Mekong Delta

Mekong Delta

Day 16 – Mekong delta, Vietnam So yesterday, I had booked this wonderful-looking tour of the Mekong delta, with floating market, coconut candy factory, orchard, local music, local lunch organised… looked very nice. All that for 12.5 euros, it seemed a very good choice. But first, someone asked for more pictures of my daily life.…

By Elisabeth 15/06/2018 Off

Vietnam

Day 15 – Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam A long bus ride later, with several stops and a border control, I’m in Vietnam, in Ho Chi Minh City. I can’t describe the relief, the overwhelming familiarity of getting back to a Western alphabet. I couldn’t have conceived that it would make a difference, especially since…

By Elisabeth 14/06/2018 Off

The Silver Pagoda

The Silver Pagoda

Day 14 – Phnom Penh, Cambodia First, let me say that after the bad day I had on Monday, I met a Canadian in Battambang Tuesday who restored my faith in Cambodia. He bought the bar/restaurant I went to wait for my bus 6 months ago and was delighted to talk and share his experience…

By Elisabeth 13/06/2018 Off

Lost in translation

(I haven’t seen the movie, so, if you have, this has nothing to do with it.) Day 12: Battambang, Cambodia After a bit more than 5 hours in a bus, I arrived in Battambang, the second biggest city in Cambodia according to my guide. Before the bus has even stopped, tuk-tuk drivers wave placards with…

By Elisabeth 11/06/2018 Off

More temples than I can remember

More temples than I can remember

Day 7 – Siem Reap, Cambodia After this morning’s switch of hotel, my tuk-tuk driver took me to see several, smaller temples -but some of them are not less impressive! Many of the pictures I took yesterday were hard to exploit because of the sun’s orientation, so I was more careful today. The first temple…

By Elisabeth 08/06/2018 Off

Water management

You know they tell you not to drink any water that doesn’t come from a sealed bottle in Asia. That makes for a costly thirst in weather that makes you sweat buckets and leaves a heavy ecological footprint. Is there an answer to that problem? Patience and purifying tablets. You can’t escape having to buy…

By Elisabeth 08/06/2018 Off

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Sunrise at Angkor Wat

The call comes early in the morning, while the night still holds sway. I take the road northwards. More and more people appear, all going in the same direction. Finally, I am almost in a throng of pilgrims, torch in hand, crossing the causeway, in the pre-light of dawn. I chose to go without a…

By Elisabeth 07/06/2018 Off

Angkor Thom

Angkor Thom

Day 6 – Siem Reap, Cambodia – Part 2 So, Angkor Thom. Today, the best-known ruins in this site are the Bayon temple, the Baphuon temple, the Terrace of Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King. The towers in the Bayon Temple are carved with the giant faces of Avalokiteshvara, giving you the impression…

By Elisabeth 06/06/2018 Off

Unpleasant night visit

Due to a, shall we say, misunderstanding -I certainly wasn’t expecting the drunk hostel’s owner to slip into my bed at 3 in the morning-, and the proof of the lack of efficiency of the lock on my door, I switched hotel this morning. I’m going to pay twice as much for a door with…

By Elisabeth 06/06/2018 Off