SOUTHEAST ASIA ADVENTURE, MARCH 2013

Southeast Asia.....Cyn and Ray's midwinter escape to warm weather!!!.... Bali, Java, Singapore, Vietnam, and Cambodia are the places Ray and I will explore beginning on Saturday, March 9th.  This is a private tour we have crafted with our travel agency "Artisans of Leisure" in NYC....We have traveled with Artisans in the past ( India, South Africa, and Portugal ) and we have been really happy with their trips. We departed home on the 3rd for Florida!

Monday MArch 4th.... The Adventure begins with a "pre trip" visit to Orlando, Florida and Walt Disney World....... It's my dad, Harry's, 87th Birthday..

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!

Ray and I are at the Grand Floridian Hotel in the Magic Kingdom for a few days, and visiting our son Dave and his new wife Kaitlyn. Dave works as a sous chef at "Wave" restaurant in the Contemporary resort. We dined there last night.  Very delicious! Crabcakes and fresh flounder in a broth sauce with baby edamame and corn. Ray had a lovely pork loin ..  Mostly we are relaxing and recharging before the big trip. We rode the monorail from our hotel directly into the Lobby of the Contemporary.

This evening we're dining at the mediterranean restaurant here at the Hotel ( Citricos ) with Kait.

Tuesday, March 5th... We spent the day with the newlyweds, and tonight it's off to Down town
Disney to see Cirque de Soleil's "La Nouba", followed by dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant.....

Wednesday, March 6..... "La Nouba" was fantastic fun. Excellent gymnastics, music, dancing, with a small touch of storytelling. Great theatrics all round.

Thursday, 3/7....... Today we flew from Florida up to JFK and we're about to board our AA flight to Tokyo, and on to Bali.  It looks like we are escaping just ahead of some nasty, messy weather here...
YEAH!!!  Vacationland! You can call us on our cells  while we are away and our AT&T package pays for it. Texting and email also works.......We will be traveling for a very long time, 24 hours at least. Signing off for now.
NExt time you hear from us we'll be on the back side of the planet!! Amazing!..........

GREETINGS FROM BALI!!... It is now Saturday afternoon . It's deep Summer here and we're in a
beautiful (ridiculous!!) hotel called AMANKILA on the Eastern Shore. RIGHT on the beach! Before we head to the pool, just want to let you know we made it. Long journey, but not overly tough. We've done some touring and a lot of sleeping to catch up and get reoriented. Google that hotel and be here with us!
more soon.....

Amankila Hotel in Candidasa., Bali....... heavenly!

OK, Gorgeous pool! Ray and I had a swim together this afternoon and hard to describe the delicious water! like velvet. How do they do it?
This evening we had a Balinese feast at a romantic table by the pool! A real treat. dishes like "Jakut Ares"( chicken soup with banana stem and turmeric),  "Sambal Be Tongkol" ( fresh tuna salad with shallot, lemongrass, and lime), and "Urab Pakis" ( fern tip and coconut salad ) ... there were 9 dishes
total ( thankfully small portions) plus sorbet and ginger tea.

View from our room at Amankila

Ray's colleague and mentor over the course of much of his business life, Jack Byrne, passed away on Thursday after a long illness. His wife, Dorothy, set the funeral for Tuesday, March 12th. Ray decided he needed to be there, so he departed for the airport after dinner tonight ( Sunday, image below) to fly back home to Hanover.... a real marathon..... to be there for the viewing on Monday, and the funeral Tuesday morning. He will turn right around and fly back to arrive here on Thursday morning. These things you can't plan for and they can happen at very inconvenient times.  So I will soldier on and continue the journey alone for 3 days.

Our last dinner together in Bali, just prior to Ray's departure to go home for Jack's funeral. ( A very sad affair for all concerned). It was a Balinese feast
at a special table by the pool.

Before leaving  AMANKILA hotel in the town of Candidasa ( say Chandidasa) on Monday, March
11th, I'll mention a few things we saw here. Its a hilly, lush, green area and everywhere its flat outside of town they have rice fields. We saw lots of rice paddies, and lots of roosters in little cages. Very sad for the roosters. They use them for cock fighting, and keep them like pets. Man, some of those villages were very noisy.........
Cock a doodle doo all day long. They quit at sunset and start up again at 1:30 am apparently. Our
guide is Bawa, and he told us a lot about Balinese life, religion ( mostly Hindu) and culture.
We visited a walled village from the 14th century that is still inhabited today, Tenganan. It is one of 3
of its kind in all of Bali.  ( By the way, Bali is one of 33 provinces in the country of Indonesia)......
We also toured the Puri Kanginan Palace, the former home of a Balinese Raja and his 8 wives and family. We were at the palace on a very special day. The governor of Bali was to visit and make a speech. We watched a parade in his honor and lots of music performed for him. I got a video of all this. Quite the pageantry!

Bali Countryside

Beautiful Bali bay from the hills above

Contemplating the lotus pond

Village street with rice drying in the sun... people and cars go right over it.

Roadside shop

Bali Village from above

Tenganan village.... workers preparing to repair a wall....

