Trip Reports - Iad-sgn-rep-sgn-hkg-nrt-iad

Here are some details of the trip Mr.. l2b and I took IAD-SGN-REP-SGN-HKG-NRT-IAD. We had plenty of hot nuts, gold ticket jackets, temperate towels, and pretty good FA's of varied ages, genders and nationalities -- all in all a good UA journey. I will post in sections in case you are more interested in the actual destinations than in the flights, you can skip to the part you find interesting.

Leaving Home

We booked the flight about 10 days out in booking class Q with requests to upgrade all segments with SWU's. When I booked online there was nothing available in E+ so I had to select seats 59B and C and start to pray that our upgrades would clear. SGN-HKG and HKG-NRT cleared quickly, but SFO-SGN did not clear until the evening before departure. The Mr. started to panic at the thought of actually sitting back there -- he moaned so much that I was dreading the idea of the physical discomfort of the seat and being seated next to a really grouchy passenger (he is 6'3" so he does really suffer in E-). I considered changing my seat to 59J but decided to pray harder. We were very relieved when SFO-SGN cleared.

We also had a little panic attack over our visas for Vietnam. I was supposed to pick them up on Monday, February 27, but the Washington weather man started predicting 10 inches of snow between Sunday and Monday nights. For those of you who don't know DC we don't handle snow well -- 4 or 5 inches can put us in a spin, so 10 inches can close down the city for a couple of days. So although the Visa section opened at 9:30, I decided to arrive a 8:00 in case just a couple of people came in to call the others and close the place -- school had already been canceled all over the area. About 8:35 a couple of people showed up. As I stood next in the hallway next to their door they knew I wanted some special treatment and tried to ignore my existence. But I knew I was neither invisible nor mute. Once I said, "excuse me," and asked for help getting the Visas, we all knew they would have to help me. I joyfully pocketed the Visas and headed home. And the promised snow became just a few inches.

We live about 35 minutes from IAD, but since out flight was departing at 7:00 AM we decided to stay at the Sheraton Reston on points the night before departure. We find that besides the half hour savings of time, we get the door locking, fish feeding, water cut off, etc. out of the way the night before.

Many people don't like the hotel but checking in at 11:30 PM and knowing we would depart on the shuttle at 5:30 AM, the Sweet Sleeper looked and felt pretty good to both of us. The room was a little small but we were only awake in it for about an hour and were happy to be closer to the airport.

Mr. l2b decided we would only need 20 minutes to get out of the room and arranged the wake-up call accordingly. Then he took 15 minutes for his ablutions. I gently told him that on future wake-ups I would require equal bathroom time. The worst thing about getting started so early is trying hard not to be cranky.

It was about 8 minutes in the van to IAD. I was surprised that they let us out at departures rather than on the lower level. That saved us a few minutes of walking. There was one person ahead of us in line. When our turn came, it took us about 15 minutes to get our boarding passes due to some issues with my SWU's. The agent was able to find us 2 seats in F -- hooray! Then a quick passage through security, a stop in the RCC where as usual we had to ask for drink coupons and as usual the matron only gave us one each -- we were saving them for future use anyway, -- and an on time departure at 7:00 am.

UA0837 IAD-SFO 3/1/2005 in C

We had a little difficulty getting settled in. Mr. L2b had 6D, but he hates any seat but the aisle -- I think he's a little claustrophobic. The seats in F were both windows, so the Mr. decided to take his former seat 8D on the 757. That is his favorite seat in Y -- and 8E is one of my least favorite as the bulkhead and the lack of a window make me feel like I had to sit in the corner in grade school. He had put our bags up in F and headed back to Y. I told him I was unhappy with his decision, although if I hadn't been irritable due to getting up too early I would not have cared -- if he wanted to give up an F seat, why should I mind? Just then the nice young guy next to me volunteered to give his aisle seat to my SO. I told the guy it was not necessary, but he insisted that he didn't mind, we thanked him profusely, and the Mr. settled gratefully into 6B.

