Matsumoto and Snow Monkey's

Matsumoto:

Leaving behind the historic city of Kyoto, we took a train north into the Japanese Alps. From Kyoto to Nagoya we got to experience our first bullet train, which was not a disappointment. We switched by to a normal train for the longer journey up into the mountains.

Matsumoto Castle

Our arrival into Matsumoto saw a dramatic change in temperature and we were very grateful we had lugged around our winter gear. We stayed at the very recommended Matsumoto Inn, which was right beside the train station. Not wanting to waste our precious time, we dropped our luggage and headed out to the main attraction of the town: Matsumoto Castle. This castle is special in that it is one of only 12 remaining original castles from the feudal age in Japan. It is very reminiscent of Age of Empires. 

Our timing was also perfect, without realising we caught the closing ceremony of the blossom festival. Unlike the lowlands the blossoms were in peak bloom and flowers and petals were everywhere.

Matsumoto castle and blooms

Within the castle grounds there was live museum playing and it seemed like the majority of the town out in order to have lunch have a picnic under the blossoms. Considering the freezing temperatures I thought this was a bit mad, but I am sure the sake bottles helped with this issue. The sun set as we were exploring the grounds and only added to the beauty of the castle. Would definitely recommend coming here. Afterwards we found a lovely local restaurant on a restaurant street (the only one we encountered).

The next day, we headed off earlyish for out day trip to the mountains behind Nagano. Just an hour train from Matsumoto is the city famous for hosting the winter Olympics. We got our timing a little wrong and had to wait a little in town, before hoping on the train up to the Monkey Park. From the train station, you need to take a bus up further into the hills (although only a 15 min ride would be at least 2 hours walk uphill). From the bus stop the park is a further 30 minute walk but completely worth it. As it was spring there was no significant snow around, but it did mean that it was baby season.

Snow monkey's playing in the remaining snow

As we arrived into the park we were greeted by tens of baby monkeys running around playing in the remaining snow. Their parents were more interested in eating and basking in the sun rays. We spent a good deal of time here just watching their interactions and enjoying the cuteness. We even got to see one go for a dip in their famous hot springs (although the one we saw was artistically made – there are others scattered elsewhere in the park that are more natural – but a decent hike away).

Eventually we headed back down and to Matsumoto. The train ride is actually worth the trip in itself. The views from the train are as remote as is really possible in congested Japan. The contrasts between NZ and Japan were at their most here. It was very unnerving to have a complete lack of any animal. There were no farm animals, rabbits, or expected wildlife that you would normally see in the countryside. Agriculture was the biggest presence in between the villages.

Snow monkey's

Back in Matsumoto we explored the downtown area which was mainly focused on satisfying the Japanese materialistic culture. There are stores for absolutely everything and yet we had trouble finding some of the simple things we were looking for amongst the chaos of their stores. 

Kyoto

We headed off the next day to Kyoto; the historical centre of Japan. After arriving we dropped off our bags and headed off to explore. The recommended way is either on foot if you have the time and stamina or to buy a day bus pass (the buses go everywhere). Our first stop was the largest freestanding wooden structure in the world Higashi-Honganji Temple. Absolutely massive inside and beautifully decorated. The nature of this temple meant that it was also a very nice relief from the surprisingly warm temperatures. Afterwards we headed off on a long walk to the Imperial Gardens to book our tour at the Emperors Palace. The walk up was nice and in the gardens we found our first serious blooms. As we later learned there are two types of blooms in Japan, single and double petal. In Kyoto, we had missed the single but were lucky enough to catch the double, which were massive pink flowers (peaches apparently).

Temple near Imperial Palace

As Kyoto is very expensive for accommodation, we actually stayed just outside of the city in a small town (although there was no definitive border between the two…everything merges due to the high population) of Otsu on the foreshore of Lake Biwa. We checked in and headed to the lake front and found a pretty disgusting noodle bar. Which was unfortunate, as afterwards on our way back we explored the mostly closed shopping street and wandered down this long passageway to what turned out to be the best food we had in Japan. This restaurant we have no idea of the name or what we ate as the waiter/chef/owner didn’t speak a word of English. It was absolutely fantastic with him just preparing dishes and serving them. We were absolutely bloated upon leaving. Martin also commented that this was where he had the best sake.

Our next day in Kyoto was temple bashing and the palace tour. We started off at the very famous Fushimi Inari Shrine. I had long wanted to go to this shrine, as for me it was one of the first things that came to mind when thinking of Japan. Beautiful vermillion pillars with important words engraved on them to walk through for miles.We headed back to town to explore the main shopping area hoping it would be similar to Osaka in the respect of food, but sadly we were let down with not too much exciting foods catching our attention or tantalising our taste buds.

