Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Hanoi Soccer Fever

We arrived in Hanoi on Christmas Eve and found a huge celebration on the streets... naturally, with the large Catholic population in Vietnam, we assumed this was a Christmas celebration... well you know what happens when you assume...

It turned out that Thailand and Vietnam played the first leg of Southeast Asian Championship Soccer tournament that night in Thailand and Vietnam won the game 2-1. There are just over 3 million people in Hanoi and I'm fairly certain we saw at least 2 million of them that night screaming at the top of their lungs in the streets of Hanoi. Luckily for us, we happened upon this scene and enjoyed a very surreal Christmas Eve with the vast majority of Hanoi.

Fast forward to a few days later and the final leg of the SE Asian Cchampionship was being played in Hanoi... we went off to Halong Bay for a few days but made sure that we would be in Hanoi for the game to hopefully snag a last minute ticket... Unfortunately, the traffic into Hanoi on Sundays is about 10 times worse than a Sunday afternoon drive on I-70 after skiing so we barely made it to Hanoi in time for the game.. no way we would make it to the stadium in time... probably a good thing.

The Vietnamese team barely held off the Thai team with a 1-1 tie which meant that Vietnam won the championship for the first time in 40 some years... This time, I'm fairly certain that all 3 million Hanoi citizens were on the streets celebrating... A scene that rivals even the Broncos first Super Bowl win. Absolutely incredible...

The best part about this is that Jodi and I had a front row seat to all of the madness because there's a multi-level KFC right downtown that overlooks the main plaza in Hanoi... armed with mashed potatoes and fried chicken, we watched the people from the second level balcony and enjoyed our delicious meal. Good times...

By the way, no one was drinking at the celebration and therefore no fights, no fires and no flipped cars... Weird.
And Asians love KFC!


By the way, Jodi got pooped on by a pigeon two days ago... I hid by amusement at the time but trust me, I was laughing inside... just a lesson I've learned from 18 months of marriage... This puts the total number that I've seen a bird poop on at 2 (Nik Fodor was number 1).
I bet no one can beat this record...

Happy New Year!

Bangkok

On the 29th we left rainy, cold, chaotic Hanoi and headed to Bangkok on a 9am flight. We arrived and were immediately enveloped by the heat as we left the plane. It was fantastic. We had 5 days of rainy, cold weather in Vietnam, and didn't really have the clothes to deal with it. It's tough to dry anything out in such a damp climate, especially when you shove it all in a bag and carry it to a new destination each morning. We've been in Bangkok for 3 1/2 days now. We were going to head north to Chang Mai, but there is a 5 day Thai holiday around the New Year, so all the Thai people are heading home to see family and the trains and buses are packed. No worries--we decided just to spend some time in Bangkok and then end our trip island hopping south.
Bangkok is a very interesting city. It's pretty sprawling, so it's taken us a few days to really get the lay of the land. We're staying near Khao San Rd, which is the infamous backpacker area. The street is closed off, and there are tons of bars and street vendors hawking goods to the tourists and backpackers. Cafe tables spill into the streets and there are people everywhere. We spent our first night enjoying the energy of it all--it's sort of like being on the old vegas strip, without the gambling. We also took a brief jaunt over to the Pat Pong Market in the red light district. Ping Pong show, anyone? They try really hard to get you in there.
You have to be careful in Bangkok, as everyone is trying to sell you something, or scam you into something. Particularly the Tuk Tuk drivers--they are horrible. You negotiate a price (which is about 3-4 times higher than what a metered taxi ride would cost, but none of the taxi drivers in the tourist areas will use their meters), and you say no stops and about 10 minutes into your ride the scams begin. "Oh, that is closed, but I know a much better place". "OK, I take you there, but first you can get information here at the government office for free. Not open tomorrow, only today". "Today is last day for no tax on the shopping here, at the export center. Very nice things, good price. Today last day." "You like discotheque? You want to go to discotheque?" Basically, these guys get a gasoline commission for bringing tourists to certain spots. One guy showed us a card that said 5 gallons of gasoline, if he brought tourists to this "information office". So it's kind of exhausting to get around because you are battling these guys alot. We figured out the trick is to walk 3 or 4 blocks out of the Khao San area and then you can find a very nice taxi driver who will use the meter to give you a fair price. Outside of the Khao San Rd area everyone is extremely friendly.
Two nights ago we ventured out of this subculture to explore the "real" Bangkok. Turns out the Thai people love Beer Gardens and outdoor concerts. We went downtown and ended up by the mall where there are 4 outdoor beer gardens packed with Thai people nightly. Live bands on 4 back to back stages--it's crazy. We've seen outdoor concert stages set up all around town. In contrast to the glamorous commercial district of downtown, yesterday we took a minibus to the floating market about an hour from Bangkok. Women sell fruit, flowers, vegetables, noodle soups, fried bananas, etc. out of wooden long boats on these river canals. It's really neat to see.
We decided to splurge on New Years Eve, and had a nice dinner on a river boat cruise. The city views at night are amazing--all the wats (temples) and the grand palace are lit up and glittering. We headed back to Khao San Road and rang in the new year with a local and international crowd on the packed streets and crowded pubs--it was a blast. Happy New Year!!
We could easily spend 3-4 more days exploring Bangkok, but today we hop on an overnight sleeper bus at 6pm and head south to the islands! What a way to start 2009!!!!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Pictures!

