That's what we had for dinner last night at a traditional Khmer restaurant (well, traditional in so far as they served traditional food, but it was a fairly upmarket type place and not frequented by locals).
The food was good, although the frog legs looked a fair bit like frog legs and it was hard not to imagine them as live frogs while eating them, but they did, as you would predict, taste a bit like chicken with a slightly fishy character. The coconut fish curry, served in a coconut, is the national dish and was awesome. We also had a plate of our new favourite morning glory, which as usual was really nice.
Before dinner we had 70c beers at a riverside bar, and then after dinner we went to a little supermarket to buy more water, and George was seduced by the $7 bottle of gin, which no doubt will taste like crap and we'll probably not get anywhere near through, especially since the many many bars here are so cool. Speaking of which, we then went to a swanky looking bar for some very nice $3.50 cocktails and had a long chat with a Canadian photographer who worked there at nights 'for something to do'.
After this we walked back to our hotel, and I passed out before George had even got out of the shower (at about 10pm). After our many successive days of 5.30-6am starts, we slept like logs until 8.30 this morning and have since had a very slow start to the day, involving breakfast, organising our bus to Battambang, and washing most of our clothes in the sink. We're making an attempt to upload our photos thus far, but the internet here, albeit free, is probably the slowest in the whole bloody country, so I don't think it's going to happen. Apparently our hotel in Battambang has the fastest internet in the country, so at the least we'll be able to do it there.
Our impressions of Phnom Penh so far are very good. The people are really friendly, and generally have very good English, and they actually walk away when you say 'no thank you' to the balloons, dvds, books, etc that many of them are trying to sell. The city is busy, but without the craziness and chaos of Ho Chi Minh City, and it's quite beautiful as well with all the French and Khmer architecture. There are so many restaurants and bars, and the toilets are clean and have toilet paper, which is a big plus after HCMC!
Anyway, we should probably actually get out and see some of it soon since it's already 11.30 and we haven't done anything yet. I'm sure we'll be checking in again soon since the internet is free and our hotel is so welcoming!
09 November 2008
08 November 2008
What's another word for 'shemozzle'?
I could have gone onto a massive tirade about the total cluster f*ck that called itself a 'Mekong cruise' but we've since arrived in Phenom Penh and our hotel is so damn good I almost cried. Anyhow, to the blow-by-blow description of the last few days.
When we last left you we had just written our blog in the tiniest and cheapest internet spot in the South East - it cost 1500 Dong, or about 10c. We went back to our hotel with the air con thankfully back in business, and had a fitful sleep due to a) the air con being a bit crap and b) the ceiling fan - necessitated by the crap a/c - was a noisy bugger of a thing.
The next morning we were awake briefly before a rude banging on the door to make sure we were up for breakfast. We went through the usual shower ritual - that being the ongoing conflict between getting decently clean and not soaking the throne - and had another local ritual, the omelette and bread breakfast.
We walked to the boat, after losing at least one fellow player to 'getting busy with the toilet' and others to general confusion (and complete lack of head count and other sensible tour procedures). The boat then took us to the floating Mekong markets which were actually quite interesting, with mothers and children rowing up to us to sell us stuff (including beer at 8am) and a mission (by others, not me this time) to the loo, requiring us to anchor up to 3 other tourist boats for these Pommie geezers (one of whom is now a bobbie in Adelaide) to go for a slash. The highlight was a freshly cut pineapple, with imperfections cut out and the whole thing perfectly halved as we watched. It was sweet, juicy and delicious.
The boat then took us to a couple of fairly ordinary tourist activities including a rice noodle factory. While I say it was ordinary, it's interesting to note that rice noodles start life as rice paper - cool. The last stop was a rice processing factory which was actually fascinating, if not only because of the utter disdain for anything resembling safety - tourists were just wandering around these fast, loud and bloody dangerous machines with zero safety gear. It's just the way it's done.
Closing out the day's activities, the boat took us back to Can Tho where we had a lot of time to waste before getting back on a bus. We met up with some decent Aussies who took us to a vego restaurant they'd discovered and it rocked my world - all these dishes were superb and it cost 8000 Dong each - about 80c. Crazy. Bec and I then wandered around aimlessly, then decided to look for a supermarket which turned into a mission, and then landed at a very touristy restaurant on the waterfront primarily so I could use the crapper (and can I say that was one of the day's highlights too).
After the requisite time (and, of course, Vietnamese 'rubber time' for good measure) had elapsed we were on another bus (boat tour my pie hole) and this was another debacle, with some people having been told they were on a 'luxury overnight river cruise' which, cramped on a bus, they weren't happy with. Rubber time also wreaked havoc since us Aussies, having sunk a few beers on the bus and prior, were in need of facilities, and we were always 'five minutes' from our toilet break. Eventually we made to the next town and took a small boat across to the floating hotel, which really was just a glorified boat with a few rooms. We had to take a trip back across the river to get cash since the glorifed boat wasn't glorious enough for credit facilities. Cash in hand, we ate a quite decent meal and had a good chat with a few more poms and crashed after a few beers.