Due to the early hour I forgot you can't get mimosas on a transcon (except p.s.) anymore. The FA was really peppy and eager to please. She encouraged me to have a screwdriver instead. We ordered the egg dish of the day. Then the FA encouraged me to repeat the screwdriver. Since I don't drink much -- almost never before noon -- I slept peacefully most of the way across the country. Before I went to sleep we flew by Chicago and had a great view of Navy Pier, the lake, ORD, etc. We arrived in SFO a few minutes early.

UA869 SFO-HKG 3/1/2005 in C

We had a couple of hours in SFO but we wanted to stretch our legs anyway. We walked to the International Terminal instead of taking the bus. We stopped to look at the display of strange teapots just before international security. If you take the bus, you don't have to go through security again, but there was no line, so it was no problem.

We walked around in the International Terminal -- Mr. l2b was looking for a book store. He didn't find one, so we went to the RCC. We looked out at all the large an small UA planes and marveled that UA could actually disappear. But after the demise of Pan Am we all know that it is possible.

The Mr. decided he had to go back to the Domestic Terminal to find a book. I warned him that if he missed the flight I was going without him. I realized the matrons hadn't given us any drink coupons, so I hit her up for some. She gave us 3 -- why???

While I waited in the RCC, I was watching a couple sitting near me. She was dressed in a running suite and big sneakers. He was wearing a dressy shirt, nice pants, and a nice hat. They looked to be in their 50's. The man was talking on his cell, and I saw the wife put a little troll figure on his hat, and start taking photos. She saw me smiling and explained that she would take photos of the troll at all the stops on their trip -- a cruise out of HKG. I told her that I was laughing because her husband looks like a serious guy so I was surprised that he didn't mind looking silly for all the RCC to see. He mostly acted like he didn't know the troll and pics existed.

When the flight was called for the second time, I left the RCC and met Mr. l2b on the way to the gate. We boarded and settled into 25A and B -- don't feel sorry for us as we both prefer downstairs on a 747.

We departed on time and were surprised to hear that our route would be almost all over land -- up toward Alaska then over Russia and China. The pilot said he expected it would be too undercast to see much, but it turned out that we could see quite a bit of snow, small mountains and rivers and later a few smaller cities. It was also interesting to listen to channel 9 while over Russia and China. The ATC in both were constantly checking in with our flight as if they were afraid we would disappear into the wrong corridor.

I like to walk around the plane to get my circulation going so on one of my walks I paid a visit to our former seats 59B and C. Many FTers complain that UA C is sub par, but it beats the h*** out of E--.

We had a meal, drinks, snacks, another service, watched a couple of movies we would never see in a theater, and after 13 hours 40 minutes of flying time we arrived in HKG a few minutes early.

UA869 HKG-SGN 03/02/2005

We had a while until the next leg, so we took a long walk and looked in several stores, then we headed for the RCC. I sent a couple of e-mail's and we headed for the gate. Our seats were 25A and B, but we as we only saw one other passenger in the mini cabin, we settled into 8A and B. There were no menus, and I think there were just 2 choices for dinner. We ate and napped away most of the short flight and again arrived slightly early.

Immigration was quick and we were on our way to baggage claim. The baggage for Y was on one belt and the baggage for F and C was supposed to be on another. However the baggage from Y appeared promptly, but the other belt went around and around with no luggage. So Mr.. l2b wandered over to the Y belt. A UA employee saw him, somehow divined that he was a C pax (well he does have a classy look) and led him back to the empty belt. Then she started buzzing around trying to make him think he was getting good service despite the absence of bags. In a few minutes the bags did arrive and we were on our way.

There was a huge crowd waiting outside the terminal. After making our way toward through the multitudes, the Mr. spotted the driver from the Sheraton Saigon and we were on our way. Cabs are cheap in SGN, so the hotel car is a real rip-off; however, we arrived at 10:25 PM after the longest day ever, so it was great to have an immediate, no hassle ride to the hotel.

We had planned to stay in one of the colonial hotels like the Metropole. But when I saw that the Sheraton was offering cash and points for $30.00 per night I decided that we could forgo colonial atmosphere. We did not regret the choice.

So 33 hours after waking up in Virginia we settled into our Sweet Sleeper bed in Ho Chi Min City.

to be continued..........

Great report ^ I look forward to the rest.

