Cambodia+Vietnam
Back in February, flying away from Cuba, we decided that the next point of our trip would be Vietnam. But going so far just to see one country is too easy. Therefore, we considered the options Vietnam + ...Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and others. Having studied the entire Internet, we settled on Vietnam + Cambodia and began to think over the tour program. It was fundamentally important for us to use all 16 days of rest to the maximum by including several days of beach rest in our trip in the second part of the trip on the Pacific coast. After reading the reviews of tourists, they decided to take care of visas in advance and did not regret it, since in Vietnam there was no desire to spend hours of your vacation in queues at the airport upon arrival. Photos for entering Cambodia were simply taken with them, because a visa is issued on the spot.
We decided to build a tour, starting from the capital of Vietnam, Hanoi.
The flight was about 9 hours, which we slept on the plane of Vietnamese airlines, back in Moscow we decided to refuse the services of domestic air carriers and did not regret it later. Vietnam Airlines ranks second in the world in terms of reliability, service, and others. Even at registration at Domodedovo, they noticed the absence of a drunken Russian cattle, who saved up all his life for a trip to Sharm el-Sheikh. The rest was just beginning, and we were already getting high from calm foreigners sitting around us. We landed in the morning, quickly passed all the cordons and got our luggage. How nice it is to watch a sign with your last name in the hands of a local Russian-speaking guide (Rose) at the exit from the airport ...a balm for the soul. The city immediately seemed dirty to us, we were struck by the huge number of motorbikes and their chaotic movement.
Everyone sitting behind the wheel beeps with a frequency of once every 10 seconds, the hands of the carrier are constantly on the inside of the steering wheel: I have not seen this anywhere else. There are about 20-30 mopeds for one passenger car or jeep, and they all blow. Forget about the fact that when moving from one point to another, you can sleep or at least take a nap: we will sleep in Moscow, we reassured ourselves. We arrived by minibus to the hotel (good 4 European stars) closer to dinner. The only thing that the smoking members of our crew did not like was the lack of a balcony, but it was possible to smoke in the room. We had lunch at the hotel restaurant ($12 per person - Swedish table) and at 2 o'clock we were already on our first tour of the city. We are very glad that we have an individual tour, where we wanted to stop there, as long as we want to stand at the monument for as long as we take pictures.
I’ll make a reservation right away that there is nothing to do in Hanoi except for the square with the Ho She Minh mausoleum, and it’s worth visiting for show (there are only three mausoleums in the world: China, Vietnam and ours), the impressive sight is somewhat reminiscent of our Red Square. There is nothing to do there for more than half an hour: the open sun (25-30 in the shade) and a lot of unnecessary information, they will only tire you, save your strength, we took a few pictures - we drove on. We visited several temples, got tired. Everything of the same type is enough to visit one of the most beautiful temples - the Temple of Literature. Toward evening we went to the red river - the center of Hanoi - again, nothing special, a bit too many people and there is nothing special to take a picture of. In the evening we went from the hotel to one of the city restaurants, we wanted local cuisine. Very specific dishes for an amateur (I got used to it for a few days, it took 3 kg in 3 days). Pleased with a large selection of freshly squeezed juices for every taste, we preferred mango and a mixture of multifruit type.
Throughout the trip, they adhered to the following tactics: everyone chooses one dish, exchanges with a neighbor, thus calculating the most delicious, and dinner was filled with variety. On average, a full meal for four was $40 without booze. In Moscow, such exotic is many times more expensive. We returned to the hotel by taxi and, without unpacking our suitcases, continued the banquet, using the remnants of the luxury of the Domodedovo dutik, cold cuts, herring and inexpensive minibar provisions.
Travel experience of many years has shown that sleeping until 9-10 am on any vacation (primarily on the beach) is an unaffordable luxury. Therefore, getting up at 6:00 to the sound of an alarm clock has become the norm for us, and now we do not regret the minimum loss of time. We had breakfast, at 8 we went for the whole day to Ha Long Bay - a national treasure of mankind, protected by UNESCO. Worth visiting just once.
