CAMBODIA 1,2,3

...arrived Cambodia on 22nd July...6 hours bus ride from Saigon...border crossing was easy ...22US per person...first impression is that Cambodia is like India some 25 years ago ,very poor and rather dirty and filthy but people are real friendly.
Our first stay is on Phnom Pehn(PP)...PP beautiful,chaotic,rather charmless,extreme poverty is in excess but yet city is captivating...we are based in a small hotel overlooking the Tonle Sap River...loads of cafes everyehere for westerners but you get lot of hassle from young kids begging for whatever...it has some great Buddist temple monastaries(wat) with loads of monks in saffron robes wondering around carrying alms bowles...its a beautful sight to see monks in two and threes on back of a motorbike...monks are not suppose to ask for anything so locals just put whatever they can in their alms bowles and as they do people hold their hands together in prayers with eyes shut and the recieving monks says a prayer back to the donor,its wonderful to watch this on every corner in the morning...the belief people have is joy to be hold.. ...sometime monks are in groups with saffron color open umbreallas ...brilliant...
going to visit KILLING FIELDS this afternoon and Tuol Sleng Museum...both a brutal reminder of the pain of Cambodias past...thanks to POL POT and UNCLE SAM again...

CAMBODIA 2
...KILLING FIELDS visit was really traumatic for us and we are sure for all other visitors its the same...the dead bodies were just thrown in piles of 30 high in to a large open graves dug in to rice fields and there are 129 of these large grave here...many were just buried alive...between 1975 and 1978 KHMER ROUGE killed 1.5 millions Cambodian...out of this 17,000 men,women,children and infants(all belonging to former ruling party) were detained and tortured at prison known as S21 in Phnom Penn and then transported to the extermination camp now known as KILLING FIELDS...they were often bludgeoned to death to avoid wasting precious bullets or just buried alive.The remains of 8995 people ,many of whom were bound and blindfolded,were exhumed in 1980 from mass graves in this one time orchard and rice fields,43 of the 129 communal graves have been left untouched.Fragments of human bones and bits of clothes are seen scattered around everywhre even today as we visited.More than 8000 skulls ,arranged by sex and age,are visible behind the clear glass panels of the MEMORIAL STUPA,which was erected in 1988...it is peaceful now but some 34 years ago it was THE KILLING FIELDS of Cambodia.
We also visited SECURITY PRISON 21 known as S21 where POL POTs security forces detained and tortured thousands of people...the visit was a mistake as the prison is left as it was found in 1978 by incoming liberating Vietnamese army...the visit was profoundly depressing experience for 3 of us and we spent less than 10 minutes there and I had no energy to take piuctures of all horrible rusted beds and instrumenmts of torture and so on...and to think that S21 was a High School before they turned it in to a detention and torture centre...S21 shows THE DARKEST side of human spirit...also visit to S21 is not for squeamish and we are just that.
...from Phnom Penh we are taking six hour bus ride to SIEM REAP...the home of ANGKOR TEMPLES and mysterious dark jungle that swollowed the temples!!!

CAMBODIA 3
Pritti is doing a write up on Angkor temples soon as she has got a summer cold and so relaxing by beachside bunglow in KO CHANG and getting her energy levels back...
We arrived in Thialand on 1st August , we travelled by bus 14 hours from Siem Reap Cambodia to KO CHANG (island)Thialand...all overland...Siem Reap to Poipet(border town with Thialand) took 7 hours by bus to cross 150 miles!!!...it was a combination of BUS FROM HELL...DRIVER FROM HELL...ROAD FROM MOTHER OF ALL HELL...and add TORRENTIAL RAIN FROM HELL...and so we had a 7 hours RIDE FROM HELL...Cambodia has no public transport what so ever...its hitch hiking if you want to go anywhere or rip off private scam buses...very very poor...
they call them Highways but what they mean is dirt track with 24 inches deep pot holes every 12 inches...its dangerous and back breaking...some people weer hurt in the bus as it was like riding a untamed bull for 7 hours.
Border crossing in to THIALAND was simple and what a diffence and its like you have entered HEAVEN compare to previous 7 HOURS IN HELL...once in Thialand we took a minibus ...3 hours to TRAT...and then 30 minutes ferry in to KO CHANG(minibus driver told us at Thialand border that we will miss our last ferry for KO CHANG from TRAT...other pessanger started panicking...so yours trully stepped in and offered the driver 500 Bhats if we make the ferry and guess what....we made the ferry just in time...but some pessangers had their hearts in their mouth as the drive was like sitting in a formula one car doing 250km per hour...scary! I was accused by one German pessanger that I had played with his life by offering the driver money!
KO CHANG is beautiful...we have hired a beach bunglow for one week and are going to do some water sport ,hiking and island hopping before going to BANGKOK on 14th to catch a flight to AUSTRALIA...THE LAND OF OZ AND WALTZING MATILDA for 9 weeks...

