Siem Reap - More Photos

These were in the moat at Angkor Thom - They evidently do an evening cruise


Some of the pictures on the walls - lady in labour, midwife is on the right


Tony with our tour guide. He was born December 1974 and Pol Pot came into power in April 1975 and lasted three years and eight months. Our guide lost some of his relatives, his father was also taken and if Pol Pot had lasted another two weeks his father would have been killed also but he managed to escape and took his family away.


Forgotten what this is called - too much information on holidays.


The doorman at the hotel



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Location:Cambodia

Last Two Days in Cambodia

Friday was an absolute buzz, we started in the morning at 8.30 am and headed to Angkor Thom which is a city, I think this is nearly four times as big as Angkor Wat. The King would build his place first and with every new King the tower would be higher than the last one. The people who lived there would be the important people and traders with everyone outside the walls. The gates closed every night and are opened again in the morning. There was so much history, a lot of mythology and Buddhism and Hinduism, they seem to have gone back and forth between the two.

Angkor Wat is a temple, like the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans their story is in carvings on the walls. Far too much for us to take in. Angkor Wat was built for the god Vishna or Vishnu something like that.

The corridors are very long with lots of doorways which are very low so you have to bend to get through. This is so you are bowing to the King.




Two photos of Angkor Wat






The Main Street of Siem Reap


One of the passages, this is the dancers room


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Location:Cambodia

Last few days in Saigon and then to Cambodia

Tuesday we spent just walking around Saigon and late in the day Tony decided to have some trousers made, measured for two pair and picked them up 7 pm Wednesday. I had a pair of black satin trousers altered as the ones I tried on were a bit tight so were also altered.

Wednesday we went to the history museum and the zoo (zoo not so good) and then to the Jade Pagoda.

Thursday we left for Cambodia and are staying at Raffles and then a tour in the afternoon. Went to the museum and there is so much in there and then to Taprom Temple this was built about 900 and there are trees growing through it which were anything from 170 years old. There was a forest growing all over it and was cleared around about 1920.

Tomorrow we are going to Angkor Thom and then Angkor Wat.



Tony cooling his wrists


Elephants, our elephant enclosure is so much better than this


Crocodiles - wasn't sure if they were all real as there were so many of them


The Jade Pagoda which is pink



Inside the Pagoda


The mad traffic - it is like this all day


Our welcome drink on arrival at Raffles


Taprom Temple


Another photo of Taprom Temple

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Location:Vietnam and Cambodia

Cooking Class, Halong Bay and Saigon

My cooking class started at 8.00 am and yes I had to get up early. We were taken on. A bit of a tour first and then to Wild Rice (where we ate on Tuesday), we then walked to the market to look at all the food, vegetables, fruit and meat. Then back to the restaurant and we made rice paper rolls and then fried zucchini, it was lovely but they then sat us in the restaurant t and proceeded to feed us lunch which was nearly as much as I had on Tuesday night. It was Thursday and the last day of the conference so I went into the afternoon sessions where we had Danny Green (boxer) talk and then ( can't think of his name) but Moira Kelly brought him and his brother out from Afghanistan, he was fabulous.
That night was the gala dinner and our dress up night. We then had a free day on Friday and Saturday to Halong Bay which was approx. 4 hours on a slow car to China. Lunch on the junk and then a trip to a floating fishing village. The next day we rose at 6.30 for a cup of tea and croissant, tai chi on the top deck then a had a short hike and a swim then back to the junk for brunch then back to port.
Last night we arrived in Saigon and to today we have visited the chi cui tunnels (not sure of spelling need the brochure), then the palace which is a museum and the war museum. Free day tomorrow - hooray!




The presidential Palace in Hanoi




The entrance to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum




My rickshaw ride in Hanoi




Chooks in the market




The lovely fresh fruit




Batman and Bat Girl




Tony with Danny Green




Our special guest speaker




Floating village




Trying my hand at rowing - not easy




The sunset from the junk




Shock horror - Tony can cook




Our junk - The Violet
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Location:Vietnam

The last three days

Monday we went walking again, this time we headed to the first university which is the Temple of Literature and then onto the jail - Hoa Lo Prison or the Hanoi Hilton built by the French in the late 1800's and the Vietnamese used it again for the Americans.



Photo taken inside the temple



Some of the grounds outside.



I was asked to buy 3 bananas for $2US and we said no any the lady put this on my shoulders and her hat on my head and I know I couldn't walk around like that all day selling - rather heavy.

Monday night was the welcome dinner at the hotel and as I decided to be vegetarian for the conference, my meal started out with salad and grilled vegetables followed by a very large French onion soup (Tony had to finish that for me) and then penne pasta with a Napoli sauce which was lively, far too much food for me. Most of the other food (it was buffet) had prawns in it.

Tuesday I went into the conference sessions in the morning and then did a bunker tour of the hotel. The tour was the history of the hotel which was built in 1901 by the French and they have a bunker underneath which was used during the war as Joan Baez was sheltered there.

Dinner last night was at Wild Rice, lovely restaurant, it was like a banquet meal sharing plates between three and again I had my own menu as most of the other stuff had prawns, I ended up with twice as much food as everyone else.

This morning we had a tour of the city. First stop Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum. You are not allowed to talk as you walk through and no photos only outside. Then for a ride on a rickshaw which was about a 40 to 50 minute ride, we were then taken to the temple of literature, which Tony and I had already seen but it was different today as today is the 1st of July here so it is a day to give thanks.


Duc, the guide for the hotel tour


Inside one of the rooms in the bunker


The presidential Palace - in the grounds of the Ho Chi Minh area


Inn the rickshaw, my driver flew and at one stage decided to pass the others


Tony was behind me, so he has taken this

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Location:Vietnam

Day two

Big sleep in this morning didn't get up until 8.30 am. After breakfast we walked around the lake and towards the old quarter. We did go to the monument for King Le Thai To, which was in memory of his exploits (1385-1433) could only walk around the grounds as Tony had shorts on and you need your knees covered and your shoulders.

We eventually came back to the hotel for a swim, it was so hot the perspiration was running down our arms like water.




Ly Thai To 974 - 1028. This statue was in a park on our travels



This street was like this the whole way. Not sure of name of street but it could be Dog Street. It's all over for red rover.



We saw a lot of ladies carrying everything like this.


The gardens leading into the temple of King Le Thai To

Julie and Tony

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Location:Vietnam

We are here in Vietnam

After a not too long flight we arrived at Hanoi at 9.45 am (12.45 Australia time), then a 45 minute drive to our hotel. The weather - it has rained and rained. They are on the end of a typhoon and so it will rain for another day.

Had some lunch and armed with umbrellas went to the National Museum of History and then to the Women's Museum. Tony has been up to the gym and I had a nice long bath.




The guillotine that the French used when they ruled Vietnam. Couldn't get Tony to put his head in any further.


Buddha from the National Museum


This are wedding costumes from the Women's Museum.


One of the costumes from the same museum.



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Location:Vietnam