Could you say a bit more about the Sheraton in Ho Chi Minh? I'm planning on going there in June.

Great report so far. I'd also like to hear more about HCMC. I stayed at the Renaissance the last time I was there. The Sheraton was being built at that time.

...I warned him that if he missed the flight I was going without him...

The Mrs. threatens me with this all the time. I have the feeling that with all the shenanigans I pull at the airport, that one day she is really going to leave without me.

Great report so far.^

The Sheraton Hotel and Towers Saigon, Ho Chi Min City (that's what the sign outside says) was pretty much what we expected -- generic, upscale. The marble lobby was large with a lounge adjacent. The lounge had evening entertainment. The room was decent size with a coffered ceiling and large windows. It had the very comfortable Sweet Sleeper bed. The walls were a subtle yellowish beige. The bathroom was pink marble with black trim sounds gaudy but was in fact very attractive. The shower had a an extra jet about mid chest level on me -- lower back on Mr... We went to the bar on the top floor a couple of times. The only restaurant we used was for breakfast. The breakfast buffet had items to please people of every nationality and included eggs to order and Belgian waffles. I think the cost was $35 for two. We ate breakfast most days and since we were paying $30.00 (cash and points) for the room -- $65 for room and breakfast was OK.

Mr.. l2b was gold when I made the reservation, but probably only preferred by the time we arrived. We had a fruit basket in the room with a note from the manager and 2 bottles of water daily -- I suspect everyone would get water because I think it is not a good idea to drink the tap water. The fruit was so perfect that when Mr.. l2b asked what one of the fruits was, I replied that it didn't matter because it was artificial anyway. The piece of fruit in question was in fact real and was dragon fruit. When you see it on the buffet it is grayish with black spots and looks like it belongs on a sushi bar -- it tasted OK.

Since most of our hotel time was spent sleeping I cannot tell you about other services, and we were not eligible for upgrades. I did request a river view, but we got 17th floor city view. I saw the river view when we waited for the elevator, and from that height, it did not make a big difference.

The hotel driver and both our tour guides made of point of saying that the local people still call the city Saigon. I got the feeling that was not the only disagreement between the people of this city in the south have with their government in the north.

When reading about HCMC two things stand out: there are few big attractions for tourists, and there are millions of motor bikes. The first day we walked around to the Post Office, Cathedral, Reunification Palace (which was closed due to some event sponsored by Honda), and the War Museum. When walking around we were constantly pestered by postcard sellers and cyclo drivers. And we had to get used to crossing the street amid the motorbikes.

I was less than enthusiastic about visiting the War Museum (they call it the American War, we call it the Vietnam War). Mr. l2b walked around the whole place. I found a place to sit, but while I was sitting there a video began playing showing the horrors of the war. It mentioned the environmental aftereffects of the war, and I must admit I felt regret at the lasting effects the war has had on the country.

We took a taxi to a Buddhist Temple in another part of the city. All the taxis we took were new, clean, cheap and used the meter without our asking. I love to ride around in taxis in cities where they are cheap. I really admired the way the drivers were able to make there way to the curb through the mobs of motorbikes.

At the temple the was a steady steam of tourists along with a steady stream of worshippers who stopped to light incense sticks and pray. I am alway a little hesitant to be intrusive where people are praying, but the worshippers did not seem to mind the tourists or their cameras.

When riding in the taxi we passed a couple of parks. It was around 5 PM and there were many people young and old walking and running for exercise. We also walked into a department store. It seemed to have very nice goods available.

I have to admit that I had a love - hate relationship with the motorbikes. They are noisy and make it hard to cross the street, but seeing the millions of people who are experiencing the freedom of personal transportation made me feel that they will want further freedoms in the near future. The motorbikes give a hum of activity to the city -- millions of people rushing here and there. On one of our tours, we met a guy from Singapore who was there to sell some manufacturing machines. He said that this is the first time his company has sent anyone to Vietnam because the Vietnamese are just beginning to be able to afford such machines.

One of our tour guides mentioned that the women of Vietnam are quite subservient to men and in-laws. The guy from Singapore said that many men come from Singapore to arrange marriage with Vietnamese women. I said I thought if the Vietnamese women get used to having jobs, their own money and their own motorbikes that they will become more and more independent.

