Saigon

Saigon aka Ho Chi Mihn City was fun, even if only for two days.  We went directly to the Cu Chi Tunnels upon arrival and that was a mad house of tourists.  It was pretty sobering to see it from the ‘other’ side.  Crawling through the tunnels was a bit claustrophobic for me but still quite amazing.  I passed on shooting guns there as it just didn’t seem right.

We spent some time in the park watching people play a really cool hacky-sack type game and doing exercises.  As we were smoking a j a very very old man meandered by with his cane and gave us a look.  I handed him the joint and he took a few big tugs then handed it back, bowed and walked on…wow…did that just happen?? There was actually equipment set up in the park for people to exercise on so we decided to give them a try…funny shit.

Charlotte had to leave that evening and we were all a little sad.  Just when my French was getting decent (not really) she had to go….James, Kenny and I pressed on.  We found the fresh beer and set up shop on the corner to harass the people selling books, cigarettes and all sorts of things.  We sampled some disgusting snails and some weird shrimp type things. 

Kenny and I had to bounce back to Bangkok and James was heading to Siem Reap…he is going to have an amazing month out here.  I am sad to be going but excited to see my friends and family back home.  Plus, it isn’t too long before I head out again for my next adventure!

Looking forward to Mom’s home cooking, burritos, home grown, family, friends and the things we tend to take for granted at home…..oh my bed!!!!

Nha Trong

Nha Trang is a beach town but we didn’t hit it with the best weather.  We rented bikes the first day and headed to the sites around the city.  There were a few beautiful temples, some ruins and a nice coast line.  We stopped at a brewery for some sampling then chilled during the afternoon.  That night we all went to massages which was super fun.  We started in large barrels full of water and aroma then went to a tub then a sauna then steam bath then the massage…very relaxing and well deserved.

The following day we booked a boat trip to a few islands.  Since it was Sunday and the off-season we were one of the few tourists on the boat and it was a great time.  We went to a few islands and then the ‘floating bar’…which was actually just a guy on a buoy pouring as much wine/liquor as you could drink.  Everyone was jumping off the boat and swimming around..very fun!

We were supposed to be on a bus that night and had to deal with some BS from the bus company who was trying to over charge us.  Burma Dan may or may not have come out a little here too….I took my business elsewhere so effe them right in the A.

We had to get to Saigon and that was that.

PS.  Written at the airport waiting to go home…so this is really a crapping version of what actually went down.

Hoi An

Hoi An was a blast.  Charlotte and I arrived a day before everyone and found a great guesthouse then headed for dinner on the river.  It is beautiful along the river with floating lit statues, lanterns on the bridges and boats floating about.  The following day we walked to a few tailors that had been recommended to me and wound up choosing the one Maarten had just visited called Ants Silk.  Super nice, family owned and easy going.  I decided on 3 suits and went to work picking fabric and styles.  One is proper nice black suit (totally normal and boring), one is seersucker with matching slacks and shorts (I like it!) and the last was a totally off the wall design for Burning Man (sleeveless, embroidery, bright color collar and more!) with pants that unzip to shorts…WHOOOOP…then I went and had a few custom pair of shoes made…one for the playa and one for the black suit.  Super fun and super cheap.  Finally we stopped for food at a local restaurant the tailors had advised us about for some amazing and cheap grub. 

When Kenny finally arrived it was great to see him.  It is so fun to be hanging with one of your best friends in another country.  We promptly went to the fresh beer and got caught up on the recent events in each other’s lives.  He also decided to get fitted for a nice warm jacket, suit and shirts.  We had planned to go to the beach that day since it had been extremely hot the day before but the sun did not come out and the wind was making it very cold….super cold!

James was next to arrive and we promptly took him to get some measurements and a suit made.  We all had so much fun with the staff and each other there.  Helen also showed up with another French girl so we had a posse for the night!  We headed to a fun bar that Maarten had told me about for happy hours and free pool.  On the way home Kenny borrowed a wheelbarrow type device and gave the ladies a ride part of the way home.  We also walked past a fresh bakery every night around 2-3AM that was making fresh bread for the following day…straight from the oven to our mouths….oh yeah!!

Hoi An was great.  There wasn’t much to site-see but the town was chill and the vibe was fun.  If the weather would have been nicer then the beach would have definetly gone down…next time I guess.

Oh yeah, I broke another chair too….at our favorite restaurant Kenny showed us….this one seemed sturdier but apparently could not hold up to my ‘mum’ (Vietnamese for butt!)

So we all boarded another night bus to Nha Trang and set off. 

PS.  This is written at the airport on my way home.  I got behind….most of these stories will have to be told in person 

Nihn Bihn

The funniest part about Nihm Bihn is how we, and everyone else, pronounced it.  Maarten pretty much nailed it the first time and I can get it right from time to time but the sound is different than what one would think.  On more than one occasion we would be going back and forth with a local trying to discern if he was in fact saying Nihm Bihn or some other city that sounded similar but wasn’t the same.

When we arrived to the bus station we were all swarmed with touts trying to lour us back to their hotels.  If you know exactly what you want and can communicate it to someone who understands and will give you a free ride then it is not always a good idea to ignore them.  In this case we grabbed all their cards and decided to walk around ourselves a little first.  We finally ended where we should have started and were given a decent room by a smiling staff.  That nights dinner was really fun because we grilled our own meats on a little, portable stove while sitting in little plastic chairs on a bridge.  It was delish!

The following day we decided to rent motos and do some site seeing.  On the way out to our first destination I popped a tire…..lame…but repairing it was easy.  There happened to be a shop half a mile away and he fixed the leak for a buck in no time.  Maarten took pictures for his motorcycle repair album.  He rode a motorcycle from Saigon to Hanoi and said that there were issues almost daily with his or his partners bikes.  This was easy and we were back on the trail to Tam Coc Caves.  This was described in the guide book as ‘Halong Bay in the rice fields’ and it was exactly that!  I would highly recommend this to any traveler in Vietnam as it was cheap and beautiful.  For 3 bucks each we boarded a boat in pairs and were paddled down the river and back…through the caves and beautiful rice fields with huge rocks jutting out of them.  It was fantasatic.  Usually I am doing most of the speaking as Charlotte’s first language is French but our guides happened to only speak French so they did most of the talking and I did a lot of smiling.  It has been really fun travelling with Charlotte as she is teaching me some French and I am teaching her some ‘Californian’ (i.e. ‘totally awesome dude, I have no fucking clue, duh, WHA?! and ewww dude).

After the cave/river ride we had a delicious lunch across the street and headed to the Mua Cave and Dragon on the Hill.  It was a beautiful ride and nice hike up to the top of the hill.  Such amazing views from the summit. 

A local had told us to check out Bai Dihn even though it is still under construction so we ventured further out of town to find it.  Wow…this temple, when it is completed, will be the biggest temple in Asia (or so they say).  It was started about 4 years ago and will take another 5 to finish.  I was stunned.  The place is beyond words huge with many temples inside the walls.  Thousands of statues line the walkways and there is the biggest bell I have ever seen in the middle.  I can safely say that this will be a huge attraction when complete and worth a visit as well!

