Sydney

April 2 - 7, 2009


Photo: Inside the Sydney Opera House

We took an evening flight from Bangkok and arrived in Sydney the next morning. After checking in we settling in for a much needed nap. We awoke to a pleasant view of Hyde Park and set out for a little exploring in the fall weather, a very welcome change from the overbearing heat of Southeast Asia. It was a bit of a novelty being able to understand the language of everyone around us!

The next day we headed down to the Sydney Opera House. T and K received a really great Christmas gift for a couple sets of tickets to performances at the Opera House (thanks L, J, C and T!). We got to see a performance of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties. It was a great, funny, show and going to a play was something we had not done in a long time. The Opera House is such a beautiful structure. We’ve always seen pictures of it and it was awesome to actually attend a performance in it!

Photo: K near The Rocks

The next evening we enjoyed a performance of Hero in the Making –Young Beethoven in the concert hall of the Opera House. The performance was great and the setting was amazing. That night, we decided to do a little bar-hopping on Oxford Street, which was a lot of fun.

On Saturday, we explored an area of Sydney referred to as The Rocks, which is the area around Australia’s first European Settlement. The Rocks has many restaurants, pubs and small shops and it retains a smaller-scale feel. No doubt the atmosphere is what attracted the constant barrage of weddings (or wedding photographs) that we saw. That evening, we went out on Darlinghurst Road in Kings Cross. The area was teeming with people bar-hopping – kind of a crazy, a bit like going to the Meat Packing District on a Friday night. It was an experience.


Photo: Yayoi Kusam exhibit

On Sunday we made a brief visit to Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, which was exhibiting Yayoi Kusam: Mirrored Years – we found it to be a little unusual, but entertaining.


Photo: Contortionist in Sydney

Afterwards we took a ferry to Manly, the ride took us past the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and provided great views of the city from a different perspective. Half an hour later, we arrived in Manly. We made the short walk across town to Manly Beach then grabbed a fish dinner, followed up by a Lamington for dessert, which is one of K’s new favorites. After dessert we walked back to the ferry terminal and grabbed a few VBs at the Manly Wharf Hotel, a popular local bar, which attracted a large and remarkably good looking crowd.


Photo: View of the Sydney Opera House from the ferry






Photos Above: Views from the ferry to Manly


Photo: Sydney Opera House at night

The next day, we took a short bus ride to Bondi Beach. From Bondi Beach we took a beautiful walk from to Coogee Beach. The 6 km walk took us along the coastal cliffs and through a creepy cemetery, but it provided amazing views of the coastline. When we arrived at Coogee Beach a few hours later we decided to grab dinner. Though we chose a nearby sushi place mainly for its byo policy, it turned out to be fantastic sushi. It was really some of the best sushi that either T or K has ever had. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, we highly recommend Takeya.


Photo: Bondi Beach


Photo: Cool pool near Bondi Beach





Photos Above: Walk from Bondi to Coogee Beach




Photos Above: Downtown Sydney

The following day, before our afternoon flight, we walked through town to Darling Harbour, a pleasant pedestrian section of town, and stopped at the Queen Victoria Building on the way back to our hotel. We were sad to leave Sydney, but curious about our next stop, Tasmania.

The blog is still a bit behind. Currently (5/29/09) we are in Cusco, Peru - going to Machu Picchu tomorrow! Will update soon!

Party in Phuket

March 23-April 1, 2009

We flew from Hanoi back to Bangkok, Thailand. This time we stayed near Khao San Road and ate lots of yummy Pad Thai and drank quite a lot of Cheers Beer (the beer they seemed to be pushing at the moment). We were only back in Bangkok for a couple of days before we flew down to Phuket.


Photo: K on Khao San Road

The only thing we really knew about Phuket was that many parts of it were destroyed in the 2004 tsunami and we were not quite sure what to expect. Everyone seemed to rave about southern Thailand so we had high expectations. We decided to first visit a town called Patong Beach. Patong was absolutely crazy, full of ready to party Aussies, Europeans, and Russians. We were also suprised to discover that it has a fairly large gay community. One would never know it was hit by a tsunami - the buildings and beaches were in perfect condition. We spent a few days there at the beach and soaking up the atmosphere before heading to the much more relaxed Kata Beach.