When compiling the tour, we took into account that it was too fat to spend the whole day on it and were not mistaken: we spent 4 hours there - this is higher than the roof (3 hours one way). Another important point: you should not sit up for breakfast and set alarms for half an hour in order to snatch some sleep, it’s checked: apart from being late for an excursion and, as a result, a crush among foreign tourists and nervousness, nothing good. We walked everywhere in the forefront and skimmed off the cream. The whole bay is bizarrely shaped stones of various sizes sticking out of the water and decorated with greenery. Everything. First, they take you on a boat to some beautiful cave: panoramic views, steps, illumination of stalactites and stalagmites. We do not recommend buying souvenirs there, except, perhaps, T-shirts with symbols. The cave itself inside is a beautiful sight, but with comfortable shoes. We board the ship along the way and buy live marine reptiles.
In our experience: it is enough to buy only crabs. Salads, etc. are included in the dinner as a gift from the captain of the ship. Rubber shells and tasteless shrimp, which are popular with the Japanese and Koreans, are a waste of money. We ate, drank, swam in a deserted place, back to the hotel. We asked the guide for advice about a restaurant for dinner, she advised me to ride a cycle rickshaw to the restaurant ($ 3 each) - this is a bicycle with a seat in front of the driver. Here windbreakers came in handy, in the evening it is quite cool. Evening Hanoi did not make much impression, except for the monument, which, upon a cursory examination in the dark, had an ax stuck in its head))). 40 minutes of travel tired. Ate, caught a taxi - $ 5.
Urm, before leaving for the airport, we decided to walk around the surroundings of our hotel and regretted it: everywhere there was stench, dirt, people eating on ankle-high chairs, and asphalt instead of a dining table (Vietnamese market on Tulskaya). We had 10 minutes. Summary. It is worth including Hanoi in the tour only because of the mausoleum and the bay for general development.
Dutik in Hanoi is symbolic, the prices are exorbitant, they didn’t even buy alcohol. We flew to Simem Reap (Cambodia) for about 2 hours, ate, filled out questionnaires. We got out of the plane - a damp wave of warm air gushed, already the heart was seized from unaccustomed. A beautiful airport, writing immediately caught my eye: kala-mala of a child who cannot write, very cool. We filled out another form. Cambodia visa is a serious piece of paper in the passport, Schengen is resting, it is done in 3 minutes. Met the guide Boris (introduced himself in the Russian manner). We arrived at the Angor Hotel, not a single Russian: esss!
We left things, the guide took us to a local restaurant with national dances, we liked the buffet, $ 12 per person, all the pleasure. The next day - the most serious excursion of the whole tour - the complex of Angor temples. During the day, the guide takes a minibus around the dilapidated temples, tells in parallel, you can climb some, but be careful, there are falls. The key to the success of the entire excursion is comfortable shoes, bright clothes and, of course, a competent distribution of forces. We left at 8 (as usual, we were the first tourists on the spot). The first stop is the gate and the alley to them with evil and good spirits on different sides, take pictures in 10 minutes, move on. Further - the first of the most beautiful temples - Bayon, consists of many 4-sided turrets, on each side - the face of the emperor. Here you can slowly climb, take pictures from the heart and get the maximum buzz.
Further on foot to the neighboring temple, there is a huge stone staircase on it, it is better to use xb gloves on it (take it from Moscow). From there - the road to the terrace of the elephants. It's very pretty, but you shouldn't miss it all. Attached to the extreme elephant with preserved tusks, photographed, quite enough. Further - the most original temple, destroyed by trees - the temple of Mowgli. It starred Angelina Jolie. Here already a crowd of tourists complicates the walk, everywhere there is the smell of the plan, the people are resting to the fullest. Awesome and unusual: hundred-year-old trees originate on gray-black stones and twist everything around with mighty roots. An incomparable spectacle: a photo session. The next item on the program is lunch. We are first again. Just the hottest. By the local Angor beer (be sure to try it), soup and go. On the way we pass a place in a forest with wild monkeys, we stopped. Right there - local girls with bananas.
