Bus enroute to Poipet town

At 6:30am,the skies over Phnom Penh was already very bright.
I have booked a bus ticket to Bangkok through my guesthouse with a free pick-up this morning.

The mini-van came around 6:45am and sent me to GST bus company near Psar Thmey.

The 7:00am bus for departure was already on standby.

The Cambodia's Airport tax was a hefty USD25.00 while my bus fare to Bangkok was USD18.00 and travelling overland provides opportunities to see more of Thailand.

My homebase was easily accessible by road. I was just wondering why the local airport management needed a Malaysian government linked company to manage its small airport .That's the reason for the high airport tax.

You'll be surprised that this man who own the floating casino near Sisowath Quay is the economic adviser to the Cambodian prime minister.
His company was rejected from applying for listing in the Stock Exchange of Singapore for fear of money laundering.
No wonder this country has a very good ally.

At the corner Street 217 and street 67, was a M'sian owned bus company--Ho Wah Genting which is now renamed Sorya Bus Company.
15 minutes after leaving Phnom Penh city,the bus travelled beside the Tonle Sap Lake .

There were a few garment factories and some light industries seen along the way.
The bus was just half filled with many vacant seats.
At a small town called Udong,the bus stopped and picked up some passengers.
It seemed that this aircond bus was not an express bus.

Udong was the ancient capital of the Khmer Empire about 40 km northwest of Phnom Penh.
Understand that there were many stupas and shrines housing the remains of former Khmer kings around here.

Nearly 2 hours travelling,the bus made another stop at Kampong Chhnang.
Along the route here were some mosques and many Muslim commune.

The bus seats were now completely filled.There were passengers having to stand for the onward journey to Poipet.

Somewhere near Pursat town(186km northwest of Phnom Penh) ,we had our lunch break at a food outlet possibly owned by the bus company.

Feeling hungry since not having any breakfast this morning,I ordered 2 plates of rice with some veges,pork and chicken to fill my stomach.
Imagine I was slapped with a bill of Baht140, a blardy daylight robbery taking advantage due to language barrier.

Earlier I've requested paying in baht as I was short of the riel. With that kind of price,I could have a sumptuous lunch in a restoran in Bangkok.

Ok,so what's great about Pursat town? Pursat would have been mentioned less without the tomb of a Khmer national hero Kleang Meung, who sacrificed his life and defeated the Thais in a battle in 1482.
Eco-tourism is also the main attraction.



As we arrived in Battambang,the bus stopped at the company's office to fill up gasoline.
Battambang is 94.2km from Poipet.
Bus Stop Guesthouse in town centre is USD20.00(aircond room).Located at 149 2nd Rd next door to The White Rose Restaurant.

In the town centre roundabout was a statue of an ancient Khmer King holding a stick which he used to quell rebellions in the Battambang area.

Battambang places of interest includes:
1)Phnom Sampeu, a hill with the Killing Caves of the Khmer Rouge.
2)Wat Banan, the so-called mini-Angkor wat.
3)Wat Baydamram, a temple where hundreds of fruit bats.
4)Wat Ek Phnom, another Angkor-type temple ruin, about 15km north west of Battambang.





Finally around 3:30pm,the bus reached Poipet town and stopped beside a shop where the journey ends.
Most of the other passengers proceeded on their own way leaving behind myself,a French guy and four other Cambodians who have bought a direct Bangkok ticket.
There was no bus terminal around here. Now we were all in a dilemma.
The bus company in Phnom Penh didn't inform us about transport switching across the border.
Again communication barrier,the bus driver seemed to have no concern about Bangkok ticket holders.



 A few minutes later,a "company representative" came and told us to hang on while he contacted the taxi people.
He got the chick to say no taxi available.
Looked like he was taking everyone for a ride.
 Minutes passed and it was nearly 4:30pm,
Poipet town was a very quiet place,few vehicles with the wide roads
.Finally he came and said transport available so we all jumped into the cyclo for a 1km ride to the border.
 Again we (myself and the gentleman from France) made a damn silly mistake.
Forgot to ask where should we meet after the immigration formalities.



  Beside where the bus stop was a chinese owned hotel:-Phkar Chouk Meas Hotel.

  Quite a new building.

Kim Hock Guesthouse along the same row.



Chav Phaya Guesthouse.

 This building is the Viroch Hotel near the entrance road to the many casinos and the border immigration office.





Premium hotels near the traffic circle.

The first sight is the Tropicana Resort and Casino Arch.

One has to pass by all the casinos buildings before reaching the Cambodian immigration office.

