Travelogue :  Kyvan's Southeast Asia Adventure

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Dec 13-15, 2005
Mekong River Delta
 

You thought I was done with Vietnam huh? Lemme back track...

After a full month, it was time for mom and sis to go back to America. They had a 1am stop-over flight to Korea. We ate a buffet dinner at the Caravelle Hotel. The cost was beyond what any Vietnamese national could afford ($30 US) but they served live crab cooked to order. Was it worth it? No. But it was comfortable and luxurious and we were served by women wearing sleek ao dai and others had skimpy Santa outfits.

So from our hotel at Hoang Phuong in Cho Ben Thanh, mom and sis took a taxi to the airport. They were excited to go home but uneasy to leave me. And that was that! We split and I was officially on my own in Southeast Asia. I went to my room, took a shower, turned on the TV, counted my money, and planned for Cambodia.

I decided for a one-way tour partially into Mien Tay (Mekong delta region of Vietnam, and the last region of Vietnam I haven't seen) to Chau Doc, a city near the Vietnam-Cambodia border. From here, I would take a speedboat up the Mekong into Phnom Penh. This turned out to be the ultimate way to get into Cambodia.

The tour itself was pretty lame. I did it mainly to glimpse into the VN river delta life: floating houses on the river where they farm fish, production of chewy coconut candies, gummy banana treats, popped rice cakes. I chose this tour because it was mostly by boat: row boats, double decker boats, speedboats. So out of all the cities of Mien Tay like My Tho, Ben Tre, Can Tho, I only saw Vinh Long and Chau Doc.

The boat ride to Chau Doc turned out to be very interesting for two reasons: 1. A Vietnamese-American family not only from California, but also from San Diego, and not only that, but also from the same community I live in! and 2. I had to practice some medicine after word got out I was a pharmacist. I was having a very decent conversation with someone when I heard, "Kyvan, can you come up here?" I come up and I see this dude with his leg propped up on a chair. He was from New Zealand and said, [ok, in your best NZ accent now] "I heard you were a pharmacist, and I know you're on your holiday, but I thought I can't let you enjoy it too much without working a little." So here I was, in Vietnam, examining a patient. Unilateral left leg edema, I applied pressure and assessed the level of swelling. Anyway, his edema was significantly reduced by the next morning with my recommendations and there you have it, the fulfilling field of Medicine.

In the morning we took a boat past the floating houses where they farm fish (ca basa) below their wooden floors. The basa fish have short faces and fat bellies. We docked and walked inside to see a feeding. Then we were off to see a Muslim Cham village. The Cham are Native-Vietnamese (similar to Native American Indians) who were wiped out by the Vietnamese back in the 1400s and are now a small minority, living in small areas mostly by the Cambodian border. In this Cham village, they make colorful textiles, and children persistently sell and beg. I walked to their Muslim temple and saw written Arabic in its artistic wispiness. Then before I had time to reflect on my observations, I was swept away by my rowboat grandma and I had no idea what was going on. Apparently, my speedboat to Cambodia was waiting for me.

She rowed me to the white streamlined boat, I tipped her, and then I was off, speeding up the Mekong River, displacing its water like we owned it. I sat next to a small man who turned out to be quite helpful. He is from Arkansas who's lived in Japan and now Phnom Penh teaching English. So I grilled him about Cambodia. The Mekong is huge, wide, brown, and has a strong current. Without any fanfare, we left Vietnam and entered Cambodia by stopping at immigration first for visa verifications and entry stamps. And I found myself hearing the Cambodian language again after a very long while, since having lost touch with a Cambodian friend. She taught me some Khmer. I noticed a boy as dark as ash calling me "Pu" (uncle) wanting to sell me soda. I still recognize some words in Khmer like: akon (thank you), som toh (sorry), kyom chmua Kyvan (my name is Kyvan), kyom sro lang (I love you), tuk (water), on sray (little girl), and my numbers. Obviously, this poor knowledge of Khmer was not going to get me far. But knowing polite things like greeting with clasped hands: sua sa day (hello), chum riep sua om (hello...to an elderly), would usually win me a smile!

Up the river, Cambodia had blue skies, white clouds, lots of open rice farming land. The land is empty, no development, just flat and grassy, a small population of 14 million, 4 million in the capital of Phnom Penh. Compare this to Vietnam's 85 million. The effect of their history of genocide surely has an influence on this small population. So as you can expect, life is much more quiet in Cambodia. No massive traffic and no honking motorbikes and cars to the point of insanity like in Vietnam.

We entered Cambodia from Chau Doc, Vietnam after 3 hours. Fast when compared with the slow boat which takes 7 hours. So it was totally worth the extra money. (The Mien Tay tour including hotel and speedboat was $15.) Mr. Arkansas had a guest house recommendation, negotiated with a tuk tuk driver, then we were off. The driver was like, "Oh don't stay there...not good...dirty...stay here instead." DON'T let them fool you! At least see the place. Of course they will want you to stay in their commission hotel. The guest house was full so we went to his commission hotel to check it out. It was decent. So I stayed there for $10/nt, the Angkor International Hotel. I settled in then we went to eat at the Rose and Anchor on Sisowath Quay street bordering the Mekong. I had luk lak beef - cubed beef over rice and a crisp bed of lettuce, and a dipping sauce mixture of lime juice, salt, and pepper ($4 US). Food in Cambodia turned out to be more expensive than Vietnam. Now lets talk about money: Remember, in Vietnam, bring US dollars and exchange it for VND at jewelry stores for the full value. In Cambodia, bring US dollars because in Cambodia, their main currency is US DOLLARS! You get change back in Cambodian Riel. All paper, no coins. I love it.

Phnom Penh is adjacent to the Mekong and they have a beautiful and spacious boardwalk by the water, surfaced with tile. This city is known for its good restaurants, bars, and nightlife. It is also known for the Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum.