Vietnam, home of the American War

OK, no more pics for a month til I get my card sorted out :(. Cross your fingers for me that I haven't lost everything...

The bus ride from Phnom Penh to Vietnam was uneventful (a good thing with border crossings). I did meet a tour group and the guide joke that Cambodia's national pastime was sleeping in hammocks. I found that hysterical because you really do see loads of people all over Cambodia sleeping in hammocks. Often when you'd think they'd be working. Not that I am judging. I say more power to 'em.

First stop in Vietnam was Saigon (yes, it has been renamed Ho Chi Minh City, but everyone still calls it Saigon and Saigon is easier to type). I had been warned that the cities in Vietnam are absolutely crazy and it is true, I have never seen traffic like I saw in Saigon. And there are literally hundreds of electric wires crossing at every major intersection. This place is packed! My first day I walked up to the War Remnants museum. In Vietnam, the Vietnam War is called the American War. The museum is really sobering. It shows many terrible things our troops did to villagers and talks about the chemicals we let loose that are still crippling children today. There are also displays of protests against the war from around the world (including the US) and some peaceful artwork by kids. Definitely a must see if you go to Saigon. The next day I took a day trip to the Cao Dai temples and the Cu Chi Tunnels. Cao Dai is a hybrid religion that is popular in Vietnam. The temple reminded me of the Gaudi architecture you find in Barcelona (so I loved it). The Cu Chi Tunnels were a system of tunnels 200 km long where the Cu Chi Villagers lived during the war. We were shown all sorts of really painful looking booby traps that the VC set up for American troops and were able to crawl through parts of the tunnels. For a small additional fee, you can fire a real military rifle or AK-47, but I passed as I am not a fan of guns. My third day in Saigon I did a day trip to the Mekong Delta. We spent much of the day in varying sizes of boats along the Mekong and visited a few island villages. We got to try coconut candy, fresh honey, rice liquor, banana wine (skip it, so gross), and 5 different kinds of fruit (my first jackfruit!). I also got to wear one of the conical hats that are so common in Vietnam. I look ridiculous and yes, there are pictures.

I've been very excited about the food in Vietnam for, well the whole trip. I am addicted to the fresh spring rolls with shrimp and pork that you buy on the street for 4000 dong (25 cents). I also love the Pho. Yesterday I tried the Bun Hue which is a spicy noodle soup from the north. It was good, but I prefer Pho. Each area has its own specialties so I'm looking forward to trying loads more as I travel north.

Yesterday I took a bus up to Dalat in the Central Highlands. It took all day so other than walking around the lake and the market last night, I haven't seen much. This afternoon I am doing a motorcycle tour of the area and tomorrow I head off for a 5 day tour of the highlands on the same motorcycle. This trip is with the famed (locally anyway) Easy Riders that I have heard and read rave reviews about. So needless to say I am stoked! I'll let you know how it goes.

See some of you very soon!

From Killing Fields to beaches

Hallo everyone,

Unfortunately still no pics. I'm on my third cybercafe today and none will let me upload. I'm a little worried about a virus (cause the computer here says I have one) so everyone cross your fingers that it is the computer, not my card...

On my first visit to Phnom Penh, I did the Big 4 of sites here. They consisted of the Royal Palace (nice ornate buildings, lots of gold and silver statues, elephant carts, the usual), the National Museum (statues, history, more gold and silver) and then the starkly contrasting Tuol Sleng (aka S21) and The Killing Fields at Choeng Ek. The last two were remnants from the Khmer Rouge regime. Suspected "traitors" or "party enemies" were sent to S21 to confess their crimes. The confessions were extracted using medieval torture methods- sometimes over a period of months. Family and friends of the "traitors" were often also forced to confess. Once the confession was obtained to the satisfaction of the staff at S21, the people were taken to the Killing Fields and killed- usually with blunt or sharp instruments to conserve bullets. The bodies were then buried in mass graves which were treated with chemicals to cover the smell and kill anyone who may have been buried alive. It is so difficult to fathom this sort of cruelty, but the skulls in the memorial at Choeng Ek and the images in S21 make you realize it really happened. Quite a contrast to the museum and palace...

