Indochina

March 28, 2009
from Reggie

A lot of water has passed under the ship since last I wrote you about our experiences. We have traveled across the Bay of Bengal region of the Indian Ocean, through the Nicobar Island archipelago and into the Andaman Sea region of the Indian Ocean, then down the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra, stopping in Singapore for bunker. Singapore is a city-state, one of three in the world (the other two are the Vatican City in Rome and Monaco in France). We did not go ashore in Singapore, but continued on into the Gulf of Thailand en route to the eponymous country. We have visited Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, and in visiting them, we have learned a lot about what used to be called Indochina. As we met the people of these countries and had an opportunity to get to know them a bit, we became impressed by their innate cheerfulness, friendliness, and kindness. We arrived in Thailand on Sunday, March 15 at Laem Chabang, a commercial port just built in 1991 to serve the needs not only of Thailand, but also Laos, Cambodia, and other neighboring countries. It is a short distance (30 minutes by taxi) from Pattaya, a seaside city that was a sleepy fishing village until U.S. involvement in southeast Asia during the Vietnamese war led to the development of Pattaya as an R & R (rest & recreation) site for American G.Is. Now, Pattaya is a somewhat seedy coastal resort town, with many European, Australian, and American expats and tourists. On our first day there, I was Duty Dean, so we didn’t get away from the ship until about 3 PM. we hired a taxi (car and driver) for about 6 hours for 1800 Bhat (about $51 US) and met up with Steve Keith, Randy’s old roommate from Taiwan days. I had met Steve (aka “Goatlips”) at Randy & Tessie’s wedding in the Philippines ten years ago.

He took us on a stroll along the beachfront and then we had dinner at a fine restaurant outdoors overlooking the beach. After dinner, we called the taxi driver and he came and carried us back to the ship.

The next day (Monday, March 16), we did a Semester At Sea-sponsored snorkeling trip with about 50 students out to Koh Lan, an islet a short boat ride out in the Gulf of Thailand from the Pattaya pier. These SAS-sponsored trips in Asia are done through a travel agency called Destination Asia. Koh Lan is tiny, but it has a small sheltered beach and some fringing reef with some very healthy corals, just off some rock promontories . I saw the venomous blue-spotted sting ray, a rather small ray, swimming along over a reef top and a cushion star (Culcita) that feeds on corals; it looked like a pale purple pentagonal pillow about 10 inches across. The water also has quite few Mnemiopsis-like ctenophores floating about.

The next day (Tuesday, March 17 –St. Patrick’s Day), we took another SAS-sponsored field trip, this time to the island of Ko Samet. To get there, we went by motor coach to Rayong, a coastal town about 1 hour south of Pattaya, where we boarded speed boats for the 30-minute ride out to Ko Samet. This island is a laid-back, family-type resort island popular with the Thais. The speedboat dropped us off in the surf and we waded ashore to a very nice resort hotel, where we were assigned to a bungalow-type room with having our private shower in an outdoor enclosure just outside the bathroom door. The rooms were all located in a garden setting. Georgia and I did a little bird watching and saw a black-naped oriole, a bright yellow bird about the size of a blue jay. We had a relaxing day, swimming and strolling on the beach. The weather was warm and sunny, the sea was warm and gentle, the sand was soft and white, and the vendors strolling the beach selling barbequed chicken, coconut milk, and other items were not particularly pushy. After dark, we strolled down the beach along a row of restaurants featuring seafood. Many had various lights and luminaries set out close to the sea, and low (coffee table height) tables on woven bamboo rugs were arranged, each having a number of large pillows for patrons to sit on the sand and enjoy their meal, which we did. I had grilled fish, Thai style –scrumptious! A restaurant just down the beach had a group of ‘fire men’ as entertainers. They were actually thin, athletic 14-18 year old boys who juggled flaming batons (bamboo batons dipped in kerosene which was drawn into the pith of the bamboo and slowly ran out to burn off in big flames). They were very acrobatic and skilled, though their youth brought to mind concerns about child labor laws, which exist here, but are not much enforced.

We only spent one night in Ko Samet, but we were treated to a monsoon-like rain late in the morning – a real downpour. After lunch, we were off, wading out and climbing back aboard the speedboats for a rapid ride to Rayong and the bus back to Laem Chabang and the ship.

Thursday, March 19 was our last day in Thailand, and we took another SAS-sponsored trip; this one, called the Treasures of Bangkok, was to visit the temples of Bangkok. We were up early and took a 100 km (2 hour) bus ride to Bangkok, where we visited a series of Buddhist temples and the Vimanmek mansion at Dusit Palace, one of the king’s palaces. Thailand is a constitutional monarchy, but the king, Rama IX, is very popular. He has been king for 62 years, longer than Elizabeth II has been queen of England. The Buddhist temples, or “wats” as they are called in Thai, are an extraordinary sight, and Buddhist monks in their trademark saffron robes are found all around them. One temple, the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, has a statue of a reclining Buddha that is some tens of meters long.

