From Cambodia to Vietnam

We spent one very depressing day in Phnom Penh on our way from Siem Reap to Vietnam. We visited the killing fields and the prison used by the Khmer Rouge to torture and kill anyone who opposed them. It was very much like visiting the concentration camps. Terrible but we are glad that we went and learned a little more about what went on here during the Khmer Rouge regime.

The next morning we got on a bus headed for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (formerly Saigon). It takes forever to go even a short distance here because the roads are in such poor condition. Also, the drivers here are insane so they're always cutting each other off and swerving in and out of traffic- I think this slows things down more than speeds them up. Anyway, we spent the next 7-8 hours on the bus. We did get to see some beautiful scenery though.

The countryside looked pretty much the same after crossing the boarder into Vietnam except that most people that we saw really were wearing conical hats! Just like you see in the movies!

We got off of the bus and quickly settled into a hotel. Then we set off in search of pho- the national dish. It's a brothy noodle soup that you can get with beef, chicken or just veggies. They also give you a plate of sprouts, lime, onion, etc. that you can add to your soup along with a variety of sauces. The Vietnamese eat this all day long and we can see why- it's delicious! We've already eaten it at least a dozen times.

Tomorrow, we're up for another depressing day as we're visiting the war museum...