Cambodia

I experienced one of the most heartbreaking moments of my life in Cambodia, in Phnom Penh, when I visited the Killing Fields and the notorious Tuol Sleng high school, converted  into a prison, now a museum.

An estimated two to three million people were killed under Pol Pot’s infamous  Khmer Rouge dictatorship. What astounded me though was the zest for life of the Cambodian people. They are a delight to meet.

In Phnom Penh we stayed in a small hotel next door to the FCC, the Foreign Correspondence Club, a watering hole made famous by journalists during the Vietnam war.
Today Cambodia is ruled by King Norodom Sihamoni and his home, the Royal Palace is awesome.

Another place most worthy of a visit is the National History Museum.
But the main reason for coming to Cambodia was the temple area of Angkor Wat and  Angkor Thom/The Bayon.

We flew to Siem Reap, only a short flight from the Capital and checked into our very comfortable hotel.
To really see the Angkor area, you have to allow at least 3 days. For access to the region a pass will be issued to you, with your photograph, so if you plan to visit, take a passport picture with you to speed things up.
Angkor Wat was built in the 12^th Century by King Suryavarman. It is the largest Hindu temple complex in the world and listed under World Heritage.
It was first used as a Hindu temple to the goddess Vishnu, later converted to worship Buddha as the face of this deity is seen on every building.
We by-passed Angkor Wat and headed straight for Angkor Thom. This area is huge and the entrance impressive.

The first building we saw was the Bayon.

We were allowed to walk among the ruins, which was a treat.
The building that stuck most in my mind was the ‘Gate of the Lepers’. The beautiful sandstone carvings told the story. Some of the figures had limbs missing, obviously suffering from the disease.
One place I absolutely loved was Ta Prohm. When Angkor Wat was discovered it was completely overgrown. This temple and Preah Khan were left as found,  i.e. no restoration. They were magical. Big trees are growing all over the ruins and the size of the roots are simply amazing.

But what had been causing the biggest damage to the buildings are the creeping Figs. These plants grow in between the stones and cause the bricks to move and crumble. Still to me they were as pretty as a picture.

Another place not to be missed is Banteay Sri. This temple area is about 40km out of Siem Reap. It is very small, but wonderful. The carvings on these temples  look like filigree work.

And the highlight of my trip?  Sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was brilliant.

We had a very good guide and he had suggested, instead of going back for breakfast like all the other tourists, he would show us around the ruins when practically no one was around. What a blessing! We had the place to ourselves. It was ‘cool’, being early in the morning, we did not have to wait in line, what a good idea!
The last thing to do before flying home, was a visit to the floating villages on the Tonle Sap Lake. Only 15km out of Siem Reap they are well worth the trip. And I made a friend here! She was only a baby.

Cambodia was high on my bucket list and I was not disappointed.

Vietnam

On April 30, 1975  Marine Master Sergeant John Valdez was the last American to leave on the final helicopter from the grounds of the US Embassy in Saigon.

This event marked the end of the Vietnam War.
Thirty years later I was standing on the exact spot, goose bumps had developed on my arms. This was the place where history had been made!

When I visited Cu Chi, the war was brought back in a very realistic way.
Being claustrophobic, I could not go down into the Viet Kong tunnels, but I believe it is quite an eye opener.
This is the entrance to one of the tunnels.   

Today  Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City as it is known now, is a thriving metropolis.
The French influence from years gone by can clearly been seen in some of the magnificent buildings. The main post office comes to mind, which is beautiful.

Some of the sights in Saigon produced a lot of laughter.
How would you like to be a telephone technician here? We called it the tele-communications nightmare.

A place not to be missed is Hoi An. This lovely old town sits right in the middle of the country between Saigon and Hanoi.
Hoi An is famous for its Silk factory and we were shown the steps from worm to the final spun thread.
I witnessed how their famous tapestries are being made. From a small photo the artists transfer the picture stitch by stitch onto the empty canvas. They become masterpieces.
This one now adorns my living room.

There are so many things to see in this part of Vietnam. The Citadel, the mausoleums for Emperors Tu Duc and Khai Dinh are well worth a visit.
Hanoi was a surprise. Don’t know what I expected, but I enjoyed every minute of my stay here. This is a bustling city situated on the banks of the Red River.

The much awaited trip to Ha Long Bay literally fell into the water. It was raining when we arrived and did not stop.

The Bay is still spectacular, but I would have loved to see it in sunshine.
Last but not least there is the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre.
This was an absolute delight  to watch and I sat enthralled for 60 minutes.

I did enjoy my visit very much, the Vietnamese people are enchanting.

O'ahu

There is so much to do on O’ahu.

Shopping and eating immediately come to mind.
Ala Moana is my Shopping Centre. It has great stores and most of all - terrific restaurants. The Macaroni Grill makes the most delicious chicken scallopini you have ever tasted.
Let’s stay for a while on the culinary tour of O’ahu. There is Haleiwa Joe and my favourite, Jameson’s on the Beach in Haleiwa. Apart from fantastic food there is one regular guest who obviously has a sense of humour.
The number plate on his Corvette is the name of a little blue pill.
And then there is Zia’s in Kaneohe. You have to come early, this cafe is very popular.
And where is the place to get a really nice sunburn? Hanauma Bay of course.

I love the water and should have been born with flippers attached to my feet.
One fine day we decided to go snorkelling. Hanauma Bay is a protected marine life conservation area and only a certain number of visitors are allowed in each day.
I must have spent about 4 hours in the water with only my bum sticking out.  When I finally had enough  I was burnt to a frazzle.  Even though my body was covered with water the whole time, the sun really got to me and I was in a mess. Was it worth the pain? You bet! The Coral and the fish are simply amazing.
Another “Must do” is Pearl Harbour.