Stunning Pura Besakih temple, dwelling place of ancestor spirits

Buildings at the Puri Kanginan Palace

Awaiting the Governer's parade at the Puri Kanginan Palace grounds

The Governer's parade begins. He is campaigning for reelection and will lunch, make a speech and be entertained by 47 musicians

Elephant cave.... Hindu monks used to pray inside. There are statues of  Ganesh, the protector god, inside.

Ganesh, the Hindu God of Protection

One of the last rajas built in 1919 the Ujung Water Palace, a seaside "mini resort" for royal R&R.
It is now open to visitors. Bawa gave me an umbrella to protect me from the hot sun and we wandered around the park and buildings there. Very peaceful place. No roosters!

Ujung Water Palace

Another view of Ujung

Balinese greetings to you!

Tuesday, March 12th.... This is NYEPI, or "Day of Silence" in Bali. It is a strictly observed religious
day for everyone on the Island. Actually it is their New Years Day. Everyone stays home. No one on the roads, nothing open at all. The only people who work on this day are those who work in the hotels so we tourists can eat ( and go to the spa )! The majority of the population here are Hindu and VERY spiritual. There are temples everywhere, and people go! You can read on line all about NYEPI. So yesterday, New years eve, is a day of celebrations and parades and animal sacrifice ( sorry ) to bless and feed the people. I witnessed several "Ogoh - Ogoh" parades as we traveled from Candidasa to UBUD on the day before NYEPI. This is a huge day of ritual and celebration. Rather like our New Years Eve.....The young people of each village create and build wildly scary and lewd statues which represent evil and conflict. Man, are they weird! They parade around town brandishing the things
to wild music. It's really a sight to behold!! Then at around 9 pm they build big bonfires and BURN them up. This is to "kill" the evil spirits and end bad stuff that may be happening to cleanse everybody before they begin a new year. ( I'm told they actually keep the very best ones around as prizes, and to sell off to tourists for village revenue. Makes sense to me.)  I think it beats dinner parties and drinking by a mile!!!!  Everybody participates in this in some fashion and there is tons of symbolism involved.

"Ogoh - Ogoh" statue guarded by one of his creators

another scary guy

One village green was just lined with them, ready for a parade.

The artistry involved was just amazing!

This lady is taking an offering to the temple on the eve of NYEPI

One other thing we did on the road to Ubud, actually on Monday, the 11th, was visit the sacred bathing springs of "Pura Gunung Kawi Sebatu".  It is a beautiful terraced complex of temples and pools fringed with moss and ferns. Some of the pools are sacred, only for ritual bathing and prayer, and some are
for general public use to clean up. On this day, the temple was a lively place. Temples in Bali are used more like community centers. People hang out and kids even play games there. Just a lovely peaceful scene. No roosters!


Tuesday, March 12th.... NYEPI Day!!! This is an artist community, and the town Liz Gilbert wrote about in "Eat, Pray, Love"...I'm at the FOUR SEASONS HOTEL in UBUD, Bali.... Our rooms here are individual cottages each completely surrounded by jungle. I mean BIG lush green nature everywhere!!  I gotta say, this is MY kind of roughing it in the woods. Ray, I'm sorry you're missing this, but you'll be back soon and the next hotel will be nice too...... needless to say, I got to take it easy today, no sightseeing at all. As I mentioned, everything is closed for NYEPI,  and it is forbidden to walk around in the streets.
Lovely!!!  Eat, Sleep, write my blog!

Wednesday, 3/13/13...... an auspicious day. I'm starting to sound like a Balinese..... Today is Cooking Class. I was part of a group of 13 students from Australia and New Zealand plus one young American couple. We were taken to the Ubud Market to see where the locals buy their ingredients, then to a large rice growing area to learn more about how it is done. They use trained ducks to meander through the rice paddies and eat the snails and other parasites that weaken the plants, and there were a lot of those guys all over the place. They also use python snakes to eat the rats!

We were taken to the home of our chef and her husband in a quiet village outside of Ubud. The name of the School is "Paon Bali Cooking Class".... They were so funny and charming and ran a top notch program . We all helped cook 9 different dishes using basic yellow sauce, peanut sauce and curry.
Then we sat down and ate it! ALL very delicious... Beer was included! What a concept! I am bringing the recipes home to try on Ray since he had to miss this day.

Thursday, 3/14 ..... This is the day I leave the 4 Seasons to meet Ray at the airport early in the morning to fly to Java, the island just West of Bali.  SO good to be reunited and continue on our journey together! He looks amazingly fresh after flying half way around the world twice in 3 1/2 days.
We land at the airport at Yogyakarta, JAVA,  and head straight for our first big sight. It is Prambanan Temple complex.... a vast Hindu Temple complex dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu, and Brahma...this is one
of the three largest and most significant temple complexes in all of Southeast Asia, and its only about 10 minutes drive from the airport!  They have earthquakes and volcanos here, and this temple area was completely destroyed a couple of times and rebuilt. They don't give up easy when it comes to the gods!

Prambanan Hindu Temple compound near Yogykarta, Java

Entrance to Amanjiwo hotel, Borobudur

A really great lap pool  at AMANJIWO..... life's good!

