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Cambodia Wildlife Alliance Visit

Cambodia Wildlife Alliance Visit

After visiting the genocide museum and the Killing Fields the Wildlife Alliance Rescue Centre was a shot of positivity in the psyche. First this place is not a zoo its a rescue centre for animals that have been caught for the pet trade or injured by poachers. Second the cost of the tour contributes to the upkeep of the Wildlife Alliance Rescue. Emma our guide and the rest of her team are doing a grand job. We did the behind scenes tour at the centre and it was brilliant right down to our delicious Cambodian Lunch we ate outside.

To date this is the highlight of my visit to Cambodia. It was inspirational to see how animals are being saved after being abused, tortured or caught in snares. One elephant caught in a snare had lost its foot. The story behind how the staff and vets created its prosthetic foot was amazing. The elephant now is able to walk and its quality of life from when it had to walk on the stump has greatly improved. It was also inspiring to see the animals being well cared for by wonderful compassionate staff. The monkeys, leopards, tigers, otters, elephant and other animals were all being well looked after. It also was nice to hear about the release back into the wild of some of the monkeys and other animals. Some animals can never be released back into the wild due to injuries both mental and physical.

If you have some time in Phnom Penh and want to get off the tourist trail then I recommend the behind the scenes tour at the Wildlife Alliance Centre. It is not all doom and gloom for the wildlife in Cambodia as can be seen at the centre.  I enjoyed seeing the park and what a positive influence it is having on the wider community.

 

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Debbie Bridge Cambodia, South East Asia 1 Comment

An idiots guide to a comfortable trip in Vietnam

An idiots guide to a comfortable trip in Vietnam

Having survived a month in Vietnam I thought it might be useful to give people a few tips on safety and comfort. The traffic roulette and especially all the scooters are a bit daunting at first, but there is a method to the madness. I always timed my crossing the road with another Vietnamese pedestrian and follow their lead or to just go boldly forward albeit slowly and not stopping. In terms of crime,  I never felt unsafe in Vietnam during our trip and of course, you take the usual precautions, not leaving phones on tables at restaurants or bags unattended. Keep your bag close to your body when walking around or strapped in front as my wife did with her purse.

Transport

Transport in Vietnam is excellent from the taxis to the trains. We did not do any overnight bus trips so we can’t comment. We found that Vinasun taxis were the best to use. Never had a problem with meters being not turned on and the drivers were all polite. The taxis are in Saigon and Hanoi. Between Hue and Hoi An, I hired a car and the guy was terrific and he charged US$69 for a leisurely drive to Hoi An stopping at several sites along the way.

Relaxing on the train to Hoi An

Relaxing on the train to Hue

We used trains for our journey between Hanoi and Saigon. I booked all of them via hotels, you pay a small commission but we got a soft sleeper, air-conditioned, and bottom bunk in a four bunk cabin. Some people book the entire cabin. We did not and ended up meeting some lovely Vietnamese people including two guides on their way to Hue. Take some snacks and water with you on the train. There are, I hesitate to say food trolleys, but there are drinks and food sold during the trip. I had a coffee and it was good. There are Western and Asian toilets as well as a wash-up area in each carriage with running water. All of the trains are slowly being refurbished. We got old ones but they were perfectly fine. To give you an idea of cost our two tickets for a night train from Hanoi to Hue for both of us was US$90. We did get one upper bunk for the train from Nha Trang to Saigon during the day which was comfortable and near the air-conditioning. Our entire train cost to Saigon was less than US$200 for both of us including two overnight trains.

Where we stayed?

Hotels are good at organising pick-ups at train stations. There is something nice about seeing someone waiting for you with your name on a sign after a 13-hour train trip. We did this for Hue and Nha Trang. Saigon we just got a Vinasun taxi to the hotel from the train station. We do not travel with backpacks and have suitcases so a pickup or a taxi is our only option unless we want to drag them through the streets.

Below is the list of hotels with links to my trip advisor reviews that we stayed at in Vietnam. They all had in-room safes, air conditioning, clean and comfy beds. I do like a firm mattress. All the hotels were between US$40-50 a night and included breakfast. Aside from the one in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the hotels all had swimming pools.

