Dec 31
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.
Dec 30
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 Siem Reap in Cambodia.
Dec 28
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.
Dec 27
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.
Lotus at Đinh Tien Hoang Temple
Tam Coc is a remarkable location with water cutting through the limestone hills called karsts, to produce a series of gorges and caves.
Karsts at Tam Coccalled
Dec 26
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…
Dec 24
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 hotel.
May 30
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 for a bit of breakfast. Look-see and site seeing. Several challenges needed to be conquered:
Challenge No 1: Find an ATM that understands the Australian bank cards.
- Solution: Use CITIBANK or 7BANK ATMs which appear to understand the Australian debit visa and master card cards. If that fails tell the ATM that has the right markings (VISA, Mastercard, etc) that its a credit card..
Challenge No 2: Find a pre-paid data SIM! This is harder than you think as most carriers require you to have an Alien Registration Card for any plan whatsoever and very few of them them do affordable pre-paid or device rental options.
- Solution: order one on-line form B-Mobile (Japan Communications Inc.) – a reseller of NTT DOCOMO – they will deliver a 1GB DATA SIM with recharge capability and 14 Day lifespan for mere 4100 yen to the hotel sometime on Sunday between 0800 and 1200.
Having conquered the challenges we ate a good lunch at a Sobe place near the hotel, and then settled in for the day to shower, and plan our moves for tomorrow.
Oct 22
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.
Oct 21
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 some, like the Palomar Inn on the Pacific Avenue, a mix of quirky and grandiose designs.
One the whole this has been a very pleasant day.
Oct 21
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.