This morning we finally acted on the fact we have been eating and drinking far more than at home and exercising less and Bob and I went for a walk around the track on the top deck of the boat before breakfast. Too little, too late….. Our last tour on the cruise this morning was to Angkor Ban. We moved to shore in the boat and rafted up to another cruise ship. Then a fun walk through it to get…
OK so the humidity is really kicking in now. If I was going to whinge I’d say I’m fully melting, but seeing as I’m not whinging, the weather is warming up beautifully 🙂 . This morning we went back into the city and went for a tour of the Royal Palace. Lots of gold, diamonds and silver floor tiles! Cambodia’s king was not in residence today. He has not had a coronation as he is not married. He is the…
This morning the Cambodian authorities boarded our boat and we all had to file past them where they checked our faces against our passport photos. They then took our passports with them and will stamp and bring back (we understand 🙂 ). We met our new Cambodian tour guide this morning. A lovely young lady called Ling Er. She talked us through our 2 tours this morning with some very personal perspectives on the genocide that occurred within our lifetime….
** Incoming photo spam alert ** What an incredible day! We boarded the Sampan at 830 this morning. The weather was overcast but not looking threatening. Bob grabbed a golf umbrella off the boat before he boarded the Sampan and I did comment that it did seem like overkill. As it turns out I did live to regret that one…. First stop was a bustling town/city called Tan Chau where we all had an individual ride in a rickshaw. Lots…
Today was our first day since we left home that was unplanned and spent entirely on the boat. So of course I woke up early and watched the colourful sunrise. Once awake, Bob and I headed out to the pool deck at 630 for a half hour stretching class. The day was filled with swimming, reading, eating, towel folding class (for Sandra and Glenn – we were too into our books to go to that one – Sandra very kindly…
Today we only had one tour and it was planned for the morning (before afternoon downpour time). We were fortunate and had no rain for the 3 hour trip. We headed to Gieng Island and were transported around the villages by Tuk Tuks to visit local families that work in a variety of industries. First up we stopped at the oldest Catholic Church in Vietnam. As we head further up the Mekong into Cambodia, Buddhism will become the predominant religion….
We really are getting to see the height of monsoonal weather here. I took the plunge (literally) late yesterday afternoon and swam in the pouring rain in the pool on board. So refreshing. I wouldn’t be bothered doing that at home 🙂 . This morning’s tour I had reservations about going on. I spoke with our tour guide yesterday and he assured me I could minimise my exposure to the things I wasn’t keen to see. We went to the…
Another early start today where we were tendered in a Sampan across to Thoi Binh Island where we sampled local produce from the community. The island has a network of canals dug from the Mekong to irrigate the fruit trees. First stop was to sample honey whisky and cooked rice paper with honey tea made from honey sourced from the property. Next we sampled a variety of fruit, most of which we don’t see too often back home. The most…
Before I start on today’s adventures, we’ll start with Sandra and Glenn’s tour from last night…. We had a group of 10 (6 from our group and 4 from another tour) for our street food experience which started in the old quarter at a family owned shop front. We started with Vietnamese tumeric pancakes then sampled rice paper spring rolls and cupcakes made of rice. Local pizza then dessert of coconut icecream all while walking through seafood markets and flower…
Early start today to head to the Cu Chi tunnels. It was another interesting bus ride out of Saigon (the locals still call Ho Chi Minh City this). Even on a weekend the city is bustling. Once out of the city centre underground power was replaced with overhead as we transitioned to less dense towns and finally villages with crops and produce. I’m still in awe at the state of the power supply which still seems to work as required. …