One of the most memorable places - Phnom Penh, Cambodia

We arrived in Phnom Penh at night time and had no clue as to where we were or which direction the hotel was in so we jumped in a Tuk Tuk to make things easy.

We were greeted with cool towels and fresh drinks while we checked in. The hotel had made a mistake and pout us in a double room as apposed to the superior room we booked but this was immediately corrected and we changed rooms. This hotel had only opened a month prior and was in very good condition with new amenities, it was busy but only had 13 rooms with a lovely pool to jump in on a hot day.

We arrived in Cambodia in Feb/March time and it was extremely hot around 40 degrees Celsius every day, which sometimes was unbearable to go out so we stayed in our room with the air-con on.

We were situated very near to the Independence monument which sits in the centre of the traffic circle so if you get lost this is a good point to head back to as your only 5 minutes away from The Royal Place and shopping area.




Phnom Penh is full of history and this can be seen within the buildings around the city, if you hire a Tuk Tuk for the day they will take you round the city to see different temples. The main attractions of course are the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, the S-21 Prison and The Royal Palace. There is deep history in these places so show respect and really listen to the story's told, some can be quite moving. It pains me to think of the terror and torture that occurred in such a beautiful country.

Attractions:
We hired a Tuk Tuk for the day to take us round the attractions, they are cheap but of course you have to barter for the right price but the drivers get lunch at each stop if they take someone so better to use them than a corporate company that may rip you off. 

• Choeung Ek Killing Fields:

Here you are given an audio headset to listen too as you walk around, it is in sections and you just press play when you move into each new section, which means you can walk round at your own pace and really listen to the stories. The cost to get in is $6 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £4.20)




Between the years of 1975 and 1978 around 17,000 men, women and children were brought to the killing fields from the over crowed S-21 prison. A lot were tortured to death so not to waste bullets. There is estimated 8985 peoples remains were exhumed from the killing fields in mass graves, some of the human remains and clothing are still present in the fields. While on the tour you will here stories from the victims who survived the Khmer Rouge and from Him Huy who was a guard and executioner at the fields.

A Memorial Stupa of clear glass was erected in 1988 to house bone fragments and skulls all arranged by sex, age and how they killed.

•   S-17 Prison also known as Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum:

Admission is around $2 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £3) there is no audio around the prison but facts and pictures on walls. You can have a guided tour for $6 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £4.20)

This was not always a prison, it started off as a high school before Pol Potts took over in 1975 and it soon became the largest centre for detention and torture in the country.






The leaders kept detailed logs of each prison who walked through the gates  by taking their photograph, name and where they came from. Most of the photographs you see in the prison today are of people who were later killed. When the Phnom Penh was liberated in 1979 only 7 prisoners were found alive, they had used their skills in photograph and painting to do this.

• The Royal Palace:

(This is a small section of the Palace)
Admission here is $10 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £7)
NOTE: you MUST cover your shoulders and forearms. A scarf or shawl will not do it must be a t-shirt or jumper, we did not actually visit the Palace as i had my shoulders exposed.


 
There are many more attractions and temples to see around Phnom Penh, like the Independence Monument I described earlier, the Cambodia-Vietnam Friendship Monument (picture) which is in between the Palace and the Independence Monument and the large markets in the centre of town. Be careful at these markets as they are very tightly packed and very busy so there are a few pick pockets around. It all depends on how long you are staying in Phnom Penh as to what you see, also it was extremely hot when we were here so doing a little is tiring.



Hotel we stayed in was booked through booking.com.
The Sam Boutique Hotel: $302.40 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £ ) for 7 nights including breakfast. Although the cooked breakfast wasn't that great as it was very small, you could also have cereal. Very clean bright hotel, great swimming pool and the rooms were very clean and modern. i would definitely stay here again as the staff were brilliant and it was in a good location with lots of eateries around to choose from.

