Just as it did for many of you, COVID wreaked havoc on my travel plans. I lost track of the number of trips that I planned and cancelled during that period, so I eagerly predictable my recent trip to Southeast Asia. Being a Baby Boomer, I never thought I’d overly unquestionably pay money to visit that region of the world which so many people tried so nonflexible to stave during the Vietnam war. I served in the US Air Force during that mismatch but I wasn’t sent to Vietnam. While I realized that I did harbor some negative feelings well-nigh the area, I still wanted to see it.
Of the five countries that make up the Indochinese Peninsula, I visited Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, reserving Laos and Myanmar for a possible future trip. Each country had its own unique personality and culture. Each was mannerly in its own way and each left me with its own memories to cherish.
City of Hoi An, Vietnam
The major cities of Vietnam are quite varied. Hanoi in the north has a decided third-world feel, with old communist era buildings, and women delivering goods on their shoulders as generations have washed-up before. Saigon, now tabbed Ho Chi Minh City, felt quite variegated to me with increasingly modern buildings, and had a increasingly vibrant night life. Hoi An, with its scrutinizingly resort-like atmosphere, was the most mannerly of all the cities that I visited. A very wipe city, I found well-healed flowers, music and laughter scrutinizingly anywhere I turned.
Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay
A wend ride in Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay is something most every visitor is sure to remember for many years to come. Fishermen maneuver their boats in the shadows of steep waddle formations that jut out of the water as if they are growing surpassing your very eyes. One of the islands plane holds the colorfully-lit Surprise Cave. Editor’s note: For wellness travelers heading to Vietnam, be sure to trammels out Alba Wellness Valley by Fusion.
In Thailand, I found a museum that is hands the most interesting and unusual one that I’ve overly seen. The Erawan Museum was built by a Thai antiquities collector by the name of Lek Viriyapant who wanted to preserve his collection, some of which stage when to warmed-over times. He chose to build his museum in the shape of an Erawan which is a three-headed elephant from Hindu mythology.
In Thailand, I found a museum that is hands the most interesting and unusual one that I’ve overly seen. The Erawan Museum was built by a Thai antiquities collector by the name of Lek Viriyapant who wanted to preserve his collection, some of which stage when to warmed-over times. He chose to build his museum in the shape of an Erawan which is a three-headed elephant from Hindu mythology.
The museum has three stories. The marrow floor is found in the cylindrical wiring and holds the oldest part of his collection. The second floor is vastitude description. It’s an explosion of verisimilitude and detail, and you could hands spend hours examining all there is to see. The curved stairway on either side leads to a circular stairway which ascends up the inside of one of the elephant’s legs to the third floor. There, inside the Erawan’s belly, you find a gorgeous and colorful shrine to Buddha.
An warmed-over fabrication in Ayutthaya, Thailand
In Ayutthaya, which was the seat of the Thai government surpassing it moved to Bangkok, I found fascinating temples. In years past, Burmese invaded Thailand and destroyed many of the works of art they found, decapitating statues of Buddha in the process. I plane found one such throne that had laid in place for so long, a banyan tree had grown up virtually it, leaving an eerie half-smiling squatter in the trunk.
For me, the highlight of the unshortened trip was the temples I found in Siem Reap, Cambodia, some of which were built as early as the 12th century. It was thrilling for me to stand in front of the familiar domes of Angkor Wat, and to walk through the same doorways and lanugo the same walkways that myriad other people had crossed in the hundreds of years surpassing me.
The intricate carvings, faded and weather-worn over the years, exhibited a level of craftsmanship unmatched in today’s architecture.
To the north, Angkor Thom is a nearby temple ramified that is much larger and to me, increasingly varied than Angkor Wat. Some were partially restored, while others were so overgrown that it was scrutinizingly difficult to tell where nature started and man’s creations ended.
Asia is a land that is well-nigh as variegated from life in the United States as anywhere can be. With surprises virtually every corner, if you bring your sense of venture with you, you’ll be rewarded with a fun and enriching experience.
Gazing out onto Angkor Wat, Cambodia
Photo tip: Sometimes when you shoot an iconic and hands recognizable subject, the resulting photo can be boring. What you thought would be an incredible photo can turn out to be just the same one that everyone else has taken. I was faced with that dilemma when I was shooting Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The shots I was initially taking seemed the same as everyone else’s photos of that iconic temple. If you are overly in that situation, the solution is to find a way to make the photo your own.
The way I did that at Angkor Wat was to go to flipside towers on the grounds and shoot thru a unique doorway, placing the familiar domes in the background. Use your imagination and creativity, and your friends will love to see your vacation photos!