We purchased the tours from the travel rep in the hotel. We were up at 7:15 to have breakfast and meet the tour in the lobby by 8:15. One problem with both the tours is that it can take two hours to get away from HCMC using the main road which is very busy with cars, trucks, and of course motorbikes and is under construction. The first day it was interesting to see all the new construction lining the road including many very nice houses. We commented how nice the houses were and the guide said that that is a very expensive area. The big houses did continue for several miles. At the end of each tour, you have to return the same way.


The first day we went to the Co Chi Tunnels and the Caodai Great Temple. We went in a mini-van with a guide and two guys; one was a weatherman with UA and one was a young guy from Singapore. The guide said that he is often asked by people from other countries how the Vietnamese can have good relationships with America and the Americans who come to Vietnam. He said that he thinks the Vietnamese must close the door to the past and open the door to the future. Because our group was so small the guide was willing to stop when we wanted to take photos of the rice paddies and other sights. We made an unplanned stop at a brick factory which was interesting.

Lonely Planet Cambodia says the Caodai Great Temple built between 1933 and 1955, it is a rococo extravaganza combining the architecture of a French church, a Chinese Pagoda, the Tiger Balm Garden, and Madam Tussaud's Wax Museum. The religion Caodaism was begun in Vietnam and 2% of Vietnamese are Caodaists. Buddhism Caodaism is a religion which combines elements from many of the world's main religions, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Taoism, as well as Geniism, an indigenous religion of Vietnam. The main saints of the religion are Sun-Yat-Sen (1866-1925), leader of the Chinese Revolution of 1911; Victor Hugo (1802-1885), French poet; Trang Trinh (1492-1587), Vietnamese poet and prophet.

The exterior of the temple looks like something out of Disneyland with whimsical design and bright colors. We arrived in time for one of the ceremonies that take place four times per day.
A large number of people dressed in white arrived on bicycles and motorbikes We went into the temple to look around before the ceremony.

The inside is very large and colorful also. The people who were organizing for the ceremony seemed anxious that the tourists look around and see everything. We were able to watch the ceremony from a balcony which circled the main hall. In the ceremony, ranks of people divided by sex bowed on the floor and chanted. Toward the end I tried to move for a picture from the back of the hall. One of the women in charge helped me get into place. After a couple of shots, she grabbed my arm and moved me where I could photograph the musicians, the moved me toward the stairs, so I knew my time was up.

The Co Chi Tunnels are an extensive network used by the VC during the Vietnam war. The people lived there and used the tunnels to attack the Americans. The tunnels are very low and looked like a miserable place to spend several years. One the one hand, we could admire the primitive means they used against a powerful enemy. On the other hand, we had many friends who fought in Vietnam, so it was hard to not think of them fighting people we knew. I was glad to leave the area.

The second day we went for to the Mekong Delta for a boat ride. This time we were on a medium size bus with about 25 other passengers. Again we had to travel a couple of hours on the same highway. The tour guide spoke good English but she had a strong grating voice over the microphone. Mr. l2b said she gave a lot of good insights into the society but jet lag caught up with me and I slept through some of it.

On the river we went by the site of a floating market. But the actual business of the market takes place in the early morning. When we were there we went rather quickly by the boats but were able to see the TV antennas, potted plants, laundry, cooking pots and other evidence that the boats served as homes.

We traveled among some island and bamboo huts, large houses and everything between. We went to a rustic restaurant for lunch. At lunch the people at our table included an Australian woman, a Scottish woman, a young guy from Germany, the UA weatherman from the day before. Sharing travel stories with diverse groups like that is one of my favorite things about travel. We had a tasty lunch; the star dish was the elephant ear fish which is served sitting upright in a special rack. You grab hunks of fish with chop sticks and place the fish and mint and other greens into rice paper -- sort of like a Vietnamese fajita. It was very tasty, but I think eating the greens could have been a mistake -- eat only what can be peeled or cooked.

After lunch we went to an interesting family owned candy factory and to a less interesting ceramic factory. The most enjoyable part of the day was cruising around in the boat seeing life along the river.

