Koh Ta Kiev, Cambodia

From Phnom Penh we headed toward the coast, forced by the lack of railways in Cambodia to take a bus to Sihanoukville. This tourist town has a reputation for all night partying and cheap beer, so we decided to stay at Otres Beach, as far as you can get from the town and it's main beach, Serendipity. We were rewarded with a modest level of development and a beautiful, calm beach.

From Otres we were collected for our journey out to Koh Ta Kiev island, where the Crusoe Island Camp Ground is located. Unfortunately, as everything is just getting off the ground there, we didn't have shade for the boat trip, and everyone got a little pink under the blazing sun.

On arrival, we were led to our private bungalow along a jungle path, crossing a freshwater creek, and feeling like Robinson as he returned home.

The bungalow was a treat for us - a departure from our normal budget traveling, and we made full use of it during the next 24 hours. The shade and mosquito net were our refuge, and after swimming or walking on the beach we would return and read. I loved the bush carpentry with which it was put together, and the rough-sawn boards and round poles gave it a rustic but comfortable feel.

Meals were taken at the bar in the main camp, just off the beach. It was a very relaxing place to hang out.

Dani spent as much time as possible in the numerous hammocks scattered around, but one in particular was her preferred choice. It hung from a tree on the beach and the waves often flowed right underneath, sending the crabs scurrying away.

The bar was the source of entertainment at night, where the friendly hostesses served cold beers and we chatted with other travellers about places to go and places to avoid.

Our second night on the island we said goodbye to our bungalow and switched to a tent. The heavy rain and lightning we experienced the night previous had made us wary, so we chose to stay on a platform with a thatched roof. It was a happy medium between luxury and extreme budget.

For me at least, relaxation sometimes turned into boredom, as I felt more like doing something productive than just lazing about. We decided to go for a cross-island trek one afternoon, and were led by an intrepid Dutchman on the small and winding paths.

We visited a hut on the other side of the island, where a family was living very traditionally. They were surrounded by coconut trees and a mango plantation. We asked if we could have a couple coconuts and the young girl fearlessly shinned up a colossal palm, a rope wrapped around her waist that would do nothing to slow a fall. It became apparent that she had the rope so she could haul up a big knife and cut the coconuts free.

The awestruck boys of the family were clearly impressed, as were Dani and I. The oldest boy took over the knife to shape the coconuts and pierce the top for consumption.

Returning to the camp we spent our final evening in our thatched tipi, having moved yet again, and went swimming in the perfect water.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

From Ho Chi Minh, we took a bus to Phnom Penh, crossing the Vietnam-Cambodia border at Bavet. Our passports were whisked away and the conductor took money from us too, ran away as soon as the bus stopped, and returned with our Cambodian visas. It was an incredibly speedy border, taking 20 minutes to cruise through both sides, and we could return to watching a young Jackie Chan dubbed in Khmer, the language of Cambodia.

Phnom Penh was an interesting city, not particularly pretty or dignified, but we liked it's crumbly parts much more than the conventional suburbs in which our hostel was located.

Knowing almost nothing about the Khmer Rouge or the genocide that occurred in Cambodia in the 1970's, we felt it was important to educate ourselves, and the first place on the list was Tuol Sleng Prison - the Auschwitz of SE Asia.





The thing Dani and I found most perverse was that before it was a prison, the facility was a high school. The torturers even used some of the play equipment to tie people up and beat them. The classrooms were subdivided into cells and walls, knocked through to more closely resemble a prison.

The size of the cell was ridiculous, and even the dimunitive Cambodian people would have found it difficult to lay down.

Many people go straight to the Killing Fields after visiting Tuol Sleng, where 20,000 prisoners were  executed, but Dani and I had lingered longer than most, and were thoroughly depressed. We decided something sweet might cheer us up, and saw a man pressing sugar cane.

It was quite sweet, as to be expected, but I was surprised at the texture - almost like a pear in terms of its slight grittiness, and seperating in a similar way too.

We explored the riverfront, and I was delighted to see monks walking in their saffron robes. I never have much luck photographing monks, as they seem superhuman in their ability to sense someone with a camera, but they must have been really engrossed in their conversation, as they did not notice me at all.

