Scuba Dooby Dive

Overall, the last few days have been relaxing, with us lounging on the beach, reading our books and Kindles, getting a few brews at the Louisiane Brewhouse (the first and only microbrew we've found on this trip) where Claire enjoyed a dark lager, and I a pretty good witbier (wheat beer.)  The witbier tasted darn close to a Blue Moon or Shock Top at home so I was very pleased!

On Saturday, April 9th, Claire and I went snorkeling off the coast.  We left about 7:00 am for a boat through a local company called "Turtle Dive" where we hopped on and rode for about an hour off the coast.  Soon we were in a choppy little cove off one of the nine islands in the area.  The boat was filled with primarily Vietnamese and Russian divers, but we befriended a young British fellow named Max for conversation during the trip.  We were the only other native English speakers, so it was nice for all three of us.

Our boat just before launch.

After the boat departed the harbor, we cruised under the VinPearl cable car.  It is a cable car that takes people back and forth to VinPearl resort on an island just off the coast.  It was astonishing to see because it is the longest cable car over water in the world.

VinPearl cable car.

Cruising out to our dive cove, we passed VinPearl island and some others where it looked like fish farming was being done in little houses over the water.

On the way out.

We arrived at our dive cove about an hour after departure where Claire and I suited up in masks and wetsuits for our first snorkel excursion of the day.  It was my first time snorkeling so I was very excited, and I could tell that Claire was super excited to introduce me to it!

All masked up 'n ready to go!

The clear tropical water was wonderful to jump into and swim around in, though it was a bit colder than we expected.  We stayed in the water for about 30 minutes, swimming around, looking at beautiful coral reefs and colorful tropical fish.  It was really amazing and something I can't wait to do again in the future.

One of our dive spots.

Enjoying fresh fruit between dives.

 After a bit, we went to a second dive spot much calmer than the first where we both went in again for about 45 minutes.  I loved swimming around and got to see some jellyfish free floating under the surface and some amazing spiky sea urchins.  Claire even saw an octopus!  Overall, an amazing, fun, and relaxing day at sea.

Our second dive spot

April 9th marked the "two months left" date of our trip. See you all in June!

Da Lat

We spent the last three days in Da Lat, a small(ish) town in the Central Highlands of Vietnam.  It was cooler and greener in the mountains.  We stayed at a very nice hotel with the most amazing breakfast spread (sorry no picture), a hot tub, and a fancy shower.

Here Jeff is pretending to be Harry Shearer in Spinal Tap

Our first full day we walked around the city and visited a hotel that is locally called The Crazy House.  A mix of Alice in Wonderland and Gaudi, the hotel was super fun to see and walk through.

One of the foot bridges (Jeff Bridges)

One of the rooms you can rent

This photo is for Mason: I'm doing a Mario punch in Mario's Mushroom Kingdom

We also had some great food.  With Buddhism being a strong part of the culture, we have easily found vegetarian restaurants so far that cater to those more strictly following Buddhism.

Pho (soup) is the most common food.  This cost about $1.

Veg spring rolls with peanut sauce.  $0.25 each.

I tried artichoke tea - interesting but nothing worth bringing back to CA

Our next day we hired tour guides known as Easy Riders.  It is an informal group of guys who take tourists on motorbike tours of Da Lat and also on longer trips throughout Vietnam.  We did a day trip to the surrounding countryside as we've heard it is the only way to see more rural parts of Vietnam.  It was also a great way to learn more about the culture.

Jeff with his Easy Rider guide.

Flower growing is a huge export industry - these are Gerber Daisies

 We got a tour of a silk factory and learned how the cocoons of the silk worms are turned into silk.  The women below put the cocoons (with the larvae still inside) into hot water, then the machines pull off the silk and spin it into big spools.

We also got to see some of the natural beauty in the area.

Elephant Waterfall

We got to hike almost all the way under the falls

Some of the countryside

 Our last sight of the day was an abandoned US air strip from the Vietnam War (or the American War as it is called here).

Not so easy riders

It was a great few days.  Today we arrived in Nha Trang, a beach city in the south central coast.  We'll do a post on it in the next few days!  Here is a sneak preview:

Mekong Delta

Yesterday we went on a tour of the Mekong Delta.  The Mekong River runs through 6 countries in Asia, starting in Tibet and ending here in Vietnam.  It is a huge life source for many people in South East Asia.  We did not get to see many parts of the delta, like the floating villages or markets.  Instead we got an underwhelming packaged tour where we were shuttled from one place to buy stuff to the next.

Highlights were:

Taking a rowboat through a small canal (although we were put on to the rowboats just like you would be at a ride at Disneyland).

\

Seeing the foliage.

Seeing how native fruits grow in the region.  This is a jack fruit tree.

Tasting some of the fruit.  The white fruit below is dragon fruit and tastes very similarly to kiwi. The yellow fruit is jack fruit - it has an interesting texture and is very sweet.  The peach colored one we don't know what it is called (we couldn't understand our guide) but it was very sweet and melted in your mouth.

Pineapple plant

We are happy we got to see the Mekong Delta, but were disappointed with our tour.  Tomorrow we head to Dalat, a hill station about 6 hours from Saigon.

