near the mud baths outside Nha Trang
Because our itinerary felt a little pressed for time, we decided before leaving Japan that we would travel by air between our intended destinations in Vietnam and Cambodia. Our friend who lives in Saigon discouraged untimely and unreliable overland travel and assured us we would have no problem booking airfare on the fly, and so, ignoring our better judgement and intuition we landed in Saigon without a single reservation in hand.
We soon found - and found, and found, and found again - that this winging it mentality was not shared by tens of thousands of our fellow travelers who, wanting to ensure their seats, had booked well in advance (lesson 1). And so, after an initial bout of frustration, we embarked on our first leg of overland travel in Southeast Asia: a 13-hour bus ride from Saigon to Siem Riep, Cambodia.
Top: from the taxi en route to Hue, Center: from the train ride to Da Nang, Bottom: boat ride on the Perfume River
Our 6 am bus departed with a moderate degree of difficulty and confusion. A short sleep and a cleverly prepared egg sandwich later, we were barreling through the rice paddies of rural Vietnam, wedged between two South African tourists and the on-board toilet. As the hours ticked by, we passed through villages on stilts, fastidious farmers in their conical hats, water buffalo lazing in the murky water, young boys in school uniforms riding two and three to a bicycle, and trucks packed to the brim with reclining men. We stopped only occasionally to pick up or drop off a tanned, elderly local on the side of the road, stock up on rambutan fruit and pineapple, and once, to load the bus onto an under-sized boat which carried us swiftly across the river into Phnom Penh. We arrived after dark - exhausted, stiff-kneed and with the knowledge that we had just seen a tremendous piece of countryside we would have missed entirely by flying (lesson 2). It was the first of several exceedingly beautiful, if not totally comfortable, journeys we made over land - by tuk tuk, taxi, van, boat and local train - all of which are memorable.
Top, center and bottom: from the van leaving Doc Let
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