This morning we were again up at arse o clock to get on a boat for another contrived tourist thing, firstly to a floating fish farm which was really about as interesting as my armpit (and just as smelly) then to a small village of a Muslim ethnic minority. Frankly this sucked. This group of people seemed to exist only to sell crap to tourists and it seemed no way to live. We were all back on the boat before the guide. The most interesting thing was the gangplank to land that was so damn ricketty it scared the crud out of me.
The rest of the day was on target, a debacle. It turns out the US$10 option we paid for to get a 'fast boat' was ultimately the only option, since all those choosing the slow boat had been asked, repeatedly, for 24 hours, if they wanted to change to the fast. Mysteriously, our fast boat departed very slowly and, after what seemed a pre-determined time, we turned back to pick up the stragglers on the slow boat whose boat had, conveniently, broken down. That said, they seemed to have fixed it the moment everyone was on board our boat. Bloody arseheads. Clearly there was no intent to take two boats and it was all a scam for an additional $US10 each.
The rest of the day was taken up with more boats, buses and confused border crossings, including our knob guide taking Bec's passport then claiming not to have it, leading to a frantic search of the whole stinking boat, just for us to take it from him. Knob.
All that can be brushed aside as our hotel in PP rocks, we're hungry and we're spoilt for choice for dinner. Can't wait, so I won't. Cheers.
When we last left you we had just written our blog in the tiniest and cheapest internet spot in the South East - it cost 1500 Dong, or about 10c. We went back to our hotel with the air con thankfully back in business, and had a fitful sleep due to a) the air con being a bit crap and b) the ceiling fan - necessitated by the crap a/c - was a noisy bugger of a thing.
The next morning we were awake briefly before a rude banging on the door to make sure we were up for breakfast. We went through the usual shower ritual - that being the ongoing conflict between getting decently clean and not soaking the throne - and had another local ritual, the omelette and bread breakfast.
We walked to the boat, after losing at least one fellow player to 'getting busy with the toilet' and others to general confusion (and complete lack of head count and other sensible tour procedures). The boat then took us to the floating Mekong markets which were actually quite interesting, with mothers and children rowing up to us to sell us stuff (including beer at 8am) and a mission (by others, not me this time) to the loo, requiring us to anchor up to 3 other tourist boats for these Pommie geezers (one of whom is now a bobbie in Adelaide) to go for a slash. The highlight was a freshly cut pineapple, with imperfections cut out and the whole thing perfectly halved as we watched. It was sweet, juicy and delicious.
The boat then took us to a couple of fairly ordinary tourist activities including a rice noodle factory. While I say it was ordinary, it's interesting to note that rice noodles start life as rice paper - cool. The last stop was a rice processing factory which was actually fascinating, if not only because of the utter disdain for anything resembling safety - tourists were just wandering around these fast, loud and bloody dangerous machines with zero safety gear. It's just the way it's done.
Closing out the day's activities, the boat took us back to Can Tho where we had a lot of time to waste before getting back on a bus. We met up with some decent Aussies who took us to a vego restaurant they'd discovered and it rocked my world - all these dishes were superb and it cost 8000 Dong each - about 80c. Crazy. Bec and I then wandered around aimlessly, then decided to look for a supermarket which turned into a mission, and then landed at a very touristy restaurant on the waterfront primarily so I could use the crapper (and can I say that was one of the day's highlights too).
After the requisite time (and, of course, Vietnamese 'rubber time' for good measure) had elapsed we were on another bus (boat tour my pie hole) and this was another debacle, with some people having been told they were on a 'luxury overnight river cruise' which, cramped on a bus, they weren't happy with. Rubber time also wreaked havoc since us Aussies, having sunk a few beers on the bus and prior, were in need of facilities, and we were always 'five minutes' from our toilet break. Eventually we made to the next town and took a small boat across to the floating hotel, which really was just a glorified boat with a few rooms. We had to take a trip back across the river to get cash since the glorifed boat wasn't glorious enough for credit facilities. Cash in hand, we ate a quite decent meal and had a good chat with a few more poms and crashed after a few beers.
This morning we were again up at arse o clock to get on a boat for another contrived tourist thing, firstly to a floating fish farm which was really about as interesting as my armpit (and just as smelly) then to a small village of a Muslim ethnic minority. Frankly this sucked. This group of people seemed to exist only to sell crap to tourists and it seemed no way to live. We were all back on the boat before the guide. The most interesting thing was the gangplank to land that was so damn ricketty it scared the crud out of me.