Any chance that this will continue - this was one i was especially interested in. great report so far

Although we stopped in several places on this two week journey, Siem Rep was the centerpiece of the trip. We had been hoping to visit there for several years, and we were not disappointed.

I bought round trip tickets on Vietnam Airlines from Expedia.com. I have since read that you can save money by buying after arriving in Vietnam. The tickets cost $205.00 per person. I reserved the Angkor Village Resort from asiahotels.com and arranged for airport pick up by sending an e-mail directly to the hotel.

You can purchase your visa for Cambodia upon arrival at the airport. I downloaded the forms from the Cambodian Embassy web site and filled them out on line. This is a great idea, because most of the passengers on the plane had to fill out the forms before proceeding to the visa line. By the time we finished with the efficient arrival formalities our baggage had arrived and when we exited the airport we were promptly met a driver from the hotel.

I am always amazed that I can sit at my computer in Virginia, order airline tickets, arrange hotels, and fill out visa forms, and when we arrive somewhere halfway around the world, everything works like clockwork.

Our hotel is out side the town of Siem Rep on the road to the ruins. When we arrived at the hotel, we were really pleased with our choice. It was built by the owner a French architect in a traditional Kymer style. It has only been open since November 2004 and the rooms are very fresh. The serpentine pool curves past all the rooms so every one is pool side.
The open air bar and restaurant are surrounded by lily ponds.

When we arrived we were offered iced tea and our bags were whisked to the rooms, While we sipped our tea, the receptionist asked if we wanted to schedule any tours. She asked if we would like to go that afternoon and we said that we would. It was 2:15 at the time and she said that she would not be able to have a guide pick us up until 3:00. We thought that was great service. We also arranged to attend the traditional dance show and dinner at their sister resort the Angkor Village Inn in town and were told the driver would drive us there in the van. Throughout our stay the service was always prompt and cheerful

We chose to take most of our tours by Remorque-moto, a motorbike with hooded carriage pulled behind. It was $25.00 per day for the tour guide and an additional $12.00 per day for the moto and driver. And it is a great way to see the area.

My best advice would be if you want to see the ruins of Angkor Wat go as soon as you can. The guide said that when we were there the first week of March is the beginning of the low season because it gets very hot in March -- the weather was actually more temperate and pleasant than we expected. If that was the beginning of the low season it was quite crowded. But it will only get worse. There are numerous large new hotel which have been recently completed or will soon be completed. When all those hotels are filled, the ruins will be mobbed. The other tourists in our hotel were mostly from Europe, and many of the large groups we saw at the ruins were from other Asian countries. But when the tourists of the world fully realize that Cambodia is now safe for tourists, the place is bound to become uncomfortably crowded.

After a short moto ride we arrived at the entrance to the ruins. We bought a three day pass. The multi-day passes require a photo. Luckily I had a few extra of the visa photos I had made on my trusty computer, so we saved some time by using those. Our guide did all the leg work for the tickets then tucked them in his pocket, and then we were on our way. We were told at the hotel that if we didn't like our guide we would be able to change the following day. I think this might have been a little difficult as he knew we were planning to go for 3 days, and he was holding our tickets. Fortunately he spoke decent English and was good at leading us around the large crowds and finding less crowded paths through the sites, so we were happy to have him continue as our guide.

A little further down the road we got our first look at Angkor Wat. It looked just as exotic as all the pictures we had seen and we were excited. This is the best preserved and most famous of the many ruins in the area. The guide was very through in explaining the endless carvings and statures and in making sure we saw most of the nooks and crannies (think stairmaster). We also took endless photos especially of the ruins reflected in the lake in front of it. By the time we headed back to the hotel the sun was going down. We saw several monkeys along the road but it was hard to get a good look at them in the dim light. After only one afternoon of touring we were really glad we came.

When we got to the hotel they were serving some drinks and snacks in the lobby. We chatted with the only other English speaker we met. Most of the guests in the hotel were French and German and were part of tour groups. After the drinks we only had 20 minutes to clean up and change to meet the van driver to go to the traditional show.

