A tour of the Southeastern Asia. From Cambodia, across Vietnam to finally reach Bangkok

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Organized travel independently, touching Cambodia (Siem Reap and Phnom Penh) for five days, then enter through the Mekong in Vietnam we visit from south to north, making the Mekong Delta then Saigon, Hue, Hanoi, Halong Bay and finally Bangkok.
Budget for three weeks, including flights, two, about 3500 euros.

February 8, 2009
After some months to prepare a rough itinerary for our trip to Indochina, with some anxiety on the unexpected that we could meet, finally arrived on the day of departure.
At about 11.30 we have the plane from Malpensa. Andrea, who accompanies us in the car came home punctually at 7. We start this year alone, we are really ignorant, or perhaps, given the sort of trip, left a bit 'improvisation, is the ideal number. However, given our ignorance in any foreign language .... Okay, now we're dancing, so ...
Not a good day, but the sight of snow-covered Alps is a really good show never seen so full of snow.
The trip to Abu Dhabi takes place without surprises. We have a couple of hours of rest for the flight to Bangkok.
Sergio takes advantage of the Internet to see the match results: the Genoa has lost 3 to 0. There we will have a reason! We also wrote to the children and my brother.
I jump on the flight to Bangkok welcomes dinner because I want to sleep. The hours are 6 time zones. In practice we get (for our internal clock) at 1.30 pm local time 7.30 pm Able to sleep about 4 hours.

February 9, 2009
At the airport waiting for flight to Siem Reap, spend a couple of hours at the lounge room of Bangkok Air, where free breakfasts and free internet for 15 minutes each. Then there are sofas, air conditioning, tables and a peace that does not seem even to be at the airport.
Plane on time, some immigration and customs formalities, but nothing of that.
We find the exit with the tuk tuk driver to take us to expect at the hotel. The Kool Hotel proves nice, new and clean. We give a quick refresher, we dress light and immediately (14 hours local) take another tuk tuk and we do take a ride once in town and then to Angkor Wat, the temple became a symbol of Cambodia, which appears on the national flag it is definitely the place of the country most visited by tourists, in fact there are swarms of Japanese. Many. The entire site of the temples is really majestic. Almost unbelievable how they have built so many in those centuries: the Khmer empire in three centuries (between 900 and 1200 ca.) Built several capitals, each king was moved a few miles by building their own city, giving rise to what now called Angkor, a collection of masterpieces in different styles, though similar, immersed in an amazing, conquered the forest, which is one of the main attractions of the place. Angkor was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, thanks to the many countries who are helping to restore a temple who another.
We wandered far and wide throughout the afternoon at Angkor Wat. E 'immense. Towards sunset we doing to bring down the hill from the top of which you should see Angkor Wat (fog permitting) and enjoy the sunset after having climbed to the top of Phnom Bakheng temple. Return to the hotel and we agree with the driver of the tuk tuk to come and take us tomorrow morning at eight. We go out again for dinner, eat plenty and drink a beer each for a total of $ 6. We are satisfied with everything, but we're exhausted, perhaps we sleep at 20.30 already.

February 10, 2009
Slept a lot of hours! Shortly after seven o'clock we are already at breakfast: a little 'disappointing. Not a buffet, but the menu, then choose eggs, bread, bacon and coffee or tea. Nothing. We will be satisfied!
So let's start our way to Angkor Thom, where there are a number of temples to see: the Bayon, the Baphuon west, the Terrace of the Elephants, the Phimeanakas and the Royal Palace, the Terrace of the Leper King, Tep Pranam and Preah Palilay, the Prasats Suor Prat, the Khleang and Preah Pithu.
Angkor Thom Bayon style, is very suggestive. E 'built face-brick towers that dominate every entrance to the city. It 'very large, are mazes of rooms, long corridors, walkways positioned to allow passage on particularly critical. The trees, part of the temples, so we do not understand sometimes if the tree is holding up the walls or vice versa, are enormous. Passing between the branches, roots and vines you feel very small. Again, I think one of the attractions of these places is precisely because the environment, this wilderness that seems to encompass temples and visitors.
Here an accident happens. Sergio slips on the Bayon hits two steps and dropping the camera begins to write in bales. Every so often does not work, crashes and dies. I think that before the end of the trip we will be forced to buy a small reserve.
We move then, always with our powerful resources at Ta Keo, Hindu temple and then at Ta PRHOME style Bayon. After this last visit had lunch with Lay, the tuk tuk driver, and then continue visiting a couple of sites, and Prasat Banteay Kdei Kravan.
After these visits Lay offers us a boat trip on Lake Tonle Sap floating villages and fish farms. Accept, for a charge of $ 30 in two.
We cross a very poor area, with wooden houses on stilts (define housing requires a certain amount of imagination), most are rather dilapidated. That makes you reflect on what a privilege it is to be born (without merit) in a country like ours, despite all the flaws that we see every day. Also because the people who live here also deprived of essentials such as (in our view) are the majority of the world population!.
Arriving at the lake we embark on one of the many boats here, and the accident happens to me, tripping going up and the captain, perhaps because right behind me, perhaps in an attempt to hold back my fall, inadvertently gave me a shot, I believe with the elbow, on the cheekbone. I take the pain all day, luckily I did not leave marks.
During the visit we see fish rearing crocodiles and catfish and even a python, with which I take a picture holding it in hand (I had been offered to put him in the neck).
We also go to bring notebooks and pens as a gift to a floating school where lessons are in the morning and afternoon children in Cambodia, the Vietnamese: double shifts!
Return to the hotel, where we refresh (the shower was really urgent sight dust accumulation) we rest a little and then we go out for dinner.

February 11, 2009
This morning we find a different driver and less sympathetic. In any case, we predetermined that the tour will be exhausted by lunchtime.
The temples were visited today: Preah Khan, which has not been restored to almost nothing, with many trees and vegetation growing among the ruins. Neak Pean, a temple located on an artificial island, East Mebon, Pre Rup, Sras Srang. Back at the hotel we set the bus to Phnom Penh tomorrow morning at a time ($ 11 each). We will take the hotel at 7am and leaving at about 7.30. Estimated time to travel 5 or 6 hours. The bus company where we found a place and Paramount Express.
Sistemate practical things we go out looking for a stand that sells fruit. Take two mangoes, a pitaya red (Sergio calls the fruit stracciatella, the white flesh dotted blacks).