Pho in Saigon--awesome way to start the trip!













Market in Phnom Penh, Cambodia where we had
lunch--food was amazing!








National Palace in Phnom Penh.












Heading out on Motobike to explore the villages around Battambang, in Northern Cambodia.














Bo getting the history of an ancient temple and the story of its sacred elephant from our 10 year old, impromptu tour guide.

Halong Bay

On the 26th we headed to Halong Bay in Vietnam. It's about 3 hours from Hanoi. We booked a 3 day tour which had us staying in a hotel on Cat Ba Island on the first night, and staying on a Junk Boat in the bay on the second night. Halong Bay is truly amazing. There are tons of limestone karsts and islands jutting up into the bay. Ufortunately, we had crappy weather the entire time we were there, so we really couldn't gain the full perspective of just how many islands there were in the bay. But the ones we could see were spectacular. We also explored an enormous cave inside of one of the islands. It was raining and socked in with fog, but we remained in good spirits. We had a good group of travellers to commiserate with, particularly a German couple that we ended up spending alot of time with. Our hotel was less than spectacular (read: sketchy), but as our booking agent told us "you pay for what you get for, you understand?" Our itinerary had us trekking up a mountain in the National Park on the island that 2nd day, so we decided we'd stick to it. The Germans joined us, and we hiked in the pouring rain. The visibility was extremely limited, but it was still a pretty amazing hike. After the hike we spent about an hour trying to find some dry pants to purchase, as it was cold and we had just soaked our only ones. I am now the proud owner of a $6 pair of hideous Adidas knock-off track pants.
The night on the boat was awesome. The food they provided throughout the trip was basic, but plentiful and pretty decent. We spent the night on the boat playing cards and drinking beer with our fellow travellers and the captain, who was lucky he didn't fall overboard by the end of the night. At one point, somebody tried to buy him a beer, and he comically replied "my company does not let me drink". He was a jolly fellow with a huge smile and a matching belly. We had a great time that night. The next morning we got up and kayaked around the bay. It was misty and foggy, but not raining, and the water was really warm. The views were incredible.