We buy, feed funny monkeys, pants full of joy, the main thing is not to tease them ....but I'll admit it's still creepy. We are approaching the main temple of Angor Bat. The most grandiose building we have ever seen. The scale is impressive. While everyone is having lunch, we walk, listen to the guide, ask questions, in short, we absorb it to the fullest))) and relax in the shade. We leave, and at the entrance there is already a multi-meter traffic jam of tourists. Due to the oncoming clouds, the sunset, about which they had heard a lot, could not be seen. We did not break off, we went to the last temple, located on a hill. I've never ridden an elephant, this was a great opportunity. $ 20 ascent, $ 15 - descent per person, two per animal, 30 minutes each way. Well, if the climb through the jungle is still nothing, then the descent is tin, adrenaline, it seems that you are about to fall. Everyone was strangled by a pimply toad, and we got a lot of fun.
At the top - panoramic views and a tall temple, but nothing special. We go to the hotel, on the way to the post office - to send home postcards from each country - a tradition. In the evening - dinner with nat. dancing and continued in the room. The hotel is great. The room has everything you need, including a red label ($15 - 0.5l). With sockets in both Vietnam and Cambodia, everything is in order, no adapters need to be dragged from home. Through the balcony - an exit to a huge terrace, on which we spent many evening hours and ate more than one pack of "From Martin". A very cool month: both horns look up, and the bear is so small that they found it. The next day, on the advice of a guide, we went to a deserted place no less beautiful than Angor. It's a long drive, but worth it. Such an excursion was not in the tour program, they paid extra $ 20 each. We drove into the temple, went into the toilet - sterile, an elderly grandfather scrubs after each one who comes in. We arrived in the deep jungle.
This area was once heavily mined and some areas still remain fenced with red ribbons, so we advise you not to go too far from the guide, just in case, especially for lovers of hemp fields). A very beautiful solitary stepped temple. We walked around, the photo - to the next one, dilapidated by trees ..... I would never have thought that such a toilet could be built in such a kukuev: with water, flowers and snow-white tiles. I must say that this amazed us later in Vietnam. Let's go back. In the evening - dinner and another party with national dances in another hotel. There is no way with the telephone network in Cambodia, it takes only MTS, so at our request the guide bought a local SIM card for $ 10, and they talked for almost an hour, and the connection was excellent. In the evening we sat down in the restaurant of our hotel, which made the waiters very happy, because.
there was not a single visitor except us, but the kitchen and bar were unprepared for such requests. The shrimp turned out to be only for a couple of servings, and the staff had to run outside the hotel perimeter for whiskey.
On the day of departure, we went to the lake in the morning. This trip was not planned by the tour program, the guide's initiative, I had to pay $20 per person. But we looked at the Cambodian village, standing on a stinky river an hour's drive from the hotel. First we went on a boat ride. Each family lives in a house on the water, i. e. a big boat. Shops, churches, schools, kindergartens and even football fields - everything is afloat. The most funny thing is that if the neighbors start to strain, the whole family gathered and moved to the other end of the lake))). We moored as one of the "houses", the inhabitants of which kept and sold crocodiles, fish of various kinds, shrimps, various souvenirs for tourists. More than 15 min. there is nothing to catch there, and there is a smell - hunting to escape).
In all exotic countries, among the rich selection of excursions, there is always an excursion to a crocodile farm. Nothing particularly interesting ...Animals lie for hours in one position, and products sold from their skin in resort tourist areas are of poor quality and can behave unpredictably in other climatic conditions and during flights (this also applies to products coated with paints and varnishes).
Arriving at the hotel at 11 o'clock, we decided to spend the remaining hour in the sun and moved to the pool, ordered a cocktail (the most expensive $ 4, in Moscow this costs about $ 20), all the Germans and Italians were crushed by a toad, but we marred their vacation with our joyful squeals and cries.
They flew away from Cambodia with the brightest impressions, regretting only one thing, that, as in the stories of tourists from the Internet, it would be necessary to plan a beach holiday right here in Cambodia.
There are also beach resorts here, but not yet explored by Russians. Rumor has it that one of the compatriots has already acquired one of the resort islands ...from which we concluded that the flow of Russians will soon pour here as well. The dutik in Cambodia is so-so: it doesn’t impress with the assortment and the presence of testers, but we killed the staff on the spot - we bought an Absolute box for a good rest in Vietnam (we saw a cheaper absolute later, in February 2009 in Santiago).