Our hotel here is the "Amanjiwo"... Another AMAN hotel nestled in a valley surrounded by an amphitheater of mountains, ( the Menoreh Hills )  including both active and inactive volcanos. It is a gem of serenity. Except this  Indonesian province is Muslim, and they chant over loudspeakers every few hours. If you've ever been in a Muslim country, you'll know what I'm talking about. We first experienced this in Istanbul a few years ago. We will be trying Javanese cuisine in the hotel restaurant this evening.

Rice fields and Menoreh hills all around our  hotel.  Many of these are volcanic mountains, some active...

One Street in the village near our hotel

Local women at work. They all were so warm and smiling.... Happy to see us there I guess.

Friday, 3/15.... Hiking in the rice paddies behind the hotel and swimming after breakfast. And taking it easy all morning in this beautiful place. This afternoon was the visit to the largest Buddist temple in the world, just a short drive from the hotel. We can actually see the thing from our lobby.  It's called
"Borobudur", and is a UNESCO world heritage site. Constructed from 750 to 842 AD. It is a massive, multi level structure covered with carvings in the lava stone to depict scenes of the life of Buddha and
the progression of the soul toward redemption. We were driven back to the hotel at the end by a traditional horse drawn cart through simple villages with smiling locals. They are very friendly and accepting here.

Mini model of the entire Borobudur temple complex

Tourists!

A wall carved to show The Buddah's life and path to enlightenment 

Resting with our guide, Hanafi

  Friday evening was a pretty unique dinner at a very traditional Javanese "restaurant"
called "Pak Patal"..... named after it's opener who is also a local celebrity photographer. A tiny establishment in the families house in the middle of a small village. His wife cooked at a single wok, his sister was waitress and he was host and friendly photographer. We noticed he took special care with the composition of our shot at the table. They only served about 8 diners at a time, and the menu was all the same.... chicken with rice and veges, soup and chicken with noodles. Simple and yummy. We had such fun checking out the traditional kitchen and chatting with the other diners who spoke English.

Pak Patel's wife is cooking in had personal kitchen and sister is our waitress. They prepared an authentic Java meal.

Dinner chez Pak Patel

Saturday, March 16th. our last day at the Amanjiwo. We had a morning tour of the local market. It was HUGE with many stalls and sellers in a labyrinth if aisles. Our guide, Hanafi, explained what we were seeing, as many of the food and grain items were unknown to us. The tiny little women who worked in the booths thought Ray at 6'4" was very entertaining. They did a lot of pointing and giggling.

Java market scenes.......

Next we shopped at a local tourist stall that sold Batik clothing and lots of handicrafts. I bought a bunch of items and Ray told the woman who worked there that I'm a jazz singer. Well, her brother is a pro, trained in NYC, guitar I think. And her Husband is a music teacher of some sort and loves standards. In fact ( amazing but true) he had a group of music students from the local university at his home that very morning and they were doing "The Days of Wine and Roses".... So he shouts "Come on down, Boston, and sing it for us." We tell everybody we're from "near Boston". So I did Wine and Roses with
him and "Lullabye of Birdland". It was so impromptu and fun! I guess they figured I was the "Real
deal" as I come from the land of those composers.

Art Shop

Cute but hard to pack....

Singing "Days of Wine and Roses"

Dodging raindrops, we headed out to visit 2 local villages known for their cottage industries. First pottery ( I got to attempt a wheel ) and then a tofu village. Wow! This was really done the old way.
It was a sweatshop with about 6 workers and steaming pots being stirred and cleansed with constant buckets of water. A big noisy machine that crushed the soybeans and transformed them into a white liquid. Then a drying rack with about 50 flat tofu cakes draining. They do this all morning and in the afternoon they deep fry it all in coconut oil. Most of what we saw at the market was deep-fried.
Just amazing. Such hard, noisy work. OSHA in the US would have shut them down is a second!

Artisanal Tofu---- The real deal!

Afternoon was devoted to the task of keeping cool,  and relaxing....I got a big 1 1/2 hour deep tissue massage. We tried another local village restaurant on our last night in Java, and this time it was a big disappointment. Boring food and no ambience. But its where the real locals eat, so that was  worth doing.
We returned to the hotel for Rays Irish Coffee, and my Watermelon Daquri . That was dessert.

Sunday , March 17th, was travel day.   We spent all day flying from Yogyakarta through Jakarta ( the Indonesian capital and home to 30 million should in the greater area...... about 15 million in the central city)
and on to SINGAPORE and the famous Raffles Hotel. We got in just in time to check in and go off to dinner at "Blue Ginger". Small and charming place that serves Singapore's best "Peranakan" cuisine.
Thats a blend of Malay and Chinese. very yummy. We had a whole halibut with a rich but not too hot chili sauce, and a really cool starter that looked like a mini cupcake made of custard, lemongrass, and a small prawn on top. you eat it like sushi.. all at once.Tay had spring rolls. He orders them a lot.
Hot evening and we walked back 1/2 way to the hotel past many bridal shops. So many white dresses!
It must have been the shopping area for brides. We ended the evening in the Raffles hotel "Long Bar" for a good Irish beer  and a Singapore Sling, and a good dance band! Didn't last long though after our big travel day.

