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Angkor Wat Complex

Today we visited the Angkor Wat temple complex. We spent several hours wandering around the temple grounds, taking in the sights and taking pictures. It deserves a post all of its own, and that will come soon. Here is the view of the outer walls of the main temple site.

Hanoi old city

Today we wondered around the old quarter of Hanoi. The trip included a visit to the Ngoc Son temple, located on an island on the Hoan Kiem lake (Lake of the Returned Sword). We also met the true guardian of the scared site. The beast was hard at work … Later today we fly to …

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Tay Ho – Hanoi

A quick visit to the Tay Ho district (again), this time more of look and see at the life in the streets… This area of Hanoi is quite exclusive and full of rather nice houses.  A lot of westerners who work in Hanoi choose this as their home area.    

Hoa Lu and Tam Coc

To day we did a day trip to Hoa Lu and Tam Coc. Hoa Lu is the old imperial capital of Vietnam dating back to 9th and 10th century, and features 17th century temples to a couple of the first kinds of Vietnam. Tam Coc is a remarkable location with water cutting through the limestone …

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Hanoi Day 2

having done very little on 25th we wondered around the Tay Ho (West lake) district of Hanoi.  One of the highlights here is the Ty Ho Temple, dedicated to the Mother Goddess…

Ha Noi

We have arrived in Hanoi. It is very late and we are very tired.  Its been over 24 hours since we got out the door in Canberra, and the delays of flights between Bangkok and Hanoi just made things feel longer and more tiring. Tomorrow we will sleep in and explore the area around our …

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Slow day in Shinjuku-ku

Today was a very slow day in Shinjuku-Ku. Our flight from Sydney landed at Tokyo-Narita at 0610, and it tool only till 0830 to get out of immigration and customs, and grab a transfer bus to our hotel. Rooms, of course, were not ready. So, we wondered over to the restaurant district near Shinjuku Station …

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Last Day is SF Area

Downtown SF from San Bruno Mountain

Today was last day of out trip. We took the opportunity drive up to San Bruno Mountain and take a bird’s eye view over the San Francisco and surrounds.  The pacific fog cleared long enough for some decent shots of the SF downtown. We flew out of SFX late at night.

Santa Cruz

Facade of the Palomar Inn

We arrived in Santa Cruz, on the north end of the Monteray Bay in late afternoon. We wondered around a bit, shopped a bit, and took in the very California come “West Coast” feel of the place. Downtown Santa Cruz is a mixture of buildings of differing styles and ages, some  ugly and utilitarian and …

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Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pigeon Point Lighthouse

After a nice lunch at Pescadero, we continued south along the coast, until we reached the our second stop – the Pigeon Point Lighthouse.   Alas the pacific fog was still with us.