From PP I headed to the Cambodian coast. My first stop was Sihanoukville (I still can't pronounce it right). Sihanoukville is a total beach town. There isn't really anything else to do there (except get a super fast Vietnam visa- which I did). It was St. Patrick's Day when I arrived so it seemed fitting that I spent it in the company of some Irish girls who were staying at my guesthouse. Actually everyone at my guesthouse was great! The Irish girls, the Scottish crew, the English bartender, the Kiwi, the Yanks, and the German dude. Oh and Jesse, the Dutch guy learning hotel management. So I spent the next 3 days hanging out with the guesthouse crew, going to the beach and relaxing. I also ran into some guys that I've seen in 3 different cities now. Small world indeed.

After Sihanoukville, I spent a day in Kampot. I wasn't too impressed with Kampot, although I did meet some cool people on a sunset cruise on the Mekong and we had dinner together. So I headed out the next day for the little seaside resort of Kep. Kep was another relaxing place to spend a few days. The first day I walked about 20 km between seeing the whole town (it is spread out) and hiking the trial in the Kep Mountain National Park. The second day, I took a moto to some caves with Buddhist shrines in them and on the way back stopped at a small museum dedicated to victims of yet another killing field in the area. My guesthouse in Kep was right on the water facing West so I saw some beatiful sunsets. Day 3 I took a day trip to Rabbit Island 5 km off the coast. Even though Kep is on the shore, the beaches are nothing to shout about. The ones on the island are much better. Seafood is super fresh in Kep so I had a lot of fresh shrimp while I was there. It was pretty neat to have dinner on the ocean and see the guys out catching the fish (at night) right next to where I was eating.

I think that is about it for now. Back in Phnom Penh trying to take care of a few last minute things before I head to Vietnam early tomorrow morning. I am very excited about Vietnam!!

Oh and Heather sent this link (thanks Heather!) where you can sign up to receive an email whenever I update the blog. Feel free to use it if you wish.

http://www.feedmyinbox.com/

Angkor

Suas'dei,

Right, Ban Lung. I seemed to spend a lot of time lost and dusty in Ban Lung. The first day I went looking for a couple of waterfalls. They were signed off the main road, but never again. I didn't find any, but I did get a nice 10 km walk through little villages were the kids would see me and come running out screaming "Hello! How are you? What's your name?". In one a little girl actually held my hand for the entire walk through the village. It was kinda cute. That night I met a bunch of really interesting other travelers and reconnected with a few from my bus from Laos. We've been on a similar schedule so I've hung out with them in basically every town in Cambodia. The second day I rented a bike to go to a volcanic lake about 5km outside of town. It was the worst bike ever and walking would have been much easier. Plus I got completely lost in a very hot and hilly area. But all this made the lake that much more refreshing when I got there. It was lovely!

From Ban Lung I headed to Kratie. Our bus broke down three times on the way (not at all unusual in Cambodia). Kratie is located on the Mekong River which makes fo great sunset watching. I joined a couple of other travelers and we took motorbikes (we didn't drive them, rode on the back) 15km north of town to get on a boat and see the endangered Irwaddy dolphins that live in the river. These are interesting in that they look much more like whales than any dolphins I have ever seen. They just kind of skim the surface making taking photos tough but we saw loads of them (and considering there are only about 75 left, that was impressive!). They are endangered because of fishing and also because the Khmer Rouge used to throw grenades into the Mekong when they were in power. After dolphin watching we went to a place called "the rapid"which is a group of bamboo huts on the river where the locals come to swim and hang out. It was Cambodian Women's Day so there were loads of people there. Our tour finished with a visit to a temple on a hill with great views (and about a million steps). I met a really cool French girl who is working for an NGO in Phnom Penh so I totally pumped her for information. I really didn't know much about the terrible things that went on in Cambodia just a few decades ago. When you are here though, remnants, signs, and information are everywhere. If you are interested, I recommend reading "First They Killed My Father".