Christmas in Vietnam

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to jump on here, so here's a brief update: We flew from Luang Prabang, Laos to Hanoi, Vietnam on the 24th. We definitely would have loved to spend a few more days in Luang Prabang, it's such a sleepy city, with so much to do in the surrounding mountains and rivers. We loved it! Hanoi, in contrast, was bustling and chaotic. We got in around 6pm on Christmas Eve. Vietnam was playing Thailand in the second to last game of the SE Asian Suzuki Cup, so people were congregated in shop doorways watching the game. We got a hotel room and headed out to explore the city. About 8pm, the city exploded into the streets, as Vietnam won the game. People were waving flags and driving their motobikes through the streets, honking more than normal. We walked to the lake in the center of town and watched as the number of revellers quickly increased. Much to our surprise, there was also a giant, outdoor pop/christmas concert going on. People were everywhere, and vendors were selling Santa Balloons, vietnamese flags, etc. You could barely move through the crowd, yet somehow people were still driving motobikes through. Unreal. We walked over to St. Joseph's Cathedral, which is a giant, beautiful catholic church in the middle of Old Quarter, Hanoi. They were going to have an outdoor midnight mass and broadcast it on a big screen in the church yard. We went to grab a bowl of Pho (vietnamese noodle soup) and wait. We went to a really authentic place (read, we were the only Westerners around) and it was awesome. We headed back to the church yard about 11:30, and it was absolute and utter chaos. Not only were there masses of people that had shown up for the church service, but the crowds were also pouring in from the concert, and there were soccer fans to boot. At one point we had to back out of the crowd, because it was just too crowded, it was literally like sardines and we were all pushing against each other, yet people were still attempting to move through the crowd. We watched as the clergy sang silent night in Vietnamese, and thought of everyone we were missing back home.
The next day we enjoyed exploring Hanoi and it's culinary offerings. We also caught a water puppet show, which I really enjoyed. Marionettes on sticks that move through the water--it's fun to watch. All in all, it was a great Christmas, though as different a Christmas as I could have imagined. I missed the tree and family and traditions, but it was a great experience, just the same. I have learned that the Vietnamese people love a crowd, and aren't afraid to pack as many people/motobikes/cars into one area as is humanly possible. It's pretty funny.

Monday, December 22, 2008

why I love Laos...

besides the monks, temples and buddhas (oh my), i love th e lao way of life. the owner of our guest house is from laos, by way of madison, wisconsin. He says that Lao PDR actually stands for Lao "please don't rush". so true. I really love the atmposphere here--everyone is so laid back, and despite my east coast roots, i think i am adapting very well. the real focus of this blog entry, however, is the waterfall that we visited today. first we saw some gorgeous temples, and then we were off to the Kwang si waterfalls this afternoon. this place is AMAZING. picturesque, idyllic setting with waterfalls cascading down into soft, green pools of water. we hiked in flip flops, beer in hand, to the top of the falls. the "stairs" along the route were pits dug into the clay by the river as it overflows it's banks in rainy season. i love that you can hike this route and swim in these pools, and there are no guardrails or restrictions. there was one area that was considered a "do not swimming area" because it was right next to a giant drop, but that was it. free reign to damage yourself at will. so refreshing. after the long, slick hike the pools were refreshing. we plunged into the deep, green water and ate up every second of it.

Saturday, December 20, 2008

Family Fun in Laos

We spent the last 5 days visiting Bo's family in Vientiane, the capitol of Laos. They are so nice and were so incredibly welcoming. And everyone is so laid back in Laos--nobody wants to worry about anything or offend anyone. It was very relaxing after the whirlwind of temples in Siem Reap. We visited with family, checked out the city a bit, and spent ALOT of time eating. Which was perfectly fine by me, as I love the food. It was quite amusing at Bo's Uncle's house. There were 9 of us staying there--Bo's Aunt and Uncle that own the house, 3 of their 5 kids, us, and Bo's Aunt and Uncle visiting from Germany. Bo's cousin Phi moved to Laos from Germany about 6 weeks ago, and was around quite a bit. Now stick with me here, of these 10 people 7 speak Lao--Bo and I don't speak any, and Phi is just learning. Phi, Phi's parents and Bo speak German. Phi, Bo, and I speak English, as do two of Bo's younger cousins--Thuy and Lang. Phi was the translator, and when he was not around, or if Thuy was at school, the scene went something like this: Aunt we are staying with says something to Aunt from Germany in Lao, Aunt from Germany asks Bo something in German, Bo talks to me about it in English, and responds in German, German Aunt translates back into Lao. It was hilarious. Mostly we talked about food and eating. Phi took us to a couple really great places in Vientiane. It's amazing how much you can actually get to know someone, even if you can only say "Hello", "Thank you", "It's Good" and "I'm full" to them. The Aunts especially loved that I eat all the Lao food (except the chicken foot soup, I didn't really dive in on that one, but I don't think they noticed).

