Happy Monday! For Valentine’s Day, I got a lot of sleep, and thank goodness. I think I underestimated how exhausted I was from travel, jetlag, and the busyness of our trip to Southeast Asia. It was well worth it but still I am glad to be, in the words of Spirit of the West, home for a rest.
We took a guided group tour with Travel Talk Tours, and on the first leg – Vietnam to Cambodia – there were 26 of us. Six people left, and two more joined when we arrived in Thailand. It was a nice mix of people; mostly Canadian, followed by British, with one couple each from India and the US. I will say that guided tours are fantastic for seeing a lot in a limited amount of time, and with all the border crossings and transportation, it was very relaxing to have all of the logistics taken care of. Also, it’s great to meet people from all over the world! For those of you who were wondering, there were no “Ms NZ’s” on this trip, although I did encounter an absolutely dreadful woman from Estonia on our boat crossing from Vietnam to Cambodia. She was the only unlikeable person I met during the entire trip.
Good Morning Vietnam!
After twenty-six hours of travel, we arrived in Vietnam. Our hotel let us check in five hours early, so we happily showered and immediately went exploring in order to stay awake before meeting up with our group that evening.
Ho Chi Minh City
Still often referred to as Saigon, Ho Chi Minh City is a busy, chaotic city – and I loved it! We quickly learned how to cross streets in Vietnam: just start walking, and hope for the best.
Mekong Delta, Cai Be, Can Tho
The very next day we headed to the Mekong Delta, where we boated around for a while and visited floating markets.
We enjoyed the night markets at Can Tho, and that was where I had the best meal in the entire trip. As a side note, it was not as easy to find delicious vegetarian dishes as I thought it would be. I was absolutely able to get rice or noodles and vegetables everywhere, but any dish more interesting than that was a rare sighting. Particularly in Thailand, where there was fish sauce and egg in nearly everything, it was trickier to eat. It was not at all hard to be dairy-free, though.
Chau Doc
This was such an interesting place; Chau Doc has a hotel from which a large speedboat launches to take tourists across the border to Cambodia. This is where having an organised group tour really pays off; the border crossing was as smooth as it could be, given that there were quite a number of restrictions and a lot of paperwork to be done. Other than the one hotel, Chau Doc is NOT a tourist destination; in fact, there are no shops, no restaurants, and certainly no English speakers that we encountered. My husband and I opted out of the bird watching excursion because I could not stand the thought of being on the bus for another two hours, and instead we wandered around the town that could not have cared less about us. It was a really cool experience.
Phnom-enal Cambodia
After a total of six hours on the boat and an hour at the border crossing, we landed in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I absolutely loved Cambodia, and I think everyone should visit and boost up that country with tourism dollars.
Phnom Penh
Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, and I had emotional whiplash there. We visited our first of many Buddhist temples, where I was so happy, followed by a visit to the genocide museum, where we met one of the seven survivors of the prison and killing fields. Seven! And two are still alive. It was incredibly moving and both a testament to the human will to survive and also to the absolute horrors of the Pol Pot regime. After that, I was emotionally wrecked – I basically started to hyperventilate while looking at the mug shots of all the prisoners – but then we were taken to our absolutely stunning hotel complete with rooftop bar and hip hop music. I did not expect that at all. If that wasn’t enough of an emotional turn, the next day we toured the Royal Palace in all its beauty.
Battenbang
We saw SO much on this part of the tour! Travel Talk, like most responsible tour groups, chooses family-run businesses to patronise, which lifts them up out of poverty. We visited two women-run businesses: silver smithing and pottery. The pottery woman, in her early 60s, was a widow who also looked after her adult brother, born without the use of his legs. Life is very hard in general in Cambodia, but for widows and the disabled it is particularly difficult. In any case, I was very pleased to use my shopping dollars for silver and pottery! In between those two, we climbed to a hilltop temple, visited a monastery, and then went to a cave to watch the nightly migration of eight MILLION bats coming out of a cave. I will tell you that by that time, I was tired and a bit cranky, and as I stared at the cave I thought this is stupid. But then! A couple of reconnaissance bats flew out, followed by an enormous flow of bats that continued for twenty minutes. It was honestly really incredible to see. Nature! It is miraculous. The bats feed on the insects in the rice paddies that would otherwise harm the crops.
The next morning we took a ride on a bamboo train, which I thought would be an actual train, but instead was this:
It was honestly so fun; once these were used to haul bamboo and other things, but now they are used for tourist rides, and I am one hundred percent into anything that brings money to these regions. After that we climbed to another hilltop temple – this one an ancient Hindu temple – and carried on to Siem Reap.
