The Beach

I have just arrived in Melbourne, Australia, where I am staying for a few nights with a lovely woman I connected with through courchsurfing.org.  It's springtime in Australia so it's much cooler than it's been in Thailand and Malaysia.

Two weeks ago after the shoot in Hong Kong, I flew down to Phuket, Thailand, for about five days.  I stayed at a small hostel just a five minute's walk from the beach that is connected with a dive school.  I arrived late the first night and had the small two-bed room to myself.  The next day my roommate, another Jennifer from New Jersey, arrived to take the scuba certification course.  We had a lot in common aside from just the same name.  We both grew up in the Northeast and our birthdays are just four days apart (although I'm older than her by five years.)  We were also both traveling alone--me heading south and the other Jen making her way north.

After getting settled, Jen and I walked down to Kata Beach where we spent most of the afternoon.  Jen was starting her scuba course the next day and on a whim I decided to sign up for my own scuba excursion that Friday.  I got certified in the Canary Islands back when I was in college, but hadn't dove since then.  I didn't even have my PADI card with me because the new one I had ordered was on the way, but luckily the PADI website has all of the certifications registered on-line.

Bright and early the next day I boarded a dive boat headed for Koh Phi Phi with the hostel's main instructor, Chris.  Jen 2 (she was labeled Jen 2 since she checked in after me), meanwhile, was off to the pool with one of the hostel owners, Thien.  It took us just over two hours to get to the site of the first dive at Koh Bida Nok, but along the way I kept myself amused by eating as much of breakfast as I could shovel down.  Chris was amazed as I first ate an omelet, hot dog, bread and fruit and then went back to get a fried egg, more bread and another hot dog.  He tried to remind me that there would be donuts on the boat after the first dive, but that didn't slow me down much.  He also made fun of me for removing both ends of the hot dogs, but I had to explain to him that I don't eat the butts because that's gross.

I was a bit nervous going down on the first dive since it had been more than ten years since my last time.  Luckily Chris and I went over a few things on the boat before getting in the water and then practiced the skills once we got to the bottom.  I had to remove my respirator and put it back in, clear my goggles and finally remove my respirator to share his air.  After I got the OK sign on all of the skills, we spent about 45 minutes swimming along the reef looking for cool aquatic life.  My favorite were the rainbow fish whose name I don't remember, but we also saw moray eels, lionfish and clownfish that looked like Nemo.  Unfortunately I don't have a dive case for my camera so I don't have any underwater photos.

Our next stop was Palong Wall for the second dive.  Along the way we passed the island in Maya Bay where The Beach was filmed and I ate some donuts, grabbing a second while I didn't think Chris was looking.  Palong Wall is known for shark sightings and our dive didn't disappoint.  After about 20 minutes underwater Chris pointed out two black tip reef sharks, but the visibility was so poor that I could barely make them out.  Luckily a few minutes later two others passed by then just a few minutes before we had to ascend three four-foot sharks swam right below us.  These types of sharks basically just leave people alone so there wasn't any danger, though I did wish I had my camera.

After a typical Thai lunch of two kinds of rice and chicken (one spicy, one not) we went to the third dive and final dive site, the Anemone Reef.  As the name suggests, this site is known for being covered in sea anemone.  When we got in the water, it was a bit choppy so we had to follow the anchor line to make our way down.  I had to stop after just a few meters because I couldn't get my right ear to clear and it was really hurting.  Chris kept trying to ask me if I wanted to go back up or continue down and was getting frustrated by my ambiguous hand signals.  I knew if we went back to the surface the dive was over so I hesitated even though I was in quite a bit of pain.  In the end I follow Chris slowly farther down and eventually the pressure did subside.  At this site, aside from the anemone and typical tropical fish, we saw a seahorse attached to one of the plants.  It was pretty much right out in the open whereas the seahorses normally try to hide so that was pretty cool.  Once we made it back to the surface, the water was so choppy that I was pushed into the boat ladder and lost my flipper as I was taking it off.  Chris had to dive quickly down to save it, which didn't make him very happy with me.  Whoops!

On the way back to Phuket, the eating didn't stop.  Once we were back on the boat there were pancakes with chocolate and strawberry syrup and jam.  I ate way too many, but figured I was just getting my money's worth.  Also, apparently diving burns up to 500 calories per hour (not really quite sure how since you're not moving to fast) so I guess I had earned it.  As we were approaching the shore, the sun was just starting to set so it was a really pretty view to end the long day.

That night after dinner, Jen 2 and I met up with Chris at the hostel to go to a bar on the beach where there is a fire show every Friday.  We looked pretty ridiculous with the three of us riding there on the back of Chris's scooter, but sadly we don't have any pictures.  There were a few really cute kids who started off the show before the adults took over.  Jen 2 and I decided we were going to become fire dancers ourselves, but never really got the chance to practice.  Once the show ended, we went to another bar where Jen 2 and I lost at a close game of pool to Chris.  That was followed by several intense rounds of Jenga before we called it a night.

For the next few days I just hung out at the beach and in the surrounding town while Jen 2 was out doing her dive classes.  After three days she was certified and on the fourth we decided to take a day trip together to Phang Nga to go cave canoeing.  We spent the whole boat ride out to the first site making fun of all the other tourists who seemed to be stereotypically fulfilling that role with their "I heart Phuket" tee shirts and such.  The first stop was a bit of a disappointment, as one of the guides basically just canoed us in and out of a cave in under five minutes with about a thousand other people.  Under different circumstances it could have been really cool, but it ended up just feeling like a Disney World attraction.  The second stop was equally disappointing with mobs of people crowding onto the aptly named "James Bond Island" where apparently they filmed some James Bond movie that I have never seen.  There were some interesting caves there as well and once again without the whole tourist trap vibe it could have been a much better experience.  I was so frustrated with all the people that I actually snapped at a man who asked us to move so that he could take a picture.

