48 hrs in Phnom Penh.

Welly welly well we have arrived in Cambodia. Country número 4 on our first SE Asia journey. We hopped another bus from Saigon > Phnom Penh. Pretty pleasant ride besides a couple screeching Vietnamese aunties on the bus, luckily Aim came in clutch with the ear plugs. 

We have been hitting the holidays, we went to the Grand Palace in Bangkok on Buddha Day which was insane and we left Vietnam on their Independance Day which translates into all the Saigon folk heading to Cambodia for their days off. 

All in all one of our more pleasant transits, the border crossing did take a little over 2 hours because of the timing but was an experience in its own right. 4 guys stand in front of a mass of people with guards and yell out names, when your name is called you crowd surf to the front and you're in Cambodia, well not crowd surf but kinda grind your way through. 

We arrived in Phnomh Penh & waded through the Tuk-Tuk drivers to get away from the bus station. Our hotel is about a block away from the station so no need to take an over priced ride, we are backpacking soooo hard.

The things we have noticed here are:

   1. The kids are abnoxiously cute.

   2. You gotta protect ya neck as Wu-Tang would say. This place is notorious for pickpockets, bag nabbing and phone snatching. We feel eyes that are not looking at our face but at what we are carrying, honestly the first time we have felt unsafe on this trip, but at least Dusty has a wicked right cross and Aimee has tiger claws. 

   3. Everyone is still trying to figure out what nationality Aimee is.

   4. Less hassling among street vendors than in Vietnam.

   5. Beautiful smiles and respectful greetings.

6. Locals speak good English & use USD. At the stores they list the price with American currency.  

7. Things are couple dollars more expensive here compared to the other countries we visited. Ex. A meal = $1-2 Cambodia= $4-5 

The above picture is from a cafe we ate at that is called "Friends and Stuff" that focuses on helping troubled and disadvantaged youth get out of the streets and pursue a craft in the hospitality industry. The food was excellent and the cause is noble so we made that our first stop. 

 

Tomorrow we head to Siem Reap & spend our last 4 days in Cambodia. We plan to visit Angkor Wat and if we're lucky meet up with some friends. Then we are on to the Phillipines to wrap up this amazing journey before returning to 'Merica.

Saigon Saigon.

Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City has been a destination that we have been optimistically anticipating since we have arrived in Vietnam. A vibrant city full of personality, style, attractions and history. There is so much to see, so much to do. In typical Vietnam style the city is scattered with food, it is EVERYWHERE, and quite good btw, we even ate at a place featured on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations." (The Lunch Lady)

 Things we did while here:

🔸walk the city

🔸bien than market

🔸war remnants museum 

      🔹museum of the Vietnam war from the Vietnamese perspective

🔸central post office

      🔹built in the 1800s by Eiffel Tower McGee

🔸ice blue pub where a drawing of our friend Creighton is featured on the wall from his visit

🔸various cafes & couple shopping centers (Vincom & Diamond Department Store)

🔸Lotteria 

🔸omg rooftop bar overlooking the city

OMG! Rooftop Bar, totes gnar view brah.

Next stop Cambodia, stay tuned...

  Over & Out,

    A&D

Mui Ne Sand Dunes

Dalat for a day & one night

From Nha Trang we caught a 7am bus to Dalat. Checked in our hotel "Paris Hotel"  around noon & rented a motorbike to wander around the city. 

First stop, Dalat Flower Garden. Da Lat is known for it's spring like weather & flowers. There are many beautiful parks & fancy roundabouts with water fountains scattered throughout the city. The city is well kept compared to the other cities we have visited in Vietnam.

Flower Park was ok, nothing like the Butchart Gardens in Vancouver, BC but a nice $2 stroll around flowers & bush sculptures of animals. 

Next stop, the Crazy House.

Designed by the 2nd daughter of the 2nd president of Vietnam. Architecture inspired by Walt Disney & Salvador Dali.

We had one of the best meals we've eaten on the whole trip here. The place is called CHU & they have the menu written on chalkboards, only in Vietnamese and none of the staff spoke any English; in fact at one point the waiter tracked down a customer that spoke both languages. We had a spicy beef that they stone grilled on the table, some sort of vegetable dish and a few Saigon beers, all fantastic.

The city was wild to motorbike through, some of the more wild streets we've driven in. It was a blast and Vietnam has been a crash course in learning to ride a motorbike. Vroom vroom.

Glimpse of Nha Trang, Vietnam

Open bus ticket thru Vietnam: Hoi An-Nha Trang

We left on time @ 6pm & woke up in Nha Trang 12 hours later. It was not bad.

The set up

Nha Trang for 2 days: we are swiftly making our way thru Vietnam, city by city. Nha Trang is known as Vietnam's beach capital & it's long white beaches. 

Day 1: Spent on the beach. That was it. We were surprised to be surrounded by Russians. Who would have known! Signs, shops & restauraunts cater mainly to Russians here in Nha Trang. 

Day 2: Spa Day at Thap Ba Spa

We wanted do an "activity" so our choices were Vinpearl, a water amusement park, or a mud bath.  We picked a mud bath! This place is known for it.

Mineral Mud Bath- Don't worry they clean the tub & refill it with fresh mud.

Step 1: 25-30 min. Mud bath

The mud was warm & you could feel it instantly soften your skin.

Mineral water wash off

Food & drinks served

Step 2: Mineral Spa Tub 40 min.

Those bags contain all sorts of nice smelling herbs. 

Step 3: Foot, hand, & neck massage 40 min. There was "no body massage" signs posted but it was funny how the lady asked Dusty if he wanted one. 

After, Some pizza by the pool.

They were 3 different pools that contained "regular" pool water & mineral water. We had "unlimited" pool, jacuzzi & waterfall time.  

After you are done swimming you wash off here. 

We spent the whole day here. For 2 people=$48 with 5% discount from our hotel! Crazy cheap to pass up.

www.thapbaspa.com

To end the day & short stay in Nha Trang we ate Pho Bo (beef stew noodle soup) & Pho at Hung Doc on the streets.