1. Vietnam & Cambodia Tour with NVK. By Jayant Doshi
(from 1st February 2012 till 17th February 2012.)
This was only the second overseas trip
organised by Navjivan Vadil Kendra (NVK). We
left home early in the morning to go to the
airport. The airline computer had problems,
and the flight was delayed by two hours but
the flight made up one hour to our destination
in Kuala Lumpur. There was a mix up at the
two building terminal and we were waiting at
the wrong gate but in the end we all boarded
our flight to Hanoi and reached our hotel at
lunch time. At dinner time introductions were
made. Our group of 35 was international – four
from Canada, three from India and rest from
London – so introductions were a good way to start our trip. Four were non-Gujarati and as such
we had to use a mixture of Gujarati, Hindi and English in our conversations and announcements.
NVK aim to help the lonely and the aged, and
these trips give an opportunity to those people
to travel knowing that help will be at hand
and they will not be alone.
We started our tour next morning by starting
with the sightseeing tour of the city of Hanoi.
Vietnam with a very old culture and history
was cursed by fighting – initially civil war and
then with USA – for many decades and the
country was divided into two till its unification
in 1990’s. Hanoi, capital of the North till
unification, but now capital of the united
country, has a long past which can be seen in
its monuments and historical pagodas, its
narrow streets and lakes give it a distinctive charm. Vietnam was a French colony for long time
and the war of independence left its scars on the people and the country. But for centuries there
has been animosity with its northern neighbour China, while there is a large Chinese people living
in the country, and the culture of the country has lot of Chinese influence, the wars of the past and
the animosity generated have still lingering effects in the country.
During the day we visited the Temple of
Literature boasting its Vietnamese architecture
and its thousand year history. One Pillar
Pagoda also has a history of thousand years
but was destroyed during the war with the
French, and rebuilt recently. Our next visit was
to the stilt house where Ho Chi Minh used to
live. Ho Chi Minh, leader of the North who
ultimately won and united the country, was a
man of simplicity who refused to live in palatial
buildings. His house epitomized this simplicity
where he lived in a small house with limited

2. space and just two rooms. His simple living could be viewed through the glass windows. It is rare
to see a man who gave his life for the country,
followed his principles to the end. Our next visit
was to a temple and a lake with a small islet
with a tortoise pagoda. While driving through
we saw colonial structures such as Opera
House and St Josephs Cathedral. After the
lake we walked through the old city with
narrow alleyways called “36 streets” – each
street specialised in similar products and the
street was named after that product. We also
visited the History Museum with its fascinating
exhibition of long Vietnam History. North
Vietnam is known for its water puppet show
and we enjoyed the amazing show for an hour.
It was so fascinating to see a puppet show with life like puppets doing their show in water with no
visible sign of any human hands doing the movements. Puppetry is an art in itself, but the water
puppet show was enchanting. No wonder it is
an art which has not been copied elsewhere –
perhaps because it is not so easy to perform.
Vietnam has gone through years and decades
of conflict and war. China has for centuries
considered Vietnam and neighbouring
countries as its domain and has fought many
wars to subjugate these countries. This
animosity and bad feelings run deep in the
minds of the people. Vietnam language used
Chinese alphabets but now they use Roman
alphabets. Also in education English and
French are learnt but not Chinese even though
the culture and traditions of the people are a lot influenced by Chinese culture and traditions.
Vietnam was a French colony for many years, and after winning its independence after long
struggle, it got itself into conflict with communist and opposing factions. Then USA got involved in
this conflict resulting in years of bombardment, torture, killings and ultimately victory for
communists one party government, in day to day life it is adopting capitalist and democratic ways
of life, and economically it is making great progress
Next morning we had a long drive to Ho Long
Bay, one of the rare natural wonders of this
earth. The bay has almost 1600 limestone
korsts and islets which rise out of the waters of
the bay to heights of up to 100 meters and the
numerous caves and grottos spread throughout
the bay. Looking at the bay, it seemed as if
little mountains had popped out of the ocean. It
has become the most important tourist sites in
Vietnam and has been listed by the UNESCO
as World Heritage Site. We left early from
Hanoi but the three hour journey became a
feast of singing, jokes and laughter. The
diverse group of members, from various continents and of various age range, had mixed with each
other within a short space of time. On the way to Ho Long Bay we stopped at a huge store selling

3. wonderful stone, graphite and marble statues and sculptures. By lunch time we reached our cruise
ship which took us round islets, through gapes
in these little mountains in the ocean. We took
small boats and visited floating fishing village.