After lunch we sailed to a lagoon where we were actually able to paddle ourselves on the canoe.  This was a much pleasanter experience because we had more time to go wherever we wanted and could take pains to avoid all the other canoes circling the island.  Once we got back to the big boat, it was so hot that Jen and I decided to join some of the kids who were jumping off the top deck into the water below.  It was nice to cool off as we made our way to the final stop near a small beach.  Once the boat was anchored, we decided to jump in from the top again before swimming to shore.  I stupidly forgot that my sunglasses were still on the top of my head so there went Pair #3.  Pair #4 was purchased right on the pier once we got off the boat.

On the way back to the pier, the guys on the boat turned up the music and tried to get people to start dancing.  At first they got a group of middle-aged Australia women to join them and then they pulled Jen and I up there.  At that point I was still wearing just a bathing suit so after a few minutes I started to feel really embarrassed as I noticed the hundreds of eyes staring at us in amusement.  It was pretty fun, though, and a nice way to end the day and my week at the beach.

On Tuesday morning, Jen and I said our goodbyes after making plans to hopefully travel together again once I get to South America.  Miz, who owns the hostel with Thien, then drove me to the station to catch a bus to the border town of Hat Yai.  It was the first time that I felt really sad upon leaving a place.  With just two other girls staying at the hostel with Jen and I and Miz, Thien and Chris running the place, it had felt almost like a home.  I had made some good friends and was sad to see them go. 

Cliff, who I met in Vietnam, had a phrase for the brief encounters you have with people while traveling: "single-serving friends."  I suppose these brief "friendships of convenience" are inevitable when you are like two ships passing in the night, but with Jen and many of the other people I have met along the way, I hope I will someday see them again and "single-serving friends" will become just regular old friends.

Pictures posted in the morning!

House Hunting in Hong Kong

After leaving Bangkok, I flew back to Hong Kong to tag along on a shoot for the house hunting TV show I was working back in New York before I left on my trip.  I had actually originally cast the couple who are moving from Queens to Hong Kong for the husband's job.  It was fun to get to work on an episode that I had actually been a part of even if I didn't actually schedule the shoot.  After two months of extended vacation, it was also nice to be actually "working" and productive again, even if I wasn't being paid.

Since Hong Kong is so expensive I had tried to arrange to couch surf so I wouldn't have to pay for my accommodations for the three-day shoot on top of my flight.  I hadn't been able to get anything confirmed before I left Bangkok, though, so I booked a hostel at the last minute so I would have a place to go when I landed.  Once I got to the hostel, they had no record of my reservation and were all booked up.  Luckily I had proof of my booking on my phone so they found me a room in a different building also on Hong Kong Island.  It was a single room so I had it to myself, but it was tiny.  It reminded me of those stories you see occasionally about the "smallest studio in NYC."  It consisted of a lofted bed with a desk underneath and the tiniest bathroom ever.  I barely had room for my backpack, but at least it served its purpose in giving me a place to sleep.

The next morning I had to bring all of my stuff back to the original hostel where I had arranged to spend that night before meeting the crew at the first location closer to Central Hong Kong.  On the first two days of the shoot, we filmed the tours of the apartments we were showing to the American house hunters, Kelly and Guo, along with a meet and greet scene with their real estate agent.  The final day was devoted to filming scenes around Hong Kong of Kelly and Guo exploring the new city they're moving to.  In one scene, they were shopping at local gourmet food shops checking out all the crazy stuff you can buy like dried lizards.  In another one, they went to have afternoon tea at The Peninsula.  Since the PR team brought out a full tea service, there was food left over after we were done filming.  I got a second chance to have a scone and some of the other traditional cakes.  I felt incredibly guilty after taking one of two servings of pannacotta, completely forgetting that the director was gluten free and couldn't eat any of the sandwiches or scones.  Oops!  We were supposed to also film on Victoria Peak, but it was raining all afternoon so that scene was canceled.

My final two nights in Hong Kong I managed to couch surf with two different ex-pats in their apartments.  The first was a young British guy living in a studio who had just moved to Hong Kong to work in publishing.  The second was a Canadian law student who is sharing a three bedroom apartment in a high rise.  In that case, I got my own room, which was totally sweet!  Both guys were really nice and I enjoyed going out to dinner with them and meeting some of their friends.  All in all, they were good first couch surfing experiences.  The only slight annoyance was having to change locations each night.

On the last day of the shoot, Guo had to leave early to go out of town so I hung out with Kelly for a bit after we had wrapped shooting.  She brought me out to dinner at a typical Cantonese "diner" and helped me to meet up with the second couch surfer once he had gotten out of class.  Since Kelly is also a New Yorker we had a lot in common and it was really nice to talk to her about home and the plans for my trip.

Since my flight to Phuket wasn't scheduled until late on the following night I had a whole day free to spend in Hong Kong.  I thought about going to the Stanley Market, but as it was raining for the second day in a row, I instead spend the day at the Hong Kong Museum of Art.  The museum normally isn't that expensive, but I lucked out because on Wednesdays it's actually free.  Many of the exhibits were similar to those at the Shanghai Art Museum featuring traditional calligraphy, painting and calligraphy.  There was, however, an interesting exhibition about the importance and symbolism of animals in Chinese art.  I also really enjoyed another exhibition that compared Chinese export paintings to the Western versions from which the artists got their inspiration.

After two days in the rain, it was then back to Thailand and the sun.  It was finally time to relax!

Wats and Woks in Bangkok

After arriving back in Bangkok, I took it easy for the afternoon and then went out that night with a few young Canadian guys, a British guy and an American guy.  We went to the Sky Bar on the 64th floor of the landmark State Tower where they filmed The Hangover 2.  It may seem like a bit of a cliche, but the views of the city were completely amazing and it was cool hanging out on the top of the city's second tallest building.  I was the only person to actually order a drink and one small glass of the house white wine later, I was $25 poorer.  Yes that is $25 in US money.  I'll never make that mistake again.

