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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Saigon - final day
February 12, 2025 in Vietnam ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
A gentle wander down to the river today with the hope of taking a boat ride. Not to be sadly as the water bus only runs at busy commuter times. We walked past the Opera House, Government buildings and more new year decorations. It was a hot and humid day, so the air conditioned shopping mall was a welcome respite and lunch before a wander around the market. Lovely dinner at a buzzing restaurant around the corner, followed by cocktails in the Sky Bar before bed. Tomorrow we leave Vietnam for Cambodia and the temples of Angkor Wat.Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Cambodia - Siem Reap day 1
February 14, 2025 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
We arrived late last evening so not much to see. Hotel is lovely and elephants are definitely en vogue!
Travel here is by Tuktuk. This morning we went to the old town market where we bought a few more souvenirs (elephant themed of course!) then on to a local monastery, which was very different to the temples and pagodas of Vietnam. The roads are not as frenetic and the pavements you can walk on rather than dodge all the mopeds. All together a bit more civilised.
We had lunch in a lovely Greek restaurant as we fancied something different! Then back to the hotel for a swim and chillax!Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Cambodia- Seam Reap evening
February 14, 2025 in Cambodia ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
An evening tuktuk took us into town where we headed for Pub Street. It was buzzing as it was Friday night plus it’s Valentine’s Day so plenty of red decorations and couples!
We found a restaurant with a balcony to watch people from, the food was delicious, great value and so well presented. We wandered around the night market after dinner, then back to the hotel for an early night as it’s the big one tomorrow, Angkor Wat…Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Angkor Thom
February 15, 2025 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 29 °C
Angkor Thom translates as Great City but, as with Angkor Wat, none of the city remains except the stone Bayon temple in the middle. The bridge over the moat to each of the four gates is lined with statues. The moat and walls stretch for 6km each side of the gates and the moat is 45ft deep! Some of the statues faces are quite gruesome. This temple has numerous towers, many of which have large carved faces set in them.Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Angkor Wat
February 15, 2025 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
OMG what a day! Our chauffeured Vespas picked us up from the hotel at 7.30am and off we zoomed via roads and tracks to Angkor Wat. The sheer scale of the temple complex is incredible and words cannot do it justice. Angkor Wat means the city which is a temple. The sandstone was carried there from 45km away by bamboo rafts on the river then by elephants on land. Then the temples were built over many years and adorned with detailed carvings depicting gods, battles etc.
There was a very steep wooden staircase to climb up to the top level where you could walk around all the towers and see for miles around. The central temple used to be surrounded by a village of wooden houses for 12,000 people. The wooden houses are long gone and in their place are many tall trees. Over the centuries the temple buildings have suffered some natural decay, but there is a UNESCO restoration programme to safeguard the structure as well as replace the carvings.Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Angkor - not temples
February 15, 2025 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C
Our guide and Vespa drivers were great. Even Sara felt safe!
We stopped for fresh fruit and coconut milk between temple visits and finished with a lovely lunch at a roadside restaurant.
It was a long, hot and tiring day but we wouldn’t have missed it for anything, one of the best days of our lives, really.
After showering back at the hotel, we caught a tuk-tuk into town and found a nice restaurant on Pub Street for cocktails and dinner.Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Tomb raider temple!
February 15, 2025 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
This was the temple used for the filming of Tomb Raider. There are many trees that have grown up through the temple. Initially the trees served to strengthen the stone construction, but as the trees grew bigger, parts of the temple collapsed around the trees. This site has been left as ruins and has its own charm.Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Prasat Baksei Chamkrong
February 15, 2025 in Cambodia ⋅ 🌙 28 °C
Just before the entrance to Angkor Thom we stopped at a small temple. We were asked if we wanted to climb to the top and it was definitely a steep climb! The steps were narrow and steep and made of limestone that had been eroded and was very irregular . The idea being that you bowed your head and slowly crawled to worship.Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Floating Village
February 16, 2025 in Cambodia ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C
We had a quiet morning before catching a tuk-tuk into town to visit Mrs Pisey’s fabric stall in the market for silk. Lunch was at Khmer Kitchen.
Our final tour of the holiday was a visit to a floating village on the lake south of Siem Reap. All of the boats run truck engines without silencers, they were very loud! The lake is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is fed by rivers which flow from the Himalayas through China, Laos, Cambodia and finally to the sea via the Mekong Delta in Vietnam. However, China has recently built a dam in Laos which has significantly decreased the water flow and the migration of fish. The lake is currently only 1m deep as it’s approaching dry season, but it swells with the rains which start in June and the lake is then 10m deep and four times the size! The floating houses will soon move further into the lake as it dries up more. They have everything floating including a school and Catholic Church. There are a total of 170 of these villages in the lake. We stopped at a floating restaurant which was also breeding crocodiles for meat and leather and frogs for we know not what!
The gang plank to and from the boat was really steep so Chris had to walk backwards up it to save his Achilles.
On the way to the airport we stopped off at a local market to see the fish (some were still alive) vegetables and red ants for sale!
Thanks Vietnam and Cambodia, it’s been a blast.Read more
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Vietnam and Cambodia Traveler
Rome - Capitoline Hill and Forum
April 5, 2025 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
After breakfast we walked from the Pantheon to Piazza Venezia, which is dominated by the enormous monument to Vitorio Emanuel. Unfortunately it was closed for a veterans ceremony, so we walked up the steps at the back to Capitoline Hill where there were great views of Rome and Vatican City. The view along the Forum below us was spectacular, and we walked down the hill and along the Forum to the Colosseum.Read more
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Trip end
February 16, 2025