The rest of the day was on target, a debacle. It turns out the US$10 option we paid for to get a 'fast boat' was ultimately the only option, since all those choosing the slow boat had been asked, repeatedly, for 24 hours, if they wanted to change to the fast. Mysteriously, our fast boat departed very slowly and, after what seemed a pre-determined time, we turned back to pick up the stragglers on the slow boat whose boat had, conveniently, broken down. That said, they seemed to have fixed it the moment everyone was on board our boat. Bloody arseheads. Clearly there was no intent to take two boats and it was all a scam for an additional $US10 each.
The rest of the day was taken up with more boats, buses and confused border crossings, including our knob guide taking Bec's passport then claiming not to have it, leading to a frantic search of the whole stinking boat, just for us to take it from him. Knob.
All that can be brushed aside as our hotel in PP rocks, we're hungry and we're spoilt for choice for dinner. Can't wait, so I won't. Cheers.
06 November 2008
Hot and steamy in the Mekong Delta
It's only been two days but we're already way behind on our reporting - yesterday waking up at 6am and having breakfast at our hotel, we set out to re-explore Ho Chi Minh City. We started at the Ben Than Markets where George bought some long sleeved tops to ward off mosquitos (and probably paid way too much for them too).
Failing any other ideas, we did a mammoth walk to the botanical gardens, which has a zoo in the middle of it. Although we're not generally zoo fans, and the enclosures seemed way too small, the gardens themselves were quite cool, and we saw some absolutely enormous hippos and crocodiles, among other animals.
After this we walked back to our general area, stopping for some pho on the way (meat, vermicelli noodles and lots of fresh herbs and bean sprouts in tasty stock). Being completely buggered from the sun we got an overpriced fruit smoothie in an air conditioned chain coffee shop before recommencing our wandering in an area we hadn't yet explored. This turned out to be a mistake and an experience in itself, as we unintentionally wandered into some very narrow alleyways that were actually people's houses. We were getting some funny looks ranging from confusion to outright hostility (and fair enough since we could see right into their houses), so we got out of there as quickly as we could and went back to touristville for a bracing beer or 4. After this experience we've come to the conclusion that while hanging around the touristy areas seems lame for marginally intrepid travellers, that's actually where the locals want us to be!
After a few beers we went back to our hotel for showers and a quick lie down before heading out for dinner at a kick arse restaurant called Lemongrass. We actually ate there last time we were here but it was so good that we had to go back, and it didn't disappoint. The common staple of a George & Bec holiday is good food, and this place is one of the best anywhere. We started with cold rolls, then moved onto minced prawns on sugar cane, which you wrap in lettuce leaves with lots of basil and vermicelli noodles. We followed this with ginger chicken, steamed fish in a clay pot and sauteed morning glory (a green vegetable that's kind of like Chinese broccoli). It was all so good, and it cost us $US31 - expensive by Vietnamese standards, but you couldn't find anything that good in Australia for that little.
This morning we started bright and early and with a minor fiasco thrown in for good measure. The tour company was supposed to pick us up from the hotel at 7am, and then at about 10 past a guy walked up and gestured to us, looked at our tour voucher and led us to his car out on the street. We were a little confused because we thought it would be the bus that picked us up, but nevertheless we loaded our luggage in the back, got in and were on our way. We'd been driving for about 10 minutes when the guy got a call on his mobile, then drove us back to the hotel. Now utterly confused, we followed him back down to the hotel, where he asked another couple if they were going to the airport. We said that we weren't going to the airport and he just pointed upstairs at the hotel, where the tour guide was waiting for us - somehow this guy (actually a taxi driver) had picked up the wrong people, although god knows what he thought the voucher was that we'd handed him.
So, our problems sorted, the tour bus took us down to the river to the speedboat which took us up the Mekong River for about 3 hours before stopping at a small island where they make honey. There was also a giant python that they handed around for people to have photos taken with, although we declined to get anywhere near the great bloody thing.
We then got on a different boat which took us to a different island where we were shown how to make coconut candy. They also let us try snake wine, which is a revolting alcohol concoction with a dead snake curled up in it. It was gross. After this we were taken down a narrow river channel in rowboats, then got back on the boat and were taken to yet another island, where we had a relatively average lunch followed by some free time to ride around the island on bicycles. We did a bit of this, although as I was paranoid about falling off and getting flattened by a scooter, we didn't go for too long.
The rest of the day was a very long shambles of a boat ride, followed by a bus ride, ferry ride, and another bus ride, and a few aggro tourists mixed in there. We finally arrived at our hotel just before 7 and went out for dinner down by the river. Since we're sweaty and hot and bloody buggered after a 12 hour day, we're now heading back to our hotel at 8.30 to have showers and lie in our air conditioned room preparing for another 6am start tomorrow.
