Time to say farewell

We said our fond farewells to Di and Wattie and our thanks for them taking this side trip to meet up with us.  It was terrific seeing them again.  Tomorrow we fly back to our floating homes in Malaysia after five incredible weeks touring Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.  Was it all worth it?  You're darn right it was.  What a fabulous experience it was delving into a part of the world so unlike any that we've experienced before.

Through our travels, we've come across many different peoples, languages and cultures and this definitely took the cake.  And the fact that we certainly weren't staying in top class hotels (far from it in fact), we met the people on more or less their own level which gave us a good insight into their lives and country which may not have been possible had Oppenheimer footed the bill.

Vietnam, where we spent the most time, surprised us in many ways.  We hadn't expected such diversity in people, character and scenery and we loved it, especially the northern regions.  Laos was a tad disappointing but then in fairness, we only travelled through a small area of the southern provinces.  Had we managed to get up further north, there would have been so much more to see and do but it was a long way and we'd left ourselves too little time to venture farther afield.

Cambodia (aka Kampuchea), proved to be another very poor country.  With a population of some 15 million squashed between a very populace Thailand and Vietnam, it sort of gets the short end of the stick (Laos even more so).  It's history of wars, genocide and political unrest has taken its toll so despite its current economic improvements, it still ranks pretty low in terms of human development.  

Tourism, however, is very much alive and well primarily due to their rich ancient history which built such magnificent temples as Angkor Wat.  We noticed that much of the reconstruction taking place was sponsored by foreign countries, namely the Chinese, and can only hope that the payback price isn't too high; a sting in the tail we have seen time and time again wherever the Chinese step in to help.  Corruption is the name of the game at all levels and that produces a nation of haves and have-nots and I doubt that will change anytime in the foreseeable future.

All in all, despite some of the ups and downs we experienced, we can highly recommend the journey if any of you are wondering where to take your next holiday.  Just be prepared for the inevitable scams, rip-offs and frustrations but also be prepared to be very pleasantly surprised.  In short, we have all declared this trip an outright success.