Cambodia & Vietnam

A 29-day adventure by Jud Read more

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Trip start
April 28, 2024
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Day 1
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 7:14 AM
☁️ 28 °C
Altitude: 10 m
Singapore Singapore Changi Airport 1.356798, 103.993391°21’24” N 103°59’36” E
Changi Airport
April 28, 2024 in Singapore ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C
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Day 1–5
April 28, 2024 at 8:56 PM - May 2, 2024
4 nights
🌙 33 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Cambodia Phum Spéan Thmei 13.352791, 103.85805913°21’10” N 103°51’29” E
Siem Reap
Apr 28–May 2, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌙 33 °C
So we arrived in Siem Reap after an over night flight & very little sleep of course I was nervous about my pre arrangements and hallelujah the day went to plan. 2 hrs in Changi Airport Singapore, fortunately arrived & departed from same terminal so that was easy. Pre organised the Cambodia Post Office bus from airport $US9 pp - no sign with our name & an eager taxi driver almost conned us into using him but we stuck to our plans & a few What’s App messages later we were in our bus! Paid & pre booked next trip to airport & grabbed a tuk tuk for $US2 to save on the planned 14 minute walk to hotel. It’s really hot here! Had a massage $US15 for 60 minutes - sooo good we booked another for tomorrow! Slept for a couple of hours then tackled the roof top bar & street for dinner 50000 riel ($AU 12) for both of us. Day 1 done & dusted.Read more
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Day 4
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 4:05 PM
⛅ 40 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Cambodia Phum Spéan Thmei 13.352758, 103.85811113°21’10” N 103°51’29” E
Siem Reap
May 1, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 40 °C
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Day 4
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 8:30 PM
⛅ 34 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Cambodia Phum Spéan Thmei 13.352785, 103.85810213°21’10” N 103°51’29” E
Angkor Wat & Surrounding Temples
May 1, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 34 °C
Wow where to start the Angkor Wat Temples are phenomenal! So much history that is Hinduism & Buddhism depending on the King who was in power at the time. They are huge and Angkor Wat itself took only 30 years to complete in around 1110. This included cutting the stone from the hills and moving it along manmade waterways over many kms using elephant & manpower. The sculptures and artwork are incredible and intricate. We visited 15 or so Temples over 3 days in 41 degree heat - exhausting but amazing to see & learn about. Some have undergone restorative work by worldwide UNESCO teams others have been left to be enveloped by the jungle having survived tomb raiders, many wars and time. These photos are an assortment of what we experienced.Read more
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Day 4
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 9:02 PM
⛅ 33 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Cambodia Phum Spéan Thmei 13.352758, 103.85811113°21’10” N 103°51’29” E
Angkor Wat & Surrounding Temples (part 2
May 1, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
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Day 4
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 9:05 PM
⛅ 33 °C
Altitude: 16 m
Cambodia Phum Spéan Thmei 13.35293, 103.85796113°21’11” N 103°51’29” E
Angkor Wat & Surrounding Temples (part 3
May 1, 2024 in Cambodia ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C
TravelerDad looks a bit like harrison ford ahaha
5/2/24Reply
TravelerI was also thinking he was doing a decent Indiana Jones impersonation
5/2/24Reply
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Day 10
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 7:54 PM
☁️ 19 °C
Altitude: 1,486 m
Vietnam Xóm Hai 22.331898, 103.84431822°19’55” N 103°50’40” E
Hanoi Day 1
May 7, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
After a lightening show to welcome us we arrived in Hanoi at ~ 8pm in the rain. We arranged for the hotel to send a driver which worked well. Darcy had arrived early afternoon & it was fabulous to see him again after 12 months of Penguins, texts & phone call. Darcy had already roamed the nearby streets so took us to a yummy restaurant near Hoan Kiem Lake.