Siem Reap
We had a fantastic day touring Angkor Wat, Angkor Thom, and Ta Ream. Truly incredible sights, a memorable day to be sure.
I was seeking out shade – we were there in “winter” and wow, it was hot!
Thai-ing Out Thailand
We flew from Siem Reap to Bangkok, and if you think I didn’t have One Night in Bangkok stuck in my head, then you don’t know me at all.
Bangkok
There are 44000 temples in Thailand, and I will say one thing right now: if you’re not interested in temples, maybe give this trip a pass. Fortunately, I AM interested, and a day in which we visited two temples and the Grand Palace, where the famous Emerald Buddha resides, was lovely.
The queen’s mother had just died, and so the Grand Palace was not open to visitors until 1pm, which meant that it was very hot and very crowded – but hey, it’s Bangkok! The world’s our oyster!
Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya
After Bangkok, we visited a museum dedicated to those who died building the railroad from Thailand to Burma, and went to the Mae Klong river, also known as the River Kwai.
We took a short hike through Hellfire Pass and saw Burma in the distance.
Phisanoruk
This day started early for six of us, who got up to make a food donation to a local monk, and received blessings in return. After that we visited more temples, and the remains of an ancient royal palace.
Sukhothai, Chaing Rai
There were a few long driving days, but we saw more incredible temples and a “hidden” Buddha.
Chaing Rai is home to the Blue Temple – my favourite colour! – and the very Instagrammable White Temple. I know this is a controversial opinion, but I love seeing people set up photos that are obviously meant for Instagram. It’s kind of delightful.
Chaing Mai
There are some days that will forever be etched in my memory. This was one of the best days of my entire life. We visited an elephant sanctuary, where we fed, bathed, and walked with elephants that had been rescued from very bad situations in the logging industry and circuses. Elephants are such incredible creatures, and it was such a gift to be so close to them.
A couple of people have asked about the clothing that we were all wearing: the rescue organisation gives every visitor to the sanctuary these red outfits to wear, plus rubber boots. Elephants cannot see very well, and because of their abused pasts, get agitated with unknown people. But they associate these red outfits with safe people, and so they accept the presence of visitors wearing them calmly and without stress.
If that wasn’t enough, after the elephants we drove up a very long and winding road to a temple that overlooks Chaing Mai. I was not particularly prepared for this, and was wearing a tank top and short skirt, which are not allowed inside a temple. I had resigned myself to just walking around the outer area.
As I looked at the temple entrance, a woman materialised beside me, holding out a shawl and a long skirt, nodding toward it. I am not one to turn down signs like that. I put the clothing on overtop my clothes, and ended up being blessed by the monk inside.
Hong Kong
The next day we got up early for our flight to Hong Kong. Such a fascinating and busy city it is! We had only a day and a half there, but definitely made the most of it, exploring on foot and taking the Peak Tram to look at the city. The city is preparing for Lunar New Year, and I enjoyed all the horses around.
It was a wonderful trip, and I’d like to go back in that direction one day to explore northern Vietnam and the beaches of Thailand. I’ll be back later this week to tell you about the books I read – including a DNF! – but for now, I hope you have a wonderful week, friends. Thanks for coming along on the journey. xo
A truly amazing experience! That pink tree!!!! OMG! The intricate details of that white building with the 3 elephant heads? Also amazing! And I’m so happy for you that you got that day with the elephants. I love the story behind the red clothing. What a wonderful experience. The train ride also looks interesting. I don’t eat rice or noodles, and I’d be a bit leery of the meat, so that part sounds difficult. My son and his family were in Hong Kong on a long trip through China last October and they said it was hotter than hell. But he did love it there (my DIL is from China and did her undergrad in Hong Kong).
And now we need to hear about the absolutely dreadful woman from Estonia! LOL!
Thanks Bijoux! It was really amazing. Some of the detailing took my breath away!
If you don’t eat rice or noodles, this might not be the best culinary destination for you – I am racking my brain trying to remember non-rice-or-noodle dishes and the only thing I remember is a vegetable soup that was mostly bok choi and broth. I will say a few people had allergies/ restrictions and it was quite tricky for them. For me, it was just a bit monotonous (I guess I’ll have veggies and rice! Again!). But particularly one woman had a gluten allergy and it was quite hard for her, with all the sauces, etc.
Hong Kong felt very cold in February, but it wasn’t really, it was just we got used to the heat of the other countries! I have heard Hong Kong summers are super hot and humid!