 An onion shaped dome top that resembles a worship place but that couldn't be as gambling is against that particular religion.





Poipet Casino Resort. Room rates from USD70-USD100.

  Holiday Palace Resort and Casino.
They have promoters near the border giving out business cards with website addresses for online gambling.
 


The main entrance to Holiday Palace.


Crown Resort and Casino. A replica of Angkor Thom as an added landscape in front of Crown casino.

 A mini Angkor Wat arch gate on the international border boundary with Thailand.

Poipet the frontier and haeven for all king gamblers. Exiting from this point is another 50metres to the Thai Immigration checkpoint.






Cambodian Immigration Office building.

Hanoi street scene

Senior assistants from one Australian college checking in at the Hanoi Youth Hostel.

A night before their arrival,hosteliers who were currently occupying were being informed to check out as the Aussie group has booked the whole dorm in advance.

The management owner Mr Trinh Van Nam was very kind enough to offer an alternative place at the same price which is their main branch at Cau Go Street.

Having stayed nearly a week in this nice hostel,I'll be catching my flight the following day so did not continue my stay.

Young Aussie students participating in The World Challenge.

This is something very interesting where youth of today can gain exposure in real world adventures beyond frontier touring undiscovered destinations.

 Their living skills and environmental interactions putting into practise will enhance their knowledge which will be of great assets to them.

Chinese bikers leaving hostel with their new bikes.

They have been cycling cross-country from Kunming,Yunnan Province to Hanoi.

One of their lady friend has taken a bus home and you'll noticed that one of them has no more baggage.

Their carelessness in safe guarding their properties was very costly.

Luckily their own embassy people came to provide some assistance.

The main fault is that three of them came up to the dorm and check if there's any vacancy without having one guarding the bikes and bagages.
That was at 8:45pm when one of them approached me to enquire.

  A visit to Hanoi wil not be complete without visiting the Thang Long Puppet Theater (Nhà hát múa rối Thăng Long) located at Dinh Tien Hoang Street, just across the north of Hoan Kiem Lake.

 The show is amazing coupled with the good acoustics sound system.
The daily showtimes are 5.30 pm, 7.00 pm ,8 pm and 9:15pm.Sunday is at 9;30am only.
The counter closes at 6.45 pm to 7.30 pm.
Ticket prices are from 60,000-100,000VND.

  Ngoc Son Pagoda Temple (Jade Temple) just across Thang Long Puppet Theater on Hoan Kiem Lake.

 Built in the early 19th century,the temple was dedicated to Confucian and Taoist philosophers and the national hero Tran Hung Dao.
Tickets(12,000 VND) are purchased at a booth located on the left-hand side before you cross the bridge.

The temple opens at 08:00 and closes at 17:00 every day and its best to get to the lake as early as possible to watch the locals do their morning yoga and Tai Chi.

From the shore the 'Welcoming Morning Sunlight Bridge' (Cầu Thê Húc) leads to the island.

Buildings of the temple include the Pen Tower (Thap But), the ink-slab (Dai Nghien), the Moon Contemplation Pavilion (Dac Nguyet) and the Pavilion against Waves (Đình Trấn Ba), all of which have symbolic meaning.





For the convenience of tourist the tricycle ferries passengers all around Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarters area.

Mini Electric bus with price ranging from 150,000 to 250,000VND also provide tour services around the Old Quarters.

  Pretty Vietnamese ladies with their traditional costumes 'Ao Dai'

In the evening,the street side cafes came bustling with tourists enjoying their food and Bia Hoi .

During the night on Friday,Saturday and Sunday,the streets of Old Quarters from Dong Xuan Market extending till Hang Dao Street became a night market walking street.

There were many stalls showcasing a variety of products.







Entrance to residential house around Phan dinh Phung Street.




Olden days houses in Hanoi have side entrance.
They were mostly one-storey houses, only some having second storey, generally low and without windows or having very small windows (according to ancient rules under the past dynasties, inhabitants were forbidden to look at the King when he happened to pass before their houses, and especially to look at him from a higher place).





This huge castle beside Ho Tay lake near the same row with Brazilian Embassy was up for sale.

Section of the central old citadel of Hanoi which was once the former residence of Vietnamese monarchs dating back to Đại Việt, when the city was known as Thăng Long.

In 2010 the citadel was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "The Central Sector of the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long - Hanoi".





Tunnel House. This possibly also act as an air raid shelter.

Bamboo pipe smoking is commonly seen in some of the sidewalks.
In Vietnam, it is most commonly smoked after a meal on a full stomach to aid in digestion, or along with green tea or local beer (most commonly the cheap "bia hoi").