During the flight there was not even a hint of fear, spacious rows and comfortable seats, pleasant flight attendants.
We arrived in Ho She Min: a large airport, good organization of the bus to the gangway, the speed of registration and the speed of baggage collection. The driver of the minibus met me, gave gifts from the host, some water and pleasant European music, as every time upon arrival at one or another point of our journey. Thank you Asia Focus.
On the streets of the city - even greater than in Hanoi, chaos. Out of habit - a shock, in the windshield, without exaggeration, 200 motorcyclists, on the sides, similarly, in the areas of circular motion, a complete mess. In total, the journey of 200 km took us 4 hours, it is not difficult to calculate the average speed, given that halfway is within the city. It is considered absolutely normal to go into the oncoming lane and blow, like do not interfere with overtaking. On the way we stopped at a gas station. Entering the premises, a huge number of tourists take off their shoes at the entrance, they had to relieve themselves barefoot and treat the limbs with a disinfectant, which, on the advice of tourists, they took from home. From the food they did not dare to buy anything except sealed slices of fruit and a pack of chips.
We arrived at the hotel exhausted, we were quickly placed and fed in the hotel restaurant.
Awesome miniature hotel "Terracotta" (4 * pulled all five by standard European standards) in your favorite orange-terracotta colors. Beautiful views, stylish design, original interior of the room, a winter garden in the shower cabin. Unfortunately, there is very little information and photos on the Internet, we will fix this. It is enough to sail into the sea and the beach of the hotel stands out from a number of 3-star hotels. Journalists from European newspapers passing by could not help but stop to shoot a report about the rest at the hotel. By the new year, palm trees by the pool and the entire territory were incomparably decorated, spreading artificial snow on the lawns. In our opinion, there are only two minuses and the hotel with its staff is not at all to blame for this: 90% of Russian vacationers are divided into two age categories, they are either spouses of about 50 years old, or young couples (30-35 years old) sometimes with small children.
The fathers of such families with chains in their fingers, crosses to the navel and aggressive tattoos all over their bodies, who consider rest in Thailand to be their ceiling, could not fail to distinguish themselves and then arrange a drunken brawl on the territory of the hotel. And the wildness of Russian society was expressed in the fact that the best places for sunbeds overlooking the seas were occupied in the morning by compatriots at two in the morning before going to bed. As we “honestly” woke up with the first rays of the sun at 5-6 in the morning, we had to be content with hanging out around the pool. Such insolence did not bother us in the least: and on the second morning the best places were occupied by us, other people's towels were given to the dirty; ))). Having worked up an appetite in the morning and swimming in the sea, we went to a free breakfast before it closed half an hour in advance, calmly ate. Then they went swimming again. All 7 days the ocean was not childishly stormy, the locals say: it always is, especially since the rainy season is over.
Before noon, the water left and in the afternoon, on the contrary, the tide. We were amazed by the collision of a wave from the sea and receding water from the land - I have never seen anything like this, it is very spectacular, it’s a cool feeling especially when you find yourself in a place where waves of different directions collide - splashes up to 10 meters in height. At 10 o'clock we crawled into the bar in the shadows, ordered a cocktail and played cards for an hour. Then they changed clothes and left the sun, even if there was no direct sun all day. Every day, until the last, they were smeared with creams, because they were afraid to burn out, like many inexperienced vacationers.
Always on vacation abroad, I was afraid to do massages and trust my body to the wrong hands. I couldn't resist the Vietnamese massage. In the resort village, in the center of which our hotel was located, there were several spa centers, we chose the closest one to us. Masseurs are nice guys and girls, they do not understand a word in Russian, in English - only numbers.
We immediately decided to go in the morning for masks, manicures or foot massages, and in the evening before dinner, try something original. An hour of massage costs an average of $10-15 (tips $1 per person).
Always on vacation abroad, I was afraid to do massages and trust my body to the wrong hands. I couldn't resist the Vietnamese massage. In the resort village, in the center of which our hotel was located, there were several spa centers, we chose the closest one to us. Masseurs are nice guys and girls, they do not understand a word in Russian, in English - only numbers. We immediately decided to go in the morning for masks, manicures or foot massages, and in the evening before dinner, try something original. An hour of massage costs an average of $10-15 (tips $1 per person). We tried almost all types of massages in the price list. In the first days of re-acclimatization, it is better to be like a massage with aloe, then once for the rest.