Photo: Flying into Phuket


Photo: Fish in Patong


Photo: Bars in Patong - Bangla Road

Kata was really hyped by our guidebook and we were looking forward to being there, but were a little let down by the town. It was kind of dirty and full of go go bars - it felt a bit like being in the Soi Cowboy area in Bangkok with girls hooting at us as we walked by almost any bar. The beaches were quite beautiful though and we saw a couple of amazing sunsets.



Photos Above: Kata Beach


Photo: Karon Beach


Photo: At the Phuket airport - "RESERVED FOR MONKS"

Overall our time Phuket was quite relaxing, but we were a bit disappointed in the overall atmosphere of the island and it was boiling hot as well. We flew back to Bangkok and stayed in an airport hotel for a night. The next day we said a sad goodbye to Asia and boarded a flight bound for Sydney, Australia!

Vietnam

March 10-23, 2009


Photo: Saigon

We left Phnom Penh by bus for Vietnam and arrived in Saigon that afternoon. Saigon has a real energy to it, enhanced by the constant flow of motorbikes that fill its streets. A seemingly impossible number of motorbikes manage to simultaneously share the road (and sidewalk), all making constant adjustments to account for the other traffic and occasional pedestrian. It can be almost hypnotic to watch and quite challenging to take on as a pedestrian when crossing the street, a feat which requires you to take a gigantic leap of faith and put your trust in the scores of oncoming drivers.

Fortunately, we had the help of a local to help us adjust to and appreciate the city. Our friend, Sherry, now lives in Saigon and we were able to meet for dinner our first night in town. Seeing a familiar face was nice after so much time on the road. We last saw Sherry at one of our favorite restaurants in New York shortly before we left on our trip and before Sherry moved to Vietnam, so we had lots of catching up to do.


Photo: Exhibit in the War Remnants Museum


Photo: Reunification Palace

The next day we visited the War Remnants Museum, which included a thought provoking display of photography from photographers who died during their coverage of the war and also a thought provoking reminder of how heavily bias affects how history is represented. Afterwards we walked to and took a guided of tour of the Reunification Palace, the location where the South’s government formally ceded control to the North. It was interesting to see that the “palace” is such a recent building and has very interesting 1960s decor. Afterwards we visited Sherry and the students she teaches. At the end of class, Sherry had her students practice their English by asking us questions. We received a friendly grilling, and were very impressed at just how good their English was for a beginners’ class. After class we had a nice dinner with Sherry and tried delicious Vietnamese rice paper rolls.


Photo: Floating market



Photos Above: Mekong Delta


Photo: Market near the Mekong Delta

The next day we took a trip to the Mekong Delta south of Saigon. Our bus dropped us off alongside the river where we boarded a boat that took us past floating markets. The floating markets are basically individual boats each selling a particular product – mostly produce, but also petrol and some other necessities. It’s hard to imagine what it would be like to do your daily shopping this way! We also visited some shops where we watched coconut candy, rice paper, puffed rice, and other products being made using traditional methods. After a brief stop for lunch, we drifted through the canals and took in views of life on the delta. When we finally returned to shore, we were anxious to return to the comforts of air conditioning. It had been a hot day. That evening, we joined Sherry at a local pho restaurant. Pho is a traditional noodle soup that can be made using various cuts of beef, chicken, tripe, etc. At your table, you are provided with bowls of various types of greens, basil, chilies, limes and a variety of sauces and seasonings, allowing you to make your pho to your liking. It was delicious and a great experience.