The following day, I walked to the riverfront and went by boat up the Chao Phraya River to the infamous Khaosan Road backpacker hub, which is known for its non-stop parties at night.  I was basically looking to buy a cheap pair of sunglasses after losing my previous pair in Cambodia.  After making my purchase I walked east to check out the Democracy Monument and then went back south along the river past the National Museum, Wat Phra Kaeo (the Emerald Buddha Temple) and the Grand Palace.  I decided not to go into the wat and palace mainly because it was pretty pricey, but also because I couldn't really find the entrance.  I did go into the Wat Pho next door because it was much more affordable.

The Buddhist temple is one of the oldest and largest in Bangkok and is also known as the birthplace of traditional Thai massage.  Sadly I did not get a massage, but I did check out the giant 46-meter-long bronze Reclining Buddha that has taken up residence in one of the temple's large halls.  The sculpture is covered in gold plating and mother-of-pearl inlay on the eyes and feet.  The temple itself is home to more than 1,000 images of the Buddha--the most of any temple in Thailand.

On my third day in Bangkok, I had one of the most unique experiences yet.  I took a class at a cooking school down the street from my hostel.  We first went on a tour of the local market where we bought chicken, prawns and all the vegetables we would need for our dishes.  Then we went to the school where we first made homemade coconut milk, which we used in all of the dishes that we prepared.  The first course was a Tom Yum soup, followed by sweet and sour chicken, a red curry, a green curry and mango and sticky rice for dessert.  Aside from all the chopping and prep work, all of the courses only took several minutes to cook up in our high-temperature woks.  It was so much food that I had barely enough room to eat all of it.  Luckily we got a recipe book to bring home with us so I can pathetically try to replicate the results in my tiny NYC kitchen.

On my last full day in Bangkok I got a bit of a late start.  I tried to take a water taxi back to the center of town, but it wasn't running because of military exercises on the river.  Instead I just started walking until my SECOND pair of flip flops broke in less than a week.  That led to an emergency sandals purchase before I continued walking up to the Chinatown area before heading back.  There was some sort of Hindu festival taking place over those few days so I got to witness a small procession just before my shoe broke.  That night I went out an Irish pub with some guys from my hostel where we listened to a Thai Beatles cover band sing their versions of "Hey Jude," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" and other classics.

That Saturday afternoon I had to catch a flight to Hong Kong, which I almost missed after frantically searching in vain for my cell phone on the train platform to get to the airport.  I raced back to my hostel figuring I had left it there.  They didn't have it either so I started to panic until I finally found it buried deep in the back of my backpack.  Between losing my room key (and thus my deposit money), trying to sort out my accommodations in Hong Kong, nearly losing my phone and having to race to the airport, it was not a very good day.

I'll post more photos off my camera tomorrow!

Journeying Jen, Tomb Raider

When I got back to the hostel after my first day in Siem Reap I wasn't feeling too hot (or actually maybe a bit too hot.)  My fever seemed to have returned and I had a pounding headache.  I also found out that I had a roommate, Manon from France.  I invited Manon to join me for dinner where I learned about her internship in Shanghai and her ten-day trip to Cambodia.  We made plans to rent bikes again the following day to see more of the temples together.

In the morning, we rode first to Angkor Wat because Manon wanted to get some photos while the sun was out.  Since I had already seen it, I hung out and read inside the first gate while she went through the temple.  Afterward we decided to go back around the other side of Angkor Wat to do the Grand Circuit and check out other temples on the way to Ta Prohm, one of the famous "jungle temples" where they filmed Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.  We ended up going to at least five or six different temples of all shapes and sizes, including Prasat Kravan, Ta Som, Preah Khan and Ta Keo.  My favorites were the ones that had been lost to the jungle with trees growing right out of the walls.

Since it was getting late, we didn't have a chance to get to Ta Prohm and either Preah Khan or Ta Keo (I forget which one) was one of the last temples we made it to that day.  We entered through the front gate to find it flooded with about six inches of water and us having to trek though mud along the sides.  At one point, one of my flip flops (which were already on their last leg) got stuck in the mud and broke when I tried to pull it out.  I was left hobbling around on one foot, but when we got to the temple it was totally worth it.  We were among the only people there (probably because of the flooding, though we did later discover there was a side entrance) and felt totally like Indiana Jones.  Parts of the walls had collapsed leaving a pile of rubble and other parts were taken over by tree roots growing around them.  When we finally got back on our bikes it was nearing sunset and I started to get a bit nervous.  We rode back past Angkor Wat just as the sun was setting and then went back through town as darkness was descending.  By the time we got arrived, I was relieved and exhausted having ridden at least 40 kilometers throughout the hot, humid day.

For our final day in Siem Reap, Manon and I decided to split a tuk-tuk tour and visit Angkor Wat at sunrise.  When we awoke at about 4:30am we could hear the pouring rain outside our window and decided we would rather sleep than get soaking wet just for the slim possibility of seeing the sun come up.  Our driver arrived faithfully at 5:00am and we had to sheepishly ask him to come back at 9:00am.  We went back to bed, but I don't think he actually ever left since he was still there when I came out of my room a few hours later.  I hope he at least got to take a nap at the back of his tuk-tuk!

