It’s been truly incredible to share our life in Hong Kong with family and friends – even with Braden Bennie and Jay Radley. Jay and Braden are UC Bearcats who enjoy an adventure – to put it mildly. We have spent time with these guys in Boston, Cincinnati and the slopes of Colorado, but it was time to take this mess abroad. The two had planned a pretty amazing S.E. Asia trip that began and ended in Hong Kong, but fresh off their 15-hour flight they were greeted with an important question:
Thankfully, they had the energy to allow us to show them some of Hong Kong’s finest establishments:
The next day, Jay and Braden flew to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam because they couldn’t handle another night with us, but we were quick to follow. While Dom was working, Braden, Jay and I toured and tasted the best of Saigon. Below are pictures from our tour of the Ben Thanh Market:
Now experts in the ingredients used in traditional Vietnamese dishes, we decided to try our hat at cooking some local dishes. I remain surprised that Braden didn’t cut his fingers off. Following our amazing cooking class, we joined our classmates for a drink atop The Rex Hotel, which is was a common gathering place of correspondents during the Vietnam War.
The next day, Braden, Jay and I hugged Dom and headed west to Siem Reap, Cambodia. Our flight was pretty solidly delayed forcing us to the bar, but we arrived in the Kingdom, grabbed a bite to eat and toured the popular Pub Street. Pub Street is just that- a street lined with pubs, tourists and tuk-tuks. We made an early night of it because we were catching the sunrise the next morning at Ankgor Wat.
Angkor Wat – the largest religious monument in the world – is absolutely breathtaking. Every step we took felt historic and it’s easy to see why this temple is displayed throughout the country with such pride. The grandeur of the architecture in this once Hindu transformed Buddhist temple is like nothing I have ever seen. I don’t think our photos will ever do justice to its beauty, but we tried:
While Angkor Wat is probably the most well known temple, we visited several more over the next two days. Most of these temples were built between the 9th and 12th century and despite tourists like us walking through them, restoration efforts have enabled them to maintain their beauty and detail.
After Angkor Wat, we traveled to the Bayon temple, or more commonly referred to as the temple of faces. These towering faces were worth the climb, but the height left us fully exposed to the 103-degree heat and sun. I’m pretty sure this is where my nail polish melted off my fingers – not kidding.
Remember we started the day at sunrise, so at this point it’s like 11am and the sun isn’t even hitting its peak power. Yikes. We head over to the Ta Prohm temple, which is easily one of my favorites. I know, they all are. But see, unlike the other temples, this temple had been abandoned for hundreds of years and as a result, trees have grown up, around and through the ruins. I wish we could have spent more time here, but we were pretty close to a heat stroke and needed some water. Oh, fun fact, this temple was featured in the movie Tomb Raider.
We called it a day at about 3pm and sat in the pool to bring our core body temperature back down to something tolerable. Jet leg got the best of Braden and he was tucked into bed by about 4:15pm, so Jay and I found our way to the spa. What? We walked a lot that day.
Day 2 in Siem Reap was just as beautiful and probably hotter. We toured several more temples and all of us purchased some seriously cool artwork. Ones negotiating skills are severely compromised by heat, but we still got a fair deal. It was very hard to leave every temple and not be swarmed by sincerely adorable children selling souvenirs, but tourists are advised against buying from them as it only encourages the children (and the adults pushing them) to stay out of school. The poverty and visible wounds of war in this country are unparalleled and sobering. Each of us walked away moved by our visit to Siem Reap and I would recommend this trip to anyone.
We took our talents north, to northern Vietnam to meet up with Dom for the second half of this adventure. We stayed one night in Hanoi and the boys enjoyed a night out in the city, while I caught up on some sleep. Our visit to Vietnam fell during the 40th anniversary of the reunification between the north and the south and both Hanoi and HCMC displayed dozens of posters in celebration.
The next morning, the four of us (yeah, Dom!) packed up into a van heading to Ha Long Bay to board our Dragon Pearl Junk, which would be our home for the next 3 days. The drive featured fascinating snapshots of northern Vietnam, some Taylor Swift and probably too many beers. I still feel sorry for the extra passenger in our van. Oh, we also had the pleasure of seeing a water puppet show, which was amazing. Think of a puppet show, but all of the puppeteers are swimming under water and breathing through a straw-like tube while they perform.
We arrived at the dock and boarded our boat and we were nothing short of impressed. I don’t think could recommend a trip more highly – the staff was exceptional, the food was incredible and the views…. well, you decide:
After we enjoyed Chef Jay’s spring rolls, it was time to jump into some kayaks and discover Ha Long Bay. We brought the selfie stick out on the waters with us and I am very proud to say that no phone was lost or damaged while selfi-ing:
We took a swim and then settled back onto the boat for some cocktails and dinner. It was very romantic dining with Jay and Braden – something every couple should experience:
We were able to jump back into our kayaks on day 2 and roam around the sea for a couple of hours and caught a swim before lunch. Later that evening, we went to a remote beach and Dom and Braden kayaked into the sunset. Jay and I worked on our burns.
Probably the coolest part of this whole trip – apart from spending quality time with J and B – was our last dinner in the bay. The last night of the Junk, the crew prepared dinner for everyone inside a cave or as they put it, the largest restaurant in the world. We climbed 95 stairs to enter this cave and what awaited us was a presentation of food that exceeded all of our expectations. The chefs had been preparing the food since 6am that day and when you see the photos, you will understand why.
On our last day, we had the opportunity to tour a fishing village located – as you can imagine – on the crystal blue waters of Ha Long Bay. These fishing villages are home to families who float on and attend school in wooden houses on the water. It was incredible to see these structures and get a sense of the community they call home.
It was time to say goodbye to Ha Long Bay and head back to Hanoi for another night. We spent our evening in Hanoi roaming the street markets in search of the perfect paintings and eating too much pho. We found our way to the tomb of Ho Chi Minh and across the way was the Hoa Lo prison or better known as Hanoi Hilton where American POWs were held during the Vietnam War.
Our time with Jay and Braden was nearing an end, but we gave it all we had during their last two nights in Hong Kong. Dom and the boys enjoyed one of our favorite hikes and the next day, we decided to see if lady luck was on our side in Macau – China’s answer to Vegas, only bigger. Turns out, I’m not too bad at craps (it was my first time) and was on a heater so we all came home winners. I was assured that will never happen again, so I have retired my dice-rolling arm.
Despite my best efforts to convince these guys to stay, they eventually had to return home, but it was amazing to travel with them and to share Hong Kong with some other Bearcats.
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