That night we managed to find the fresh beer and enjoyed a relaxing night.  The following day was our last in Nihm Bihn and our last with Maarten and Helen.  Maarten and I decided to have some ‘boys time’ and toured the city looking for ganja.  This is fun for me because it is a way to see the ‘other side’ of most cities.  We went sight seeing the previous day and went to all the major attractions and this day was spent walking down dark alleys and looking for shady dudes.  The amazing thing is that there was no ganja in the city but plenty of heroin…yuck.  I had no idea there was an international hand signal for heroin but apparently there are two…yuck…so we gave up and headed for some fresh beer and a little tutorial of South America by Maarten who has spent some time there.  We had plenty of laughs, plenty of beer and I snagged a lot of valuable information from him for my next journey.  We grabbed a snack then decided to stop at some bumper cars we had passed several times to have a go at each other.  It was so amazingly funny….we would just go in a circle and then ram into each other busting up only to push away, go in another circle and slam into each other again…this went on until I broke my ride and we had to bounce.  We rolled back to the hotel to find Helen and Charlotte sufficiently buzzed too so we turned the reception area into a little party doing youtube requests and dancing with the staff and each other.  It was hilarious.  We all headed out to grab one last meal and that turned into a laughing-fest as well.  We found a hot pot spot and ordered some chicken…the weird thing is that you don’t get a breast, leg and wing like you would in the US….the best explanation I got was that since it is a communist country, everyone gets a little of everything…bone, cartildge, head…everything just chopped into bits.  At one point during the meal Charlotte leaned over to tell me something and I broke my chair pulling her down on top of me…it was hilarious….and it wasn’t the last chair I would break in Vietnam…oi….my fat American ass doesn’t fit into many small Vietnamese chairs!?

We boarded our sleeper bus and set out for Hoi An to meet up with James and Kenny….

PS.  I am writing this as I wait to board the airplane for home….now almost two weeks after actually being in this city.  It got hard at the end to keep up with the entries.

Halong Bay

First off let me say that if you plan a trip to Halong Bay you should book it from Hanoi and trust that you will get what you pay for.  There are booze cruises and there are luxury cruises and there is everything in between.  Also, be sure to check the weather as that will play a big role in the experience.  But here is what we did….

I got back to Hanoi and formed an international posse consisting of Maarten from the Netherlands, Charlotte from France and Helen from England.  Maarten and Charlotte I had met before and Charlotte had met Helen on their trip from Hanoi to Sapa or something.  So we all decided to blaze our own trail by taking the bus from Hanoi to Hai Phong then taking a boat to Cat Ba Island and sorting it from there.  Getting to Cat Ba was pretty painless and cheap so we thought we were ahead of the game.  We arrived at sunset and it was also amazing.  Since it was low season there were plenty of expensive, beach front hotels for super cheap so we walked around and checked a few then decided on one with great views and free internet for 6 bucks a night.  The guy who had ‘recruited’ us to his hotel also offered to by us a local dinner so he escorted us to a very quiet area with no tourists and sat us down at some tables.  Before we knew it there were plates of all kinds of random and delicious things.  We spoke with him at length about boat tours, hiking tours and transportation to our next destination (Ninh Binh).  We negotiated for a long time (becoming very typical here in SE Asia) before agreeing on a boat tour the following day, hike the next (weather permitting) and a bus-boat-bus ride to Ninh Binh.  After tiring negotiations we headed to the fresh beer for some relaxation.  Helen managed to place one leg of her chair in a hole and went ass-over-tea kettle onto the street, knocking a bike on top of her…all very funny once we confirmed she was ok!!   Every city has fresh beer stalls and I LOVE IT!  We played a few drinking games (one of which will definitely be coming home with me) and talked about travel, TV and ancient trendy movies.

We woke bright and early the following morning, grabbed a quick breakfast (actually it was painfully slow as we watched the Vietnamese style coffee drip so pathetically slowly that by the end the coffee was warm and we were finished eating…oi), and boarded our ‘private boat’….well that turned out to be a little fisherman dude’s rickety-ass boat but we thought, ‘what the heck, here comes adventure!’.  He spoke no English and stopped on the way out of the floating village to pick up what appeared to be his wife.  We plan was to see some amazing landscapes, kayak in some amazing caves and grottos, lunch at the floating fisherman village, chillin on amazing beaches and kayaking in a different bay….we were all excited.  All of a sudden as we set out of the bay our captain steers the boat in a different direction and starts looking a little nervous.  Using hand signals we are able to ascertain that he sees a police boat out in the direction we are heading and doesn’t want to get busted….at that point we realized that this was probably not a licensed tour boat and we were probably going to have to deal with some shit.  He steered us around a rock formation, put down the ‘blinds’ and we basically hid out for 45 minutes during which the wife offered some of the most bitter tea I have ever tasted.  Finally the coast was clear (hahah, literally) and we headed for the landscape.  The boat was ridiculously slow but the scenery was amazing.  It was slightly hazy….not foggy by any means but not perfectly clear.  I can imagine Halong on a beautiful hot sunny day being absolutely amazing.  We enjoyed the quiet serenity. 

Instead of kayaking the caves then eating, we went straight to the fisherman’s village for some lunch.  That was ridiculous as they were trying to rip us off on the cost of the fish…Everyone is yelling at everyone else and no one is communicating at all due to language barriers.  I got on the phone with our receptionist dude and told him how horrible this was and he then talked to the driver to talk to the fisher-people…jeeeez, we were hungry and finally just paid the 20 bones for a fish and some rice.  It was a hairy situation where I turned into ‘Burma Dan’ as Maarten calls it.  Not sure how much I went into it during that chapter but I hit a wall at one point with our guide and was about to tell the whole country to piss-off and just leave.  I know we are tourists and pay more for everything but I hate being blatantly taken advantage of and this fish was definitely one of those times.

The caves and scenery on the kayaks made up for everything.  It was so beautiful to paddle through low caves with stalactites and beautiful water into lagoons with walls that went straight up.  We all took a swim in the most beautiful lagoon and thoroughly enjoyed our time away from the ‘guide/tour’ and on our own.

We were supposed to go to another part of the island and do some kayaking and beach chilling but the whole ordeal with the cops coupled with the slow moving boat, long fisherman negotiations and the fact that our ‘guide’ was lost several times; made it so we were not able to do any of that and had to head home.  It was a great day but not ideal and so we spoke with our tour planner about a refund.  He gave us some money back and apologized for the service but it was still pretty pathetic.  We boarded a bus the following morning to get a boat to get a small bus to get a regular bus to Nimh Binh.  NEXT STOP!!

Vang Vieng, Laos (Round 2)

The following morning we boarded a bus to Vang Vieng.  I had forgotten how horrible the bus ride was and at one point heard puking behind us.  Without turning around I knew it was a local as they are the only ones I ever see sick on bus rides.  I think they aren’t used to moving that fast and bouncing around that much.  We arrived late in the afternoon and realized that it was very busy just as in LP.  It was a bit difficult to find a guesthouse but we managed, dropped our bags and headed out on the town for dinner and drinks.  We started at a bar I had spent some time at the last time called Jaidee’s Bar where Jaidee is the owner and always there.  I remembered him and his sons (DeeJai and Jameson) and he immediately poured us free Jaidee bombs poured in a very theatrical way and gave  us a free cigarette*.  Then it was time to eat and inspect the town.  A lot had changed since the last time I was there.  More hotels, new bridges and a lower river to name a few. 

