Cambodia: An Ancient Kingdom of the Khmer Empire

On the third day of Tet celebration, we left Sai Gon an hour before dawn heading to the borders between Cambodia and Viet Nam. It was over an hour away.









We got to the borders when the sun came up. The sky was beautiful clear blue with no cloud. The weather was not too hot. It was pretty pleasant during this time of the year.











The border check point by vehicles wasn't big and sophisticated like many countries in the world. Thousands of Cambodian and Vietnamese are crossing the borders on the daily basis.









There is a decent size of one population and the other live in the neighbor country for decades. They both share the similar way of living, cultures, and religions.









Soon after crossing the border, the road was getting worse. We couldn't drive any faster than 35 miles per hour. There were road constructions every now and then. But the scenery was beautiful and quiet with miles and miles of rice fields.

Housing structures and designs are similar to one another but they all looked different to the Vietnamese or Western designs. Most if not all of the houses built here had the bottom level raised a few meter high. I guess it was design with flood in mind.








Most of theses houses were made of wood and were really small to any standard. It was around 10 in the morning so everybody was working in the field so all the houses we passed were empty and locked up. There weren't many people we could see on the street. Cambodia has a very small population so this reflected it.

We stopped at a small town on the way to Phnom Penh called Krong Svay Rieng. The main road was no more than a mile long with a few shops on both sides of the road. There were 2 gas stations mostly provided to commercial trucks, buses and heavy farm equipments.









There were too many street food vendors selling snacks on hand made carriers. To our horror, the majority of the snacks sold here were bugs, crickets, and scorpions.










They were sold by the weigh or on sticks. They looked scary in both appearance and cleanliness.











The scariest snack of all was the deep fried giant spiders. These were so big, they looked just the same as the Mexican red-knee tarantulas I saw in pet shops in the U.S. Street vendors sold them whole with hairs sticking out all over. One is as big as a child's fist.









To prove the point of freshness, some vendors even carried a bucket of live ones on sight.
 
I didn't dare to try.










Beside these, they also sold fresh fruits like sweet pineapple and palm seed, which is my wife's favorite. There was nothing else.










The Khmer people are very religious and their main religion is Buddhism. There were plenty of temples on the roads we passed by.








The road to Phnom Penh was long and treacherous. Dirt and small rocks were kicked up to cover like fog to make driving a very tough task. Accidents were here and there on the road to remind us to put extra care into driving.









We finally got to Phnom Penh in the afternoon. We still have plenty of time for checking in and exploring the city.









 In the countryside, this was the basic public transportation mean. A motorbike pull-cart with 1x2x4s for seating was very common.

They could carry up to 20 people. They weren't fast but could take people around a small town quick and for a very low fee. There was no station to stop for loading and unloading. You just hollow to let the driver know where you want to be dropped off. Or to stand on the side of the roads to wave at them for boarding.

There were many beautiful temples in Cambodia. They look a little different from the other temples in their neighboring countries like Viet Nam and Thai Land with plenty of gold and pointy tops. 

In Cambodia or in all the warm and humid countries in the world, Bougainvilleas flowers are plenty. There are at least 3 different color and variations. I found them in all of the temples in Cambodia.

 A commercial truck flipped over on the side of the road. It's a reminder of how risky and hazardous to drive in a strange land that you weren't familiar with.

Sai Gon: The Year of the Snake New Year Celebration

We got back to Sai Gon happily in the warmer weather environment. The city turned very vibrant with shoppers everywhere we went because there was only 4 more days before the New Year celebration.








We had a couple of days for a very short trip before getting back home to be ready for this celebration. We ran a 2 day trip to Vung Tau, a seaside resort less than a hundred miles from Sai Gon. It would take less than 2 hours of driving with a few stops along the way.








Everything is cheap during this time of the year because businesses had come to a screeching halt. Workers went back to their homes some hundreds of miles away.










People were so busy to prepare and get their house back into shape for the New Year. The businesses that opened, charged less than a third of what they normally charge to draw in a handful of customers.








Food, transportation, and lodging were less than half price and there was no crowd. We booked the whole 2nd floor of a small hotel for the price of two rooms. And there was no neighbors.







The clean and sandy shore was so empty and deserted that it seemed we owned it. There was no hustling, no bargaining, and no noise, all for ourselves.



In the last few years coming back here for the New Year, we always booked a nice hotel in the middle of the Flower Festival Street, hotel Oscar. This hotel situated right in the middle of Nguyen Hue Blvd.








We could see how they built and presented the Festival right in front of our eyes from the balcony.














Once they were done, just a few steps down the lobby, we would be right in the middle of it.










We could walk to Ben Thanh Market about a mile away, and to Bach Dang River less than half of that distance.













We stayed here for 3 nights, then headed home for the New Year's eve.









