Viet Nam

Dalsi zeme a dalsi adaptace na novou menu. Nastesti to neni tak chaoticke jako v Kambodzi kde jsou vsechny ceny v USD a Rielech. Nejradeji maji kdyz se plati v USD a vraci v Rielech. Takze nestaci hlidat o kolik se nas snazi natahnout, ale kdyz uz se usmlouva cena tak jeste jakym prepocitavaji kurzem vracene penize... Ve Vietnamu je to o dost lehci ceny sice uvadne v USD, ale 1Kc = 1000 Dongu, lehke.
Ve Vietnamu zacneme rovnou docela zostra. Ho Chi Minh City (byvaly Saigon) je metropole s 9mil lidi a 5mil motorek. A je to znat, mate problem v Praze nebo CB najit misto pro zaparkovani auta? Nezoufejte, tady maji ten samy problem, jen se snazi zaparkovat motorku. Prejit ulici z jedne strany na druhou je takove mensi dobrodruzstvi samo o sobe. Citite se relativne bezpecne, protoze mate zelenou, jdete po chodniku nebo proudite s davem? Zadne takove jistoty tu neznaji. Zelena, cervena nezajem, kdyz chceme prejit zbyva jedine - dobrovolne se vrhnout pod kola stroju a pak jistym a stalym krokem postupovat vpred, on se ten chumel trubek protroubi natesno kolem z obou stran.
Misty je elektricke vedeni a telefonni kabely tak nahustene na sloupech, ze skoro neni videt na oblohu. Saigon je velikan s plapolajicimi sovetskymi vlajkami, slogany ve zlute barve na rudych praporech a bilboardy vyobrazujicimi bojujici rolnicky lid. Na prvni pohled je Saigon metropole ktera se rychle promenuje v moderni velkomesto. Ale kdyz se dame do reci s jednim mladsim Vietnamcem, tak je jasne, ze ani Cinsky system komunismu s volnym trhem neni nijak uzasny. Nedavno tu pomohl australske rodine co se dostala do problemu a na oplatku dostal darem zpatecni letenku a nabidku pobytu v rodine v Australii...samozrejme zamitnuto (mozna by to slo, pokud by dokazal sehnat 7000USD...tak si pry skoro kazdy den kupoval losy). Volby tradicne jednou za 4 roky - 1 hlasovaci listek a pri neucasti se rodina dostane do problemu. Atd. Neni se co divit, ze jsou Vietnamci proti Kambodzanum uzavrenejsi a dokud je nepoznate lepe maji odtazity pristup.
Chceme zjistit vice o posledni valce s US a tak se rozhodneme navstivit opevneni Viet Congu. Tunely Cu Chi - pres 200km chodeb ve 3patrech. Zilo v nich 16000lidi a system propleteni, pasti a jinych vychytavek byl v te dobe pro americany neprekonatelny. Kazdopadne zit 17let v tunelech ktere misty maji jen 90x40cm nebylo asi nic moc. Nam staci zkusebne proplazit 30m aby jsme vedeli, ze toto pro nas opravdu neni. Jeste je zde moznost si zastrilet z jakekoliv zbrane pouzivane jednou nebo druhou stranou. Ve meste pak jeste zajdeme do muzea valky. Zde jsou hodne podrobne zdokumentovany zverstva co americani napachali na civilistech. Obzvlast sekce nasledku testovani chemickych zbrani se doporucuje na lacny zaludek...Expozice je vyborna, ale bohuzel ciste jednostranna a zavani komunistickou agitkou. Skoda.
Ze Saigonu jedeme dale do Mui Ne. 2h konstatni zacpy nez se vymotame z mesta a pak uz jen 4h mezi kopci s ryzovymi poli a plantazemi pitayi (draci ovoce). Nakonec dorazime do turistickeho mestecka Mui Ne. Jedna ulice hotelu a restauraci u prekvapive pekne a ciste plaze. Idealni pro jeden den odpocinku. Take pujcime motorku a zajedeme na nedaleke duny z cerveneho pisku. Moc pekne, ale mame smulu na mraky a fotky tak nestoji za nic. Alespon je sranda kdyz tu potkame cecha Zbyndu - anglicky umi jen zaklady a tak na mistni hulaka v cestine a bez problemu se domluvi.