This morning we took the bus from Vientiane north to Vang Vieng in the mountains. It's kind of a touristy resort of a town, but so much fun. We are staying at this cute little place on the river--all bungalows. We got in around 1 and headed out to go kayaking on the river around 2. The river is pretty slow this time of year--class I or II rapids. (Justine, April and I could definitely manage it in a canoe, upright). I love being in foreign countries and experiencing the differences in safety requirements and instruction. There were 6 of us kayaking together, and after getting off the truck the guide asked us if we'd ever used a paddle before and he never really spoke to us again, except to gesture us over to a bar on the side of the river. He was behind us the entire way. So funny. So there are tons of tubers on this river, as well. And as you float down the river there are tons of bars on either side. You can bar hop your way all the way back to your hotel. The spot we stopped at was by far the best. Imagine Spring Break, in Laos, and that's sort of what was going on at this place. We just came from a family visit--I didn't even really wear a tank top the whole time, as Laos is a very traditional country, and here are girls dancing around in bikinis. We can only imagine what the locals think about the Falang ("tourists"). There were people playing soccer, volleyball, lounging in thatched-roof cabana-type buildings, everyone is drinking Beer Lao, and the absolute best part....you have three options in which to fling yourself into the river: zipline, swing, or slide. The waterslide dropped from a platform about 30 feet up in the air, and had a ramp coming off the bottom at about a 45% angle up into the air--people were getting launched. I opted for the zip line. Twice. It was awesome. Again you climb about 30 feet in the air, grab the handles and hang on until the line stops dead and you get launched about 15 feet into the water. So fun! The other members of our kayak group were older folks from Switzerland and I don't think they really appreciated our enthusiasm for the spot. We had a great time. We pulled back up to our bungalow as the sun was setting behind the mountains and sheer, limestone cliffs. It was gorgeous.

I would like to briefly mention the "Friends" phenomenon here in Vang Vieng, as it is very amusing and quite bizarre. There are 8-10 restaurants that play back to back episodes of Friends all night, non-stop. And it is blaring out into the streets. So you're walking around in Laos, looking for dinner, and passing Monica, Chandler, Rachel, Ross and Phoebe in tons of restaurants. Laugh track is your background music. Other restaurants have capitalized on this, and expanded into movies and other tv shows, and some to soccer games. So all the tables and booths are facing the tvs. And all the booths are raised platforms with lap tables and pillows to stretch out and relax on. It's hilarious. I think the locals quickly figured out that people are wiped out from the drinking, swimming and sunning all day, and just want to crash at night. So that's what everybody does--eats dinner and relaxes in front of the tv. There are a bunch of bars, so I'm sure there is nightlife, as well--but I have to say the crashing is a nice option.

And since I know you're all having such charming weather back in the states, I'll take this opportunity to mention that we had to buy $5 sweatshirts tonight, as it has gotten quite cool here--it's in the low 60s right now. Brrrrr.

We're still deciding if we'll go tubing all day tomorrow, or head up to Luang Prabang by bus. We have booked airline tickets out of Luang Prabang into Hanoi, Vietnam on Christmas Eve.