One thing that can be said about these early starts is that we're not drinking anywhere near as much as we usually do - although I think our boat tomorrow will have drinks on board, so I don't know how long that can last!
Ciao
Failing any other ideas, we did a mammoth walk to the botanical gardens, which has a zoo in the middle of it. Although we're not generally zoo fans, and the enclosures seemed way too small, the gardens themselves were quite cool, and we saw some absolutely enormous hippos and crocodiles, among other animals.
After this we walked back to our general area, stopping for some pho on the way (meat, vermicelli noodles and lots of fresh herbs and bean sprouts in tasty stock). Being completely buggered from the sun we got an overpriced fruit smoothie in an air conditioned chain coffee shop before recommencing our wandering in an area we hadn't yet explored. This turned out to be a mistake and an experience in itself, as we unintentionally wandered into some very narrow alleyways that were actually people's houses. We were getting some funny looks ranging from confusion to outright hostility (and fair enough since we could see right into their houses), so we got out of there as quickly as we could and went back to touristville for a bracing beer or 4. After this experience we've come to the conclusion that while hanging around the touristy areas seems lame for marginally intrepid travellers, that's actually where the locals want us to be!
After a few beers we went back to our hotel for showers and a quick lie down before heading out for dinner at a kick arse restaurant called Lemongrass. We actually ate there last time we were here but it was so good that we had to go back, and it didn't disappoint. The common staple of a George & Bec holiday is good food, and this place is one of the best anywhere. We started with cold rolls, then moved onto minced prawns on sugar cane, which you wrap in lettuce leaves with lots of basil and vermicelli noodles. We followed this with ginger chicken, steamed fish in a clay pot and sauteed morning glory (a green vegetable that's kind of like Chinese broccoli). It was all so good, and it cost us $US31 - expensive by Vietnamese standards, but you couldn't find anything that good in Australia for that little.
This morning we started bright and early and with a minor fiasco thrown in for good measure. The tour company was supposed to pick us up from the hotel at 7am, and then at about 10 past a guy walked up and gestured to us, looked at our tour voucher and led us to his car out on the street. We were a little confused because we thought it would be the bus that picked us up, but nevertheless we loaded our luggage in the back, got in and were on our way. We'd been driving for about 10 minutes when the guy got a call on his mobile, then drove us back to the hotel. Now utterly confused, we followed him back down to the hotel, where he asked another couple if they were going to the airport. We said that we weren't going to the airport and he just pointed upstairs at the hotel, where the tour guide was waiting for us - somehow this guy (actually a taxi driver) had picked up the wrong people, although god knows what he thought the voucher was that we'd handed him.
So, our problems sorted, the tour bus took us down to the river to the speedboat which took us up the Mekong River for about 3 hours before stopping at a small island where they make honey. There was also a giant python that they handed around for people to have photos taken with, although we declined to get anywhere near the great bloody thing.
We then got on a different boat which took us to a different island where we were shown how to make coconut candy. They also let us try snake wine, which is a revolting alcohol concoction with a dead snake curled up in it. It was gross. After this we were taken down a narrow river channel in rowboats, then got back on the boat and were taken to yet another island, where we had a relatively average lunch followed by some free time to ride around the island on bicycles. We did a bit of this, although as I was paranoid about falling off and getting flattened by a scooter, we didn't go for too long.
The rest of the day was a very long shambles of a boat ride, followed by a bus ride, ferry ride, and another bus ride, and a few aggro tourists mixed in there. We finally arrived at our hotel just before 7 and went out for dinner down by the river. Since we're sweaty and hot and bloody buggered after a 12 hour day, we're now heading back to our hotel at 8.30 to have showers and lie in our air conditioned room preparing for another 6am start tomorrow.
One thing that can be said about these early starts is that we're not drinking anywhere near as much as we usually do - although I think our boat tomorrow will have drinks on board, so I don't know how long that can last!
Ciao
05 November 2008
We are here
Just a quick word from me (Bec) before George requisitions the keyboard.
Returning to Vietnam is kind of like catching up with an old friend you haven't seen for years - you feel kind of anxious, worried that things are going to be awkward and you aren't going to have anything to talk about. But then once you're face to face again it's as if you've never been apart, and you just feel comfortable. And that's what it was like when we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City last night. We were inwardly cringing as we came out of the airport with our bags and the mobs descended on us to convince us to come in their taxi, and we assumed they were all trying to rip us off. But as soon as the taxi turned out of the airport onto the streets teeming with scooters, bicycles and cars, we felt instantly at home again. We're staying in the same neighbourhood as last time and have already reacquainted ourselves with the area.