As our customs, the first day of the year is the day we celebrate within the family. Family members gather around to receive the red envelopes, and the best wishes from each others.











There won't be any work for a few days. There won't be any thing but eating and drinking and gambling, big or small depends on the financial situation for that year.











It was hard for us because we could not get used to with sitting around doing nothing all day.











We couldn't go anywhere because all the businesses would be closed for this time of the year.














Most would be closed for a few days at the very least, and some would be closed for a week or two. They open only on the day that fit their Fengshui.






We always take this time to go on a trip to our neighboring countries, which don't celebrate Lunar New Year to spend a week away from all of those noises.



 





We wouldn't stay in Sai Gon for long. We would pack up and head to Phnom Penh Kampuchea soon for a few day trip.

China: Shanghai The one and only ...

Shanghai offers many spectacular views and different perspectives, ancient and modern, Eastern and Western, and both high-speed and slow-paced. 

Entering Shanghai, we would immediately be overwhelmed by its colors, its people, its futuristic skyscrapers and its diversified lifestyles. The very first thing we could see from a distance away were the 600+ meter Shanghai Tower and the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, with its distinctive pink spheres.

  Shanghai is situated on the estuary of Huangpu River. It serves as the most influential economic, financial, international trade, cultural, science and technology center in East China. 









It also is a popular destination for visitors to sense the pulsating development of this country. 




 





In addition to its modernization, the city's multicultural flair endows it with a unique mysterious attractiveness. Here, one can find the perfect blend of cultures, the modern and the traditional, and the Western and the Oriental.
 





 

New skyscrapers and old Shikumen, a traditional Shanghainese architectural style combining Western and Chinese elements that first appeared in the 1860s, together draw the skyline of the city.

Western customs and Chinese traditions intertwined and formed the city's culture, making a visitor's stay truly memorable.







 
The Huangpu River reminded me of the Thames River in London. The water is dark in color and I did see some parts where it looked very polluted, but the river plays a huge part in the identity of Shanghai and it provides beautiful backdrops for photos. It is a shame that just like many cities in China themselves, this river has gotten so polluted.




 

 The Huangpu is the largest river in Shanghai. It divides the city into two regions: Pudong to its east and Puxi to the west. Dong and Xi mean 'East' and 'West' respectively in Mandarin Chinese. 





 

First, we went to see if we could book up a river cruise at night, but it was pretty expensive. On this Friday night, it was also very crowded with all of the pushing and shoving from hoards of Chinese tourists to get on board then to fight some more in order to have a good place to stand ...





We should have skipped. But we couldn't pass this one of a lifetime opportunity, so there I paid almost $60.00 for two tickets for a mere 30 minute ride on the Quanqiu Tong ship, one of the large fleet of luxury ships on Huangpu River. The name means 'the Crystal Palace on the River' due to its transparency. This ship contains the most glass in comparison with other cruise ships in the area.




This ship has everything: Bar Counter, Sunny Deck, Banquet Hall, Conference Room, Central Air Conditioning, Television etc. They serve light meals and coffee, as well as soft drinks on board. Believe it or not, there were a bunch of passengers gathered around tables inside with meals and drinks on their hands ignoring the most important thing on this trip: beautiful scenery of Shanghai at night.






The temperature once again dropped back into the low single digit, and with the wind blown across the bow, where we stood, made my whole body shaking uncontrollably.






Shanghai's scenery at night is so lively and beautiful. The ornate classical and modern buildings take on a new and exciting look as they were lit up by an abundance of colored lights. Looking across the Huangpu River to the Oriental Pearl TV Tower and Jinmao Tower is a magical sight. It's better looking than the Thames River and its banks with lots of people and sizzling businesses.

Walking westward along Nanjing East Road, we quickly reached the famous Nanjing Road Pedestrian Street, the gaily illuminated shops were an exciting backdrop to the cheerful crowds that came here after dark to enjoy the carefree atmosphere, where it is possible to pick up a bargain or enjoy a tasty morsel to eat. One can find plenty of tea houses here as coffee shops in Europe or in the U.S. Surprisingly, many of them open 24 hours a day 7 days a week.




Apart from enjoying a lone taste of tea, We saw customers sit around and play cards, chess or just chat loudly. Fashionable entertainments are favorites with young people. When night falls, Shanghai bathes in the light of various entertainment venues. Nightclubs, Karaoke, discos, tea and coffee houses are all very crowded.





We finally have to say goodbye to Shanghai and China. We got back to our hotel late at night after a long evening full of fun. Tomorrow morning we were heading back home to prepare for our traditional shopping for our Lunar New Year, the Year of the Snake.

On the way to the airport, I took a picture of a scooter filled with live chicken, probably on the way to the market early in the morning.