Christmas Eve in Siagon/HCMC

Oh buy is it crazy out there. Mopeds everywhere. The trend is to dress up your child in a Santa suit. Totally a party that has nothing to do with Christmas.

Day 1 Siem Reap

We went to Ta Prohm which I think is where Tomb Raiders was shot or was it Bayon? One of the two. A water Blessing of which I have no photos. A picnic lunch and finished up with a memorial of the killing fields - mass genocide during the Khmer Rouge regime 1975- 1979. They killed all the educated. People pretended to be uneducated once they realized who they were killing.

The. It was on to have the fish massage/pedicure - will not do that again once I read up on it. Oh well. Not sure it really works anyway.

Vietnam to Siem Reap

These photos are of the last couple days on the bike in Vietnam. A cooking class, a family watching their birds fight, and roadside photos. Today we on to explore Cambodia and the ruins.

All About The Bike

Today seemed to be about bike riding. We started with a 10K ride around a lagoon with many shrimp farms. The clouds were threatening rain so it felt like a push on the bike. Plus the next phase was 10K up hill to Cloud Mountain Pass. Once at the top we were greater by hawkers as well as bunkers built during the French War and used during the American war. Onto a swooping downhill. Then a flat boring ride with head winds for the next 16K until lunch. The people are so friendly. At one point I stopped taking a break sitting on the curb (we were in the outskirts of Dang). A security guard of the building just came to talk to me, probably to practice his English. As the same happened when I got stopped at the railroad tracks (photo). I am surrounded by motor bikes and scooters. A little girl starts talking with me. It is always the kids but here it seems to be all ages.

Then the ride was ended with a ride in the van to the beautiful hotel. In the evening we took a trip into Hai An. They are known for making clothing from photos. I got a few things, we will see. The fabrics are the limitation. They do have some beautiful fabrics just not a large selection. Plan ahead by bring photos!

Incense Village, Perfume River, and More

The title and pictures I believe are self explanatory.

Hanoi to Hue

Early Monday morning we flew to Hue, central Vietnam. Hue is know for the home of the royal family housing the citadel and for a major struggle during the Vietnam War or what is called the American war in Vietnam. Once we landed we road out of the airport on bikes. Photos are of what we saw along the way. As a note the road sides are used to dry many things. Also one is of a family temple, which is used to worship the ancestors. It seems it is more important to worship ancestors then Buddha as there are so many temples and so few pagodas. Graveyards are aplenty with a very interesting burial process. I am beginning to think there are more differences among Buddhism then I think there are with Christianity. There are also photos of the citadel and dinner. Bon appetite.