Mekong Delta

...spent two days in MEKONG DELTA with hundreds on rivers and canals but no Mosquitos though... local selling goods on the floating market ...
...life on Mekong river...
...one of the great rivers of the world...begins in Himalayas...through Tibet,Cambodia,Vietnam and in to South China Sea...

...this is everything they own and it floats on water...just!

...everything in Mekong Delta is done on the river and on the banks of the river ...its fascinating watching people going about their lives and living on and off the river...

...fishing net always ready to catch that elusive breakfast lunch and dinner...

...local on the way to floating market to sell her goodies...
...early morning floating market with boats selling anything and everything as far as your eye can see...
...it looked like scenes from MEL GIBSONs movie MAD MAX... except this being on water rather than on dry land...everything is one color...rather dirty grey/black/brown...including the water and people...
...floating market...
...all the boats looked like they have had it...I mean they looked like they have been taken out of scrap yard after they have been scrapped and left to rust for years and they still floats ...well just... and actually moves...wonderful...
...everything on and around MEKONG looks as though you are on another planet...
you see all this and then you go and have your breakfast in a cosy little place with a/c,lights,soft chair and table , cafe latte in your hand and bottled mineral water...and you think what planet was I on that boat this morning...its another world... honest!

...we got on this guys house boat and for 10p he cut us wonderful pineapple each...

...this cute little kid and his mom are a floating drinks and food shop selling them to tourist at the floating market...he would stretch his hand holding cold drink at you and ...well..you just had to buy it...

...another scene from MAD MAX II...

...while my wife looking away...

...gliding through one of Mekongs many rivers on the outback...it was like being in one of those VIETNAM war movies like PLATOON or APOCALYPSE NOW and just waiting for someone to throw a hand granade at you or someone jumping out of river and cutting your throat...surreal...

...you are never far away from nosy locals smiling at you...and posing for photographs...

...traffic jam at the boatyard...before entering the Vietnam War Movie Set!

Ho Chi Min City(Saigon)

HCMC....well its rather a dull city with not much to see...this photo shows a memorial across the road about a monk who killed him self here...during Vietnam war a monk fully in saffron outfit sat in middle of the road here in lotus position and another monk poured petrol on him and the sitting monk then cool as you like flicked the lighter and set him self on fire...he did not move a muscle while he burnt alive and died in same lotus position...the monk the night before informed only one US photographer to be at this site at this particular time to witness something unique...his photograph of lotus position saffron robed burning monk appeared front page all over the world following morning and specially in US ...and this one photograph with some others over the next few years made public in US rise up and protest against the immoral and unjust war in Vietnam and thus US left Vietnam defeat in 1974...

Muine

...sand dunes in Vietnam?...thats right its like Dubai ,including 4 wheel drive and moon buggy...
...its Sahara all over and right by the sea...

...on our travel we have never been two feet away from someone trying to sell us something....mister you want to a drink and madam how about you?...just go awayyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!


...grand canyon in Vietnam?...you bet your life it is...but on a smaller scale...
...we rented this 1955 US military Jeep and boy it looked and drove like a granny...57 year old and it still works...4 wheel drive works too...
...I(Dipak) putting my troops through some training for our travel in Austalian outback very soon ...as the troops looked out of condition...I am going to have to cut their ration again as they are looking overfed!
...soldeirs marching through crocodile infested river but not so deep...boy are they brave or what...Attentions! left right! left right!...
we walked through this river for 40 minutes to see a waterfall and it was scary and it was real jungle out there...madness!

...this bastard sleeping in the river scared the life out of us...can you believe it? he was actually fast a sleep...I thought he was dead and we were really scared...I had to shout to to wake the f.....up!...and then he said hello do you want to buy some cold drinks! cheeky bastard!I was going to drown him...the f.....
...fuel stop at Drgon fruit farm...and they were delicious! P loves Dragon fruit and as for me I like all kinds of fruits!
...fishing village...more like a town than a village...hundreds of fishing boats everywhere...

...there are thousands of this conical shape fishing boats in Vietnam...

Ahhhh!!!

our bunglow by the beach with a swimming pool...we could hear the waves crashing as we fell a sleep each night...real cool place for 16US a night for 3...