 Author at Fushimi Inari Shrine

After lunch we headed off for our tour of the Imperial Palace. The complex as it stands today is still massive, and it was hard to believe that the remaining buildings only represented a 1/3 of the original. One fun fact, was that the palace has been rebuilt roughly every 100 years due to the constant threat of fire. This is very important as every building is made from wood, and the roofs are thatched with Japanese cedar. The gardens inside the palace are of the landscape style but were isolated to just a few areas which felt out of place, which I imagine was due to the fact that there would have been many more buildings previously.

Once the tour was over (1.5 hrs long) we bussed and walked up to Kiyomizu Temple. This temple is high up on the hills surrounding Kyoto and provides a good view over the area. The wooden pillars the complex sit on were extremely massive and hard to believe that once upon a time such trees lived in Japan. Didn’t see anything close during the rest of our stay for size. A highlight of this temple is the water blessing. The temple is famous for its pure water which you are supposed to wash your hands in and drink if you wanted. It was icy cold to touch but due to the collection mechanisms being shared (although they did UV for 2 secs in between each person, I decided against the drinking aspect).

Kiyomizu Temple

Beside the temple is the only remaining old town. Japanese are very much into the newer is better concept so old buildings of the traditional styles you see on the movies are very hard to find. The narrow cobbled streets and buildings here were beautiful, and as you exit this are you come across the main area to find some of the remaining 200 Geisha’s in Kyoto. We were very lucky and actually saw a bundle running between stairs at a training house, and saw 5 in total on their way to clients later on.

Old town part of Kyoto

The next day we had another quick wander at the water front of Otsu, which was a bit clearer this time. Smog is everywhere in Asia it seems so its quite sad that you don’t really get to see everything that you should.  Before leaving Kyoto we went to one more temple Toji. It wasn’t like the other temples we had been to in that it was based on Chinese design, and had the largest pagoda in Japan.

Our last stop was the only official Japanese garden we visited during our time; Shosei-en Gardens. This was also the only place that we saw a different kind of bird other than sparrow, crow, or myna throughout Japan. The gardens were very lovely and immaculate. It is such a different mind-set in Japan, as rather than planting the plants and letting them grow, they modify their growth which does make for pleasurable viewing but still felt a bit weird from a Kiwi perspective. 

Osaka

We arrived into Japan to the metropolis of Osaka. The train ride in from the airport is a good introduction to the reality of Japan with small agricultural land lots, lots of infrastructure, and houses with well-manicured Japanese gardens, mixed with apartments. Everything is squeezed in together and despite the squashed nature everything is well ordered.

We stayed at a hotel near to the Osaka castle and gardens beside one of the many concreted rivers. Our introduction to Japanese toilets was great fun trying to figure out what the buttons all did without translations. The running water noise to help you pee is most amusing.

We had one full day exploring the city of Osaka in which we managed to cram in quite a bit. We started off early morning with a walk through the castle gardens. We were a bit sad that we had clearly missed the main part of the blossoms but there were remnants around. The gardens are very different to those we have seen elsewhere with every aspect of a plants growth carefully manipulated with designer trees and manicured bushes. The control on nature was evident from the start and only got worse as we explored this country.

Osaka Castle viewed from bridge over the moat

The Osaka castle is very impressive. It has been rebuilt and restored many times, most recently completed again in 1997, it stands proudly on top of a natural hill surrounded by a moat. The key to the museum inside is to take the stairs. Even though we were early the line to get the lift up the 7 stories was massive yet the stairwell was smooth running. Definitely gives you more exercise than you probably need with a day of walking ahead but it does mean you can start your tour of the museum with ease. Each floor had a different aspect to explore focusing on the different parts of the castle and area’s history. Much of it is through written documents which are beautifully displayed and translated. Hours could have been spent here reading everything but we focused mainly on the artwork and miniatures.

From the castle we headed into the downtown area in order explore the largest and longest shopping street in Japan. Not knowing what to expect we were very happy to find long covered shopping area, very busy, with chairs for the pregnant to rest, and tasty treats of unknown origin to taste.

Walking around Osaka is a great way to experience the business nature of the city. We were actually staying right in the business district and it was actually funny in the morning to listen and hear the masses (thousands) of commuters arriving into work, trudging along like an orc army. But the business centre doesn’t contain it all, the whole city is focused on business.