We decided to do the ‘tubing’ the following day so woke up bright n early, changed guesthouses (ours seemed to have a house full of roosters next door) and went to the ATM (there are only 3 in town) to grab cash.  First off, we upgraded our accommodation big time.  We moved across the river to a brand new bungalow with an amazing view of the mountains.  The cash wasn’t so easy.  It was Sunday and apparently all the ATM’s had been cleaned out over the weekend.  No one could get cash anywhere.  We were worried that there wouldn’t be enough for tubes and beer but we had no choice so we went to the shop, bargained for only having to leave half the tube deposit and set off on the tuk tuk for the top of the river ride.  A friend had told me that you don’t even need a tube to do the ride as most of the bars are at the beginning and you can walk between them…I didn’t listen…you should.  Unless you don’t really want to hang at the bars and actually want to spend 2+ hours floating down the river (and it was too shallow in parts to even get your butt over the rocks we heard) then skip the tube and just go bar hopping on the river. 

This was an experience.  Colby and I skipped it the first time around cause we thought it was too ‘drunken frat tourist’ like…and it was…but we knew it and wanted to experience it.  The first bar (appropriately named Bar 1) had a big rope swing and beer pong.  We were given free beer for the game and proceeded to lose very slowly…then I did a back dive off the rope swing (not smart I later found out) and headed via tube across the river to Bar 2….you can just walk across the bridge.  This bar had the biggest rope swing on the river and was super cool.  I was busting back flips off the swing and we grabbed some grub along with a bought a beer each.  It appeared we were just ahead of the ‘party’ and this is what I recommend.  See, what each bar does is ‘employ’ tourists-turned-locals to ‘work’ at the bar by basically drinking and having fun because if you look at a bar across the river and it seems popping then that is what draws the crowd.  Since we were just ahead of the frat kids we were meeting the workers and getting most drinks free.  We walked to Bar 3 which apparently had the best beer pong table and hung there for too long…the frat guys caught up with us…and it started getting ugly…dudes puking, drunken girls stumbling into each other and plenty of bandages from dangerous maneuvers off rope swings.  We promptly bounced after a dude puked on the floor then put the ping pong ball for beer pong in his mouth and tried to spit it across the table to the team’s cups….yuck.  Back on the tubes to bar 4 which has the biggest slide on the river.  No crowds and good times!  I wanted to go head first off the slide and try a front flip so I climbed up the 30-40ft and dove down the slide.  When I launched off the bottom (about 12 feet) I rolled forward and wound up doing a full flip and a quarter which means my face and chest slapped the water pretty hard…hard enough to give myself a black eye..wow…when was the last time I had a black eye??  Anyone??  Obviously, after a day like that, the evening was mellow. 

The next day we rented motos and headed out to the blue lagoon and caves that Colby and I had visited before.  The water is an amazing blue and the caves are fairly cool and a nice hike straight up the mountain.  That evening saw Rachel enjoying her first bucket of booze at the bucket bar and then a few other bars before folding it in again.  We had to jump a bus the next afternoon back to LP and then back to Hanoi the following morning.

The bus ride back was pretty bad as three small local kids in the front seat couldn’t stop puking the whole way.  This, I think, caused Rachel to be sick on more than one occasion and none of it was pretty.  Rough…ouch…but we made it back to LP and to our guesthouse to pass out. 

The day we were leaving for Vang Vieng, Thi took us to the small waterfall to swim and look around.  This one dries up in the ‘dry season’ and was quite low..and cold..but nice to swim for a few and look around.

Luang Prabang, Laos (Round 2!)

I had such a good time in Laos and made some great friends so we decided to go back for a visit.  Flight from Hanoi to LP was no problem.  The airport is so small in LP, we were the only plane!  I think there were as many passengers on board as people working there.  Upon exiting the airport I spotted Tom with a sign saying ‘California Dan’.  We both laughed and hugged each other, then set off into town.  I felt very comfortable coming back here and feel like I know the area well.  We found great accommodation and went to Phone Travel to check out our tour options.  There were a few things I noticed off the bat; one was the river being very low and two, the streets being very crowded.  Phone had been busy and more than a few recommendations had come from ‘California Dan’.  When we showed up to the office Thi was very happy to see me.  The funny thing is that last time Colby and I were here, I was convinced his name was Dhi….Colby even said he thought it was Thi but I was sure of it being Dhi….well, found out it is Thi but sounds a lot like Dhi when they say it.  They took us out to the large waterfall for free in the afternoon where we hiked and jumped from the cliffs and rope swing.  The water was a beautiful blue green and it was stunning.  We decided to do the elephant trek the following day and got the VIP service again.  Since it is high season they are sometimes having groups of 6 out there to do the all day elephant experience.  The problem with 6 people is that there are only 3 elephants and one of the best things about it is getting your own elephant for the day.  Sooooo, they agreed to only add 1 person to our trip and gave us a discount on the price!  That next morning we met Stefan from France and all set of for the trek.  It was amazing again.  I was able to pick Miss On (my elephant from last time) out of the line-up.  I also brought pictures of my last trip for everyone to share.  Some for Thi and his family and some for Tom and his family.  Everyone was excited to see the pics and we all joked about them.   The trek was beautiful as the weather has changed and the leaves are a different color.  We went up into the mountains then descended back to camp.  It was a fun ride and my mahout brought a really cool instrument that is only made in Thi’s village.  It is a buffalo horn but there is a slit in the middle and a reed placed in there.  So both ends are open and you breathe in and out to make sounds.  Super cool.  After a traditional lao lunch (better than last time) we did the mahout training and a show of what the elephants are capable of.  Turns out these elephants used to be used for labor and were brought here to this camp 3 years ago.  This must be heaven for them.  They did show us that the elephants are capable of carrying large loads and moving heavy lumber.  It was cool.  Then the best part…we went down to the Mekong River (which was very low) and did some swimming with the elephants!!  Last time there was one elephant that was very good at shaking his head to bump you off.  We played like bull riders and all had tons of laughs.  The thing is, this time he was way way better at it.  No one could stay on and I got tossed a few times pretty hard.  It was hilarious and exhausting so we headed back for a chill night at Utopia and some great conversations with other travelers and passerby’s. 

At some point during the day Stefan and Tom started talking about Patank (patang or something) which sounded to me a lot like bocce ball.  Apparently Tom was amazing and Stefan thought himself to be fairly good too.  We decided that night to see what we were made of so the 5 of us (Tom, Thi, Stefan, Rachel and I) headed to a Patank bar and grabbed a ‘field’.  It was the farangs vs. the locals.  Foreigners vs. Locals…we mopped the floor with them two out of three games  `It was Stefan and I vs. Tom and Thi and after our best of three match Rachel wanted to join in so her and I took on Tom and Thi.  Tom predicted a 7-0 skunk and that is exactly what happened….except for that it was Rachel and II with 7 and them with 0!!!

We had to get up bright and early the next morning to rent moto bikes and check out Tom’s village.  Thongpet aka Tom is Khmu and his village was about a 20 minute moto bike road out into the cuts.  We rolled into his village and everyone came out to say hello.  It was so cool!  He introduced us to his father and sister’s and nieces and nephews then toured us around their very modest home.  Tom then mentioned that Khmu people do home-brew….WHA!!  I wanted to see it all…the ingredients, the process and taste the finished product.  They use rice as their base then add some yeast after soaking it for a few days then place the mix in a pot and seal it with wet ash/cement for 1 week at which time it is ready for drinking.  They have two kinds so we grabbed a pot of each to do a taste test.  I also picked up some yeast to bring home and play with (and also for the home brewer friends of mine) so that will be interesting. 