Psali jsme ,ze Bolivijska pop hudba je ocistec jak pro sluch tak pro zrak? Nocni bus do Hoi An do teto skupiny zaradil i Vietnamskou hudebni scenu. Je hodne spatna sama o sobe, ale kdyz ji hrajou bez prestavky celou noc kdy se vsichni snazi spat je to prave peklo. Hoi An je pekne historicke mesto plne uzkych ulicek napechovanych krejcimi a sevci. Chcete kopii obleku nebo satu od Bosse, Versace nebo staci jen Next? Nic neni nemozne. Staci si ukazat a do druheho dne si prijit na zkousku. Ale pozor pri vyberu z vice nez 100 obchodu, prace nekterych krejci vypada ze jak kdyz maji problem rozeznat jehlu od nite.
V jedne zapadle ulicce objevime pravy poklad. 3 generace zenskych u sebe doma provozuji restauraci. Na WC se chodi pres obyvak a kuchyni a domaci kvasnicove pivo za 3kc je vyborne. Tradicni Cau Lau (ryzove nudle se skvarky a veprovym) taktez.
Jeden den pujcime motorku a jedeme nejdrive k Mramorovym horam. Kazdou chvilku vedle nas nekdo zpomaluje a za jizdy se nas snazi natahnout k sobe do obchodu. A hory nas velmi mile prekvapi, tolik jsme necekali. Jsou plne jeskynnich domu (dlouhe o) s oltari a sochami budhu. Seshora skrz diry prosvita slunce a vypadada to jak kdyby sloupy ze svetla podpiraly cele jeskyne. Na obed se zastavime na nedaleke plazi. Kilometry a kilometry pobrezi lemuji ciste a pekne plaze se spoustou rozestavenych resortu. Odpoledne se jedeme ztratit na venkov at take vidime neco mimo mesta. Skvely napad - jedeme a kochame se lidmi obdelavajicimi rucne a s buvoli ryzova pole. V rybarske vesnici postavene z palmovych listu na nas docela koukaji. Zde se moc turistu asi neobjevi. Nakonec se ztratime doopravdy a na mesto nas navede vesnican na motorce.
Dalsi den jedeme na vylet na ostrov Cham. Nase skupina je komplet Vietnamska! To bude srandy. Na ostrove je videt, ze turismus je zde opravdu v plenkach. Pruvodce mame jen sami pro sebe a vodi nas skrz pole a dvorky plne slepic az k chramu rybaru. Zde nas starenka co se o chram stara pozve na caj a neustale povzbizi at pijeme at muze dolevat. Pak si jdeme zasnorchlovat, ale koral u pobrezi je nic moc. Vic nas bavi Vietnamci. Nikdo neumi plavat a tak maji jednu vestu na sobe, jednu pod sebou a bojuji o preziti :) Sipka z lodi vzbudi pravy obdiv. Na ceste zpatky se presvedcime, ze asiati opravdu maji problem s rozeznavanim belochu. Holky se se mnou chteji fotit, jako ze jsem podobny G.Cloony. Na obed nas vylozi na krasne plazi a chteji po nas at je naucime plavat. Boji se ale i splyvat - beznadejne. Obed je hostina o 8talirich. Vetsinou ale morske potvory. Ryba je vyborna, ale chobotnice, sepie a krevety nam nejedou.
Cas uz se blizi a tak na Hue nezbyva tolik casu co by jsme si prali. Ale i tak stihneme projit historicke mesto a vecer kouknout na predstaveni festivalu mesta. Je to takova mensi spartakiada na hradbach prolozena sem tam ohnostrojem.
Z Hue do Hanoje jedeme vlakem. Scenerie krasna, hlavne hory ktere vypadaji jako zraloci zuby zarostle dzungli. Stoupani je tak strme, ze vidime nasi lokomotivu jak jede vedle nas opacnym smerem. Na 30min zastavime, pry jsme nekoho srazili. Ale nastesti to bylo jen do ramene a nic se nestalo! Nabidka jidel ve vlaku neni moc pestra a takove mango se soli a sojovkou (ja myslel, ze je to hnedy cukr a poradne se zakousnul) nebo vareny pukavec je vylozene nechutny. Po 14h jsme docela rozlamani a tak vezmeme prvni levnejsi hotel co najdeme.
Hanoi je co se tyce dopravy stejna jako Saigon. Jen je vse nahustene do malych uzkych ulicek. Take zajdeme na predstaveni manasku ve vode co je tu hodne popularni, vypada to pekne, ale dej to nema, takze nic moc.
