Royal Palace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh quickly reminded me of the Royal Grand Palace in Bangkok. The comparisons are easy to see. The architecture of the buildings and the layout of the site are quite similar. One striking difference is the ubiquitous use of the serpent statue, a common element in ancient Khmer temples. The best part of the Royal Palace is in its symbolism - devotion to the King and to the prosperity of the nation. It stands as a strong testament that the country has recovered from the devastating reign of the Khmer Rouge.

Like the Palace in Bangkok, moderate dress is enforced. No exposed knees or shoulders on both men and women. I made the mistake of wearing a tank top and had to go back to my guesthouse to get a shirt, although there are tshirts for sale right next to the ticket booth. The admission fee is 6.25 USD and it's closed for lunch daily.

The Finest Beach in Cambodia

Sokha Beach

Sihanoukville is Cambodia's beach holiday destination. And while the beaches here aren't as famous as those in Thailand or Vietnam, they are still worth going to. There are several beaches in Sihanoukville but Sokha beach is easily the most beautiful. The sand is soft and makes a pleasant sound when you walk on it. The water is very still and is practically a swimming pool since it remains shallow for a quite a ways. And best of all, it's a very short walk from the Golden Lion traffic circle!

Sunset Over Mui Ne, Vietnam

Hanoi's Old Quarter

Hanoi's old quarter is a maze of streets where you can buy just about anything. There's bags street, sunglasses street, clothing street...you get the idea. It's also the main tourist area and is home to many guesthouses, hostels, and hotels. It can be a challenge crossing the street but the most important thing is to not stop! Walk at a steady pace and don't make any sudden moves, the motorbikes will go around you. The rail station is about 1.5 km away from the old quarter and is quite easy to find if you have a map; don't be fooled into getting a tuk tuk for the 20 min walk.

It's worth wandering around the old quarter for an hour or 2, walking down the narrow streets and experiencing the energy of the city. Things are full speed ahead in Vietnam and there's not better place to witness than in Vietnam's two biggest cities, Hanoi and Saigon.

A Quick Glimpse of Saigon

Chinatown, Saigon

Thien Hau Pagoda, Chinatown, Saigon

Notre Dame Cathedral, Saigon

Traffic in Saigon

Uncle Ho and Mao at the War Remnants Museum

The Mekong Delta Tour

This menu appears less than ecological to me.

The 1 day Mekong Delta tour isn't worth your time. Trust me. It's a 1.5 hr drive from Saigon to the Mekong Delta, followed by riding a boat across the delta to a couple of islands set up for tourists where they try to sell you honey, pollen, coconut candy, traditional music cd's, handicrafts, traditional alcohol, and all sorts of exotic meat. The only time we weren't being sold something was when we were in transport on the bus, on the boat, and when we went for a short 20 minute cycling ride on the last island. The included lunch was white rice, a few pickled vegetables, bland vegetable soup, and a small (~25gram) piece of lightly fried and salted pork. It was the second worst meal I had in all of Vietnam. I only had one other horrible meal and that was at a highway rest stop where I got a really dodgy pork sandwich which left a bad taste in my mouth for hours. Seriously, save your 8USD (we paid 7.5USD at Eraviet Travel because we were a group of 5) and find something else to do.

Mui Ne - Beaches and Sand Dunes!

The traditional fishing village of Mui Ne

Since we survived the Sapa motorbike ride we rolled the dice and hired another motorbike to drive out to the sand dunes around Mui Ne. This time however, I donned a bandanna over my face and sunglasses in addition to the helmet so that I looked like a local, which some people thought I was till I took off my helmet and unleashed the hawk. The roads around Mui Ne are mostly flat and in good condition so I felt pretty comfortable on the road. The weather was surprisingly nice today and there were actually some people out on the beach; this time of year is not the best time to come to the beaches of Vietnam. It normally rains everyday and the sea is quite rough this time of year.

The traditional fishing village of Mui Ne

We drove east a few km and came upon the traditional fishing village of Mui Ne. There were loads of boats docked in the harbor so we stopped off and took some photos from the road and along the beach before moving on towards the sand dunes.

Red Sand Dunes, Mui Ne

As we drove further east the road ran along the coastline and culminated in beautiful pristine beaches and the sounds of waves breaking upon them. I was driving at nearly 75kph so I only took a few glances so as to not kill myself. The red sand dunes are about 5km east of the main drag in Mui Ne Beach and make for a lovely place to picnic, walk around, or slide down the dunes. At sunset and sunrise they make for great photos but considering the overcast rainy weather I don't think there'll be any good sunrises or sunsets. We tried to hire a sand sled but the local boys renting them wouldn't budge on price (40000VND) so we skipped on it.

Noodle soup with fresh squid. Unbelievably good!

After taking lunch at a restaurant across the street we drove onward to the white sand dunes. We both ordered noodle soup with squid which was really fresh and delicious. It was quite possibly the best noodle soup I've had in all of Vietnam so far. And the daughter of the family running the place was adorable and loved being photographed.

Adorable!

White Sand Dunes, Mui Ne

The white sand dunes weren't exactly white but they were really cool nonetheless. There's a big lake fronting the dunes as you drive up along the dangerous dirt road. We nearly had a few accidents as we drove along the road due to the mud and large rocks on the road. I was definitely of the tourists who ponied up for a jeep to take them to the dunes. The road eventually got the best of us as we got stuck in some sand and crashed. Well, it was more like we came to a complete stop and tipped over. But it still counts as a crash. Thankfully we fell into a very soft patch of sand and we both came away unscathed.

w00t!

We walked up to the top of the sand dunes, took a bunch of photos, and took in the lovely views. It was a really peaceful place and we enjoyed spending some time there. But soon the rain started coming down again so we started to head back. I did a better job of navigating the sand dune road this time resulting in zero crashes. We got pretty lucky earlier to have fallen into a soft patch of sand. It was pissing down rain the entire time as we drove back to town but we made it back safely and in one piece!