Bangkok

Bangkok is the a big city with a lot of weird things happening all around. We stayed there few days.

The roads are constantly crowded and the metro goes through the city center via elevated  railways.

The famous Khosan Road is the tourist street of Bangkok, local merchants try to sell you anything there.

The city counts many temples, this one is called the golden mountain, with bells surrounding it.

Thailand is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar, the expiry date on the Thai food suddenly makes sense!

Les quatre-sans-culs de Chambery ne sont pas seul, les rues de Bangkok en comptent beaucoup!

Angkor Temples

The Angkor Temples are the highlight of any visit to Cambodia. Hundred of temples are spread in the jungle north of the city of Siem Reap. We took a 3 day pass to see them all, it was well worth it!

Some temples are covered with trees, this one is called "tomb raider"

Some trees are really impressive and are probably here for hundred of years.

The famous Angkor Vat, the main temple of the area and the largest religious building in the world.

The temples were built between the  9th and 13th century but are still well kept and it takes some time to get until the top!

The above temple had 216 faces like these ones.

Except temples we also tried the local food, with the Khmer barbecue! A boiler allows you to cook meat (chicken, beef and crocodile in this picture) and you can also make your own noodle soup in the same dish, a great invention!

Kampong Cham

After 5 days in the south we went back north to Kampong Cham, this little town is 140km north of Phnom Penh.

Kampong Cham is famous for its culinary experience, the locals like to enjoy fried tarentulas and other insects! 

Monks awaiting the boat to cross the river.

Every year after the rainy season people rebuild the longest bamboo bridge in the world.

Kampot

After Phnom Penh we went south to Kampot, it is a little town on the sea side. We stayed in a guest house owned by a French couple, they were very nice with us. The pictures below were taken by a friend we met there, he is quite talented!

We rented scooters to visit the countryside it was funny and quite bumpy!

Locals kids were our guides to visit abandoned caves used as temples and places to hide during the Khmer rouge period.

Kampot is famous for its pepper plantations, the green one is really spicy.

Pili met a monkey and its mom in a temple in the mountains.

We went to Rabbit Island for a day trip, a quiet place with transparent waters.

Phnom Penh

We were gladly suprised by Phnom Penh, it is not as crowded as Vietnam's big cities and seem to have more to offer to tourists. The Khmer style (Cambodians ancestors) is also very different with temples and pagodas of a different type.

The traditional tuk tuk brings you anywhere in the city for 2$.

Khmer temples are beautiful and have a lot of little details.

The Russian market (south of Phnom Penh) is a messy and smelly place that hasn't changed for  decades, but the food  is fantastic!

Ho Chi Minh City and Mekong Delta

After a short stop in Mui Ne (a little villages with beaches), we went to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). It is not Vietnam's capital but the biggest city in the country, with a lot of traffic! We didn't want to stay too long there and decided to head for the Mekong delta and crossing to Cambodia sailing up the river..

In the Mekong river every family has its boat parked in front f the house.

The delta is full of floating markets where people come to sell their production.

We tried the 'famous' snake wine, it tastes as bad as it looks!

Pili trying some unoffensive crocodile spring rolls.

The villages in the Mekong delta are full of life with people coming and going  constantly.

Women sale tasty food at each street corner.

On our way to Phnom Penh on the Mekong we were really surprised by the people who waved at us with a huge smile.

Nha Trang

Nha Trang is the place to enjoy beach and parties in Vietnam! luckily it is now the low season amd the beaches are not crowded. The city also has old temples and pagodas.

This is the Long Son Pagoda, where monks still live.

On top we can see a giant Buddha with a temple inside.

The Cham Tower was an old temple today restorated.

Hoi An

Here is the most beatiful pace we have seen so far in Vietnam. hoi An is a charming little city, just 4 hours south of Hue. It is a quiet place with many artists, painters, tailors and delicious local food.

We enjoyed some Wontons (prawn fried in a rince paper) and Cao Lau (flat noodles with pork and fried vegetables), we were eating this everyday during our stay in Hoi An, it was really good!

The famous Japanese bridge of Hoi An, this wodden bridge was built in the 16th century.
A little temple is located at its center.

The city counts many temples. All of them are very well kept.

The market is a really dynamic place where everyone wants to sell you something!

Typical house in the old city of Hoi An, very beautiful.

Hue

After a short stop in Hanoi we stayed a couple of days in Hue. The city in the middle of Vietnam is located just south of the frontiere North/South Vietnam, the place is famous for its role during the Vietnam war.

This is the entrance of the Citadel surrounded by water in the old city.

Inside the citadel, one of the numerous palaces used by the Emperors.

Pili eats many of these little bananas everyday, they taste a bit like kiwi, delicious!

We visited the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) at the ex frontiere between south and north Vietnam. The north communists used tunnels as above to provide the south with weapons against the Americans.

Hanoi

After Sapa and a night bus we had to come back to Hanoi to go further south. Here are some pictures of the capital of Vietnam.

Pili with some tipical women selling fruits in the street.

The streets are always busy with motorbikes, huge trees have branches spanning until the ground.

The food in this little restaurant was delicious, it seems quite popular as it was full of Vietnameses. Our dish cost us 50000dongs, around 1.6euros an was made of noodles and beef, we added some lime, the little green fruits in the middle!

The St Jospeh cathedral, in the backpacker area, and old vestige of the colonialism.

Sapa

Hello, here are some pictures from Sapa, it is a little city at 1600m of altitude, close to the chinese border. Really nice and lost in the fog. 

The market with a woman from the black Hmong tribe behind.

Pili passing the "Heaven's door"

These 2 girls followed us all the way during our trekking in the mountains.

Rice fields everywhere in the background.

All this rice is planted by hand!