Raffles Hotel, Singapore

So Singapore is a tropical city state at the tip of Malaysia, separated from that country by water. It is an island which features modern high rises towering over extensive urban parks and forests. It is one of the world's most densely populated countries with close to 7 million people on a group of islands with a total area of roughly a quarter of the size of Rhode Island. It is incredibly diverse with a mix of Chinese, Malay, Indian, and European countries. Luckily for us, the common language is English. The British were here for 170 years. Stanford Raffles of the British East India Trading Co. got the modern Singapore launched in 1817 by obtaining a charter to transform it from a fishing village to a free port.

Monday, March 18th.... touring the town with our new guide, Shamala, and driver, Raja. Visited little India, with an amazing Hindu temple in the South Indian style. We girls found a cool little shoe shop in
a back alley called "Little India Footwear".. And a charming salesgirl intent on selling us the whole shop! Cute, comfy shoes, very Indian with lots of "Bling". Apparently , According to Shamala, who is Indian, our husbands are judged for their success on how much bling we wear. so I bought 4 pair for under $100 US. Ask me to show them to you. They are COOL!
Then we went to the Muslim neighborhood and took in the atmosphere. Big mosque there, of course.
Thankfully no chanting on the loudspeaker like in Java!
Last was Chinatown... the largest of the 3, reflecting the balance of the population. MAny shops and restaurants, and a Wonderful Buddist temple which we explored for quite a while. Land was donated by the government, and the people raised the money to build the whole thing. Must have cost a fortune!
Lunch was in a local chinese spot that featured Dim Sum and sold all the stuff necessary for a fancy Chinese tea ceremony. They did sample ceremonies in the back, but we passed on that.
Back to hotel around 2pm for a nap and for Rays massage. Travel makes you so sore!

Singapore is known as the Lion City

The top of a Soutern India Hindu Temple

Singapore's Chinatown

Buddhist Temple Exterior

Inside the Buddhist temple!

Dinner tonight is Special! We are celebrating 33 years since the night we met, ( actually it's tomorrow the 19th). The restaurant is a fancy French one called "Les Amis"...... Beautiful , elegant place with an AMAZING wine list! We can't remember when we saw so many great wines on the same list.
Ray had Langoustines and Baby lamb ( so sad!) and I had scallop ceviche with caviar, and beautiful sole in a super sauce with veges..... we ordered a coconut dessert, and in addition, they brought a slice of cake and candle in honor of our anniversary. It was a truly lovely dinner. We took photos.

Tuesday, March 19th... morning at the Gardens by the Bay and the "cloud forest" a dome like structure
with waterfalls, habitats and lots of plants. We had a ball exploring and taking photos and movies of it all..... then off to the Marina Bay Sands hotel, a landmark ( google it to be amazed!) for lunch on top. "Sky on 57th" ( floor) restaurant. Amazing views of Singapore and a great lunch!!! Man are we livin' now! We dined on Soft shell crab salad, Barramundi in a curry sauce, and an asian dish of noodles and seafood. Fresh fruit and mango sorbet for dessert. Ray ordered a lovely french Burgandy and we almost drank the whole bottle! Then we went shopping for mens designer watches in a massive indoor mall across from the hotel. ..... Ray at last resisted, and we cabbed it back to the hotel for a rest.

A recent addition to the Singapore skyline... The Marina Bay Sands Hotel with pool on top

Strolling through the Gardens by the Bay

Cloud Palace at Gardens by the bay

City view from the "Sky on 57" restaurant terrace in the Marina Bay Sands hotel

Another City view with the Cloud Palace and Flower Palace and "Conservatrees" from the Gardens by the bay

View from the hi rise Bar

Singapore feels a bit like Disney land!

Marina Bay Sands form the gardens

Dinner our last night in Singapore was at the night safari at the zoo! very simple noodles and fish.
We saw a bunch of zoo animals in the dark. A little wonky but fun for a change.

My overall impression of Singapore...... it is a jolt of the West in the middle of a very deeply "asian" world. They have lots of money and they spend it freely developing and sprucing up their little country. Very focused on business and being "upscale", unlike all of its neighbors. It is a little too pristine to be real. There is NO graffiti and not trash on the streets anywhere. There were also very few cops around patrolling. The people just seem to know they better behave. Nice place to visit...... wonderful and varied eating possibilities! We didn't even scratch the surface.

Wednesday, March 20.... up early to head to the airport ( again!!) to fly to Hanoi... a Totally different place from Singapore. Driving in from the airport, it 's depressing. Most of the areas look like what we would call a slum, but this is just how people live here. They have definitely gone modern for about a block around our beautiful colonial French hotel, the Sofitel Metropole. The Metropole was built by the French back in 1901. in '96, the added a completely new wing, complete with all the amenities. It's a beautiful place. Across from the front entrances a Valentino Store, then Gucci and Prada... a real jolt!
Lots of designer watch and handbag stores. Feels crazy here. Our room is not huge, but lovely and the service is great. We have a butler! I got a manicure in the hotel salon and almost fell over when she told me the price... $12 US.. What a bargain, right girls?   We Checked in around 1pm and the rest of the day was leisure. We just strolled around to acclimate. The traffic here is ridiculous!! 95% motorbikes,
but they come at you en masse and don't slow down. Crossing the street is very scary. Reminds us of Cairo, only there it was mostly cars!