What an incredible trip! That white temple reflecting on the water is so gorgeous! I can see why you came back utterly exhausted. You saw so much on this trip!! The elephant experience sounded incredible. They are such gorgeous and smart animals. They have incredible memories which is not a good thing when they have experienced such abuse. Both of my boys love elephants but Taco especially loves them and sleeps with one clutched in his arms every night.
I’d love to visit this region someday. It’s high on Phil’s list, too.
Elephants are just incredible animals and I’m so lucky to have experienced that! I think you’d love SE Asia, the countries were so beautiful and all so very different!
What a truly amazing experience, Nicole! Your pictures are epic, as is the joy on your face with the elephants!
Thanks Lindsay, it was the best day!
Wow Nicole, this is all AMAZING. I love that your tour company focused on small businesses, and people who really need help. It gave you a great reason to spend lots of money on souvenirs! i love all the stories here- the elephants, the woman who lent you the clothing for the temple… the whole thing sounds like a really beautiful trip.
Looking forward to your vacation reads!
Thanks Jenny! It’s really important to me that we take tours with ethical and locally-focused businesses. It made me feel great to, you know, buy things!
Wonderful pictures. My mother is a world traveler (still, in her 80s) and they remind me of some of hers.
Oh I love that your mom is still having adventures!
Oh I love hearing about your trip and seeing the pictures. It’s been a very long time since I did a group trip but I think I may be ready for one. You do get to meet a bunch of different people and having the logistics taken care of (especially when there are a lot of them) is a bonus. Having said that though, I’ve just booked another solo trip, but maybe my next one? Love those elephant pics, and all of them really. And yes, we need to hear about the woman from Estonia.
Pearl, I loved having the details taken care of – we did so many things, and it was nice to just go with the flow!!!
This was lovely to hear about. I love reading about your traveling adventures. My favorite part is you smiling with the elephants. Oh, and the pink tree!
Thanks Kari! Isn’t that tree gorgeous?
I’m still so jealous of those lie-flat seats, ha!
We visited Vietnam in the 1990s, and now that you mention it, I totally remember those insane street crossings. Just step onto the road and let the mopeds and bikes swirl around you – absolutely terrifying and fascinating at the same time!
And the emotional whiplash in Phnom Penh…temples, genocide museum, rooftop bar with hip hop. Phew, I can see why you were drained!
Was the Chiang Mai temple visit spontaneous? I notice you’re always perfectly dressed for the other temple visits, so I’m guessing this one wasn’t on the original plan?
Catrina, YES. The mopeds swerving was unnerving, but you can’t stop walking or they’ll hit you! I don’t know how it works but it does.
The Chaing Mai temple visit was on the itinerary, but the guide usually reminded us the day before that there would be a dress code. That day, she told us what to do about clothing for the elephant visit (bathing suit, bring dry underwear), and if I had thought about it, I would have packed my long sleeve top too. So it was kind of my own fault, I knew we were going to a temple but between preparing for the elephant visit and not having a reminder, I forgot!
I also really love to see people set stuff up for Instagram. Hey, you do you, person with no self-awareness!
I love hearing about your travel experiences, too. I feel like I’ve been there and now I don’t have to do what sounds like exhausting traveling!
I love that you love that too! I just find it so fun to see people set up so carefully.
What fun to read about your amazing trip! It really does sound like a guided tour was perfect, giving you the opportunity to see so many things, while not dealing with so many of the hassles – especially the border crossings. I especially love that you got to hang out with the elephants. They are such fascinating animals, and the look of pure joy on your face is priceless. Now you’ve seen elephants and camels! I wonder what’s next?
The jet lag is brutal, isn’t it? We went to Japan about 20 years ago. We were there for one week, and I swear it took a month to fully recover from the jet lag! My legs got so swollen in the plane on the way home, and it took a week to get them back to normal. However, it was well worth it! Japan was amazing!
Ooooh Japan! I would love to hear all about it! I will say that my legs – always I have trouble with them on flights because of varicose veins – did NOT bother me at all, having the lie-flats. It’s all about putting my feet up, I guess! It helped so much and now I’m ruined for regular flights!
Okay, but that Buddha is gold? lol. What an amazing trip! I think guided tours would be the way to go for me – less anxiety and probably more bang for your travel buck. All the better when they’re clearly ethical.
That’s so cool about the red pajamas. I love hearing about working/abused animals who get a happy and cared-for retirement.
I’ve read books about the Cambodian genocide and I think meeting actual people who went through it would be overwhelming.
