SE Asia ABD - 1/18-1/31 2025

[CaliforniaGirl09]

It really was! The Vietnam portion had some hiccups in the beginning logistics wise, and a few other snafus but Laos and Cambodia more than made up for any mishap. I'm glad I'm going back through all the pics again now months later. I need to do this more often after trips. We're always bustling onto the next thing... aside from some smaller trips closer to home we're supposed to be headed to Egypt and Jordan in November which has me stressed out as you can imagine! Its nice going back to a tranquil trip like this to remind myself to breathe and that its all worth it!

I'm sure you are! I look forward to hearing about that one. I, sadly, had to cancel our Viking cruise to Egypt in December. I will get there at some point! I hope they smooth out the hiccups in Vietnam and boy does this sound like a LONG day. Love the sunset hike though.

 

[AquaDame]

I'm sure you are! I look forward to hearing about that one. I, sadly, had to cancel our Viking cruise to Egypt in December. I will get there at some point! I hope they smooth out the hiccups in Vietnam and boy does this sound like a LONG day. Love the sunset hike though.

Oh thats a shame..! I hope you get there sooner rather than later if it is high on your bucket list. I checked our insurance policy and it seems very straightforward; cancellation kicks in if they go to a level 4. I was surprised Egypt is at 3 and Jordan still only 2 while missiles are going overhead and sirens go off due to possible falling debris. We'll see where we are at 30 days out.

It was a sunrise hike; I'm sure that's what you meant, but wanted to call that out in case someone reads this later and gets confused! We earned those views!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Oh thats a shame..! I hope you get there sooner rather than later if it is high on your bucket list. I checked our insurance policy and it seems very straightforward; cancellation kicks in if they go to a level 4. I was surprised Egypt is at 3 and Jordan still only 2 while missiles are going overhead and sirens go off due to possible falling debris. We'll see where we are at 30 days out.

It was a sunrise hike; I'm sure that's what you meant, but wanted to call that out in case someone reads this later and gets confused! We earned those views!

Oops... yes, what I meant! And I hope I do, too. Fingers crossed for you!

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 - Angkor's Away!

My dawdling has finally paid off; Kyle has caught up with his editing so I have some nicer shots from his camera finally. Downside is the compression putting them up takes away so much...

Finally it was here - the day that so many were looking the most forward to! We were once again told to make sure our knees and shoulders were covered for our visit. At 7:45am we met up in the lobby to tuktuk over to the site and were at the complex by 8:15. We took pictures outside and crossed the Heavenly Gate. We were to meet back up with the tuktuks at 10am. Until then, we wandered, and listened...

Repairing the crossway of the bridge was started in '18 and finished in '23. This is the third time it has been repaired. We then went through the minister's gate to see a nicer statue and then wandered the grounds to the gallery with frescoes of dancers and the battle of Lanka (Ramayana).

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued



Still a place of worship...



Still a never ending project...



Next we headed to the stairway to heaven and much more crowded conditions...



Disused stairway.



Our path to the top - we did have to stand in a hot queue for maybe 20 minutes. They would let a chunk of folk go and then wait until they all were inside before allowing more to climb. It was a constant stream up and down, and the queue was not orderly. You had to make sure people didn't constantly go in front of you as it was very wide. Not everyone went up, either due to the crowd or the physical strain of the climb. I'm sure heights came into it as well!



It was a nice view for those of us willing!

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Amazing! Love the pics, too.

 

[EP Ripley]

Updates on trip?

 

[MeDisney]

Updates on trip?

Would love to know as well, especially with the changes in itinerary.

 

[AquaDame]

Updates on trip?

Yes~! Been fighting with chronic insomnia since I got back (couldn't fall asleep most nights of the week, which means I just... didn't sleep for days on end sometimes) and have been prioritizing my day to day needs and trying to follow advice to avoid blue lights and such in the evenings which is when I have time. I'll get some more pics up from Angkor Wat - we are down to the last fumes of the trip tbh, most logistics and such are already penned in the earlier days, and knowing its going to be very different going forward took out some of the wind from my sails.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued...

We were able to wander here until about 10am, after which we walked back out, very slowly.









On the way we ran into groups of monkeys which we stopped to watch play a little while.



There were also folks having portraits and wedding pictures taken on the grounds too.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 Continued....



On the way out we went across the other bridge that was added to accommodate so many visitors - a big plastic floating one.





We departed for a break at this point, where you could choose between ice cream or a cold drink. After our respite we got right back down to business and headed towards Angkor Tom via the best preserved gate, Tonle Tom. The moat we crossed is where we would do our float later that night.











After passing some other amazing looking sights we did a 360 around the Bayon Temple before stopping to take a closer look on foot.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued...

Pics from Bayon; we were here until about 11:40am.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued...

From here we reboarded our tuktuks and continued to Ta Prohm.





There were suddenly a lot of tour vehicles and slightly aggressive vendors.





Plus a bit of a dusty walk to our goal. There was a band here under the shelter playing us along our way.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued...



There were many trees such as this, and our guides made sure everyone who wanted would get their picture taken.





By this point I had long started taking in the shade wherever possible.. it was hot!

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued...















Some of the photo stops have lines, so you do need to be prepared to wait a bit.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued..