Manon and I went first to Ta Prohm where we saw the famous sight of the 100-year-old tree growing out of the temple walls.  That's what I had been looking for and expecting to see when I was at Angkor Wat.  Before I came to Siem Reap, I had thought that Angkor Wat was all one huge complex instead of a series of individual temples all in the same area.  I was finally satisfied, though the crowds of Chinese tourists clambering to get their photo with the famous tree did kind of dampen the mood a tiny bit.  After Ta Prohm, the driver brought us to Angkor Thom, which is actually a city of temples and other support buildings.  We went inside Bayon, which features 216 identical faces on its 54 towers.  I loved exploring its many narrow passageways, which reminded me of a haunted medieval castle.  We also checked out the Baphoun Temple from the outside and the Terrace of the Elephants, where they used to hold public ceremonies.  While we were walking through the large complex, we kept losing our driver who I fortunately spotted from afar driving down the road and indicated to pull over.  His English skills were rather lacking so he didn't quite understand where we had been asking him to wait for us.

On the way back to our hostel, Manon wanted to check out Phnom Bakheng where I had gone just before sunset on the first day.  Since I had no real desire to trek 15 minutes up the hill again I waited down below and had a snack at one of the local food carts.  Thus ended our great tour of the temples after three long days.

Late that night (or rather early the following morning) I had the worst night bus experience, nearly topping the Beijing-Xi'an night train fiasco.  The bus didn't leave until 2:30am by which time the streets around the river had once again started flooding.  When the bus finally did arrive it wasn't a night bus with beds, but rather one with just reclining seats.  Luckily I had a seat to myself, though I had to share it with my backpack since I was nervous about putting it under the bus.  We rode four hours to the Thai border and then had to get out with all our stuff and stand around waiting for half an hour until the border control office opened.  After clearing the Cambodian border we then had to go through immigration to get into Thailand.  The whole process took nearly two hours with us all operating on barely four hours' sleep.

When we finally got on our next bus it wasn't even a regular-sized bus, but rather a minibus... for 15 people... and all their luggage.  The seats didn't recline and we were all so crammed in that there was no way to relax.  I was able to fall asleep off and on, but certainly wasn't comfortable.  We didn't stop once within the final three to four hours of the trip to Bangkok and by the time we were getting close I thought I was going to pee in my pants.  Then we got stuck in bumper to bumper traffic getting off the highway into downtown.  I asked one of the other passengers TWO TIMES to ask the driver to stop since my view of the driver was blocked by a pile of luggage.  He either didn't hear or pretended not to so that by the time we finally pulled over, I swore at the driver to give me my bag before racing to the bathroom at the nearest restaurant.  It wasn't my finest moment, but by that point I didn't care.  I was left in the middle of Bangkok with no idea where exactly I was.  After staring in vain at the map for 20 minutes, I finally gave up and hailed a tuk-tuk to my hostel.  It was time for a long nap.

Cycling Siem Reap

On Thursday, I was feeling well enough to take a bus from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap.  It was not the most enjoyable ride ever primarily as a result of two things.  Like many Asian bus companies, they insisted on turning on the TV in the front of the bus as if us poor saps can't find any way to entertain ourselves for six or seven hours (umm, it's called a book.)  In this case, they were playing a string of Cambodian music videos that all sounded exactly the same and seemed to have nearly exactly the same plotline: girl/boy falls for boy/girl, the object of girl/boy's attention falls for another girl/boy, the original girl/boy ends up seriously maimed, ill or dead.  Very Romeo and Juliet.  

The other major distraction on the bus was the plastic bag hanging from the seat in front of my neighbor.  I had been smelling some strange odors (figured it was b.o.) and hearing strange squeaking noises.  Then I realized that the bag was moving.  There was something alive in it!!  My best guess was some chicks and perhaps a duck or two (I also heard some quacks) that were probably headed towards my neighbor's dinner table.  I know it's Cambodia and things are done a bit different there, but a plastic bag?!?  Come on, people, that's just dumb.  The greatest sight I have ever seen as I got off the bus was a sign with my name on it held by the tuk-tuk driver who was to drive me to my hostel.
On the way in the tuk-tuk, we drove right over and straight through the flooded river.  Luckily we made it to the hostel without getting stuck and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had the dorm room all to myself for the night. Since I still wasn’t feeling 100% that was definitely a nice bonus.

The following day I decided to rent a bike from the hostel to go visit Angkor Wat since it only cost $2.00 as opposed to $15.00 for the full-day use of a tuk-tuk.  I don’t know if I mentioned it in my previous post, but most transactions in Cambodia are actually carried out in US dollars.  They don’t use US coins, though, so you get the equivalent back in Cambodian riel in bill form.  It’s quite an odd system, but I guess it works for them.  As a result, though, goods and services tend to be a bit more expensive in Cambodia than in Vietnam.

It took me about 25 minutes to ride to Angkor Wat and when I arrived I was slightly disappointed to see that part of the front of the temple was covered in construction scaffolding and tarps.  It was a pretty incredible structure, but I couldn’t help but feel slightly underwhelmed.  I think it’s because it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.  For some reason I was under the impression that Angkor Wat was one of the temples that was taken over by the jungle with trees growing right up through the building walls.  I kept trying to find that part of the complex, but it turns out I was searching in vain because Angkor Wat was never actually “lost” or overcome by the elements.

In the midst of my search for the mythical “jungle temple” I did come across some of the infamous monkeys that are known for invading the area while exploring the woods at the back of the complex.  It was a hot day so the primates were busy playing with each other in a large puddle left by a recent rainstorm.  They would bite each other’s backs and try to push one another under the water.  Some of them would even jump from overhanging tree limbs into the water below.  It was definitely one of the highlights of the day.

On my way out of the temple, I ran into an American girl who offered to take my picture for me and then proceeded to tell me that she was high on acid.  It wouldn’t have taken a genius to figure that out since we wasn’t making much sense when she talked.  It was like she was trying to be very deep and profound but instead only succeeded in sounding like an idiot.  I somehow got roped into talking to her for a while and got to hear all about her plans for a meditation course in Cambodia and a yoga retreat in Thailand.  She told me that she had spent over an hour that day meditating in the woods and I wanted to tell her that she was missing the whole point of the search for enlightenment if she felt the need to get high to experience it.  I decided it was probably not worth the effort, though, and eventually managed to lose her as I was heading out of the temple.

