Travel-weary Team Somerville back home in Vietnam!

Ok, so it has been 2 weeks since my last post. My excuse? Too much travel, too little time!

Cambodia, Vietnam, Australia, Singapore...yep, we're just a wee bit exhausted and over travelling (for another fortnight at least!)

As previously posted Rob and I had booked a weekend in Siem Reap, Cambodia for my birthday (sans kids) before our trip back to Australia. In summary...fantastic!

Siem Reap is a funky, vibrant town that, despite being packed with loads of hotels and bars catering to the tourist trade, has surprisingly managed to retain its charm and cultural heritage. 

As expected, our stay at The One Hotel in Siem Reap was indeed a unique experience. The staff were lovely and we were treated like royalty!

Of course the highlight was exploring the vast Angkor temple ruins. We started at sunrise on the Saturday and still only managed to cover Angkor Wat, the Bayon temple ruins at the centre of the Angkor Thom complex and the temple ruins of Ta Prohm (now more commonly known as "The Tomb Raider Temple" thanks to Angelina Jolie!). 

I'll post more about our adventures in Cambodia in the coming days, but in the meantime below are a few snapshots of our day at the ruins.

From Cambodia it was back to Vietnam to pick up the girls (who had a fun weekend without their parents!) and then back to the airport a few hours later through the heavily flooded streets of Saigon for our flight to Australia.

We spent eight days in Brisbane with a packed itinerary catching up with family and friends. Not exactly a relaxing holiday but lots of fun all the same.

After a stopover in Singapore for the night we arrived back in Vietnam yesterday ready for the return to work and school today. 

But - as you'll have come to expect from me by now - even before the plane had landed in Saigon I was busy scribbling ideas in my notebook for our next holiday in December (more Vietnam travel with visiting relatives and a trip to Hong Kong!).

Yep...I'm an addict! Here's to many more travel adventures in the coming months!
 

Angkor Wat at sunrise

 

Angkor Wat sunrise



Angkor Thom's south gate

Angkor Thom's south gate

Bayon Temple, Angkor Thom

Inside the Bayon Temple complex

Bayon Temple...our tour guide (Mr Em Somuch) knew all the cool spots for fun photos!

On the other side of Bayon Temple 

Ta Prohm - aka Tomb Raider Temple



Rob the Tomb Raider!

Our recommendation: if you're looking for a knowledgable, English-speaking guide to take you on a full-day tour of the Angkor ruins contact Mr. Em Somuch on email: emsomuch@yahoo.com or telephone (855) 12 853 271 or (855) 99 459 972. A full day tour from US$25 (contact him directly because if you book through a hotel it will cost you more!).