Monday, December 15, 2008

Last night in Cambodia

We have had an amazing week in Cambodia. Our time in Siem Reap has been phenomenal. Yesterday we went to see all the heavy hitters--this biggest, most fabled temples in the area. We hired a tour guide to take us around, which was a wise investment. We visited 4 different temples and learned alot--about the Khmer Empire, the history of Hinduism vs. Buddhism in the area, and about lingas. Lingas are phallic symbols that are carved in all of the temples built to Vishnu (Hindu God). Our tour guide really liked to talk about the lingas, and the topless Asparas, which are nymphs (aka "sexy ladies") carved into the temple walls. Each temple was so unique and so amazing. The structures are breathtaking, and the history is fascinating. The city of Angkor was supporting a million people in the 11th century.
This morning we watched the sun rise behind Angkor Wat (wat means temple). The entire area was misty and dark, and shrouded in mystery as the light changing behind the massive structure. It's pretty indescribable. We spent the rest of the morning exploring 3 of the big temples we had seen the day before, including Ta Phrom, which is where they filmed Tomb Raider. That was among my favorites, as the jungle has overrun the temple and the mix of the two is just amazing.
We're off to get some dinner, but I'll leave you with what I think is a fairly amusing story ( i didn't want to get too philosophical or poetic here...) I just got my hair straightened by an asian hairdresser. allow me to set the stage: this woman has a shop w/ another girl, which is right on a dirt road and completely open air, so she was wearing a face mask the whole time to guard against dust and pollution. i was walking by, and had just gotten out of the shower so my hair was still wet, and i saw her straightening somebody's hair. nobody there spoke a lick of english, so i had to pretend i was blow drying my hair and gesture w/ the straightener (which lives on the floor of the shop). pretty sure they talked about me, naturally. but they were super friendly. they were probably saying "why in the world would this white girl with the crazy hair attempt to straighten it in this humidity?" it's been about 98 degrees everyday, and it's pretty humid, so you can imagine the curly, frizzy mop of hair i've been dealing with. they did 3 asian girls' hair in the time it took to do mine. also--they had this weird plastic ear cover thing that protected my ear and made me look like an elf. $3--and the experience was even better than the straightening.

Angkor Wat

Really, what more can you say about Angkor Wat that hasn't been said? It is incredible and the Cambodian people have a right to be proud. We saw it from all angles, saw it at sunrise and at sunset, took hundreds of pics (at some point, maybe we'll post them?) were burnt by the scorching sun and are tired and happy... we were as touristy as you could possibly be.

One thing I learned a while back when my bros and I were drinking our way through Europe is that no matter how un-touristy you want to be, there's no way getting around the fact that you need to see St. Peter's Basilica, the Eiffel Tower or Angkor Wat... so we bit the bullet and did what everyone else did... we walked the wats... and you know what? It was worth every second. My next step into ugly touristy American? I'm gonna start wearing a fanny-pack.*

By the way, put this on your short list of life's to do's. And do it fast before they close too much of it to the public...

This is our last night in Siem Reap (and Cambodia) before we head to Vientiane, Laos to see my family. Seven closing thoughts on Siem Ream:

1. Did I mention it is hot? It had to be close to 100 degrees and we were walking up and down temple stairs, mountains, etc for three days.. when we get back to town, we are so completely exhausted that it's dinner, 2 beers and we are out.

2. Today was massage #2. Perfect way to end 3 days of exhausting temple trekking. What's the over/under on how many massages I can get in 40 days? 15? 25? 40? Bring it!

3. The food is good, not great. I miss Saigon food... Pho anyone?

4. Everyone takes dollars here... it's the preferred method of payment... weird.

5. I was watching Asia SportsCenter the other day and one of the lead stories (and the only time I've seen basketball highlights here) was Melo dropping 33 in one quarter. I shed a little tear... Melo all grows up now... Can I really keep a tab on my nuggies from the other side of the world? You know it.

6. Jodi is sick of soccer highlights.

7. Cambodia is a very beautiful country and it's people have much to be proud of. Its progression as a nation is slow and may be in deep trouble in 10-15 years when all the kids here grow up. (reminder, 50% of the population is under 16)... I am very proud that the Matchbox Movement has donated to several families in this country and expect to continue do so with Kiva.org's help. If you are a holiday donor, please keep them in your thoughts this Christmas and in the future...


*I apologize if I have offended any fanny-pack wearers... You have rights too.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Squatters

Quick side note on the toilet situation here--squat toilets. In nice places, that means a porcelain toilet bowl built into the ground. In floating homes, that means a hole down into the river. Our hotels have all had western toilets. Anyway, today on our boat trip we made one stop at a floating house that had crocodiles out back. There was a rickety deck built over them to cage them in, and a French woman went in to use the bathroom, which was a hole in the deck down into the crocodile pits. Thankfully, I did not have to use it.

Vietnam and Cambodia

Jodi is sitting next to me writing so I'll try not to write too much of the same stuff...

After our first week spent in Vietnam (Saigon) and Cambodia (Phnom Penh and Battambang) there are several key themes that stand out. The most important of these themes is the absolute devastation of war.

