130124 South-East Asia

2013 began with a wonderful opportunity to go to the Philippines.  My company needed me to visit an important customer in Tarlac City, a small town about 120 KM (74 miles) north of Manila, in early February.  This trip would bring me very close to Vietnam during a period of time leading up to the Lunar New Year (Tết), the most important holiday in Vietnamese customs and traditions.  I asked for a week of vacation ahead of my business engagement in the Philippines, in hope of immersing myself in the festive atmosphere of a Vietnamese Tết.  But upon contacting friends in Saigon, I learned my stay there would be too far ahead and the preparation would not yet be underway.  But business commitments were already made and plans started accordingly.

In spite of my best effort, my wife had to take different flights than I, because she used loyalty points while my air fares were paid for by my company. We left Phoenix very early Thursday morning. My spouse would go to LAX, then to Bangkok by way of Seoul. She would spend a night at a transit hotel at the Bangkok airport before continuing to Saigon. I, on the other hand, would go from Phoenix to Seattle, then to Tokyo, before arriving in Saigon.

Phoenix Sky Harbor @ dawn.

Dear friends welcomed us into their homes, and treated us to wonderful and delicious fruits and food.  While my wife went shopping, my friend took me to visit the "Independence Palace", the former resident and office of the president of the Republic of Vietnam.

Home grown Jack Fruit.

Sauteed beef with rice vermicelli and herbs.

An office at the "Independence Palace".

 After a couple days of rest, our dear friends took us on a 3-day / 4-night tour of Kampuchea (Cambodia), traveling by bus from Saigon to Siem Reap, then to the capital Phnom Penh before returning to Saigon.  Our tour began before dawn.  Half way to the Vietnamese - Khmer border, we stopped for breakfast and was treated to a savory pork noodle soup, a local specialty.  We arrived at the border by late morning.  I was immediately taken by the beautiful architecture of the border station of Kampuchea.  This building had golden emblems with curvy roof lines and spire.

Border station on the Kampuchea side.

As we drove deeper into Kampuchea, our Khmer tour guide gave a brief history of his country, with an emphasis on more recent times, the hellish sufferings of the Cambodian people at the hands of and the horrific genocide committed by Pol Pot and his comrades.  As we traveled west on National Road 6, our guide pointed out several killing fields, with stupas dedicated to the victims.

One of the several stops we made along the way to Seam Reap was the Spean Praptos (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spean_Praptos), the oldest bridge in South-East Asia.  It was over 700 years old.

Spean Praptos.

We arrived at Siem Reap by evening.  We purchased tickets to "Smile of Angkor", a show over-viewing the history of Angkor dynasty with subtitles in English, French and Vietnamese.  After a restful night, we went to visit the Prasat Bayon temple and the ancient Angkor Thom capital.  What a fascinating site.  While the tour guide dutifully explained the history of this place, I became uncharacteristically impatient.  I started exploring on my own right away, missing out on all this interesting information.

Prasat Bayon Temple.

Ta Prohm Temple, reclaimed by the jungle.

Elephants played a very important role in construction of these ancient temples and palaces in Angkor, as they provided the necessary strength to move and lift these enormous blocks of stone.  The workmanship carving these blocks of stones and putting them together to form these edifices was exquisite.

After a lunch and midday break at a restaurant in town, we proceeded to Angkor Wat, the largest complex of temples in the world.  It is so unique, it is featured the national flag of Kampuchea.  The top floor of the main tower was named "Heaven".  To reach it, one had to climb a steep set of stairs but the effort was well rewarded.  The artwork on the stone walls was admirable; the view of the surrounding superb.  I could spent several days in Angkor.

Stairs to Heaven.

Angkor Wat.

Near the end of our visit, we were ushered to a hill nearby to witness the beauty of Angkor Wat at sunset.  Unfortunately, a large crowed had beaten us there.  I wonder if a better vintage point would be looking west from the east end of Angkor Wat.