Photo: Not an easy street to cross

The following day, we visited the zoo, botanical gardens and the Ho Chi Minh City Museum, all relatively unimpressive, as well as visiting the Jade Emperor Pagoda which has an interesting blend of Buddhist and Confucian iconography. On our walk back we had to cross the busiest street that we had encountered in Saigon. Not only was the street one mass of motorbikes, but the motorbikes were overflowing onto the sidewalk, as well. The locals thought it was funny that we didn’t want to cross the road. Finally one lady just told us to walk into the middle of the street! We did and were lucky to get to the other side of the road unscathed. We then made our way to dinner, at a place recommended by our friend Vi. We allowed the waiter to recommend dishes for us, and we were not disappointed. The food was fantastic. It was a wonderful way to conclude our time in Saigon.


Photo: Old woman in Hoi An

The next day, we took a flight to Hoi An, a wonderfully tranquil town in central Vietnam. Hoi An was not destroyed during the war and remains well preserved, with the older portion of the city having beautiful wooden architecture. Hoi An is a wonderful place to relax. It’s full of restaurants and shops, including more tailors than we’ve ever seen in such a small area. While in Hoi An we became hooked on the Vietnamese spring rolls, which are different than the spring rolls that we had been eating in other Asian countries. The Vietnamese spring rolls having a slightly lighter, crisper outer layer – they’re great. While in Hoi An we were also introduced to bia hoi which is a preservative free, home brewed beer. Bia hoi, not surprisingly is a little bit of a mixed bag, ranging from pretty terrible tasting to very good, but at ten cents per glass, it’s hard to complain too much. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Hoi An, though it went by too quickly.


Photo: Hoi An

From Hoi An we took a bus to Hue, a town a couple hours north of Hoi An. Hue previously served as the imperial capital of Vietnam and has many monuments scattered around the city. Since we were in Vietnam we decided there would be no better way to see as many sites as possible than on the back of a motorbike! Neither T nor K has ever been on a motorbike before, but we were surprised how easy it was. Though initially our motor bikes split away from each (the drivers appeared to be racing to the first sight) until T’s driver realized that maybe something was wrong as K’s driver was nowhere in sight. T’s driver took out his cell phone to try to call the other driver, but the phone didn’t work so T and the driver drove back closer to town and waited and waited and waited. Eventually the driver got his phone to work and realized that K’s driver had a flat tire. So T’s driver picked up K and all three of us rode on his motorbike to the Emperor Khai Dinh’s tomb. K’s driver did eventually get his tire fixed so we only had to be squashed on the motorbike for that portion of trip. On the tour we visited the tombs of Emperors Khai Dinh and Tu Duc. Next we visited a beautiful monastery and then Thien Mu Pagoda. We stopped for lunch at Y Thao Garden where we dined on imperial cuisine; Hue’s famous for it. Lunch was delicious and also displayed a certain degree of whimsy about it. We finished our tour at the Imperial Citadel, a huge complex of temples, palaces and halls that served as the seat of the imperial government. Unfortunately, much of it was destroyed during the War and is currently being reconstructed.


Photo: K on the back of a motorbike


Photo: Thien Mu Pagoda


Photo: Spring rolls?!


Photo: Citadel in Hue

From Hue we flew to Hanoi. The change in weather was dramatic. It was much cooler in Hanoi, a very welcome change. We stayed in the old quarter of Hanoi and spent the first couple of days exploring the area, including Hoan Kiem Lake. During the evenings, we stopped off for a few bia hois, served on most corners of the old quarter. The bia hoi in Hanoi was definitely a step above that in Hoi An. For a change of pace, we attended a water puppet performance at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theater. During the performance, the puppeteers stand in the water while hidden behind a curtain. They guide a wide variety of wooden puppets around their stage which consists of a pool of somewhat murky water, all set to traditional music. After the performance, we then tried some young rice flavor ice-cream, which was delicious. The following day, we headed to the Ho Chi Minh Museum and received a guided tour, which provided an interesting account of Ho Chi Minh’s life prior to and including the war. We could tell our guide became somewhat uncomfortable talking about the war in front of us – he was evidently worried that he might offend us. Afterwards, we visited the One Pillar Pagoda and the imposing structure that is Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum. We then wandered over to the Ho Tay (West Lake) area and walked along the waterfront before returning back to the old quarter for dinner. We dined on traditional northern Vietnamese fare, including catfish rolls, that was accompanied by a wide variety of rice wine (xeo) that was surprisingly good. Although we were sad to leave Hanoi, we were excited to head back to Bangkok and then to southern Thailand.