By the time we left the hotel it was dark so we did not get a good look at the town. It took about 15 minutes to arrive at the other hotel. The dinner theater is not large. There is an area with several long tables where it looks like the diners are seated on the floor, but I think there is a space for the feet and legs to hang down. We were seated in the balcony at a regular tables with an excellent view. The dinner which was included with the show consisted of several unfamiliar dishes but they were attractively presented and tasty. The show did not begin until after we had finished eating. The program consisted of several traditional dances. The dances are not really lively and are somewhat repetitious -- still it was a pleasant evening.

When we arrived back at the hotel, we were tired and ready for bed. My only complaint was the skinny little pillows -- only one per sleeper. The hotel could learn something from Sheraton in the pillow department. But each night I was too tired to complain and fell quickly to sleep.

Excellent report. I followed a similar itinerary in early Feb and concur that Ankgor will soon be over run by hordes of tourists. It is indeed a highly dynamic and culturally intriguing place to see. I can't wait to hear more of your travels!

The next morning we were eating breakfast by 8:00 AM. in order to meet the guide by 8:30. Breakfast was included in the hotel rate. There were 2 choices: the continental which included a lot of items such as cereal, juice, coffee (or tea or hot chocolate -- remember the owner is French), fruit, yogurt (the plain stuff that is good for you), rolls, etc. The other choice was eggs to order along with most of the items included with the continental. The breakfast was filling but nothing special, but he delightful setting in the traditional style open pavilion surrounded by a lotus pool made breakfast very enjoyable.

The guide picked us up in the moto and we were off to the ruins again. The breeze caused by the moto was delightfully cool. The moto driver was wearing a jacket, so it must have been very cool by Cambodian standards. We were headed to the ruins of Angkor Thom which include Bayon, the baphuon, the royal enclosure, and the elephant terrace. These are a part of a complex of ruins -- a very large city of which a great deal has been excavated.

We passed by Angkor Wat which looked lovely in the morning light. However because of it's western orientation it is customary to visit Angkor Wat in the afternoon or early evening and today's selection in the morning. Lonely Planet points out that you could avoid some of the crowds by altering the standard plan. I have a feeling that you would have to convince your guide of the wisdom of such changes -- cash would probably be good for convincing, but we were happy to go along with the norm. As I said before our guide was good at moving us around the crowds without too much difficulty. We enjoyed having our own guide every day because we were able to proceed at our own pace.

As we approached the complex we saw a sign in the road for elephants crossing. In the old days elephant was the traditional way of touring the various sites of the ruins. I could imagine being here with no crowds and approaching by elephant -- it must have been a fabulous excursion. And for those who would like to try to recreate the experience, for a price you can arrange to tour this complex by elephant. The solitude of old however cannot be purchased. We have ridden elephants near Ching Mai so were content with our moto. By moto or elephant you usually do not have to retrace your steps, because you can enter an area, and the transport will pick you up as you exit in another direction.

The entrance to the complex is a bridge with large Buddha heads lined along one side and demon heads lined along the other. It is a dramatic entrance and one of the sights I remember most. We proceeded through several ruins where again our guide made sure we saw and understood every element. We were constantly climbing up and down over the temple stones and dodging our fellow tourists. There were many large groups from Korea and other Asian countries. One of the most interesting tour groups was a group of Buddhist monks. I was surprised that they were all carrying high tech cameras and camcorders and were taking as many photos as the other tourists. The setting for these ruins is very exotic and the history quite interesting, so the pleasant morning passed quickly. The only distractions were the constant offers of postcards and brick-a-brack from the many young vendors. Since this is true at so many tourist areas of the world, you have to ignore it.

While were at the ruins we came upon a guy selling tickets for an illumination of the ruins for that evening. The tickets were $70.00 per person which included transportation, dinner, and a show of traditional dancing. The guide said they do the illumination twice a month. I was not greatly enthusiastic, but Ron wanted to go and pointed out that we probably won't be visiting Cambodia again soon, so I agreed. We later read that a Taiwanese businessman wants to develop a full-on sound and light show here, but conservationist are strongly opposed to the plan.

