Finally:

Vietnam Photo Gallery

Cambodia Photo Gallery

Siem Ream is a very nice and touristy city, and the gateway to all the temples in Angkor. Angkor Wat, although the most famous, is just one of many temples and ruins around the area. I spent 3 full days touring many areas, and even then wish I had a lot more time.

Siem Reap

The night market. A very clean and nice market for tourists with very bloated prices.

Eating a traditional yellow curry with a friend.

A free and very nice traditional dance show put on by the orphanage.

Angkor Wat

A group of friends I met at the hostel.

Lots more pictures : (more…)

Cambodia was a little different than I expected. It is a poor country but seems to be very rapidly building and modernizing, and tourism is probably playing a large role as there were a lot of other tourists everywhere I went. Also when I was there I learned a lot about Cambodia’s history, the huge genocide, and about life under the Khmer Rouge regime.

Tuol Sleng
When the Khmer Rouge regime took over the capital city and evacuated its inhabitants, they took a school and turned it into a prison/torture area.

A German friend I met on the bus ride to Phnom Penh.

A typical looking school, yet the insides were very much like a prison.

School gym equipment was used to hang people upside down among other tortures.

The Killing Fields
Just as the name states, a place where there was mass executions and mass graves.

Delicious fried bananas on the way.

A monument completely filled with the skulls of the victims found in the mass graves.

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Hanoi
Hanoi is in the north of Vietnam and compared with Ho Chi Minh was a bit colder as well. The atmosphere of the city was also different. It was a lot more like China than I expected. There were a lot of Chinese temples, writing, and food around the city which was actually very clean and nice.

Here is Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum. It was very much like Mao Zedong’s mausoleum in Beijing. Practically nothing was allowed inside, there were guards with guns everywhere in and around it, and the guy looked like a wax figure.

Yet another war museum showing off its collection of captured and destroyed American vehicles.

New Years in Hanoi. Many many people gathered around the small lake to celebrate with music, food, and friends. The lake glowed with floating candles, and the sky was filled with sky lanterns.

Ha Long Bay
A beautiful world heritage site with over a thousand islands that stick out of the ocean like pillars. It was a little more touristy than I expected, with everyone getting on a Chinese junk and taking the standard tour to the caves and some inlets. Yet, the size and grandeur of the bay was still quite an amazing site.

One of the many ships. Tourists usually eat lunch on the ship on the way to the caves.

Some friends I met on my ship.

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I flew from Tokyo into Ho Chi Minh city, and at first had a bit of trouble with my passport that was about to expire. However, after a visit to the USA embassy got everything worked out. My trip started and ended in Ho Chi Minh city, but I also traveled into Cambodia to see Angkor Wat as well at to the north of Vietnam to see HaLong Bay. In all I was traveling for two weeks, and in those two weeks met many people, saw very beautiful sights, and had a lot of great experiences. At the end, I only wish I had more time.

Ho Chi Minh City

The government office and statue of Ho Chi Minh.

There are A LOT of scooters in Vietnam. This picture was taken when people paraded the streets after Vietnam beat Thailand in a soccer match.

Eating delicious Vietnamese cuisine with some nice Japanese girls I met.

At one of the many markets around the city where you could buy almost anything.

Mekong River Area
I enrolled in a 2 day tour of the Mekong River area. It was very nice, especially the option to do a homestay in a village. I was quite satisfied with what we saw and did and was able to make some friends along the way.

Traversing a small river to the coconut candy factory with some people in my tour.

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The day before I left for Vietnam I climbed Onoyama with my mountain climbing club. So before I write about my trip I will post pictures of the mountain.
After being unable to attend for many months I was finally able to make the climb for December. Being the day before I flew out of Japan I was wondering whether or not to go, but took the opportunity to test out my new camera.

Heading up..

It was a warm clear day and Mt. Fuji was beautiful.

The menu was various oden.

Group picture at the top.

A picture looking out on the city below pasted onto a picture of some weird radio tower.

I have safely returned from Vietnam and Cambodia.
Also, Happy New Year 2009.