Pak uz jen kratky let do Bangkoku a jsme skoro u konce. Nesmime zapomenout zminit kralovsky palac, vyborne zakonceni naseho putovani. Po Angkoru asi 2. nejlepsi atrakce co tu vidime. Obrovke budovy jsou doslova poskladany z miniaturnich detailu a zlata. Clovek nema sanci vsechno pobrat.
V noci let do Londyna a pak domu.
Tak tohle byl nejrychlejsi pulrok zivota!

Fotky az pozdeji.



New country and again new adaptation to another currency. It is not as chaotic as in Cambodia where all prices are in both USD and Riel. Of course everybody prefers to accept dollars and give change in Riel. So there is one more thing to look out for, price itself and conversion rate used between USD/Riel.. In Vietnam it's easy, prices are in USD but 1 Czech Crown = 1000 Dong (Ding Dongs as we like to call it), so 1EUR = lots of loads.
We start in Vietnam headlong, first destination is Ho Chi Minh City (former Saigon). Metropolis with 9mil inhabitants and 5mil motorbikes. Do you complain about having a hard time finding free parking space in Dublin? Do not despair, same here, just cannot find a space for a bike. To cross the street is a small adventure in itself. Do you feel relatively safe because the light is green, you are on a footpath or just follow the traffic? None of these rules apply here, everything was made to ride a bike on it. So the only option when crossing the street is - voluntarily jump in front of the wheels and stride in even slow purposeful pace forward, the melee of steel and rubber flows all around while constantly blowing their horns. In some places are the electrical and phone cables so thick it nearly obscures the sky.
On the first glance is Saigon a city quickly converting into modern Vietnamese hub of everything. But when we get to know some locals and talk to them we see that not everything is so optimistic. Maybe it's the free market economy but still 100% communist style. Some examples - A local guy helped to a an Australian family that got into trouble here. As a reward he was offered a free return flight and homestay in Australia. But to leave the country was not approved, capitalist market countries have bad influence...there was a way, but it would cost him 7000USD, with a pay of 40USD/month not quite possible so the poor guy spent nearly all his savings on lottery tickets. Another example - government election is traditionally once in 4yrs - but all you get is 1 option and if you don't turn up the whole family is in trouble.
No wonder the local people are not so opened with foreigners and if you don't get to know them better they are afraid they might get into trouble.
We'd like to learn more about the war and decide to visit Cu Chi tunnels. Over 200km of corridors in 3 storeys were base for 16000 VietCong forces. Maze system with traps and other nasty surprises was for US at the time invincible. But who would want to live 17yrs in tunnels that are in some places only 90x40cm? We are happy to be out after crawling 30m. When we're finished there is an option to try and shoot from any gun used in the war. Later in the day we go to the war museum in the town. Very detailed and good exhibition shows the bestiality brought on civilian people. Section of chemical weapons testing results is not for the fainthearted. Pity that the exhibition is only one-sided and wafts with communist propaganda.
From Saigon we continue to Mui Ne. 2h of constant traffic jam and we are out of the city. Then only 4hrs along the mountains and dragon fruit plantations. Mui Ne is a tourist place with one main street full of hotels and restaurants. But beaches and sea are surprisingly clean. Ideal for a day of laziness. Then we rent a motorbike and go to see red dunes not far away. Very nice, just the sun is hiding so the pictures will be poor. At least we have some fun when we meet a Czech guy travelling here. He doesn't speak any English and vociferates at locals in Czech, and gets by better than we do...
Did we mention that Bolivian/Peruvian pop music is purgatory for both eyes and ears? Overnight bus to Hoi An moved into this bracket also Vietnamese music. It is really bad on its own, but when it's played nonstop whole night when everybody tries to sleep then it's real hell. Hoi An is nice historical town full of narrow streets lined with tailor and shoemaker shops. Would you like a copy of Boss or Versace suit? No problem, choose and come next day for a try-out. Just be careful when choosing a shop, some of the tailors look like they have problem to distinguish a needle from a thread.
In one of the small hidden streets we come across a real treasure. 3 generations of women run their own restaurant based in their home. Toilet is through the living room and kitchen but homemade beer for 10c is a real treat.
