Monkeys Bananas and Cambodian Traffic

All the while, the monkeys also had to be mindful of the traffic on the road with mainly motor scooters, bikes and Tuk Tuks passing by.

Our Tuk Tuk driver and guide for the day decides to invest in a whole bunch of bananas and tie them to the fence to see which monkey will win the jackpot. Find out more of this Monkeys Bananas adventure...

Sihanoukville Cambodia Beaches and Market

There’s no better way to get around the coastal areas of Cambodia than a ride in a Tuk Tuk. A Tuk Tuk is a motorcycle driven cart and a great way for visitors to explore the area. Just be sure to bargain for your price before getting in to be sure both you and the driver agree on a fare. The ride to the beach from the deep water port is only about 10 minutes.

 

This beach is lined with thatched roof huts, restaurants, bars and shops. Speaking of shopping, we’ll head back to our waiting Tuk Tuk to go to the center of town and visit the main market. Read more..

Vung Tau Vietnam Beaches Villa Blanche

Vung Tau, Vietnam is a seaside town on a small peninsula about an hour and a half south of Saigon by car or hydrofoil.

Ho Chi Minh City residents visit the beaches here on weekends.  Its a quiet place to relax in the sun and sand now, but back in the day, it was an important port town.

Bach Dinh or Villa Blanche was the summer residence of the French governor Doumer back in the early 1900s known as White Palace. Learn more...

Saigon Marketplace Flythrough – Shopping in Ho Chi Minh City

Today we do some shopping in Ho Chi Minh City.  Here is the flythrough video at the marketplace in Saigon.

If you want a little Saigon shopping guide, then note that popular markets in Ho Chi Minh City include the Ben Thanh market and Ben Thanh Night Market in central district 1,  read more...

Saigon War Remnants Museum and Ho Chi Minh City Tour

Today we continue our tour of Saigon more formerly known as Ho Chi Minh City the former capital of anti-communist South Vietnam.

The Saigon Opera house is a three story 800 seat theater that was also used as home of the Lower House assembly of South Vietnam. Our guide makes sure we’ll still be around to see the war museum later in the day.

The Saigon City Central Post Office features the architecture of the French colonial age and was created by the same designer who designed the Eiffel Tower. Read more...

Reunification Palace Tour Saigon Vietnam

Today we are touring around Saigon and visit the Independence Palace also known as Reunification Palace.

This palace has 95 rooms and is over 180,000 square feet.  Larry, our guide for the day, takes us inside the palace for a closer look around. Read more...

Bike Ride Around Nha Trang Vietnam – Cham Towers and Countryside Bike Tour

We rent bikes during our visit to the Central Vietnamese port town of Nha Trang. 

Today we are renting bikes to tour the city and countryside of Nha Trang located on the South Central coast of Vietnam.

Our group stops off at a welcome outdoor restaurant for some snacks and refreshments before we make our way to the Cham Towers and the countryside. Po Nagar is a Cham temple tower that was built over 1200 years ago made up of 3 levels. Read more...

Halong Bay Vietnam Day Trip – Boat Cruise, Kayaking and Caves

Our first stop on the Southeast Asia adventure cruise aboard the Holland America Volendam is a stop at Ha Long Bay (Halong Bay, Vietnam).  This is our first Vietnamese port and after walking around the main street along the beach we board a junk boat for a day of cruising on the bay.

We pre-arranged a guide and private junk boat to visit island caves, a floating fishing village and see some of the 2,000 or so grottos and little islands that make up this UNESCO world heritage site. We also get to go Kayaking to explore some of the enclosed lakes.   Ha Long Bay is referred to as the Bay of Descending Dragons. Read more...

Kayaking in Halong Bay Vietnam – Kayak Basics

When in Halong Bay, Vietnam it is a lot of fun to rent a kayak from a floating village and paddle around the area, exploring hidden lakes and caves.

The GoPro camera gives an exceptional view of this UNESCO Heritage site in Ha Long Bay.

Our kayaks await us at this floating village in Halong, Bay Vietnam. We’ll take our GOPRO along for the ride to capture some of this amazing scenery, so let’s go. Read more...

Volendam Cruise Ship Travel from Hong Kong to Singapore

Now we are aboard the Holland America Volendam cruise ship and are sailing out of Victoria Harbour heading for Vietnam.  This is an exciting itinerary with stops in Ha Long Bay, Da Nang, Nha Trang in Vietnam before heading to Cambodia and Thailand on this adventurous itinerary. Holland America also operates The Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Zaandam ships as well.