We saw how real pearls are found and how
cultured pearls are made. We saw the typical
village house and the school. All these
buildings are built on water. The option of
swimming in the sea was offered but no one
volunteered as it was cold water. I dropped the
idea also. We watched DVD showing the
breadth and the length of Ho Long bay and its
fascination which is bringing millions of tourists
to this country. Our cruise ship was anchored
in the bay surrounded by many cruise ships
with their lights glistening and reflection in the
water making the scene beautiful.
Next morning we had an early start after a light breakfast. We proceeded to Tai Chi with its maze
of mysterious caves. It was a steep climb to the caves but really worth the visit. The caves ran
quite deep inside with hundreds of stalactites
protruding from the ceiling of the caves. The
caves were lighted in different colour lights
which made them more attractive. It was a
wonderful walk and one could spend lot of time
exploring different paths leading into other
caves from here. After a brunch the cruise ship
took us to our motor boat. I took the opportunity
to drive the motor boat for a while. We drove
back to Hanoi stopping for a Chinese style
lunch which everyone enjoyed. Later we
stopped at a pottery village but it was
disappointing as there was nothing to see, and
the walk was so slippery that fear of injury was worrying. We reached the hotel and began
preparations for a very early start next morning.
With a population of 87 million Vietnam has over 20 million motor bikes and one does not have to
go far to verify these figures. Roads are jam
packed with motor bikes and crossing the
roads is a nightmare. When traffic lights go
green it appears as if flood gates have been
opened and water gushes out. Motor bikes do
not stop for the pedestrian but instead wind
round the person and carry on driving, and
the pedestrian also know this so carry on
crossing the road disregarding the motor
bikes. All the foot paths are taken over by
motor bikes which are parked in rows after
rows.
We woke up at 3.00 a.m and reached the
airport by 4.30 but flight was delayed by
almost two hours because of fog. It had been pretty cloudy and cold in Hanoi and members were

4. wrapped in warm clothes. Hanoi is north part of Vietnam and our flight took us to Hue in central
Vietnam. Compared to Hanoi, Hue is a much
smaller city, one time Royal capital of Vietnam,
and much nicer houses and beautiful layout of
the roads and parks. The river runs through the
city. Compared to Hanoi there was hardly any
congestion in this lovely city. On arrival we
start our sightseeing and visit the Imperial
Tomb of Tu Doc built by the longest serving
Emperor of Vietnam. He used the site as a
retreat for meditation, reading and theatre
performances. Our next visit to the Imperial
Tomb was on a hill side and represented one of
the last monumental tombs of the Nguyen
dynasty. Built in 1931 it represents a mixture
of European and Vietnamese architecture. At
the heart of the old Imperial city is the Imperial Citadel, modelled on the forbidden city of Peking,
and surrounded by moat. Most of the buildings have been destroyed by the recent war, but what is
left gives and impressive insight into the life of that dynasty. The whole Citadel has spacious
courtyards and lotus ponds. Our visit also
included a museum.
After lunch many opted for an afternoon sleep,
while twelve members of the group went to see
two tombs built for recent kings. One, just 80
years old, is built with ceramics imported from
France. The intricate design created by
breaking the ceramics into small pieces is very
impressive and will be a sight to see for years
to come. This tomb is built in a small area and
as such it is steep climb to reach the top. The
other tomb is built on much larger grounds and
as such it s spread out and involves lot of
walking. The King and Queens actually lived in this monument and the king was buried here after
his death. However, because of fear of Chinese coming and stealing the body, the tomb was built
in such a way that no one knew actually location of the body when it was buried.