Before going back to the hostel for the night, I went to one other temple down the street from Angkor Wat called Phnom Bakheng.  It is on top of a hill that it takes 15 minutes to climb and is apparently the highest temple in the area.  It has great bird’s eye views of Angkor Wat and the surrounding countryside.  The steps to climb up to the top are so steep that you constantly fear you might fall.  Right as I got to the top of the hill it started to downpour, but luckily I was able to wait it out and them climb to the top.  Most people go to the temple to watch the sunset, but since I was on my bike I decided I had better head down the hill before it got too dark. 

By the time I was peddling back home I was pretty beat and could feel my head pounding.  My fever had somewhat returned probably because I was once again trying to do to much.  Luckily dinner and a good night’s rest left me feeling much better by morning.

Next time I’ll tell you about the rest of my trip to the Siem Reap temples.

Exploring Cambodia's Capitol

We arrived in Phnom Penh on Monday evening after a full day on the boat and bus.  As Cliff and I were discussing where our hostels were and how we were going to get there we realized that the two places (with two different names) had the same address.  We shared a tuk tuk to that address and discovered that ours hostel was one and the same.  After we settled in and had a shower we left to go have dinner at a restaurant along the river.  We were both surprised at how modern and built up Phnom Penh appeared, especially in the touristy area on the water.

We were both pretty tired from our Mekong adventure, though Cliff had mentioned that his friend from high school now lived in Cambodia and was in town celebrating his friend's birthday.  Neither of us much felt like going out, but Cliff's friend who he had been texting all night wouldn't take no for an answer.  The next thing we know a chauffeured Mercedes Benz is pulling up to the curb and Cliff's friend, J., is getting out.  Cliff had warned me that J. was a bit of a high roller, but this was way more than we expected.  Apparently J.'s father owns a number of casinos along the Vietnam border and J. has just recently opened a few of his own.

We rode in the car to the city's only casino, which looked right out of Vegas and is owned by J. friend's father.  Playing at one of the tables was the Prime Minister's niece who is apparently friends with this whole circle.  We first went to a club downstairs where we sat in a curtained room and J. ordered a bottle of Hennessy.  We were only downstairs for less than half an hour when J. announced that we were going upstairs to a VIP suite.  There were only about eight of us by upon entered the first room, J. announced he wanted the "bigger room."  We got the bigger room complete with a pool table, huge bar, three or four slot machines, a wraparound couch and a karaoke machine.  The room could have hosted a party for several hundred people let alone the eight of us!  While Cliff played pool with J. and a few of the other guys I scanned the karaoke machine for all the none-Chinese songs.... not the easiest of tasks.  The liquor was free flowing, but luckily since the waitress was only half filling the shot glasses (which I would then dump into a bigger glass with soda) I didn't end up drinking that much.  Everyone else was another story.

The wildest part of the night was when we asked J.'s friend whose birthday it was to show us some of his work as an actor.  He put on a Cambodian music video he starred in and sang along for us to the lyrics.  Apparently J.'s friend is an up-and-coming Cambodian superstar!

Suddenly J. announced that he was hungry and though it was already 2:00am it was decided that we were all going to a restaurant to eat.  By this time the party had dwindled down to five, including me, Cliff, J., the birthday boy and the casino owner's son. We took two chauffeured cars to the restaurant where J. insisted we have a private room.   He then proceeded to order a ridiculous amount of food.  There was pork, rice porridge, snails and to top it all off turtle soup!  I tried a few snails and ate the broth in the turtle soup, but only tried a tiny taste of the actual turtle.  To be quite honest, the meat looked kind of nasty, though I guess it's actually a huge delicacy.  About an hour in, I was exhausted and full and honestly ready to go back home.  Finally at 4:00am, J. drove us back to our hostel and Cinderella's coach turned back into a pumpkin.

It was honestly really crazy to see the massive amounts of wealth that were concentrated in that one area.  J. must have spent several thousand dollars in that one night alone.  It's really sad when you compare it with the extreme poverty that exists in other parts of Cambodia.  Just that morning we had been walking through a poor rural village and that night we were partying with the Cambodian movers and shakers.  Apparently you're not even allowed to gamble in Cambodia if your Cambodian... unless you're one of the elite.  It was really interesting to see, but left me more than a little bit uncomfortable.

The next day both Cliff and I slept in past noon since we had gone to bed so late.  I knew Cliff was probably a bit hungover so I left while he was still asleep to have a leisurely brunch by the river.  Cliff was out when I got back so I decided to wander over to a temple I had seen from a distance nearby our hostel.  It turns out it was the Wat Phnom or Hill Temple, which occupies the city's highest point.  According to legend, the first temple was built in the 14th century by a woman named Penh to house four Buddha sculptures she found floating in the Mekong River.  It's supposedly where the city got it's name.  It was one of the most ornate temples I've ever seen, but I guess it was pretty standard for Cambodia.

On Wednesday, I went for a run in the morning and then Cliff and I took a short walking tour through the city. We started first at the Royal Palace where the King of Cambodia still lives.  The palace complex features the Silver Pagoda, which is named for the 5,000 silver tiles that cover the floor (that I apparently completely missed.)  We originally walked around the entire walled exterior looking for the entrance only to learn that the site was closed for lunch until 2:00pm.  We finally got inside a took a quick spin around before leaving to go to the National Museum.  That's when it started to downpour!  We went back to the palace and waited underneath a roofed seating area for the rain to let up.  With the rows of seats lined up facing one another it looked like we were all waiting for a bus.  We finally gave up and drudged to the museum while the rain was still coming down.

