Cultural Far Eastern Experience
First stop , we arrived in a spotless Singapore, with gleaming high rise buildings, great restaurants, and an easy subway system to explore. Although very busy on the road, the traffic was orderly, and easy to negotiate. We stayed near Clarkes Quay, where there is an abundance of eateries, and a metro nearby at Chinatown. Unfortunately the weather was against us and we couldn't see an cityscapes from various high points due to lightening, but our overall impression was a clean, safe city. We did have the required Singapore Sling at Raffles, which was in a colonial oasis. Some fabulous architecture too, from Hindu temples, to modern high rises.
Next stop Kuala Lumpur, and we decided to get the hop on hop off bus to explore, all of £8.50 each for the day!. We were able to see KL's highlights, first stopping at the Petronas Towers, for fantastic views of the city . Traffic in KL is horrendous, so it took time to get to each place of interest. Our favourite area was slightly beyond the main drag, around the National Palace, with it's golden domes, the Bird Park, and Merdeka Square, and Chinatown. Mainly a Moslem country, we found the cost of living to be low compared to Singapore.
Next stop was Hanoi, North Vietnam. We had a half day tour that included Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, the Presidential Palace, the Temple of Literature and the One Pillar Pagoda. We wandered through the streets of the Old Town which were full of tiny shops and stalls selling street food. Hanoi hit our senses, full of mopeds, sounds of horns, and smells of food. Vietnam is still a Communist country with a strong Chinese influence in their architecture.
From Hanoi we drove to the World Heritage site of Halong Bay for our overnight stay on a junk. We weaved in and out of the Bay, past the famous limestone stacks, stopping for a beautiful walk into some hidden caves.
After a short flight we arrive at Danang, and drove to Hoi-an for a couple of nights. Hoi-an has a traffic free central Old Town, and is famous for it's artisan crafts and tailor shops. We wandered around for a few hours, bartering for some bargains, and enjoying a relaxed lunch. After Hoi-an we drove to the Citadel and original ancient capital of Hue. Vietnam has a strong French colonial influence and the older buildings were very attractive. The Citadel in Hue was a fascinating place to explore, a place where the King had his Forbidden City, so there were many Chinese looking temples.
Next stop was Ho Chi Minh City in South Vietnam. An enormous city, which seemed more modern than Hanoi, mainly because of the US influence from the war. We were taken to the Cu Chi Tunnels outside of HCM City to see how the Vietcong rebels had survived the war, by using an ingenious set of tunnels. We saw the traps they set for the US enemy, and learned a lot about the awful war that dragged on in the 60s/70s.
Back to the city, we had a city tour, and discovered a beautiful boulevard with a statue of HC Minh and City Hall behind. The Catholic Cathedral was impressive, and next to this was the stunning Post Office Building, built when the French governed Vietnam. The Jade Pagoda was another fascinating place to visit, watching the locals praying for various things, such as a better life, or a son. The Pagoda smelled of incense, as this is the way that the living communicate with the departed. We enjoyed wandering around the former Presidential Palace, now renamed as the Reunification Palace during the Vietnam War. Many of the buildings in Vietnam looked old, but were in fact rebuilt in the 20th Century after the French Colonial war, and Vietnam War. A troubled poor country, that hopefully has turned the corner, and can start to enjoy a peaceful life.
Leaving Vietnam, we flew to Siem Reap, in Cambodia for our last couple of days to explore Angkor Wat and surrounding ancient Buddhist temples. On arrival we headed straight to Banteay Srei, also called the Citadel of Women. This dates from the 10th century, and has some fine bas reliefs examples of Khmer Art. Our visit to various temples showed us a contrast to the modern reconstructions in Vietnam. These were original , most dating from the 12th Century and all the temples were different to each other. The most impressive to me was Angkor Wat, which we viewed at sunrise, and was one of those magical moments I will never forget. Each temple had thousands of beautiful carvings and bas reliefs, all telling a story. We visiting Ta Prohm temple too which was the place where they filmed Tomb Raider. This temple has been left to Nature, and there are enormous trees whose roots weave and intermix with the stonework. It all added to the atmosphere.
Cambodia is economically less developed than Vietnam, and has a mainly Buddhist/ Hindi influence. The style of the buildings in the city are reminiscent of Thailand. It is still a Communist country and I feel that travel is still in its infancy, so a great country to visit while there are few western influences. There is a UNESCO beach a few hours from Siem Reap, so a great country to combine history, culture and relaxation.
We were travelling early April, which is the best time to visit both Vietnam and Cambodia, although rainfall is likely, it won't be continuous. It will be very hot and humid throughout though.
So a fascinating couple of weeks, experiencing 4 different cultures. I learned a lot.