Good Ol' Vietnam

It's been 12 days since my last post. It's not that I haven't had the time, but most of the days in Vietnam were spent on the beaches. So the whole blog post would be..."slept on a beach, went out. Repeat." So I waited until I have enough material to make the post a little bit interesting.

Since Phu Quoc, my first destination was Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as it used to be called, and this is the second largest city in the country. After much frustration with a local bus and incessantly naggy motorcycle drivers, I finally made it to the center of the backpacker's area, which was bustling with activity in the ever-so-bright neon lights.



An excursion out to the Cu Chi Tunnels was the main attraction of the city. These 250 km winding tunnels in the city next to Saigon was the last line of defense against the Americans during the Vietnam War (or American War as it is known here). Being American, it was hard to watch the propaganda video that repeated the phrase "Killing Americans" at least 10 times. Nonetheless, our tour group crawled through 60 meters of a tunnel, a dire claustrophobic experience to say the least. In addition to these tunnels were underground kitchens, hospitals, etc.





Throughout Vietnam, I've been traveling with a UK girl named Natasha that I had met back in Cambodia because it seems like everyone has the same tourist destinations as Vietnam is a narrow country. I had met up with her in Saigon, and we went to Mui Ne and Nha Trang, 2 beach towns, with the former being the calm serene beach town and the latter being the loud, party mecca of Vietnam. In Mui Ne, we pretty much did nothing but eat, go to the beach, sleep, and enjoy the sunlight. On the second day there, we went to the red sand dunes that it's famous for, and managed to do a little bit of sand sliding (which was actually PATHETIC).





In Nha Trang, I met a lot of good people through the hostel, bars, restaurants. It's supposed to be a big party town, but it doesn't compare to anything in Thailand or even Cambodia for that matter. The good thing about going out in Vietnam is that it seems like everybody goes to the same bar and moves in a pack to the next bar and has an after-party at the same place. I also went scuba diving in Nha Trang as I'm diving at least once in every country. The dives in Nha Trang were a bit disappointing as the current was so strong and the fish hid away in various crevices. The corals were still beautiful, and the visibility was great.



And then there was Hoi An. By far my favourite town in Vietnam. Unlike the other places, this town has a very charming, old town feel to it, and it is home to 400 tailor shops! Girls go to Hoi An to get 6 tailored dresses, 3 tailored boots, while guys get 2 tailored suits and 4 tailored shirts. This is probably average. I bought 1 tailored cashmere suit, and 4 tailored shirts for 125 dollars. It's amazing how fast they work too - they can take your measurements in the morning, finish the trousers and shirts by the afternoon, get them fitted, and finish the jacket by night. Other than that, the town had the best nightlife in Vietnam so far, and there's a very nice beach nearby, easily accessible by bike.





I'm in Hanoi, the capital, right now, but I'm a little sick. I caught a cold (hopefully it's a cold) on the 20 hour bus ride from Hoi An to Hanoi on an overpacked sitting bus. That's another thing about Vietnam: traveling takes A LONG time. Here's another thing about Vietnam: The food has been the best here compared to other countries. There's not much special about the food here, but I have absolutely loved the rice stalls and the french bread sandwich stalls here.

In a few days, I'm off to China! A little bit of fear, a little bit of excitement. We'll see how that ends up...

- Ryoji

Phnom Penh, Beaches, Beaches, Beaches!

I was supposed to leave Siem Reap everyday, but I stayed for another night every time. I kept on telling my friends, "I'm leaving tomorrow," only to find myself in the same town, same hostel, same bed. That's how comfortable Siem Reap was. I finished the tourism stuff in the first 2 days. But I stayed there for 6 days. Why? Not exactly sure. Except that, unforeseen circumstances came up everyday. So I ended up staying there taking pottery classes, going to the night market, watching traditional Aspara dancing shows, getting a fish massage, eating crickets, etc etc.







When I finally got up and left the town, I said goodbye to a bunch of the people that I've met there, only to find myself in a cramped bus to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. I had started reading a book called First They Killed My Father, a story about a family that was torn apart by the Pol Pot Regime. I had bought this book from one of the numerous boys and girls wandering the streets of Cambodia selling postcards and books. Here's what Pol Pot and the Red Shirts had done in the 1970's: This government decided that it would be a great idea to kill all doctors, businessmen, teachers, nurses, and anybody else that had any type of education. They put everybody in farm villages to become a self-sustaining country, free from Western influence. As I was reading the book on the bus, I found myself crying a little bit, a sight that had to be hidden away by my book from the strange faces on the bus.

