad you're not a Telecom worker in Saigon.

Traffic was pretty hectic too, lots and lots of motorbikes.

The public buses though were uncrowded and dirt cheap.

We had our hair washed, head massage included. Don't ask how long it had been...

Buon Ma Thout - Surprise, more food photos!

Buon Ma Thout is also in Vietnam's central highlands.  They grow the best coffee there... we saw it out the bus window.  

Adam warily eyeing some stewed frog with banana flower.

Delicious coconut-stuffed cakes.

 

Made to order by this guy.  So good.

Kontum - Foods

Tea served Kontum style, with sugar, lime, licorice, dried plum, goji berries, and something else as condiments.

Tapioca, coconut milk and grilled bananas, yummy!

Definitely our favorite meal in Kontum - fried corn crepes with grilled shrimp and beef.  The best part was that you would wrap the crepe in rice paper and veggies and then eat.

We drink only bottled water to be safe. Interestingly this bottle was labeled as containing <=0.05 ppm lead.  The EPA's max level is 0.015.

Kontum - Central Highlands

French colonial catholic church in Kontum, a small town in the central highlands of Vietnam

While wandering through a village out of town, we heard some live music and karaoke blasting so we went to check it out. It turned out to be a wedding party and the bride's sister, Diep, invited us to join. There were two activities: drinking rice wine through a plastic/bamboo straw, or dancing to the music. People kept inviting us to drink from their jugs, so after not too long we escaped for some dancing. Everyone was super friendly, and it turned out to be one of the highlights of our trip so far.

Hue Random

DMZ Tour (the former South/North border during the American War)

 

 

 

Hue (pronounced hoo-Ay)

We took an overnight bus to Hue from Ninh Binh (where it was cold and wet).

In Hue it was wet, but warmer.

Crabs for sale.

We rode up the Perfume River on this boat.

Hangin' Out on Cat Ba

Looking down from our 6th floor balcony.  There was a floating restaurant in the bay across from our hotel blasting Karaoke almost every night.

Max getting a massage.





Our favorite snacks on the island.

Vietnamese weightlifting.

More Cat Ba climbing (at Butterfly Valley)

   

Cat Ba National Park Jungle Trek

We took a rest day and trekked through the jungle on Cat Ba.  It was wet and slippery with lots of razor sharp limestone everywhere.  But fun.

We stopped at a village in a beautiful valley along the way and had a yummy meal.

We took this loud boat back to town.