Moving onto Sihanoukville we booked a 12:30pm Giant Ibis minibus from their head office in Phnom Penh (street 106) which is situated in the night market and cost $10 US Dollars (today's exchange rate £7). It took 4 hours with stops along the way to Sihanoukville. When we booked the bus we asked to be picked up from the hotel but as this was a new hotel they didn't know where it was so we had to give the name of the hotel next door which they were fine with. There are only 2 bus companies that run to Sihanoukville these are Sorya and Capitol Tours, they are classed as typical Cambodian bus companies which are cheap but only good for short trips, and then there are 2 minibus companies called Giant Ibis and Mekong Express

NOTE: We did a lot of research on TripAdvisor to see which is the best company to go with, and Giant Ibis had the best reviews. It was comfy big seat in only a 16 seater minibus. (Sorya company tend to break down often and have falling apart buses, which make the trip longer.)

BEWARE: Please be aware the roads in Cambodia are not all finished in lovely tarmac, so if you are getting a bus please get a day time bus and NOT a night bus around Cambodia. If you have ever been before you will know what I'm talking about and if you haven't well, hold on to your seats your in for a treat. The roads are sometimes narrow, or have huge holes in them so through the day at least the driver can see where he is going at night he can not. The night buses are also most prone to accidents. See this link (Night Bus) for 5 reasons you should not get night buses.

Laos to Hanoi (Vietnam).

There are only two ways to leave Laos, by bus or by plane. The bus is a sleeping bus and can take between 24-26 hours, so we decided on an hour plane ride.

We flew with Lao airlines $130 (Us dollars) each. (Todays exchange rate £86) and although it was a small plane and short ride we were well looked after. We were given free meals which included a sandwich, water and a desert, for the price we paid was brilliant.






Vietnam Visa:
You must apply for a visa before arriving in Vietnam, as you MUST print out your confirmation details to hand over at the Vietnamese boarder control. The application can take 2 or more days to process. For single entry for 1 month costs $16 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £10) per person for the online application. There is an additional $25 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £16) per person to be paid to the immigration office on arrival in Vietnam.

We landed in Hanoi and we had arranged a taxi through the hotel which was waiting outside. We had heard stories of people arriving and picking up a local taxi outside the airport, but the driver not taking them to their hotel until they paid a ridculous fair so would strongly advise you to pre-arrange a taxi through your hotel.

We thought we had found a bargain with this hotel at £85 for a week including breakfast but upon arrival we realised why it was so cheap. Dirty sheets, stains on the walls, never been dusted and hard very old mattrasses, but its only somewhere to sleep right?!

The city of Hanoi is crazy, full of mopeds and people, I have never seen anything like it before. We walked to the centre of town which only took 10 minutes when we worked out where we were.

In the centre there is a huge lake called Hoan Kiem lake and this is a historical feature in Hanoi. The Lake is full of turtles and is a lovely walk with a Turtle Tower in the centre of the lake which you can get to by walking over the bright red Huc Bridge. You don't have to pay to walk on the bridge but you do have to pay to enter the tower, which we didn't do so I'm not sure how much it costs. The lake is surrounded by coffee shops and restaurants and at night when the lake is all light up its lovely to see from one of the restaurants at the top of the shopping mall.
While we were sat at the lake we were approached but local teenagers studying English at school and they wanted to ask us some questions so they could practise their English, which we did with a young lady, my partner became the camera man while she asked me questions and she was very excited that someone was helping her.

The traffic in Hanoi is an eye opener, everywhere you look there are mopeds and we were told by a local that if the traffic lights are on green it means go and if they are on red it means whatever they want. Go or Stop. So when crossing the road just make sure your always looking but they will slow down or weave round you if you do make a run for it and not wait for the crossing.

Things to do in Hanoi:
There are loads of travel agencies around all wanting to find you that prefect trip, so just ask around for prices. With us only staying a week we only went on one trip which was to Halong Bay.

Halong Bay: It was a 1 night 2 day boat trip to Halong bay and I would definitely recommend it. It took roughly 3 hours from the city to reach the bay, where you will be put on a tug boat to reach your bigger boat anchored a little off shore. There are loads of tours and companies to choice from and you will see this by the amount of boats waiting to start their tour. We chose the Halong Bay Cruise Company which was a superior cruise but you can choose from superior, deluxe and luxury cruises.

Once on board the boat you are seated in the dining area for an induction on what we will be doing. You are introduced to the other members of the group then shown to your room to freshen up. 

The cabin was much nicer than i thought it would be and very spacious. As we made our way to the Hang Sung Sot Cave we were served lunch, salad, fish, rice, a very large feast for everyone to enjoy.