From Kratie I decided to spend a night in Kampong Cham to break up the trip to Siem Reap. The best part was the bamboo bridge that the locals construct every dry season to link the town to an island in the Mekong. The bridge looks like it will collapse any second, yet motorbikes and horse carts and bicycles ply it constantly. I walked across to check it out. Also worthy of note was massive thunderstorm. I have been traveling in the dry season so with the exception of a quick shower in Khao Sok in late January, I have not seen rain since December. Needless to say, I loved it!

OK, Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor. Siem Reap is a total tourist town with loads of restaurants, markets, internet cafes, bars, and massage studios. It is expanding rapidly and I am glad I am here now and not in a few years. The temples of Angkor, however, are just amazing. Totally worth all the hype. I opted for the 3 day pass (thanks for the advice TK, Kara, Mish, Jaclyn and Erik). Day one I got a tuk tuk to take me on the short circuit where I saw Angkor Wat (incredible, but crowded), Angkor Thom (a group of temples and terraces), and a few other temples including the "Tomb Raider Temple" where they shot the movie. This one is also worth the hype because the forest has totally taken over and it really feels like you are in ruins in the middle of the jungle. There are a couple of smaller temples with a similar vibe and less crowds which were even better! Day two at Angkor I joined some guys from my guesthouse to watch the sunrise at Angkor. They were doing the circuit I had done the day before so I walked up to the Grand Circuit. I only got to four more temples on foot because they are 2-4 km apart (look closer on the map). So I hired a moto and headed up to Banteay Srei which is about 30 km away. My last day of temple climbing I went to the Rolous group which are the earliest temples and then caught the disappointing sunset from Pre Rup. I splurged on a hotel with a pool for my last 2 nights in Siem Reap which was terrific! It really gets ridiculously hot during the day. Oh and I forgot to mention the Doctor Fish. I did it twice. For $3 you get 15 minutes with your feet in a shallow pool filled with little fish who eat the dead skin. It tickles like mad at first but then you get used to it. After your feet are much softer and smoother. Definitely an experience!

Today I left Siem Reap and am in Phnom Penh for a couple of days before I head south to the Cambodian beach and then into Vietnam. I'll try to get a couple of pictures added in the next day or so. All for now.

Sold Out CAKE!

So that was a sign in a restaurant in Cambodia and for some reason it struck me as very funny. Especially because cake wasn't even on the menu....

OK, since my last post I basically had a whirlwind through Southern Laos. I spent one day in Vang Vieng and really was not impressed. It is kind of like Spring Break meets Laos. The scenery is gorgeous, but the town is overflowing with drunk Westerners. There are restaurants that play Friends all day long. Episode after episode. Same is true for the Simpsons. I did the tubing thing which was fun but after the one day, I was totally ready to leave. Instead of taking the minivan to Vietnienne, I opted for the back of a local pickup truck. And this is something I love about Laos. If you want to get away from all of the other tourists, just travel like a local. Every time I was the only Westerner and all the locals smile and try to talk to me as well as they can (most don't speak English). It is really fun!

I didn't really do a whole lot in Vientiene. I wandered around and checked out the riverside restaurants and the night market and went to the National Museum which was part historical and part propaganda (did I mention that Laos is a communist country?? foreigners have a curfew and are forbidden from dating locals). The main thing I did was to get my visa for Cambodia (although it turns out I could have gotten it at the border). After two days in the capital, I headed down to Pakse with a quick overnight stop in Savannaket. I quite liked Pakse. Its small and cute and on the intersection of two rivers. I took a day trip to the Bolaven Plateau which has loads of waterfalls and coffee and tea plantations. We also stopped at a few villages. One of them was interesting in that the villagers make their own coffins when they hit adulthood so they know they have something to be buried in.