OK, George's turn now.
Bec's pretty much covered it, and there's not a lot to add about our departure from Sydney and journey here. However, I must say I relished my last Vegemite toast for as much as two weeks, having a slightly hung over light breakfast around the corner from the hotel.
Flights, customs, airports, bathrooms and other facilities were all passable or better. Obviously if there was a way to cover vast distances without flying I'd prefer it, and Jetstar's lack of free, mindless entertaiment does exacerbate that. However it did give me an opportunity to do a record amount of reading (finished one book and got 10% of the way into another...) and some sleeping, which turned out to be quite handy given the time difference ended up having a bit of an impact. Another positive was that we had three seats between the two of us and it rocked not having to climb over some joker every time you went for a slash.
I concur with Bec's comments re returning to HCMC. Notable differences include an entirely remodelled airport, one which worked with remarkable efficiency, a huge amount of roadworks (not a little overdue) and a comprehensive amount of new office space coming up (PCA nerd warning:) - there seems to be a bit of 'green' space coming out of the ground too, and a heap of falling down old buildings are being cast aside for the new generation.
Another unexpected change is that most scooter riders now seem to be heeding legal warnings about wearing helmets. This is great since, despite the Vietnamese being amazingly good riders and drivers, and a traffic system that works almost organically, many people are killed each year in motorcycle and scooter accidents. Ironically though the same law seems to not apply to cyclists who remain at the mercy of all and sundry. Oh well, they know what they're doing.
OK, we need to move on but a quick blow-by-blow on our drinking repetoire for the night. After dropping off our gear (finding the hotel in a small cul de sac behind Pham Ngu Lao) we went for a bearings-seeking walk, which took all of a minute since we recognised sites almost immediately. We also spied the Bia Hoi where we got rained in during a thunderous downpour around this time last year. We had a quiet Tiger at a very Western joint called Allez Boo (we'd drunk there last time too) but the loud, crap R&B (a tautology perhaps?) and smell of spew moved us on. We only had to go a building or two to find another bar, of course full only with Aussies, and had (my foolish choice) a longneck of Tiger each (about a buck each - I adore this place). After that, realising it was about 2am Sydney time, we retired to our room, washed off sweat and plane crud and slept.
The room is tiny and the shower and bogger are virtually on top ofone another but the bed is really comfortable and Han, the proprietor, is one of HCMC's 11 million top blokes (and the place costs <$20 a night). This morning aside from breakfast (very tasty simple egg omelette) we've been watching (or listening to more accurately) Obama's history turn, or so we hope. We're heading out now to pay off our tour tomorrow then hit Ben Than Markets for some decent mosquito armour. No doubt there'll be some beers in there somewhere too.
Next report is most likely to be from the riverbanks of the Mekong. Farewell.
PS. Due to a technical complication - i.e. Optus sucks - mobile phone is not working. Either use the gmail (georgebec@gmail.com) or, if it's genuinely urgent, text Bec.
Returning to Vietnam is kind of like catching up with an old friend you haven't seen for years - you feel kind of anxious, worried that things are going to be awkward and you aren't going to have anything to talk about. But then once you're face to face again it's as if you've never been apart, and you just feel comfortable. And that's what it was like when we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City last night. We were inwardly cringing as we came out of the airport with our bags and the mobs descended on us to convince us to come in their taxi, and we assumed they were all trying to rip us off. But as soon as the taxi turned out of the airport onto the streets teeming with scooters, bicycles and cars, we felt instantly at home again. We're staying in the same neighbourhood as last time and have already reacquainted ourselves with the area.
OK, George's turn now.
Bec's pretty much covered it, and there's not a lot to add about our departure from Sydney and journey here. However, I must say I relished my last Vegemite toast for as much as two weeks, having a slightly hung over light breakfast around the corner from the hotel.
Flights, customs, airports, bathrooms and other facilities were all passable or better. Obviously if there was a way to cover vast distances without flying I'd prefer it, and Jetstar's lack of free, mindless entertaiment does exacerbate that. However it did give me an opportunity to do a record amount of reading (finished one book and got 10% of the way into another...) and some sleeping, which turned out to be quite handy given the time difference ended up having a bit of an impact. Another positive was that we had three seats between the two of us and it rocked not having to climb over some joker every time you went for a slash.
I concur with Bec's comments re returning to HCMC. Notable differences include an entirely remodelled airport, one which worked with remarkable efficiency, a huge amount of roadworks (not a little overdue) and a comprehensive amount of new office space coming up (PCA nerd warning:) - there seems to be a bit of 'green' space coming out of the ground too, and a heap of falling down old buildings are being cast aside for the new generation.