Silk Queen Hotel Hanoi
Cherish Hotel in Hue
Ancient Resort in Hoi An
VDB Nha Trang Hotel in Nha Trang
Sanouva Saigon Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City

Be polite

We hardly got troubled by pushy sellers or beggars at all. When we were, a polite no thank you and smile always worked. We also learned a few Vietnamese phrases such as hello and thank you which always went over well even with our terrible pronunciation.

Food and drink

The food is wonderful and we ate at street stalls and restaurants. In the restaurants, they always put ice in your water and we never got ill once. Sometimes we would ask where the water came from and the answer was filtered. We also carry a small disinfectant bottle for our hands when there was nowhere to wash your hands. Beer is cheap in Vietnam and fruit juices. Depending on where we ate the meals can range from a few dollars up to 30 dollars. We ate at several restaurants recommended on trip advisor and it was a good way to find a place to eat if you did not want to get food from a stall off a street. Below are links to some of my favourite restaurants on our journey beginning in Hanoi and ending in Ho Chi Minh City. My favourite was Noir in Ho Chi Minh City where you are in complete darkness and the waiters are blind or visually disabled. The food was great and the cause they support brilliantly.

Hanoi restaurant we loved
Hue restaurant where we got to dress up as King and Queen
Hoi An restaurant
Nha Trang cafe we liked to sit and watch the beach
Saigon restaurant where the waiters are blind

Tours we loved doing

There were three tours that stood out during our trip to Vietnam. Halong Bay, Hanoi Kids, and the Scooter tour through the streets of Saigon.

Halong Bay Cruise

There is a multitude of companies selling cruises to Halong Bay. We went upmarket and did the 2 night and 3-day cruise with Viola Cruises booked through our hotel. The link is below for my review.

Viola Cruises review

Be ready for a four-hour drive each way to Halong Bay and back. I would recommend to do the 3-day trip and not the one night trip as it gives you more time to enjoy the scenery, swim, and kayak.

Hanoi Kids

Hanoi Kids is a charity where young students who are learning or improving their English take you on a guided tour around Hanoi. They tailor the day to what you want to do and see. It is great to have a guide and it is free, yes free. At the end of the day, you can make a donation to the charity which we did and you pay for taxis and entrance for your guide. We really enjoyed our tour and would recommend it to first-time visitors to Hanoi. Below is my review.

Hanoi Kids trip advisor review

Scooter tour in Saigon

I was a bit wary of this tour which my wife booked. I need not have been. It was a great morning whizzing around Saigon and I never felt unsafe. We had a great time seeing the sights. It cost us each US$40 for over three hours and include a few snacks and drinks along the way.

Saigon scooter tour review

I hope some of these tips help and good luck on your trip to Vietnam.

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Debbie Bridge South East Asia, Travel, Vietnam 3 Comments

Phnom Penh food tour

Urban Forage Food tour

One of the highlights of our visit to Phnom Penh was a night-time food tour with Urban Forage. It was great fun exploring the city and eating bugs as well as other delicacies. My wife booked Ducky’s food tour and it was wonderful to try all the different foods. Ducky is a warm and wonderful hostess. The tour was seamless from being picked up in the tuk tuks to just enough time at each place to sample the foods. We enjoyed trying new and delicious new fruits such as mangosteen and snake fruit which were both delicious.During the evening tour we visited a bar with great views of Phnom Penh and cocktails as well as a night food market which was fun to explore.

Skyline of Phnom Penh

We tried all the different bugs at a stall which were surprisingly tasty. I would recommend doing the tour early in your stay in Phnom Penh and if you want to try bugs again they are sold in the new Aeon mall food court. I also thought the price of US$40 very reasonable as it includes all your beers,food and being picked up and returned to your hotel or hostel. Before we went back to the hotel we ended the night at a traditional Cambodian restaurant/night club with endless food and beer while being serenaded by a Cambodian band and singer.

 

 

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Debbie Bridge Cambodia, South East Asia No Comments

The Silk Queen a lovely place to stay in Hanoi

One of our best decisions was to choose the Silk Queen Hotel in Hanoi to start our month-long trip in Vietnam. We stayed for a total of nine nights. The hotel was in the heart of the Old Quarter and a short walk to Hoan Kiem lake. We stayed in Room 406 which was huge and even had a separate bathroom. No bathtub but the shower was excellent.

We also booked a Halong Bay tour with Ms Rose from the hotel who recommended Viola Cruises. The hotel kindly looked after our luggage while we did the Halong Bay cruise. Ms Rose also booked our sleeper train for Hue. We had no problems or any nasty surprises with our cruise or train trip. All the staff at the hotel were lovely and friendly. My wife also enjoyed the use of the small gym on the top floor.

The reason we stayed so long at the hotel is that we inadvertently had arrived during a couple of public holidays. This means our application for an Indian Visa took a bit longer than the 3-5 days. However, there is so much to do in Hanoi that we were never bored and it was great to come back to the hotel after a hot day to relax and use as a base to explore Hanoi.

I know when you arrive in a strange country it can be a challenge. So it was nice to book a car with the hotel to pick us up at the airport. On arrival around 30-40 minutes later, we had a quick early check-in. We arrived around 9 am on an early morning flight from Bangkok. Then to find such a lovely comfortable room was a bonus. We paid US$45 a night which included a great breakfast.

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Debbie Bridge South East Asia, Travel, Vietnam No Comments

An idiots guide to getting an Indian visa in Vietnam

An idiots guide to getting an Indian visa in Vietnam

On our year-long travel we are visiting India. We had to wait till we were nearer India before getting our visas as the Indian visa starts when issued. This means the day you get the visa it starts. I came across information online that it was easy to get a visa in Hanoi for India. Due to the fact there are not many Indians living in Vietnam, unlike Malaysia where we were going to get it.

Filling in the online forms

The first step is to go to the Indian Government online visa application website which is at India visa online https://indianvisaonline.gov.in/

Once you go to this gateway you need to follow the steps in filling out the online application. They ask a lot of questions and it does take a while to complete. There were some questions that threw me, such as what was your last visa number for India. The last time I visited India was 1990 so that passport and visa number were long gone. I found out all you need to do is fill in the number they ask for with all zeros. You also tell the visa officer at the consulate what you have done and they make a notation on the hard copy of your application.

Double check you have filled in your application correctly, you can save drafts as your given a unique number to log back into your application. This means you do not have to do it all in one sitting. Once you have correctly filled in your application print out a hard copy to take along to the consulate in Hanoi. You also need to upload an electronic passport photo with a white background. We did this with our iPhone and it was accepted. You also need to take along a passport photo to the consulate. The dimensions for the photo size are on the website.

The following is a link to help in submitting and filling an Indian online visa application: Indian online visa guidelines for filling in and submitting an application.

Once you have done the online application you need to go to the Hanoi Indian Consulate.

Where is the Indian Consulate in Hanoi

The Indian Embassy in Hanoi‘s physical address is: 58-60 Trần Hưng Đạo, Hoàn Kiếm, Hà Nội, Vietnam and their phone number is +84 4 3824 4998. It is not far from the Old Quarter in Hanoi. It took us about 15 minutes to walk from our hotel in the Old Quarter to the embassy.

What next?

After you complete your online application and print out the form. You need to gather all the information and make photocopies. One obstacle was you have to give an address in India, we booked a place in India on arrival and used that address and printed out our reservation. There was no problem. We also printed out our flights in and out of India.

The embassy opening hours for visas are Monday to Friday, from 0930-1230. We got their first thing in the morning and were the only ones there. We waited a few minutes and then had a short interview with the visa officer. He asked a few questions about where we were going and how long we were going for. We then paid him US$65 each, the price for Canadian and New Zealand citizens. The price varies depending on your nationality. We got a receipt and told to come back a few days later at 11.30 to pick up our passport and visa. It takes around 3-5 days. A couple of things to remember is that the is embassy closed in the afternoons for visas and they only accept US dollars.

We went back on the day and time told and were given six month visas.