I love the Instagram sets too – I hate feeling like I have to furtively try for a good picture when, let’s be honest, 90% of travelers want an Instagram-ready pic even if they’re not on Instagram.
This took me WAY too long to interpret! The answer is – taking photos of the Emerald Buddha is not allowed. So you get a gold one! I really like guided tours for that reason, all the logistics and lodgings are taken care of, and it’s just so easy. Just show up and go with the flow!
Allison, it was overwhelming to meet a person who had been through so much. Three months of torture, and he ended up escaping because the Vietnamese army attacked and the Khmer Rouge soldiers, who were taking him to the killing fields, fled. So he escaped. I mean. I am feeling all upset all over again just thinking about it. What an incredible testament to life.
what a trip!! you elephant pictures are the cutest– I love your happy elephant face.
I think my face froze that way! I was so happy!
Nicole! This is just a post overflowing with delightful things. You look positively radiant in all the pictures and I just love that you had so many Remember This For the Rest of My Life days on the trip. Hooray.
The elephant photos are definitely my favourite, too! What an adventure. And you really do look like you’re having the literal time of your life <3
Thank you my friend – it was really a trip to remember! Especially the elephants!
Wow! I just loved everything about your account of your amazing trip. I bet you were exhausted when you got home. So many wonderful experiences that you will never forget.
Thanks so much, Dulcie, it was a great trip!
That’s a packed trip Nicole! We went to each of these countries for at least a week and felt rushed at the time. I guess given how far it is Asia from Canada, makes sense to see a lot in a tour trip to decide where you want to go back.
Running through Angkor Wat during sunrise for a Half marathon was my fondest memory in Cambodia. And the elephant sanctuary in Chiang Mai also family favorite.
It was packed! I would like to have spent a little more time in Vietnam in particular, but I don’t like being away from home for more than three weeks, and with travel time…I enjoyed everything we saw. Angkor Wat was such a special place!
I love everything about this recap! If not for you, I would never have known about elephant-friendly clothing.
What was the food like?
The food was good – my husband says it was “excellent” – but just less variety than I thought there would be! But always good stir-fry veg and noodles/ rice for me. In a few places it was absolutely phenomenal!
What a joyful post, and the pictures are amazing. The reclining Buddha, are those his toes right there in the foreground? Is he on the sofa watching reruns on TV? Or perhaps daydreaming about a life without suffering?
The elephants…so wonderful. I like that they have found a way to help the elephants be OK with strangers bathing them. My daughter makes a monthly donation to an elephant sanctuary here in the US…Tennessee maybe? She loves elephants, and would be so happy to spend time with them I think.
I love that they had something for you to wear so you could go into the temple! So smart!
The reclining Buddha was really amazing. The scale! It took my breath away, honestly.
Your daughter would LOVE Chaing Mai! I have always loved elephants too and it was just wonderful to see the bond between the caregivers and the elephants.
I love seeing all of the things that you did! I think that your trip went by really fast for me, haha, even though I wasn’t there. It felt like you left and then poof, you were back. However, this post shows how much you really did in a short time! They really had a good lineup of things, and it seems like a great taste of the countries. Would you go back to any of the places again for a longer stay, do you think?
I would like to see more of Vietnam, since we barely scratched the surface. And you know me, I like a beach vacation, so I would like to go to the Thai beach area. But my max trip is 3 weeks, I don’t like being away from home for longer than that.
What a great trip! I’d love to hear how this company and slightly larger group compared to Intrepid. And the elephants! What a highlight!!!
Hannah, my husband and I did compare a lot to Intrepid! It turns out I liked a large group because I did like getting to know more people. However! There are a lot of things I liked better about Intrepid – how they hire local guides at each destination. Travel Talk doesn’t do that, it’s one guide per country. Which is fine! But I liked the local aspect of Intrepid a lot more.
This seems like the trip of a lifetime. You made the most of each destination, clearly. These photos are wonderful.
I love hearing about the sensitive treatment of the elephants. Those huge creatures are so much more compassionate and feeling than many people realize. Truly noble animals.
They really are, Nance. They are such majestic creatures! And now they can live the lives they are supposed to, which is mostly feeding in the forest.
Wow, what an amazing trip! Thank you for sharing it with us. I’m interested to know how the jetlag affected you while on the trip – could you sleep? Were you dragging through the days or running on adrenaline?
Sarah, that’s the funny thing – it really didn’t affect me while I was there! I got a good night sleep the first night and then I was…fine? Maybe I was just so excited that it didn’t affect me, but I wasn’t tired at all!
What a full, amazing trip! I have never been to Asia, and your post gave me the most wanderlust. So glad that it was such a phenomenal experience!
