Vietnam, The Begining

Goodnight Laos, Good Morning Vietnam!, Vientiane, Laos to Hanoi, Vietnam February 25, 26,27 2012

The bus to Vietnam is a killer. It takes somewhere in the ballpark of 25 to 30 hours; by far the longest I've been on a bus so far. I reckon that if my bankroll was more substantial I would just fly, then I dismiss the thought. You can fly a helicopter to the top of Mt. Everest but then what's the point.  Also, I want to save my hard earned cash for something more exciting.

The journey starts in Veng Viang but the bus ride to Vienetiane is pretty uneventful. Most people on the bus have been tubing and partying for the last couple days and everyone attempts to zone out and sleep when the bus starts moving, myself included. In the evening the bus arrives Vientiane where I pick up another bus to Hanoi. I meet couple of Europeans and we chat for awhile. As we make our way to the bus, we realize that we are the only foreigners on the bus. Our seats are all together in the back of the bus. We joke about being discriminated against and how racism is still alive and well. We plot some Rosa Parks style civil disobedience, refusing to sit in the back of the bus. We will not stand for this injustice!

 In the end though, we just slowly fall asleep. I wake up at some point in the middle of the night, and realize the bus is stopped somewhere on the side of the road. This turns out to be a good situation because I have to go to the bathroom. Hopefully, I can find a way to open the bus door and sneak out for a bit.  Sure enough the door is wide open and I hop out into a dense fog.  I'm not sure where we are but assume we are waiting at the border crossing into Vietnam.  It doesn't open until the morning.   I look down the road and see a long line of buses and cars that have queued up.  I do my business and climb back into the bus in a sleepy haze.  Maybe this is a dream.

In the morning people on the bus start to stir and our group makes our way out of the bus and into the immigration office, passport in hand.  There's a mob of people gathered inside around each window.  There's nothing which even remotely resembles a line.  We join the mob at the foreign window pushing their way up.   People push their way in through the crowd with no regard for the others that have been standing waiting.  They act as if it was their god0given right to jump in from of everyone waiting; no one else seems to care.  Odd.  We of course, start to get angry after the 4th or 5th person does this and respond with a liberal use of our elbows.  It doesn't work.  We later find out that if you put a moderate amount of money in the passport (a bribe), push through the crowd, and and deposit your passport at the window you get preferential treatment. These are things you learn.

After a series of other hoops, we get back on the bus and continue on in Vietnam.  We arrive at the bus station at night and are greeted by a couple taxi cabs.  They all have meters which we decide is a nice surprise.  We hop in two cabs and head off to the hostel.   We notice that our meter is rapidly going up like a progressive slot machine in a casino.  And just like being in a casino, we are losing money rapidly.  Our meter is rigged!  We discuss telling he driver to pull over and let us out, but we are in an industrial-looking part of town so we decide against it.  We talk openly in the cab about being ripped off, and the driver almost imperceptibly cracks a smile.  He doesn't speak any more English the rest of the trip.  We arrive at our hostel and pay the driver expecting some change.  He plays dumb and drives away.  It's almost comical at this point and we laugh because it's better than getting angry.  The other cab fared worse.  Thank god I didn't take a plane.  ;)    

 In the hostel we tap our much needed beers together: "To having a good time in Vietnam" Cheers.



The Bay Of Dragons, Halong Bay, February 28,29 2012

 I reckon the best way to experience Halong Bay is to cruise around on a boat for a couple days.  It turns out to be a good decision.  The boat only holds about 15 people so everyone becomes friends quickly.  The bay itself is a series of limestone outcrops.  There are thousands of them jetting out from the bay.  It's quite a sight.