For lunch, we went aboard a rice barge on the Chao Praya River and we cruised up and down the river while eating exceptionally tasty Thai food and drinking Singha beer.

We departed Bangkok at 2000 hours on March 19 and traveled down the Gulf of Thailand at about 10 knots (slow, so that it would take 2 days) to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. After the Americans left Vietnam, Saigon was renamed to honor the legendary leader of the Vietnam Communist party. Saigon is about 4 hours up the Saigon River from the South China Sea region of the Pacific. The pilot boarded the ship around 0400 on Sunday, March 22, and we got to our dock right in downtown HCMC at 0800. Around midmorning, we took the Destination Asia shuttle bus to the Rex Hotel, a luxurious hotel in the heart of HCMC where the VPIs (diplomats and American senior officials and generals) resided during the war. A block away is the Continental Hotel where all the foreign correspondents stayed. HCMC is amazing! It is very modern, with all the upscale boutiques (e.g. Versace, Prada), small businesses, shops, street merchants, and vendors one can imagine – international brands, genuine and counterfeit, everywhere.

This is our approach to HCMC on the Saigon River. The City is in the distance.


By far the most numerous mode of vehicular transport is the motorbike. It seems as if all the motorbikes in the world have come to HCMC for a grand motocross, with pedestrian ‘kills’ the primary objective. Traffic lights or lanes mean nothing. Motorbikes (and even buses) may decide that it is more expedient to use the opposing traffic lane despite the flow of vehicles bearing down on them. The only way to cross the street is to stand on the lee side of a seasoned HCMC pedestrian (preferably, an old lady, or better yet, a brace of old ladies) who readily step into the stream of oncoming motorbikes. Somehow the motorbikes flow around them, like river water around a rock, and if you are indeed fortunate, in their shelter you can gain the other side of the street physically unscathed but emotionally wrecked. The trick is to maintain course and speed; if you stop or slow down or speed up, the motorbike jockeys get confused and you get nailed. Now, about these motorbikes: Like elsewhere in Asia, you will see almost anything remotely portable being held by a motorbike passenger seated behind the driver. I saw one pair of driver and porter where the porter was holding a 15-inch wide, 6-foot long pane of glass as the driver blithely sped down the crowded street. I didn’t actually see it, but I would bet a bit of money that it is possible to call up an appliance store and have a refrigerator delivered via motorbike.

Motorbikes at rest

So, we did a little shopping. We went into Lucky Plaza on Duong Khoi Street where we found the Linh Silk shop. I got fitted for a new suit and a Ho Chi Minh-style shirt tailor-made for $150; Georgia had a beautiful blue silk ao-dai (traditional Vietnamese dress) made, and Jackson was outfitted with a black linen shirt and a white silk tie. We aim to be sartorially resplendent at the Ambassadors Ball on board the ship en route to the Panama canal. After Linh Silk, we took a taxi to the War Remnants Museum, the curious name for a museum dedicated to the American War, the same war we back in the U.S. call the Vietnamese War. They were happy about the outcome, since they liberated their country from foreign occupation, and the museum celebrates their victory. Vietnam lost 3 million of 80 million people in the war; we lost 50,000. It is remarkable how they have gotten over it. They accept that it is in the past and over, something we have yet to fully acknowledge. Maybe that’s the reward of victory.

On Monday, March 23, we were part of an SAS-sponsored trip (with Georgia as our trip leader) of 42 people traveling to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The trip was called the Temples of Angkor. We took a bus to Tan Son Nhat airport (the same airport of Vietnamese war fame) for a one-hour flight with Vietnamese Airlines to Siem Reap, Cambodia, the city nearest Angkor Wat.

Siem Reap is Khmer for “Siam defeat”; it marks the location of a major victory by the Khmer over the Thais in the 16th century. Angkor means city, so Angkor Wat means “city of temples”. The Khmer are the people of Cambodia. Tour buses picked us up at the airport and whisked us away to a restaurant where we had a Cambodian lunch; the food was very much like Thai food. We then departed for a tour of the largest temple of the huge complex, this one appropriately named Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is a Hindu temple built in the late 12th century to the god Vishnu; it is surrounded on all four sides by a broad moat. These temples are made of sandstone and laterite, neither of which age well, but the sheer size and scope of these structures gives them grandeur and earns them their World Heritage designation.

