Tag: southeast asia

Ramblings

Thailand

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The last leg of our month-long SE Asia trip was to Bangkok, Thailand. Since we had been bouncing around Vietnam and Cambodia the past few weeks, we decided to station ourselves in Bangkok for the remainder of our trip. Bangkok is one of my favorite cities in the world. There is a special vibe and energy that that’s both comforting and thrilling. There is just so much to do, see, and eat! This is my third time there, and my feelings about the Bangkok remain the same.

It would be negligent to visit Thailand and not eat to our heart’s content. 😊 We love Thai food but as with Vietnamese food, Taipei unfortunately doesn’t have a lot of authentic Thai restaurants and we sorely miss it.

We spent the week in Bangkok eating and eating and eating. Probably gained a few pounds from this trip but boy, was it worth it!

The food prices in Bangkok were not as cheap as Vietnam’s, but more on par with Taipei’s (about $25-$30 for a casual meal for family of four). However, you can also easily find street food that’s much cheaper.

Another “must” when visiting Thailand is getting a Thai massage. Since we didn’t have anyone to watch the boys, Baba stayed at the Airbnb with them while I went to get a 1.5 hour massage. It was a relaxing experience, but not as joint-cracking as I remembered (and hoped for) 😂. At $30, the massage was on the higher-end but still very reasonable compared to the US.

Sightseeing around Bangkok: Chinatown (incredibly chaotic but in a good way!), Icon Siam (the biggest, most fabulous mall in Bangkok), and Wat Arun Temple.

Around the second or third day into the trip, Baba started experiencing GI issues. (We suspect it may have been all that coconut cream from the mounds of Mango Sticky Rice he ate.) So, I decided to book a last-minute Thai cooking class with C, my boy who lives to eat.

We had a total blast!! The class started off at a local wet market, where our teacher showed what some common ingredients are in Thai cooking. We went back to the cooking school via tuk-tuk and cooked four amazing dishes: Tom Yum Goong, Pad Thai, Massaman Curry and Mango Sticky Rice. Every dish was restaurant-quality and surprisingly easy to make! Then again, not having to source ingredients and clean up after ourselves makes a huge difference too 😅.

As the week went on, C caught another stomach bug. 😣 (Or maybe he never fully healed from the last bug in Vietnam?) With two men down, O and I went sightseeing at the Grand Palace and Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha Temple) by ourselves. I remember seeing these grand, opulent temples for the first time 20 years ago and feeling my jaw drop to the floor. It was moving to see O reacting the same way when he laid eyes on the Grand Palace, and I was reminded why we take these trips with our kids.

And that completes our whirlwind trip in SE Asia! Thankfully, Baba and C recovered from their illnesses before we flew back to Taipei. We even got to sneak in some delicious food (but with extra caution) on our last day. We got back to Taipei in the evening and the boys had school the very next morning 😅. Even after a month-long vacation, they whined and wished they could stay in SE Asia a while longer. But you know what? I felt the same way.

Ramblings

Cambodia

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After Vietnam, we took a bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Phnom Penh. When Baba suggested taking a bus instead of flying, I was skeptical. The ride would take 8-9 hours long, although Baba reasoned that flying (driving ~1 hour to the airport, checking in, waiting around for ~2+ hours, etc.) was just as much of a nuisance.

We took the Giant Ibis bus, a popular transportation company in SE Asia. And to my surprise, it was a great experience. The seats were large and comfortable, and the driver offered water and snacks. The bus stopped every 2 hours for restroom breaks so the ride didn’t feel long at all. C also caught a stomach bug that morning – vomiting a couple times before leaving HCMC 😓- so it was a relief that he could just rest on the bus. (Luckily his nausea stopped once we departed too.)

Pic taken from Google

Phnom Penh. Baba and I visited Cambodia 15+ years ago but only went to Siem Reap/Angkor Wat. Therefore, our memories of the capital are vague, but we definitely did not remember Phnom Penh being so modern and full of mainland Chinese! We later learned that a lot of mainlanders immigrated to Cambodia to invest in high-rises and casinos.

On our first day, we visited the Central Market, an art-deco market selling everything from fruits to seafood to fried tarantulas. A whirlwind of interesting sights, smells, and sounds, wet markets are one of our favorite things to see while traveling!