• I meet a French family on the boat; a husband and wife with three kids, 13, 14, and 17.  They tell me over dinner that the husband has sold his business and they have been traveling the world as a family for about 7 months with 3 more to go.  At first I was astonished that they could make such a decision, but after awhile I think it is amazing.  The husband and wife tell me they want to spend some quality time as a family before the kids grow up ad move away.  If this is their goal, there is no better way to do it than exploring the world together.  It's one long field trip for the kids.  The mother teaches them as time permits so they don't fall too far behind in school.  
• I meet a couple of Danish guys who want to buy a motorbike and ride it through Vietnam and Cambodia, then sell it at the end.  This will be quite an adventure for them.  There are times when people test your limits of what you though were feasible and possible in the world.  This is one of them for me.  I don't know if they will have the best time or the worst time with this decision, but wither way it will be memorable.  I wish them the best.  They are fun to hang out with on the boat.
• We take a trip to a local floating village.  At one time they lived on the floating bamboo boat houses and fished for a living.  Now I think the business mostly revolves around renting kayaks to tourists like me.  Either way living on a series of floating bamboo houses should be an interesting life.  Also, most of the houses have dogs and cats.  It must be interesting for them as well.
• We take a trip to a cave system and wander around for a couple hours.  Our guide points out the various animals and dragons in the cave formations.  Imagination required.
• I try squid fishing on the boat at night.  It involves a bright light and a line with a lure on the end.  I don't catch anything; I don't even get a bite.  Such is the way with fishing though.        

People in the Hills, Sapa, March 1,2 2012
I take the train north to a small town called Sapa. It's near the border with China. I stay in a train car with three people from Malaysia traveling in Vietnam.  Their English is good and we talk for hours about my trip to Malaysia, their government, life.  They are particularly interested in my stint at the Buddhist monastery in Thailand.  We arrive in the morning to a frigid fog. It's winter time in the hills!

I plan to do some trekking outside the town to visit some small tribal villages outside of town.  I hire a local guide.  Some things to note:

• The fog rolls into Sapa in the morning and the sun tries desperately to burn it away in the afternoon. There's never a clear winner.  
• Despite having dirty feet and hands, the people in villages are beautiful in a way I can't describe.  
• In one village we see a small motorcade of bikes zoom by. There are a bunch of young, drunk guys operating them. On the last bike a girl sits crying. Our guide informs us that they are getting back from the arranged wedding.  Perhaps the girl didn't want to get married at this particular time.
• Many of the women have babies tied to their backs. None of them ever cry for some reason; I assume any other variety of baby (American, Dutch, take your pick) would not put up with this for long. I hear a rumor that they are drugged, but I cannot verify this.
• I see a chicken escape it's cage and run for freedom, only to be caught a minute later and taken to the 'back room'.
• We hike through rice fields, past streams, past goats, pigs, over bridges. Our guide and 6 or 8 friends trek with us to 1) keep us company, and 2) try to sell some of their wears. They are mostly fun to have around. Nice people.
• There is a mysterious absence of men in the villages. We learn that the men mostly work in the fields which haven't been planted yet. I assume they will awake soon to plant the first rice in the fields.
• The markets are very raw in Sapa.  Animal parts are simply strung out over the tables in the market and fish are kept alive in large bowls. The markets here are colorful.
• The Pho here is absolutely great because it is cooler. I eat at the market most of the time.  I realize that all of the ingredients were also purchased at the market; beef included.
• I see a full pig roasting in the street.

Ho Chi Minh And a Bicycle Ride, March 3,4 2012

Back in Hanoi after the trip to Halong Bay and Sapa, I take a tour of Hanoi and outlying areas.

Water Puppets

Pagoda

awesome hat

Riding bike through rice fields

Rice fields

Boat Ride

Through a cave

Cambodia

I Bid Thee Farewell Vietnam, Phnom Phen March 15 2012

I quickly devour my last bowl of Pho and Vietnamese coffee and speed walk down the street to catch my bus to Cambodia. I thoroughly enjoyed Vietnam, but I'm ready to move on. On the bus, I meet two Polish girls who happened to stay in the same room as me in Saigon. Now I have two friends to talk to on the way to Cambodia which is nice; Izha and Anna.

Funny translation at Vietnamese restaurant

We arrive to Phnom Phen and the first thing I notice is that there are a lot of Lexus's SUVs mixed in with the other, generally deplorable driving machines (tuk tuks, bicycles, etc) on the road. This is odd because Cambodia is definitely a very poor country, similar to Laos. I never do find out why there are so many Lexus's.