We rent a motorbike and go for a day trip to Marble mts. Sometimes people slow down next to us and try to lure us to their shop while driving. Mountains are a nice surprise. There are some cave domes with altars and Buddha statues. Through the holes from above shines the sun that creates great light pillars. For a lunch we stop at the beach. Surprisingly clean sand and water. In the afternoon we go and drive aimlessly through countryside. Great idea - along the road we can see people working their rice fields just with basic tools and cows. In one of the fishing villages are locals quite surprised to see us. Not many tourists reach these houses built from palm leaves. Here we get lost for real and must be saved by local guy on motorbike.
Next day we go for a trip to Cham island. The group is completely Vietnamese! On the island it's obvious that tourism here is very new term here. We have the guide just for ourselves and walk through the fields and people's back yards where they keep their livestock until we reach fisherman temple. Old lady that takes care of the temple invites us for a tea and urges us all the time to drink so she can fill up, how nice. Then we go for snorkeling but coral is not very good, better fun is to watch Vietnamese. None of them can swim, so one life jacket on second below them and still they nearly fight for their lives :) Head dive from the boat is met with real admiration. On the way back we are persuaded that Asian people have trouble distinguishing white people. Girls want to take a picture with me as with G. Clooney and guys with Jana! I wish, pity it doesn't work in Europe too :) We have a lunch on a great beach and the guys ask us to teach them how to swim. Good fun but they are desperately hopeless and have big fear of water even if they can reach bottom. The lunch consists of 8 plates full of sea food. Fish is great but the other stuff is not for us.
The time is running short so for Hue we cannot spare more than 1 day. Even so we manage to walk through the historical town and go to the evening festival show.
From Hue to Hanoi we take a train. Scenery is beautiful, mountains look like shark teeth growing in the jungle. We stop for 30min, we run over someone. Fortunately the person got caught only on the shoulder and nothing happened to him! The food offer variety on train is not big. Mango with salt and dried soy (I thought it's brown sugar and took a big bite) or boiled rotten eggs is disgusting. After 14hrs we're quite tired and take the first decent hotel we find.
Hanoi is traffic wise similar to Saigon. All is just happening in small narrow streets. Here we go to see a water puppet show. Very popular thing over here, show is ok but there is no plot so it's quite boring.
Short flight and we are back to Bangkok. Nearly finished. Royal palace is great conclusion to our trip. Huge halls made up from tiny details and gold. One has no chance to take it all in.
Tonight we fly to London and from there to Prague.
What a great trip! Probably the fastest half a year in our lives.
Highly recommended.

Pictures later.

Kambodza / Cambodia

Imigracni urednici opet chteji dolar za 'namahu', ale kdyz jim Janca rekne o stvrzenku a jmeno, jde to zadarmo.
Na hranicich krome 3 stanku s jidlem neni nic. Nikdo nam nepotvrdil jestli a kdy odtud jede nejaky bus...po dlouhem a tvrdem handrkovani s majitelem auta odchazime opet oskubani a za 22.5dolaru za osobu jedeme do Kratie (bus pres celou zemi stoji 14USD). Krajina je opet uplne placata, ryzova pole cekajici na monsun vyprahla, silnice spatna, hromady vetvi oznacuji diry. Ale i tak je na co koukat - kaucukove plantaze, dvory domu pokryte susicimi se chilli paprickami a dale zavlazene ryzove pole.
Odpoledne dojedeme do Kratie, stejne jako vetsina mest v Kambodzi je spinave, plne prachu a odpadku. Nevim proc jsme meli zafixovane, ze Laos je nejchudsi zeme v oblasti. Kambodza je na tom o poznani hure (pozdeji zjistime proc). Ale jak se zatim vzdy potvrdilo neprima umera bohatstvi a otevrenosti lidi funguje i zde. Lide jsou pratelsti, smeji se na dalku a nekdy i vtipkuji. Deti jsou kouzelne, casto se priplizi ze zadu a jemne jako by jsme byli z porcelanu se nas dotknou aby zjistili jestli belosi nejsou z jineho testa nez mistni. Staci je pozdravit a zamavat a jsou stestim bez sebe. A kdyz je clovek vyfoti a pak jim ukaze jejich fotku na displeji je to pro ne uplna senzace.
V hlavnim meste Phnom Penh se zdrzime na par dni. Vetsine cestovatelu co jsme potkali se tahle smes spinavych ulic plnych chaosu moc nezamlouva, ale me se libi.
Motorka je ultimatni korab co odveze vse - 10 pytlu ryze, 20 fosen 3m dlouhych, 4lidi + 2nemluvnata, dalsi motorku + kolo nebo dokonce typka co si veze tyc a na ni kapacku...nic neni nemozne.