Two places I regrettably missed while visiting Cambodia many years ago were the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. From 1975-1979, the Khmer Rouge regime under Pol Pot committed a genocide that killed between 1.5 to 3 million Cambodians. Pol Pot’s goal was to create a completely agrarian, classless society. This led to forced labor, mass purges and executions. Yet, we never learned about the Cambodian Genocide in school and never heard much about it in the media. I always feel it’s important to learn about the history of the places we’re visiting, no matter how horrific it may be. Traveling is not only about luxury resorts and shopping malls.

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was once a high school in the middle of Phnom Penh but under the Khmer Rouge regime, it turned into a torture prison. Inside the prison, you’ll see actual devices and tools that were used to torture people. The rows and rows of black and white photos of prisoners were particularly haunting. Out of the estimated 14,000 to 20,000 people imprisoned there, only 12 known survivors made it out alive. Because of the graphic nature of the museum, we didn’t bring the boys inside but briefly shared with them what we saw.

Many prisoners from torture prisons like Tuol Sleng were taken to the Killing Fields, where they were brutally executed. At a quick glance, the Killing Fields look like a nice, serene park but there, babies’ heads were smashed into trees (often in front of their mothers), and women and men were killed with blunt objects, slashed with knives, etc. in order to save bullets. We rented the audio guide, and it was absolutely gut-wrenching to hear what happened at the Killing Fields.

Many Cambodians today are still scarred by the genocide and you can see the pain in their eyes whenever Khmer Rouge is mentioned. Visiting both the Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng in one day left me heavy-hearted, but I’m grateful we got this opportunity to learn about this important piece of Cambodia’s history.

Siem Reap. We traveled by bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, which took about 6 hours. Siem Reap was no longer the run-down little town we remember from 15+ years ago. Today, it’s a trendy resort town with cafes, pizza shops, and modern hotels.

The food in Siem Reap (and Phnom Penh) was unfortunately not suited to our tastes. There wasn’t a ton of variety, and even the national dish – Fish Amok – was a hit and miss for us. We ended up mostly eating pizza in Siem Reap, which was surprisingly pretty good!

We did, however, stop by a local stall to try a popular local snack – BUGS!

There were beetles, grasshoppers, and worms. They were heavily spiced and deep fried so you won’t be able to taste the “natural” flavor of the bugs, but once I popped a worm into my mouth and felt its guts explode I was DONE. The boys and Baba enjoyed them though.

But like most tourists, our primary goal for visiting Cambodia was to see Angkor Wat. We booked a tuk-tuk to take us around Angkor Wat for a day. This was probably the boys’ favorite part of the trip. 😅

We skipped the sunrise this time (because I just cannot wake up at 4am anymore 😂) but still arrived early enough to avoid the crowds.

Angkor Wat will never not be amazing to me. Built in the 12th century, it’s the largest religious monument in the world, showcasing the incredible skill of the Khmer people. Walking through Angkor Wat feels like stepping back in time – its beauty and history leave you in awe.

Still, after visiting the main temples, you kind of get temple fatigue. There is absolutely no shade at Angkor Wat so we were burning up for most of the day, even though we went in the winter!

We left Cambodia after 7 days. Baba and I sometimes wonder how much the kids will remember from this adventure. But at least for Baba and me – we take with us memories of stunning temples, new experiences, and the joy of seeing it all through our kids’ eyes.

Ramblings

Vietnam

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Hello, it’s been awhile!

But I have an excuse. We had been traveling around SE Asia over the boys’ winter break, visiting 3 countries and 8 cities in 4 weeks. We had such an amazing time there, and surprisingly didn’t find the trip exhausting at all. SE Asia is one of my favorite regions in the world.

I’ve been wanting to visit Vietnam for some time. Baba and I both have connections there, with his parents and siblings being born in Vietnam and my family having lived there for many years. I’ve also been enticed by pictures on social media of the beautiful nature and landscapes around the country. But most of all, we absolutely love Vietnamese food and have been missing it since we moved to Taiwan (the Vietnamese food here is lackluster).

We visited Vietnam from north to south – first Hanoi, then Ha Long Bay, Hoi An, Da Nang and finally Ho Chi Minh City.

Hanoi. Despite the terrible air pollution and nonsensical traffic, we loved Hanoi! I don’t know if it’s because Hanoi was the first place we visited, but the city has that old-world charm that makes you feel like you’ve stepped back in time, with its narrow streets, cozy cafes and roadside restaurants complete with the quintessential small, plastic stools. We stayed in the Old Quarter; most things were within walking distance and every corner had something to be discovered.