The bus drops us off in an area of the city we didn't expect so we have to quickly orient ourselves before we get off the bus and face the gang of tuk tuk drivers vying for our attention and business. Our map is not the most detailed so it hard to determine exactly what street we are on, but we know the general direction. Getting off the bus, we encounter the tuk tuks. We tell the first guy where we are going and ask how far our guest house is (we already know it's about 1km away) He tells us it's 6km but he will take us for only 3 dollars. We tell him it is definitely not that far away according to our map and I try to use this as leverage to lower the price to 2 dollars. He declines, so we walk. As we're walking he proceeds to follow us in his tuk tuk trying to bargain for about a third of the way to the guest house. He should have just taken the 2 dollars!

The guest house turns out to be uniquely cool. The dorm rooms do not have the typical packed clusters of bunk beds. Each floor is one big room with high ceilings. The beds are just foam pads on the ground; each bed has its own fan and mosquito net hanging from the ceiling. It felt like a slumber party in a warehouse. There is an older gentleman and a couple younger guys in the room already when we arrive. We play the 'guess where everyone is from game'; New Zealand, two Poland, two American, one Japan.

Slumber party guesthouse

Me and the two polish girls spend the evening exploring the city markets, temples, and other interesting buildings.

Death & Destruction of a Society, Phnom Phen March 16 2012

We wake up from our slumber party and grab some breakfast (soup) and coffee to fuel our morning. Today we plan to explore the 'Killing Fields' and the S21 Genocide Museum. It's certainly not going to be a fun day per se, but it should be enlightening. A bit of history:

In the early 70's a regime came to power in Cambodia called the Khmer Rouge. The leader, a guy named Pol Pot, had this brilliant idea to turn the society into a giant farming collective; pure communist idealism and insanity. Upon gaining power, he ordered all citizens to leave the cities and go to assigned farming collectives in the countryside.  Families were uprooted and forced to farm (most of which had no farming knowledge). Many died in the countryside because there wasn't adequate food or medical care. Those who refused to go were killed. Those who were viewed as intelligent or educated were killed. Those who were suspected of going against the new government were killed. Entire families were killed so that no one was left alive to seek revenge. This included babies and small children. In total, the Khmer Rouge killed somewhere between 2-3 million people in their own population out of 8 million..IN THE LATE 70's! This was only about 35 years ago.

We spend a couple minutes flagging down a tuk tuk to take us around to the places. The killing fields are about 30 minutes outside of the city. We decide to go there first to beat some of the heat of the day. Upon arrival we are given a headset and a map of the area. We push play and move from site to site. Saddness begins to trickle into the group. You can see it on other's faces as well. Everyone kind of walks around in silent gloom. 

<Voice from the headset>Here is where the prisoners where brought into the camp by the truckload, here is where they were beaten and thrown in the pits still alive, then they poured chemicals on the bodies to kill them, here is a box of bone fragments and clothes which was recovered, here is a tree where babies were thrown against to kill them, here is a pit where 100s of bodies were found without heads...mostly women, here is a pit where 1000s of bodies were found coming out of the earth because the gases of the decomposing bodies expanded through the earth, here is a tree where loud propoganda was played so that people couldn't hear the screams of the other people getting killed.

After a couple of hours of this, you start to feel a weight on your shoulders. It's all very gruesome and heavy. The thing that really gets you is when you begin to realize that all of this happened below your feet and around you not that long ago. It's not just a story. I stood in a place where countless numbers of people were systematically killed in terrible ways. You begin to realize that humans (you and me) are capable of doing terrible things and you begin to realize the reason why there is no sugar coating anything in this place. It serves as a stark reminder of our dark side. I begin to realize that whatever struggles and hardships I have are nothing compared to the people in this country. As I will learn a couple days later, the people in this place are amazingly warm and nice. It boggles the mind.

Read the sign

Inside Shrine

Outside Shrine

As if the killing fields weren't enough, we then go to the genocide museum which is not really a museum at all. It's the building were the Khmar Rouge would interroge, torture, document, and hold prisoners. It had an eerie feel to it. You walk into a room/cell and there is a old bed and a couple chains. On the wall is an old photo of a dead/decomposing body chained to the same bed. There are photos of hundreds of faces of those that were killed. There are stories of people who joined the Khmar Rouge because they feared for their lives. Better join them and kill others than be killed yourself. This is a decision I hope I never have to make. My god.