Another unexpected change is that most scooter riders now seem to be heeding legal warnings about wearing helmets. This is great since, despite the Vietnamese being amazingly good riders and drivers, and a traffic system that works almost organically, many people are killed each year in motorcycle and scooter accidents. Ironically though the same law seems to not apply to cyclists who remain at the mercy of all and sundry. Oh well, they know what they're doing.
OK, we need to move on but a quick blow-by-blow on our drinking repetoire for the night. After dropping off our gear (finding the hotel in a small cul de sac behind Pham Ngu Lao) we went for a bearings-seeking walk, which took all of a minute since we recognised sites almost immediately. We also spied the Bia Hoi where we got rained in during a thunderous downpour around this time last year. We had a quiet Tiger at a very Western joint called Allez Boo (we'd drunk there last time too) but the loud, crap R&B (a tautology perhaps?) and smell of spew moved us on. We only had to go a building or two to find another bar, of course full only with Aussies, and had (my foolish choice) a longneck of Tiger each (about a buck each - I adore this place). After that, realising it was about 2am Sydney time, we retired to our room, washed off sweat and plane crud and slept.
The room is tiny and the shower and bogger are virtually on top ofone another but the bed is really comfortable and Han, the proprietor, is one of HCMC's 11 million top blokes (and the place costs <$20 a night). This morning aside from breakfast (very tasty simple egg omelette) we've been watching (or listening to more accurately) Obama's history turn, or so we hope. We're heading out now to pay off our tour tomorrow then hit Ben Than Markets for some decent mosquito armour. No doubt there'll be some beers in there somewhere too.
Next report is most likely to be from the riverbanks of the Mekong. Farewell.
PS. Due to a technical complication - i.e. Optus sucks - mobile phone is not working. Either use the gmail (georgebec@gmail.com) or, if it's genuinely urgent, text Bec.
04 November 2008
Killin' time at the airport - edit
George just farted. In the internet cafe.
That aside, we've had a good time in Sydney and it seems all too soon to be heading for the airport yet again. Yesterday we went to Bondi and had a stroll along the beach, then did the Bondi to Bronte walk, which is a scenic walk along the coast overlooking the ocean. They've got this sculptures by the sea thing going on, so as you go there's all this crazy art, like animals made of wire, and railway tracks curled up into the air. It was weird, but cool. Of course, we'd decided not to bring the sunscreen to avoid the phone-wrecking fiasco of the last holiday, but, being complete idiots, we hadn't thought to actually apply said sunscreen before leaving the hotel. So within two minutes we could already feel ourselves getting frazzled. After we'd finished the walk we stopped for a mango smoothie and a rest in a cafe in Bronte, then got the bus back to our hotel for showers and, thankfully, we weren't too burnt.
Once we'd rested and refreshed we headed out again to Darling Harbour and sat upstairs at a cocktail bar overlooking the harbour and drinking tasty cocktails. It was a really beautiful day and the view was good and the drinks were going down a treat (we managed to last until 4.45pm before starting this time).
Then we got a ferry to Balmain and met John again for a very copious and extremely tasty Indian meal. The restaurant had an amazing $3 corkage, so needless to say George ducked out for a couple of bottles of wine to wash the curries down. We had a very pleasant evening eating and drinking and recalling bad 90s music with the help of John's iPhone.
After this we were too full and buggered to do anything else, so we just got a bus back into the city and went straight to bed. This morning is pretty much a write off, just packing and getting breakfast and finishing this blog before going to the airport to commence the day of hell that lies ahead.
And now I'm editing this post again because we're at the airport and we've got more than an hour to kill before we even get on the plane. Not at all looking forward to being a sardine for the next however many hours, but it'll all be worth it when we get to our destination.
Next report will be from Ho Chi Minh City!
Bec
That aside, we've had a good time in Sydney and it seems all too soon to be heading for the airport yet again. Yesterday we went to Bondi and had a stroll along the beach, then did the Bondi to Bronte walk, which is a scenic walk along the coast overlooking the ocean. They've got this sculptures by the sea thing going on, so as you go there's all this crazy art, like animals made of wire, and railway tracks curled up into the air. It was weird, but cool. Of course, we'd decided not to bring the sunscreen to avoid the phone-wrecking fiasco of the last holiday, but, being complete idiots, we hadn't thought to actually apply said sunscreen before leaving the hotel. So within two minutes we could already feel ourselves getting frazzled. After we'd finished the walk we stopped for a mango smoothie and a rest in a cafe in Bronte, then got the bus back to our hotel for showers and, thankfully, we weren't too burnt.
Once we'd rested and refreshed we headed out again to Darling Harbour and sat upstairs at a cocktail bar overlooking the harbour and drinking tasty cocktails. It was a really beautiful day and the view was good and the drinks were going down a treat (we managed to last until 4.45pm before starting this time).
