Vietnamese Ceramic Village & Flight to Siem Reap
On our last day in Hanoi, we decided to get out of the city (goodbye motorbike exhaust!). But first, one final bowl of Northern Vietnamese pho from the hotel breakfast. And maybe another one of those delicious croissants.
We signed up for the optional excursion to Bat Trang, a ceramic village that dates back to the 13th century. If you didn't choose to purchase this excursion, you had the morning at your leisure in Hanoi. Hieu was our tour guide again (yay!). After a 45-minute bus ride, he took us through the labyrinth of streets in the village—they reminded me of the Santa Cruz neighborhood in Seville.
As we wandered, Hieu was continuously pointing out thing, like a pagoda, common house/temple, and villagers working on ceramics in their homes. The intricate painting and carving on the pottery was unbelievable.
After touring the village for over an hour, we had a chance to watch an experienced artisan throw some pieces on a wheel. He told us he'd been honing his skill for a decade.
Then, we had a chance to try it ourselves. It is nowhere near as easy at it looks! My creation was pitiful.
After the hands-on workshop, we had about 15 minutes to shop in the market—just enough time for me to find a tea set for about $20. Before going to Vietnam, I'd had my heart set on a tea set from Bat Trang. The shopkeeper dutifully wrapped it up and it made it all the way home without a scratch—even in my checked luggage.
Once we got back to the hotel (around noon), we quickly packed our bags and put them out for the bellman. Lunch was on our own, so we hit up one of the street food stalls near the hotel for a bahn mi made with delicious pate. We saw Hieu eating at a nearby stall on his lunch break, so we felt like we did it right. Total cost for lunch: $2.00 US.
After lunch we boarded the buses for the 30-minute drive to the airport. Our local guides stayed with us all the way into the terminal, so we got to take a goodbye selfie with Hieu. I can't say enough good things about him as a guide. We felt very fortunate that we had him for four days. Of course, we said so in our Uniworld evaluations.
Check-in was a breeze, since Duc had done much of the work for us already. After passing through security, we waited about 30 minutes until it was time to board our Vietnam Airlines flight to Siem Reap. The flight was quick (about 90 minutes) and they even served a meal. It was nothing like business class, but if you were hungry it would do the job. It didn't sound like it went over well with the other travelers in our group, though. I rather liked the dessert (but then again, there aren't many desserts I don't like).
The Siem Reap airport was nice and modern (although small). We exited the plane via a stairway, and walked maybe 100 yards outside to get into the terminal. Although it was dusk when we arrived, it was quite obvious that Cambodia would be much more hot and humid than Vietnam!
We waited for our group to gather, then passed through a check point in one giant mob (Duc had pre-arranged our arrival). Luggage was ready in about 10 minutes, and then we once again moved en-masse through immigration. Our new local guides were waiting for us right outside the doors, and directed us to our buses. We had another 30 minute ride to town, with our guide (Pharoth) providing an introductory talk about Cambodia the entire way. We got lucky again with this guide—he was fantastic.
Check-in at the Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa was quick. It's a colonial-style hotel, with an open-air hallway and outdoor dining area. There are signs posted to let you know you may see a gecko or two, and that hotel staff would be happy to relocate them for you. This was not quite the spacious 5-star hotel we had in Hanoi, but it seemed authentic and was in an excellent location.
We were on our own for dinner, so we set out into the humid night. I had a restaurant in mind, but when we arrived there was a 90-minute wait for dinner without a reservation, and we were hot and tired. We promptly made a reservation for the next night, and returned to the hotel to order room service, which was as good as could be expected (meaning, it was quite tasty). We needed to get to bed early, because our alarms were set for 4:00 a.m. the next day!
We signed up for the optional excursion to Bat Trang, a ceramic village that dates back to the 13th century. If you didn't choose to purchase this excursion, you had the morning at your leisure in Hanoi. Hieu was our tour guide again (yay!). After a 45-minute bus ride, he took us through the labyrinth of streets in the village—they reminded me of the Santa Cruz neighborhood in Seville.
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| One of my favorite photos from our trip. Aaron has an excellent eye. |
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| This is how you advertise in Bat Trang - put your occupation and phone number on a wall |
The village is along the Red River, which is where they get all the mud for the clay.
Then, we had a chance to try it ourselves. It is nowhere near as easy at it looks! My creation was pitiful.
After the hands-on workshop, we had about 15 minutes to shop in the market—just enough time for me to find a tea set for about $20. Before going to Vietnam, I'd had my heart set on a tea set from Bat Trang. The shopkeeper dutifully wrapped it up and it made it all the way home without a scratch—even in my checked luggage.
Once we got back to the hotel (around noon), we quickly packed our bags and put them out for the bellman. Lunch was on our own, so we hit up one of the street food stalls near the hotel for a bahn mi made with delicious pate. We saw Hieu eating at a nearby stall on his lunch break, so we felt like we did it right. Total cost for lunch: $2.00 US.
After lunch we boarded the buses for the 30-minute drive to the airport. Our local guides stayed with us all the way into the terminal, so we got to take a goodbye selfie with Hieu. I can't say enough good things about him as a guide. We felt very fortunate that we had him for four days. Of course, we said so in our Uniworld evaluations.
Check-in was a breeze, since Duc had done much of the work for us already. After passing through security, we waited about 30 minutes until it was time to board our Vietnam Airlines flight to Siem Reap. The flight was quick (about 90 minutes) and they even served a meal. It was nothing like business class, but if you were hungry it would do the job. It didn't sound like it went over well with the other travelers in our group, though. I rather liked the dessert (but then again, there aren't many desserts I don't like).
The Siem Reap airport was nice and modern (although small). We exited the plane via a stairway, and walked maybe 100 yards outside to get into the terminal. Although it was dusk when we arrived, it was quite obvious that Cambodia would be much more hot and humid than Vietnam!
We waited for our group to gather, then passed through a check point in one giant mob (Duc had pre-arranged our arrival). Luggage was ready in about 10 minutes, and then we once again moved en-masse through immigration. Our new local guides were waiting for us right outside the doors, and directed us to our buses. We had another 30 minute ride to town, with our guide (Pharoth) providing an introductory talk about Cambodia the entire way. We got lucky again with this guide—he was fantastic.
Check-in at the Victoria Angkor Resort and Spa was quick. It's a colonial-style hotel, with an open-air hallway and outdoor dining area. There are signs posted to let you know you may see a gecko or two, and that hotel staff would be happy to relocate them for you. This was not quite the spacious 5-star hotel we had in Hanoi, but it seemed authentic and was in an excellent location.
We were on our own for dinner, so we set out into the humid night. I had a restaurant in mind, but when we arrived there was a 90-minute wait for dinner without a reservation, and we were hot and tired. We promptly made a reservation for the next night, and returned to the hotel to order room service, which was as good as could be expected (meaning, it was quite tasty). We needed to get to bed early, because our alarms were set for 4:00 a.m. the next day!
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