In the museum, we looked at lots of old sculptures of Buddhas and Angkor-era artwork.  With my interest in archaeology, the exhibits should have fascinated me, but as we started walking through I noticed my forehead felt a bit warm.  Cliff concurred that I felt hot, but instead of taking off I decided to charge on through.  I had a bit of trouble concentrating, though, and by the time we had made our way through and started heading back I was really not feeling all that great.  Of course I instantly concluded that I had caught malaria.

When we got back to the hostel I took my temperature and it was skirting 103.  I went down to talk to the ex-pat owner of the hostel and he ruled out dengue fever and even malaria since it takes seven days for the symptoms to appear.  After talking it over with Cliff who had had a similar experience in Beijing I decided I had a mild case of heat stroke since I hadn't been drinking much water.  It was also pretty stupid of me to have tried to run in the morning since I'm not used to the heat.  The one thing was that I didn't feel nauseous and actually wanted something to eat.  I had dinner, but canceled my bus to Siem Reap for the next day deciding I better wait it out.

Throughout the night my temperature fluctuated and in the morning I woke up drenched in sweat.  I planned to go to the British travel doctor next door, but didn't realize his office closed from 11:30am to 2:00pm.  While I was waiting for him to reopen after lunch, I decided to go visit the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek and the S-21 Museum by tuk tuk since I had an extra day in town.

I went first to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek, 14 kilometers outside of Phnom Penh, were the Khmer Rouge executed most of the 17,000 prisoners held at the S-21 prison during the reign of Pol Pot in the mid-1970s.  The prisoners were often beaten to death and pushed into mass grave sites to save costly bullets.  The site of the killings was a peaceful orchard, which is now covered in pits where the bodies of the thousands of victims have been recovered rom the earth.  On the grounds now stands a memorial stupa in which is displayed more than 8,000 skulls of the victims and their ragged clothing.  Even more disturbing than that is a tree the soldiers used to use to swing around babies and bash in their heads.  Pol Pot's men killed civil servants, former government workers, intellectuals, foreigners and anyone else they deemed a possible threat along with their whole families.  The shear insanity and brutality of it is unthinkable.

After the Killing Fields I headed back into the city to go to the Tuol Sleng S-21 Museum.  The building once served as a high school but became a prison upon being taken over by Pol Pot's security forces in 1975.  The former classrooms were turned into prison cells, which can be viewed as they were left by the Khmer Rouge with at most just a bed, some chains and other prison implements.  They are also thousands of photographs of the victims, both alive and in some cases after they were killed.  Only seven prisoners were alive at S-21, all of whom had some sort of useful skill, when the Vietnamese finally liberated Phnom Penh nearly four years later.

It was on April 17, 1975, that Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge soldiers first marched into Phnom Penh and ordered all of the inhabitants to get out immediately.  The citizens were told they could return home in three days time, but instead were either killed or conscripted into slave labor growing rice for the new communal agrarian society.  Many of those not killed at the hands of the soldiers died slowly of starvation.  It is estimated that at least 1.7 million people died in the three years, eight months and 20 days of Pol Pot's reign.  It is amazing to me that it was only as recently as January 7, 1979--the day before my older sister was born--that the Vietnamese liberated the almost-empty capitol city.  In that 32 short years, Phnom Penh has come back to life and is thriving.  In spite of its continuing problems with poverty, Cambodia and its people have captivated and enchanted me.  The fact that they are so resilient and have overcome so much is awe-inspiring.  I know they still have a long way to go to ensure that everyone has equal opportunity, but I for one am convinced that with everything they have gone through, they absolutely can do it.

The Cambodia Nine

Not sure if I'll have time to post pictures again because I have to be up early to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat.  I'll try to get to it tomorrow or the next day.

Last Sunday, I left Vietnam for Cambodia via the Mekong Delta.  The Mekong Delta is a region in southwestern Vietnam where the Mekong River nears the sea through a number of smaller tributaries (so says Wikipedia.)  It's a rural area with a lot of ethnic minorities who mainly fish or grow rice.  It often floods during the rainy season so many people live in houseboats or in homes on high stilts.  It's the image that probably comes to mind when people think of life in the Vietnamese countryside.

We first took a bus for a few hours to get to where we boarded the boat on the river.  Along the way we stopped at the typical tourist rest stop where there are Agent Orange victims making shell paintings and other handicrafts.  I wasn't in the market to buy anything, but as I was wandering around I ran into Judith and Shlomie who were on their own one-day Mekong Delta tour roundtrip to and from Saigon.  We thought we might run into each other elsewhere along the way, but that turned out to be our only common stop.

After getting on the small wooden boat we rode past a floating market where farmers were selling all sorts of fruits and vegetables from their boats.  Then we stopped at a small shop where we watched some locals make rice paper, coconut candy, popped rice and honey tea.  Of course, we were encouraged to buy their products, but we were able to taste everything before we had to lay out any money.  I was running out of dong so I didn't make any purchases, but everything I tried tasted pretty good.

As we were about to get back on the boat it started pouring rain.  Luckily it ended quickly and we didn't get all that wet.  We rode for another hour or so before stopping for lunch at a traditional Vietnamese place.  The standard lunch was included, but I ended up also splitting the local specialty, elephant ear fish, with the two older Australian brothers and the young American guy I was sitting with.  As many of you know, I don't normally eat fish, but I figured "when in Cambodia."  It actually wasn't half bad.

After lunch we split off from part of our group that was heading back to Saigon the following day and were on the boat for just a bit longer before getting back on the bus.  At one point, we made a made what was supposed to be a brief pit stop, but turned into an extended rest.  It turns out one of our tires was flat and had to be replaced.  Luckily there were hammocks where we could all get out and relax.  Then the torrential downpour began.  We were all getting wet underneath our thatched roof hut, but the mechanic was getting absolutely soaked!  He must have been used to it because he really seemed not to mind.