Main shopping street

Another highlight of Osaka is the giant Ferris wheel Hep 5, which sits on the top of a 7 storey mall. The Ferris wheel is empty and not a tourist destination for unknown reasons, and only costs 500 yen, making it a very affordable way to get some of the best photos and view over the city we had seen. It is however, not for the faint of heart as, as it goes over one side there is literally nothing beneath you for at least 12 storeys. 

A must do at sun set.

View from Hep 5 over part of Osaka

We finished off our day back at the shopping street to try more food, and picked a perfect restaurant to taste everything. The local couchsurfer suggestion that this was where to eat, proved invaluable. 

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is a wonderful city, so densely crowded yet despite this somehow functions smoothly with great public transport and comparable congestion to a typical day in Auckland. The biggest issue with Hong Kong is the significant smog factor, most of it is blown down from China but they do make quite a bit of their own.

Travelling in from the airport the cheapest way into town is to find the appropriate bus (depending where you are heading to). The routes generally all go by one of the cool sites of HK: The port. HK was one of the worlds busiest and largest ports. The constant movement is like a dance of the cranes unloading and reloading massive container ships taking goods around the world. Once downtown, navigating around the city isn’t too difficult. We were lucky enough to stay almost right down town with a local couchsurfer which enabled us to get around easily by walking (near Albert metro station).

Skyscrapers downtown HK

The most obvious thing to do in HK if time is limited is to head to Victoria Peak. From here you can view HK central and all the amazing skyscrapers. To get there it is highly recommended to get a green minibus up and to take the cable car down, thus avoiding significant cues for the cable car up (we had a 2 min wait during peak time for the way down). The mall at the top also has a good selection of food places to enjoy and you can see also see the other islands out the other side of the mall (if the smog isn’t too thick).

We were lucky enough to see the central HK district on a Sunday which provides a unique view of HK (ie all the suits are gone). On Sunday all the local maids/nannies etc… get kicked out of their homes and thousands of them line the covered areas all throughout the town. Its quite fascinating subculture of HK, although sadly they don’t seem interested in talking to the tourists.

Star ferry with central HK in background

The Star Ferry crossing of the harbour is a great way to see both famous sides of the downtown area at once, so great for photo taking. There are numerous awesome food places scattered around the place downtown. Thankfully we had local contacts so knew a few good ones to try out but everything smelt pretty good.

We did a day trip out of the main island to see the Giant Buddha. Fastest and easiest way out there is by metro, followed by buying an island day bus pass. The Giant Buddha is a fantastic site. A lot of people choose to do the gondola way of getting there but the bus provides a more local perspective as you drive through the small towns (and its 10x cheaper). The gondola is quite fun, however, it mainly crosses over 2^nd growth forests. The climb up to the Giant Buddha can feel like eternity when you are pregnant but is well worth the walk up there and the views are quite nice. Make sure you walk the whole way around to get blessed! The surrounding temples were under renovation and some were under construction whilst we were there, so we were a little disappointed with the lack of other things to see. This turned out to be a blessing though as we had time to head over to Tai O, another must do day trip.

Giant Buddha

Tai O is a relatively old unchanged fishing village. It is actually very hard in HK to find older buildings as they are all being torn down to make way for new places (even the relatively new places are classed as old!), so the old houses in Tai O were very interesting. We had the worst food here however, as most places were closed so there was extremely limited choice.

Tai O fishing village viewed from the water

The highlight of the village is actually the boat trip. You can get the boats from the main bridge…one side charges 30 HKD the other 25 HKD…for the same thing. You can imagine which one we choose. The short stroll into the fishing village gave quite an interesting view of the area and you got to see a bit more of the traditional fishing lifestyle which is disappearing in the modern HK. Out at sea, we were extremely lucky and got to actually see one of the elusive rare white dolphins. There are less than 75 in the area and they only come out every so often so its quite special to see. The ocean jaunt also provides further perspective on how busy the port is with all the container ships lounging about.

Tongatapu

Tonga, "The Friendly Islands", or officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is a pacific island paradise a four hour flight from New Zealand. We arrived to Fua'amotu International Airport and were instantly greeted with sweltering heat and steamed up glasses. The airport is needing a major overall if it is to handle the intended influx of tourists but it currently does the job. Customs was rather lacking in formality, with the signs indicating lines for foreigners being filled with locals as well, with no one really caring.