When you stand inside the floating memorial, walking above the sunken USS Arizona, the futility of war is poignant. Nearly 1200 lives were lost on that infamous day in 1941.

This was a very moving experience.
Another place well worth a visit is the Iolani Palace in downtown Honolulu.

It was the home of King Kalakaua and his sister who succeeded him, Queen Lili’uokalani. Situated in the midst of beautiful gardens, this palace has been meticulously restored to its former glory, and the splendour of bygone days is visible in every room.
There was one more thing I had to do.
Climb Diamond Head.

On the way to the famous extinct volcano we visited the Pali look out where we had a magnificent birds eye view over Kailua and Kaneohe.

And off we went to Diamond Head. I don’t know what it is with me, if there is a “mountain” to  climb, I am the first one in line!

I must add the view from the top is really something.

Do I like Hawai’i?  I’m off again in June, so eat your heart out!

  

Kaua'i

Without a doubt Kaua’i is the prettiest of the Hawaiian Islands. It is not called the Garden Island for nothing.

Lots and lots of movies have been made here. Blue Hawai’i with Elvis, South Pacific, The Thorn Birds, Outbreak, Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark.
TV shows like Fantasy Island and Gilligan’s Island were also made here.
These are just a few names on a list of many. There is a tour which will take you to all the places these movies/TV shows were made but we decided to do it on our own and we did find most of the locations.
We walked on the beach where Father Ralph ravished Meggie in the Thorn Birds, but could not go into the Botanical Garden to visit Jurassic Park – it was closed.
We found all these places no thanks to me – I was the navigator and I got us lost. And I mean LOST. We drove around in circles, until my dear friend had enough and took over.  I mean how often do you want to see a blowhole?

But let me start from the beginning. We picked up our hired car at the airport and drove to our hotel. There the planning began. What did we want to do and when.
Apart from exploring the Island, my priority was a helicopter ride over the island to see it all from the air. Kaua’i  is spectacular from above, especially the Waimea Canyon and the NaPali coast.
As our hotel was on one side of the Island and we had to be at the airport on the other side quite early, we left without breakfast. We thought we would be able to pick up a bite to eat on the way, but no luck. Every establishment was closed. I had no choice, but to board the helicopter with an empty stomach.  This was not good as I was soon finding out. 

I was sitting in front next to the pilot, with me in the back was a honeymoon couple. The young woman was afraid of flying and had taken a sedative. She was sound asleep during the whole flight.  I am sure the pilot wanted to do the right thing and show us the island from every angle, but every time he turned around and dipped the helicopter to let us have another view, I felt sick.
When I finally got off the chopper after an hours flight, my knees were shaking and I could hardly stand up.
I must honestly say it was not one of my better moments. But I did enjoy the scenery. The Canyon and the NaPali coast are stunning to look at.

Finally, finally we found a shop open, bought  something to eat and I felt better in no time. We then drove up to the rim of Waimea Canyon and enjoyed the view. And what a view it was!

Waimea is a small version of the Grand Canyon, but it is as amazing.
The last but not least point of interest was the Fern Grotto. We had to go on a boat ride to reach it. During the trip we were entertained by the crew singing in falcetto voices, a curious custom to the islands.  It was different!

The Fern Grotto is a magical place and well worth a visit.  
We had a ball at the hotel each night as there was plenty of entertainment.
Did I enjoy Kaua’i? You can bet your red cotton socks on that one.

Hawai'i the Big Island

I am so blessed!

One thing I have learned during my travels – place your friends strategically around the world and you will always have a place to put your feet up when you are on the road. My very “bestes” friend from years and years back now lives in Hawai’i.
How lucky can one get!!!!!
I had my first taste of the U.S. when I visited her.  I loved every minute of it.

I mean how can you not?
Although my friend lives on Oahu on the absolutely breathtakingly beautiful North Shore, we decided to do a bit of island hopping.
Our first stop was the Big Island and when we were there, Kilauea was going for all its might.
It still is, but we had a lucky break.
The lower road to Hilo is completely covered with cold hard lava from years and years of eruptions  and all we had to do was drive to the point where the road closure  started.

And this is where the fresh lava was now crossing the road once again.

Daily updates of the lava flows were posted in the hotel, so we set off to see some “hot stuff”.
And did we see some?  YES, and then some more.

We were mesmerised watching the slow moving lava. Up to that point I had not been a friend of video cameras, but standing about a meter away from a live lava flow, seeing and feeling the heat, for the first time I was sorry I did not own a video to capture this wonder of nature.

The Ranger who was standing by to make sure no fool would put a finger into the lava to see if it was real, had seen it all before.
On our way back to the car we were approached by two eager young girls. “Is there any lava?”  Before we could answer a man’s voice behind us said: “No, there is no lava, very disappointing.”  And he was serious. We looked at each other and quietly told the girls to walk a couple of hundred metres and they would indeed see live, red hot lava.  Poor man. We told him, but he did not believe us.
We drove around the area on the Chain of Craters road and thought we were in another world. We were so caught up in all the activity that we forgot to check the fuel gauge. We made it to the service station on the smell of an oily rag and lots and lots of prayers.
The next day we went to explore the island a bit more and that night attended a Lu’au. The food was excellent,  I liked the Kalua pig the best.  

I also had my first taste of Poi. The jury is still out on that one.
Another not so ‘memorable’ event was our Mai’tai crawl. What I mean is I do not remember much of it, except that it was great fun. We went from one Hotel to the next and tried their Mai’tais. Most of them were veddy veddy good indeed!!!!!

I could have stayed in this laid back place forever, but Kaua’i was waiting for us.  That, my dear friends  is another post.