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Trippin on Noms

The Temples Beyond Angor Wat: Day 1

6/30/2015

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by Katherine
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Banteay Kdei

So begins the real fun - a jungle temple! Jungle temples are temples that have let the jungle and all its trees and roots take over. There is still some restoration involved, though. Out first stop after Angkor Wat was Banteay Kdei. It was far less crowded and a lot more up my alley. This temple was fairly deep and you walked to the back of the temple and then retraced the same path back out to the front. The piles of rocks and crazy trees are so cool to see. There were also local artisans making and selling their goods along the path to the temple start.


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The Overrated Temple: Angkor Wat

6/24/2015

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by Katherine
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         Angkor Wat is THE reason why I wanted to come to Cambodia. Its pictures looked frickin sweet and I love exploring old ruinous structures.  It was so alluring and unique looking, it would be completely unlike anything we've seen in Europe. One of Rosie's friends had said it was more breathtaking than Machu Picchu (another must see on my list)! I was excited and I had high expectations! We decided that we would try and see the sunrise, something that everyone does, on our first day. The sun rises behind the temple and a reflection can be seen in the little pond that everyone gathers at. We had to buy our ticket to the Angkor park and try to beat the crowds, so we left the hotel at 5:00 am. Yeah, we didn't get much sleep; I was battling a cold or something and spent the entire night coughing, so I got like no sleep. The hotel was nice enough to pack us a breakfast before we left, which consisted of some fresh fruit and toast, so at least we didn't have to worry about getting some food after seeing the sunrise.


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Another Good Bargain: Golden Mango Inn

6/19/2015

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by Katherine
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         So goodbye Vietnam and hello Cambodia! I was torn about how I would like Cambodia; it is hot as balls, but Siem Reap seemed like a really fun town from my research. And hotels seemed really great too, a lot of bang for your buck. Of all the places we could have splurged and stayed in true luxury, Siem Reap would have been the place, as they had resort-like hotels for pretty cheap. But why spend extra if you can stay at the Golden Mango Inn! I had found this place pretty early on in my research, as the Trip Advisor reviews had almost nothing bad to say about the place. Then it turned out, it was the place my cousin had stayed at when she was in Siem Reap, and she said it was really nice. The biggest downside was that it was not in town, but my cousin said it was better to be away from that craziness, and reviews said it was super easy to take a tuk tuk into town. So we booked at the Golden Mango Inn.


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Trippin's Tips & Things to Know: Hanoi

6/12/2015

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by Katherine
  1. Each street sells a specific product and that's how the streets get their names. There is a street for coffee, a street for clothes, a street for sweets, a street for silk, and so many more. There's even a street for mannequins, yes, I am serious. The streets start with the word 'Hang', as that means stop or merchandise. 
  2. Hanoi has some of the best street food and it's tastier and cheaper than going to a restaurant. A bowl of noodle soup (which will be completely different everywhere you go) will be $3 .50 maximum. Each place sells one dish, or several version of one dish, so that place specializes in that dish and knows how to make it really well. Also, street food in Hanoi is not a cart on the street like in the States, but rather a shop front where the food is cooked at the front or on the street and tables are setup inside. There are still places where you sit outside.
  3. Stay in the Old Quarter. It's where all the shopping and good street food is, and you are close to both lakes.
  4. They love their midgy chairs and tables. Vietnam must have stock in those little plastic chairs and tables that we would use for kids in the States. But in Vietnam, they are everywhere. Expect to sit in those little chairs when you get street food. We even saw businessmen in suits sitting in those chairs along the street. Crazy!
  5. Hotels are really cheap. Our hotel was on average $15 a night and we got free breakfast, wifi, and much more. There are places even cheaper. I actually read that if you stay in a fancier hotel, they will charge you extra for breakfast and wifi. So stay cheap and get more!
  6. Hanoi is a good base for Halong Bay and Sapa. Hanoi is the base of northern Vietnam. It is the perfect place to center yourself for day trips and 2-3 day trips. It seems like luggage storage is free and common at most hotels, so you only have to take what you need for any short overnight trips. It was so easy to go to Sapa and Halong Bay.
  7. You can find free beer. We didn't actually go out at all in Hanoi. But there are happy hours that offer free beer. We met someone from England who raved about that awesomeness.
  8. Book a free tour with Hanoi Kids. Hanoi Kids is an organization where you can take free tours in exchange for the kids getting to practice their English. You just pay for any admission to museums and such and for any food. We took a food tour and it was a great way to learn about and try a bunch of street food.
  9. Try the coffee. Vietnam is known for having good coffee, so if you're a fan, take advantage. You've also got to try egg coffee, a Hanoi specialty, that tastes like liquid tiramisu. They're also known for weasel coffee, which is weirdly made from weasel poop. It's actually pretty expensive, so if you see it around, there's a good chance that it's a synthetic version, made to taste like the real thing but not actually made from weasel poop. The fake stuff, at least, actually smells pretty good.
  10. Barter, barter, barter! Never pay full price for an item, unless the shop specifically says no bartering. Even bottled water is negotiable on the streets. If you don't like the price, odds are good that you can walk into the next shop and try again for the same item.
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The Day We Were the Only Westerners Pt. 2: Goat Lunch & Bai Dinh Pagoda

6/10/2015

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by Bradley
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          Let me start by saying that we would never have eaten at this restaurant for lunch if it weren't included on our tour. It looked dirty and there were lots of bugs flying around and just didn't seem like a place we'd like to eat. That being said, it was included so we ate here. They served us the local specialty of the province, goat!