We were here 1pm, and it was about a 20 minute walk back to the tuktuks which brought us to the Foreign Correspondent's Club for lunch. We arrived at about 1:50pm, which was a little late for lunch, but worth taking as much time as we could at Angkor Wat of course!












From here you could either have free time at the hotel until it was time to head back for the float, or if you wished you could go back into Angkor Wat and see more sites. Shockingly (to us at least) only Kyle and I, plus one other person went back! Maybe everyone else has plans to return..? There was not a ton of free time anyway - it was already 3pm when we wrapped up lunch, so I stand by that decision. We visited the Terrace of the Leper King and the parade grounds.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 Continued...







We walked as leisurely as we liked, with Chan interpreting for us. We still had more free time, so we went to Phimeanakas Temple next. No, I don't rememebr all these names, but thankfully I either wrote it down or snapped a pic at the markers!











After watching yet more monkeys play, it was time to really head out.



We took some extra time at one more bridge for Kyle to do glamor shots with his fancy camera. I know I've already posted a ton, and more to come, so I will spare you those.

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued... it goes on and on and on and....

While waiting we wandered a little in the area without Chan, following some crazy (to us) birds and just enjoying being there.




When Chan got the call the other folk were almost at the dock we continued on to meet up with them.



We had to split up again, this time it seemed to be a little more chaotic due to a few dietary requirements meaning some of us had gotten on the "wrong" boats! After passing trays around a bit we were all sorted and were off!




We poled along a fair ways just enjoying each other's company and how peaceful it was. The boats flowed past each other, allowing us to trade bits of conversation as a group as well as with our boatmates. I neglected once again to get a pic of the tray, so this is the best one I have:



It was honestly too much... we had JUST had lunch a couple hours ago and had dinner right after this, but the fruit, pastries, and bits of fried chicken were good. Our boatmates were vegetarian and I actually preferred theirs - more fruit - they were more than happy to share as they were also not hungry..! We ended up leaving most of everything behind.



As sunset approached there was one last surprise... the crew of our boats serenaded us with songs and stomped their feet in time. Honestly on paper this was an almost forgotten item, a throw away, but remains one of my favorite parts and memories. It really was a perfect way to spend our last sunset as a group.



Bidding a fond farewell to the water we reboarded our tuktuks and headed back to the hotel. We ended up having Doug on ours and chatted all about his life and history as a guide, as well as favorite trips and anything else we felt like chatting about. Doug has been our favorite guide... but to be fair he IS also the only one we've been on two trips with. I'd never mind a third, a fourth, whatever the future holds for us.



As we were chatting all of a sudden a group of cows ran across the street in front of us...



Our driver slammed on the brakes, tossing us around a bit and then WHAM!!! Yep, we hit a cow at full speed!! ;

Slightly shocked we managed to see that the cow was seemingly fine - we were all more shaken than it seemed to be, especially our driver. Even Doug admitted that was... new... for him too! If we had to hit a cow on a vacation I'm glad it was with Doug... though we'd all naturally rather NOT hit a cow again, thank you very much!

 

[AquaDame]

Day 11 continued...

Finally our day drew to a close. At 6pm or so we had debarked and returned to the hotel, then met back up at 7:30 in the pool area for dinner. It was a normal hotel buffet spread, but the stations were spaced so far apart I actually missed out on half of the offerings! Had I seen everything at the beginning I may have enjoyed it more - I filled up at the salad bar and dessert before realizing waaaay on the other side were more (better) entrees. Oh well, its not like I had not eaten well to that point! We sat at little round tables and enjoyed a performance of dances.










After they had taken their bows it was time for the requisite slideshow and goodbyes... many had early flights to catch in the morning, some we would see one last time at breakfast but for the most part, this was the end of our adventure with each other. Those who wished were welcome to join our local guide one last time for a sunrise over Angkor Wat... you KNOW we'd be there!

 

[AquaDame]

Day 12

Three other hopeful couples joined us on this morning at the agonizingly early time of 5:15am. Sunrise would be around 6:30am and it did cost an extra $15 per person to have a tuktuk driver and Chan along with us.

#worthit - you never quite know what kind of sunrise you'll have until it breaks, though we knew odds were good based on the weather forecast. My first pic was taken at 5:39am, when stars were still out, and the last at 6:53am before we headed back.








It did feel like a very long wait, but everyone was glad to have taken the time. It was not crazy crowded, but crowds have been a little lighter in recent years, so we may have lucked out there also.

We were back at the hotel by 7:30am and had plenty of time for a last leisurely buffet breakfast before showering and packing for our flight to Bangkok. Though our flight wasn't until 1:20pm we were picked up at 9:30. Both Tony and Doug were still around for final final goodbyes, and to present our day 12 pin. Goodbye waves behind us, we were back on our own in the wild world.

The ride took about an hour, and was blissfully uneventful. Siem Reap International was built when the travel boom was building and crushing records and... is kind of sad. It's big, polished, and quite dead. We were the only people being dropped off at the time we were there, and other travelers before and after us took pics laying down on the arrivals roadway. Thats how few people were coming and going! There was little to do, and few options for lunch, but we managed to wile away the time by walking the same corridors again and again. ^^;











From here the ABD is essentially over, but our trip was not yet! From here, it was all on our own. Next stop (briefly!) Bangkok!