From Pakse I went to 4000 islands- again in the back of a pickup with the locals. Since I didn't take the tourist bus, I got to share a boat with a group of Lao people having a Sunday picnic. They chatted to me for a bit and gave me a beer. I found a bungalow on the river with a hammock and set up camp on the island of Don Det for a few days. My guesthouse was run by a sweet old woman named Mama who spoke of herself in the third person ("Mama is going to cook fresh fish tonight", "Mama gives you change tomorrow") I ran into an Irish guy, Collum, I'd met in Khao Sok in Thailand. He told me about a festival that was going on at the wat on the island that night. So I met up with his group there. The festival was great. I won 2000 kip (40 cents) playing a game where you pick a number and then get two darts and have to make your numbers add up to the one you picked. We met some locals and hung out by the dance floor for most of the night. I was tired from traveling so I went home by midnight, but I could hear the party going at 4 AM. The next day I rented a bicycle and rode over the bumpy island tracks (on a one speed cruiser with bell and basket but no shocks) to the neighboring island of Don Khon. There is a nice waterfall there. I also swam in the Mekong and did some reading in the hammock. It was a very relaxed atmosphere. My last night on the island I met a British couple who had been there for two months. They invited me to a wedding at their guesthouse that night. The son of the couple who run the guesthouse married a girl from another island. Of course I had to go. It was so much fun! There were very few foriegners and the locals treated me like one of the family (I met 5 women named Mama....). We drank and danced and ate and it was quite the celebration. The party continued for 3 days, but I left the following morning (and getting up for my boat was not fun!).

After a long day (11 hours) of travel yesterday- including a bit of sketchiness by the transport operator (who completely overcharged us all) I am now in Ban Lung in Cambodia. Cambodia is country number 7. Oh and I am four months in- crazy! Since it is the dry season, it is very dusty here in NE Cambodia (most roads are unpaved). My legs and feet look like I spent too long in the tanning beds from walking to local villages this morning. And my guest house here is brand new and has incredibly comfortable beds! I am going to try and slow down a bit from here on out. I was pretty exhausted from rushing through Southern Laos and I'd like to spend more time in fewer places. But then again, I do get antsy easily....

All for now! No pics cause Internet is slow here.

Oh my buddha

Given the amount of wats I've seen since my last post, I thought the title appropriate. Plus, I love that phrase :). Right, so to try and make this a manageable read... So much ground has been covered.

Mish, Erik, and Jaclyn met me in Bangkok where we spent a couple of days checking out the sights of the city. The wat with the huge gold lying buddha was the highlight for me (and for Jaclyn). And the boat taxis up and down the river. The second night, Mish, Erik and I had to go check out the Patpong night market area where all the sex shows are. It was definitely an experience. I think the highlight was the baby elephant that randomly walked down the street at 1 AM in central Bangkok. You know you aren't in Kansas anymore when... We took a night train to Chang Mai. The train was delayed 3 hours along the way and the reason given was "no power". Interesting. But we passed the time making friends, hanging out and playing cards. We spent the day wandering around Chang Mai. I was a bit disappointed as the city is just kind of a city. But as in all of Thailand, the food was excellent! The next morning we took a bus to Chang Rai. This is where we decided to do hill trekking from. I was happy that the bus was a Thai karaoke bus (where they show cheesy karaoke videos the whole time) so the crew could experience it. I don't think they were as amused as I was (come on, one opens with a girl getting hit by a tuk-tuk!). We set up a trek through our hotel and had dinner at Cabbages and Condoms which uses the proceeds to supply safe sex education and condoms to the villages in the area. The signage was interesting- especially the sign over the door which read "Our food is guaranteed not to make you pregnant". The next day we went to the hill tribes. We had negotiated for extra trekking time and trek we did. It was hot and there were many hills but the scenery was gorgeous and the villages were interesting. We ended the day with a short ride on an elephant and then a longboat ride back to Chang Rai. That night we went to the Chang Rai night market which was my favorite in Thailand. We spent most of the time in fromt of the stage with live music and dancing. There were loads of food vendors. Erik and I had a hot pot and Erik got the mixed insect plate for dessert. I was impressed with myself for trying a catepillar- totally not my thing. We also had to have a tower of beer, just because they were there.