The last night in Seam Reap was spent enjoying the downtown area.  What a lively party place this was.  We shared a very enjoyable ride in a tuk-tuk with Roger, a French-Swiss member of our tour group.

Riding a tuk-tuk through Seam Reap.

The next morning, we departed for Phnom Penh, the capital of Kampuchea.  We made 2 stops along the way.  At one of them, there were vendors of fruits and deep-fried insects: from large spiders to crickets to giant water bugs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethocerus_indicus).  Since the future is unpredictable, I felt the urge to do something more memorable than eating "regular" food.  Against the wise advises of friends, I bought and ate a couple of deep-fried crickets and one lethocerus indicus.

Would you eat this large spider?

Giant water bugs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lethocerus_indicus).

Tasting a giant water bug.

What did a giant water bug taste like? It had the texture of crumbled paper!  But all I could taste was the very old and very rancid oil it was deep-fried in.  What a tourist trap this was.  And I fell for it.  Soon after consuming half of this lethocerus indicus, my cough started; It would not stop for 3 weeks.  I wanted to shock people; I got shocked.  Any lesson for me to learn here?

Phnom Penh was very busy with its preparation for the funeral of King Norodom Sihanouk.  We had to scrap plan to visit the Royal Palace and other locations.  The few places not directly affected by this solemn event were the central market and the Wat Phnom Temple.

Central market of Phnom Penh.

Wat Phnom Temple.

I would love to have a few days to explore Phnom Penh and learn more about the Khmer people and their culture.  But the tour had to end.  The journey back to Saigon began the next morning.  We arrived back at the home of dear friends by mid afternoon.  The next day, my wife and I traveled to the city of Vung Tau by hydrofoil.  We went to the beach on a rented motor scooter.

Quay of City of Vung Tau, Vietnam.

The weather was perfect; traffic was light; the sea was calm and warm; the sand on the beach was smooth.  We had a long lunch at a restaurant by the shore.  The days before Lunar New Year was a slow season; the restaurant had very few customers.

The following day, I traveled to the Philippines for work while my sweetheart stayed in Vietnam for the Lunar New Year.  From Manila, the uncle and aunt of a colleague took me to my hotel in Angeles City, home of the former Clark Air Force base.  The trip took about an hour by car.  The work days began early and ended late.  I did not have much time to explore the area, but my hosts were very gracious.  I was served wonderful Filipino lunches, including baluts.  Filipino fried chicken had a very crispy skin yet thin, not covered with a heavy coating of batter. The fish was fresh and grilled to perfection.  The pork was marvelously flavorful.  I enjoyed all dishes, especially the local fruits.

Jeepneys in Tarlac City, Philippines.

My last day in the Philippines was spent in Manila.  I took a day tour which included a visit to the American Cemetery and the region south of the capital. The stop at the America Cemetery was solemn; it is hallowed ground.  The meaning of ultimate sacrifice sank deeply in me.  I wanted and hoped my pictorial tribute respectful and appropriate.

American Cemetery in Manila, Philippines.

As the tour progressed on, the guide pointed out various points of interest along the route.  But my mind was still with those who were interred at the American Cemetery.  I wondered what each of their stories would be, how much suffering each one of them went through.

I "rejoined" the tour when we stopped for fuel and lunch.  Along the winding road, there were numerous shacks selling brooms, flowers, kites, furniture and a wide variety of tropical fruits.  Many vendors are farmers with their orchards right behind their shacks.    We stopped at one of those open-air markets.  Merchants gave us samples for their fruits.  They were very sweet, aromatic and delicious.  I wanted all but settled for some wonderful pineapple.

Roadside open-air fruit market.

Homeward bound.

Later that evening began my journey home.  I remained thankful for this wonderful opportunity to visit South-East Asia, which was brought about by the very hard work of colleagues.

More pictures are available at https://picasaweb.google.com/108013863525571472697/130124SouthEastAsia02#.  As always, I welcome your comments and critiques of this blog and pictures as I seek to improve my writing and photographic skills.

Enjoy,
Paul