In Phnom Penh, I met these 2 Chinese girls from Toronto at the hostel that I was staying. We decided to go out to eat at a traditional Khmer restaurant, and we ended up bumping into some of their friends from Vietnam. With an army of about 15 foreigners, we stormed into a bar, asked for a discount, sat down, and had a merry ol' time (although a group of 3 guys ended up spending about 30 dollars on beer, which was 75 cents each). As we were walking back to our hostel, it was kind of early still, and I distinctly heard hip-hop music being played. I looked around. I saw a lounge. I went in. I danced. And then, something interesting happened, which I'll keep to myself.

The next day, the Toronto girls and I went to the S21 prison, a converted high school that Pol Pot used as a torture prison, the Independence Monument, National Museum housing Angkor statues, the Royal Palace, and the Wat Phnom. The reason I wanted to come to Phnom Penh was for the S21 prison, so here are some pictures:





And a picture of a boy coming to pick up some schoolkids. A pretty normal sight in Southeast Asia, but still amusing:



After 3 days in Phnom Penh, I headed for the beaches of Sihanoukville, the closest thing to a beach resort in Cambodia. Unfortunately, the beach was a bit ugly, touristy as hell, and you could not read a page before some little girl comes up to you and asks if you want a bracelet (NO!). Fortunately, the nightlife was pretty good, and I met some interesting people, one in particular. I also spent a day going on fun dives, which was surprising good with nice visibility considering it was storming on the surface. On the trip, I met a wonderfully amusing and talkative Dutch family, who at the end of the day, invited me to have dinner with them. They took me out to a fantastic restaurant on the other side of town, and the sunset was just picturesque.



After a week and a half in Cambodia, I headed to Vietnam, to an island called Phu Quoc. I only have until August 1st in Vietnam, so I kind of need to hurry up (I'm not used to schedules and deadlines anymore). Phu Quoc was a beautiful place, with great beaches, and I practically did nothing but sleep, sunbathe, swim, and listen to music. I didn't talk to anybody. I made no friends. And that was quite alright with me because I needed this time alone. After all the bustle and socializing in the last 2 months, it was good to reflect and look back.



Next up, Ho Chi Minh City. I don't think I'll have much self-reflection time there!

- Ryoji

Trekking in Chiang Mai and Angkor Wat!

After a few enjoyable nights in Chiang Mai, I signed up for a 3 day, 2 night trekking tour. Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand, and it's known for trekking although the treks revolve around not just the scenery or the wildlife, but more for the hilltribe villages. Unfortunately, I decided to go out on the night before the trek, even though I had to wake up at 8am the next day. I was meaning to go home at around 11 or 12, due to unforeseen circumstances, I went home at 6am, only to get one hour of sleep. Lets just say that it was not a pleasurable walk towards the top of the mountain, where the Lanu village people lived. Because a large number of tourists come and go from the village, I found the village to have lost its indigenous nature.

On the second and third day of the trek, we went to 2 waterfalls, where we took nice showers, went elephant trekking, white water rafting, and bamboo rafting. Elephant trekking, though it's a bit sad for the elephants, was a unique experience that is special to Thailand.



White water rafting was a bit of a disappointment because it was only about Grade 3, but the bamboo rafting proved to be the most challenging and the most fun. Three of us got on a bamboo raft that is not properly tied together so our feet were sinking every second, and we fell into the water several times before we got the hang of it.



After the trek, the guys in the trekking group and I went out to go see Thai boxing in the sketchiest strip of shady bars and lounges with lady-boys. It was a pretty surreal experience. After that, we went out to a more kosher establishment, where I had a blast. Chiang Mai was one of my favorite towns so far, and I would go back there if I ever came back to Thailand.

After a few days in Bangkok again, I crossed the border to Cambodia via coach bus to a town called Siem Reap, the town closest to the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat. I met a group of girls on the way to the town, and we stayed at the same hostel for a few nights. I've met a lot of nice people at the hostel; although it's expensive, it has a big pool, loads of amenities, and a cleaning service. I can't really complain. The first night out, the hostel had a pub crawl, and I got introduced to the relaxing, but fun bar scene in Siem Reap. The next day, I followed 2 girls I met on the crawl to the Floating Villages, which is basically a collection of houses and boats on a lake for people who can't afford to live on land. They have their own schools, churches, temples, hospitals, and anything else that a normal town might have.



The next day, I went to the all famous, Cambodia's 8th wonder of the world, Angkor Wat at sunrise. Waking up at 4am, my friend and I headed for the ruins, only to find that the sun is covered by the clouds. Nevertheless, the ruins were quite impressive, and architecturally truly amazing, considering it was built in the 12th century. I also went to several other temples and ancient walled cities, the most memorable being Ta Phrom, where Tomb Raider was shot. A jungle surrounds the temple, and tree roots and trunks gnarled itself into the stones - an incredible site to see.





I'm going to stay in Siem Reap for a few more days because I like the atmosphere, but next I'll head to Phnom Penh and Sinhoukville in Cambodia before going to Vietnam.

- Ryoji