Our drive from Hue to Hoi An next morning was scenic, passing some lovely beaches and small
towns. The coach drive had become lot of joy for
all as singing and jokes kept everyone
engrossed. Also various snacks coming out of
bags kept all mouths busy with chewing. Hoi
An is a lovely small town on the beach with lots
of tourists visiting this place. It has a very long
beach, and with booming tourism, hotels have
cropped up all along the beach and in the town.
It has nice bungalows, buildings that are well
maintained and a pleasant town to see. We
visited a marble factory and saw how
sculptures are made. During our visit to the
factory, and seeing all the beautiful statutes
and sculptures spread over a large area, one of
our group members slipped on the steps, fell and dislocated his elbow. He was taken to hospital

5. and appropriate treatment was given promptly. To our sigh of relief we learnt that it was just
dislocated elbow and no serious damage was done. The member joined us back by the evening,
and rest of the tour.
Next morning after breakfast we left to take a
flight from Danang to Saigon or Ho Chi Minh
City as it is now called by the present
communist government. After unification of the
country, the communists from the North took
control of the united country and changed
name of the city to Ho Chi Minh in honour of
their hero. South Vietnamese still prefer to call
it Saigon. On the way to the airport we stopped
at a museum which stores the best collection of
Cham dynasty artefacts. Cham dynasty lasted
for over 1000 years and the museum records
the glories of that period. Saigon is a buzzing
city with a large population, with modern buildings cropping up with a booming economy side by
side with colonial buildings built by the French during the rule, and the traditional Vietnamese and
Chinese life style and buildings. Motor bikes are seen in plenty on the roads, and one can see
young people riding motorbikes with mobiles
and rushing around in a hurry. Like every major
city in the world Saigon also has a China town
though they prefer to call it Cholon. Even though
the Chinese have played a major role in the
economy of the country over centuries, the locals
seem to try to forget that and that is why they
do not call this as China town. We visited one of
the most active 19th century Pagodas later in the
day.
It was so encouraging that the time keeping in
the group was remarkable and in the morning
everyone was in the coach at a specified time
and we never had to wait for anyone. However, going to an Indian restaurant meant that time for
sightseeing was reduced accordingly. And getting two heavy meals did not suit everyone. Few
always skipped dinner every day. But there does not seem a simpler solution though this needs to
be considered on future trips. While three
meals took considerable time, it was the best
part of the holiday when members of the group
got a chance to mingle, mix and exchange
acquaintances. I am sure lots of friendships
have been built on this trip.
Americans fought long war with communists
from North Vietnam and with Viet Cong in
South Vietnam who supported and fought for
North Vietnam. It was their guerrilla fighting
tactics which ultimately led to huge casualties
for the Americans and their final withdrawal.
Viet Cong built intricate web of tunnels, called
Cu Chu Tunnels very near Siagon, and which the Americans never managed to find. This is an
unique project of architecture as an underground system of tunnel deeply located in the ground

6. bed with numerous floors, several deviated alley like a cobweb over 200 km long with its places of
boarding, accommodation, meeting and fighting. The underground system indicated the will of
determination, wisdom and pride of Cu Chi
people as the symbol of the Vietnamese
people’s revolutionary heroism. Viet Cong used
these tunnels to attach American troops and
their supporters and then disappear in these
tunnels. Stretching over 200 km this incredible
underground network of tunnels, dug by hand
and connected to command posts, hospitals,
shelters and weapon factories is amazing
reflection of the ingenuity and resourcefulness
of the Vietnam people. Tunnels are so small
that one has to crawl to go through them. Of
course some of them have been modified so
that the tourists can have a look at them. There
are booby traps of all sorts that would trap anyone no matter how careful or clever the person is.
The traps would capture rather than kill, and the idea was that any soldier who came to rescue
would also become a target and be killed with the trapped person. Even the cooking food elaborate
precautions were taken to spread the smoke in
such a way that no one would notice it and
time for cooking was synchronised with the
habits of local population. Dried leaves that
would not burn would be used to build these
traps and underground cooking places. Our
visit to these tunnels was the most fascinating
of the day and the whole trip.
