Right now I'm in Can Tho which is a decent sized city that is the center of the Mekong delta region in Vietnam. I've got a lot to write about so I'll start from the begining of our trip. I don't have any pictures yet because I forgot my camera cord back in Hanoi.
Last week we flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia to visit Angkor Wat. For those that don't know, it's the biggest religious site in the world. It was incredibly amazing at how detailed it was. In the main area of five towers is surrounded by walls that depict various stories. We also went to a few of the other temples in the area, including the one where the movie Tomb Raider was filmed. We ended or temple visiting day by enjoying a sunset at a temple at the top of a hill. It was very interesting to see the Hindu, Buddhist, and even Chinese influences on the temples. At one of the sites, the carvings on the wall depicted the influence of the Chinese in Cambodia. It showed how the Chinese brought cooking and gambling to the Khmer people.
From Siem Reap we drove to Phnom Penh. We visited the royal palace which had Thai-style architecture. We toured the gardens and numerous buildings within the palace. The buildings were all covered in gold. The next day we visited one of the prisons used to house Cambodians during the atrocities of the Khmer Rouge. Our tour guide had worked in a similar prison as a child, so his personal experiences added much detail to what he was showing us. At the prison we saw the various facilities used to house and torture people before the were sent to the killing fields. We then drove outside the city to visit the mass graves. What struck me was how fast all the terrible things happened. We learned that all the residents of Phnom Penh were forced out in 24 hours. Everyone was moved to the country side. This all happened in the five years before the Vietnamese invaded in 1979.
After four days in Cambodia, we returned to Vietnam. To get to Vietnam, we traveled down the Mekong river by boat. It was a very interesting boat ride because of the difference between the river in Cambodia and Vietnam. On the Cambodian side, the river was hardly used; few boats and very little along the shores of the river. Once we entered Vietnam, there were many more boats and houses, factories, and temples lined the shores. It was about a 4 hour boat ride to the town of Chau Doc. The following morning, Zach and I climbed Son mountain. Well in truth, we were on the back of a motorbike. The path up was closed and we didn't know where the access road was. At the top it was very foggy so we couldn't see the town or the Mekong. It was slightly disappointing, but it was still fun.
Our next stop was Can Tho, where I am now. Yesterday and today we visited two floating markets. These markets aren't where tourists buy things. Rather it's where the street vendors come to get their goods that they resell. The market is comprised of many bigger boats loaded with fruits and vegetables. They come to the market for a few days or a week and sell their goods. To advertise what they are selling, they hang the fruit or vegetable from a long pole that sticks up from the top of the boat.
Tomorrow we will drive to Ho Chi Minh city where we will stay for a few days. From there we'll drive along the coast.
I hope your spring breaks are as fun as mine!