Photo: Ho Chi Minh's mausolesum


Photo: Presidential Palace


Photo: Hanoi


Photo: Ho Tay


Photo: Pho


Photo: Typical billboard in Vietnam


Photo: Water Puppet Theater - These people generally were behind the curtain

Since the blog is a bit behind schedule, we want to give a quick update. After Vietnam we went back to Thailand (Bangkok and Phuket), then down to Australia for a few weeks and are currently in New Zealand. All were amazing and we plan to blog about them soon. Today we are in the charming town of Wellington. We will be here for a couple more days before flying to Peru!

Cambodia

March 2-9, 2009

We took our last Lao Airlines flight from Pakse to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Siem Reap is a very cute town. The streets are lined with restaurants and bars. We were a little surprised at how nice the city is considering how difficult it is to get there!

Photo: View from the back of a tuk tuk in the Angkor Temple Complex



Photos Above: Pre Rup

The main attractions, of course, are the Temples of Angkor. Upon arrival we explored the town, found some random person to do our laundry and then hired a tuk tuk to take us to the Temple complex. We bought a three day pass so that we could enter and leave the complex as many times as we liked over a three day period. That first evening we hiked up to Pre Rup and watched the sun set. It was a little disappointing – apparently every guide book tells people to visit this exact site to see the sunset and every tour group goes as well. So there were probably a thousand people all trying to watch the sunset and standing on the ruins! It was a bit cloudy as well, but we are still glad we made the trek up to see the famous sunset.





Photos Above: Bayon

Over the following few days we explored the different temples. It really is quite amazing how well preserved some of them are, while others are just crumbling ruins. We really only had the tolerance to do about a half day of temple seeing in the huge complex every day because the weather was unbearably hot. The highlights of the temple complex for us were Bayon, (a temple with many faces staring out at visitors), Ta Prohm, and of course the famous Angkor Wat.




Photos Above: Bayon


Photo: K in front of the Terrace of the Elephants


Photo: Preah Palilay


Photos: Phimeanakas





Photos Above: Angkor Wat


Photo: K in Siem Reap






Photos Above: Ta Prohm





Photos Above: Angkor Wat


Photo: Fish foot massage






Photos Above: Preah Khan

After our time was over in Siem Reap we took the bus down to Phnom Phen. The city also had many restaurants and we stayed near the river. Phnom Phen, though set in a beautiful location, had a very depressing vibe about it. We could not eat at any outdoor restaurant without being constantly harassed for money by all sorts of sad looking people. Many were children or did not have limbs. Though, one funny thing did happen while we were eating outside. A boy came to our table and was selling books. T just took a look at what he was selling – nothing seemed too interesting so he said no thank you to the boy. The boy said “why did you look at my books if you were not going to buy?!” T replied that he just wanted to see if there were any interesting books, but that he was not interested in what the boy was selling. To this the boy replied “Fuck you!” and stormed off!


Photo Elephant in Phnom Phen


Photo: Tuel Sleng Genocide Museum

While in Phnom Phen we visited the Tuel Sleng Genocide Museum (aka S-21), a school turned into a prison and used by the Khmer Rouge for torture and detention that generally was followed by execution during Cambodia’s recent civil war. It was an incredibly sad place to visit, with the photos of many of those killed staring back at us in the converted school rooms. The museum is well done, but it is very disturbing to believe that this mass genocide only occurred about 30 years ago….


Photo: Royal Palace - Phnom Phen


Photo: K in Phnom Phen


Photo: National Museum of Cambodia

We could not bring ourselves to visit the “killing fields” – though every tuk tuk driver offered to take us there. We only spent a few days in Phnom Phen. Though a very eye opening place to visit, we were not sad to leave Phnom Phen for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.