Saigon

We made it to Vietnam! We arrived yesterday afternoon after a seamless border crossing and are now in Ho Chi Minh City. The city's name was officially changed after South Vietnam ceded to the north in 1975, but everyone still knows it as Saigon. It is a huge, bustling, crowded city; I thought India had a lot of motos, but it has nothing on Saigon. Even the dogs ride motos here! (Unfortunately I have not been quick enough to get a photo of one, but kid you not, we saw a woman place her chihuahua on the back of her moto then speed off.)

Lots of new construction and skyscrapers

We're staying at Madame Cuc's Hotel #123 – Madame Cuc seems to be a mini mogul in the budget hotel realm here in Saigon with several buildings in the area. But she knows what she's doing! We're paying $22 a night, including breakfast and dinner, and we have a great room on the 4^th floor with a balcony.

Senor Cuc on our balcony

Today we walked around the city mostly, and also visited the War Remnants Museum – a museum dedicated to the Vietnam War. It was an emotionally difficult place to be for both of us, seeing photographs of victims of the war, and especially the section on the horrors of Agent Orange.

Some of the machinery at the museum

We finished the day with having a beer at a sidewalk cafe (there are tons here), people-watching and planning the next four weeks of our trip here. Tomorrow we are doing a boat ride on the Mekong so look forward to more pictures!

I look a little crazed here - it's the humidity

Phnom Penh

The capital of Cambodia is a vibrant, enjoyable city. Formerly known as the pearl of Asia, the city was severely marred during the rule of the Khmer Rouge and the following war with Vietnam.  It is impossible to visit Phnom Penh and the whole of Cambodia without becoming aware of its tumultuous and violent recent past.  The Khmer Rouge, under the control of Pol Pot, ruled for 3 short years (1975-1978) as a communist government and saw the destruction of much of the country and the death of over 1.7 million Cambodians, out of a population of only 7 million at the time. Most people died due to starvation and malnutrition.

The city today is highly walkable, with a beautiful river walk, nice restaurants, and the Cambodians we have met are friendly, helpful, and have consistent joyous smiles on their faces.  We get the sense that this is a people moving forward from a painful past with much optimism.

National Museum

Riverside

Water and music show in one of the parks

Royal Palace lit up

The last three days served as a culinary delight.  Our first meal was at a street stall where lots of hand gestures got through the language barrier to some delicious fried tofu with spicy dipping sauces.

Our next meal was recommended by the Lonely Planet as a "good cause dining" option.  The restaurant, Friends, is a nonprofit that employs former street children as well as does outreach and health education.  The food was tapas style and was AMAZING.  Pictured below are spinach ravioli, zucchini and cheddar cheese fritters, and sweet potato fries.

Our last meal was at the Boat Noodle Restaurant where we dined on some delicious Thai soup (Tom kha) and a traditional Cambodian dish served untraditionally.  Amok is a fish dish usually served in a banana leaf - we had amok made with mushrooms and served in a coconut but with the same coconut and lemongrass flavoring.

Tom kha Soup and Mushroom running Amok

We leave Cambodia in the morning for Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) but we are sad to leave this beautiful, welcoming, and enjoyable country.  We highly recommend anyone out there slightly curious about this country to book your tickets now!

Sihanoukville

After Siem Reap we headed to the third most popular tourist destination in Cambodia called Sihanoukville (Sihanouk was the King of Cambodia in the 1950s and also held many, many political offices in Cambodia). It is a beach town with a relaxed feel. It is hot and humid, but we scored a hotel with AC.  We've been here two days and will stay two more. The beach has tons of beach chairs and at night the beach chairs are put away and tables with candles and BBQ stalls are everywhere. There are lots of people selling stuff on the beach (mostly children, which is hard to see) but the most popular are definitely the women selling massages and pedicures. We haven't bought one yet, but it costs about $5 for 30 min massage.

There are lots of activities around here like diving and snorkeling, but we are enjoying just relaxing on the beach, reading, and swimming in the warm water. And the 0.50 cent draft beers served to your beach chair don't hurt!

Next up will be the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, where we will stay a few days and acquire our Vietnam visas. We plan on being in Vietnam around April 1^st.

The lounge chairs we spent a few hours on today

Jeff enjoying a cocktail on the beach before our tofu burger dinner!

Cambodian Food

If you are anything like me, then you are completely unaware of what makes up Cambodian food. After four days in Cambodia, we've found a lot of BBQ (meat is a huge component of the diet), lots of noodles, and lots of fried rice.  We've been eating only at the Cambodian food stalls here because they are super cheap. The flavors are not like Thai or Vietnamese food, but more similar to some basic Chinese dishes.  And there are always two or three types of hot sauce or peppers on the table, which we use liberally.  As vegetarians, it has been surprisingly easy to order rice or noodle dishes with only vegetables.  Of course we are aware of the use of meat based broths in soups, or cooking with fish sauce, and we are ok with that. There is no way for us to be completely vegetarian!

Below Jeff is eating some fried yellow noodles. That plate of food cost $1 and was nicely joined by a can of Angkor beer (not to be confused with the Anchor beer, which is another worse brand of beer here). A can of beer runs for about $1, so we can have dinner and beer for $4!