In Saigon, (Ho Chi Minh City) we visited the War Remnants museum and saw the horror and destruction that was brought upon the Vietnamese people during the Vietnam War. No matter what side you take on this war, there is no denying that a large portion of the Vietnamese population (civilian and military) was wiped out. This beautiful country has taken decades to finally begin it's recovery from the war and the effects of things like Agent Orange.

Sadly, Cambodia is still years away from catching up with Vietnam because of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rhouge and the "Year Zero" plan of beginning a perfect communist society by wiping out all the educated citizens and all dissidents (upwards of 2 million victims) and starting from scratch. The worst portion of this plan occurred between 1975 and 1979. Believe it or not, the US backed the Khmer Rouge on several occasions in its attempt to maintain power throughout the years.

How can this type of violence have been allowed to happen only 30 years ago? How do we allow this stuff to continue to happen today in places like East Timor and Burma (both a hop, skip and a jump from where I am typing)??? Of course we all know that it's also happening in many other parts of the world... but how do we let it happen?

The reason this sticks in my head so much is because in October of 1976, while all of this genocidal terror was beginning to happen in Cambodia, just a few miles across the Thai border, my family was in a refugee camp (after fleeing Laos) and I was born.

Somehow my life has taken the crazy path that it has taken, while lives like that of my moto driver in Battambang, who was born in a refugee camp on the Cambodian side of that same border (again, just miles from my birthplace) and his life has taken a completely different and undoubtedly more difficult path.

Can only a few miles difference in birth places make that much of a difference?



The second big theme that that has come out of our first week is the quick adaptation of capitalism in these poor societies. Both Vietnam and Cambodia are like little kids trying to act like teenagers when it comes to capitalism. It's amazing how it seems like every single person (except the monks) are so driven by the $$$
We can't walk 5 steps anywhere without being offered a service or to buy something. It really is amazing how both countries seem to have adopted the system in the exact same way, although the government systems (Vietnam is still a communist country, while Cambodia is a democratic country since 1993's ouster of the Khmer Rouge) supposedly differ so much...

Wow, this might be the most boring blog anyone's ever written... It probably reads like a 10th grade term paper... I'm gonna stop right here and add a few quick, more "bloggie" things so I am not so embarrassed about what I've written so far... I am guessing only 1 person even makes it to reading this portion...

Okay, more "bloggie" section:
Food - Delicious!!!
People - Smiles and waves from everyone!
Weather - effing hot!
Landscape - beautiful!
Massages - 1 and counting...


Up next Angkor Wat... if you don't know what it is, google it, then get excited for us!

Now go get a coffee because I know you've almost fallen asleep reading this!