The food in Hanoi was also amazing. People have told me northern Vietnamese food is pretty bland but we didn’t think that at all. I don’t think we had one bad meal there, and of course everything is so, so affordable. Our meals were usually around $8-$10 for a family of four. 😱

During our stay in Hanoi, we also booked a day trip to Ninh Binh, a city in the countryside with calm rivers flanked by stunning limestone mountains and caves. It was so scenic! After the boat tour, we hiked to Hang Mua Cave and climbed up the Ngoa Long (Lying Dragon Mountain). The hike was all stairs so it was definitely a work out!

Ha Long Bay. We left Hanoi and took a 2 hour bus ride to Cat Ba Island, a gateway to Ha Long Bay. Originally, we wanted to go on a 2-night cruise to Ha Long Bay but the atrocious prices and lukewarm reviews turned us off. So, Baba found a more economical alternative: stay in Cat Ba Island for 2 nights and book a day cruise to the bay. 🙂

There wasn’t much to do on Cat Ba Island (although the tourism department is trying to build it into a resort town) and the food was mediocre. But we had a wonderful day cruise around Ha Long Bay – the views were beautiful and we got a chance to do some water activities even though the water was freezing. Our tour operator was Cat Ba Express and they were great. They seamlessly organized the cruise and transportation to/from Hanoi.

Hoi An. After Ha Long Bay, we flew to central Vietnam which included Hoi An. Hoi An is an incredibly picturesque city and has become one of Vietnam’s most Instagram-able place.

Hoi An is a very small city so after one day of sightseeing, we were pretty much done. There were so many tourists in the main part of Hoi An that at times it felt like a commercialized tourist trap. The streets were lined with shops selling souvenirs or tourist “experiences” like the lantern release on the river (which we ended up doing anyway 😅).

Nonetheless, we ate some good comfort food in Hoi An like bánh mì (including the shop that Anthony Bourdain visited!), and dishes native to central Vietnam that we’ve never had before, like mì quảng and cao lầu.

Da Nang. Da Nang is just a one hour drive from Hoi An. We only stayed here for 2 nights, but wished we stayed longer because it turned out to be one of our favorite places in Vietnam.

There are two sides to Da Nang. We stayed at the “resort” side, which was next to a really nice beach and tourist-friendly shops and restaurants. The boys loved the beach here and kept wanting to stay. (Taipei has no nearby beaches so the boys miss it immensely.)

We thought that was all of Da Nang until we did a Google search and realized there’s another part to the city over the bridge. A part that is a bit grittier and more frenzied, but with much more authentic, delicious food and interesting sites. We loved this part of Da Nang the best and had some of the best bánh xèo of our lives here!

Before leaving Da Nang, we also spent a few hours visiting Marble Mountain, a cluster of five limestone and marble hills/caves. It was a nice break from the usual cityscape.

Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City is the most modern city in Vietnam, with wide boulevards, upscale shopping, and international cuisine. But HCMC is also incredibly vast and scattered. Even though we stayed in District 1 (where most tourists stay), it took us a long time to walk to places or we’d have to take a taxi, and many of the restaurants we wanted to visit were a 20-30 minute car ride away.

We heard that HCMC has the best food in Vietnam but thought the food was average (except for 1 or two dishes), at least compared to what we had in Hanoi and Da Nang. Maybe we went to the wrong places?

The highlight of our visit to HCMC was going to Cu Chi Tunnels and War Remnants Museum. We visited the museum one day, then booked a day tour to Cu Chi Tunnels the day after. They were the perfect complement for learning all about the Vietnam War. The Cu Chi Tunnels were a vast network of secret tunnels that the Vietcong soldiers used to combat the Americans. The living conditions for Vietcong soldiers during that time were terrible; many had to eat rats and snakes while in hiding, and had to live alongside dead bodies in the tunnels.

To accommodate tourists, the tunnels today are built three times larger than the original and equipped with lighting and air conditioning. This is crazy to me because I was already feeling hot and tired after a short trip through the tunnels. 😅 It was incredibly humbling to experience what people’s lives were like only 50 years ago. We discussed the war and Cu Chi Tunnels for days after – so much better than just learning about it in school!

We spent a total of 18 days in Vietnam. This was my first time there, but I strangely felt connected to the place. Perhaps it was the familiar smells, tastes and sounds that reminded me of my upbringing, which was heavily influenced by my parents’ time in Vietnam. For the first time, I wondered what my parents’ life was like there, and what our lives would be like if they never left.

I loved the craziness, familiarity, and of course the food in Vietnam. I can only hope to go back one day.