On to the border crossing into Laos. We took the morning bus to Chang Khong and caught a longboat across the Mekong to the border. Figuring out the order of windows to go to at the border was an experience but after an hour we were safely and legally in Laos. We spent the night at a local guesthouse whose owner has quite the temper. Definitely not typical of the Laos people. We wandered around the town for a bit and had a quiet night and got ready for the two day boat ride to Luang Probang. We found a great restaurant on the river and Jaclyn was able to try lapp- Laotian salad made with minced meat and lemongrass. It was terrific. We arrived early to get good seats and waited in the boat for a few hours. They tried to overfill the boat dangerously but there was a protest from the customers (including chanting- only the tourists of course) and they added a second boat. The scenery on the river was amazing! We spent the night in the small village of Pak Beng on the way. Day 2 our boat was less crowded and we spent much of the ride talking to the other passengers. That was great because we kept running into them in Luang Probang and it was like already having a group of friends waiting for you in town. The scenery on day 2 was just as nice as Day 1. I think Mish has about 3,000 pictures if you are interested.

We arrived in Luang Probang around 6 PM- just as the sun was setting over the Mekong. After a bit of wandering around, we found a great guesthouse. Then we headed out to the night market for perusing and food. The next day we got up super early to give alms to the monks. Every morning around 6:30 AM (not 6 as we thought) the monks walk into town and people offer them food. We bought food from local vendors on the street and sat and waited. Unfortunately there were so many monkls that we ran out well before the procession was through. Later we let Erik handle negotiating for a boat to the Pak Ou caves with hundreds of buddha statues in them. On the way we stopped at "whiskey village" to try Lao Lao, the local rice whiskey. The caves were cool to see and the boat ride was great. Later, we walked up to the wat on the hill above town to watch the sunset. That night, Mish and I met up with a group of people from the boat trip down and hung out with them. The second day in Luang Probang we wandered around the city. Mish and I had seen a board outside a travel agency that mentioned a place called Utopia and we were determined to find it! Sure enough, later in the afternoon we saw a sign for Utopia and followed it to a cool lounge on the river with terrfic views and very comfy seating- so we hung out for a bit. The place is pretty aptly named. Later we did a little tasting of many Laotian dishes at a place Jaclyn had read about and also watched the monks as they did the 4 PM drum playing at the wats around town (and there are literally hundreds- you can't walk 15 feet without passing a wat!). That night we went for dinner on the riverfront. Our last day in LP, we once again let Erik do the negotiating and took a tuk-tuk down to the Kuang Si waterfalls about 30 km outside of town. The falls were great as was the swimming. On the walk back there was a bear rescue area. For our last dinner we went to the Laotian BBQ where there are hot coals on the table and over them is a pot of soup. You add spices and vegetables and cook the meat on a grill that is in the middle over the soup. So good! Mish, Erik, and Jaclyn did their last minute shopping at the night market and we had our last BeerLa0 as a group :(. It was so great to see them all and we had such a great time. It definitely felt too short. But I am so so so glad they came to meet me (thanks guys!!).

The next morning they headed for the airport and I caught a minivan to Nong Khiaw 4 hours north. From Nong Khiaw I hopped on a boat up the river to Mueng Neua ( I still can't pronounce it) which is only accessible by boat. The town is tiny and most places only have electricity from 6-10 PM. There really isn't much to do except hike and chill out so it was perfect for me! In the morning I hiked out to two caves and then farther on to two villages. After the second village I continued to a waterfall and wadered past it for a bit. On the way back I had lunch at Hoy Ban, the second village. I tried to order chicken but was told they only kill a chicken for two or more people. As I waited for the noodle soup (veggie) they asked me to copy the name of their restaurant/guesthouse, the village, and "great food" over and over so they can give the papers to travelers as advertising. I thought it was terrific! Oh and I love how the villages use hydroelectric power. On the trail I saw multiple barrels set up with wires attached to give power to the villages. And in Mueng Neua, all of the light bulbs are compact flourescents. Interesting how the rural Laotians get this more than we do... Off my soap box. I met up with some guys from the boat up and a couple I'd met in LP and we spent the evening eating and playing cards by the river. We left at 9:50 to be able to see on the walk back to our guesthouses but missed the timing. The village really does completely shut down at 10.