Then we got a ferry to Balmain and met John again for a very copious and extremely tasty Indian meal. The restaurant had an amazing $3 corkage, so needless to say George ducked out for a couple of bottles of wine to wash the curries down. We had a very pleasant evening eating and drinking and recalling bad 90s music with the help of John's iPhone.
After this we were too full and buggered to do anything else, so we just got a bus back into the city and went straight to bed. This morning is pretty much a write off, just packing and getting breakfast and finishing this blog before going to the airport to commence the day of hell that lies ahead.
And now I'm editing this post again because we're at the airport and we've got more than an hour to kill before we even get on the plane. Not at all looking forward to being a sardine for the next however many hours, but it'll all be worth it when we get to our destination.
Next report will be from Ho Chi Minh City!
Bec
03 November 2008
Day one - Sunny Sydney
Well, not so much. Sunday, our departure day, was somewhat overcast and miserable. But I'm not paying $2 an hour to talk about the weather. Anyhoo, after an ill-advised big-ish, late-ish night on Saturday we were up and about at sparrow burp and finishing off some very last minute packing. The rest of the morning went pretty much to plan, with the only item of interest on the flight itself being some bag behind us ordering a Bundy and coke at the gentle hour of 9:00am. Amazingly the flight was only 5 minutes late and we stumbled onto the aiport train a collective weary mess. Air travel takes it up the jaxie, that's the summary thus far and we haven't even commenced the 10 hour nightmare tomorrow.
Moving on, we got a train into Town Hall station, having been advised that this was the closest station to our hotel in Ultimo. My limited knowledge of Sydney confirmed this, but alas, I was wrong. We had a galactic mission across sky platforms and chaotic roads, fighting our way through the concrete jungle that is Darling Harbour's conference precinct. When we finally arrived at our hotel, pretty much dripping with sweat and heaving after lugging bloody great bags across this distance, we were dismayed to discover that there was another station far closer. Oh well, if that's the worst thing that happens...
After settling in we quickly began an epic walk that started out as a mission to find lunch. We ate at a little place oddly named Crocodile Senior Thai; it rocked, but it was so damn hot that Bec claims an out-of-body experience. We were also amused by our water bottle, emblazoned with "the happy reading art bear". That breaks my head.
With uncomfortable stomachs we set off along George Street examining the sites of capitalism at its best - there can be no greater concentration of take away and clothes shops in this country. Bec tried her first Krispy Kreme and was suitably disappointed, for an American chain. Damn Yankees.
For want of a plan, we decided to just keep on walking and actually made it the whole way up to The Rocks. It was my plan to get to a great German bar, Lowenbrau, that I'd visited on a previous drunken junket, but our power walking got us to The Rocks far quicker than expected and, surprisingly, we didn't feel like drinking just yet so we settled in at The Rocks Cafe for a coffee. We then did the obligatory tourist thing and took photos of the Opera House from across the Quay and then walked under the Bridge, passing countless meringues (AKA brides) looking resplendent (read: ostentatious) and a groom in a gangster-mode white suit, complete with white rose in lapel. Bloody joker.
The need for a drink began to develop and, knowing the area slightly from our Bridge Climb a few decades ago, began looking for The Lord Nelson Hotel. Failing to find it we slumped into the Lowenbrau where we had echos of our Europe tour with steins (mass) of awesome beer.
I'm being given hints that I'm going overboard with details, so here's the wash up: George got drunk and silly, we caught up with John Lam and hit more beers at the Lord Nelson then The Australian Hotel, where we had fabulous pizzas (at least in my drunken state they seemed fabulous) and left a bit worse for wear. Bec had to get us back to the hotel with me leaning on her the whole way and constantly restating my need for ablution facilities. Needless to say we made it and despite being stuffed I stayed up to watch Rupert Murdoch crapping on about something. Actually, I tell a lie; I was apparently asleep in 5 minutes.
Today we're heading out to Bondi to take a long walk along the coast up to Bronte Beach. We've had a suitably slow morning including the requisite greasy breakfast. That said, we actually did exercise this morning!
Must go, today is looking beautiful weather-wise, and sitting downstairs is depressing me. See you on the other side, probably from Ho Chi Minh City.
George
Moving on, we got a train into Town Hall station, having been advised that this was the closest station to our hotel in Ultimo. My limited knowledge of Sydney confirmed this, but alas, I was wrong. We had a galactic mission across sky platforms and chaotic roads, fighting our way through the concrete jungle that is Darling Harbour's conference precinct. When we finally arrived at our hotel, pretty much dripping with sweat and heaving after lugging bloody great bags across this distance, we were dismayed to discover that there was another station far closer. Oh well, if that's the worst thing that happens...