S21 Genocide Museum (AKA old prison)

They hung people upside down into filthy water

They took pictures of everyone they killed

That night we go to the market and meet up with Faith Ellie from Italy. We sit on large bamboo mats and eat (I order a whole grilled squid) and compare sugar cane juice from a couple different vendors. It was a long day.

Market Food

Kids taking care of kids in the market

An Unexpected Gift, Kampot March 17 2012

As all my newly made friends head off to Siem Reap to see the ruins of Angkor Wat, I head south to Kampot; a relaxed town on the southern shores of Cambodia. As I wait for the bus, I chat briefly with the Englishman who owns the hostel. I explain that I'm waiting for the bus to which he replies “Yeah, they probably won't pick you up here at the hostel. The tourist agencies tell you they'll pick you up at the hostel, but they rarely do. <I show him my bus ticket> Ok, well that one might pick you up, but you never know.” After this reassuring chat, I decide to just wait it out and trust the travel agency. The bus arrives 15 minutes late (AKA right on time in Cambodia), I get on, and sit next next to a young mother with a kid. She tries her best to curtail his squirming until he falls asleep, then she falls asleep.

At one of the stops I meet a German after asking him where he bought a bag of sugar cane juice. I wander over to the stand and ask the woman for one to-go. She swats away the flies that congregate around the collector and adds another sugar cane stick to the grinder and laboriously turns the wheel to squeeze the juice out. For the uninitiated, sugar cane juice is damn refreshing in the 90+ degree heat of the Cambodian dry season.

Upon arrival, the German and I tag along to find a hostel to call our home. We find one that has a cool atmosphere but crappy rooms, so we get a nicer place across the street. We reason that we can stay at the nicer place and wander back over to the fun place in the evening for drinks. We then set out to explore the town a bit and get something to eat for dinner. I learn that my new friend is a researcher in Cambodia studying the supply chain and health benefits of eating the various insects which locals dine upon. He also goes into small towns and learns out how they catch the crickets and tarantulas (yes, this is considered a food item in Cambodia). Interesting job.

We find one of the local food restaurants, which is really just a tent with a couple lights strung up. Up front, there are about 10 to 12 pots of food and an assortment of grilled meats on a table. Luckily, my friend has been in Cambodia for awhile and knows what most of the things are. We point to various things and sit down at a plastic table and wait to feast on the local Khmer food. About half way through eating the power in the town goes out. A battery powered light glows a couple feet away, so it's not completely dark but it's hard to see what you are eating. This is a problem when the food has bones in it (which most Khmer food does). The power flickers back on after awhile to everyones delight. We leave, and go get some dessert from another stall down the street; a fruit shake and a local dessert with beans, ice, condensed milk, and some kind of dense cake. It's delicious.

To end the evening we head back to the hostel across the street from ours. The bar is fairly lively, and I  chat it up with a Swiss guy. We order a round of Kampot pepper shots for fun. Apparently the town is famous for its pepper plantations. We breath fire for a short time, finish our beers, say farewell to the swiss guy and declare St. Patrick's day in Cambodia a success. Tomorrow we're going to Kep; a small beach town about 25 km up the road.

Adventures on a Motorbike Part 4, Kep March 18 2012

My friend decides to leave at the crack of dawn and do an organized tour around the area. I think it will be more fun to rent a motorbike and ride through the countryside unguided and not behind the window of a bus. We part ways until the evening.

Kep

Kep Beach

I grab a motorbike and a helmet an set off to Kep. The road to Kep is straight, but full of potholes so the road is always my primary focus and I see the countryside in my peripheral vision. It's mostly farmland with a few cows and villages sprinkled about.

I find a nice spot by the sea, park the motorbike, and walk up to what looks like a couple dozen beach bungalows with hammocks strewn about. A woman greets me with a menu. She doesn't speak any english but I point to a 'shrimp fried with Kampot pepper' and a 'coke' on the menu and she nods and goes off. I set up shop with my India guidebook and the ocean breeze and relax. After awhile, the woman come back with a huge plate of shrimp grilled with strands of raw peppercorns and rice. I eat, take a nap, and read in the hammock until it's time to meet up with the German.

