To describe Cambodia/Vietnam in a paragraph is a tough challenge. There was so much to see and do. A short flight from Hong Kong took me to Siem Reap, where the largest temples in the world reside. The temples cover a vast area of land within the cleared jungle so one has to get around using the tuktuk . The sheer scale of each temple makes you wonder how a more primitive society constructed such buildings. Phnom Penh is a much more suffocating city, attributable to both the humidity and the people harassing you on the streets. Phnom Penh offered a more sombre touristic visit with their Killing Fields and Prison S21 tours, exhibiting the brutal regime of the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge was responsible for the largest proportional genocide of the 20th Century, murdering over 20% of Cambodia's population.
Hanoi was a little lighter ; it's colourful colonial architecture and wide roads is a left over from their French oppressors. Again, examples of torture were displayed at the Hanoi Hilton, as well as anti-American propaganda. The art gallery was surprisingly one of the highlights. Beautiful Vietnamese artwork, scarcely found in the West. Visiting the embalmed Ho Chi Mihn was a strange experience , watching hundreds of locals queuing to pay their respects to their revered leader. His museum was even more bizarre as there was no order to it and it was difficult to follow but for 25c it wasn't a waste. The trip was rounded off with a junk boat trip to Ha Long Bay, gliding past gigantic rocks, some of which housed caves that told stories with their stalagmites and stalagtites formations, and venturing out to a floating fishing village.
Elephant Terrace at Angkor Thom, Cambodia.
Buddha Face Tower.
Ta Keo Temple.
Human skulls from the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek (15km south of Phnom Penh).
Seafood on the Victory Star boat, Ha Long Bay, Vietnam.
Fishing village, Ha Long Bay.
Ha Long Bay.
Ha Long Bay.
Caves, Ha Long Bay.