Central market Nuka'alofa

We were promptly picked up by the Little Italy shuttle service, who actually run the accommodations we were actually staying at Tropical Villa. Checked in without major issue and were then ferried onto the Villa. The bungalows at the front of the property are very tidy (with the odd gecko visitor at night) and are right next to the road, which didn't really concern us. The main house which has additional rooms (and where Martins parents stayed) were a bit noisier as people actually live upstairs and seem to forget that they make noise during the night. Sadly the pool was under construction when we arrived so cannot comment on this facility. All up it wasn't a terrible place to stay at all, and I particularly enjoyed the air conned reception upon our return in the evenings.

Kings Castle, Nuka' alofa

We started our journey in Tonga by exploring Nuka'alofa, the capital of Tongatapu Island. Tonga actually has many islands but service via ferry is very poor and with a tight time allowance we focused our travels to the mainland. A highlight of the down town area is the local market, which has basically a tourist item side and then a local food market side. As we had a kitchen, we actually tried a lot of local food with our own cooking and in particular ate a fair amount of tuna. Just outside of the central area is the Kings Castle. Its more like a modern day mansion, but access is restricted and we only got to view from the outside.

Ha'amonga Maui Arch

Terraced tomb

After finally sorting out a car hire (its very very tricky to find a place that has low excess or any form of insurance so be careful who you choose) we headed off for a day of exploring focusing on the North Eastern part of the island. One of our first stops were the terraced tombs near Lapaha. There are quite a number of these massive tombs which house the remains of former Tongan Kings. Another ancient monument worth your time is the Ha'amonga Maui arch, which brings memories of stone henge to mind (although its from the 11th century and is singular).

Anahulu Cave

Anahulu Cave offers an unique experience of cave swimming. The cavern that you are lead to is rather large, has bats for added fun and a lot of tites and mites. Additionally if you go during off season and not on a weekend, you'll get the whole place to yourself with no time limit.

Another day, exploring another area this time the far North West. Ha'atafu Beach is highly recommended, with the palm trees, golden sands, its the postcard perfect ideal paradise that people associate with the Pacific Islands.

Ha'atafu Beach

Flying foxes

Spent quite an enjoyable time here and also at the nearby hotel which had great burgers for lunch. Sadly despite this area being a high light it was also a let down. There is no longer any real living coral near the shores (at least that we saw) in Tonga...its a coral graveyard everywhere we went. As a result the water is very mineral rich and leaves you feeling dirty after your dips. You will also get tiny rashes everywhere (minor issue), or at least everyone in our party did. So take some Savlon with you to stop the itchy. There are plenty of tropical fish to enjoy though. Also in this area are the famous flying foxes. Imagine a flying rabbit (but its actually a rat) and you kinda get an idae of how large these fruit eating bats area. Quite an amazing site.

Blowholes

We headed to the Southern coast of the Island to enjoy the blow holes. Total contrast to the northern part of the country with sheer cliffs and obvious ancient lava flows, the blow holes are a must do. We spent quite a bit of time just enjoy the noise and sights of this area and wished that we could have stayed longer really. Quite the spectacle. Just along from the blow holes are rather high cliffs that are best enjoyed by choosing a random road that goes towards the edge of the island.

Final day of exploring with the car we just went to the gaps on the map that we hadn't been to. Found another beach (although the one we wanted was apparently private) and tried our luck again but still found no sightings of live coral and barely any fish around (eastern coast).

Southern Tongatapu Cliffs

An important note, is that not all of the main roads (yellow on maps) in Tonga are actually safe to drive cars on. We actually had to turn back at one point as after investigating, we figured out that we would lose the car if we dare try to cross one of the larger puddles in our way.

Saigon

After another long bus journey we arrived into the Southern bus station of Saigon. Even as we got close the traffic started to get insane as we were expecting. Saw a very squished moto underneath a bus which did not bode well to using that form of transport in the near future.

Asian Alana with crazy traffic in background

 Eventually we found our way after bussing and walking through the crazy maze that is Saigon, to our hotel and ditched the bags. Went on a long walk around the "block" to just absorb Saigon at night. The crazy traffic did not diminish. Could just sit and watch the chaos for hours, so different to anything that we had experienced until then (even made Bangkok look clam).

Inside the Saigon Post Office Building

Notre Dam

For our full day in Saigon we walked around seeing as many of the sites that we could. Quick look in market before heading downtown . The main highlight downtown was probably visiting the post office which is a massive old building with lots of interesting stamps on display and just an enormous building for no real reason. Stayed here for a while in the main square having different juice smoothies whilst we overlooked the Notre Dam Cathedral. Thats right, Notre Dame, in Saigon. Ohhh...back when France had a colony here.

To the riverside we experienced the foul tasty Duran ice cream, and enjoyed more Vietnamese coffee. Then came the hard part of the day. Bargaining for all our last min purchases. Got coffee prices down by 60%, artwork, other things that we dont really need but want. Spent several hours in the main market.

