As it is raining outside, and have found a computer nearby, I thought I would send a quick note out with an update from the trip.
So far, all is going very well. We started with a few days in Hong Kong, walking around the city and seeing the sights - always plenty to see in that city - a fantastic place!
It was then off to Saigon for a few more days, including New Years. By far the most interesting city I have seen in Asia so far. The heat was also welcoming, as Hong Kong was very cold!
Saigon is an interesting mix, with a french feel still existing in the city. Plenty of history there as well (not all good, as I did see some of the war museums).
One interesting thing to note with Saigon is on how to cross the street. With a few thousand moto's always directly in front of you, and no one paying any attention to traffic signals, it is chaotic to say the least. The easiest way is to slowly walk out into the street, and the drivers will swerve around you.
There is no other way, but it works surprisingly well! After three days of too much chaos and pollution, we headed south to the Mekong Delta, cruising around on river boats and seeing a very different Vietnam from Saigon, including SE Asia's largest floating market, at 6km long!
At this point, we changed our travel route slightly and decided to drop the plans for Thailand. With the bombings in Bangkok, and with trains and planes all booked up throughout the region, we decided on Phu Quoc instead as our beach destination.
This small island is directly south of the Mekong delta and beside Cambodia. This island is considered to be very similar to some of the Thailand beaches thirty years ago, when they were still relatively undeveloped. In a few days, the next stop will be a speed boat up the Mekong into Cambodia to Phonm Penh, and then up to the Angkor Wat temples at Siem Riep.
Then, finally, it will be a short flight down to Kuala Lumpur for a quick view of that city, including the Petrona Towers, and then the long trip home. Dave.
Dave Reimer is a regular correspondent for the CoffeeCrew website - He is currently spending his Christmas break touring South-east Asia looking for great food and coffee.
Dave Reimer S.E. Asian travel report #1
colin newell