I strap on my helmet and ride the motorbike back up to the trail head for Sunset Rock. This is supposed to be the best spot to watch the sunset over the ocean. It's a half kilometer hike up a mountain. Just as I arrive, I see my friend get off the bus and start to walk up. He's tired but ready to make the hike up the hill. The first thing we notice is that it is unbelievable hot. We're drenched after about 5 minutes of walking. This better be worth it! On the way we run into a French guy carrying a backpack and we immediately complement him on his fortitude. He tells us he is going to camp in one of the abandoned houses we pass on the way up the mountain. Not something I would do in Cambodia but to each his own. He joins us on the hike. We reach the top at the perfect time to see the sunset unfold. We can see parts of Vietnam and a handful of islands in the distance. The town of Kep is also visible below us; great view. As we're resting on the rock a couple more people walk up. We ask them if they brought the beer; they laugh and join us on the rocks.

Before heading back to Kampot, we decide to go grab some dinner at the crab market. Lucky for my friend that I had a motorbike or he would be walking back to Kampot. He hops on the back and we ride down the coast to the market. It's a lively place where locals can buy live crabs which the people keep in baskets out in the water. I get some string ray fried, again, in Kampot pepper. It tasted a little bit like shark.

We head back to town in the dark which was probably the best part of the day. It's rare that you get to ride a motorbike through the Cambodian countryside with the moon and stars lighting the sky up. I take it slow since my friend didn't have a helmet and the road it bad. The villages I passed by during the day are now lit up at night. Many of them have, what looks like, a communal family hut with a t.v. Everyone is huddled around in the open hut watching Cambodian television shows. I imagine how it must have been before they had tvs. I can tell that it is a fairly new addition to the lives of these people.  It takes us an hour to get back into town. We pass by a wedding which is in full force, and head down to get a fruit shake and 'icey bean dessert' and then call it a night.

Just Being, Kampot March 19,20,21 2012

The next three days I don't really plan to DO anything. Kampot is one of those places that's hard to leave. The people are really warm and friendly and the town is nice, so I decide to just stay and be there.

I eat at the local food stall everyday for lunch and dinner and the owners recognize me.

I meet a older Cambodian guy who is in the army. We talk for a couple hours over dinner. He tells me about the border disputes with Thailand and he has been assigned to monitor the situation. He tells me about the Khmer new year which is coming up. His English is not great but we manage to get by. Other locals listen intently, but I'm not sure if they understand English.

Kids see me and say hello in the most enthusiastic and innocent way: “Helllooooooo” I always say say hello back and wave.

I meet a younger Cambodian guy who is a businessman. He rents bikes and organizes trips for tourists in Phnom Phen. He has an iPhone and speaks good English.

I meet a guy and three Cambodian girls about my age who work at a new resort outside of town. They order the duck eggs which are half egg and half duck and tell me how to eat it (i.e. a half matured duck egg, boiled). It looks disgusting but they seem to enjoy it thoroughly. I never do get around to trying this. Next time.

I meet a girl from Finland and a girl from somewhere else in Europe. One of them is going to be in India about the same time as me. We might meet up.

Kampot

Town Center (a durian)

8th Wonder of the World, Siem Reap-Angkor Wat March 22,23,24 2012

Siem Reap is a tourist city, built upon the masses of tourists which come from all over the world to see the ruins of Angkor Wat; the self nominated 8th wonder of the world. Imagine a city comprised entirely of hotels, restaurants, bars, bike rental places, and convenient stores. This is Siem Reap. The real allure of this area is about 8km up the road to the gates of Angkor Wat; a massive temple complex built 1000s of years ago. It takes days to see it all.

The first day I rent a bike and go to the closer temples. The second day I hire a motorbike driver to go out to some more remote temples. It's impressive.

Bayon

3/25/2012 Back to Bangkok

From Siem Reap I take a bus back to Bangkok to catch a flight to New Delhi, India. I meet a couple Americans studying in an exchange program in Bangkok on the bus; one from West Virginia, one from California. When we arrive in Bangkok, we eat dinner at a place called Ethos, that I had discovered months ago when I was last in Bagkok. At around 11pm, I catch a cab back to the airport. After unsuccessfully searching for wifi, I find a place to sleep for a couple hours.