On the way out to his village we stopped along the road at a ‘market’ to pick up food which was buffalo meat, buffalo innards (couldn’t really get a specific on that but it looked like stomach or intestines) and some vegetables.  After tasting some beer we had a delish lunch with Tom and his friends.  The leader of the village came by to say hello and we started eating and drinking….and drinking….home brew and lao lao….might not have been the best idea because all of a sudden half the village was in Tom’s house and drunk.  We were dancing traditional Laos style and laughing a lot.  We had planned to go back to LP later in the afternoon but decided that we were all too buzzed to drive back and had to stay the night.  That was an ordeal that I didn’t have to deal with.  See Rachel had gotten sick after lunch and drinking then took a nap….after a bit more drinking with the boys it was my turn for a nap.  Apparently neither Tom nor Rachel could wake me in the evening to go speak with the police and village leader so Rachel and Tom had to deal with it on their own.  The thing is that when you do a ‘home stay’ you have a note from the travel agency and have paid fees in advance.  We didn’t have a piece of paper ‘ok-ing’ us to stay the night and Rachel had to pay off the police…about 5 bucks I think.  Then she and Tom had to pay the village leader a few bucks and we were good to go….Round two…more drinking, food, dancing and laughing.  Tom’s mom had come back from collecting and selling mushrooms so we all got to hang with each other.  Rachel had started to braid the girls hair and eventually had a small line waiting for her services while Tom, his friends and I sat across the floor tossing back beer and lao lao in a traditional style which means one glass shared around the group…very cool.  We all drank too much and this was the first time that I wasn’t happy with it.  I woke up the next morning with a few missing parts of the night but apparently we all had fun and went to bed without too much of a fuss.  We were all super hung-over the next morning as everyone aside from me had been sick at one point during the day/night.  At 7AM we jumped back on the bikes and headed back to town.  What a day and night.  Crazy fun. 

That evening Thi invited us to his house for dinner.  He lives with his sister and her husband (the owners of Phone Travel) along with a few other family members.  Right upon entering, Tom walks up to me with a  spoon and shoves it in my face….it is a cat’s paw and they eat it…not a cat like in your house but a jungle cat they assured me.  I tried it but didn’t find much meat and wasn’t into chewing cartilage and bone.  Dinner consisted of cooked duck in duck blood, cat bits, vegetables, rice and snails.  The snails were my favorite part and had been cooked with the perfect seasoning.  After a few beers and dinner we called it a night early as we were all still hurting a little from the previous night’s festivities.

Colby request that I grab him some herb used as an ingredient in the peanut/liver sauce we ate with goat and duck (and I had with dog) so I asked if Thi could grab it at the morning market and leave it at the travel agency…no problem he said.  I was expecting a small, sealed bag of peppercorn type things but was given what could be described as a dried bouquet of flowers….what the effe am I supposed to do with this?!  I couldn’t put it in my backpack cause then everything would smell like Maw-Can so I had to strap it on the outside of my small bag….and have been carrying it around ever since.  I am going to log the travels of this herb as it has already been aboard a flight, 3 buses, 2 mini buses, and 2 boats….and I haven’t been the only one schlepping it around as Maarten was helping me with my luggage from Halong to Nihm Bihn.  Anyway, off to Vang Vieng…round 2~!!!

Sa Pa, Vietnam

We had heard the weather was bad in Sapa so we put it off for a few days then made the trek.  It was a fun overnight train ride and we had a sleeper with comfy beds.  Unfortunately the weather was not ideal.  It was a bit rainy and foggy almost every day.  I found a super cheap guest house that was nice and served the best pho I have had thus far.  Queen Hotel.  We did a little shopping there as some things are super cheap.  There are a ton of North Face stores with cheap gear and a market selling everything for a cheap, once negotiated price.  You know you aren’t getting a good deal unless the person is pissed with you by the end of the transaction.  Only then do you know for sure that you got a decent deal!  Instead of hiring a guide through the guesthouse we picked a young girl from the crowd that mobbed the bus upon arrival.  It was something about her smile and positive energy that drew both of us to Yay.  She is a 15 year old Hmong girl and the oldest in her family.  She took us on a trek that was meant to be two days but we did it in one.  About 15km through trails with no other tourists.  We passed through three different hill tribe villages before we got to her village where she proceeded to cook us a late lunch at her house.  That was amazing.  Her mother was there, her younger brothers were running around and we were just posted watching her cook for us some delish soup.  This was OG….totally off the radar and super cool.  As traditional as it gets.  Open fire for cooking, etc.  At one point her youngest brother grabbed a burning stick from the fire and set her other brothers hair on fire….which was pretty funny but not at the same time (y’know).  On the way home I sported a traditional scarf-type thing around my head, fashioned by Yay….I think it might be a female thing though because not only was everyone staring at me but a few muttered ‘lady boy’ under their breath as they walked past.  I liked the colors and didn’t mind the mocking much.  We were so happy with her that we developed some photos, wrote raving reviews about how awesome she is and then had them laminated for her.  I hope she makes loads of money as she is super sweet and super fun to hang with.  Her English was decent too!

Hanoi, Vietnam

GOOOOOOD MOOOORNING VIETNAM!!!  Actually it was evening when I arrived but that phrase was stuck in my head.  So it has worked out perfectly for me with travel companions.  I have gone from one burner to another burner and will be meeting another burner.  First was Super Nat in Phi Phi and Similan then I met up with Rachel here in Hanoi and soon I will be kicking it with Kenny D for the last leg of my trip.  Now that I think of it, there is a chance I will be meeting another burner my last day in Bangkok…James.

So, anyway, again I have let the journaling go down on my priority list and have fallen very far behind.  We met at the airport and went straight to our hotel.  This time I booked in advance so we wouldn’t have to deal with bargain hunting which was nice.  Turned out to be the nicest hotel I have stayed in thus far! The staff was super cool to us and very helpful.  The first day we grabbed a map and walked around the lake.  We also went to the little museum in the middle of the lake which housed a preserved giant tortoise.  Later in the week we actually saw a real one in the lake.  There was a crowd and we decided to go see what they were looking at.  There it was, a giant tortoise floating in the water and when it stuck its head up for air everyone was snapping photos and gasping. 

The street food was great too.  We had pho for less than a dollar on the street, we had some delish soup for about a buck on the street and we also did some BBQing on the street.  That was interesting.  I tried cow udder.  Not bad, a little chewy but good once it was cooked up.  My favorite part of Hanoi is the Bia Hoi at night.  Basically they pull some kegs out, set up some super small plastic chairs and serve fresh beer for 25cents on a few corners in the old part of town.  Delish Beer Hanoi.  Almost every night we would toss back a few and meet some new travelers/teachers/locals.  Sounds like Vietnam is the best place to teach as they pay well so I am now considering that after the travelling and before going back to the bay…we will see!