It is customary to go to the ruins in the morning, return to the hotel for lunch and a short rest or swim and then to go out on a second tour in the afternoon. Lonely Planet suggests that you alter that schedule and do some of your sight-seeing at midday to avoid some of the crowds. We found the customary schedule good for us, and I got the feeling that the guide would not like missing his midday break (again you could probably convince him). After a morning of climbing around the ruins (think 3 hours on the stairmaster with extra large steps) we were hot and ready for a break. When we got back to the room, I did a little dust removal, drank some water, and crashed for an hour; Ron headed for the pool. Afterward, feeling very refreshed we had lunch in the hotel restaurant. We chose the set lunch. The Cambodian selections are well presented and tasty, and it is a good way to taste several dishes. We liked all the Cambodian food we sampled.

Fed and rested we went to the lobby to again meet the guide and moto. This time we went to Ta Phrom, the jungle temple recently featured in Tomb Raiders. The night before I had read in Lonely Planet that you need to be careful of the deadly green vipers in the area of Angkor Thom, so I said to the guide that I hoped he had had all snakes removed from the area. He replied that if we were lucky enough to find any snakes he would be glad to take them home for dinner -- this is the type of cultural differences that make travel so interesting.

The jungle temple was the ruin I was most excited about seeing. I can't remember the name of the movie I saw years ago where the woman was alone in the ruins overgrown by the jungle, and there were monkeys all around. It was so eerie it seem threatening and the woman seemed to fade from reality for a while. Although it is unbelievable how the roots of giant trees grow over the walls engulfing large buildings, the place is so heavily traveled I did not get the sense of mystery I had anticipated. And I knew Ron had been right in the morning when he told me that no snake would want to hang around such a populated area. Inside the ruin we were really in keen competition with our fellow travelers to take photos that showed the ruins without the crowds. Ta Phrom has been worn by the feet of the multitudes, but it can only get worse so I repeat my advice to go as soon as possible. Although this was the area I found most disappointing I was not sorry I had seen it at last.

One advantage of having a private guide is to be able to ask him about his life. Our guide mentioned that many people in the countryside raise crocodiles for extra income. A farmer can buy a baby crocodile for $55 and sell it full grown for a couple thousand dollars. We laughed and asked if he was raising crocodiles. He answered that he wasn't but his brother was and proceeded to tell us about the tribulations of raising crocodiles. I asked if his brother has a pond and he answered that he poured a concrete slab which is a sort of crocodile swimming pool for them. We asked what they eat -- they buy fish for them, and it seemed that the guide and his brother have both been surprised at how much the crocs eat. We asked how many crocodiles the brother has and were surprised that he is raising 40 crocodiles. Then the guide related that the brother also has to pay someone to guard the crocs as they are valuable and theft is common. As a matter of fact twenty-five of the crocs had recently been stolen! The thief had been caught and about fifteen of the crocs had been returned.-- the others were missing. The thief was in jail.

The guide told us that the job of tour guide is a very good job and that he had to pay for his own English lessons to qualify. He said they are paid more for other languages like German and French, but that an English guide can work almost every day in season. He said he is studying Korean now as there are multitudes of tourists from there. I later read that most people in Cambodia make about $35 per month whether they are a cabinet minister or a maid and that most people are able to supplement their income through graft. For example teachers sell their tests and assign grades according to payments received from the students.

The guide also mentioned that he has a wife and two year old son. His wife works at a small hotel and they have hired a twelve-year-old girl to care for the son. The girl is from a very poor country family. He told us that in a way he has two children because he must supply the baby- sitter with food, clothes, and other necessities. I was sad to hear that they leave their child with a twelve-year-old and that the baby-sitter has such huge responsibilities at a young age. Still it is interesting to hear about their lives.

The walking at Angkor Thom is not as strenuous as at the other sites. After an interesting afternoon we returned to the hotel. We had about an hour to clean up before the bus arrived to take us to the illumination.

