Chúc mừng năm mới (Happy New Year in Vietnamese) We're presently in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and I'm at the hotel restaurant eating dinner solo as my date (Bobby) is in bed passed out cold after we each had stellar massages here at the hotel. Basically, he's definitely ruined. That was one of the best massages I've ever had, and he had it as his first massage ever ! We were in the same room with 2 tables, and there were a couple funny moments. They first washed our feet in rose petals. They had us wear these pajama pants sort of things, and then they started. He asked a few times to go softer, as he was getting a bit of a muscle work out and was a bit too much shock for him. Then, I'm hearing him groan here & there. In addition to normal massage techniques, it then turns into a contortionist sort of thing with our legs being lifted, turned & bent into various positions with muscles in my legs getting worked like never before. It was at times kind of a leg lock, wrestling maneuver, with her legs wrapped around/interlocked and at the same time pressing into the muscles. Maybe some type of UFC tap-out technique, I don't know. So, in the end, Bobby is in bed snookered, I'm enjoying a terrific Cambodian meal ( spring rolls, cashew nut chicken, & green curry with beef) while writing the blog, and he's already requested the next appointment to be made.


We're having a fantastic time, with lots of memories, good friends along the way, great food, & the many sights to see. On top of that, the weather has been awesome. In fact, people from Thailand & Vietnam both made the same statement that this has been the best season they have had in 10 years. I think the most enjoyable part is meeting people from the various countries and sharing our stories.


New Video production: Robert & Bobby: A Day in Bangkok Click on the link and it will open my Vimeo site in a new window, then click play to start. If the internet connection is having trouble keeping up, the best thing is to start the video, then pause it. Let if buffer a little bit, then resume playing. Hope you enjoy.


Our river cruise with Mekong Eyes was very well done. The staff was great, with good service & lots of smiling faces. The boat itself was not ultra deluxe, but was certainly very nice. It was very low-key, with little to worry about and a slow schedule -- plenty of time to socialize with the other people (there were 24 others on board). Our friends that we got to know well were from England, Germany, Australia & South Africa. With just 2 of us, we were paired with a couple from London, and Bobby got to share many conversations about European soccer & the Premier League with Johnny. In fact, I told Johnny that he sounded absolutely identical to my friend Noel in London. Not just the accent, but the mannerisms and phrases ! The family from Australia had their 2 daughters with them, ages 14 & 16, and Bobby instantly hit it off with the 14 year old named Mia. They seemed to enjoy each other's company each chance they could, and they were both happy & having a good time on the cruise. The cruise provided 3 tours of a local village, the floating market and a rice noodle factory. It was nicely done, and we enjoyed it very much.


At the conclusion of the cruise, the various passengers each had different plans -- some were flying, some were going back to Saigon, and we were getting car transfer to Chau Doc Vietnam. The Australian family also had the same itinerary, which was great as we now had the same friends to celebrate the New Year party with. And, Bobby was pleased to have his friend to hang out with another day.


For the car transfer to Chau Doc, I'm not going to say it was miserable, as we did have a private car with AC & nobody to squish in with. However, it was 3.5 hours of Saigon-type
traffic & motorbikes constantly jumping in & honking horns about every 5 seconds -- that went on for 3.5 hours with no stops/breaks, and they drive 20-25 mph the entire way. Then again, why am I complaining -- I wasn't the driver who dealt with the most, and probably does this sort of thing every day. Victoria Hotel is clearly the crown jewel of Chau Doc -- very nice 4 star property, and nothing else like it around town.


I went for a little stroll on the back of a bicycle, and got to putter through the chaos of the town on New Year's Eve. On the return, I was let off across the street, and no way to get back to the other side, aside from the "Frogger" method (which I had already observed in Saigon). Essentially, the method is to walk straight into crowds of motorbikes coming straight at you (because there's really never a break in the action and no crosswalk to get to), walk with confidence, don't stop, and don't make any sudden or quick movements. If you do it this way, they'll hopefully swerve around you and not flatten you like in the Frogger video game. So I did it, and there I was in the middle of the street with easily 25+ motorbikes around me and coming at me in both directions, but I of course made it. That would've been a great picture to share with you.


What a nice party the hotel put on for New Year's Eve. They called it the New Year's Gala Dinner party, and featured multiple entertainment acts from 6-8 pm, the dinner buffet, and
music performers for the rest of the night. The dancers & entertainers kept coming one after another for 2 hours, and it was a nice treat. Open bar, appetizers brought to us by
servers, all with a nice location over the river. The dinner buffet was quite grand, and we enjoyed with our Aussie friends. Bobby hung out with Mia for a while, and then we all played
billiards for some time through the evening.


The crowd thinned about a lot by 10:30 PM, and the musicians asked if we wanted to sing with them at all -- well, that's an easy one for Mr. Karaoke here ! My Aussie friend sang a Beatles song, I did a Chicago song, and everyone enjoyed. The staff was hilarious as they didn't want the party to die down, and ramped it up quite a bit after midnight. Next thing you know, we're all dancing to Gangnam Style, and a bunch of group dances holding on to each other and following around the room. They were a hoot ! Definitely a great experience for our brief stay there (arrived at 3:30 PM, and left at 7:30 AM) -- and onwards to Cambodia.


So, our New Year's Day is about complete (14-15 hours ahead of LA time), and you're probably sleeping in from the long night of partying.
Chúc mừng năm mới to you ! Below are 50+ more pictures, either scroll down or click on one picture for the album. Enjoy !