Martin bargaining for Vietnamese coffee

To top off our day, we then headed to the outskirts of the central part of Saigon (which is huge) to meet 20+ other couchsurfers local and travelers for a dinner that I had co-organised. Had some good laughs and learnt quite a bit about Vietnamese lifestyle and politics before calling it a night to prepare for our 4am wake up to get to the airport for our early morning flight.

*sigh* the end of SE Asia for now.

Can Tho

Our journey from Hong Chong to Can Tho was extremely entertaining. We only had 178km to drive on board an 18 seater bus. The journey took 7.5 hours and at the high point there was 35 people crammed in. Using local transport is definitely a must do for anyone's Vietnamese experience. Quite funny to be thinking about how many stupid H&S rules are broken, and how do they all fit in, and more amazingly how do we make it over each bridge (bridges are built at about 70 degree angles, making the bus jump and tip over each one).

Floating market

Can Tho is the meeting point of the Mekong Delta...or so we are told. It is very believable though, with an amazing massive floating market being the focal point every morning Vietnam's 5th largest city. We experienced this with a local CSer organising a boat and acting as our guide for the day. After wandering through and buying a few fruits we headed off to a rice noodle factory. Very interesting how they dry them out and how complex the whole process is just to get noodles.

One of a few temples

A brief rest back at our hotel we then started the second half of the day, included in our low priced accommodations: a city tour. Two local students that also pose as receptionists hopped on motos with us and showed us the cultural highlights of Can Tho. We even had a bit of time to spare from the temples, markets, and history lesson, so enjoyed some green drinks (made using some sorts of beans and aloe vera) at a local "bar" before they dropped us off at our next destination. For our evenings entertainment we booked a spot on a night time dinner cruise along the Mekong. Food was of course overpriced but what was more amazing than the sights was the insane loudness of the music. Conversation was off the table, as each floor of the floating light bedazzled barge had a different singer trying to outdo the other mostly just by all having their volumes cranked on high. The effect of which was quite deafening, and did detract from the cruise overall.

Can Tho at night, as viewed from Mekong

We had a long walk back to the hotel because unlike every other place we have been to Can Tho shuts down at 9 pm. So no buses or motos to speak of, and all the food stores were also shut. Quite odd considering the size and importance of this city.

Ha Tien and Hong Chong

We had quite the comical crossing from Cambodia to Vietnam. We had never seen such blatant bribery anywhere else on the trip which was just another reason we were happy to move on from the constant bargaining that is the only way things are done in Cambodia. We stood for over an hour with 7 others on our shuttle bus waiting to get through whilst larger tour groups (30+) would pass their passports through with some bills to get ahead. Time after time it happened until our bus driver came back in and not-so-discreetly passed through some bills to get our passports finally stamped and passed on through. This is in addition to the $1 USD exit "fee" that you individually pay at the same check point.

Our first stop in Vietnam was Ha Tien which is normally driven through by tourists. This was completely evident by the fact that despite the fact we stayed in the fanciest place in town, and our walks around the place, there was only one other non-Asian tourist in town. It isn't helped by the fact that this border crossing is the remotest on the Vietnam/Cambodia border (part of the appeal to travel this area). The Green Island hotel was nothing fancy but was a nice place to stay. It was nice to see the real life without the presence of tourist throngs. An interesting highlight of Ha Tien was this was the point that having below shoulder length hair became just too much and it had to go. For a grand total of $1.50NZD I managed to get a relieving haircut with layers and no nits :)

Hong Chong Cape

We moved on the next day after bargaining with some moto drivers to take us to an even more remote part of the Mekong Delta to Hong Chong Cape and where we would see the new year in at Hon Trem Resort. Our "deluxe" booking of the entire trip and worth every penny. As this place is very unknown to outsiders the resort was pretty much empty and we had the entire hill top villa section to ourselves. Our villa overlooked the cape/cove and at night we really enjoyed watching the fishing boats chugging around the area.

Rice drying and packing

It was here that we had the best street food of our trip (only maybe tied with a place in Ayutthaya, Thailand). Outside of her home was a lovely older lady who beckoned us over after the first vendor turned us away. No idea what we ate or the name, but it was absolutely scrumptious!

Alana enjoying view from local watering hole

Going to places that are off the beaten track is very rewarding as you get to see quite a bit more of what the real life in these areas are like rather than the show put on for foreigners. Enjoying rice drying along the street, pigs and roosters wandering down the beach, local "pub" with a great view over the cape, ice cream from a cooler on the back of a moto, and children not begging or bothering you. 