After we got going again, we had to board a ferry to cross part of the river.  The crossing only took a few minutes and then we drove a bit farther to a crocodile farm.   It's literally a farm where they grow crocodiles for food and leather clothing.  Some of them were huge, but of course my favorites were the one to two-year-old babies.  The enclosure for the really young crocs was all covered in netting because apparently they are famous for their ability to escape.

Our final stop was the floating hotel where we spent the night.  I roomed with the American guy, Cliff, who is also traveling through Asia for about six months.  He is Korean-American and had also been teaching in Korea for a year before leaving on his trip.  It was fun because we had a lot to talk about and notes to compare.  We had dinner on the roof-top restaurant before the bugs drove us back inside for cover.  It was definitely a weird feeling to stay in a hotel on water because when you stopped and concentrated you could actually feel the whole place moving.

We had to be up very early the following morning to tour the area before getting on our boat to Cambodia.  We first went to a fish farm, which is basically a barge built over the water.  Our guide would throw fish food in the river and the fish (mostly bass) would go splashing and flopping all over the place, some even ending up on the deck.  It was pretty funny to watch.

After the fish farm we went a bit farther down the river to where our boat to Cambodia was to meet us and walked through a traditional Champa village.  The Champa are a Vietnamese Muslim minority.  We walked to one of their local mosques where we greeted some of the children going to school and saw one of the local women working on a weaving.  It was obviously a very poor area, but the people were all very friendly.  I bought some sort of bun/pancake thing from one of the locals and it was pretty darn good.

For the rest of the morning we floated down the Mekong River to the Cambodian border.  At the border we stopped for lunch while our guide took care of our visas.  We then got back on the boat only to go about 300 meters where they suddenly dropped us off on the side of the road.  None of us had any idea where we were going.  Our guide (a new one) started to lead us on foot, but there was no bus in sight.  Then as we rounded the corner we saw the rinky dinkiest border partition you have ever seen.  We had to cross into Cambodia by foot and get on the bus on the other side.

Once we got into our new van, they drove us down a small dirt road and over the narrowest bridge before suddenly telling us all to get out.  We had no idea what was going on until we walked a bit farther.  Parts of the road were completely flooded out and the van could not get through.  We had to take off our shoes to wade through the one-foot deep muddy water.  It was definitely not the right day to wear sneakers.  I would put them back on just to have to take them right off again a few feet down the road.  We finally arrived at the customs station and had our passports stamped.  We then had to walk through more flooding to get back to the main road.  At one point I made the joke that we were like "comrades-in-arms" trekking through this flooded Cambodian village.  Since there were nine of us-two Koreans girls, one Japanese man, an Israeli couple, a French couple and us two Americans-I decided we should be dubbed "The Cambodian Nine."

At one point along the way, I had stopped to put on my shoes and try to track down a bottle of water.  When I looked up I couldn't see any big backpacks looming in front of me.  I momentarily panicked.  What would I possibly do if I got stuck here on my own at the Cambodian border.  Then I thought, "They won't leave without me.  They'll come back for me.  They know it's the Cambodian Nine!"  Fortunately as I walked a bit farther I saw that all the backpacks had just taken a left to get back in the van.


The rest of the way to Phnom Penh was completely by van.  The flooding conditions continued and there were some spots that were quite a bit hairy.  At one point, the looks on the faces of all the villagers standing outside while we drove through several feet of water did not install much confidence in our ability to make it through.  Luckily we never got stuck and made it to the capitol before nightfall.

Vietnam was pretty amazing, especially along the Mekong Delta where time seems to have stood still.  My dad has been been commenting that it's funny that 40 years ago he was doing everything he could to stay out of Vietnam and Cambodia and now I'm there on vacation.  I have to say that it is a very surreal experience knowing that as recently as 20 years ago I would not have been allowed in.  Even stranger is the fact that these people who claim to despise America speak better English than people in many other parts of Asia and will often even accept US dollars, especially for larger purchases.  The dollar is actually the primary currency they accept for visa applications at the border.  I realize it's probably more the government than the people who hate Americans, but it was definitely interesting to get a completely different perspective on the place than all those tens of thousands of US soldiers did nearly half a century ago.

NOT PROOFREAD... EXCUSE ERRORS.

The Heat Is On In Saigon

I've made it to Siem Reap, Camodia and today went to visit Angkor Wot.  More on that later.  I'm exhausted so I'm not sure how much I'll be able to write, but I know I'm more than a week behind schedule so I'll try to get caught up over the next few days.  Today may be a short one.  Now back to Vietnam... Saigon is insane!

When I finally arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (hereafter to be referred to as what everyone besides the government calls it... Saigon) from Bangkok on Wednesday of last week, I had a bit of a frustrating experience.  The directions from the hostel said to take an airport taxi and then listed two names.  I thought it would be a sort of shuttle bus so that is what I was searching for.  It turns out it was the name of two legitimate companies.  When I finally gave up on finding a bus, I took one of the touts up on his offer of a cab.  I had no idea the going rate so when he quoted 400,000 Dong ($19.00) I came back with 300,000 Dong and we agreed on 350,000 ($16.50).  However, he then handed me off to another driver who led me toward the parking lot instead of one of the cars parked at the curb like I expected.  That should have been my first sign to walk away.

We get to the taxi, I put my bag in the backseat and the driver goes to start the car.  It sputtered a few times before finally turning over.  That should have been my second sign to get out.  There was no meter, but I wasn't that concerned since we had already agreed on a price.  However, as we were going to pull out of the parking lot, he stopped the car and started to say something which I took to mean he wanted me to pay for his parking.  I argued with him saying that we had already agreed on a flat rate and I wasn't going to pay for him to leave the lot.  Then he tried to show me some sort of tariff card that had the rate of 25 USD listed.  He kept pointing at the toll booth and saying something barely intelligible while I kept yelling,  "I don't understand what you mean."  I realized this was going nowhere fast so that's when I tried to get out of the car.  Except the door was locked.  When I realized I couldn't get leave, I freaked out and started banging on the window glass yelling, "Let me out!"  His response was "You're no good," to which I wanted to answer, "No, you're no good for trying to scam me."  Finally as I reached for the door on the other side. he reluctantly released the lock.  I got out of the car, hastily grabbed my stuff and started to walk back toward the terminal.  He called me back and fortunately was decent enough to return the printout that told me where I needed to go.