So we rented motos to check out the town.  First let me speak about the traffic.  IT IS INSANE.  You just have to step onto the street and walk at an even pace through the mob of motos, cyclos and cars.  Mostly motos though.  So it was really fun to make it across any street and a little crazy.  Ok, so we rented motos.  I assumed we would just get one and I would drive but Rachel wanted her own.  Cool, no problem.  One manual for me and an automatic for her.  It wasn’t until we were at the gas station that she tells me she has never driven a moto before….WHAT??!  So not only is this her first time driving but it is in the most insane traffic I have ever witnessed (Rome is second but not a close second).

We cruised around to a few sites and at one point I pulled over to check the map.  Now I had seen what looked like a bamboo bong all over the place with men smoking them.  I had a feeling it wasn’t ganja but we decided to hop off the bikes and investigate.  No one spoke English but they gladly loaded it with tobacco and handed it to me.  That fucked me up.  I don’t smoke tobacco and the head rush made me sweat and super dizzy…whoa…After that we wound our way through some very narrow alleys in a totally ‘off the radar’ part of town.  Very cool and also kinda hairy as you can’t see around corners and have to pass at a very slow pace.  We stopped for a snack on the lake and Rachel gave herself a Hanoi Tattoo…which means she backed into my muffler and burned her calf pretty badly.  It is healing alright with no infection so that is good…but ow…looks like it hurt!

The interesting thing about Vietnam is that no one speaks English.  In all the other countries I have visited you can find one in a group of five that has a basic understanding of English but not here in Vietnam.  We went to the revolutionary museum, the imperial and artifact museum and tried to find the B-52 lake but it was closed for some reason.  At lunch one day we walked into a place packed with locals, no tourists (just my scene) and were escorted to the end of a full table.  The waitress basically told us what to order and then all the people at the table started pouring us shots of a digestive type alcohol.  Super cool…no English…anywhere.  We also went to the water puppet show one afternoon which was super cool.  Super cheap and totally worth it.

One day we decided to take the motos and try to find the Beer Hanoi brewery.  I wanted a tour.  We were given basic directions but it was off the map we had so once we got close it got interesting.  On more than one occasion we would stop and ask someone where the beer Hanoi brewery is (actually I had the receptionist write the phrase down for me so I would just show them that).  Always they would say 2 kilometers and point in a direction.  After about the 5^th time we were able to get the address of the place and I found a dude who said he knew where it was (sign language said it of course).  I gave him a dollar to escort us there and can assure you that there is no way we would have found it…no way.  Unfortunately we couldn’t get a tour so we just had a beer or two and headed out.  The journey, not the destination as it were.

Around the lake and at the botanical garden we saw tons of what looked like people taking wedding photos.  Apparently this is wedding season and they go all out for the photos.  Several outfits, full on camera crew, lots of flowers.  I would venture to guess we saw at least 30 separate wedding photo sessions.

We also did a lot of shopping while in Hanoi.  Since Rachel is a burner too we were all about finding cool burning man gear…and we definitely did.  Along with a shit ton of other stuff.  So much that we had to buy a separate suitcase for all the shit.  So, if you are reading this, I have something for you…and you and you! 

On our last day in Hanoi, Rachel decided she wanted a ruby ring as this seemed to be the place to buy them.  We went to the Ruby Mall which is about 12 floors of ruby dealers and looked around.  Finally we decided on a store and Rachel had a custom ring developed and produced in less than 9 hours.  We came back that evening to pick it up and had some delish sushi on the 18^th floor of this building with an amazing view. 

Then we headed to Sapa!!

Kho Phi Phi, Phuket and The Similan Islands

Kho Phi Phi, Phuket and The Similan Islands

Wow…really…whoa…where the effe am I??  Could this be heaven?  I went straight from Cambodia to one night of partying at the Blues Bar for Taylor’s bon voyage in Bangkok (10 hour bus ride and border experience) then got up super early the next morning and caught a plane to Phuket to meet a friend who had decided that Phuket was lame and went to Kho Phi Phi.  Natalie is an old Burning Man friend and San Franciscan who also happens to be a dive instructor and is about to start working somewhere here in Asia (after our time on Phi Phi, I think that is where she will land).  I went straight to Kho Phi Phi and stepped off the boat in Paradise and backpacker heaven.  It was absolutely beautiful and the island has a very small tourist area.  I ran into people that I have met along my trip.  People from Laos, Northern Thailand and Cambodia all happened to be there…WHAT….The first night we explored the beach bars and landed at Stone’s due to their excellent music…drum n bass baby and it was PUMPING.  You can buy spliffs at the bar along with your brew.  It started raining a little during the night and we were all laughing and dancing in the rain on the beach..WHAT!

The people one encounters while backpacking are like no others (except for Burners).  Any given night at a bar or club ends with groups of strangers buying each other drinks and discussing the ‘must-dos’ at any given spot.  Relationships are forged quickly as usually most of the day (and sometimes the night if you are sharing rooms) is spent with your travelling companions.  Community is a very important thing to me and I think that is one of the reasons I enjoy travelling so much.

The following day Natalie took me down to the water for my refresher course* for SCUBA which went extremely well.  It is such an amazing experience to breath underwater.  I had no problem with the beginning skills and techniques.  It was super cool to have Natalie there giving me the run down at my pace (which is a little quicker than a group class).  After our first successful dive we celebrated again on the beach dancing.  This time we learned and would buy beer at the liquor store next to the club for a quarter of the price and then just bring it back to the club.  Natalie had another friend show up too so we had a great group.  Hugo is a French Canadian, world traveler, hilarious and sensual beast.  One favorite quote from Hugo was, ‘I like podiums.  They have good podiums here.’  He is a salsa instructor and fit man who loves to shake his hips for everyone.  He exudes sensual sexiness and we all love it.  Another favorite line of his is, ‘This (beer, food etc) . .. .c'est comme un petit jesus en culottes de velours qui vous descend dans le gosier.’  This loosely translates to whatever you are eating tastes so good that it is like Jesus wearing velour pants sliding down your throat…whoa-day!! So hilarious and such a great time.

The next day we went on a boat out to Phi Phi Don Island vicinity for two dives.  Such a great time.  Our dive master/lead knew that Natalie was an instructor and we were all comfortable so she had a great time.  Our instructor, Eve, is from Munich and was super fun.  On our first dive we saw all kinds of amazing animals and plant life.  For lunch we went to Maya Bay and checked out the beach where they filmed ‘The Beach’..super AMAZING and absolutely gorgeous.  I was on such a high after the dive and the second dive kept me going.  Everyone but me saw a black-tipped fin shark on the second dive…no worries.  The time goes by so quickly underwater.

That night we had the partying down to a science and it was also the half moon.  Kho Phen Nagn is known for the full moon parties and Kho Phi Phi is known for the half moon parties.  The island was buzzing!  After a delicious dinner at our new favorite spot we headed to a new bar on the beach to ‘warm-up’.  A few beers from the liquor store across the street and a special hookah while we lay on cushions in the sand and watched an amazing fire show.  These guys were all talented and tossing their fire all over the place.  When we started feeling the itch to dance we made our way across the island to the club beach.  Another trick we learned is to pick up the flyers during the walk.  Every flyer tells you when a bar will be offering a free drink/bucket/shot.  If you time it right and keep a decent pace then you can drink free from 9:30 to 11!!  We stumbled upon our dive instructor and all started dancing wildly.  We also stumbled upon some glow paint and black lights, a few podiums (for Hugo) and a whole lot of people having a great time.  There is something truly special about dancing to great music in the sand, on an amazing beach, with an amazing scene around you.