As we crossed the causeway over the moat and left the temple complex, we were swarmed by young kids hawking postcards, counterfeit CDs and books, hats, bracelets, and trinkets. They can say all the right English phrases with impeccable pronunciation, such as “Where are you from?” or “Please buy this, mister. I am starting my own business.” These children break your heart until you look up and see the adults in their shelters orchestrating the entire scene. Our buses took us to our hotel, the Borei Angkor Resort & Spa, a fabulous hotel with teak woodwork everywhere. After a brief rest, we were back on the buses and off to a dinner & show. The dinner was a buffet with all sorts of Asian food; the show was traditional Cambodian dance, with brightly clad, barefoot dancers doing lots of hand gestures and foot curling as they acted out dramas, such as the young girl shunning the tempting demon or the fishing boy wooing the fishing girl. They danced to live music – lots of drums, nasally sounding stringed instruments, and cymbals.

The next day, we went to see other temples, beginning with Angkor Thom, a Buddhist temple built in the late 12th, early 13th century.

For $15 each, Jackson and I rode an elephant around its perimeter, seated in a box-like ‘saddle’ like a couple of sahibs out on a tiger hunt. The rhythm of an elephant ride is somewhat rocky. The elephant stopped along the way to eat a coconut it found lying by the road. We bought our elephant a bunch of bananas and fed her when we were done.

Appropriately, our next temple tour was a stroll along the Elephant Terrace. Back on the buses and on to the Shadows of Angkor restaurant for lunch – delicious Thai-style food; expresso coffee. The temples scheduled on our tour for the afternoon are 0 or 1 star, not 3 star like the ones this morning, so Georgia, Jackson, and I opt for swimming in the hotel pool, and, for the adults, pina coladas. Dinner in the evening is at a restaurant run by a Frenchman, but the food is just exactly like the lunch!

Thursday, March 26: Our final day in Cambodia. After breakfast, we boarded the buses again, this time bound for Tonle Sap Lake, the largest lake in southeast Asia. It connects with the Mekong River. It is possible to travel to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, or even the sea, by boat along the Mekong, but only during the rainy season. The lake is rich in fish, and a community of fishermen lives in a village of floating houses out on the lake, tending their fish traps and fish farms. The floating village was our destination, and we took a boat from a small tributary out onto the lake. The boat was a typical wooden (teak) boat, maybe 50 feet long, with a diesel truck engine and a steering wheel from a Toyota, complete with cruise control and turn signals (neither of which worked). The driveshaft extends maybe ten feet behind the boat and it can be raised or lowered by a winch when traversing shallow areas, of which there are many. So, we roared away out onto the lake and docked at the floating village’s emporium, with its live crocodile tourist amusement and its snakehead fish in aquaria. I bought an Adidas shirt (knock-off?) for Jackson for about $13 and an antique jar for the kitchen for $8. Many of these fishermen are Vietnamese who have traveled the Mekong up into Cambodia after the fish. They are viewed as illegal, but tolerated, aliens by the Cambodians.

The floating village...notice the pigs in the floating barnyard

We returned to our bus and headed back to Siem Reap, stopping on the way to photograph the large paddies of blooming water lilies, a key flower in southeast Asia. Buddha is often depicted sitting in a lotus blossom. We also saw people harvesting the rice crop using hand sickles. Water buffalo were a very common sight in the fields.

After a scrumptious lunch at the Borei Angkor Resort, we checked out and boarded the buses for one final temple, the temple overgrown with jungle that served as the backdrop in the movie “Tomb Raiders”, with Angelina Jolie and Jon Voigt. It was very cool, with its 250-year old strangler fig trees sending snake-like roots over stone buttresses and down the temple sides. After that, it was back to the Siem Reap airport and the flight home to our ship docked in Ho Chi Minh City.

Friday, March 27 was our last day in Vietnam and Jackson and I were up early for an SAS-sponsored bus trip to the Cu Chi tunnels, the elaborate tunnel system constructed by the Viet Cong. Construction was begun in 1948 when the French were still in control and the Communist revolution was in its infancy. (“Cong” means communist.) Later, when the Americans were here, the 25th Infantry Division built their base right on top of the tunnels and never discovered the extensive rabbit warren of tunnels branching all around them under the ground. Jackson entered one of them and crawled through it; I passed up on the opportunity. Jackson also got to fire a 10-round clip from the weapon of his choice: M16, AK-47, or M-30 machine gun. Being a fan of the American G.I., Jackson chose the M16 and fired off his ten rounds at some targets.

We returned by bus and dropped off some souvenirs we had purchased, and then we went out to pick up my tailor-made suit which was scheduled to be ready today and for a walk around HCMC. Since Jackson’s digital camera had died somewhere the other side of India, and the ‘menu’ option on mine refused to respond to my repeated summons to appear, we were in the market for new cameras. So we sauntered into the department store across the corner from the Rex Hotel and looked over the available merchandise. Half an hour later, we walked out with two digital cameras – a 7 megapixel waterproof one for me and a 12 megapixel marvel for Jackson – for about $325. Then, it was over to Linh Silk to pick up my suit and then dodge the motorbikes back to the Rex Hotel to meet the shuttle bus.