We also sat by the river and watched in awe as a group of a dozen Cambodian men played with a rattan ball. They were amazingly adept at keeping it off the ground, and a few of the guys had the amazing ability to do a kick behind their back. We stood mesmerised until it started to get dark.



Ho Chi Minh and Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam

Although Ho Chi Minh is the biggest city in Vietnam, it did not feel so, and we liked the center as much as it's northern counterpart Hanoi. The French influence was much stronger though, and it had beautiful tree-lined avenues and lovely buildings, like the opulent main post office.

The streets also had a charm about them, and amidst the colonial architecture and more modern shops there were many things to catch the eye.

From the city, we decided to arrange a day trip out to the Cu Chi Tunnels, an area 3 hours outside of Saigon that is famous for having an intricate series of underground passageways, which proved extremely difficult for the Americans to capture. We joined a tour and watched the North Vietnamese propaganda film about ''American-killer heroes" before seeing the tunnels and their entranceways ourselves.

Dani and I went into the 'big tunnel', which has been enlarged for tourists, there being two levels of tunnels below it that are suitable only for crawling and slithering. It was small enough for us and we decided to take the first exit after just 20 metres. It was incredible to imagine that people spent many hours in them, while bombs dropped overhead or attempts were made to flush them out with fire and gas.

The booby traps the Vietnamese made in their defense were also quite amazing. Adapted from pre-war hunting traps they were designed to trap a person so that a number of enemies could be ambushed and killed with the minimal number of bullets being used. This revolving trapdoor with sharpened bamboo stakes looked particularly painful.

Nha Trang, Vietnam

Nha Trang is the Surfer's Paradise of Vietnam. It has a beautiful beach, tall buildings overlooking the coast, and is frequented by many tourists.

We arrived on the overnight train from Da Nang, and shared the cabin with a family of Swedes. At first sight, we were dismayed at the sight of two small children, as we had experienced a sleepless night in China when sharing with a small baby. However, these kids fell asleep straight away and did not stir once during the night. We were greatly impressed with the dedication of this couple to international travel.

Despite the fact Vietnam is nearing the depths of winter, it was scorchingly hot, and we needed the relief of the ocean. As well as swimming, it was very pleasant to read under the palms, and walk along in the shaded esplanade.

Besides the beach though, there was not too much to see or do, save a mud-bath spa and an overpriced water park, so we decided to escape the heat and see the new Bond film - Skyfall. It had been 4 months since our last cinema experience and as always, the big theatres in developing countries are at least as good as those in the west. We laughed at the Vietnamese translation of the new Twilight film, which is perhaps more apt than the English title.

When walking home from the cinema I was able to capture one of the absurd examples of loads carried on the back of motorbikes that has become iconic in Vietnam. I especially like the delivery instructions on the side of the refrigerator (you can click to enlarge the image).

Our other main source of entertainment in Nha Trang was the excellent and varied street food. We realised that our main specification for a place to eat stipulated that it must have tiny plastic children's chairs, like this baguette stall that served the most delicious and piquant mixture of fried egg, coriander, salad and chilli sauce.

In the evening we twice visited this impressive outdoor kitchen, which was immensely popular with locals because of the price and quality.

We had a mouth-watering spicy papaya salad, and a fried potato omelette we will certainly try to emulate at home, as always served with generous amounts of herbs.

I was also able to continue my love affair with Vietnamese iced coffee, the best examples of which I have always found on the street. They prepare it by drizzling an exceptionally thick amount of sweetened condensed milk in the bottom, then mixing it with a pre-prepared cold espresso, filling the glass with ice, and pouring more espresso over the top. At the best places, it was served with a cold jasmine tea to quench the thirst before savouring the iced coffee.

Hoi An, Vietnam

Hoi An is an interesting example of an old French-colonial town, and was a beautiful place to spend a few days relaxing and exploring.

It was a very touristy place, but in quite a nice way. The buildings were maintained and kept in good condition in the centre of town, and although most houses were now shops, local people were also living in them. I woke up early to take photos before they had all opened for business.

The riverfront aspect of the town also gave it real charm and interest, with boats waiting to take people on trips, but also transport goods from downriver and ferry people across to the islands and opposite coast.