The next day we bounced from Phi Phi and headed back to Phuket for the night before our live-aboard in the Similan Islands.  It was a mellow night.  I stayed on a street near Patong Beach that is the ‘Israeli  Street.’  Apart from the Chabad, every guesthouse and restaurant has Hebrew all over it.  We had some decent Mediterranean food then headed down to Patong Beach to check the scene.  Bangla Street is insane.  There are all kinds of hookers, bars, strip clubs and dark doors with big guys standing out front.  Needless to say it was madness, even on a Monday night.  I was happy to be in bed by 11PM and was up at 6 for the bus.  We took a speed boat from mainland to the Similan Islands where our boat was waiting.  At this point there were 4 in our group; Me, Natalie, Hugo and a cool Israeli guy we met at the guesthouse named Daniel.  Once we boarded, we realized that there was no one else sharing our cruise.  There is more staff on this ship than passengers.  IT IS THE SHIZNITO!!

4 dives our first day, no problem.  Delicious food after every dive, great music and an amazing vibe.  A dive master on the boat named Andy is from Germany.  He looks like an old rocker and we started talking about music.  Apparently he is huge into dancehall and goes to the biggest dancehall/reggae festival in Europe every year (happens to be in Koln, Germany which is a favorite of mine!!).  In no time we were sharing mixes and swapping hard drives.  The second day Hugo and I got deep water certified when we did a dive down to 30 meters and checked out a wreck. Super effing cool!  More dives during the day then a night dive after sunset.  That was another amazing experience.  There are huge statues on the bottom of the ocean in memory of the tsunami victims.  The coral has already taken them over and, in the dark, gives an eerie feeling.  Tons of huge moray eels.  Tons of Lionfish.  Tons of blowfish and boxfish.  Tons of wildlife which blows my mind because the dive instructor on board says this is the very beginning of the season and most of the marine life hasn‘t arrived yet.

Every evening we watch DVD’s on the galley.  Every morning we wake to the sunrise out the window and only have enough time to gulp down a cup of coffee before diving back in at 7AM.  Is this heaven?  I can tell that SCUBA will be a big part of my trip from here on out.

The morning dive today was beautiful with a few swim throughs and a baby sea turtle spotting.  I have been working on my breathing as I seem to be the first one low on air every dive.  Finally getting my bouncy neutral and breathing regular.  One more dive then I will sit the last one out due to my flights tomorrow morning.  I have been chilling on a boat with my crew for the last 3 days and it is beyond words.  Every dive, every meal, every beat and every conversation are amazingly happy, positive and delicious.

Battambang, Cambodia

 What a fun few days in Battambang.  I arrived late in the evening and met friends at a local bar for a ‘bon voyage’ party.  This is a  group of volunteers I met in Siem Reap and they are all wrapping up their time in Cambodia and getting ready to set out for some travels.  It was a fairly early night for me as I needed to dry out after my time in Sihanoukville.  We got up the following morning and hired a tuk tuk that had been recommended.  Tony the tuk tuk driver is the shiznito and I highly suggest that you use him if you go to Battambang.  He will take you to do anything and everything, speaks great English and has a good sense of humor.  We started at the only winery in Cambodia which wasn’t much of a winery at all.  The two kinds they had tasted more like red wine vinegar than red wine….the brandy was good though so I bought a bottle and we headed out for some adventure eating.

We had heard that Tony can take you to eat snake so we asked about it and he obliged.  After cruising out of town for a bit and down a dirt road we pulled up to our jungle restaurant with an amazing view of the rice fields and nature.  We selected a few snakes from a barrel and they began to cook them up.  Snake was difficult to eat and had a lot of bones.  The liver tastes like any other liver and the meat doesn’t have much flavor.  The lemon-pepper dipping sauce was delish though and in no time we were grubbin on the skin and everything.  Then we decided to try some fried jungle rat.  This isn’t the kind you find behind the fridge at home, these beasts live in the wild and can grow quite large.  They were gutted then butterflied then deep fried and at first tasted like turkey…then the meat didn’t taste so good.  Again we tried the liver which tasted like liver.  Next was our huge snake plate consisting of chopped snake with basil, pepper and lemongrass…SO GOOD!  Then we decided to try heron…yeah that pretty white bird flying in the distance…GET OVER HERE!!  Tony convinced me to eat the head and after his tutorial, I gave it a shot….super crunchy and the brains had a funny consistency.  Also ate the heart and liver.  The heron was fried too and had a ‘bird like’ flavor.

We rented a moto that evening and I had my first Cambodian driving experience.  The best description of the traffic there is that it flows like a river.  No attention to signs, signals and lanes but flowing perfectly.  The fact is that if there is an opening then you have to take it and can’t hesitate.  We became regulars at the local bar and the owner was quite entertaining.  The first night they had a kiddy pool with little floating fish and magnet fishing poles.  Late in the evening he ran out from behind the bar with only his underwear on and belly flopped in the pool!@!  Then he was pretending to be a shark..all hilarious.

The following day I took the moto out to the bamboo railroad but got a little lost.  Not sure what I was expecting to see (a huge neon arrow and sign reading ‘This way to BAMBOO RAILROAD’) but I didn’t see anything that looked like the right way.  Turns out I was given bogus directions from the moto spot and also that there are several set up in Battambang.  Basically anywhere that the railroad is still intact is now being used as a ‘bamboo railroad’ which means they put a bamboo platform on some wheels and roll it down by motor about 15km.  Fun experience but nothing crazy and a bit expensive.  I wouldn’t say it is a ‘must do’ at all.

Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Amazing.  What can I say….wowzer.  So I arrived Saturday around 10 after an easy van ride from Kampot.  Upon arrival I went to a few guesthouses that were recommended.  Sebastian had lived at Utopia for 3 months so that is where I went first.  He’s somewhat of a legend there as I dropped his name and was given a warm reception at the bar.  A bit much for me and I am not on that strict of a budget.  The dorms had 40 beds and it looked like ‘night of the living dead’ with people sprawled out everywhere.  The second suggestion was a place across the street called Monkey Republic.  They only had triple rooms but a guy on my van ride and I decided to share…for 7 bucks total a night.  We dropped our bags and put on swim suits then headed to the beach with a few other people from the van that had unloaded at monkey republic.  It was an amazingly beautiful day and the sun was in full effect.  I had been worried about the weather as the forecast called for rain and clouds so the sun was a welcomed surprise.  We headed past all the chairs and umbrellas to a strip of beach with few people.  The water was warm and amazing.  It felt so nice and like Spring Break in Mexico.  Since my friends from Chang Rai/Burma were going to rendezvous with me here, I decided to head back and look for them.  Sure enough, they were sitting at Utopia when I walked in.  What an amazing thing.   Joost, Maarten and Maria along with a few other travelers they had collected along the way.  Another Dutch guy named Renee and a German girl name Lina.  We toasted a round or two then they swapped into their suits and we headed back to the beach.  We had a large group in no time lounging on the beach…all throughouly enjoying ourselves.  We stayed there until the sun set (which was amazing) then headed back to regroup for the night time.  We grubbed a great dinner at Monkey Republic and shot several games of pool before bar hopping around the beach and ending up at Utopia.  The music was pumping everywhere and everyone was having a great time.  Aside from the massive amount of hookers, the vibe was laid back and happy.  Maria pulled a disappearing act on more than one occasion, always returning with bruises from her lack of coordination.  By the end of the night it was just Maarten, Maria and I so we decided to head over to 24/7 pizza for a few happy slices.  That turned in to 3 pizzas and lounging on the couches watching Big Lebowski…god I love that movie!  By 4 we were done for and all retired.  Looking back on that day it feels like we crammed a few days worth of activity into it…definetly a few days worth of drinking!@  Sunday started slow with breakfast then we all decided to hop a tuk tuk to another, more remote beach.  8 of us on 1 tuk tuk was a bit much but definetly a funny ride.  The beach was supposedly on Forbes top 20 beaches in SE Asia but I didn’t see it.  My favorite part was the super clear water.  Such a relaxing day of chilling on the beach laughing and playing with each other.    We all went back to for happy pizza again at dinner time and that kind of set the mood for the rest of the night….set like….duuuhhhhhhhh……needless to say it was mellow.  We played pool, drank whiskey and watched some fire handlers. 