Mame malem ukroucene hlavy jak odmitame nabidky na svezeni od tuktuku a motorek. Priklad jednoho rana - Jeste nez si sedneme na snidani tak ridic tuktuku stoji u stolu a 50x se zepta jestli s nim po snidani pojedeme. Kdyz uz nas nebavi odmitat, staci rict mozna a uz bezi pro karu a cpe se mezi tuktuky co tu uz stali pred nim. Behem snidane z nas nespusti oci a kdykoliv se podivame jeho smerem smeje se a pysne ukazuje na svuj vuz. To vse pro 2dolary ktere mu pak dame za svezeni.
V Phnom Penh navstivime rusky trh (pojmenovany za dob kdy sem poradali nakupove najezdy soudruzi ze SSSR) kde jsou cele ctvrte stanku podle druhu zbozi. Kralovsky palac take stoji za to, zde se opravdu nesetrilo. Dukazem je treba 90kg socha budhy z ryziho zlata osazena vice nez 2000diamanty.
A proc je na tom Kambodza hure nez ostatni zeme regionu? Krome kobercovych naletu americanu ji zastihlo jeste neco mnohem horsiho. Jeden z dukazu je v muzeu S21. Jedno z mnoha mist kde komuniste umucili 21tis lidi. Celkem behem 4 let kdy se dostali komuniste k moci bylo povrazdeno skoro 3miliony lidi. Cilem byli vzdelani, vlastnici nemovitosti, podnikatele a lide z mest. Nekdy stacilo jen nosit bryle a uz byl clovek povazovan za nevhodneho pro komunistickou spolecnost a zastrelen. Jen 4 roky komunismu odsoudili zemi ke generacim zijicich v chudobe a strachu. Dnes, vice nez 30let po porazeni komunistu umi jen 60% muzu a 20% zen cist a psat! Dale odhadem 0.5% populace je diky naslapnym minam invalidnich. Casto vidime lidi, kteri maji treba jen jednu ruku a u vsech pamatek hraji kapely beznohych pro ktere je to jedina obziva (Podle budhismu lide s amputaci spachali neco spatneho v minulem zivote a jsou za to potrestani, takze od spolecnosti moc sympatii nedostanou).
Na pole kde jsou odkryte masove hroby z teto doby ani nejedeme, podle fotek se to moc nelisi od Terezina nebo Osvetimi.
Z Phnom Penh jedeme do Siem Riep. Hlavni archeologicke lakadlo jihovychodni Asie. Chramove komplexy Angkor z Khmerske rise na 3000 ctverecnich km navstivi kazdorocne pres 2mil lidi a hrave se mohou srovnavat s lakadly typu Macchu Picchu, Egyptskych pyramid nebo Taj Mahalu. Koupime si 3 denni vstup behem ktereho se da stihnout vsechny komplexy. A kdyz ridici tuktuku oznamime, ze si ho pronajmeme na cele 3dny, radost je velika (15dolaru na osobu je pritom celkem smesna castka). Je moc hodny a prijemny, ale anglicky moc neumi a na vse odpovida I wait (Ja cekat).
Popisovat kazdou pamatku Angkoru tak by jsme brzy vycerpali superlativy. Ale potulovat se sami brzo rano v polorozpadlych palacich obklopenych a prorostlych dzungli je jak prevtelit se do tel Indiana Jonese a Lary Croft (a kdyby jste nekdy premysleli kde se to natacelo, tak Harrison Ford se honil za poklady prave tady).
Angkor je proste jedna z veci ktera na cloveka udela poradny dojem. Az ke konci 3tiho dne kdy nonstop prolezame kazdou chodbu zaciname byt presyceni a jsme radi, ze jsme si nekoupili vstup na 7dni. Ve Vietnamu budhistickym pamatkam uz asi moc nedame.
Vseobecne na nas Kambodza pusobi jinak nez ostatni zeme co jsme navstivili a lidi je nam lito. Je videt, ze vytrpeli hodne a maji pred sebou jeste dlouhou cestu. Proto vetsinou i kdyz muzeme vic usmlouvat nesmlouvame a sem tam nekomu koupime jidlo nebo dame piti. Kambodzu dosazujeme na pomyslne 1. misto mezi asijskymi zememi.
