The Vietnam and Cambodia Recap

Sorry for the delay, but as expected, I got a bit swamped after my vacation. Between unpacking, teaching, battling a slight cold, and telling my students that I will be leaving soon, I haven't had much free time. But here is my vacation report:

I spent my first three days in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (aka Saigon). It is your typical crowded, noisy Asian city full of scooters and grit. The one main difference though is the historical significance of the city. We went to two different museums that touched on the Vietnam War, and I was able to learn more about the "other" side of the war. The War Remnants Museum was a bit hard to stomach at times, especially looking at the post-war photographs of the children born with defects due to the use of Agent Orange.

We also went to two pagodas in Saigon, but the pagodas themselves didn't do much for us. I guess we have gotten spoiled by the splendor of some of the Japanese pagodas. The monks' cemetery attached to one of the pagodas was pretty interesting though.

We were also occasionally reminded that even though Saigon is pretty Westernized, Vietnam is still technically "communist". The propaganda billboards were always interesting to look at (even if I couldn't read them).

The temples in Siem Reap (Cambodia) were the crown jewels of my vacation! Most of the temples were built between about 900 and 1200 AD. Although some of them lay in ruin, some of them have been wonderfully preserved (or are in the process of being rebuilt/preserved). I think we went to about 20 different temples over three days, so please don't ask me to name each of them. The above photo is Angkor Wat, which is the best preserved temple and believed to be the largest religious structure in the world.

All of the temples had hundreds of intricate carvings ranging from asparas to elephants to Buddhas covering their interior walls, exterior walls, and doorways. Most of the temples were made of sandstone and sometimes laterite quarried from nearby areas. The scale and the detail still present today makes these temples mind boggling when you think about construction methods of 1,000 years ago!

And not only do the temples have big footprints, they are also very tall (as shown here). Jenny is sitting only about one staircase down from me, and we are on the third level of the temple. When all is said and done, this was probably my best vacation so far, and I urge you to go if you can! (trust me, it is worth the long flight, especially if you combine it with a few days in other areas of Southeast Asia).