Day 1 a walking adventure around the lake - saw Den Ngoc San temple (shouldn’t have paid for that one), negotiated the insane road system (don’t think one exists), went to St Joseph Cathedral - Darcy’s comment “wow breathtaking, just like the ones in Europe.” There was a long queue at a street Bahn Mi so we tried the one next door - very tastey. Tried egg coffee pretty nice, Darcy had egg beer. My next job was to navigate back to the lake took a right turn instead of a left & ended up checking out the cathedral again but got a cheap cold beer on the way. At night walked a couple of K’s (nearly killed Craig) to have a snack & beers at Train Street - Nam Vy’s cafe. How crazy an idea is that putting cafes along a train track in about a 5m space and even crazier that we think it’s something we should see! Good fun though. Finished the day at a quaint French Vietnamese fusion restaurant- great food & my first wine in a while.Read more
TravelerGood capture of the day
5/7/24Reply
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Day 10
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 8:09 PM
☁️ 18 °C
Altitude: 1,472 m
Vietnam Xóm Hai 22.331769, 103.84418422°19’54” N 103°50’39” E
Hanoi Day 2
May 7, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Darcy & I walked to a restaurant where Obama & Anthony Bourdain shared a meal. Why? No idea! A dingy normal looking restaurant only difference it was full, had photos of the 2 of them sharing a meal all over the walls & less than impressed staff. Passed the Opera House & the fancy shops of Hanoi on the way. The afternoon was spent on a Street Walking Tour. 3 enjoyable hrs learning about Vietnams war history and it’s extensive, pretty much everyone’s invaded them over the last 100 yrs or so. The Japanese being the most brutal. Ate at a street donut store-yum, was introduced to coconut & salt coffee at a roof top bar, walked down a “Deep Dark Alley” where the equivalent of our homeless live & saw a huge market & a couple of temples (Temple of Enlightenment & Bach Ma - White Horse Temple). That night we had sunset at a roof top bar & headed to Beer Corner OMG what an experience! Fortunately we had a balcony to watch the going’s on without being in the thick of the masses after having a yummy meal at Mets Restaurant.Read more
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Day 10
Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at 8:17 PM
☁️ 18 °C
Altitude: 1,477 m
Vietnam Xóm Hai 22.331823, 103.84424522°19’55” N 103°50’39” E
Hanoi Day 3
May 7, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Just a street walking day through the French & Old Quarters unsuccessfully trying to find a couple of stalls that had potential purchases. Dinner was at a Michelin suggested restaurant called Quan Highway 4. Best food we’ve had in Hanoi including crickets & ants among other normal food! We ordered the crickets but had no idea I was eating ants thought it was just mixed spices! A great way to say good bye Hanoi.Read more
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Day 15
Sunday, May 12, 2024
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 11 m
Vietnam Mỹ Thị 16.05333, 108.24672116°3’12” N 108°14’48” E
Ninh Binh
May 12, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
Bus trip from Halong to Ninh Binh about 4 hrs but the journey is slow distance not that great. Darcy booked AirBnB “The Wooden Gate” lovely 2 story apartment with great swimming pool.
We booked a day tour for Ninh Binh to fit as much in as possible:
• Mua Cave - early so hardly any people. It was amazing views incredible & about 600 steps (both view points).
• Hoa Lu Ancient Capital (1st capital of Vietnam 968) - very interesting history lesson about 2 kings & and emperor & the strong women next to them who probably were the real rulers.
• Trang An UNESCO river boat ride included King Kong Is but only the village I think the mountain filming happened in Halong Bay.

Nice peaceful stay in what felt like a small village but in reality just on the outskirts of Ninh Binh city.Read more
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Day 15
Sunday, May 12, 2024
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 11 m
Vietnam Mỹ Thị 16.053358, 108.24678816°3’12” N 108°14’48” E
Ninh Binh (part 2)
May 12, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
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Day 17
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 7 m
Vietnam Mỹ Thị 16.05413, 108.24665516°3’15” N 108°14’48” E
Mai Chau
May 14, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
Bus trip through the limestone hills into the mountains - stunning.
Had a leisurely 2 night stay once again great accommodation “Peaceful Mai Chau Homestay” Booking.com this time. Hired bikes & rode through the rice fields to:
• Cave which some young kids guided us through
• Souvenir markets where Darc & I were encouraged to partake in a local dance
Craig & I bought some hand woven thin blankets & other souvenirs.
• Lac Village.