After lunch we visited the Reunification Palace
which housed the president of South Vietnam
before tanks attacked it in 1975 and brought
downfall of the South Vietnam Government.
The palace has been preserved in its original
state. Our visit to War Remnants Museum was
eye opening and horrifying in places. It houses relics and reminders of the two long wars fought by
the Vietnamese against the French and then the Americans. The museum has photos of atrocities
committed during those wars and photos of
victims of the orange bomb that gave shivers
when seen by visitors. The orange bomb had
long lasting effects, and even now people suffer
from after effects. Photos depicted how organs
were damaged or lost by the effects of the
bomb. We stopped by the President residence
with 100 rooms and took some photos followed
by a visit to a factory making lacquer furniture
and art pictures. We were shown the process of
making these and our members took advantage
of the opportunity to do some purchases.
Our next stop was at Notre Dame Cathedral
built in the 19th century and the largest Post Office in the country. The Post Office building is a
French style building. Inside the huge post office it was more of a market for tourists and only little
space was occupied for postal work. Our members naturally spent time browsing and doing

7. shopping – an opportunity few would let go at any time. We stopped at the site of former US
Embassy where photography was not
allowed. We visited the Ban Thanh Market
which is the central market of Saigon. It is a
lively place. The market are provides for all
requisites of daily life for the common citizen
of the city.
Next morning we went to Mekong River, took
a boat ride to see the amazing floating
market of Saigon. Thousands of people live
on houses built in the river on stilts, and
have television, electricity and other modern
conveniences. Even wedding within the
floating community takes place on the river in
boats and when boats are decorated and the wedding ceremonies and festivities take place with
other boat community members take part. We passed through by-waters and canals of Mekong
delta and visited local workshops that produced puffed rice, cocoanut candy and other local
delicacies. We saw how some of these items were made and got a chance to taste them and buy
them also. We had packed lunch and opportunity to try many exotic fruits on the way. The whole
day passed on the boat and visiting all these places.
Normally we had either early wake up or late
night and as such rarely got a chance to walk
around. But today we got a chance to walk
around the market at night. One person was
doing different sort of massage on the street, A
man lying on the footpath with shirt removed,
and the person would take small glass bowl,
light a match in front of the bowl and
immediately press it on the upper arms and
upper chest. We stopped to watch out of
curiosity and before I knew he made me sit on
a chair, pushed my shirt sleeves and pressed
four bowls on my upper arms. By lighting
match stick he was creating vacuum and when pressed on the skin the bowl stuck, and it
appeared that my body was trying to suck the bowl inside. It became painful. He soon removed the
bowls. But the burnt marks of the bowl remained on my arms for a few days. Duriyan is a fruit
similar to Jack fruit but is known for its nauseating smell. One of our group members was very
keen on eating it. A few others agreed though most refused. I had never tried it so I went for it also.
As a lover of all fruits I ate it but was not very
impressed by it.
We had early wake up next morning and left
hotel by 7.00 a.m. to see the most amazing
and biggest floating market where fruits and
vegetables are sold in wholesale and retail.
Small boats selling in retail weave their way
between large boats doing wholesale
business. We got an opportunity to taste
pineapples which were cut in our presence.
Cutting the pineapple without wasting much of
the fruit is an art and the way it was being

8. done was just amazing. The river delta is crowded with hundreds of river boats trying to sell their
fruits, vegetables and other trinkets and lots of tourists in their boats watching this fascinating
way of marketing. Today was our last day in
Vietnam and it had been fascinating visit with
such variations in things to see.
