Highlights in our one month trip
Searching for the unique adventure travel? Looking for tranquil islands and beaches? Amazed by the colorful culture, impressive festivals? Seeking crowed markets and gastronomic delights? Coming to the countries of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos!
Our cruise on Tonle Sap Lake of Siemreap was a mix of emotion, watching Cambodia children having fun on water, getting to see floating houses and schools, churches and even floating basket ball courts! Journey out in the lake was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy the sunrise and sunset on the water. Here what we did right: we gave children small presents as books, pens, multicolor candy… and volunteered to teach them English. Driving outside the city, we arrived at Wat Phnom temple in Phnom Penh, a revered place of worship for all Khmer. The main entrance to the temple was via the grand eastern staircase, guarded by lions and balustrades. The interior has a central altar complex with a large bronze seated Buddha surrounded by other statues, flowers, candles and items of devotion and worship. The walls are covered with murals. In this trip, our intention was to go an orphanage, volunteer for a day or two, and probably donate to help their work. Kids were great! They deserve better care from the commodity.
A visit to Laos is not complete without going to the Royal Palace Museum in Luang Prabang, a huge place with gardens and structures located for several miles. The outstanding was the gifts given to the royal family, and classic cars at the garage… really impressive. And there’s nothing much to do in the evening, so we went to the night food market situated on a small road. It was so atmospheric and the food was great as well… but quite spicy. If you enjoy outdoor activities, Vang Vieng is sure to have something you may come up with! Kayaking with a fast exciting stream… adventurous feelings, and then extend into a longer river exploration. When paddling through somewhere, we saw some women working in their vegetable gardens on the bank, healthy boys catching fish with nets, some herds of water buffalo cooling off the river. A leisurely boat ride on Nam Song River was a great chance to watch the sun setting behind the mountain. A visit to Buddha Park at only few minutes from the city center of Vientiane, situated on the bank of Mekong River, made for a pleasant afternoon. This park was a collection of hundreds of Buddhist and Hindu statues spreading among an attractive landscape of trees, shrubs, and flower gardens. Keep an eye out for a remarkable reclining Buddha, and you could see his face from any direction. Then spend time to visit the impressive Ho Phakeo temple, seems to be old and worn. Outside the temple were staircases, portraying its history with lots of carvings. Through this journey, we would like to give you advice: you must travel Vietnam Cambodia Laos at least once time in your life!
The trip to the Northwest highlands of Mai Chau set amongst some northern Vietnam’s stunning natural landscapes offered a balance of cultural and physical activity. We trekked for one and a half days through villages in Mai Chau and overnight in a White Thai village where we had opportunities to observe the local lifestyle of these minority people. Traversing the northern slopes of the immense valley, we could see our next destination below, along the swiftly flowing river. Ban Ho village was tucked away in lush tropical vegetation of bamboo and palms. Homes were simple, square or rectangular one-room structures constructed of a mix of strong thatch and wood, stilted to protect farm animals that lived below. We were entertained by a mama pig wandering, her piglets in tow, below one of these homes. Nearby, a young woman bent over an immense caldron of steaming white rice, preparing the midday meal for the small community of family homes, while the piglets maneuvered their way through the cooking area.
In Saigon, the Central Post Office with its elegant interior as glass canopy, huge ceilings and a giant portrait of Ho Chi Minh will definitely impress you. Another impressive site was Municipal Theatre, a magnificent building decorated with an outdoor lighting system. And if you need something to drink, replace a few things in your backpack or buy souvenirs for friends and family, head to Ben Thanh market, located in the heart of Saigon city, where everything from food, souvenirs, handcrafts to clothing, household items were sold. Price is usually higher than elsewhere, and you have to bargain extremely hard. Our boat passed through Cai Be floating market in the Mekong Delta, a busy place with two parts: buying and selling ones, then stopped at a village. Here we visited the orchard, fruit plantation. When seeing us, lovely kids ran out of their house to say hello and followed us down the road. After a moment, a group of cute and smiling children had been collected. Children were all excited to try out English phrases which were taught in the school. They laughed in happiness and ran away after being taken photograph. In this writing, I refer to a few sites of our journey organized by a tour operator in Vietnam which specializes in customized travel through Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
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