7 Days in already??

Can we really be 7 days into our trip already? Let me backtrack to the beginning...Saigon. Bo, my cankles, and I landed in Saigon at 10pm on Saturday evening. We were met by a very nice driver from the guest house/minihotel we were staying at. We loaded up and were off--easy as pie. It took me about 20 minutes to fall in love with Saigon. It is hot, steamy and chaotic. The traffic is like nothing I have ever seen before. Everyone has a motorbike. And there are bicycles, cyclos (which is like a bike with a seat on the front), taxis, an occasional car, and buses. Throw in a few random pedestrians crossing the street at will, and you've got the full mix. There are minimal street lights--and they only serve one purpose...to stop traffic. There is no direction to any of it. People cross in front of other people, buses turn through oncoming motorbikes, sometimes people drive up the wrong side of the road...yet there really don't seem to be any accidents at all. The roundabouts are insane. On several occasions I made Bo stop and just watch the traffic. And the motorbikes are not really used for individual transport in Southeast Asia. There are generally at least two people on them. Ofter 3. I have seen entire families of 4 on a Vespa-size bike. And apparently the kids learn to hang on at a VERY young age, (the infants are in the arms of another passenger, but it seems if you can walk, you can hang on). Yet somehow, through all this chaos, there is harmony. It's like a foreign symphony that I don't really know how to hear. It is fluid, harmonious chaos at its best. And the whole city seems to be like that. Noodle shops, food carts, restaurants, hotels, badminton--something is going on everywhere you turn.
Bo and I spent Sunday in Saigon going to the Independence Palace and to the War Crimes Museum, both of which were very interesting. The War Crimes Museum was pretty heavy, as I'm sure you can imagine. It was built in 1975 by the victorious Communist government, so it had a slightly anti-American bias, but any which way you deal the cards our government did some pretty atrocious things to the people of Vietnam. That being said, we followed up the museum by walking through a local park and watching some kids play. There was a huge Christmas display, complete with fake Christmas trees, gifts, elves, and as many gaudy, blinking, shiny holiday baubles as you can conjure up. We walked through, but quickly exited when we realized you had to pay an entrance fee so you could go in and pose for pictures in the different Christmas scenes. On the way home we were attempting to cross a really busy stretch of road, and ended up down a local alley (aka sidestreet?). There were food carts everywhere and we stopped at one to check it out. They ushered us inside so we sat down for a cold Tiger Beer and a snack. Nothing is better than a cold beer and hot street vendor fare when it's steamy and 90 degrees out. We had a very amusing interaction with the people working in the restaurant. There was much laughter, from both parties, as Bo attempted to order. Eventually we got the message across and had the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. It was some sort of rice paper-wrapped bun thing with rice and some sort of scallion/spinach vegetable inside. It was served fried and split open over a fried egg with a dipping sauce. Heaven!
On Monday Morning, we took the 5 hour bus ride from Saigon northwest to Phnom Penh, capitol of Cambodia. Phnom Penh is also bustling and heaving at the seams. It's not as walkable a city, so we often took Tuk Tuks around--carriages pulled by motorbikes. The most important thing to remember in dealing with Southeast Asian traffic is to not make any sudden moves. Decide when you are going to cross the street, and do so in one steady movement. I also prefer not to look at what's coming at me. Anyway, we were able to walk to dinner and whatnot, but had to tuk it to our adventures on Tuesday. Tuesday was another heavy day--we went to S-21, which was a Khmer Rouge torture prison from 1975--1979, and then out to the Killing Fields. The horror of the Khmer Rouge is shocking. They were so effective in their campaign of torture and terror, and literally beat, scared and starved the country into submission. The Killing Fields were so peaceful, yet there were still bits of clothing scattered about from the 17,000 victims that were killed there. They've only excavated some of the graves, and have placed those bones and skulls in a giant glass memorial. Still can't believe this happened in my lifetime, and that they were just removed from power in the 90s. The Khmer Rouge killed roughly 3 million people. Today about 50% of Cambodia's population is under the age of 16--there are kids everywhere! The poverty in Cambodia is rampant. There are many street kids that follow you for blocks asking for money. It's pretty heartbreaking. But it's also inspirational to see how hard these people work and to see what they've risen out of.

Wednesday we saw the Royal Palace and then jumped on a bus to Battambang, in the northeastern part of Cambodia. We did not pre-plan, and tried to purchase a bus ticket about an hour before it left, only to find out it was full. The tuk tuk driver was quite resourceful and took us to a different bus station. As soon as we pulled up I knew we would not be on a nice, spacious bus with the reclining seats. We were the only foreigners in the station. Luckily there was a nice man working there that spoke English and made sure we got on the correct bus. And it was the locals bus. It cost us as much as the tourist bus would have, which presents the question--did we pay too much, or are these local people getting ripped off? This bus was jam packed for the 4 and a half hour trip. At one point there were 7 or 8 people sitting on tiny plastic stools in the aisle. And there was no reclining to be had in those seats--had the person in front of me attempted to do so, I would have lost my knee caps. Those seats were not built for 5'10" white girls. The bus rides through the country side are fascinating. We got into Battambang and got a nice room at a place with a rooftop bar and restaurant and had some Angkor beers as the sun went down.