We tried to go to the brewery the following day but had no luck.  I begged, pleaded and even tried to bribe my way in there but no one would go for it.  Dejected we settled for a couple across the street.  Since my next destination is Battambang I had been looking for a way there.  The only bus leaves at 8AM every morning and takes 10 hours to get there.  I was not interested in losing a whole day and was having too much fun with my friends to leave this morning at 8 but I knew I still wanted to get out so I pulled a move….I hired a car and driver to take me the 10 hours…not cheap but definetly cheaper than anywhere else in the world and totally worth it.  So here is where I sit…in the back of my ride getting driven to Battambang from Sihanoukville…. BIG TIMER!!

Kampot, Kep and Rabbit Island

Kampot, Kep and Koh Tonsay (Rabbit Island)

I love Cambodia and now feel that I am experiencing it at its true, raw nature.  I bounced from Phnom Pehn a little sad and ready for some relaxation at the beach areas.  The bus took me to Kampot and I grabbed a tuk tuk headed for a few guesthouses that had been recommended.  All 3 were booked so I went with the recommendation of my driver and stayed at a nice spot near the water.  I walked to the market for some exercise and enjoyed the drizzle.  The market had some of the most nasty smells I have ever had the luxury of inhaling.  Meat, fish, fruit, dried stuff and all kinds of other things I couldn’t tell mixing with trash and piles of burning trash…not very beautiful but still an experience.  After the market I headed to a restaurant recommended to me.  Kampot is famous for their pepper plantations so I ordered some delish grub consisting of mainly pepper.  After dinner I stopped by a bar that had been recommended for 1 beer and a small conversation with the owner who is a nice Dutch guy.  I crawled into bed early and picked up my book, itching my arm without even thinking about the rash.  I actually had the thought that I would rather have a rash than a stomach ache…famous last thought as that night turned into a rough one with me getting sick, super sweaty and then making frequent runs to the toilet.  Thank god I went for my own bathroom/bedroom as opposed to the shared bathroom.  The night was rough but I woke the next morning feeling like whatever was in me was now out.  I grabbed my tuk tuk and we headed to a different guesthouse that had been recommended outside of town.  My plan was to drop my bags there and pack a small pack to take to the island with me.  It worked out perfectly as they were booked that night (who cares) but had a room available the following night.  They were ok with me leaving my stuff so I unloaded, reloaded and bounced.  We headed to the pepper plantation first which was anti-climatic but still cool to see.  They were trying to sell me some pepper but it seemed too expensive and I didn’t go for it.  After we cruised to Kep and the crab market for lunch…guess what I had…crab and peppercorns…so bomb.  I sat right on the water.  Then my driver took me to the dock where I chartered my own boat to the island.

-àInteresting side note:  Everything is negotiable here in Southeast Asia (unless you are in 7/11).  If you pay full price for anything then you are over-paying.  Sometimes it is just worth the extra few dollars to pay and get on with it but sometimes it is part of the fun.  Also, since I am alone now, things are more expensive because the rides, etc cannot be shared.

SOooo my boat took us to Rabbit Island off the coast of Kep.  It was magnificent.  I jumped off the boat and a woman came to ask if I needed accommodation.  After negotiations we decided on a private bungalow for me where I dropped my bags, put on my suit and headed out for a walk.  I decided to head along the beach then continued on a trail…then I started blazing my own trail.  I wasn’t sure how big the island was but it didn’t seem that large.  About what I considered ¾ of the way around I realized that I would be getting to a part with no coastline or beach as the maingrove trees had taken over.  Up until that point the walk was either on sand or, mostly, on super rough dried coral.  When I hit the rough part I saw a couple of guys ahead of me and after polite ‘hellos’ I asked hopefully if they had come from the other way…no such luck, they had come from the way I did and were turning around as there was no way through the nasty marsh.  I peered into the thick forest and reckoned that it was dense but not impossible…they turned around and I charged through.  It was rough and I probably wouldn’t do it again as I was crawling, jumping and running through the marsh with tons of mosquitoes and a nasty smell of water, shit and rotting stuff.  I popped out on the other side and continued on, thinking that every point would be the last one…only to find another.  It was a long walk but I felt a sense of accomplishment when I made it back to ‘camp’ and rewarded myself with a dip in the warm water.

I think it is easy to say I am a social creature.  I love nothing more than to hang with friends and family.  That being said, the moments I am alone are rare and special to me.  I truly have been enjoying my time alone.  Not talking to anyone (not being rude by any means) and just enjoying my thoughts and quiet.  The last two days on the island and in Kampot have been extremely relaxing for me.  Lots of triple R…resting, relaxing and reading.

Anyway, after my dip, I lounged on a hammock and read then wrote some postcards.  After sunset I grubbed on some squid and pepper then retired to my room around 7 to read.  Promptly at 8:30 the generator that had been powering all the electricity went off.  Well I guess that’s lights out then.  I was asleep by 9 and didn’t get out of bed till 9 the following morning…..soooo nice.  Had breakfast of pancakes with bananas and coffee then lounged on the hammock again with my book till the boat took me back. 

On the way back to Kampot we detoured to the bokor (I think) caves.  The bumpy dirt road leading there was fun because all the kids kept running to the street yelling ‘hello!’….I smiled and said hello back while waving and making silly faces.  The kids here are amazing.  By the time I pulled up to the caves there were about 5 kids that had biked behind me talking to me the whole time.  They were my guides in the caves (for a nominal fee of course) and I was glad to have them.  They showed me animals in the rock formations and took me ‘spelunking’ down into places I otherwise would not have dared.

After the caves I we headed to town so I could grab some cash for my driver.  I also decided that I needed to get some pepper for my favorite chefs back home so I asked my guy if he could stop at the market and help me find some.  No problem and the cost was half what they were charging at the plantation…SCORE!!