Thanks so much, Sam, it was truly unforgettable!
I am so glad you enjoyed your trip!! I love South East Asia. We went to Vietnam, then returned a couple of years later and revisited it and added Cambodia and Laos. I was also fortunate to walk with the elephants in Laos. It’s really is an unforgettable experience, isn’t it?
If you do decide to return to Vietnam I highly recommend the north, particularly Hanoi and Mai Chau.
Thanks for sharing the beautify photos. I particularly like the one with you in lotus pose in front of the Buddha and the other one of you being blessed by the monk. I think they capture your essence 🙂
Jacquie, I definitely want to go to north Vietnam! We saw so little of Vietnam but what I saw, I loved. What did you think of Laos? That is also on my list!
Thank you for your lovely words!
Luang Prabang is beautiful and I highly recommend it. You like to hike so I recommend visiting Nong Khiaw, a 4 hour drive north. It’s a horrible road, full of potholes, but that’s part of the of the adventure!
Oooh thanks for this!!
What an adventure you had! It sounds wonderful!..and those elephants! So cool! You sure have some lifetime memories! Lucky you.
Thanks so much Judy!
What a lovely trip, Nicole! Loved seeing it all together after seeing the cute cameos and snippets…
And absolutely love you in color! Reds! Blues! Extra radiant and glorious!
Awww thank you so much Maya!
Nicole, what a stunning sounding trip and experience. My daughter and I would love the elephants. And it’s true, travel now while you feel great, because why not?
I think you would love this trip, Anna!
Finally getting to comment after reading through this twice. (We have kids & grandkids visiting us in Mexico so busier than usual). I will be referring back to this post as we get into the details of planning a similar trip (we won’t be doing a tour). We prefer to have flexibility in our plan and hang out in favourite spots a little longer. We will definitely be booking tours while there though! Otherwise you miss so much. And we will definitely be upgrading plane seats – this is the trip to do that!
Pat, I know what you mean about tours – they work great for us because I have a three-week limit of being away from home. (Rex) But for you, it would be nice to just be more flexible!
What an epic adventure, Nicole! You look so warm in all your photos, haha. It must have been nice to escape the cold for the heat… until it got TOO hot. The elephants would have been my favorite thing, too. What a cool experience!
I was very warm, Stephany! Except in Hong Kong, which felt quite chilly after the heat!
What a fantastic trip. I haven’t been to any of those places but would love to go. G and I did spend a week in Hoi An for our 15th anniversary. I love Vietnam, the food, the people and the history is wonderful. The temples you visited in Thailand are stunning. I think for most Asian countries once you step into the road you just have to keep moving forward and the traffic will avoid you. If you step back or stop that’s when you might have problems because the drivers aren’t expecting it.
Melissa, that is exactly what we found – just keep going and the scooters/ cars will just go around you. I saw one person nervously stop and then the driver had to brake quickly. I think you would have loved this trip, and it’s not too far for you to go!
I read this on Monday and wasn’t able to comment and oh look, here we are already at Friday. These photos are spectacular and your trip sounds amazing — beautiful and educational and truly special. I have never been to any of the countries you visited, and generally feel like the amount of travel is insurmountable for me to want to visit them, so I really loved reading about your experiences!
Thank you Suzanne! It was really wonderful!
Well, my mouth was hanging open reading all of this and taking in the photos! WOWZA. You guys saw and did a lot!
When you mentioned the emotional whiplash, I could feel it myself by reading your experiences. The Killing Fields. *Sigh* Goodness, the things those survivors have endured; I can not even imagine. Every day I wake up, thankful to have been born and able to live where I am. We are the lucky ones.
The Temples are absolutely stunning, and I would have had to pinch myself over and over, seeing how intricate and special they are. I love that you were blessed by a Monk. Now you are doubly blessed!
The ELEPHANTS! Is it ok that I figured out wearing those outfits was for the elephants’ benefit before you stated it? I’d like a gold star, please.
Did you ever read the book Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult? It’s a work of fiction, but she did intensive research about elephants, and they play (almost) the main characters; I learned so much from that book, and it’s stayed with me for years.
Suz, I KNEW you would understand the elephant outfits, I knew it! But I had so many people ask me about them, apparently many people thought I was embracing a whole new style (giant red polyester clothing). So you get a whole SHEET of gold stars!
I haven’t even heard of Leaving Time, but I will look it up right now!
You are SO right. We are so lucky to be born/ living where we do. The stories were heartbreaking. Children were involved too, which just about broke me.