A Trip to South East Asia

On Dec 21, 2007, four women, me being one of them, decided to take on an adventurous journey over four countries in SE Asia. Only trouble --- time was in short supply, so a 10- day trip was planned, squeezing in as much as possible of the best of the four worlds.

Took off from Kolkata by Jet Airways. Smooth flight, great service and for me, my second international fight. Landed at the huge Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. Believe me, it was a huge complex. Christmas décor shone on the outside. But, the weather --- we were sweating!!! No winter there! A slick van took us to Sukhumvit. But early next morning we took off for Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City, earlier known as Saigon. Saigon was soooo much like Kolkata that I felt completely at home there. Crowded and bustling, warm and smiling people, no chance of losing your way, bargain while you shop for knick knacks… it was unbelievable. Bought a wooden Vietnamese lady and some lacquer boxes. The War Remnants Museum very graphically brought out the horrors of the Vietnam War. The City square has the Reunification Palace and the beautiful Notre Dame Cathedral. We stayed at Luan Vu and were really well looked after.

Next day we left for Chou Doc and this time we made it by road. The country side did not leave me gaping as it was like Bengal’s villages except for the fact that the houses were on stilts. Banana trees, ponds, huts, small shacks for shops --- the works. We crossed rivers twice on barges along with the car. We went to Chou Doc for a purpose. The Mekong Delta cruise was too much to resist. So from Chou Doc the next day we boarded a motor boat and whizzed over the mighty Mekong towards Phnom Penh. The journey was magnificent, for me definitely so since I love boat rides. We crossed the Vietnam border, got our passports checked at the Cambodian border and then about an hour later touched the Cambodian capital.

At Phnom Penh, the War Memorial and the Killing Fields left their mark. The Royal Palace looks resplendent in its traditional Khmer architecture. A 5-hour bus journey from here to Siem Reap the next day brought us to the largest temple complex in the world, Angkor Wat. The evening was spent there as well as the entire following day. Besides Angkor Wat, we visited the Angkor Thom complex comprising Bayon, the mountain temple, Baphuon and the terraces of the elephants and the Leper king. Majestic and awe inspiring, these complexes contain beautiful and exquisite friezes, reliefs, engravings and sculptures. The Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Churning of the Ocean to extract ambrosia form part of the art here. It seemed all so familiar and like I mentioned before, hardly had any foreign atmosphere, though we seemed to be the only Indians around. Shopped at the local market and bought a Cambodian puppet and some ceramic plates with cane borders.

From Siem Reap we flew to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. A small, beautiful and laidback colonial city, this place was a delight. The wide boulevards, the Mekong flowing by its side and the street food was just great. An interesting thing was a huge shed opposite the main market bustling with people. Under this shed were young women in leotards, exercising away to music. No man could be seen in the vicinity gaping at them. There were only four Indian women who were busy with their cameras taking in this amazing sight!!!

Next day we were off to Luang Prabang and here the landscape changed. It was cooler and reminded me of Sikkim in summer. The Wat Xieng Thong is a must visit here. Besides the temple, it also has a monastery. The golden Buddha image is housed in a temple replete with gold paintings on a black wall and magenta pillars. The road leading to this temple has restaurants and shops to the right. They have nothing in common with the Khmer architecture. It is mostly French and owned by expats. As night fell, we decided to shop at the night bazaar. The fabric is famous here but these reminded me of designs we find woven in our sarees in India. The next morning right before we took flight once again, there was something we had to witness. At 6 am, the monks from the monasteries here walk by silently and the people seated on the ground by the roadside give away food to them. It is this that sustains the monks throughout the day. I saw monks, young and old, disciplined and stoic, walk by spreading a strange sense of calm all around.

From Laos it was back to Bangkok and this time we visited the Grand Palace. We took the Sky train from Asok and got off at Saphan Taksin, then took the boat to Tha Chang which is close to the Grand Palace. Had lunch at one of the many fast food joints next to the jetty and walked through the vegetable and fruit market. Beyond was the Palace which houses the Royal residence, government offices as well as the Emerald Buddha. This Buddha statue carved out of a jade block is a venerated site in Thailand. I saw the image clad in the winter costume. The costume is changed three times a year by the king. The golden Chedi within the palace complex dazzled with its gold. I bought some exotic fruits from Bangkok which we do not see in India like the Rambutan, which looks like a hairy litchi but tastes much better, and the Dragon fruit, with its magenta - coloured peel and white pulp peppered with black dots and quite insipid.
All in all a mind blowing enriching trip, one I wish I could extend for much much longer.

I could have gone on filling up space but let me hear from you first.