A "hit" of thuoc lao is followed by a flood of nicotine to the bloodstream inducing strong dizziness that lasts several seconds.

 It should be said however that even heavy smokers have had trouble with the intense volume of smoke and that side effects include nausea and vomiting.

My regular meal was at this shop which offers economy rice with 3 dishes costing 20,000 VND.
This is something homecooked and there were a variety of dishes to choose.

 A family run shop with limited seating place so many of the locals prefer to have takeaway.
 The place is behind Dong Xuan market just opposite Le Loi Middle School.




 Truong Trung Hoi Co So Le Loi or Le Loi Middle School.

 Le Loi, also called Binh Dinh Vuong or Thuan Thien, reign title Le Thai To (flourished 1428–43, Lam Son, Thanh Hoa province, Vietnam), Vietnamese general and emperor who won back independence for Vietnam from China in 1428, founded the Le dynasty, and became the most honoured Vietnamese hero of the medieval period.




The word 'Middle School' is commonly used in China so this implies that this must be a Mandarin speaking school.
Most Southeast Asian chinese schools also use the same wording.




The majestic Saint Joseph Catholic Church. In the late evening after school dismissal,you can see lots of young school children hanging around the compound waiting to go home.
There were three schools nearby.
Gecko Backpackers Hostel is a short distance from here.


 


The State Bank Building or the Central Bank has a dome shaped top that resembled the Vietcong cap.

Shop selling ethnic products.

  SWAROVSKI,a major outlet in the sale of crystal jewellery accessories.
 Location:Avalon Cafe Lounge Building near Dong Kinh Ngia Thuc Square,north of Hoan Kiem Lake.

Old mangrove trees in Hanoi Old Quarters

Hanoi's Old Quarters has a history spanning over 2,000 years and represents the eternal soul of the city.

Huge mangrove tree trunk that still existed along this Thanh Ha Street potruding in front of some of the shophouses reminds one that Hanoi was once a swampy area.

 Mangrove roots not only provide support in unstable soils and to withstand currents and storms, but also breathe air.




To avoid suffocation in the oxygen poor mud, mangrove trees snorkel for air.

 They develop aerial or air-breathing roots. These take in aboveground air.

All aerial tree roots have on their surface, special tiny pores to take in air .

Only air can get through the lenticels, not water or salts. All aerial roots also contain large air spaces.

These not only transport air, but also provide a reservoir of air during high tide when all the aerial roots may be underwater.
The function of aerial roots are to absorb air and to provide structural support in the soft mud. Roots for absorbing nutrients are tiny and emerge near the muddy surface.

Bamboo and rattan products were along Thanh Ha Street.
This old mangrove tree was contained to prevent it from further extending onto the building.

Very old Confucian temple nestled in between the old shoplots.

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher born in Qufu,a city in southwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China.

The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, and sincerity.

He also championed strong family loyalty, ancestor worship, and respect of elders by their children.

View of the temple's altar.















A list of temple's programmes from January till December.






Statue of a deity,a kind of Chinese hero worship.






Multi-layered lantern.






The emperor's mace.
 Ancient Chinese battefield armoury. These weapons were used horse-to -horse fighting.






Noticed that each of them has a hook beneath it which is used to disable the weapon of the opponent.
 Hence protecting himself, protecting his horse, attacking his enemy, and attacking his enemy’s horse is of upmost importance.
 He will remain on equal footing with his adversary only while he is mounted.
 If the horse becomes disabled or the enemy knocks him off the horse, he is lost.
Of course, attacking the enemy is uppermost in his mind.
A long weapon such these fulfilled all these requirements.

A pair of Chinese traditional parasols designed for a ceremonial purpose.

These are altars of God of Longevity.

Offering Bia Hoi to Chinese god.

 Bia Hoi is the popular draft beer of Vietnam.

Garden sculptures.

A pair of carp fish sculpture beside the table altar representing properity.











  The National Flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

This must be the Vietnamese name of the temple. Di Tich, Dinh thanh Ha.da Xep Hang,Cam Vi Pham.

While in Hanoi,tourists must also visit the first university of Vietnam.

Văn Miếu or Temple of Literature, known as "pagode des Corbeaux" during the period of French colonisation, was founded as a Confucian temple in 1070.

The Temple of Literature is open Tuesday to Sunday from 8:30 to 11:30 and 13:30 to 16:30.
Admission is 12,000 Dong with a small guide brochure costing an additional 3,000 Dong.
Take bus No:02,18,23,32,34,38 or 45 and stop near Embassy of Thailand along Nguyen Thai Hoc Road and it's just nearby.