Category Archives: Travel Photos

Hanoi at a quick glance

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I only stayed one night in Hanoi . . . it warrants a longer visit.

Another time!

I found a nice hotel room with a little balcony overlooking the street.

The view.

The church. Locked up for now.

I just liked how that moto was rigged.

Found one Larry! But I was too full to have a taste.

He’s got the whole world in his hands.

Leading to the Jade Island (on the northern end of the lake).

A common site in SE Asia (outside temples and at private altars).

Thinking of you, Teri!

Not sure what those ball things were.

Went to the 5 p.m. show after arriving at 4:15 ! Thanks for the tip, Jane.

Didn’t buy one . . .

So many Vietnamese children are eager to practice their English.

A touch of Hawaii.

And that’s all of Hanoi.

It’s an amazingly vibrant (i.e. busy) city.

I arrived there first on the 29th of September, just in time to share a minivan from the airport into the old city with 9 other travelers (and meet the connection for the night train to Sapa).

Next, I arrived early one morning by train. How early? Around 4:45 a.m.! Yep, that’s early! The nice and quiet German family (with whom I shared the compartment) didn’t disturb me in my sleep. When I got up and looked outside (as they quietly whispered and took their time collecting their things), I saw that practically everyone had left the train! I grabbed my two backpacks and handbag and made like a banana. Rather than a taxi, I decided to take a moto (scooter) to the street where I was to be at 8 a.m. for the trip to Ha Long Bay. Almost nothing was open! But thank goodness it was only almost; I spied a hostel on the same narrow road in the old city that looked open. As I was giving my *20,000 Vietnamese Dong (yes, Dan, you read that right) to the driver, I heard a voice call out, “So you decided to take a moto!?!” It was the husband of the nice Israeli couple I had shared the train compartment with on the way to Sapa, and with whom I had hiked one of the two days.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“We’re checking in to this hotel.” (There was a nice hotel adjacent to the hostel.)

Cool! After I stowed my bags with their luggage, we three took off on a short walk to the lake; together we eyed the many people exercising–even saw a group doing laugh yoga! They lingered, and I headed on to my rendezvous for Ha Long Bay.

***

* Sj *

Ha Long Bay . . . for you *Larry! : )

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

“Ha Long Bay (Vietnamese: About this sound Vịnh Hạ Long (help·info), literally: “descending dragon bay”; 下龍灣) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a popular travel destination, located in Quang Ninh province, Vietnam. Administratively, the bay belongs to Hạ Long City, Cẩm Phả town, and part of Van Don district. The bay features thousands of limestone karsts and isles in various sizes and shapes. Hạ Long Bay is a center of a larger zone which includes Bái Tử Long bay to the northeast, and Cát Bà islands to the southwest. These larger zones share similar geological, geographical, geomorphological, climate, and cultural characters.”

Okay, nuff with the words, here are Sj’s pictures . . .

Enjoy!

She was working! And not just at rowing.

Floating village.

It often felt like they were driving these things for the first time!

They passed that baby along like a sack of potatoes! lol And the kid seems just fine with it. Nice. ; )

We didn’t have a lot of sun . . . but for this instance we did!

Another working gal. Only saw women drivers.

Had 30-minutes at this man-made beach, made a running dash up the hill. That’s the boat I stayed on.

Nice Danish family hanging out while it rained.

Going on a tour of the “floating village.”

Driver in training.

Ma chambre. See my bat/angel?

Pretty sunset one of the 2-nights that I was on the boat.

The moon!

The ubiquitous flag in Vietnam.

These kids from New Zealand were having fun; he’s teaching her how to fold the napkin. How’d he learn? A Vietnamese worker on the ship showed him one rainy afternoon.

In front: my new gal pals from London, Emma and Jane. Had dinner with them one night in Hoi An. In back: Nat and Gerry. Was supposed to have dinner with them one night in Hanoi, but I went to the wrong restaurant! But, I just happened to run into them the next day while passing the church shown above . . . yep, keep loving those “coincidences”!

Ze “floating village.”

Ditto.

Pretty cool.

Well protected.

He’s taking a shot of the school.

See?

They seemed happy as they looked my way.

Back at the industrial harbor.

Aloha Ha Long Bay!

Hope it brought back good memories Larry!

So long from the Hanoi airport enroute to Bangkok.

Sending love to all of you wherever you may be.

-sj

* and Kay!

Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat

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From Wikipedia: “The name Siem Reap means the ‘Flat Defeat of Siam’ — today’s Thailand — and refers to the centuries-old conflict between the Siamese and Khmer peoples.”