Recap

Complete online application form – printed and signed.
One passport photo attached to application form
Copies of flight in and out
Copy of reservation at hotel when you first arrive
65 US dollars (Canadian and kiwi’s)
Passport

It takes 3-5 working days. Good luck.

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Debbie Bridge South East Asia, Travel, Vietnam No Comments

A City with 2 names and a Beach – Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City and Nha Trang

‘People cry, not because they’re weak.  It’s because they’ve been strong for too long.’

Nha Trang Dragon Bridge

Nha Trang Dragon Bridge – shoots out fire and water

What a week!  Fire and water shooting dragon bridge, a beach with the locals, and a city steeped in the last centuries’ wars.

On our drive to the train that would take us to Nha Trang, I was keen to make one quick stop to see the new bridge which breathes fire and water – it’s so cool.  They have the show on Saturday and Sunday evenings for about 20 minutes in Da Nang  (Be sure to check out my video blog for May to see the action!)

An Overnight train later, we arrived in NhaTrang – a beach resort area.  We wanted to not be in the ‘downtown’, so we went to the second bay in the area where there are mostly locals and Russian tourists.  It was great to be out a bit from the main tourist area to just relax and catch up on travel fatigue.

Nha Trang Beach

Nha Trang Beach

Nha Trang Beach

The Rocks – Nha Trang Beach

It’s a beautiful beach with locals only coming out in the evening.  There is lots to do here – mud baths, islands and temples, but we decided the beach was enough for us.

Then, a day travel to Ho Chi Minh City or Saigon.  This is mostly a modern city with a few older buildings still intact, like the main post office,

Post Office

Post Office

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

Notre Dame

and temples.

Oldest Temple

Oldest Temple in Saigon

A lot of the older buildings have either been lost in the Wars or modern development – seems they make more money tearing them down rather than preserving them – it’s the same the world over.

Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City at night

Saigon

Alter to 1963 monk

This is the city where the monk in 1963 set himself on fire and the last helicopter left for America with a que of people which was much longer than what they could carry – 2 very famous black and white photos from this time can be found on Google (or through the links above.)

Helicopter

This is the building where the helicopter landed.

One experience we had here was at a restaurant called ‘Noir’.  It’s where you eat in the dark while being served by blind waiters/waitresses.  A really great experience and not one I can show any pictures of – sadly.

Ao Dai

Ao Dai – traditional dress, which I had made for me and worn to ‘Noir’ Restaurant

This marks the end of our time in Vietnam, as we head to Cambodia.  I’ve learned so much about that notorious Vietnam War and seen a country and people of great strength, friendliness and a quick smile.  I’m so glad we came and hope we’ll be back soon!

What country/city has surprised you the most in your travels?

XO Tour

XO Tour through Saigon on moped

Love

Debx

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Debbie Bridge South East Asia, Travel, Vietnam No Comments

An idiots guide on how to get a Vietnamese Visa online?

An idiots guide on how to get a Vietnamese Visa online?

We decided to get our visa for Vietnam while we were in Thailand. I also decided to write this blog because I bumped into so many people that were clueless about the Vietnam Visa process. There is always the Vietnam Embassy in your country, however, the online process is quite simple. Since we got the visa there have been some changes so now many countries citizens can get a 14 day visa on arrival.

What is the process?

The process for getting a Vietnamese visa is relatively simple. The main requirement is a visa on arrival letter which several companies offer a service for online. We went to the Vietnam Government website to get the letter. The cost for each of us for the letter was US$17.

In less than 48 hours the company sends an attachment with the Visa Approval Letter. we received the letter with our passport numbers on it. Do not be concerned if you see other people’s passport numbers as the company issues one letter for people arriving the same day. Your passport must have at least 6 months validity beyond your date of arrival. You need to get 2 passport photos of 04 cm x 06 cm or similar size. The company also sends you a link for one page that you need to also print off for the Vietnamese Entry/Exit forms

Lastly you need to print off a copy of the Visa Approval Letter it can be printed in black and white. Our visa was a single entry for one month or you can get 3 months. Just write down in the Visa Approval Letter process which one you want. Make sure you are clear on whether you want to get 3 months otherwise you automatically get one month.