Forget about the gentle strokes of Thai masseurs: Vietnamese 50-kilogram boys will not let you relax for a second, except perhaps at the moment of the next power outage. A cool massage with hot stones: it’s worth a try, Thai performed by a Vietnamese is for hardcore lovers and fans, but the most starlet - Hong Kong - is for a garden-maz, which my sister and I decided on the last day because of the expressive photo in the price list. I won’t tell you the details, I hope I’m intrigued, I’ll only say that already in the first 30 seconds a thought flashed through: this hour of my life would pass as soon as possible. Already on the second day, the first bruises appeared in the region of the sacrum and along the vertebrae, but this did not bother the bone breakers.
By the end of the rest, we learned to distinguish between the knuckles of each of the massage therapists, who did not see our shining eyes and welling tears, but heard only the crunch of bones and laughter through tears. After such procedures, you feel as if on hinges and are no longer up to partying. In short, we spare neither time nor money ($50 in Moscow per session minimum).
As for eating, there are both cheap eateries and expensive restaurants suitable for memorable evenings and last-minute tours. Of the budget ones, we chose Madame Fong: fast service, fresh food, suitable alcohol and close proximity to the hotel. A couple of times we went to the most expensive establishment "Rung Forest". Together with a turtle, frogs, lobsters and alcohol, $ 100 came out for four.
We advise you to visit, very beautiful design, original musical accompaniment (the CD was bought on the first visit - $ 4), grandfathers playing tambourines, and five waiters licking you.
Succumbed to the temptation to sew evening dresses. Having chosen a style in the magazine, they paid $ 30 in advance, a day later they were horrified: the skewed rag did not live up to expectations, they took the money. Choose either a simple cut, or don't even waste your time.
During hot hours we went shopping. Stocked up with men's and women's silk robes. Vietnam is famous for pearls, and this issue has also been studied. The shops are expensive, and 3 local women have been sitting on the beach since 6 in the morning, one of them is right at our hotel. She has the best selection and prices, you can order any decoration of the desired length, color, size. While everyone was having breakfast, we calmly stocked up and received gifts for wholesale.
The Vietnamese aunt was satisfied, having fulfilled the half-year sales quota. A whole bag of pearls, from yellow to black, was packed for $ 500, there are no such prices anywhere. For reference: one black pearl in Tahiti (French Polynesia) costs from 1.5 thousand euros, and here a necklace, bracelet - $ 35.
We left with the best impressions, but with the expectation of no less vivid emotions in Ho-she-min (Saigon). The 16-storey Palace Hotel Saigon (4*) turned out to be one of the best in the city, on a street like Tverskaya. Already in the afternoon, having abandoned the tour of the city, we briefly examined the main square, already decorated in the New Year's way, and set off to the shops. We went to a large indoor market: magnets, bottles with snakes, exotic fruits for a penny. We went to a large shopping center like "European".
They stocked up on sports shoes and children's clothes, and in a store like Perekrestok they dug up a department with silk blouses, pajamas and national dresses - a more budget option than in ordinary stores (underwear $ 10, pajamas $ 8-12, evening dress -2 for $45). In the evening, on the advice of the guide, we went to a restaurant on the ferry. The prices are average, but after ordering drinks and dishes, they tried to dilute us for tickets that were not written anywhere, that is, the cost of renting a table and other expenses were included in the bill initially. Having pretty much drunk to the sounds of national live music, the circus girl staged a fire show, we did not break off a light from her mouth and went to the hotel with songs and dances. The attraction of this trip was we - four Russian cheerful tourists - all Japanese photo and video cameras were ours. We focused and found a sign with the operating mode of the hotel pool in the hotel.
The ambush was waiting in the elevator of our own house: after a 16-hour flight and driving through traffic jams in Moscow, we played cards for Vietnamese pearls for a couple more hours. Good luck to everyone, do not break off, drive as far as possible from the capital.