Hanoi's Metropole Hotel

The pool and Bamboo Bar

Metropole Lobby

Dinner tonight was at  Restaurant Nam Phoung. Traditional Vietnamese in a converted French villa.
Very nice but not thrilling food. The highlight was the music. 3 lovely ladies played old world instruments all evening.

Thursday, March 21st...... Touring with our guide, Bell, and driver, Tom in downtown Hanoi.
Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum ( he died in the 60's and is actually embalmed and his real body is displayed in the coffin. This man is the national hero here, and mobs of citizens, schoolchildren, and visitors
flock to see him and pay homage daily. We were not into the homage part, but went for curiosity.
Then to the Hoa La Prison, commonly known as the Hanoi Hilton during the "American War"...
This prison was built and used by the French during the colonial years to detain and punish Vietnamese patriots who caused trouble for them. Then later by the Vietnamese as a war prison. Quite a few American pilots and soldiers were detained there, including John McCain. It was a truly brutal place, and very disturbing to visit.

Cooling off in the shade in a Hanoi park near the hotel

City Hall

HAnoi traffic madness... almost no stop signs or traffic lights, but they all seemed to know how to avoid each other

The Hanoi Opera House

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh's official Residence

Schoolchildren getting their reward for the visit to mausoleum

Ho Chi Minh Museum..... he's a big deal there. The national hero.

The entrance to Hoi La Prison, also known as the "Hanoi Hilton"

Plaster models show life inside prison

At lunchtime, we met up with a young woman , Lin, who is a chef in town. She gave us a guided tour through the street food markets, and took us to a very local noodle restaurant for "eel noodle soup".
Then She left us and Bell took us to another small local place that made rice pancakes stuffed with pork and veges, and more kinds of noodle soup. It was really fun to eat with the locals, and just what they eat daily. Very tasty too! After lunch we returned to the hotel. I had a swim in the pool, and Ray took his camera and went walking. He returned just beat, but still met up with Bell at 4:30 to go see a performance by Hanois famous water puppet theater. This is a beloved Vietnamese folk tradition.
Hidden behind a screen, puppet masters stand partly submerged in a big pool of water and direct many different puppets in scenes from traditional folk stories.  Traditional music too.....Ray found it very entertaining and took video clips for me to watch later.

Hanoi Street market..... people shop here daily for fresh ingredients

Dessert shop

Selling Dragonfruit... it's quite delicious.

These poles go over the shoulders... they don't look comfy at all

sampling eel noodle soup in a local shop

It was tasty!

Our Vietnamese pancake Restaurant. All is prepared  right out on the sidewalk..
The pancakes are made by the guy in black t shirt. He pours a white liquid made from pureed rice and water onto the surface of the pot in front of him and lets it steam for about a minute . The red table in the foreground is where we dined, on tiny plastic stools.

A Street lunch. rice pancakes filled with  spicy pork & veges, then 2 kinds of noodle soups.... We almost felt like locals!

The pancake restaurant. You try to pronounce it!

Dinner was at a very nice restaurant called Le Verticale. The chef used to cook at the classic french place at our hotel, the Metropole. He's moved on to fusion, and the dishes were very interesting.
Soups, clams with artichoke sauce, and fois gras with neat condiments. Then a luscious pork dish for Ray and seared tuna for me. No dessert, as we had indulged in the chocolate buffet at the hotel mid afternoon. I wasn't going to talk about that. Wow! Overindulgent!

Friday, March 22nd....Did I mention FOOD?? Today is feast and sample it all day! We both really enjoy Vietnamese food and have for years. But it is all new eating it here.

I tried Pho, pronounced like the french work for fire, feu, for breakfast. It was a traditional breakfast which included a rice stew . Ray had eggs or something. We are getting a lot of fresh tropical fruits for breakfast everyday. Love that.

Our  lovely guide, Bell, took us to the home of a local chef for a late morning cooking class.
His mother and aunt were his shoppers and kitchen help. They were so sweet!
We made Barbecue pork in a broth, spring rolls ( yes we rolled them ourselves), and a dish of catfish with tomatoes and turmeric to make the sauce taste kind of curry, green onions and fresh herbs.
We sat down to lunch together and dined with a cold beer and good company.  then he served us his own homemade yogurt with fresh fruit for dessert and tea after. We had a really lovely time and promised him we would try this at home. We will have to check the local asian market to see if ingredients are available.

Spring roll ingredients

Chef Dong in his home kitchen

This is for Dave..... pops in a chef jacket!

Chef's mother and her sister did a lot of the prep work for us.

Spring roll technique

I messed up the first couple

Voila! Spring Roll!

Barbecue Pork on the grill..... in 90 degree weather

Chef's back yard

!/2 pork belly and 1/2 meatballs.... all cooked

Serious business

Time to eat! Barbeque pork in a broth soup

Delicious spring rolls!

Cooked just right

Serving up the catfish in tamarind sauce

Ray, Bell, and our driver, Tom

The afternoon was restful around the hotel pool, then we went out in the evening to explore town a bit and dine at the small restaurant of a local celebrity chef.....Her name is Anh Tuyet.... she has a cooking school, and has won awards for some of her dishes. She is known as Anthony Bourdain's Hanoi cooking consultant. She only serves a set 6 course meal with dessert. So we tucked in and let them bring it on!
#1 course, a hot and spicy shrimp and vege soup
#2 Her famous Honey roasted chicken. Amazing!
#3 Shrimp in a savory sauce with green herbs, botchy and garlic
#4 Steamed catfish with 5 spices ( turmeric, Black mushroom, dill, ginger, soy bean sauce)
#5 Fried rice with seafood
#6 Beef with pepper sauce
Dessert was a fried banana with honey and chopped peanuts.