Posledni vecer jeste nez odjedeme prijde dlouho ocekavany monsunovy prival ktery je tak prudky, ze dokonce zastavi vsudepritomnou dopravu. Vsichni jsou promoceni na kost, ale uzivaji si to. Obzvlast deti, kterym voda na ulici tece po kolena.

Fotky (pouze lehka ochutnavka, upload se nedari):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=63585&id=1344786025&l=a878f17d05


Immigration officers again ask for a dollar for the hassle of stamping our passports but when Jana asks them for a receipt and name suddenly no fee is required.
There is nothing on the border except 3 stalls with food. Nobody was able to confirm whether and when there is a bus to inland...after long and hard haggling with an owner of a car we end up flayed and head for Kratie for 22.5USD per person(bus crossing the whole country costs 14USD). Landscape is again totally flat, rice fields waiting for rain parched, road bad - big holes in it are marked by piles of branches.
In the afternoon we reach Kratie, as most of the Cambodian towns it's dirty, full of dust and litter. I'm not sure why we thought that Laos is the poorest country in the region. Cambodia is definitely faring worse. But as everywhere the same indirect proportion of wealth and people friendliness applies here. Although the life is hard here people are friendly and never spare a smile. Children are wonderful, often they creep up on us from behind and gently as if we were made from porcelain touch us to find out if we are any different to them. A wave and hello makes them very happy. And when we take picture of them and show it to them it's like showing their favorite magic trick.
Many of backpackers we meet don't like the capital Phnom Penh but I quite like it. Motorbike is an ultimate mode of transport suitable for carrying anything - 10 big sacks of rice, 20 3m long wooden planks, 4 people + 2 infants, another motorbike + bike or even a guy with a pole with his dropping funnel...nothing is impossible.
Our necks are nearly twisted off as we refuse offers from tuktuks. A morning example - Just before we sit down to have a breakfast the tuktuk driver is at the table and asks 50 times if we hire him when we're finished. After a while we say instead of no maybe and that is all it takes to drive his tuktuk and cram in between tuktuks that were there before him. During our breakfast he would keep an eye on us, nonstop. And when we look into his direction he smiles and proudly points at his vehicle. To him it's all worth the 2USD we give him for a ride...
In Phnom Penh we visit Russian market (named from the time of Soviet Union when this was a major shopping destination) where are whole districts of stalls divided by type of products. Royal palace is very nice too, they are not short of money here. Proof can be statue of Buddha made of 90kg of solid gold with more than 2000diamonds.
And why is Cambodia poorer than other countries in the region? US carpet bombing was nothing compared to communist rule of Khmer Ruge. One of the places where 21000people were tortured to death is museum S21. Altogether nearly 3mil people were killed in just 4 years of the terror. Targets were educated, landowners, businessmen and people from cities. Sometimes wearing glasses was enough to be proof as being educated and the person was shot. So now more than 30yrs after the communism was overthrown only 60% of males and 20% of women is literate! On the top of that estimated 0.5% of population is crippled as result of stepping on landmines. And these get little sympathy from the society as according to Buddhism this means they were bad in previous life.
Next stop after Phnom Penh is Siem Riep. The main archaeological attraction of SE Asia. Angkor complexes from the time of Khmer empire visit every year over 2mil tourists. We buy a 3day entrance ticket. When we announce to our tuktuk driver that we'll hire him for next 3days joy is great (15USD per person is not very much. He is really nice and friendly guy but doesn't speak English very well. To any question he answers - I wait here.
It's impossible to describe all Angkor monuments. But to be alone early morning in the half tumbledown temples surrounded by jungle feels like being in bodies of Indiana Jones and Lara Croft (and if you ever wondered where Harrison Ford was chasing after the treasures, it was here). Angkor is one of the things that will easily impress and take your breath away. After 3days of nonstop exploring we're quite glad we didn't go for a 7day ticket as we are quite overtempled. In Vietnam we probably won't visit many temples...
In general Cambodia appeals to us in different way compared to all other countries we've visited. We feel sorry for the people. It is obvious they suffered a lot and still have a long way to go. That is probably why we don't haggle as much as anywhere else and sometimes give away food and drink to beggars on the streets.
Last day of our stay finally arrives long desired monsoon. The rain is so fierce it even stops ever-present traffic. Everyone is soaked to the bone but happy. Kids love it and mess about in knee high streams of water.

Pictures (just a light sample as upload is not working):
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=63585&id=1344786025&l=a878f17d05