And also from Wikipedia: “Angkor Wat lies 5.5 km north of the modern town of Siem Reap, and a short distance south and slightly east of the previous capital, which was centred (sic) at Baphuon. It is in an area of Cambodia where there is an important group of ancient structures. It is the southernmost of Angkor’s main sites.”

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg in terms of what can be said about this area. I recommend that you visit Wikipedia (or go to the library) and discover more on your own; I think you’ll find it interesting and intriguing.

Meanwhile, the following are my selects from the many photos I shot. Yes, this represents my favs; I took a lot more pictures!

Enjoy . . .

Arriving via tuk tuk (after a 4+ hour ride in a minivan).

Sunrise at Angkor Wat.

Dogs are everywhere in SE Asia.

: )

Angkor Wat complete with the possibility of a balloon ride.

Dragonflies at Banteay Kdei.

A remodel at Ta Prohm.

There are lots of trees growing out of the rock walls at Ta Prohm.

Ta Keo.

I was riding with my new gal pal friend, Laura, a chef in Australia.

Moi at Ta Keo.

One of four “gates” at Angkor Thom.

Within Angkor Thom is one of everyone’s favorite.

Bayon Temple.

With lots and lots . . .

of faces! : )

The mode of transportation the first and third day of touring Angkor Wat.

Four of us shared a tuk tuk to go far north of Siem Reap to visit . . .

Kbal Spean.

Needless to say, we didn’t swim!

Very, very old prayers are carved into the rocks. Like the wind carries the prayers (on prayer flags), the water carries these prayers (all the down the river to Angkor Wat).

That’s Shiva.

It was a 2 km walk in pleasant, drizzling rain to the above carvings.

The rain and warmth brought beautiful clouds on the horizon.

The tuk tuk sharing gang.

I thought they looked colorful; they smiled and waved back.

The second wat far north of Siem Reap that we visited via tuk tuk.

It’s unusual because of its reddish coloring.

It’s also the “women’s” temple.


Name is Banteay Srey, one of my favs.

We were enamored with these tiny frogs which we saw practically everywhere!

More of Banteay Srey.

Can’t remember the name of this one . . . sorry!
(though it might be Banteay Srey as well . . . it is reddish!)

We saw all kinds of things while riding in the tuk tuk.

Moi and my gal pal, Laura.

Tuk tuks weren’t the only way to see the temples.

Following behind the work crew.

Liked the orange . . .

Even if it just came from that guy’s shirt.

On my own I went to Preah Khan.

It too had trees that were “taking over.”

See?

I just wandered all over . . .

And happened upon the “behind-the-scenes” area.


Back to work after a break.

I stopped for a lunch break.

This dog was so darn fascinating to look at.

He and the other guy were waiting . . . Yes, I shared!

And then it was time to grab a tuk tuk for the ride back (after I had a flat tire!).

That night as I sat down in the hotel lobby to join fellow FLO teacher, Andrew, for dinner (he was in Siem Reap for his work), this movie just happened to come on. Remember fellow Kauaians?

And with that I bid you adieu from Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Aloha!

Phnom Penh photo highlights

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Hi Everyone,

I never really told you much about Phnom Penh, and that’s not my intent now! Rather I’ve got a few shots from the time I spent there.

When I would go to Phnom Penh, it was mostly just to take a break from working at FLO, i.e. doing things like going out to dinner with my new friends (including other volunteers), hanging out in the groovy hotel room I found and getting some rest, and practical things like procuring supplies for teaching, and getting a visa for Vietnam.

There aren’t a lot of shots of the classic touristy attractions . . . I just wasn’t into those subjects on this trip. If you want to know more about the history, go to the library or wikipedia. : )

Kay den, here are the pixs:

This was from the first Saturday I was in Cambodia (end of July); it was a special day, and lots of people had gathered to pay their respects at the pagoda.

I enjoyed watching the “egg lady” as she crossed the busy street; when I was a kid, we used to have an “egg man” who delivered eggs to our house ! The tradition continues in Cambodia (and SE Asia, as far as I can tell).

The smaller building is the very same as the first picture on this page; recognize it?

It’s so fascinating how they use bamboo for scaffolding. (and very practical since there’s a lot of bamboo growing in Cambodia!)

The contrast between living abodes is quite extreme.

These kids were having so much fun waving at me!

You’ve seen this one before, but I just like it. I like how the lady in yellow was caught in her stride.


That’s the National Museum as seen from the balcony of “my” hotel room. Did I go to it? Nope, not even once.

That’s all on Phnom Penh folks!

My last full day at FLO in picture form . . .

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They’re bringing food . . . it’s a gift.

Some got a snack along the way.

These guys are buds!

See?

I watched this building being built during my stay at FLO.

See the wat (pagoda) ?

Now in the complex . . .

That’s a lot of rice!