The restaurant had a small balcony where you could stand with a comforting glass of wine and look down on the street life. People dining on tiny plastic stools right on the sidewalk, walking, parking their motorbikes and hanging out on other balconies all around. It was a super fun evening. The food was not fancy, but very real and quite delicious.

Outside the Metropole Hotel is the "in" place for couples to shoot photos for their wedding album

And this couple wanted Ray in the photo!

Saturday, MArch 23rd...... we departed Hanoi and flew on Vietnam Airlines to Danang to drive to the historic town of Hoi An, just south of Danang and on the coast. All of Vietnam is on the coast of the
South China Sea. We checked in to our next hotel, the lovely Nam Hai, complete with beach and 3 swimming pools! Restful afternoon , and in the evening, we took a cab to a local restaurant along the Hio An river.

Our hotel in Hoi An is the famous Nam Hai. It is a beautiful beach resort with 100 mini villas of varying sizes. Ours was a 1 bedroom right on the beach. The pools ( my all time favorite lap pool) restaurants and service were all just wonderful.

The Nam Hai Hotel pool with beach beyond

Another great lap pool!

Sunday, March 24th..... Sunday was our walking tour of Old town Hoi An. This was a very quiet, very spiritual little village for fishing and worshipping in the remarkable temples, which amazingly was not damaged at all during the war.  So in 1999, UNESCO declared it a world heritage site with about 800 historical landmarks. Since then it has become a big tourist destination, and has unfortunately lost most of its charm. The big business here, for reasons that elude me, is custom tailoring. Clothing and
Shoe shops abound! So Ray went to a good one, and had a jacket made for him in a day! Also a pair of nice leather shoes which fit him remarkably well! And glasses! Ray had 2 pair of prescription sunglasses made and I had one. Well done, and good prices. HAppy campers!
We returned to the hotel for a late lunch by the pool. I had an amazing seafood salad, and Ray, fish and veges. Both dishes were just fantastic. The food here, when prepared with care by a good chef, is amazing. At the Nam Hai Hotel, they use all local organic ingredients.

Some shots of our day in Hoi An:

Blending sugar to sell to local vendors

Hoi An temple of the god of Martial Arts

Cyn with our guide, Hoan

Hoi An temple entrance

Another beautiful one

The Japanese Bridge

Tourists on the bridge

Street scene

Authentic street vendor, staying as cool as she can

These ladies make it look like a cool day. Actually beastly hot! We learned that keeping their skin pale is imperative if you want your husband to stick around. They would much rather sweat than tan.

Ray being measured for his custom shoes in Hoi An. They were completed the next day and turned out beautifully!

Hoi An restaurant

Sidewalk market in the mid day heat!

Great tropical fruit display 

Posing at temple entrance... that cool, loose dress came in SO handy

Ray's shot of the village and Hoi An River

Hands too, must be pale.

Fishing boats on the Hoi An river

Art gallery display

Crazy puppies!

Happy Buddah at the Hoi an Marble sculpture showroom

This one we couldn't resist.... they are shipping it to us.

Art we didn't buy

You can't take everything home!

Monday, March 25th.... Departed the Danang Airport ( a nice modern terminal ) for Saigon ( Ho Chi
Minh City now) and our 2 night stay at the Park Hyatt Saigon Hotel.  We arrived midday to 90 degree heat. Hard to breathe!  Our local guide took us around town for about 2 hours to see the Presidential Palace, and a couple of French colonial era landmarks: the Notre Dame Cathedral, and the Post office that resembles a Parisian train station. When the French colonized Vietnam, Saigon was their capitol
City, although they had a presence everywhere. Grateful for "Air Con" in the car!

Saigon Presidential Palace... This was the headquarters for the South Vietnamese government during the war.
The day Saigon fell, the North Vietnamese tanks broke through the gates.

Palace front gate

A reception room inside the palace

City Post office, French colonial building

The inside of the post office resembles a Parisian train station

Notre Dame cathedral... The French built this near the Post office using bricks imported from Marseille

The Saigon Opera house, near our Hotel, the Park Hyatt

Tuesday, March 26th..... an excursion to the countryside, past rice paddies, water buffalo, and many small villages to Tay Ninh province. Our first stop was the CU CHI TUNNELS. Built under a village
not too far from Saigon, these are an elaborate maze of tiny  crawl space tunnels with strategically located larger cavernous gathering areas . All underground and the entrances camouflaged. These were used as hiding places for documents and supplies during French times, and for Viet Cong and villagers during the "American" war. There are underground eating, sleeping and surgery areas. And many tourists!