It was 4.00 a.m. wake up so that we could fly
to Siam Reap the city of Cambodia surrounded
by thousands of temples, and the centre of
tourist attraction. From the airport we
proceeded to visit the temple ruins. First we
visited Prasat Kravan with five brick towers
which were built in 921 A.D. for Hindu
worship and are notable for the bas-reliefs cut
into the bricks on the interior walls. Next
temple, Ta Prohm is popular amongst tourists
as much of the surrounding forest has not been cleared and the place is as it was found by
European explorers. Ta Kep was built by a Hindu Emperor (968 to 1001 A.D.) and is built entirely
from sandstone and dedicated to the Hindu deity Shiva. The central tower is 50 metres high and
surrounded by four lower towers. We visited a few temples which are dedicated to Shiva and
Vishnu.
Cambodia had Hindu culture and influence and
these temples numbering over a thousand were
built mostly in the 12th century or before. Each
temple was built over acres and acres of land,
and some of the temples were huge in size in
width and depth. Later when Buddhism came to
the country some of these temples had Hindu
statutes removed and replaced with Buddha
statutes. Because of conflicts and spread of
forests, these temples were unknown to the
local population until a French man found their
existence between 1908 and 1910. Since then
they have become a big tourist attraction, and preserved as World Heritage Site. The temples are in
ruins though some of the carvings and statutes are still intact and in good condition.
We saw some temple ruins where up to 400
year old trees have grown on top of the
temples, weakening the solid rock walls of the
temples or knocking them. Trees have grown
in the rocks and then very thick roots have
pierced through rocks and found their way to
the ground. The sight of these roots and the
huge area of roots are amazing. Rocks used in
building the temples weight in tonnes, and to
pierce through those rocks and to displace
them and break them is a wonder of nature.
Some members of the group decided to stay
over to see the sunset for which Angkor Wat is
famous. We spent long time in Angkor Vat
which has the world famous temples. Size of each temple is huge and built from huge rocks. It
must have taken years to build those temples, using thousands and thousands of workers, and of

9. course they must have witnessed thousands of deaths in the course of the construction. Angkor
Vat has the largest, best preserved and most
religiously significant of the temples. The sheer scale
and size of the temples are impressive and the
beautifully proportioned layout is impressive and the
artistic carvings on the walls are amazing. The walls
are carved with at least 1700 apsaras, and outer
walls have the depiction of Hindu mythology stories –
including the story of churning of the ocean. It covers
an area of over 10 square km. It has a moat
surrounding the complex, statutes of demons and
gods carrying naga, elephants, leper kings. Just to
study and see the temple in detail one will need lot
more than a few hours – more like it will need a few
days.
After two days of seeing temples it was getting too
much. There was lot of walking and lot of climbing
and many in the group decided just to sit rather than
see same sort of temples in dilapidated state.
However those who are keen in knowing about the
history and have keen interest in the sculptures this
place needs lot more time to do that. Next morning few members went early to see the sun rise. I
felt lazy and skipped both the sunset and the sunrise. I regretted my decision but it was too late
for that.
For once we had a normal 9.00 a.m. start but because of the habit of getting ready early all the
members were in the lobby long before our time. The group had decided to do some charity while
on the trip. We bought 400 note books, 200 pencils and 200 pencil sharpners. We visited a local
school and presented those items to the poor children of the school and it was pleasure to see
smiles on those children for whom these gifts meant a lot.
Siam Reap is in the south of Cambodia. A lake
150 km long runs from Siam Reap to the north
of the country. Our next visit was to the
amazing floating village on the lake. Over
200,000 people live on the lake on floating
houses which are moved like ships as and
when required. Each village has about 350
families. People live on fish and snakes which
are in abundance around the lake. The snakes
also kill lot of people besides providing food for
the same people who escape from their bites.
The lake swells with water during monsoons.
Villagers move their houses on weather
conditions. Even the school is floating. Later
we visited an art factory run by dumb and deaf people but making some wonderful artistic gift
items. We saw these artistic items being made from wood, stone and other materials. This was
followed by a visit to a gem store where ladies in the group had a field day shopping while men
folk watched helplessly.