Kep and Rabbit Island

Our final stop in Cambodia was the seaside town of Kep. Famous for night time seafood restaurants and ruined French villas. We got to enjoy both of these aspects during our time here and also a lovely day trip out to the small Rabbit Island.

After an expensive taxi ride from Phnom Penh we ended up arriving at our accommodations which showed a lovely garden retreat. Our expectations were not that high but we found a half finished lacking of garden hotel. Since our rooms were not ready we dropped bags and got the bikes and headed out to explore. Despite the heat its extremely refreshing to bike in Cambodia until you slow down and the breeze stops. Didn't really have too much time before the sun set, which we enjoyed dining on local fishy cuisine from the lovely night markets filled with both tourists and locals. On our ride back we started to look for new accommodations but didn't find anything. Rather than ranting here please read my review on Tripadvisor, but we ended up leaving and staying our time at the more expensive Vine Retreat. This place was amazing and in the middle of Kep National Park. Would recommend.

The next day we organised to go out to Rabbit Island. There are a number of companies in town that offer tours but we just paid for the boat which is the cheapest option as you can hire everything else out there anyway if you wanted. Wouldn't recommend swimming though as, as with the rest of SE Asia the water is not the best. There is a track around the island that is fascinating in that every cove is amazingly different. Our first stop was perfect postcard tropical paradise with white sands. Watched the locals fishing before heading on. The next cove was polluted, dark, and abandoned apart from a lone dog. The next was full of drift wood and broken tree parts. And the remainder involves a bit of bush bashing your way through things but is worth while as you end up back at the main beach.We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon in hammocks with food and cool drinks before getting a slightly earlier boat back due to a very obvious incoming storm.

Once back on the main land we enjoyed a significant water blasting which was very refreshing and cleaned the place up a bit. After having a final explore of the fairly abandoned town (used to be the premier location for French snobs to visit back in the day and has since decayed to its present state), we headed back out to enjoy the best salad with banana flowers and other unknowns, at Vine Retreat. Seriously the food alone is a reason to head here.

The next day it was off to Vietnam...

Phnom Penh and the Killing Zone

We arrived to Phnom Penh after what can only be described as the worst/best bus journey of my life. We got the "express" bus from Siem Reap shaving 3 hrs journey time, although it still took 7.5 hrs in total. During this we had Cambodians even scared with the manic swerving by the driver to avoid water buffalo, a baby vomiting on my foot (the worlds worst feeling), having to clean said foot in the toilet/sauna next to drunk Aussies, going 10 km/hr on gravel roads for 2 hrs during which time the air con decided to die (this was made worse because the baby vomit had not been cleaned up at all - although we had moved seats), and the bus kept overheating/stopping making the overall time longer than the paid for 6 hrs. Something to tell the kids about one day...

Anyway we arrived in Phnom Penh, and straight away ran into haggling difficulties which is what we will predomiantly remember this city for. The tuk tuk drivers are terrible demanding insane prices and then changing their minds. Our first and only stop here was the goal where thousands of people were tortured to death for no real reason during the Khmer Rogue era. The experience in this place was similiar to that of Auschwitz in Poland, although not as peaceful. It was very easy to imagine the horrors that went on here with well documented photos and most of the torture chambers intact, complete with bullet holes puncturing the walls.

We eventually got to where we were staying the night, and settled in for fun with our host. This part was great. We even managed to secure a private taxi for the next day to take us to Kep and stopping along the route to the Killing Fields. Oh so we thought. Next morning they showed up, changed the price by quite a bit. So we sent them packing. After 2 hours of calling around other places we evnetually found a new driver after giving up hope of getting something decently priced. I would not really recommend this option, except that buses south depart early in the morning and there is no other way to get to the Killing Fields (even by tuk tuk, it is at least $18USD return trip from the city) on route.

The Killing Fields were as depressing as expected. Even though we were prepared for seeing the bits of bone and clothing sticking out from the ground, to know that you are walking on the reamins of someone that was horrendously murdered was quite traumatic. For me the worst part was seeing the baby tree. Here mothers were forced to watch as their babies were repeatedly swung onto the tree trunk until dead and thrown in a pit, after which the mothers were usually decapitated. Absolutely horrific.

From the Killing Fields, we headed further south to our next and final destination of Cambodia: Kep.

