Sore legs and sloth bears

Well I got up at 2am a couple of nights ago to climb Adams Peak. Its one of the most important pilgrimage sights in Sri Lanka, with the rock footprint on the top variously attributed to Buddha, Adam leaving Eden and others depending on your point of view. Started up the hill (its actually 5200+ , and lit at night, due to the volume of pilgrims) around 2:45am and reached the summit about 5:30am. Cold wait for dawn but the view from the top was amazing - really worth if (see picture). I hung around until about 7:15 then came back down, showered, and drove back to meet Ranee at Nuwareliya about three hours drive away (she opted to sit this one out!).

I've been paying for that hike for the last few days - still stiff and sore and suffering up and down stairs. We're at Yala National park right now. Did a safari drive last night and again this morning - about to head out for this evenings drive. Seen a few sloth bears and elephant, deer, water buffalo, peacocks, crocodiles, mongoose and lots of smaller creatures - are hoping to see a leapord if we're lucky. Tomorrow we're heading somewhere to lie on the beach for a couple of days - these early starts are getting to us!

Sri Lanka

Got to Sri Lanka just after midnight on the 28th. Its been much more of a hassle organizing travel plans here vs Vietnam and Cambodia, compounded by the fact that the Lonely Planet is woefully out of date for Sri Lanka. But we organized a driver for the next two weeks and took off later that day for the "Cultural Triangle" that holds most of the ancient capitals of Sri Lanka, dating up to 2300 years ago. Visited AnaradhapurafirstcapitalofSriLanka (it always seems to be pronounced as one word), Polonawaru and Sigiria (my favourite) over the last few days. After here and Ankhor, starting to feel a bit templed out...

In Kandy for new years and then off to the Hill Country where hopefully it will be a bit cooler, and less chance of snakes crawling up the drain pipes (we eventually figured out why there were rocks weighing down the drain lids in the bathroom!)

Christmas in Singapore

In Singapore with family for Christmas. Mostly eating

Halong Bay

Connected right through to Halong bay and spent a couple of nights there. It really is beautiful, with the dramatic karsts rising out of the calm clear waters of the Bay. First night we spent on a boat. Nice idea at the time, but after spotting about a half dozen cockroaches at dinner on the curtains, lamp and once or twice on the table, it put a dampener on the rest of the evening! Second day we went sea kayaking (see photo) which was a great way to see the bay

Sapa and the Northern Highlands of Vietnam

We just got back from three days in the North West of Vietnam, based in Sapa. Did a half day hike through some ethnic minority villages (the Black Hmong and Red Zou in particular still wear their traditional dress), spent a day mountain biking and then visited the weekly market at Coc Ly which is full of Flower Hmong in their very colorful traditional costumes (see photo), then a boat trip. It sounds more active than it was - the hike was more of a stroll, and the biking mostly downhill. But the scenary was spectacular; terraced rice paddies, mountain landscapes wreathed in mist and the villagers going about their daily life (and trying to sell you stuff!). Took the night train back -heading to Haulong Bay today

Ankhor Watt lives up to the hype

We've been in Siem Reap for the last four days, mostly spent visiting the various temples in the area. Ankhor Watt is the most well known and is duely impressive, but I think our favorites were Bang Malea and Da Prohm, which are very atmospheric as the amount of restoration has been minimal so they still have a very Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones feel to them. See photo to get an idea. This places really lives up to the hype - its been the highlight of the trip so far. Our guide, Mr Da, has been really wonderful in helping us to appreciate the various sites in historical context. Tomorrow we're leaving Cambodia and flying to Hanoi

man bites snake

Tried the Snake Set Menu a couple of nights ago at Can Tho - snakemeat spring rolls and a snake curry. The snake meat was sort of like the tentacles of an octopus in appearance and consistency. Taste was harder to discern given the preperation. Don't really need to do that again.

Took a boat trip to see some floating markets near Can Tho (see photo). The river really is the center of life on the Mekong.

Overnighted at Chau Doc then on up the revier, crossing into Cambodia, and now in Phnom Penh. The traffic rules here, much like in Vietnam, seem to follow those of international diplomacy - might makes right. Which I'm a bit uneasy about in both cases, and especially so when precariously perched three to a motorbike riding about town. It seems the norm for the locals - most people we saw on a single motorbike was five, but I won't be doing that again either! Tuk tuks are a much less hazardous way to get around town.

We saw the Choeung Ek Genocidal Center - one of the many Khmer Rouge Killing Fields in the country, as well as the Toul Sleng Museum of Genocidal Crime where victims were held and tortured until they confessed during the mid 80s. All a bit grim. Between 10% and 40% of the population - depending on your source - died in the 4 year period.

Off to Siem Reap and Ankhor Watt tomorrow by car

Mekong Delta

In Can Tho on the Mekong Delta right now. Its hot and sticky. Geckos all over the walls. Took a boat ride along the river and saw some of the floating markets today, watched people make candy from rice, pineapple etc. Green rice paddies and tropical fruit fields everywhere. On to Chau Doc tomorrow then crossing the border to Pnomh Penh the day after by boat.

The economics around tourism are interesting. A 2 night/3 day trip up the Mekong and on to Phnom Penh costs USD $36/person, including hotels, transport in an a/c bus, tour guide, activities (boat rides etc) and some meals. Its quite astonishing that it can be done for so little. It would be cheaper to go travel in South East Asia for a month than pay rent in DC. Doing the same thing as a private tour ups the cost to around $400 - real economies of scale, although there are only about 18 people on our trip. There are tons of travel agencies retailing a relatively small number of wholesaled trips- any deviations from the norm rapidly increase pricing. One exception is hotels - you can upgrade pretty easily either through an agency or online. This internet thing - I think its going to be big

Hiking in Dalat

Got into Dalat (central highlands of Vietnam) yesterday and spent the day wandering around the city. Today we went on a 6.5 hour hike through the jungle. It was a tough, hilly, muddy hike. Ranee discovered that it was also leach infested. The hike started at the "Chicken Village" with its giant statue but no actual chickens (bird flu), and took us through some varied and scenic terrain; vegetable fields, light woods, clearings, head high grass fields and the jungle, finishing up by a lovely lake. It was pretty country but we are so beat this evening. Back to Saigon tomorrow

ho chi min city

We left DC on Thursday and 23 hours plus a time change later arrived into Saigon (Ho chi min city) around midnight on Friday. The place was buzzing as Vietnam had beaten Malaysia in a soccer match that evening. Lots of flag waving and manic moped driving. Spent Saturday wandering around the city, including the War Remnants Museum, renamed from the Museum of American and Chinese War Crimes, which is what happens when you don't consult the marketing team first. It was pretty sobering. Took "cyclos" back (see photo) - a modified bicycle cart that can be unnerving in traffic.

Today we went to Cu Chi to see the tunnel system that the Viet Cong fought from (widened for widened tourists) and visited the Cao Dai temple (an 80 year old religion with 4m followers that blends Buddhism, Christianity, Taoism and Confucianism). Virtually every chicken and duck dish has been struck off of restaurant menus, presumably due to the outbreaks of bird flu earlier this year.

Head to Dalit tomorrow morning