Tourist trying out a tunnel

Tunnel entrance

A beautiful Jackfruit tree

The French brought coffee and rubber trees to Vietnam

More rubber trees with the cups in place to collect the liquid under the bark that is processed to become latex

After about another hour of driving, we arrived at a town which is the home of the largest "CAO DAI"
Temple complex . We were there to witness the midday religious ceremony. Cao Dai ( pronounced cow die ) ...is a religion with about 3 million followers. It is a fusion of Buddist, Taoist, and Confucian
traditions , with an admin structure that vaguely resembles Catholic.  The architecture of this massive temple, the costumes and the gong sounds combined to create a truly magical and mystical experience.
For me, it was worth the several hours of driving back and forth to experience it. Ray wasn't so sure.

Entrance to the Cao Dai Temple compplex

The main temple

Side view... it's quite large

Interior mid day worship

Very animated ceremony and quite moving to watch

Tuesday night was dinner at "La Carmague".. a french place right near the hotel. Food, wine, and pianist were all quite nice. Then we strolled over to the Rex Hotel for a drink on the outdoor terrace.
Even the evenings are very hot here.

Wednesday, March 27th......Ray went back out there to see more of Saigon, and I stayed in the AC room to relax and write here about the trip.

Saigon City Hall, just a block from the hotel

Spice market

She looks a little Bored!

They are big on incense

Elaborate temple

Saigon City scene

Model ship workshop and store. Ray was impressed.

At breakfast, they served these whole coconuts. they sliced off the top and stuck in a straw. Freshest coconut juice I've ever had!

Then we packed up ( AGAIN, but who's complaining?) and went to the airport to take a short flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. This is the town that grew up in the middle of nowhere to support the tourist trade for the famous ancient temple city of ANGOR WAT....... this huge city was built by the Khmers in the 9th to 12th centuries. Do google this if you are interested.  Worth exploring. During the 12th century, we are told, this city had the largest population of any place in the world! About 1 million souls lived in and around here.

So we checked in to yet another serene and elegant Aman Hotel, the Amansara, set back off the road right in town. Dinner was at the hotel, a Khmer menu. Delicious dishes with chicken, beef, and fish, and tofu: each in a delicately spiced sauce with lots of veges. Very delish and healthy.  Ray orderd us a nice bottle of Chablis grand Cru and we were in heaven!! Big orange full moon in the sky to boot!

Amansara entrance

1965 Mercedes limo.... our transport from the airport to the hotel

Amansara Spa walk

First dinner at Amansara

Amansara courtyard

Thursday, March 28th..... up early to ride a "Tuk Tuk" to the temples. I developed stomach problems in the night, so the morning was a bit of a challenge for me. Constantly searching for the next bathroom!
But I made it. We visited the Ta Phrohm..... lovingly known as the "Temple in the Jungle". This was built by the king at the time for his mother, as a temple, not a home. This temple is supposedly being restored, but it looked like a very daunting task HUge stones lying all over the place!

We loved cruising around in the Tuk Tuk

The Temple in the Jungle.... hundreds of years in the making

Kind of creepy!

A better sense of scale

Beautiful carving abounds!

It is so hot here, it's mandatory rest time in the middle of the day. Thank goodness for "Air Con" in the hotel! I  had a Cambodian lunch here at the Amansara, and Ray a burger and fries......
Then a long nap for me and a massage for Ray. Ray went back out temple climbing in the afternoon, and I stayed home to tend to my fragile tummy.  HE saw the walled Buddhist city of Angor Thom and the Bayon temple which is the central structure....  In the evening we had a music and dance performance from the local traditional dance school, very lovely with definite Thai influence. Then dinner at "Dam Nak" a local Cambodian restaurant run by a French couple. But very authentic food. We rode through the town of Siem Reap to dinner in the Tuk Tuk.... it is pleasant to feel the hot evening air fanning your face.

Ray's visit to Angkor Thom

Bas reliefs at the Bayon Temple, the central structor of Angkor Thom

Ray's big Buddah with offerings

A young monk and friends at Angkor Thom

11th Century Angkor Thom Stone head. A million people lived in this walled city  at that time.

Ray's learning a traditional dance gesture.

Big Head, Small Head

Buddah by the moat

Ray captured this fabulous sculpture

Tug of War Buddah Bridge..... more info on this welcome

Market outside the temple where offerings are sold which people use as part of their prayer ritual.

Friday, March 29, we're celebrating the birthday of yours truly! The blogger!! We woke to our 4:30am call and downed a hasty breakfast of fresh fruit, tiny bit of pastry, and tea/ cappuccino, then met our guide Hann to drive to ANGOR WAT, the enormous temple for which the city is named. It is the world's larges sacred building, and an architectural masterpiece. It incorporates both Hindu and Buddhist mythology, with great carvings everywhere, and incredible stories portrayed by the worlds longest panel of bas relief carvings.  We arrived at about 5:15 am and were the first people there, walking around in the dark!! Hann had a flashlight and proceeded to give us history and explain the stories in the carvings. We we almost awake enough to comprehend..... one other family joined at that point, and our guides took us to the terrace just below the top towers to watch the sunrise at about
6:15...... it was pretty magical to be up top and alone ( almost) among the buddahs, the "Apsara" goddess carvings, and the whisperings of ancient times. We wandered around for about 40 minutes and
explored the many corners and mini temples within. then we descended to explore the lower parts of Angor Wat... it's huge.