What do I need to do on arrival at the airport?

The airline you fly with will check at check in that you have the visa on arrival letter. We left from Bangkok to Hanoi. On arrival at the new airport try to get off the plane as quickly as possible or when you book select a seat near the front of the plane. There can be long queues that take over an hour to get to the front at the visa on arrival counter. They also appear to have only two people at the counter, one to collect your letter and passport. The other once it is processed to collect the fee and return your passport.

Where to go to get the visa at the airport

On exiting the plane it is clearly marked where to go for the Visa on Arrival. Do not dawdle. There are two queues at the same counter, one to hand in your passport and letter. The other queue is for people waiting for their name to appear on a screen. When your name pops up on the screen it means your visa is ready to collect. Make sure you have the fee in US dollars. Once your name appears on the screen you go up to the counter and pay the US$45. You then receive back your passport with the visa and your good to go. You then just go downstairs to collect your luggage and exit the airport.

We were lucky and the process took only 20 minutes but I have heard horror stories about people waiting a few hours. Good luck and I hope this blog helps.

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Debbie Bridge South East Asia, Travel, Travel Tips, Vietnam 1 Comment

Where to stay in Hoi An?

Getting to Hoi An

There are three main ways of getting to Hoi An. If you are coming from Hue then you can hire a car which we did and have several stops on the way to admire the scenery. It cost us US$69 for the trip and it took around 5 hours with lots of stops including lunch in Danang. The other way to get to Hoi An is by train to Danang and then a bus or car. A car cost around US$20. It takes around 45 minutes and if you get a car you also can organise a stop at Marble Mountain which is on the way. If you arrive in the evening on Saturday or Sunday before 9pm then get the driver to stop by the dragon bridge to watch it breathe fire and spout water. It’s a great spectacle. The third way to Hoi An is by bus, we did not do this so I have no idea where they drop you off. An open ticket between Hanoi and Saigon or vice versa will cost around US$60.

Where to stay in Hoi An?

We spent a week in Hoi An exploring the old town and the beaches. We stayed at the Ancient House Resort. If your like us and like comfort then this hotel is an absolutely gem and our room was brilliant. Room 102. The gardens are beautiful and the pool is great to come back to and cool off. Unlike many other hotels we have stayed at this pool is deep enough that it goes over your head in places.

The staff are brilliant from the gardener up to the friendly receptionists always on hand to give you a cool towel when ever you return from somewhere or information. Room 102 was lovely, spacious, good bathroom, air conditioning worked well, in room safe, mini bar and a good choice of channels to watch when the heat of the day gets too much or we just sat on the balcony and read a book. Breakfast was good, I especially liked the passionfruit. We also had a lovely dinner overlooking the garden watching bats swoop in to eat insects while we had our meal. The hotel runs a daily shuttle both to the old town and the beach at scheduled times.

Overall for US$35 a night including a good breakfast this place is a bargain. One other tip next door on your right when you come out of the hotel is a place you can get your laundry done. The woman did a brilliant job and even ironed everything. She charged for five kilos 140000 dong a bit more pricey than some other places in Hoi An, however, our clothes for once came back undamaged and in one piece.

So if you’re looking for a place to stay in Hoi An then you cannot go far wrong staying at the Ancient House Resort.

Hoi An is a great place to visit.

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Debbie Bridge South East Asia, Travel, Vietnam No Comments

How do you take the bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh?

Our bus adventure

I thought it might be useful to describe our bus trip from Saigon to Phnom Penh. We went with Kumho Samco Bus Line. There is a Kumho Samco forum thread which warns not to ride on this bus line. I think the people that wrote the post have never travelled in Asia before or had high expectations for their US$15 bus ride. Our newish bus was from the 1990s, it did the job. The seats were not the most comfortable but were bearable for the seven hour trip. It cost US$30 for two of us and we got a free bottle of water and free wi-fi on the bus. Others got their tickets on the bus cheaper but only by a few dollars. We also got a free taxi ride from the hotel we were staying at in Saigon with our luggage to the bus stop.