The Hang Sung Sot Cave is called a "surprise cave" in Halong, there are a few steep steps up to the cave and obviously what goes up must come down so there are steep steps down side the cave. You are guided round the 3 chambers covered in thousands of stalactites and stalagmites. The views over Halong bay when you reach the mouth of the cave are very beautiful.





After the tour of the cave we were given the option of kayaking, which we did. This was the best part of the trip for us we thoroughly enjoyed it. The guide takes you around various islands in the bay and it took around an hour. It is hard work especially when your partner is very competitive and even wants to beat the guide back to the boat.

Once back on the boat you had a few hours to freshen up, sunbath and enjoy the views before dinner was served. There was a huge variety of food and more than enough to feed us all. After dinner you were invited to join the team in drinks or if you didn't want to do that a spot of night fishing. This was fishing for squid and you have to be very patient. We stood for about an hour and caught nothing and a guy came over, he was there for 10 minutes and caught two so he must have had the right touch of the job.

One the second day we were taken to a pearl farm. These were floating houses and jewellery shops in the bay. We were put on some very rocky rowing boats by the locals and shown these floating villages where people used to live in houses floating on the water. Unfortunately no one lives in the houses any longer but there are other villages where people like and go to school. It is suggested you tip the person who rowed your boat as they don't have much.
 

We were then shown how pearls are made and the cleaning process that is involved which was interesting. You are then invited to look round the finished jewellery and purchase some if you wish.







Back on the boat and on our way home we were given a lesson on making traditional spring rolls which was fun, and then time to relax and say your goodbyes to the people you met before getting back on the bus to the city.

Another attraction:

Lotus Water Puppet: This is popular in Vietnam and there are a few around the city. You can buy tickets on the door and it costs 100,000VND. (Today's exchange rate £3). A traditional Vietnamese puppet show in water, with Vietnamese singing. It was funny to watch, didn't really understand what was happening as it was in Vietnamese but we enjoyed it.

 


Hoa Lo Prison: The prison was used by North Vietnam to house prisoners of the Vietnam war. It was demolished in 1990s but the gatehouse remains open as the museum. There are many different rooms with plaques on the wall giving information about what the room was used for and who died within the room, and the names of everyone who died are listed in each. The prisoners here endured poor food and unsanitary conditions often chained by their ankles for weeks. It was used to torture and interrogate prisoners and in glass cases throughout the prisons the instruments used for the torture are on display. Walking round the prison you really get a sense of sadness and pain within the walls and its hard to imagine what the people captured here went through. I would definitely recommend anyone to visit. It cost 20,000VND (Today's exchange rate £0.60).


 

Women's Museum: This is about Vietnamese women through time. Samples of clothing that was worn, giving birth and their children and marriage. To be honest it wasn't very interesting to us it was over 4 levels and most of the levels were the same. I wouldn't go again but it did only cost 30,000VND. (Today's exchange rate £0.90) which is very cheap.

• We also went to the cinema a few times, it is about 30 minute walk from the city centre. (The lake). The cinema is modern, clean and cheap as it only cost 70,000VND (Today's exchange rate £2). The popcorn and drinks however I felt were over priced.

We booked a flight from Hanoi to Da Nang to stay in Hoi An. This was the cheapest and quickest way to Hoi An but you can get a bus there if you wish. The flight cost us around £25 each with Vietnam airlines.

Note: The women walking the streets with baskets of fruit will offer you to take pictures holding the baskets of fruit which most tourist will do, well they will charge you to do this or ask you to buy some fruit. Just make sure you take the fruit BEFORE giving over the money. We gave the money first and the lady decided that the bunch of bananas in the bag weren't included. Not that we minded as it wasn't much just more about principles of it.



The hotel we stayed in booked through Booking.com:

• Paramount Hotel, $126 (Us dollars). (Today's exchange rate £85) for one week. Breakfast was included within the price and it was either a buffet or the chef would make you something fresh if you asked. However the rooms were very run down and neglected. Very dusty, wires coming out of walls, mattress was very hard and dusty. You can see that this hotel was once lovely but unfortunately has been left. I wouldn't stay here again if i was to return.