          We got 4-5 different goat dishes and several other dishes as well. Most of the goat was very overcooked, it even scratched and irritated Katherine's throat. We were not a fan of the goat. The best things we ate were the dipping sauce for the meat and the burnt rice. The burnt rice is kinda like a rice krispy treat but not sweet. If there was one positive about this place it was that you got soooooooo much food!


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The Day We Were the Only Westerners Pt. 1: Trang An

6/5/2015

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by Katherine
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          If we had had more time in Vietnam, I would have loved to spend days traveling the countryside in the northern part of the country. But since we only had one day more, from my research, it sounded like going down to Ninh Binh would be a perfect day filler. The town of Ninh Binh is nothing at all exciting, but the nearby areas of Tam Coc and Trang An were described as "the inland Halong Bay"; you take a row boat through a river winding through more limestone formations. They were also described as being far less crowded, so with my love of the limestone mountains, I eagerly wanted to go, but we had to decide which spot to go to. Tam Coc has bright green rice paddies between the river and the mountains, which I thought would have really set it apart from Halong Bay. But Trang An had more caves to row through.

          If we had hired a private car for the day, I probably would have done both, and I also really wanted to go to this little pagoda on top of one of the mountains with an awesome view of Tam Coc. Unfortunately, when we were organizing things at our hotel in Hanoi, we were persuaded to do an organized tour, which included one of Tam Coc and Trang An, lunch, and a temple (if it had been up to just me, I still would have hired the driver for the flexibility to do what I wanted- really not a fan of organized tours). We asked Kathy, the manager, and she said that Trang An was far more beautiful than Tam Coc, but a longer boat ride, so we took her suggestion. Longer boat ride was definitely a plus for me, though I was sad to miss the rice fields. The tour was $40 per person.


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Tips & Things to Know about Sapa

6/2/2015

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by Katherine
  1. The women from the villages will follow you to try to get you to buy something. As our bus approached, we could see the women outside of the window, staring us down as if they were claiming someone to target. And as soon as we stepped out, they were on our backs. Fortunately, they all seemed very nice, throughout our whole stay. Just kindly tell them no thanks and walk away. We never felt like they were too much of a bother. Honestly, it was the worst after getting off the bus, so everything after didn't seem so bad.
  2. You can rent shoes or boots for trekking for $2. Unless you plan on doing a lot of hiking, it's a real hassle to pack an extra set of shoes. Luckily, trekking is so common in Sapa that you can rent shoes. And they're cheap! Rain boots are available too, which are good for muddy days.
  3. Treks are through the rice fields. You literally walk right in them. Views and experiences don't get much better than that!
  4. Don't bother with an organized tour. Sapa is extremely easy to plan yourself when based in Hanoi and cheap. The bus drops you right in town, and Sapa town is small and easily walkable. 
  5. Take the bus, not the train. The train seems like the most popular transport, but it is overnight, takes 8 hours, and gets in at like 4:00 am to Lao Cai, which is an hour from Sapa. So then you have to take some sort of shuttle from Lao Cai to Sapa, so it's at least 9 hours in total travel time. And once you get to Sapa, you won't even be able to check in to your hotel because it's too early. The train is about $37 each way, and while you can save on hotels those nights, you probably won't get much sleep. The bus, on the other hand is $17 each way, takes 5-6 hours, picks you up at your hotel in Hanoi, drops you off in the center Sapa, and best of all, the views on the way are stunning! Great way to enjoy the northern Vietnam countryside. The bus leaves at 6am from Hanoi, so it gets in to Sapa around noon, leaving you with a solid day of activities. The bus back to Hanoi leaves at 4pm. On the way back, the bus drops you in the Old Quarter, but it was only a 10 minute walk back to our hotel.
  6. Make sure your hotel has ample hot water and ways to heat if staying in the winter. It can get super cold in the winter months. And it's where the Vietnamese go to see snow. Make sure you read reviews of hotels. Running out of hot water is a big issue. So make sure you see reviews where someone has commented on the hot water, as well as what is done for heating. Some places have fireplaces and electric blankets.
  7. Spend a few hours in Ham Rong Mountain. This place was awesome and we were the only Westerners around. People, this place is totally worth your time! As you wander further inwards and upwards, it feels like you have the place to yourself at times.
  8. Hire a guide for trekking. First off, I'm not even sure if it's legal to go certain places without a guide. You definitely need a permit to go through the villages. But a guide is a good idea anyway, because it's not like you can follow a clearly marked trail. You are wandering through someone's property and rice fields. So you need a guide to tell you where to go. Plus a guide is a great way to learn about the local villages and cultures.
  9. Book a trek so that the money goes 100% to the guide. We booked though Sapa Sisters because the money all went to our guide, which was important to us. Booking at your hotel or some other places will only give a small percentage to the guide, lame.
  10. Stock up on knockoff Northface gear and barter. You can get all sorts of Northface stuff here (and even in Hanoi). You can't miss it. Shop around so you can find items that look to be of better quality and make sure you barter. You should never need to pay the asking price unless it's already drastically less than nearby competitors. 
  11. Go between June and early August to see bright green rice fields. Go between mid August to early September to see golden yellow rice fields before harvest. Sapa only has one rice harvest per year, so they plant in May much like we do in the States. This means that most of the year you will miss out on the actual rice and its amazing beauty. Of course, if you come in the summer, it's gonna be hot as hell and it coincides with rainy season.
  12. October and March have the best weather. You will miss out on the rice, but the weather will be manageable or even nice. We went in March and it was sunny and in the low 70s, still cool at night. And the terraced fields are still an amazing sight, even without the bright colors of the rice growing.
  13. Music plays at roughly 7:00 am every morning. It sounded like it was coming from the main square, but I'm pretty sure you could hear it anywhere in town.
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    Two engineers with a passion for food and travel! Join us as we eat our way through the world!

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