We were reaching end of our tour. Four members of the group were parting from this point. We had
special dinner where farewells were said and lot of singing and speeches ended the final day in
Cambodia. Most members expressed their pleasure at the planning and execution of the trip and

10. expressed their desire to join such a group in
future. Our cook, who rarely got an opportunity
to cook, got his chance and showed us how
good a cook he is. Everyone enjoyed the last
dinner in Cambodia.
For once, to the liking of everyone, next morning
we had a late start. We left the hotel at 10.30
and took a flight to Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia.
Malaysia is comparatively a developed country
and the city of Kuala Lumpur reflected this in
its tall buildings, immaculate roads and
transport system and a very modern city as
such. For the first time in our journey we
arrived in Kuala Lumpur with heavy rains. We went for dinner and then to our hotel. The room, for
the first time in this trip, were pathetic. Some rooms had cockroaches, some had no lights, water
basins were blocked, taps not working and generally rooms were filthy.
Next we started at 8.30 and first visited the Batu caves which have properly made 272 steps to
climb to the top to enter the caves. Many decided not to try to climb those though many of the group
did venture to the top. The caves have many
Hindu temples, and statutes of Hindu deities.
On the ground level there are huge statutes of
Vishnu and Hanuman – almost height of 3 or
4 story building. The caves had many temples
and statutes, and decorated with colourful
lighting. The caves, unfortunately, were filthy
and little was being done to keep the place of
worship clean. After completing the caves we
reached Genting Highlands – a resort and a
maze of restaurants, hotels, and internal and
external rides for the fun and pleasure of the
young and the old. We were supposed to be
staying overnight in Genting Highland but
there was some mix up in communication between the tour manager and the travel agents. The
whole complex is huge and is built on top of a mountain surrounded by thick forest. We reach the
resort by a cable car, and the ride on the cable car is scenic. It crosses valleys with thick growth of
trees.
On reaching Genting Highland the guide
showed the complexity of the whole resort, and
asked everyone to remember a few high points
so we do not get lost. For a complicated place
like this it was surprising that neither the
guide nor the manager thought it right to stay
with the elderly and least mobile members of
the group in case of need or to makes sure
they do not get lost. We had our lunch. Lunch
was delicious. After lunch many decided to
walk around and rest but some decided to try
some of the rides. We tried all the difficult ones
and the rides were enthralling. We spent long
time in queues and very little to take the ride

11. but it was worth the wait. Some of the rides were challenging and frightening but the thrill we got
out of it was worth it.
Today was our last day of the tour. We did
some sightseeing in Kuala Lumpur. We visited
the National Memorial Palace where the present
king lives. We saw many buildings with lot of
British influence in the architecture. After lunch
we saw the national Mosque, a marvellous
piece of modern architecture and colour. Islam
being the national religion the mosque is built
right next to the impressive Parliament
buildings. We than went to Putrajay a new
ecological city being built near the capital city,
and planned to be the future centre of
governance in the country. We saw Prime
Minister’s office building and other government
departments. The city still in its infancy has lot of greenery, and very quiet and peaceful place to
work.
It was time for our departure. We had vacated our hotels in the morning. We had some passengers
flying to India and Singapore and their flights were earlier. But all passengers had to be dropped
together. Flight for London was at mid night but we had to go to the airport with others. We had
almost seven hours to kill at the airport. We first bought tea and coffee from the balance of the kitty
money. Later inside the airport after security we
managed to find a section with many relaxing
reclining chairs and we took over the area.
Nearby we had electric massage chairs. Some of
the passengers were left over with local currency
and we used that to take advantage of
massage. Our time passed well and before we
knew it we were called for boarding. Our tour
was over and we boarded the flight for a long
twelve hour flight back home. When the flights are
late at night it is important to give consideration to
this in planning the trip.
The group had scattered. Four left us in Cambodia to
proceed to London via Singapore. Two extended their
stay in Kuala Lumpur. Four extended their holiday by
going to Singapore and Bali. Two went on to
Singapore to spend some time with their family. The
rest reached London early next morning and went to
their respective homes taking with them memories of
an enjoyable and memorable trip.
(website www.jayantdoshi.yolasite.com)