Temples Galore in Siem Reap

After several different buses from our homestay in Isan, we ended up crossing the border in Cambodia. If you get a bus to the Aranhaprathet border crossing rather than training from Bangkok, the bus drops you off right there. In amongst the throngs of tourists, is an even more impressive large market, with hundreds of stalls. Point to note, change your money here as over the border the exchange rates are really bad. Getting through the border crossing surprising didn't take too long on the Thailand side of things, however, entering Cambodia was long, hot, and even longer. If you do have the spare cash the "rip off artists" as we thought with the VIP line, is actually a real thing and if you pay the stupid price (that is 300% cheaper for locals) you can cut the immigration line.

Once you get through that madness you are further ripped off to get to Siem Reap. We found another couple to share a taxi with for and extra $3 USD per person and shaved off an hour of travel. Checked into our guesthouse for the night and found a nice local restaurant to eat at.



Us with Angkor Thom main temple



The next day we checked out and headed off for our first day of adventures exploring the wonders of the Khmer period in Asia. We started off with the main areas of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom complexes that everyone visits when they come here, and are therefore quite crowded. The lesser well known sections of Angkor Thom we found to be most interseting, like the Baphuon with its massive reclining Buddha made from stone, or the leppers or elephants wall that are part of the procession leading to the main temple of Angkor Thom. After all this we headed out to stay at a smaller village bordering Siem Reap, where we taught an English lesson at the school of our host. After that we got to experience what life is really like for Cambodians. Our night was capped off falling asleep listening to roosters, dogs barking and fireflys dancing around the open air room.



Reclining Buddha



Ta Prhom or the hidden or tomb raiders temple was amazing, with the trees overgrowing the ruins. But this was actually overshawdowed the next day when we went to the lesser known Beng Mealea. This temple is quite far from Siem Reap, but the hour tuk tuk ride though the countryside on the way is actually just as interesting. Real Camobida village life was fantastic. At Beng Mealea, we were met only with Asian origin tourists and as this place is not as visited you are able to crawl and touch absolutely over everything. This temple complex is also in extreme disrepair but that actually adds to its charm. This is a much do place.



Crumbling Beng Mealea



Our final day in Siem Reap, we explored the lessen known surrouding temples. The good thing with this is that you can relax as there is barely anyone around and you can stroll through these places enjoying the scenery and taking shade as needed. Had a enjoyable last night in Siem Reap before the horror of our trek to Phnom Penh began.

Homestay in Isan Province

We were extremely lucky to stay with a lovely lady in the tiny village of Ban Hoatumnop through the brilliance that is couchsurfing

This was the best experience of our time in Thailand. We got to experience and enjoy Thai village life, in a small village in the province of Isan which is in North East Thailand. This area of Thailand is known for having a significant Laotian influence due to its proximity to the country both in language and food influences.  One of the first things we got to do was attend a Buddha Day Ceremony or Uposatha, which only occur on specific days each month in relation to moon cycles and is complexly calculated in advance. This involved us walking down to the local temple with some food offerings. A ceremony was held and we did out best to respect the local Buddhist traditions of what to do during the ceremony.

Local monks at temple

 
It was very interesting to see and be part of this special day.We also walked to a nearby village where one of the locals runs a little restaurant out of their house and enjoyed some very tasty noodles. As we walked along we got to learn about the governments involved with helping to provide regular water for irrigation and drinking in the area and also seeing local gardens, and how everyone grows what they need trading predominantly amongst each other.

Us getting a lift on a pick up truck to the local farmers market

In addition to this, if you cannot grow or trade for what you need, every week (which was luckily during our stay) you can go to the local market. We piled onto the back of a truck with many locals from Ban Hoatumnop, which was an enjoyable experience in itself. This local farmers market was a great way to see many different types of food, which was lovely to sample, as well as the local produce. It is amazing the differences in the vegetables and food that was the best presented at this market.
 

Trying to help out making flower blessings

Sampling of some of the farmers market.

In amongst exploring and doing things in the local area, we also learnt and tasted a lot of fantastic local traditions. Talked to local elders, heard the government announcements proclaimed over speaker phone to the entire village, met some animals, got to know our hosts family, and ate as much as we could of the best food we had in Thailand. We were very sorry to say good bye to our host, who had given us so much in friendship and experiences as we moved onto the next country of our SE epic adventure. We got up early to get multiple buses from near Phimai to Cambodia. See this country link for the continuation of this journey.

Ayutthaya and Phimai

Ayutthaya

Most people will be familiar with the name Ayutthaya, as it is a UNESCO heritage site that is easily done as a day trip from Bangkok. Some of the more amazing places are only able to be done by boat around the island, and obvously going to the historical park to see the famous palace/temples is a must do (and we focused on).