The bus

The first part of the journey is to the border. During the ride the conductor comes around and collects your passports and US$35 for the Cambodian visa. The conductor will not know any speak any English so do not spend your time in trying to ask for an explanation just go with the flow. You do not need a passport photo. We departed at 9.15 am and reached the border at 11.40am. You then exit the bus and go into the custom hall. Ignore the long line on your left and head to the front where it says foreigners. Here you wait until your name is called. They give you back your passport. A custom officer checks it. You then exit the building and give your passport back to the conductor who is waiting outside.

Back on to the bus and you travel a hundred metres to the Cambodian customs. You enter the custom building and sit and wait for the conductor to come back and return your passport with the visa. We only waited a few minutes. The visa was for a month. You then go through Cambodian customs where you are electronically fingerprinted and photographed. You then return to the bus for a short drive to the lunch stop. We shared a chicken and rice meal and survived. Then back on the bus. We left around 12.50. It is then a straight ride through, aside from the occasional stop for anyone who flags down the bus, in our case it happened just twice. We did not have a full bus. It is completely flat to Phnom Penh and you cross over a brand new golden bridge which replaces the ferry ride over the river. We arrived in Phnom Penh around 4pm so it took around 7 hours from start to finish and was quite bearable.

There are other bus companies and from what we have read some are better and some are worse. I thought Kumho Samco did the job quite well and the driver was not a maniac overtaking everything that moved.

We just kept smiling

We just kept smiling

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Debbie Bridge South East Asia, Travel, Travel Tips, Vietnam No Comments

Last two weeks in Vietnam and meeting the oldest letter writer in the world

Last few weeks in Vietnam

Due to weak wifi it has been difficult to write a blog, happily at our current hotel that is not a problem. On our third week in Vietnam we chilled out for a week at Hoi An. We found a great hotel the Ancient House Resort midway between the old ancient town and the Ao Nang beach. Happily they had a free shuttle to both at scheduled times. We also took advantage of their lovely pool and gardens. I can highly recommend this hotel if you ever decide to visit Hoi An.

Nha Trang

We stopped off at Nha Trang for a few days staying at a hotel beside the beach. We took an overnight train from Danang which is near Hoi An. It was really nice to prearranged a car to meet us at the station from the hotel. The view from our room made the stay all worthwhile. We found a lovely spot nearby to watch the beach and the sea as well. There are lots of Russian package tours in Nha Trang and the hotel we chose is four kilometres outside the central Nha Trang beach area. I was glad we chose our spot as it was not noisy and the locals are still allowed to use the beach.

Saigon

We took a day train to Saigon now called Ho Chi Minh City. It was nice to see a bit of the countryside. In Saigon we stayed four days. The highlight for me was meeting an 85-year-old Vietnamese gentleman who has worked the Saigon Post Office since he was 17 as a letter writer in English, French and Vietnamese. He was fluent in English and still goes to the Post office everyday.

The next day we did a scooter tour around Saigon which was great fun. I also visited the War Remnant Museum describing the Vietnam war through photography. There also were a few left over tanks and planes outside. We enjoyed Saigon and met a lovely couple Kanan and Zara from Australia. We all went out one night to a restaurant where you ate in complete darkness. Noir the restaurant also employs visually impaired waiters. It was a great experience, food was good, great company and you are supporting a good cause. We then went on to Phnom Penh by bus a story in itself.

What were our costs were in Vietnam the last two weeks?

In total we spent 58 million dong while in Vietnam for a month. Below the hotels and other costs are in US dollars. Sometimes I paid them in Dong which I have subtracted from the Meal, attractions, etc total to give our total spend.

Ancient House Resort Hotel in Hoi An for seven nights cost US$237
VDB Nha Trang Hotel for three nights cost US$162
Sanouva Saigon Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City for four nights cost US$192
clothing and sandals in Hoi An cost us US$216
Scooter tour in Saigon cost $80 for two of us
Meals, attractions and transport costs came to a total of 34 million Vietnamese Dong or US$1559.

Our average daily spend for the last two weeks was US$2048 or US$146 per day.

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Debbie Bridge South East Asia, Travel, Vietnam 4 Comments