The Bro Trip

Yep, you saw it! This morning was our last in Vietnam. We're now in a hotel in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We left Saigon 9 am and had a nice and bumpy 6 hour bus ride. We've been spending our first day here in Phnom Penh just walking around the city and having a nice dinner with traditional Cambodian food. Took a stroll home through the city, watching people and buildings. So far, we think it's a nice city, but nothing really special about it. About 1,3 milj people live here in Phnom Penh and 15 milj total in Cambodia. This is, just as Vietnam, a former french colony. But they got independent the 9th november 1953, so yeah, we got here the on their national day! Though, they didn't really celebrate it a lot, except for some fireworks in the afternoon and Cambodian flags hanging everywhere. Though everything is getting better here, Cambodia has a dark history, especially between 1975-1979. That was when the Cambodia was ruled by the Rogue Khmer led by Pol Pot. They attepted a agricultural reform inspired by Maoism and Marxism and forced all the people in Phnom Penh and other big cities to go out on the fields and work for at least 12-15 hours a day. Young, old, sick or weak - it didn't matter. All scholars, monks and educated people were excecuted. This was going on for about 3½ years until Vietnamese forces invaded and put an end to their rule. It's estimated that over 1,4 million people died during those years. So tomorrow, we're taking a little trip to a place known as The Killing Fields. As you may understand, this is where they took people and killed them. Lots of massgraves and skulls to be found here. It's gonna be an interesting day tomorrow!


Marcus in Phnom Penh inside a Tuk-Tuk. A motorcycle with a carriage.

But, we didn't just kick back and relax yesterday. No no, we took a trip a couple of miles south of Saigon to the Mekong Delta. Mekong is the world's 12th longest river. It starts in Tibet and flows through China, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and at last to Vietnam where it turns into a delta just before reaching the ocean. Lots of people live here and mainly, produce rice here. But a really beautiful place with lots of small canals and thick jungle surrounding it. We booked a tour and took the bus for two hours to get there. With us was also our partner in crime, Trent. And lots of other people of course, but screw them. We started by visiting a pagoda, or temple, with a gigantic Buddha outside. But we're kinda bored with all the temples now, so we didn't even bother to go inside.


Bros with giant Buddha.

After that we reached the delta and the river. We took a boat ride for about 30 min on the river to go to a small village. It was interesting to watch all the people and how they live and work on the river. When we came to the village, they showed us how they make the coconut candy (or lollies, whatever) they're famous for. And it tasted really good! Comes with different flavours - standard, peanut, chocolate and a few others. Marcus bought one bag with peanut taste and Trent bought one with chocolate. Chris was happy just taking from them. Before we left there, they showed us a big-ass snake! A "tame" snake (yeah right). Think it was a python. Trent disappeared before we even had time to see the snake, but marcus took it around his neck with a smile. Chris held a safety distance of 2 metres.


View from the boat.


Marcus with his new friend.

Then it was time to get into the boat again. This time in a really narrow canal, maybe 2-3m wide only. And with a guy that paddled. Almost like in Venice. Except for the jungle, of course. After a while, we had reached our destination and got off the boat. Now, it was time to watch some natives play traditional music. Three guys were playing on typical southeast asian instruments and two people were singing different songs. It was...maybe not the best we've heard. They are probably really good if you're into that kind of music, but to us it sounded like someone were strangling a bunch of cats. Really nasal and didn't sync with the music that much. Well well, it was an experience. After that we went to our bus and back to Saigon. Had dinner with Trent and went out to party in the evening (it was tough waking up today) and then took the bus to Cambodia this morning.


The guys - Trent, Chris & Marcus on the second boat.

We're gonna write a summary of our thoughts and experiences about Vietnam soon and post it here, and of course we'll give you the mugs of Vietnam too. In couple of days, or so. Time to go bed. Have fun in the snowstorm ;)
/ C & M