"Mantovani? They feed Mantovani to insomniacs who don't respond to strong drugs."
Back in Hanoi. It's nice to be back in a city where I know my way around, where I know the good places to eat and drink, where I even know some people by name. I arrived by bus from Hue early this morning. For a change, I borrowed a bicycle rather than rent a motorcycle and rode around town running a few errands such as organising a flight to Vientiane and mailing some clothes back to Australia.
I've finally found a computer where I can upload some photos, so I'll start back in Phnom Phen. Tuol Sleng, the former highschool which became the Khmer Rouge's main interrogation centre, is a fairly depressing place. It's now a museum which documents the crimes committed there.
I also took a motorcycle out to the 'Killing Fields' at the town of Choeung Ek, a short drive from Phnom Phen. Many of the Tuol Sleng prisoners were executed and buried in mass graves here. Rather than waste bullets, the Khmer Rouge executioners, many of them children, used pick handles and bamboo shafts instead, striking their victims on the head or back of the neck.
Parts of Phnom Phen also speak of a more peaceful past, with large, old, crumbling colonial buildings hinting at the city's past grandeur.
From Phnom Phen, I took a bus to the Vietnamese border. The Cambodian immigration officials were even slower checking my passport going out than they were coming in.
Ho Chi Minh City is big and busy. It feels and looks quite modern with wide avenues and at least one KFC. It lacks all the charm of Hanoi and the character and grittiness of Phnom Phen. I made a day trip out to the Cu Chi tunnels just north of the city from which the Viet Cong harassed American and South Vietnamese troops.
From Ho Chi Minh City I traveled to Dalat, a town in the south of the Central Highlands. I toured the hills and villages around the town on motorcycle, visiting waterfalls, a coffee plantation, a silk factory and a mushroom farm, among other sites.
On to Nha Trang, a beach town quickly becoming a major tourist destination for Vietnamese and foreigners alike. There is a lot of development going on here, with new hotels going up all along the waterfront. I contacted Thu here, a family friend who works at the local tax office. She took me out to dinner and the following day insisted on taking the day off from work in order to show me around town. The highlight was definitely having lunch with her family in their modest home.
From Nha Trang, I took an overnight bus to Hoi An, just south of Danang. Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's a small, quiet trading port. Parts of the town date to the 15th century, with buildings exhibiting local and foreign influences from that period onwards.
The town is also full of tailors. There must be more tailor stores than all other enterprises combined. I took a day trip out into the jungle to the ruins of the My Son temples. I also got a haircut here. In Hoi An, that is, not the temples.
And from there it was a 17 hour bus ride to Hanoi (with a change of bus in Hue). I fly to Vientiane in Laos on Wednesday.
I've finally found a computer where I can upload some photos, so I'll start back in Phnom Phen. Tuol Sleng, the former highschool which became the Khmer Rouge's main interrogation centre, is a fairly depressing place. It's now a museum which documents the crimes committed there.
I also took a motorcycle out to the 'Killing Fields' at the town of Choeung Ek, a short drive from Phnom Phen. Many of the Tuol Sleng prisoners were executed and buried in mass graves here. Rather than waste bullets, the Khmer Rouge executioners, many of them children, used pick handles and bamboo shafts instead, striking their victims on the head or back of the neck.
Parts of Phnom Phen also speak of a more peaceful past, with large, old, crumbling colonial buildings hinting at the city's past grandeur.
From Phnom Phen, I took a bus to the Vietnamese border. The Cambodian immigration officials were even slower checking my passport going out than they were coming in.
Ho Chi Minh City is big and busy. It feels and looks quite modern with wide avenues and at least one KFC. It lacks all the charm of Hanoi and the character and grittiness of Phnom Phen. I made a day trip out to the Cu Chi tunnels just north of the city from which the Viet Cong harassed American and South Vietnamese troops.
From Ho Chi Minh City I traveled to Dalat, a town in the south of the Central Highlands. I toured the hills and villages around the town on motorcycle, visiting waterfalls, a coffee plantation, a silk factory and a mushroom farm, among other sites.
On to Nha Trang, a beach town quickly becoming a major tourist destination for Vietnamese and foreigners alike. There is a lot of development going on here, with new hotels going up all along the waterfront. I contacted Thu here, a family friend who works at the local tax office. She took me out to dinner and the following day insisted on taking the day off from work in order to show me around town. The highlight was definitely having lunch with her family in their modest home.
From Nha Trang, I took an overnight bus to Hoi An, just south of Danang. Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It's a small, quiet trading port. Parts of the town date to the 15th century, with buildings exhibiting local and foreign influences from that period onwards.
The town is also full of tailors. There must be more tailor stores than all other enterprises combined. I took a day trip out into the jungle to the ruins of the My Son temples. I also got a haircut here. In Hoi An, that is, not the temples.
And from there it was a 17 hour bus ride to Hanoi (with a change of bus in Hue). I fly to Vientiane in Laos on Wednesday.
posted by Tor at 9:06 PM
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