The Volendam is host to over 1,400 passengers which by today’s standards is a mid-sized ship.  Now it’s time to get settled in and check out the ship. There are plenty of things to do like see a show, check out board games or books from the library, hit the gym for some treadmill action or participate in one of the planned activities.  Every evening, your room steward will put out a new activity guide for the following day.

Best Hong Kong Shopping Markets, Malls and Districts

Here are a collection of some of the best shopping areas in Hong Kong, Kowloon and Lantau Island that we came across during our visit. Let us know what your favorite place to shop is in Hong Kong in the comments below or on www.Facebook.com/Travelraters .

If you venture over to Lantau Island, you will find the Citygate Outlet Mall near Hong Kong’s Disneyland.  Some visitors to Disney actually go to this outlet mall for the food court, restaurants or shopping as it is close to the park.  If you are heading up to see the Big Buddha at Ngong Ping village, you will also find some shops, but not as many bargains. There is however sometimes free entertainment there on the outdoor stage. Read more...

Southeast Asia Adventure Cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore – Sneak Peak

Katrina just put up a sneak peak of her vacation on her FitForaFeast Youtube channel where she inspires kids around the world to get active and take part in dance, gymnastics, cheerleading, kids fitness and healthy living. The full videos of her family vacation trip to Southeast Asia will be posted here.

Follow along from the beginning of the Southeast Adventure Journey where it all begins with the long flight from Toronto to Hong Kong.

What a great adventure visiting China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Singapore. There is so much to see and do in this part of the world.  Let us know what your favorite place to visit is in Southeast Asia on the Travelraters Facebook page:  http://www.Facebook.com/TravelRaters

Victoria Peak Tram Ride Hong Kong Travel Raters

Peak Tram

When in Hong Kong, you won’t want to miss taking the historic Peak Tram ride for the experience and the great views of Hong Kong.  (The friendly staff will make sure you don’t hold up the tram ride.) The Peak Tram began in 1988 and is the oldest cable funicular in all of Asia. Other funiculars in the Honk Kong area include the 3 minute ride on the Ocean Express at Ocean Park and the Po Fook Hill Elevator.

The Peak Tram ride is about 1 1/2 km up the side of Victoria Peak. It leaves the stations every 10-15 minutes for the 7 minute journey up and down Victoria Peak and runs from 7am to midnight every day, read more...

Victoria Peak Bus 15 Hong Kong Travel

You can catch the Peak Tram both ways, but we decided to take bus number 15 from Central Ferry Terminal to The Peak and then take the Peak Tram back down again later on.  This way we didn’t have to wait in that long line for the tram going up.  See the video for the thrill ride we experienced on the double decker bus heading up the mountain with close calls with a cyclist and even a sanitation engineer.

The bus ride to the Peak takes about 40 minutes and cost around 10 Hong Kong dollars for adults and about $5 for children.  If you get off the ferry from Kowloon at Central, then you will find the Central Ferry bus terminal right outside the Star Ferry pier. Read more...

Victoria Harbour Symphony of Lights Star Ferry Hong Kong Travel Tips

Victoria Harbour Hong Kong is one of the world’s places you must see by day and by night.

During the day, take the Star Ferry to cross the harbor and at night experience the laser light show and synchronized audio and light show called the Symphony of Lights.

More than 220,000 ships visit Victoria Harbour each year and it is one of Asia’s most vibrant ports. There is actually no bridge to get across Victoria Harbour, but there are cross-harbor tunnels and MTR tunnels that pass underneath the harbor,read more...

Hong Kong Travel Lantau Island – Big Buddha – Po Lin Monastery & Wild Cows

The Tian Tan Buddha statue a.k.a. The Big Buddha is a 100 foot tall statue which is seated above a flight of 268 steps and faces North towards the mainland of China. It is said “The right hand is raised, imparting fearlessness and blessing all of Hong Kong and her visitors with prosperity and peace on Earth.” Read more...

Volendam Oasis Teen Club Cruise Ship Fun

The holidays are a great time for families to travel because other kids and teens will also be on board to share the experience with you.  The destinations make cruises exciting because you unpack once and visit so many new and interesting ports of call.  What a wonderful way to explore new parts of the world you have not visited before.

It is a great experience visiting different countries, learning about their culture and way of life, and also sharing the experience with other travelers from around the world.

We had a fun, five-star time, read more....

Toronto to Hong Kong via Vancouver Flight – Our Trip Begins

Here is our adventure step by step Toronto to Hong Kong so you can follow along and get some insight for your own travels, or just have a laugh at some of our misadventures.

Travel schedules will undoubtedly come with a few hitches, so obtaining relaxed state of the Buddha will help get through some unforeseen delays and disruptions along the way. We will be sure to visit our share of temples and Buddha statues when we arrive in Southeast Asia. Read more...