...make up your own caption... but do not use the word LAZY!

...right side view from our bunglow...thats me stuck up a tree...P had to call a fire brigade to get me down...

...left side view from our bunglow...

...beautiful...

Hoian

...rented motorbike in Hoian...it was fun with 3 of us on the bike...took me couple of hours to get use to it as its been a long time since I rode a motorbike...

...got to see loads of countryside with motorbike...

...market...

... preparing to open the food stall...
...old Hoian now UNESCO world heritage site...we were thinking most of India would qualify as a UNESCO world heritage site...
...old Hoian...
...he was suppose to be guarding our train cabin as we slept ...looks like the kid was on duty instead...(Hoian to Muine...17 hours ride)

DMZ(demilitarised zone),Vietnam War sites

...Ben Hai River served as the demarcation line between Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam) ,supported by USA and Democratic Republic of Vietnam(North Vietnam),supported by China and Russia

5km wide on either side was known as Demilitarised Zone(DMZ)


...Some of the smaller bombs dropped by US bombers...


...thousands of these Seismic Bombs were dropped by US B52 bombers...weighs 3600kg and melts everything within 250m radius...and causes damage up to a mile away...

...this hole made by a bomb known as Drill Bomb...which once it hits the ground ,then it drills itself down until it finds a tunnel then it explodes...

...thousands of bomb craters are still visible today...




...Vietnamese dug thousands of km of tunnels throughout the country,some of them right under the US bases(US army use to wonder why their men were getting shot while they slept in their tents),and they use these tunnels to hide,transport army,ammunition,oil ,food and so on.They even had schools ,hospitals,meeting rooms and so on in the tunnels...


...real time picture of the tunnel entrance...

...me walking some 300m down in the tunnel...


I was following some American ass hole!
...this tunnel had many exits and entrances and one of them was right on the beach and conceled...
...Vietnam war was fought live on US TV channels and many battle sites thus became household name...this was KHE SANH COMBAT BASE...where in 1968 over three weeks of fighting some 600 Americans died and over 10,000 Vietnamese...

...KHE SANH...US planes shot down by Vietnamese...
... KHE SANH...blown up US tank...

...from KHE SANH fighting...US GI holds up bodyless corpse...
...US medic giving kiss of life to a dying GI at KHE SANH...

...this site known as HAMBUGER HILL...in 1969 in three weeks fighting some 500 US lives were lost with over 12,000 Vietnamese...

...HAMBURGER HILL..dying GI says goodbye to one of his friend...

...US medic looks on at HAMBURGER HILL as US GI takes his last breadth...while Platoon commander shouts out hopeless orders at few remaining alive US GI ...
...HO CHI MIN TRAIL...was a jungle trail that ran the whole lenght of the country with many exits and entrys...it was a lifeline for Vietnamese on which everything to do with the war was transported and it was bombed many times by US bombers...the above is known as DOC MIEU BASE...

...US assault near DOC MIEU BASE...1968

...US assault on a village near DOC MIEU BASE...1968

...mother fleeing through river with children from her village as fighting goes on around DOC MIEU BASE...1968



...the war was shown live on TV channels ,news papers and magazines in US and it was pictures like above and below that finally turned the US public against the war and finally the US left Vietnam defeated...

...children fleeing school as the school is bombed by US with chemical bombs...the naked young girl in the middle is now a UN AMBASSADOR FOR PEACE...

...it is on record that US committed many war crimes in Vietnam war...the above known as MY LAI MASSACRE...400 US troops high on drugs and bored with war on 16th March 1968 gunned down some 350 unarmed civilians in MY LAI village,of which 75 were under the age of 10 and the rest were women over 60 ...massacre was covered up until 1970 but for 3 US GI who stood for what was right and told what happened at MY LAI...only one US soldier was found guilty and given life sentence but was then pardoned by outgoing digrace US president Nixon...

...one US soldier was reported injured at MY LAI...he shot him self in the foot to get himself airlifted by above flying medic helicoipters and he was the only US casulty at MY LAI ...the same soldeir had enough courage after two years to tell the truth about MY LAI...

...THEY SAY MY LAI WAS ONE OF MANY...

...US chemical bombing has given birth to thousands of deformed babies...one of the tragic legacy left by US in Vietnam...

...millions of unexploded landmines and bombs still litterd many parts of Vietnam,another tragic legacy left by US in Vietnam...this landmines were found on the day we were touring this area known as VINH MOC, only yards away from beautiful beach...the rule is to stay within marked path or you are sure to get blown up...