The next morning I headed back to Nong Khiaw. I stayed in a great bungalow on the river with terrific views and walked out to a huge cave where 500 villagers hid during the bombings of the Indochina war in 1964. Yesterday I took a sawngtheiw (pickup truck with two rows of benches) back to Luang Probang. The truck comfortably seats 12 in the back. At one point, we had 19. It was a novelty for me, but it is interesting that this is how the people live here. Kind of the sort of thing that makes me greatful for the things I take for granted at home (solid walls, laundry, shower, etc). Also, it reminds me of a joke we heard in Luang Probang (about Thais, but obviously works for Laos too).
Q: How many people fit in a Thai car? A: One more.
After the pickup ride, I got on a bus to Vang Vieng. It took 9 hours so it was a long travel day but I am glad I didn't have to spend another night in LP and travel all day today.

That's where I am. Who's next to come meet me??

Photos for Thailand and N Laos are posted:
http://picasaweb.google.com/stacyb/ThailandNLaos#

A quick hello

Sabadee from Laos!

Still hanging out with Jaclyn, Mish, and Erik. We're having a blast! Went through Chang Mai, Chang Rai, and into Laos. After a two day boat trip down the Mekong, we are in Luang Probang. They are heading to Siam Reap on Thursday morning and I am going to go north to some small towns with good hiking and very limited electricity. I'll do a longer update once I get back.

Hope everyone is doing well!
St
PS- picture is of the huge lying buddha in Bangkok. I like this pic :).

Kickboxing, history, and edible insects

OK, first off, I did not eat the insects. They were huge and scary and even the Indian guy I was with who talked the big talk about eating them chickened out. But it was still interesting to see. More on that later.

I lived through my week of kickboxing camp. I did a camp where you live at the training site and the price includes training twice a day, meals, and accommodation. It was really tough and I was sore and bruised, but I'm glad I did it. Training began with running at 6:30 AM followed by morning training with pads, bags, and sparring until 8:30. Afternoon training kicked off with 15 minutes of jump rope (sounds easier than it is) and lasts until 5 PM. The place I stayed has two gyms. The live in one is in a suburb of Bangkok which was cool because Christian (the German guy who was also staying there) and I were the only Westerners I saw the whole week in that area. The other gym, which we went to a few times, is off Kho San Road in Bangkok proper and people can walk in and train as much or as little as they like. More people were at that gym. The food was amazing! We ate after each training and every meal we were served a big plate of rice and three plates of mains for the two of us. And we nearly finished it every day. Everything from green curry to Tom Kha to pork and veggie dishes to omelettes... I miss the food already.

After my camp ended I came to Kanchanaburi which is 2.5 hours away from Bangkok. Kan is most famous for the Bridge over the River Kwai which was built here in 1942 as part of the "Death Railway" built by the Japanese from Thailand to Burma during WWII. The name is from the estimated 100,000 people, many of whom were Allied POWs, who died while building it. I've now walked over the bridge and ridden a train over it and visited the musuem about the railway so if you want more information, I have you covered. I'd like to see the movie now.

Yesterday I took a bus to Erawan Falls for the day. Erawan is a 7 tiered waterfall about 2 hours away. I have some great pics and the swimming was great! Last night I ran into a guy I had met in Indonesia. He, a friend of his, and I walked down to a Hindu festival I had stumbled onto the night before. This is where the bugs for consumption were sold. Huge grasshoppers and roaches and worms.... ICK! But hey, I haven't tried it. Aside from that, there were lights everywhere and fireworks and games, rides, "regular" food, etc. It was a lot like a carnival but then there was the religious side with monks, chanting, incense burning, candles, statues, and live birds that you buy and set free for good luck. It was such a cool experience!!

Tomorrow I head back to Bangkok to meet Jaclyn and Mish. We plan to head up to Laos so I'll let you know how that goes.