Cambodia II – Day 7

Work officially ended by 9:00am, so then it was off for a day of fun at the temples.  Todd & I went out with our guide, Nary, to Bantey Srei, an older temple farther out from town.  It’s kind of a precursor to Angkor Wat, built 200 years earlier.  Flooding was evident on the grounds and as we toured more rain fell.  We had to seek shelter in a hut the guards use for cooking.  One of the building at this temple had to be completely reconstructed after the french dismantled it and tried to move it to France. 

Next we drove closer into town to see some restoration projects Nary and his team have been working on.  Once again a big downpour appeared and we sought shelter under a tarp with a giant lion statue.

We took the scenic road back to the hotel and bid farewell to Nary.  Once packed, we met Bill & Steve for happy hour on our way to the airport.  The waters had started to recede in town but the roads were a mess in the wake of the storm – potholes and crumbled roads everywhere. Sadly Angkor What? was still cleaning up from the floods and closed, so we had to go across the street for our 50 cent beers.  Our waitress was fascinated by Bill’s size, questioning him about his height and weight.  Once he told her (2 metres, 128 kilos) she was in disbelief and wrote it down to share with her friends later.  As we got up to leave, she exclaimed “wow!”

Our flight back to Saigon was uneventful, despite the lighting storms I could see flashing around us at times.  Our last evening was spent doing a little more shopping and hitting up the Temple Club at dinner time for Hue style spring rolls and more.  In addition, Arnaud had told us the place next to it (Fanny) served the best ice-cream in Vietnam, so down the stairs we went for dessert.

Afters 4 hours of sleep and a 3:30am wake-up call, we began our long journey home.  The flight to Tokyo had to swing south to avoid typhoon Parma – I was expecting the worst but it was a pretty smooth flight.  Tokyo-Seattle however was bumpy at times.  Landed home safe & sound Monday morning.

Movies watched on the way home:  Land of the Lost (thumbs down), My Sister’s Keeper (Thumbs Up)

Estimated spring rolls eaten during the week:  33

Vietnam II – Day 3

First thing we left to scout out the two hospitals we would be visiting over the next couple days.  Pediatric children’s Hospital #1 is unbelievable – they see 6,000 kids A DAY! There were people everywhere, but it was all very controlled and organized for the most part.  Families line the halls waiting on bamboo mats for hours:

After our hospital visits, we scooted back over to the backpacker area so Todd could buy a bag, but we stopped at Sozo bakery once again as well – they even recognized us from the day before (though it’s not hard when you’re two gringos pulling up in a giant van.)  Next we went to a grocery store to buy snacks and do market research on our fish sauce visit.  there are more than 40 varieties of fish sauce but we easily spotted our fortified version.  Sadly it was 1) on the top shelf so harder to reach and 2) the bottles were kinda dusty which means it’s not selling very fast. 

Next we picked up Doug and went in search of Banh Banh “>Xeoaka sizzling crepes.  The best ones according to Lonely Planet were at Banh Xeo 46A which was an outdoor stand with tables – very exciting to be eating street food!  and a little worrisome ( but it turned out ok).  The crepes were good though the shrimp still had their shells on them which made it slightly annoying to eat.

The afternoon was a mix of meetings and shopping.  I checked in on my AoDai outfit – the pants were too big (which never happens!) so I will have to go back tomorrow after they pull them in a bit.  In the evening we walked down the street to Lemongrass where we had a feast for just $60 for 4 people.  awesome.  Another meeting after dinner, drinks on the roof, and we called it a day.

Observation of the Day:  How do cab drivers in developing countries survive?  We took a cab to a meeting that was only $2 each way for a substantial ride.  I remember the same thing in Peru.  How do they make any money?

Vietnam II – Day 2

 With no actual meetings today, Todd and I decided to serve the greater good by eating and shopping at places that make a difference in Saigon.  First stop was the Sozo bakery, suggested by Shelby C.  It was located over the backpacker area of town, serving up mainly western style baked goods but they key is that they are a hospitality training program for local youth (like Farestart).  I had a chocolate chip muffin and bought som M&M cookies for later.  Todd had lemon zest pound cake that looked pretty good.  You can read more about the program here:  http://sozocentre.com/

Next stop was a shop down the street called Blue Dragon that works with local artisans around Vietnam to make crafts using recycled goods – they had lots of cool bags.  I settled on a small purse made form Tiger Beer cans to add to my unexpectedly growing crazy purse collection from around the world.  http://www.gobluedragon.com/

And our last good deed stop of the day was the Sesame restaurant, also a hospitality training program (http://sesameschool.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/introduction-to-the-blog/).  Sesame is a little farther out form the main part of town, housed in an old school.  we felt slightly guilty as we drove up in our big van as there were only the two of us – I think they expected a big group.  Lunch was delicious though – we only had two choices of three course meals:  Western or Asian.  We each got Asian which started with shrimp & lotus salad, then strifried shrimp with rice and veggies, followed by golden watermelon for dessert.  It was windy as we sat outside, and I started to worry about Doug flying in from Hong Kong over the typhoon.

