Cambodia - 1

Hi, After our visit to Viet Nam ended Ruthe and I continued on with most of our group to Sien Reap in Cambodia. Our main objective was the temple ruins at Angkor Wat. Because of the number of images I would like to share I will break them up into 2 posts.

After we arrived in Sien Reap and settled into our hotel we took a walking tour of the neighborhood to get oriented. It had just rained and an employee at a nearby hotel was sweeping water into a drain.

A little girl was out in front of her family's shop with her bicycle.

Tuk Tuk drivers had taken their side curtains down.


We boarded our bus after the walk and went to visit a memorial to those who died under the Khmer Rouge. A Buddhist temple also was on the grounds.


Some monks were out and they were gracious in allowing photography.



Outside their living quarters I found some laundry hanging.


Next we visited a local village.

Here is a store in the local village.

Our final activity was a buffet dinner followed by a show of traditional Khmer dances.


The next day was temple day. Our first destination was Angkor Wat. It was built as a Hindu temple and capital in the 12th century and was gradually converted to Buddhism in the 13th century.


The site is in excellent condition and receives continuous attention. As a result the carvings in the walls are in excellent condition.


Here too we found monks.

The jungle is very dense and comes up very close to the site.

This view looks east toward the main gate.

Inside the temple are a number of shrines where people stop to pray.


The second temple we visited was Ta Prohm. This site has been overtaken by the jungle and while the small brush has been cleared, the large trees have been left in place.



A large spider had built its web and attracted a great deal of attention.

I hope you enjoyed the photos. The next post, also on Cambodia, will be the last.

Boats of Viet Nam

Hi, Whenever I have the opportunity to travel abroad I find the boats/ships I encounter fascinating. Given Viet Nam's coast line of about 1000 miles and having over 10,000 miles of navigable waterways, this trip was no exception. So here is a selection of the vessels I encountered traveling from north to south in Viet Nam.

We crossed this small river on a trip out of Hanoi. A photo of the ferry appeared in the post on people.



At the end of our stay in Hanoi we traveled to Halong Bay (see Viet Nam Sightseeing -1). Here we saw ocean fishing boats,

dozens of passenger carrying junks,

houses on rafts,
and boats used for a variety of tasks, including subsistence fishing.




As this area also was offshore we encountered some ocean going vessels such as this barge and tow boat.

Hue also has a river. I'm not sure what this boat is used for,

but the 2 in the foreground are carrying sand or dirt. The third boat, in the background, provides river cruises for tourists.

On our way from Hue to Hoi An by bus we spotted some fishing sampans so we stopped to get photos.



Hoi An was the base for a fishing fleet as it was very close to the ocean.


In the evening we took a sunset cruise on the estuary where we saw more ocean fishing boats.


Also, we passed this small shipyard where the fishing boats were hauled out for work on their hulls.

The estuary waters also were rich in fish and nets were used to catch them.

Small ferries crossed the estuary carrying motor bikes and people.

Nha Trang also was an ocean fishing base.



The Mekong Delta became famous during the Viet Nam war. Today it is a prosperous area focused on transportation. The area also grows rice for export. Shown are some of the boats we saw.

This is an excursion boat that travels between here and Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon).




The difference in appearance in the fishing boats as we moved from Halong Bay in the north to the Mekong Delta in the south was interesting.



I was amazed how much could be loaded on a boat. As I recall, this one is carrying the stalks left over after the rice kernels have been recovered. This is used for animal feed.

One more post to go, on Cambodia. Hope you enjoyed the photos.