A bit scared off from the taxi racket I wandered around for at least another half hour trying to find a bus.  Hot and sweaty, I finally gave up and walked up to a taxi on the curb that was thankfully metered.  In the end I paid just over 150,000 Dong ($7.00) without any sort of "tariff" or parking fee.  I honestly don't think I was ever in any danger, but I was quite clearly trying to be ripped off.

Right after I arrived at my hostel (with one or two more wrong turns after getting out the cab since the hostel was in a small alley) it started to pour down rain.  The hostel lent me a big umbrella and I ran out to eat a quick fried rice dinner under a tarp at the place on the corner.  I stayed up a little later than planned taking care of some things so I slept in a bit in the morning.

That next morning I made my way by foot through the moto-congested streets of Saigon to the Independence Palace... known since the end of the war as the Reunification Palace.  It was all I could do not to get hit by a motorbike on the way as they are absolutely EVERYWHERE, including the sidewalk when they can't jostle for room on the street.  They're not supposed to be there, but it doesn't matter.  Pedestrians do not have the right of way.

The Reunification Palace was the home and workplace of the President of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.  On April 30, 1975, a Viet Cong tank bulldozed through the main gate, thus ending the war.  The President was forced to walk out of the palace after surrendering.  The eery thing about it is that aside from repairing the broken fence, the North Vietnamese left the building exactly as they found it.  That means the style of the decor is kind of Western-influenced mid-70s chic with a hint of Asian flair.  There's a really funky half-barrel bar in one room and lots of crazy light fixtures.  On one of the roofs is a Russian helicopter, which totally reminded me of the part in "Miss Saigon" where the U.S. chopper takes off from the embassy leaving Kim behind.  In fact, I was singing song from the musical in my head all day long.  Another really interesting part of the palace is the basement where the President had a complete second bedroom and war room.  It was dark and dank and I would not have wanted to work down there.

After leaving the palace I walked over to the War Remnants Museum.  I only had a short time before it closed, but I decided to pop in anyway.  I had been warned that the museum was a bit biased having been created by the North Vietnamese victors.  I learned rather quickly that the conflict was actually called the War of American Aggression and that Americans are evil.  I decided to work my way from top to bottom so the first exhibit I went into was actually a rather even-handed photo display that had toured through the U.S. before being donated to the museum.  It seemed to be mainly a collection of photos starting with the war with France in the 1950s that were taken by photographers who later died in the battlefield.  It was incredibly sad and moving.  I only made it halfway through before the museum closed, but thankfully with my ticket I was able to return for free the following day.

That night back at my hostel I made friends with my new roommate, Judith, who was from Holland.  The next morning we went back together to the War Remnants Museum where we walked through exhibits on Agent Orange, the "war crimes" committed by the enemy and the "Tiger Cages" torture chambers where some North Vietnamese POWs ended up.  Now I know that there are two sides to every story and  that the U.S. did some pretty awful things, but you would have though that the Viet Cong soldiers didn't even use guns or kill or torture anyone in their efforts to win the war.  I guess that's why the say the winner gets to write the history books.  I have to say, though, that the worst thing was seeing photos of the victims of Agent Orange.  Children in Vietnam are still being born with health defects and deformities two or three generations later.  You can see the victims on the streets of Saigon peddling their wares without the ability to walk.  I bought gum from one guy who had to scoot around on his butt because it's more than I could bear to watch.

As we were leaving the museum, we met an Israeli-American guy named Shlomie who needed help finding his hostel and ended up walking back the same direction with him.  We met up later for dinner and drinks and then made plans to keep in touch the next day.  That Saturday, I went with Judith to the Chu Chi Tunnels, which were used by the Viet Cong guerrillas as hiding spots during combat.  Shlomie had gone the previous day and had recommended his tour guide who was a former South Vietnamese soldier.  We booked with the same company hoping for the same guide, but unfortunately got someone else.

Though the anti-American propaganda continued, it was amazing to see up close the kind of conditions under which soldiers from both sides were fighting.  It was the middle of the jungle and the tunnel system was massive.  Some parts of the tunnels can't be more than a meter wide, but the VC soldiers were so skinny that the could slide through without any problem.  It is insane to me to think that some of them lived or worked inside from months at a time.  There's a 100-meter section of tunnel that tourists can now crawl through and though there are lights, the end is so narrow you're not sure you'll get though.  Once we got out we dined on "VC hamburgers," which were actually some kind of cooked taro root dipped in sugar and spice.  At the very end we had the pleasure of watching an old newsreel about the evils of America and the virtues of the North Vietnamese.  Although, I'm convinced that the U.S. should never have involved in the war and that it was all Cold War maneuvering, I think it's really funny that they assert that we started the whole thing.

I ended my stay in Saigon on an upbeat note with a trip to the circus with Judith and Shlomie.  It was Judith's idea after she saw the tent across the street from our hotel and Shlomie and I decided to play along.  There were some impressive acts, but it was on a smaller scale than the Beijing acrobats so it didn't quite live up to that precedent.  The cutest part was when the clowns would come out and they would bring kids up to the stage to volunteer for various tricks.  And the best part was when Shlomie got called to the stage not once, but twice to try to twirl a hula hoop and then to help out with a magic trick.  We all went out for drinks after the show for our last night all together in town.

Up next I'll tell you all about my trip down the Mekong Delta from Vietnam to Cambodia.