Cambodia & Vietnam Trip – Day 5
We were supposed to go to a jungle covered temple, but went to three others instead. The guide, Mr Tinghe apologised for the misunderstanding, these temples were covered by jungle, but had now been restored and cleared.
He would take us to the other temple, but it would cost us an extra US$90, as it wasn’t covered by our normal pass!
We were had, but there is nothing we can do about it!
The temples, we went to, were very nice. The first one had intricate carvings. The second, my favourite, was extremely old, and the only one we saw with a moat on the inside of the walls. Need to see this temple at the end of the wet season when there is water here. The third was very different in that it was made from bricks, not large sandstone blocks, like the others.
Large fig trees and creepers covered the temples and some roots etc are still supporting the walls – great picture opportunities. Lightly rained for about 5-10 minutes, which was a bit of a relief from the heat, but not much!
Bought 2 table cloths and more post cards, Brendan got a big map of the area. Cost US$3, Couldn’t bargain on this as Brendan, took it before we had a chance to. David not too happy, but they are still cheap 😉
Finished tour at noon, and went back to hotel fro a quick swim, shower and change. Mr Tinghe was picking us up at 3:15pm so we hired a Tuk Tuk and went through a local market. Brendan, was given a ring, by one of the street vendors, they all love him. I also bought 2 pictures on rice paper, a nice bedspread cover, some material for a formal Sarong and Brendan got a nice orange mask of a Cambodian demon.
Back at the hotel, Brendan went for a quick swim, as we were so sweaty; seem to be going through 2 – 3 sets of clothes during the day. Had a plate of spring rolls for lunch, and then packed up to go.
We had to be at the airport 2hrs prior to departure for check in, and of course our plane was 1/2 hr late, so we sat around for quite a while! Eventually walked on to the tarmac to catch the plane, and said goodbye to Cambodia.
Wasn’t too keen on Phnom Penh, but really enjoyed Siem Reip, mainly due to the fact it is more tourist driven and has Angkor Wat. I would have liked to have had more time to look around. Maybe if we ever come back, we will hire a Tuk Tuk, taking our Lonely Plant & Angor guide books, take our time to look around for as long as we wished.
You never know, we may come back!
Flight: Siem Reap to HCMC, Vietnam
5:20 PM-6:20 PM (Vietnam Airlines : VN 822) $450
Hotel: Metropole Hotel
148 Tran Hung Dao Ave, Ho Chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
Ph: 9201938
Fax: 9201960
1 June – 4 June
Arrived in Tan Son Nhat Airport (a.k.a. Ho Chi Minh City, a.k.a. Saigon airport) at about 8pm, and it was 27degC. It is approximately 8 km away from the centre of Ho Chi Minh City.
We went through customs, ok, but my first impression, was we had made a mistake in coming here. No-one was smiling, like in Cambodia, very regimented.
Approached by about a dozen taxi drivers, and arranged with one to take us to our hotel, for US$10. We were starting to get a bit worried, as the drive seemed to take forever; Brendan fell asleep, but finally arrived after 9pm
We are not very happy. We went up to our room, after having our passports taken, and it was very small with only 1 double bed. David went down and saw the staff & we changed rooms to a suite, which still only had 1 bed, but had a small sitting area as well so Brendan was given a trundle bed, which is at the end of ours. There is no more room.
The Staff are not very friendly. Asked for a power adaptor, and was given a faulty one. David went back down the stairs again, to ask for a replacement. They brought another one, but also brought the old one to make sure we were using it correctly! It’s a plug for god sake!
Finally settled in, nearly midnight! Not happy about the hotel, at all. Bad staff, bad room, bad service.
Hopefully, tomorrow will be a better day!