The next day, Thursday, we hired two motodrivers to take us around to a couple temples in the country outside Battambang. We stopped at a few different local villages along the way to see how people make bamboo sticky rice, rice paper, rice noodles, and how they grow mushrooms. It was very interesting, and impressive to see how everything is used in the processes--there is little to no waste. These people work so hard for cents a day. The rice paper was especially interesting, as we love to go out for rice paper wraps in Denver, and we've bought some to cook with at home. We always wondered about the pattern on the surface of the paper, and it turns out it is pressed in as the paper dries on a woven rack. Everyone was very gracious, letting us look in on their daily lives--though I'm sure they thought we were crazy foreigners. Then we went to an 11th century temple, where a very nice 10 year old gave us an impromptu tour (for $1, of course). And after that we took a long, dusty, bumpy road (very few of the roads were actually paved on this day) to a hilltop temple and the site of the Killing Caves. We had lunch at a local spot, and a 14 year old gave us the tour up the mountain, around the caves, and up to the temple. He chatted with us about people getting bludgeoned and pushed into the caves, and about wanting to beef up to look like a WWE wrestler. We both really enjoyed the diversity of this day--and it was especially nice to have the two guides with us. I had some interesting discussions with my driver along the dirt backroads, as we passed screaming kids, stray dogs, cattle and rice fields.

And now it's Friday. This morning we took the boat from Battambang, through the Tonle Sap River and Lake, to Siem Reap. The boat ride was amazing. We went up the river and saw the local life along the banks. Fishermen, floating houses, homes on stilts, and everywhere naked kids yelling and waving excitedly. The river wove through the banks and the floating villages for 7 hours, eventually dumping us into a huge, wide-open lake. It's dry season here, so at some points the water was very shallow and the boat barely made it through the enclosing brush. We sat on the roof of the boat the whole way, loving every moment of the view. Tomorrow we begin to explore the areas around Siem Reap--namely the Angkor Wat site. Angkor Wat is an ancient temple from the Khmer empire and is supposed to be breathtaking. Can't wait!

Saturday, December 6, 2008

Travel Cankles

Jodi, here. We just landed in hong kong and are on our way to Saigon. Just wanted to take a brief moment to discuss my travel cankles. After 15 hours in flight my skin below the calf is like a stuffed sausage casing. And yes, I currently have cankles. I can barely get my feet in my running shoes-I didn't even have this problem after running 26.2 miles. Pretty funny. We're off to board and learn Vietnamese!

Monday, December 1, 2008

Southeast Asia, here we come!

Six weeks in Southeast Asia! Sounds like an impossibility--are we really going? Extended travel is something I've always wanted to do, but could never really make happen. Student loans, teeny tiny paychecks, commitments...I never felt I could break away. So when I decided it was time for a new career challenge, we decided to take advantage of my joblessness and take a big trip. Bo was lucky enough to be able to take a sabbatical (aka unpaid time off), and now--we're making it happen! Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Malaysia! Bo has been to the region twice before--Once with his family in 2002, and once with Rotary International for a month in 2004. He's spent time in Thailand and Laos, but has never been to Vietnam, Cambodia or Malaysia. I have never been, and I've never traveled anywhere for this length of time.


As you may know, we got a bit sidetracked from our trip planning by the purchase of our first house! The house is amazing--our stuff lives in the basement and we live in just one of the bedrooms, but that's worked out just fine for now. As soon as we get back we'll have a chance to unpack and really move in. Something to look forward to. We just fell in love with the house--when you know, you know, and you can't pass that up.

But the upside to not planning your 6 week trip ahead of time, is that when Thai protesters take over the airports in an attempt to oust the Prime Minister, you can easily change your trip and itinerary without any hassle! We were supposed to fly into Bangkok on Friday, but due to the airport takeover, we changed our flight to Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon, Vietnam. It's been a fairly peaceful protest--and it looks like they are re-opening the airports on Friday, but we're sticking with Saigon just to be sure.

We leave Denver on Friday, December 5th at 6am and land in Saigon on Saturday the 6th at 10:30pm. The longest leg of the trip will be San Fran to Hong Kong, which is about 14 hours--but the travel clinics readily hand out the sleeping pills for that. Our plan is to spend a few days checking out Saigon and then head up into Cambodia. After that we're heading to Vientiane, the capital of Laos. We're aiming to be there on the 16th of December to spend time with Bo's family. And that's our plan, for now. We'll do quite a bit of planning in our first few days abroad, but it turns out it's cheaper and easier to book alot of flights, trains, etc. in-country.

So we're off! The shuttle picks us up at 3am, Friday morning. We hope to give you lots of updates and share lots of photos. I cannot wait to get on the road!