Found a bakery & had some yummy banana bread.
The scenery was incredible food average & pool great.
Loved our stay here.Read more
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Day 17
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
☁️ 31 °C
Altitude: 9 m
Vietnam Mỹ Thị 16.05393, 108.24632116°3’14” N 108°14’47” E
Mai Chau (part 2)
May 14, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C
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Day 18
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 9:30 PM
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 159 m
Vietnam Bản Bang 20.661508, 105.06815920°39’41” N 105°4’5” E
Halong Bay
May 15, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
Journey to Halong Bay started with a long tedious sleeper bus trip from SaPa got into Hanoi around 6.30pm & the bus stop was a little further away that we thought but not quite far enough for a taxi. Dodgey entrance to a really cool AirB&B. Had a nice easy meal & headed back for some beers on the balcony.
Another bus trip this time organised by cruise company & another couple of hours to get to Halong Bay & the
Hera Classic Boutique Boat for
2 nights. Places visited:
• Surprising Cave - Hang Sung Sot
• Titop Is - so bad we asked to leave after about 20 mins much to the surprise of the tour captain! It was no WA beach!
• Infrequently visited cave - Trai Cave great cave with very little added infrastructure although there was a seat & a partial path but lots of crouching down & potential head hitting - great cave!
• Deep ocean swim at Lan Ha Bay - brilliant! Got to jump off the top of boat but not as elegantly as Darcy & the professional cliff diver! Craig of course started it all & didn’t do too bad either!
• Kayaking at Dark & Bright - we were a small group of about 20 people from different cruise boats out together on a day boat which was great because everything we did was done in our own in a small group. This meant a very small group kayaked to a remote beach after walking through a cave.
• Pearl farm production/farm - this was very interesting as we’d never seen how pearl culturing happens and the history dating back to Mr Mikimoto in Japan in 1893.
• Kayaking at Luon Cave - well this was awful! So many people all trying to kayak, most having no idea what they were doing or how to control the kayak whilst navigating around the big row boats. Craig & I lasted about 5 minutes then got out! Darcy was partnered with a young English girl & ended up in a water fight with her mates so he had fun.
What all this taught me was you must do a 2 night cruise at Halong Bay because the best fun/activities happened around being on the longer option.
We then caught a bus to Ninh Binh. Well done to Darcy for negotiating the bus system!!Read more
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Day 18
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 9:42 PM
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 163 m
Vietnam Bản Bang 20.66153, 105.06818120°39’42” N 105°4’5” E
Halong Bay (Part 2)
May 15, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
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Day 18
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 9:55 PM
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 171 m
Vietnam Bản Bang 20.661551, 105.06822720°39’42” N 105°4’6” E
Oops forgot to post SaPa
May 15, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
Sapa
5 1/2 hr bus trip - double decker sleeper bus novel! Road was a bit like driving on a cross between John Saunders Pde & Gibb River Rd for 6 hrs!
Staying SaPa Hill Hotel great position & comfortable hotel once again staff great but noisy from the road I guess you get that when you stay central to everything. One of the 1st things I noticed in SaPa - lots of electric taxis & golf buggy taxis! Not sure what that’s about didn’t notice any in Hanoi.
Ham Rong Mountain - (Dragon’s Jaw Mountain). Its name is derived from the shape of its peak which resembles the jaw of a dragon. The legend of Ham Rong Mountain Sapa is that there were two dragons playing with each other when a fierce flood came. One dragon flew up to the sky while the other was trapped on earth and turned to stone, looking towards its companion that had flown away. Beautiful gardens & Craig & Darcy both almost got bullseyes on a crossbow archery gallery.

Moana SaPa not sure what Moana is doing in Vietnam but it was a fun display! Something to do with being a photographic studio & love???

Tour with Mun (Red Dai Minority) $US 35 pp. Minorities villages visited were Lao Chai (Black H’mong minority), Ta Van (Zay minority, Giang Ta Chai (Red Dao minority). Saw how cloth is dyed with indigo, rice & corn is crushed & just generally witnessed village life - had lunch in Giang Ta Chai. Watched school kids practice music at school which was a bit weird but apparently part of the tour!