Hoi An is also famous for it's tailors, and their shops abounded the streets. As our hotel was a bit out of town, they seemed to forgo the ridiculous first-price that many were quoting in the centre, and Dani purchased a couple of items to take back to Adelaide. The women joked with her that she had a Vietnamese model's frame.

Exploring the abundant local market I was greatly enamoured with the local people and their traditional woven hats. I could only guess at this woman's age as she prepared a huge vat of tea. Whenever we see people older than 50 we always wonder at their experiences of the war, though obviously lack the communication skills and opportunities to ask.

In order to get from our hotel to the town centre and the beach - each a few kilometres away, we had considered hiring bicycles for around $1 USD a day. However, the quality of the machines were extremely poor, so we decided to rent these amazing electric bikes much-loved by locals. It was a great relief to choose when we wanted to pedal, and when we wanted assistance to fly up hills or just enjoy the cooling breeze.

They were also useful for us to travel further afield, as we decided to visit a neighbouring 'vegetable island', where locals work the fields communally and produce an abundance of vegetables and herbs, with complete disregard for the seasons of the northern hemisphere. We watched this man use an ingenious system for watering the crops, which needed to be done daily in the scorching heat.

Seeing this market-garden also helped me understand how the Vietnamese can use herbs such as mint on the scale they do, and that is by growing fields of them.

Later that day we explored the coastline, and finding an undeveloped section we marvelled at this abandoned house and coracle, which I had previously thought was a uniquely British method of water-transport, but we later saw many of them on the Vietnamese coast.

It was a particularly nice coast, with beaches shaded by palm trees and balmy water. We preferred to visit in the evenings when the heat of the day had subsided somewhat, and were pleased to see so many Vietnamese doing the same, obviously enjoying the place as much as us foreigners.

Phong Nha and caves, Vietnam

After reading a National Geographic article last year about incredible caves in Vietnam, we knew it would be a worthwhile stop to make as we traveled down the coast. Unfortunately, the largest-yet-discovered cave is not open to the public until later next year (unless you are willing to pay a $500 bribe). The national park that houses it has other equally impressive caves that are slightly smaller, but the one we decided to focus on has the honour of being the longest in Vietnam. In order to get there we took an overnight train from Hanoi to Dong Hoi, and then hired a scooter to ride the 35km to Phong Nha - a beautiful ride on extremely good quality but unusually quiet roads.

Phong Nha is on the precipice of becoming a very touristy town, but at the moment only has a handful of hotels and the same number of restaurants. The view from our hotel window was typical of the vistas seen from the village.

Because there are still so few tourists, the locals were even friendlier than we had experienced before, with every child saying hello and old people smiling as we rode past.

The riverfront was almost completely without development, and we had a real sense that everything would soon change, hopefully bringing some good to the local community, as well as the obvious consequences.

But we had come to see the legendary cave formations, and not wanting to spread ourselves too thin, we decided to only visit one - Paradise Cave, Thiên Đường in Vietnamese. We had read that it was very tastefully managed, with timber boardwalks and superb lighting. The entrance betrayed nothing of it's interior, and we ducked under a rock to descend the stairs.

Once the eyes had time to adjust we were confronted with a prodigious cavern and massive formations. The scale was hard to comprehend as there were few reference points. I took a picture looking back toward the entrance and stairs to give some perspective.

The limestone walls and ceiling were richly adorned with stalactites and columns, that had formed when a stalactite (c for ceiling) and a stalagmite had met. Also impressive were fallen stalactites that had become too heavy for their anchor points.

It was stupefying to think that all this intricacy had been formed by the deposition of minerals dissolved in water, but the evidence was plain to see as we witnessed and heard constant dripping.

What I couldn't understand was how some of these drips could form the kind of structures we saw - ribbons of rock and walls of rippled ridges.

The presence of water also created some wonderful optical illusions. Some of the pools were so still and clear, from one angle they appeared to show a hole as deep as the ceiling above, while from others they created perfect reflections, more vivid than any mirror.

Luckily, we took our time exploring, and obviously, taking photos. We arrived early - at 8.30, which unfortunately coincided with two noisy tour groups and took away from the ambience slightly. By around 11 though, we had the place completely to ourselves for around 30 minutes, and it had a powerful effect. This has certainly been one of the highlights of our trip.