Popular spots in Saigon

On our walk we stopped at several spots from French Colonial days. BTW the Vietnamese are preparing to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the French ouster.
Included in this post is the Cathedral, the post office built by Eiffel, the Opera, and the Hotel de Ville.

Arrival Saigon

We left the riverboat in My Tho and drove by bus 1 1/2 hrs to Saigon AKA Hoh Chi Minh City (but not by the locals)! We are staying again at the Sofitel and it is as lovely but different than the other two. It is across from the American Consulate and next to the British Consulate.
As we had been here two years ago touring we decided not to do the same thing again with our group. Instead we took off walking. To our pleasant surprise we are finding Saigon even cleaner and more orderly than before. While one must still cross between the scooters there are frequent traffic lights which are sometimes obeyed! The streets are clean, we watched some being pruned and also found most trees had a number! This means that the family that lives nearest must care for that tree. There are consequences should something happen to it!

Bannana Flower Salad

We were served this delicious salad one evening and wondered where are the flowers. This morning at the market our trip director showed us the bannana flower. It is finely chopped as shown in the bowl and later prepared as a wonderful salad. BTW while we r eating prepared salads we are not eating any lettuces, basil or mint leaves on the advice of our trip director.

Al's visit to the Killing Fields

During the Pol Pot regime in Cambodia, over 2.5 million men, women and children were killed. The rulers wanted to return Cambodia to the agrarian society that it was during the Angkor period. After assuming power in 1975 they immediately drove all of the people from the cities in to the country side to work at growing and processing rice. They then rounded up the intellectuals, professionals, wealthy, opposition, and other influential people into interrogation centers. After torture and interrogation, they were then loaded in to trucks, driven to the country, and killed in the killing fields. After Pol Pot's government was driven out in 1979, the killing fields containing mass graves of skeletons were discovered. Today they are memorialized outside of Phnom Penh and other locations. Bones can still be found in the dirt of the fields.

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Crickets and Frogs

One night the Chef prepared a Cambodian dinner. One of the first courses was crickets and frogs---a local specialty. I was not brave enough but al tried them both. BTW the frogs were very very tiny. Our Cambodian wait staff said this was a favorite food.

Visit to Royal Palace

Our cyclos drove us to both the Royal Palace and the National Museum. The King of Cambodia who is now a figure head resides in this palace built primarily by the French in the 1860's. We all noted that the grounds of the palace are really spectacular, well maintained and in sharp contrast to the chaos, garbage and decaying state outside the palace walls!!!!!

Cyclo Tour of Phnom Penh

Cyclos are bicycle driven rickshaws with the driver behind the passenger. we had a morning tour of Phnom Penh aboard a cyclo. Here are a few shots from our outing. Our Welch friend, David Phillips can be seen in one wearing a mask which was recommended due to vehicle fumes and other pollution. One thing we couldn't help but notice is the tremendous amount of garbage all over the city. Often it was both "wet" and "dry" garbage....one can only imagine the stench of some of the piles we encountered.

Silk Island (aka Cambodian River Village)

As noted in separate post we visited this village noted for it's weaving. The looms were located under the homes as this is usually the coolest place to work. Along with the looms we also saw the family's cattle and a grandson having a bath! The last place we visited the loom was mechanized and so they could produce more fabric faster and with more uniform quality. I bought several scarves from the first family we met. As has been the case, the people we meet are so friendly and very willing to have their pictures taken.

Visit to a Cambodian River Village

We stopped in this rural river village as they are noted for their weaving. (See separate blog!) There is a Buddhist temple, a school, small store. We were told that the community is relatively self--sufficient and does ok! Life is very basic but the people we encountered were friendly, welcoming and seemed quite content.
As a side note, when the captain went too back from the shore he appeared to be stuck in the mud. After 15-20 minutes he was able to release the boat. Al and i could only wondered what would happen next since there is NO Cambodian Coast Guard to come to our rescue!

Afternoon in Phnom Penh

We continued on the tuk-tuk through the streets clogged with scooters, bicycles, more tut-tuks and some cars and trucks. we passed by this sky scraper which seemed somewhat incongruous in a crowded city composed mostly of narrow 3-4 storied building usually appearing dilapidated. However we passed quite a few new construction sites and one has the impression that the city is rapidly changing. BTW it is a very common site for the whole family to ride on the motor scooter. Somehow I just can't see the O's or Brooks and family all aboard a motor scooter driving around Seattle!

Our destination was the renowned Raffles Hotel where we decided to stop for cocktails. Reminiscent of the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, this lovely old charming yet up to date place was quite a change from the city outside it's grounds.
(At the end of the pics you can see my attempt at a selfie holding my cocktail--a Singapore Sling, made famous at the Raffles Hotel in Singapore!)

Central Food Market Phnom Penh

We found almost everything at the market. families shop daily and it is not unusual to see food items prechopped and packaged for easy pick up. This is aa city of over a million and there does not seem to be any grocery store. Frequently we saw the merchants swinging over their stall relaxing in a hammock perhaps as some relief from the extreme heat.

Phnom Penh Market--Fish

Just outside the main market is a large food market. Fish is an important part of the diet especially fresh water fish. We have driven past lots of fish farms. We also saw a large bowl of snails...just like the ones that we saw being taken from the river in Kompong Cham by the family on their small boat.