Fansipan mountain stands at 3,147.3 metres (10,326 ft) being the highest mountain on the Indochinese peninsula (comprising Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia), hence its nickname, "the Roof of Indochina" unfortunately the weather wasn’t conducive to risking the cost of getting up there & only seeing cloud. We are visiting SaPa at the beginning of the wet /cloudy season. So we just walked around the town had a chair massage, ate some yummy food (some great food in SaPa) & seemed to upset a street hawker who was hellbent on ruining our day - didn’t happen!Read more
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Day 18
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 9:57 PM
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 159 m
Vietnam Bản Bang 20.66151, 105.06819220°39’41” N 105°4’5” E
SaPa (Part 2)
May 15, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
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Day 18
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 10:00 PM
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 159 m
Vietnam Bản Bang 20.661507, 105.06817920°39’41” N 105°4’5” E
SaPa (Part 3)
May 15, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
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Day 18
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 at 10:02 PM
🌧 25 °C
Altitude: 163 m
Vietnam Bản Bang 20.661548, 105.06813220°39’42” N 105°4’5” E
More in SaPa
May 15, 2024 in Vietnam ⋅ 🌧 25 °C
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Day 20
Friday, May 17, 2024
☀️ 29 °C
Altitude: 19 m
Australia Brenda Morton Reserve -31.914928, 115.7682831°54’54” S 115°46’6” E
Da Nang
May 17, 2024 in Australia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Flight from Hanoi to Da Nang.
AirB&B accomodation - seems that you can’t really read a book from its cover when it comes to accomodation! The outside lobby & hallways of the buildings seem to be very ordinary if not bordering on dodgey but inside they have been very nice. Our apartment was right opposite MyAn Beach which was a lovely beach & even had some surfers to watch.
We visited the Lady Buddha in the rain which was impressive & had lovely gardens & entertaining monkeys. Darcy’s kayaking buddy in Halong suggested a restaurant called Donald Trung I think some sort of Trump pun?? Make your own fresh spring rolls which were yummy. We kind of just chilled in Danang did some long street walks ate in some great restaurants including a vegan breakfast & dessert place which was really nice food. The view from our balcony was fabulous. Our last night we tried to get a sunset pic from the observatory station hill but it was a bit cloudy. Still a nice view & drive though. There was a night massage place on the beach which is a great idea & massage.Read more
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Day 22
Sunday, May 19, 2024
🌬 29 °C
Altitude: 11 m
Indonesia Ngurah Rai International Airport -8.745155, 115.1695628°44’43” S 115°10’10” E
Hue
May 19, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌬 29 °C
Scenic train trip from Da Nang to Hue.
• Guide & driver grabbed us at train Stn - good because it’s really hot here.
• Dragon boat ride to Thien Mu Pagoda originally built in 1691 to honour Buddhism but has been built & destroyed several times, Reconstructed in 1844.
• Visited Minh Mang Temple - Minh Mang Emperor reigned 1820-1840.
• Enough of temples! Took photo but didn’t actually enter of the tomb of another emperor - Khai Dinh penultimate emperor 1916-1925 & widely seen as a puppet to the French. Temple completed in 1931 being the final architectural build of Nguyên dynasty.
• Abandoned water park - closed in 2006 due to conflict between owners & Buddhist religious leaders. Fabulous relic made famous recently for internet posts.
• Vong Canh Hill great view of Perfume River.
• Incense Village very interesting to see how incense are made. Darcy purchased some great smelling incense hopefully they’ll get through customs!
• Darc & my dinner Bahn mi (80c) & Nina’s Restaurant both very tasty.
•Mingle Cafe for breakfast which was another vegan/power bowl/porridge delight.Read more
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Day 22
Sunday, May 19, 2024
🌬 29 °C
Altitude: 11 m
Indonesia Ngurah Rai International Airport -8.745316, 115.1699428°44’43” S 115°10’12” E
Hue (part 2)
May 19, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌬 29 °C
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Day 22
Sunday, May 19, 2024
🌬 29 °C
Altitude: 11 m
Indonesia Ngurah Rai International Airport -8.745262, 115.170128°44’43” S 115°10’12” E
Hue (part 3)
May 19, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌬 29 °C
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Day 23
Monday, May 20, 2024
🌬 29 °C
Altitude: 12 m
Indonesia Ngurah Rai International Airport -8.745125, 115.169858°44’42” S 115°10’11” E
Hoi An
May 20, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌬 29 °C
A pretty little town on bank of river famous for it floating lanterns. We lucked in & happened to be there for the Full Moon Festival - unfortunately it was pouring with rain we went out anyway & succeeded in getting drenched. Wondered upon the famous ancient wooden Japanese Bridge but it’s currently closed due to undergoing renovations. The lantern boats & floating lanterns are a gorgeous sight at night. We had a street food pancake which was very tasty & probably the best Bahn mi in Vietnam in Hoi An. So good Darc & I had 5 between us!

We signed up to do the Original Taste of Hoi A Food Tour - an early start to the day trudging through the back streets & markets sampling some 40 odd local delights. It was a great insight into local cuisine & we thoroughly enjoyed our morning. This tour was recommended to us by Simon & Donna who did it many years ago. It was started by an Aussie couple 14 years ago, she’s pretty elderly now & her husband recently passed away but she’s still involved sharing many cuisine & local stories. We spent our time in Hoi A taking it easy after a pretty full on month travelling Vietnam, staying in a nice hotel with a great swimming pool and of course managed a little shopping!Read more
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Day 23
Monday, May 20, 2024
🌬 29 °C
Altitude: 12 m
Indonesia Ngurah Rai International Airport -8.745076, 115.1698888°44’42” S 115°10’12” E
Hoi An (part 2)
May 20, 2024 in Indonesia ⋅ 🌬 29 °C
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