We arrived at ‘Les Manguires’ in the early afternoon.  This is a remote, all-inclusive, type place.  I grabbed my book, put on my trunks and headed for a deck on the water to read and swim.  A nice Ozzy/Canadian family joined me and in no time we were all doing flips and jumping into tubes off the deck.  Super fun and relaxing.  The sunset was magnificent and the peacefulness is abundandt.  They have a pre-fix menu which makes it easy on the kitchen and is fine with me as we were served fish, shrimp, pork, mashed potatoes and veggies.  Dinner was great and then we were offered a night cruise to see some fire-flies up river.  The boat ride was amazing as I saw 3 shooting stars then we saw the fire-flies and it seemed to be another Universe of light.  It almost made the trees look like Christmas as they were sometimes blinking in unison then making lines up and down.  It was beautiful.  At one point our driver hopped off and grabbed a few for us to see up close.  That was fun too as when they tried to fly away it was easy to snag them in a cupped hand so we played for a bit before heading home.  Once we arrived at home, I knew my stomach wasn’t right.  I don’t blame dinner as I think there has been a bug or two living in my belly for a few days but I do think that they reached a critical mass last night.  I was sick…and this was the first time I puked…and then the second time…After the second time I felt that most everything was out of my stomach and rolled over for sleep.  I had the most vivid nightmares I can ever remember having last night and it was crazy.  The first was a grudge meets paranormal activity kind of thing with this death-ghost-demon chick chasing me and scaring the shit out of me.  Several times I half woke up only to again fall into her clutches.  At one point I flinched in my dream and jolted myself awake where I laid for a few minutes with my eyes open not allowing myself to fall back into the dream.  The next dream was me strapped to a table in a dungeon with this mad scientist guy sticking drugs into me that paralyzed me.  At one point he put some powder next to my face meant to further disable me when a surge of adrenaline freed my arm and swatted it at him.  That motion in my dream manifested and I again startled myself awake.  Now that it is morning, I am feeling much better and actually enjoy that crazy, terrifying experience.  It has been a long time since I have had a nightmare or two!

Off to Sihanoukville for some fun in the sun!

Phnom Pehn, Cambodia

It was a blitz but I definitely got what I needed from the capital of Cambodia.  The city itself is pretty dirty.  Since there are lots of cars and motos, there is lots of smog but also since the roads are dirty themselves there is lots of dust constantly being kicked up causing a haze when mixing with the smog.  I arrived in the evening and went to a guesthouse recommended by some friends I made in Siem Reap.  Taylor and I wound up kicking it with a large group of volunteers working in various spots throughout Cambodia and I went to the guesthouse where most of them were living. 

When I woke the following morning, I had a rash on my arm.  This is the second time I have had a rash on my arm and it appears to be an allergic reaction to something.  Last time I had a rash was in Bangkok and Colby did too.  Not sure what the cause is but I would rather have an itchy rash on my arm than stomach pains and diarrhea.

Anyway, I bounced early by hitching a ride on a moto to the Killing Fields.  Since the air was so toxic, I made the driver pull over at one point and bought us both medical masks to cover our faces and prevent the dirt and grime from getting in my mouth and nose.  I was expecting a football size field with human remains sticking out of the earth as Colby had said there was little infrastructure and no information.  I have to categorically disagree.  Paid 2$ at the gate and walked straight to the Pagoda which houses many many skulls and bones.  Very somber feeling.  Then a path leads you around the area with various signs saying what went down and where.  I am also reading a book called, ‘First They Killed My Father’ and have to say I was pretty ignorant on the whole Khmer Rouge/Pol Pot thing.

A very brief rundown on what went down goes like this.  During the Vietnam War we bombed the fuck out of Cambodia and hurt a lot of innocent people.  Then we put a puppet government in place that could not control the people and since they were all upset anyway, the Khmer Rouge was able to garner power in the mountains and walk straight into Phnom Pehn.  This was their crazy idea…to turn Cambodia back into a complete agrarian society.  Therefore, they killed all intellectuals, people of power, doctors, even people that wore glasses as it was a sign of education/wealth.  The mountain people were his ideal vision of the future of Cambodia so they were the first to be used in his army and manipulated. 

The atrocities conducted at the Killing Fields were horrific.  There is a tree that was used to kill babies and children by grabbing them by the feet and bashing their heads against the trunk.  The reason for killing the young was so that they wouldn’t grow up and try to avenge their parent’s death.  Since ammunition was expensive, many died by being beaten/stabbed/etc.  Lots of that went down at S-21 which was my next stop.

I felt sick after leaving the Killing Fields and the moto driver asked if I wanted to go shoot some guns.  The manager at my guesthouse mentioned that was something to do here so I acquiesced.  We drove to a military area and I was given a ‘menu’…hmmm…what to choose from.  I decided on a gun that I have never shot and probably won’t be able to in the states…an Uzzi.  Something about the smell of gunpowder!  40 rounds later we were on our way to S-21.

S-21 was an old school converted into a prison/interrogation center/reeducation center.  The scenes depicted here were equally brutal.  Most people at the killing fields were brought here first to ‘confess’ and give information.  Again, they had done a good job of showing some artifacts and giving information about what went down.  I was recommended a restaurant across the street as an ‘oasis away from it all’ so I went there for lunch.  It was and I needed it.  Bodhi Tree Restaurant supports local charities and hires kids that need jobs.

After that I decided to cruise to the US Embassy to get more pages in my passport.  Pretty cool that I have filled up every page (and a few amendment pages) in my travels over the years.  I figured it would be fairly easy…then I remembered that it was a government run operation.  Waited in line outside for 30 minutes then waited inside for a few hours.  The room was full so I picked an empty chair and plopped down to eavesdrop on the conversation next to me.   It was an older guy talking to a well dressed couple (one white male and one Cambodian female).  In the introduction the well-dressed young guy says he is from San Luis Obispo….WHAT>?!  I have to jump in so I ask if that is where he is really from…nope..actually he is from Atascadero..>WHAT!!!  Robert graduated 3 years after me.  He lives at the Bordeaux Apartments and has never left Atascadero aside from the 3 small trips out to Cambodia to try and get his wife permission to enter.  He works at a convalescent home in Atascadero and cared for this girl’s grandmother who insisted that they connect.  After being pen-pals for a bit, he flew out to meet her for a few weeks and proposed.  That was 3 years ago.  He has only seen her 3 times during the 3 years and never for more than 2 weeks.  I was asking if he has travelled around when he comes to visit and he said that it is too hot, the food is no good and he misses his cat too much…oh boy, this girl is in for a ride when she gets to Atown.  It was so crazy to see this kid, who is a total meat and potatoes kind of guy, who has never left Atown and who is incredibly innocent trying to get this woman back to the US with him..and he is committed.  He loves her and I believe him.  This meeting was the last one and if all goes well she will be on a plane for California in 30 days.  I offered to buy them some beer that evening if it went well and we parted ways.  The older guy was a hoot too.  He lived in many countries on many continents and has been married 3 times (although he lied about that to the Embassy).  He is trying to marry a woman from a very traditional family.  He said they have never been alone together.  He was a cool guy and had some great stories and great advice.  Who knew waiting at the Embassy for hours could be so interesting.

That evening the rain kicked up and they cancelled their celebration (hopefully they were having their own if you know what I’m sayin!).  I got a massage and called it a night early as the bus was arriving at 7 AM to take me to Kampot.  Phnom Pehn was great.  I probably could have spent 1 more day there but don’t think anyone needs more than a few.  Since I was ‘templed out’ from Siem Reap, there wasn’t much to see aside from what I did in 1 day.

Kampot, Kep, Rabbit Island, Sihanoukville and Batambang before I leave Cambodia….HOLD ON!!