Temples and grilled cockroaches
From vietnam's capital hanoi, inge and manfred wagner (both 62) from holzhausen biked through laos, cambodia and thailand to finally fly back from yangon in myanmar. They drew a thoroughly positive conclusion from their trip: accommodation and food were extremely inexpensive, and they met helpful and hospitable people everywhere. Enthusiastically they report about grandiose temples and sanctuaries.
The region is almost ideal for individual travelers, only in terms of order and cleanliness one must sometimes make concessions. Anyone who is keen to experiment in the culinary field can gain a lot of new experiences, because they eat almost everything that flies and crawls. The exotic spectrum ranges from grasshoppers and tadpoles to frogs, crocodiles, birds, rats and giant cockroaches.
In tunnels from the vietnam war
In vietnam, the wagners climb into the original tunnels from the vietnam war that have been hewn into the rocky subsoil. Here, vietcong soldiers and many civilians braved massive american bombardment. In the old imperial city of hue, the devastation caused by the war is unpredictable. Nevertheless, the citadel with the forbidden purple city is absolutely worth seeing.
Modern electric scooters are popular with schoolchildren and young people. The people mostly exude good humor, serenity and cheerfulness. No matter if rice farmer, fruit seller, gauze collector, hotel employee or dog catcher – all seem to be very content with what they are doing: happiness, contentment and cordiality do not depend on wealth.
In laos, breakfast is no longer served with noodle soup as in vietnam, but with glutinous rice, which is formed into balls with the fingers and dipped into a fish sauce. The globetrotters are awakened every day at sunrise by monastery music and monastery prayers. Monks, including many children, go from house to house in the early morning to collect alms and food. Thanks they bless the believers.
High culture of the khmer
The grandiose angkor wat temple complex impresses in cambodia. After a two-day tour of several monumental temple complexes, the franks feel like they have been beaten to death. Richly decorated stone reliefs with intricately carved figures and scenes illustrate the life of the upper class about 1000 years ago. Scattered over a vast area, in the shade of ancient tree giants or entwined by gigantic tree roots, lie countless temples and shrines – a unique testimony to the high culture of the khmer people.
Although the cyclists have already ridden through many mega-cities, the hectic traffic and the aggressive driving style of many moped drivers in bangkok give them a hard time – not for the faint-hearted! After that it is more relaxed overland, where monitor lizards cross the road in crocodile size and storks are crowded in the flooded rice fields. As the thermometer climbs above 35 degrees in the afternoon, the adventurers start pedaling at seven o'clock in the morning.
In myanmar admire the golden rock. Situated high on a mountain, the colossus weighing tons lies overhanging on its tilt as if it were about to come crashing down at the next moment. The rock is sacred to buddhists. They believe that it is kept in balance by a single hair that lies beneath it: a hair of buddha's!