We waited so long for the bus we began to fear that we had handed over $144 to someone we would never see again. Just as we became really worried, the bus arrived. It was still fairly light when we arrived, but it quickly became dark. The ruins we had seen in the morning were the ones which were illuminated, and they did look spectacular. Most of the ruins in the area have thousands of inscribed drawings of Aspara dancers on a myriad of surfaces; the dancers are clothed only on the lower half of the body. The present-day traditional dancers of Cambodia are called Aspara dancers -- after we saw them the first night Ron jokingly told the guide the next day that he hadn't expected the dancers to be fully clothed. The guide had a gentle serious manner and he gravely told Ron that the dancers must wear clothes. Anyway some fully clothed modern Aspara dancers were poised in the nooks of the ruins and it was a dramatic sight.

After gazing at the illumination for several minutes, we were herded to an open area which was set with tables and a buffet was laid out. There was a generous offering of western and Asian food. I ate mostly Asian dishes and especially liked one of the interesting salads which I had sampled at lunch. This may have been a mistake -- I am usually good about following the rule about not consuming anything not peeled or cooked. Anyway I enjoyed the salad at the time. While we were eating a shadow puppet show was playing on a large screen. We enjoyed some conversation with our fellow world travelers. It seems when you meet westerners who are visiting an exotic place without being part of an organized tour, they are usually very experienced travelers, and we usually enjoy swapping tales with them.

After dinner we were herded to some chairs in front of a temporary stage for a show of traditional dances. There must be a limited number of Cambodian dances because, although the performers were different than ones from the previous evening, most of the dances were quite similar. After the performance were bussed back to the hotel. Would I recommend the illumination? I am not sure. I thought it was expensive for what was offered, but I will not see the ruins of Angkor illuminated ever again, and it was a memorable sight.

When we arrived back at the hotel we headed to the bar for a night cap and then headed for bed. Again I was too tired to care about the scrawny pillows, and we were both soon asleep.

On day three we planned to visit Banteay Srei which is 32 km from Siem Rep in the morning and a factory where artisans who produce the local folk art are trained in the afternoon. Following the afternoon tour we would go to the airport to return to HCMC because our flight to HGK would leave at 6:45 P.M. the next morning. Because Banteay Srei is further from Siem Rep than the other ruins we had visited, we hired a car and driver for that day, and the driver could drop us at the airport at the end of the day. We planned to ask for a late check out -- maybe 2 P.M. -- so we could take the recommended midday break. When we did ask for a late check out, the receptionist who had been so charming and smiling for our whole stay, looked very serious and said she could not accommodate us. Because she had the gentle serious manner of most of the Cambodians we met, we could not tell that she was joking and would let us keep the room until 4 o'clock.

Unfortunately I woke up that morning with a bad case of Traveler's Distress (was it the salad?). I had read that the distant ruins have NO facilities. Further if you are thinking of accommodating yourself off the beaten path that would be extremely inadvisable because the entire area is littered with land mines and it is mandatory to stay on the paths at all times. So I decided to stay in the hotel while Ron proceeded with the tour. I can not tell too much about that part of the tour, but when Ron returned he said that he enjoyed both the drive through the countryside and the tour of the ruins.

Around noon Ron had lunch while I enjoyed a little white rice. Afterwards he enjoyed the pool while I enjoyed the air con in the room. The guide and driver picked us up at 2:00 P.M. The guide wanted to us to visit a store on the way, and we agreed. Most of the items for sale appeared to be Indian, but the manager who was Indian said that the merchandise is made in Cambodia mostly of Indian design. They had some lovely items, but nothing was a bargain. I did buy a tablecloth which looks nice on my table, but it is not a Cambodian design and it was not inexpensive.

We moved on to the artisan training center where our original guide turned us over to one from the center. The new guide told us that when people apply to be trained at the center by copying a drawing and they are told if they can draw they will be able to carve wood. The artisans train at the center for a period of time. When they are finished they are set up with a workshop at home. The facility was clean and light. The teachers seemed to be quite stringent in correcting any mistakes the students made in their work. This is a great idea to give people a career despite their level of education. There is a shop where the wares are for sale. They seemed a little expensive.

When we finished the tour we found our driver and guide and were off to the airport for our return flight to SGN. Our stay in Cambodia was short, and I wish we could have stayed longer. I highly recommend a trip to Siem Rep -- remember, go now.

nice report

Don't feel bad about buying your SGN-REP tickets in advance. It's the same price AFAIK if you had bought the return ticket in SGN.