Robin's Adventures

There is a section of the Binh Tay Market with all sorts of food items.

Independence Palace, also known as Reunification Palace, was the official office and residence for the South Vietnamese president during the Vietnamese War. Today, the building is a museum.

The president's apartment had some interesting furnishings, including animal skulls and tails, and preserved elephant feet. Long hallways with several flights of stairs lead down to a bomb shelter under the building where government offices and meeting rooms were set up to be used during a crisis.

This house of propaganda was originally called the "Exhibition House for US and Puppet Crimes." Later, the name was changed to "Exhibition House for Crimes of War and Aggression." The current name is "War Remnants Museum."

The museum contains pictures, videos, and artifacts of the Vietnamese War. It also presents a very one sided story painting all Americans in the worst possible light. Vietnam may think it is an independent nation, but it is clear that they are not a free nation.

For some unexplained reason, tiny plastic stools seemed to be the norm at businesses throughout Vietnam. People would stop for a snack and sit on these small stools that seemed more appropriate for young children.

Scooters are ubiquitous throughout South-East Asia. They are less expensive and more fuel efficient than a car and will get you where you need to go fairly quickly. We were amazed, however, by all of the things people managed to carry on their scooters. This video takes a humorous look at things we saw being carried on a scooter.

Our next stop was Siem Reap in Cambodia. We stayed at a lovely hotel called Belmond La Residence D'Angkor.

We saw a wonderful dance performance that featured traditional Cambodian dances.

Seim Reap is a small Cambodian town that is growing rapidly due to tourism. Lots of visitors come each year to see the Angkor ruins and it has helped the local economy immensely. There were local open air taxis in long rows heading towards the entrance gates. There were lots of vendors selling t-shirts and cold drinks and their children were hanging out and playing nicely.

In order to get in to see the ruins, we had to buy a ticket with our photo on it. Apparently, people had been passing off tickets to others and not everyone was paying to get in. The photo pass has solved this problem.

We started out very early in the morning to try and beat the heat. Temperatures rose throughout the day and were in the 90s by late morning. Humidity was in the 70s.

In spite of the heat, we had a wonderful time climbing through the ruins and exploring. Our guide was very knowledgeable and told us all sorts of amazing historical and cultural tidbits about the ruins and about the civilizations who had lived here.