Apart from the amazing temple and palace complex, that were built during the Ayutthaya Siam Reign in Thailand, there is not much else happening for this city. There are bigger night markets elsewhere, and must more interesting places to look at. The novelty of being on an island though its nice, and if you avoid the main part of the pub/tourist street it can be quite nice.

We also were happy we saved our Thai massage experience to be outside of Bangkok, as the prices dropped by about half. There are quite a few options in town, and we enjoyed the one we selected (at the start of pub street). Definitely go for the hour if you can spare it as its a wonderful experience.

Phimai

Phimai Historical Park

It is a shame and blessing that more people dont know about Phimai. I originally stumbled across Phimai when I was looking for something that was kinda on route to Laos, yet easily able to get to Cambodia within a day.

On the train to Nakon Ratchasima (from here you take a bus to Phimai), we met the only other European descent tourists we saw in this city, and it was really nice to go somewhere that was overrun with local tourists (as we were leaving mass Thai tour groups and school kids arrived). We were extremely lucky and while we were there, we managed to almost have the whole place to ourselves (6 others in total for the first 2 hours). The ruins at Phimai are quite amazing and extremely old. Originally settled during the Khmer period (the famous Angkor Wat people) it is one of the oldest scared sites in the Isan area. It has been rebuilt throughout the ages, but the overall structure is more in line with Angkor Wat, than Ayutthaya or Thai styles. The place is very well cared for, and it was lovely to see the local people maintaining it using exactly the same tools (in type) that were used to construct this place (see the museum in the site for what I mean).

A little bit of the tree

The town encloses on the historical park, and has a few other tricks up its sleeve, such as the very good night market, and the fact that its quite small so you can walk most places. We did venture out of Phimai to see the amazing Sai Ngam Banyan tree. This tree is one massive tree, and has definitely got the feel of being alive and lurking everywhere. Everything that you see, is all sprouted from the one acicent tree. The locals consider a very scared place, and there is even a temple woven into the trunks. We loved the cool feeling you enjoy under the canopy and you are able to get your lunch delivered from the local shops across the road. We easily got a ride back with hitch hiking (although we got a moto out there), and after that we headed to our home stay in the region.

Bangkok

Bangkok from the longboat

Bangkok was quite the shock. When we arrived, we were greeted by a clean, modern city. Which is in stark contrast to the way in which Thailand is more readily known by the outside world. Bangkok is comparable to London in the noise, dirt level, and poorer areas, apart from the oppressive heat. It is amazing to think that this is the dry/cool season for Thailand. Anyway after getting over the shock of how modern Thailand appeared we firstly met up with a friend of mine, Nam, who I hadnt seen since Otago days, as we went to the nearest restaurant to our hotel. After not long enough of a sleep, we got up for our only full day in the city to explore it.

Wat Arun

Took the Metro (amazingly clean) to the main train station, as our place was to explore Bangkok from canal. Got out and of course could not find a tuk tuk driver that was willing to be fair about price, so we started walking. Along the way we meet a lovely old man, who explained to us our plans wouldn't work as the boats didn't run and suggested an alternative. He organised a tuk tuk (for a local/fair price) to take us to the docks, where we then got a private long boat to take us around the area. Total cost was 2000 Baht for both of us which was mostly ok, until the guide refused to take us the full route we wanted. We did enjoy driving around in the long boat, and seeing more of the places where "real" people lived, and going thru the locks. We got dropped off at Wat Arun at the end of it. Wat Arun, was the highlight of Bangkok (50 baht). The temple has amazing detail and colours, and the view over Bangkok city from the top most point is impressive. It was also very interesting to wander around the complex and see all the burial points and how different it was to a NZ/Czech perspective.

Reclining Buddha

After having our fill of this awesome place, we got the ferry (3 Baht) across the river, and had an iffy lunch, then headed onto Wat Pho. Wat Pho is similiar to Wat Arun, but is not as tall, and has different coloured ceramics on the towers. This temple is famous for the massive gold reclining Buddha which is worth the 100 baht to visit.  Afterwards we walked to the Royal Palace and Emerald Buddha, but did not go in. At 400 baht and overcrowding this place isn't worth the hassle if you have a tight timeframe. That night we meet up with another friend (from my exchange semester at Corvinus Uni) at the famous Terminal 21 mall, and tried a local BBQ delicacy that originates in Bangkok. Its a combo, steaming, frying and boiling apparatus that you get way too much yummy food to cook on.

Bangkok streets

The next day we relaxed a bit, before meeting a friend from Toronto for lunch, and heading on the train north to Ayutthaya.