After lunch we toured the Reunification Palace, which is a cool building.  Built in the 1960’s it has a retro feel too it – in the basement are all the war rooms, and on the top floor are all the party rooms, decked out Austin Powers style.

we did a little more shopping near the hotel which was fun.  I went to one of the nearby tailors to get an outfit made, so we’ll see how it turns out!  Then I headed to airport to pick-up Doug.  Luckily all went well with his flight.  For dinner we went to Hoi An, which is the sister restaurant to Mandarine, where we ate the night before.  They are very similar and both very good.  Presentations were once again amazing and their signature spring rolls very good.

Observation of the day:  I have yet to wear my sunglasses.

Vietnam II – Day 1

Back in Saigon, we spent the morning doing work stuff, but in the afternoon had  a little free time so we visited the War Remnants Museum.  This is not a cheery place to go – very much like visiting one of the concentration camp sites where the brutality of war hits you full force.  It is especially interesting though to see this war from the perspective of the Vietnamese after being raised with the American view your whole life.  The exhibits are mainly photographic, but everything is very up-to-date where pertinent, such as resolutions on the US responsibility to Agent Orange victims which just came down about 4 months ago.

Later that evening, we met for happy hour at the rooftop lounge then dinner at Mandarin.  Mandarin was down a small alley that seemed a little sketchy until all of a sudden it opened up into a small enclave of several restaurants and clubs – very random.  The food was delicious and the presentations unbelievable.  Checkout teh carved flowers with our spring roll:

I also had crab & corn soup and grilled fish with passion fruit sauce.

Observation of the day:  The Sheraton leaves me two free bottles of Aquafina in the bathroom each day.  Out by the TV though, you also have the option to drink Evian, but that costs you $5 USD per bottle.  How crazy is that?  I may be biased b/c I hate Evian, but who would pay that when you have free water 10 feet away?

Vietnam & Cambodia – Day 3

We spent all day on site visits which was fun, especially just driving around the city.  We noticed big pop-up bakery stands getting setting up for National Day, and another crazy site all over the city are the power lines.  Massive amounts of lines go from pole to pole, and at one point we saw workers on rickety bamboo ladders trying to bundle some of them up a bit.  I feel especially bad for folks whose apartment decks open up right where the wires hang – they totally lose their view.

 

In the evening we flew to Siem Reap, Cambodia which was quite a flight.  It’s only 45 minutes, so I wasn’t sure what kind of plane we would be on – luckily it was big, especially because it was raining pretty hard.  as we boarded it was funny to see that while the plane was only about a 1/3 full, they had seated everyone together in the middle section.  we just grabbed seats up front at that point.  Because of the rain, the ride was a bit bumpy, and as we neared Siem Reap we got put into a holding pattern because of winds.  We thought we might get sent back to Vietnam or diverted to Phnom Penh, but all of sudden we started to descend and it was actually totally smooth.  As we met our driver though, we learned that the plane before landed on the wrong vector so touched down, then took back off immediately, almost knocking out the air traffic control tower.  CRAZY!

We had a great dinner out at Madame Butterfly’s, set in a big two-story open air house.   I wasn’t sure what Khmer food was, but I had Caramel Pork with pineapple and onions that was delicious.  Then it was just back to the hotel for emails and sleep because we had an early morning the next day.

Vietnam – Day 2

Woke up to a bright sunny morning which was great because it’s the rainy season so I expected it to be wet today given the rain we saw when we arrived last night.  The view from my hotel was fun to see and I was anxious to start the day and see the city.

The one thing you can’t escape in HCMC are the motorbikes – it is the main form of transportation and they are everywhere.  Traffic is a maze of bikes and cars weaving in and out but it keeps flowing for the most part, somehow.  I’m pretty sure I would die if I ever tried to drive here, and definitely if I was on a bike.  This is a a pretty light flow of traffic below, but look at all the red flags – there are red flags and banners hanging everywhere for National Day which is on Wednesday:

We spent the morning on a site visit, then grabbed lunch at an upscale Vietnamese spot.  I had Bun with grilled pork that was delicious.  In the afternoon we scoped out a hotel, then had some free time to wander one of the big markets.  Like most big markets, each stall was over-stuffed with products and a bored shopkeeper.  I didn’t see anything very interesting to get, but I also don’t plan on doing any shopping on this trip since it’s so short.