After settling in we quickly began an epic walk that started out as a mission to find lunch. We ate at a little place oddly named Crocodile Senior Thai; it rocked, but it was so damn hot that Bec claims an out-of-body experience. We were also amused by our water bottle, emblazoned with "the happy reading art bear". That breaks my head.
With uncomfortable stomachs we set off along George Street examining the sites of capitalism at its best - there can be no greater concentration of take away and clothes shops in this country. Bec tried her first Krispy Kreme and was suitably disappointed, for an American chain. Damn Yankees.
For want of a plan, we decided to just keep on walking and actually made it the whole way up to The Rocks. It was my plan to get to a great German bar, Lowenbrau, that I'd visited on a previous drunken junket, but our power walking got us to The Rocks far quicker than expected and, surprisingly, we didn't feel like drinking just yet so we settled in at The Rocks Cafe for a coffee. We then did the obligatory tourist thing and took photos of the Opera House from across the Quay and then walked under the Bridge, passing countless meringues (AKA brides) looking resplendent (read: ostentatious) and a groom in a gangster-mode white suit, complete with white rose in lapel. Bloody joker.
The need for a drink began to develop and, knowing the area slightly from our Bridge Climb a few decades ago, began looking for The Lord Nelson Hotel. Failing to find it we slumped into the Lowenbrau where we had echos of our Europe tour with steins (mass) of awesome beer.
I'm being given hints that I'm going overboard with details, so here's the wash up: George got drunk and silly, we caught up with John Lam and hit more beers at the Lord Nelson then The Australian Hotel, where we had fabulous pizzas (at least in my drunken state they seemed fabulous) and left a bit worse for wear. Bec had to get us back to the hotel with me leaning on her the whole way and constantly restating my need for ablution facilities. Needless to say we made it and despite being stuffed I stayed up to watch Rupert Murdoch crapping on about something. Actually, I tell a lie; I was apparently asleep in 5 minutes.
Today we're heading out to Bondi to take a long walk along the coast up to Bronte Beach. We've had a suitably slow morning including the requisite greasy breakfast. That said, we actually did exercise this morning!
Must go, today is looking beautiful weather-wise, and sitting downstairs is depressing me. See you on the other side, probably from Ho Chi Minh City.
George
28 October 2008
We're off again!
It's ironic to read our last post on this blog saying that 'one day' we planned to return to Vietnam and possibly Cambodia, and here we are a year later preparing to do just that!
I'll keep this brief, because pre-holiday posts are the most boring in the world, but we're departing Adelaide this Sunday 2 November and heading to Sydney for a couple of days. Then we fly to Ho Chi Minh City and stay for a couple of nights before taking a three day/two night tour along the Mekong Delta, which will end with us being taken over the border into Cambodia and dropped in Pnomh Penh, the capital.
From here we depart from our usual hectic holiday schedule of two days in every place - we stay in PP for four days, then we'll get a bus up north to Battambang, a former French colonial town and the second biggest city in Cambodia. After four days in Battambang we'll get a boat along what's supposed to be the most scenic river trip in the country to Siem Reap, home to Angkor Wat, one of the most beautiful temples in the world.
We'll spend another four days in Siem Reap, and then we depart on the trip home from hell - we fly Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City, HCMC to Darwin, Darwin to Sydney, then Sydney to Adelaide.
It was tempting to try to fit in as many places as possible, but we've decided instead to focus on just a few and just do day trips and tours, and hopefully some more active stuff, like walking and bike riding.
So look out for our posts from this Sunday until 21 November when we arrive home!
Cheers
George & Bec
I'll keep this brief, because pre-holiday posts are the most boring in the world, but we're departing Adelaide this Sunday 2 November and heading to Sydney for a couple of days. Then we fly to Ho Chi Minh City and stay for a couple of nights before taking a three day/two night tour along the Mekong Delta, which will end with us being taken over the border into Cambodia and dropped in Pnomh Penh, the capital.
From here we depart from our usual hectic holiday schedule of two days in every place - we stay in PP for four days, then we'll get a bus up north to Battambang, a former French colonial town and the second biggest city in Cambodia. After four days in Battambang we'll get a boat along what's supposed to be the most scenic river trip in the country to Siem Reap, home to Angkor Wat, one of the most beautiful temples in the world.
We'll spend another four days in Siem Reap, and then we depart on the trip home from hell - we fly Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City, HCMC to Darwin, Darwin to Sydney, then Sydney to Adelaide.
It was tempting to try to fit in as many places as possible, but we've decided instead to focus on just a few and just do day trips and tours, and hopefully some more active stuff, like walking and bike riding.
So look out for our posts from this Sunday until 21 November when we arrive home!
Cheers
George & Bec
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