Monday 22 March 2010

Phnom Penh

21 Mar 2010

0615  Depart HCMC on a Mai Linh 16-seater
0835 Cleared both VN and Cambodian customs; took a short break
0900 Depart for PP
1030 Reach Ferry Terminal
1145 Reach Golden Gate Hotel

22 Mar 2010
1035 Depart PP 
1135 Reach Ferry Terminal
1150 Depart Ferry Terminal
1355 Cleared both customs
1550 Reach home

This is our first trip to Cambodia. Our observations :
1. Cambodia is indeed a poorer cousin to Vietnam.
2. Vast pieces of empty land. Many houses in the countryside are built on concrete stilts. Horse and bullock-carts are still common in the country-side. 
3. Most riders wear helmets that are of better quality than VN riders. Most helmets have visors. Either they wear helmets or not at all!
4. In PP, more cars than in HCMC. They even have multi-storey carparks!
5. PP seems more cosmopolitan than HCMC. Supermarkets are better stocked with imported foodstuff compared to HCMC.
6. More Khmers seem to be able to speak better English than Vietnamese.
7. Khmers do not push each other like Vietnamese do.
8. Things are more expensive in PP than in HCMC - looks like the cost of living is higher. One DVD movie costs US$2 (20,000VND). It's 10 - 15,000VND in HCMC. Petrol is about 21-22,000VND/litre compared to 17,000VND in HCMC. 
9. US$ is the main currency for transaction - not the riel. US$1 : 4,000 - 4,200 riel - it varies from place to place.
10. Few riders wear masks - and these masks are all medical masks. They do not have anything like the masks that are found in HCMC. 
11. Tuk-tuks and motor-cycle taxis are the most common mode of transport for tourists. We saw only a few taxis.



Saturday 20 March 2010

Vinh City

Visited Vinh City on Sat 20 Mar 2010 at the invitation of a friend. Takes about 1h 45m to fly there. It is the capital of Nghe An Province and the fourth Grade-I city after Haiphong, Danang, and Hue.

Vinh is a laid-back city, quite clean and the air is fresh compared to HCMC. Life is slow there and traffic is light. All houses have several lightning conductors because of the frequent storms and hurricanes there. Four seasons here - it's early spring now and the night is quite chilly. The best part was dinner. One dish looked like fried egg with mince-pork - we were told it's cooked with some sea creature which the Vietnamese couldn't translate in English. Well, what harm is there in trying? Tasted quite good - I had three helpings :) ... see last pix for the sea creature!!! Shown to us after dinner!!! Managed to take a few hurried shots from the taxi.

Nice article on Vinh City by a German.
SOS Village in Vinh

Vinh City wrt Danang & Hue


















Giant Uncle Ho statue in the middle of the town square















Ancient gateway to the city, I think
















Nice hotel
















Dragons for decoration of altars
















This was the sea creature that we ate!!!