Arriving at Angor Wat Temple at 5am.... before daybreak

On the upper terrace of Angor Wat

Posing amid the stone walls of Angkor Wat at sunrise

Again

The stairs we climbed to get to the tower

Some of the amazing carvings of the Khmer people.. These are 2 goddesses.
The temple was Hindu until Buddhism was introduced in about the 16th century.

Another goddess... the breasts are shiny from many hands touching.

Buddahs in ritual garb

One side of the temple from a distance

Angkor Wat towers in the early sunlight

Many people come early every morning to watch the sunrise.

East side of Temple

We returned to the hotel at about 9am for breakfast. We were surprised to learn that the hotel had arranged a blessing ceremony with an authentic real deal Buddhist monk! He chanted and tossed jasmine flowers in our faces as we sat in prayer pose with eyes closed. We weren't sure what he was all about, but the flowers smelled good , and we were told he was wishing us and our WHOLE Family
health, happiness, and success in business!!! So we gratefully accepted this traditional birthday blessing! Oh, did I mention? Remember in Bali, the words for Mr and Mrs were Bapak and Ibu.
Here in Cambodia it is "Bong"!! So we are Bong Ray and Bong Cyn. It's charming. I hope it sticks.

Mid afternoon we departed with Hann again for a helicopter ride over the whole area, to view temples
we would otherwise never see, and learn that the whole region is flat as a pancake with the exception of a few hillocks here and there. The main impression was Angor Wat is a huge spread out area, and there is a lot of space between temples. The ride was fun with our Aussie pilot.

Dinner was at a local restaurant called "Sugar Palm" and again we rode the Tuk Tuk to town. The food was good but simpler than last night. We had fun tasting the Khmer dishes. Back at the hotel, the staff prepared a cheesecake in my honor and made a big fuss about my birthday.  That was a treat!

To bed fairly early for another early morning.

Saturday, March 30th....... Our last day in Southeast Asia!

Up early again ( 5:30) for a ride to the temple called "The Citadel of the Women".... This is a small temple at the far end of the complex, about a 45 minute drive from the hotel. It is known for the best 
and most artistic carvings of all, and it did not disappoint. It is entirely a Hindu temple. We arrived at 6:45am, and again were among the first. It was peaceful until about 7:30when ( sorry!) the noisy Chinese tourists arrived.

Banteay Srei, or "Citadel of the Women" temple.  Intricate carvings here are regarded as the finest in Cambodia.
This temple is so well preserved largely because it has only been accessible since the 1990's when the Khmer Rouge left the area.

Just one of the amazing carvings in the red sandstone at Banteay Srei

Somebody has to keep the place up!

We returned to the hotel at 8:30 to enjoy a traditional Cambodian breakfast called "Nam Ben Chok".
It consists of fresh homemade rice noodles, broth, veges, and banana flowers. Very delicious and made only in Cambodia. quick departure in Sally's car to go to the place where you board the boats to go visit the "Floating Villages" on the huge lake near Siem Reap. Sally, our hotel manager, took very good care of us and sent us with beer and a picnic lunch for the ride. It is nearing the end of the dry season here ( rainy season starts in May), and the lake is low and water brown and muddy. There is a Cambodian village on left and a Vietnamese on Right. They don't understand each others language, so keep very separate.

The "Floating Village" on the huge lake near Siem Reap

After the floating village, we motored on for about and hour to dock at the "Village on Stilts"... about 2,000 live here. Its crude homes built about 20 feet off the ground due to rising waters when it does rain. Scorching hot and dusty and very shabby living. But the land is free for as long as they want it. 
When rainy season comes, the waters rise to almost the level of the houses, and people go everywhere on little boats......So we walked down a dusty path that was main street in 100 degree heat..... my main goal was to get it over with and make it to the car with A/C at the far end of the village. Ray took a few photos, but honestly, we didn't stay long. The big event was wedding preparations were underway in the road in front of the bride's house, and the villagers were cooking together, and setting up chairs and decorations and an awning to keep the hot sun off the festivities. Quite a lot of activity. We got by with just a few purchases from the locals, and headed back to the comfort of the hotel, and our complementary foot massage at the spa! 

This was a bit rough, The "Village On Stilts"...

When the lake waters rise in the rainy season, these houses just float on the water...and people get around on boats

Our farewell dinner was in the beautiful Aman hotel restaurant. I had one last Cambodian meal, and Ray went Western...... and a good bottle of White Chateauneuf du Pape wine. "Domaine de la Janasse", very nice.  We bought a wonderful souvenir of the trip before we left: A sitting buddha in meditation pose, made of old wood from a pagoda or an old temple. Made recently, but looks ancient.
He's about 1 meter tall, and will serve to calm us down, and remind us of the serenity this great trip gave us both... the trip, things we saw, people we met, or at least observed.... and all those spa massages!

I'm wrapping up my narrative on the morning of the 31st in the Soeule, South Korea airport.  I stopped in an airport cafe for a Korean breakfast. I learned they eat soups there in the morning. Noodles, or rice, different broths and meats or tofu, and veges.. ....from warmly spicy to hot! Mine was fish broth, rice, and bean sprouts, a poached egg, and some small veges. Delicious!  We have a few hours here, then fly over the pole to home, arriving later this morning... don't ask . Its about the dateline. We enjoy long flights but this is a bit ridiculous....... what can you expect when you travel to the other side of the globe?