Then came clean up time . . . I didn’t take any photos during the ceremony.

Wanna help?

See the one about the big flood?

My turn next!

: )

Take our picture!

Now YOU!

No more rice . . . just kids!

Monks gotta do laundry too!

One more picture, Auntie???

More random tuk tuk shots from around Phnom Penh, Cambodia . . .

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Let’s see how fast the internet connection is in Sapa, Vietnam . . . it’s freakin’ fast!

Enjoy!

Random tuk tuk shots from my time at FLO outside Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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Aloha Everyone,

I literally just shot these “off my hip.”

They’re for those of you who haven’t visited SE Asia yet. And for those of you who have, well, it’ll surely bring back some memories.

And, just imagine lots of noise of all kinds: tuk tuk honks, moto honks, car honks, truck honks, loud speakers broadcasting this and that (music, talking, chanting, who knows what-ing) . . . and oh, turn the fan on and let some dust and exhaust fly in your face. Ahhh . . . do you feel it yet? Are you there with me?

Love to my many friends around the world,

-sj
p.s. more to come . . . this is all the time I have for uploading . . . off to Hanoi and then Sapa.

A visit to Cambodia unfortunately isn’t complete without a trip to one the many “Killing Fields,” “Killing Caves,” or “Genocide Museums.”

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I say unfortunately because obviously these are not happy places to visit. But similar to the reason that I went to the former concentration camp in Dachau not far from Munich, Germany years ago, I felt it was my duty (as a fellow human) to show respect to the millions who died during the era of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

What follows are photographs I took while at the Genocide Museum Tuol Sleng, the Former Office S.21 in “Kampuchea Democratic” 1975-1979. (It’s located in Phnom Penh in what used to be a high school complex.) This facility (and many others) were used for lodging the people while they were being tortured. Though people did die here; that was not its intended purpose.

This device was used for taking their photographs.

The man on the left is one of the few survivors of S.21 left.

The following pictures I took while visiting the killing field closest to FLO. There were many, many similar places in Cambodia during this time. This one was located on what used to be a Chinese cemetery (where there was an orchard of *longan trees).

The “typical” procedure was to blindfold the people, tell them that they were being relocated, take them to a field (or cave as a nice Canadian couple I met while in Siem Reap explained to me; they visited one in northern Cambodia), force them to kneel (adjacent to a previously dug hole), kill them (in many different ways), put their body in the hole, and . . . go get more people to kill. It was so incredibly horrible what they did.

This is very close to the killing field.

See the skull? That’s where this killing field is located.

This memorial houses many of the bones found in the numerous mass graves.

***

*From my Apple dictionary:

longan |ˈlô ng gən; ˈlä ng-| noun

an edible juicy fruit from a plant related to the litchi, cultivated in Southeast Asia. • The plant is Dimocarpus longan, family Sapindaceae.

ORIGIN mid 18th cent.: from Chinese lóngyǎn, literally ‘dragon’s eye.’

Volunteers cooking the meals for the FLO kids one Saturday . . .

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Then entire event was being taped by Rick, the Aussie/Hawaiian cameraman;
it will air in Hawaii December 2011.

Just about time to dig in.

First, to give thanks.

Yum, Sean’s egg scramble with lots of veggies was pretty darn good!

Lunch was a classic hot dog; the kids were starving by dinner time!

This is the normal ritual.

Line up before grind (i.e. eat : )

Lots of ketchup on my dawg!

Meanwhile, volunteer Pam bought her new foster son a bike!

Next came Sean’s tasty spaghetti bolonaise, heated by a wood (and sometimes plastic : ( fire).

Wok’s are definitely the way to cook for hundreds of people!

Gal pal time while waiting for dinner to be finished. Both Saturday and Sunday afternoons are devoted to karate class for some of the FLO students.

There was also a dance performance this evening.

This cat took a liking to everyone who’d give her a cuddle.

And now for the noodles . . .

This was their favorite meal of the day; the kids asked for second, thirds, and fourths. Fortunately, there was plenty to share.

So many, many more pictures to come . . . when the time is right.

Love to you all,

-sj

Friday Morning at the Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

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A few weeks ago a group of us went shopping at the market. Why? Because we were to make the FLO kids’ meals the next day.

The menu? Egg scramble with lots of veggies and a baguette for breakfast (and some fruit, I think).

Lunch: hot dog with ketchup, homemade chips, and some fruit. (It didn’t satisfy them for long; they were all ravenous by dinnertime.)

Dinner: spaghetti Bolonaise. Now this one was a hit, and there was plenty for second helpings.

And now for a tour of what it’s like to shop at the local’s market in Phnom Penh; yes, thank goodness we had a local who was the one who really did the shopping.