Next we visited the Giac Lam Pagoda, the oldest pagoda in HCMC, built in 1744.  It is a very peaceful spot and the folks with apartments that back onto it must be very lucky to have a respite from all the traffic noise.  Driving back to the hotel, the afternoon rain started to trickle down and by the time TD and I met at the roof bar for happy hour a full downpour began.

The rooftop bar at the Sheraton is renowned for it’s view, but with all the rain we couldn’t see much.  They did have happy hour going on though, so it was buy one, get one free – I had a bright green Kiwi Cooler and we shared some fried spring rolls.  For dinner we headed to Huong Lai, the Farestart of Seattle.  It was pretty good as well – we shared more spring rolls and then I had sweet & sour squid ( I had seen lots of fresh squid at the market so I was excited to see some on a menu!).  TD had beef with lemongrass and chili.  Food is pretty cheaper here, so dinner for three was easily under $40 – a very nice change after a week in Reykjavik  where dinner was easily $40/person 

Back home I hit the gym and the computer to catch up a bit.  Now off to bed!

PS – never forget to contribute to the Lonely Old and the Unhappy:

Iceland – Day 7

One last day in Iceland.  With a bus picking us up at 10:30am, me, Kel & Jason  just got 4.5 hours of sleep after runtur.  To help our recovery, we had made plans to spend our last few hours at the Blue Lagoon, which conveniently located near the airport.  We started soaking by 11:30am for a good two hours before having to drag ourselves out.  The warm water and lazy hours were a great way to ready ourselves for the long flight home.

The Keflavik airport is pretty nice and modern.  We hung out in teh main atrium area in plush black seats, eating lunch and shopping at the duty free with the last of our kronur.  Eventually we board and were on our way home.  The good news was that me & Kel’s lucky streak continued as we once again had our row to ourselves…

Iceland was great – the people are friendly and all speak English so it’s easy to survive and get around.  Icelandair offers free stopovers, so if you’re headed to Europe, consider the option (though I will say food and drink is outlandishly pricey). 

Final thoughts:

• 20 hours of daylight is a little crazy.  It’s light outside so late it throws off your internal clock until all of sudden you realize how late it really is.
• There are only three McDonalds in the country, but lots of KFC
• Our shower smell was tinged with sulfur since everything is run/supplied from geothermal
• There aren’t many drinking fountains around, despite the seemingly endless supply of fresh glacial water.
• Cool Ranch Doritos are called “Cool American”.

 

Next stop, Vietnam!

Iceland – Day 6

It was a real treat to sleep in on Friday – we didn’t have to be anywhere until 9:45am at which point me, Kel, Jason & Frank were taking a bike tour while Ambrose and his mom headed out on a daylong boat trip.   The tour was great and well organized.  We saw lots of little neighborhood spots we wouldn’t have seen on our own, and even biked by Bjork’s house (which is pretty modest, though painted black.)  If in Reykjavik, check it out:  http://www.icelandbike.com/

Afterwards, we got dropped off at the famous hotdog stand where Bill Clinton once ate.  I’m not sure if this place was as popular before that incident, but there is always a long line now.  They make the dogs with pork, lamb and beef and toppings include ketchup, mustard, a special sauce, raw onions and/or fried onions.  They were good, but nothing amazing.

Our afternoon plan was to do a walking tour at 1:00pm which we started on, but the guide was kind of annoying, so 30 minutes in we broke off.  (it was free tour, so no money lost).  Instead we all hit the streets for end of trip shopping and then relaxing back at home.  Relaxing time was important, because we had big plans for an all-nighter later on.

Weekend nights in Reykjavik mean “runtur” – essentially a big pub crawl.  Bars pretty much stay open from Friday morning to Monday morning and everyone hits the streets starting at midnight and bar hopping past dawn.  We managed to hit 12 bars in 5 hours – with no cover charges its easy to pop in and out as you wish.  Around 4:15am we got some yummy belgian waffles out of a mobile truck and then stumbled into bed (with the sun already up) at 5:00am for a short sleep.

Iceland – Day 5

Today we didn’t leave until 8:30am since we knew we weren’t going as far.  Today was focused on “The Golden Circle,” a collection of Iceland’s biggest tourist spots conveniently located near each other (but not located in a circle, so we’re still trying to figure that out).

First up was Thingvellir, where the first parliament of Iceland was held in 930.  This is also where the Prime Minister gets a summer home and where the North American and Eur-Asian tectonic plates meet.  Or rather rip apart at this location, currently about 1 millimeter a year.  This whole attraction sits in eth fissures and rift valley which is pretty crazy to see and walk around.  Here is the end of the North American plate:

Next we visited Geysir, as in THE geyser, the one all other geysers are named after.  Geysir only blows 2-3 times a day currently because some tourists messed it up in the 1950’s by throwing rocks down it.  It was just a big steam plume while we there.  But another geyser, Strokkur, kept spouting every few minutes which was cool.  It’s really hard to take pictures of geysers though because they are so unpredictable and because they are white and tall.

Last major stop of the day was Gullfoss, Iceland’s biggest waterfall.  It’s actually two-tiered and amazingly powerful. 

Ambrose and Jason are big beer drinkers so they had searched and found a small craft brewery on the way to Selfoss we wanted to check out.  Without much guidance on where it was we amazingly found it when I spotted a small sign for the farm it sits on.  We pulled up to a small barn and soon realized this was not a normal brewer tour stop.  The brewer was there and very nice.  He invited us in despite our having descended upon him in the middle of his work day, showed us around their small operation, answered all our questions, and even poured us each a glass.  It turned out to be really great – keep an eye out for them on beer shelves and menus near you:  www.brugghus.is

We stopped in Selfoss at the liquor store to buy some of our new friend’s brew, then continued south to Stokkseyri for dinner at Fjorubordid, a spot I had read about in Conde Nast a few years ago.  It’s no longer the secret it once was when that article first came out, but we had arrived early enough that we got a table no problem.  Their specialty here is Icelandic Lobster, which are smaller langoustines than big Maine lobsters.  All the fish eaters got the 3-course Lobster feast which came with lobster soup, 300 grams of lobsters (how much is 300 grams?  I’m still not sure) and homemade cake.  The lobster soup was better than the Reykjavik one – creamier and the lobster chunks were more flavorful.  The boiled lobsters came out in a big bowl of buttery goodness with small potatoes.  They also brought a couple salads and cous cous.  I think I ate at least dozen of the lobsters, licking my fingers after each messy one.  Mmm, they were delicious.  Dessert brought a choice of cakes – Mine was an unusual but tasty Meringue cake with Mars bars in it (Mars Bar!).  I know – it sounds weird and it’s hard to describe.  But trust me it was good. 

After dinner, we drove home, filled up the gas tank to return and enjoyed the opportunity to rest after a 14 hour sight-seeing day!  Tomorrow will be more leisurely…

Iceland – Day 4

Wednesday was going to be our biggest day of the trip – we rented a car for two days of sight-seeing and this first day was going to be a long haul out along the south coast.  We left at 7:30am with Ambrose at the wheel and me navigating.

First stop was a drive-by of the town Hella, ‘cause Ambrose wanted a picture with their sign. 

Next was the Sejalandsfoss waterfall which was great.  It is one of the tallest in Iceland and you can walk behind it.  Coming home that night we also saw it all lit up.

 Nearby was another cool waterfall, Skogafoss, where rainbows kept popping up.

The Reynisfall peninsula featured some cool rock formations and a natural arch.

After lunch in Vik, we finally made it another two hours to the main event of the day, Jokulsarlon – the glacial lake.  You may have seen it featured in various movies and it is pretty cool.  It is literally a lake full of icebergs broken off from the glacier.

 From there we turned for home with a couple more stops:  First the Svinafellsjokull glacier.  Leaving there, I asked Ambrose if we should fill up the gas tank at the station down the road.  He said we were fine.  A little while later, he was worried and so was I.  Luckily we rolled into Kirkjubaejarklauster just in time. 

Since it was now 7:00pm we went to a local café recommended in both guide books, Systrakaffi, where they source local ingredients from the surrounding farms.  I had a pizza with local Icelandic cheese and red currant jelly that was delicious.  The big thing on the menu though was a shark bites appetizer.  Iceland’s traditional “delicacy” is preserved shark.  Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsey both said it was the worst thing they had ever eaten.  But, we knew we had to try it so we ordered one for the table.  After letting it rot for six months it has a strong ammonia smell, or as Jason said “it smells like urinal.”  I only ate a small nibble – it was tough and chewy, but tasted better than it smelled.  Kelli swallowed her whole bite and Frank downed four of them.

With a full tank we took a scenic route home but that added some unexpected time when a big chunk of it wasn’t paved.  So, we didn’t roll back into Reykjavik until 12:30am – 17 hours of sightseeing, and another big day tomorrow!