Cambodia & Vietnam; never thought I would

Most of the travels I do usually start with a message from a fellow travel enthusiast saying, we should no? Being an empty-nester and a person who works for herself for the last 5 years gives me the flexibility to say, sure.

I was certain about Cambodia, not so much Vietnam. Being in the US for many years I had already formed an image of Vietnam, the country and the people - nothing bad or good just a lot of information. US popular culture is immersed in it and I absorb easily so had built my own library of information. Kind of felt I already knew too much about the place. But the other two travellers wanted to go, so I conceded. With the help of an expert we arrived at a tightly packed itinerary, a rarity for me, but I was quite excited.

It is a popular destination so we got a ton of solicited and unsolicited advice. Wish I had captured every contributor's face when I said all 3 traveling were vegetarians!

Landed in Siam Reap and went straight to the hotel. You should stay here. This was the hotel that was popular with the foreign correspondents while they were covering the Khmer Rouge disturbances. Very elegant.

An ongoing thread in this trip was the bathroom adventures. We were three girls traveling, good friends for decades, but not so close that we could use the doorless or clear wall bathrooms! It was insane, almost every hotel we went to had the same issue, it was built for a couple or single people or people with a truckload of more openness then we had. We literally build walls with chairs, sheets etc. to manage. And in some bathrooms the two that were outside had to strategically stand in one corner of the room to give the third privacy. What madness, never have I ever.

First stop: Siam Reap

Siam Reap was beautifully maintained. The fact that the tiny nation of Cambodia sustained itself through tourism was reflected in how efficient and clean the whole experience was. The guides, temples, access, was something that impressed me right off the bat.

The influence of Hinduism reverberated through the temples of Ankor wat. We had a guide, who not only was annoyed by my wanderings but tried to get me back into his control by snapping at me. Such a wrong move. I prefer to deal with guides only if they can talk beyond the facts. If I need a superficial factual scan, why do I need a guide? The large display boards that describe the places are just as good. I usually try to help them understand or ask a couple of deeper questions and if they come back to Rama and Sita, I am off wandering. We are from India, even if we actively didn't seek out the Ramayana, it is in the air - you will know at least some of it, whether you want to or not. Not contextualised to the traveler.

Ankor wat was built as a representation of Mount Meru (home of the Devas/Angels), the Hindus centre of universe. It is the largest religious complex in the world. The fact that the jungles had covered it till about 120 odd years ago gives the whole place a sepia look that no camera can emulate. Restoration efforts continue to this day, and travellers have multiplied a thousand fold.

When Suryavarman built in the early 12th century, it was a Hindu temple complex, but by the end of the 12th century Jayavarman changed it to a Buddhist temple and put up a number of sculptures of himself, more accurately, his face. This is my face, his faces are behind.

Despite my reluctance, we did the 'Tomb Raider' tour. And you cannot ignore the beauty of the trees and the rocks living as one. It does wonders to one's imagination.

The people of Cambodia, kind and gentle. Food was amazing, mostly Thai influence, which was fine by me. We wandered the streets in the evening, checked out the local markets and headed in after a day of discovery.

Second stop: Saigon, told you it was a tightly packed trip.

The city houses the best vegan restaurants I have ever been too. The wallpaper on one of them. Why. Cause I like being random and it is spectacular in its grayness.

We never had issues for food till I got on a boat.

Like all cities, it has its paved roads and narrow dark gullies. The paved roads took us to the massive museums, larger landmarks and best Vietnamese coffee. We, tried a couple of street vendors food too - banana based.

The Vietnam war museum was one of familiarity, but war never fails to knock you off your feet. The tragedy of both sides is undeniable and yet we continue to wage - an inner and outer war. I took a heck a ton pictures for my child who wanted to know more about the nature of protests of the war.

And for my friend who is into old antique technology.

Third stop: Vespa food tour

Well, yes, though we didn't eat the meat. This was fun. And this is the one part in me that is highly habitual - I am the most close-minded when it comes to food, I take to it slowly and cautiously. I do not like flavours I do not know exploding in my mouth. I take time to get used to new food. So, this was new.

The Vietnamese eat a lot of greens, raw. The complete lack of medical stores on the streets is a testament to the food they eat. Extremely healthy and useful.

We had a really good experience, riding around town on the vespas while I pecked at my food.

Our guide was a fantastic entrepreneurial pataka!

We ended at the best live music bar.

Fourth stop: Da Nang on the way to Hoi An

Hoi An known then as ‘Faifo’, was a prosperous trading port, attracting Chinese, Japanese, Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish ships amongst others. Very pretty place to walk around - too pretty, like a postcard everywhere. Definitely built for tourists.

After the sights, we shopped, went nuts here.

Fifth Stop: Halong Bay

Got on a boat at lunch and got off it after breakfast the next day.

Spent the next 18 -20 hours looking at this.

Ariel picture courtesy of - http://www.tourism4development2017.org/solutions/green-halong-bay/

These are mine.

There were caves to be checked out. I didn't go. There were 'activities' to do, did not partake. Sat on the top deck and stared. Wiki says - Historical research surveys have shown the presence of prehistoric human beings in this area tens of thousands years ago. The successive ancient cultures are the Soi Nhu culture around 18,000–7000 BC, the Cai Beo culture 7000–5000 BC and the Hạ Long culture 5,000–3,500 years ago. Hạ Long Bay also marked important events in the history of Vietnam with many artefacts found in Bai Tho Mountain, Dau Go Cave, Bai Chay. So, why would you do anything else here.

Mingled with the other tourists, the Canadians shared their experience of India, we smiled and nodded. Fell sick during dinner; the motion, the food, the female problems all took a toll. Woke up refreshed and sat again and stared till we got off the boat.

On the flight back home processed the trip leisurely. Packed itineraries.