The 8:30am pick up for the drive to the Siem Reap Angkor International Airport came mighty early. En route we saw local students lining the roads holding photos of China's Premier Wen Jiabao who was arriving in Siem Reap as we were leaving.
OK, so my drive-by photo shooting needs some practice.
Chillin' in the aerogare with a lait au chocolat froid.
Yes, traces of Cambodian's colonial past were in evidence.
Yes, those were YOUR postcards I was writing.
The Artisans d'Angkor have a retail outlet at the airport as
well for any last minute souvenirs.
The tortured artist vs artisan
Off to the plane!
The busy airport that is Siem Reap Angkor International.
Our first glimpse of Ho Chi Minh City, formerly known as Saigon.
Saigon street scenes
The Vietnamese really do wear those conical hats and motorcycles are EVERYWHERE.
The route to Phan Thiet on the south central coast was a little moist.
Vivian and I made it to our hotel, the beautiful Victoria Phan Thiet Resort.
I never grow tired of that welcoming cool towel and drink.
Our room
Vivian models the bathtub.
On its own in case you found her high waisted shorts a little distracting.
The next day the threatening clouds had passed away.
(You know what tune to hum there, Dad.)
Lizard
Before my breakfast coffee
View from the restaurant deck
It's the little details, yes?
One pool
The open-roofed shower in our hotel room.
This wouldn't have photographed this well at night.
Loved it! I want one in Canada! Who cares if I could only use it three months of the year?
It also inexplicably held a hammock that took Vivian a while to figure out.
Nice girl, that Vivian, maybe not the sharpest cheese on the tray, but a nice girl.
Perseverance pays off
Another blue, blue morning and a more comprehensive view of the restaurant deck.
The fishing boats
The beach which was the only disappointment.
Here's why...
I had never in my life seen so much crap washed up on a beach, plastic spoons, cigarette boxes, old ball caps, sneakers, styrofoam takeaway food containers, rice bags, collarless T shirts, bits of cloth, broken glass, rope, fishing net, toothpaste tubes, metal pop cans with jagged edges from missing tops...the list of garbage went on and on. It was incredibly sad. For the first time in my life, I didn't even have the desire to go swimming in the ocean, one of the happiest places for me.
Back to pretty with the coracles bobbing on the blue.
Too bad we couldn't take one out.
The other pool where Vivian and I spent most of our time. We truly did nothing.
Our room
The pool from our room
The lounge
Sigh...time to drive back to Ho Chi Minh City to catch our flight to Shanghai
Two lane highway. All. The. Way.
Ox cart behind Vivian's big, fat head.
Communist monument
Cows!
For you, Jenni.
Another Communist monument
Rent-a-hammock rest stop.
Awesome idea!
Eventually made it back to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon.
I love hotel bathrooms and the one at the Movenpick in Saigon was very loveable.
Vivian can plank with the best of them.
Vietnamese money
Finally! I am a millionaire!
Only took five of these
Too much left unseen in both these countries, but I think it is better to have gone
and seen a bit, than never to have gone at all.
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