Hopefully the last near death experience...

I had the chance to throw a grenade into a small pond at the sketchy shooting range in Cambodia. It was pretty freaking sweet, but there's not much instruction before hand... they just get a grenade from the back room, take you to the pond, take the pin out and hand it to you. I wasnt sure if the time started when he pulled the pin or anything, so I chucked it pretty quick. The major thing they fail to tell me is that a small explosion (that sounds like an M-80) goes off to set the grenade... needless to say that scared the crap out of me... watch!

Cambodian Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving was the second turkey day in a row I spent with friends in a foriegn country. Last year, Italy, this year it happened to be Cambodia. Specifically, it was a small fried rice restaurant in Siem Riep, and I stuffed myself according to tradition. Dinner cost a whole $5 that night (about twice the cost of my next most expensive meal in the past month and a half) but I was thankful to be celebrating with friends.

The real Thanksgiving of the trip will be remembered as the next day's trip to the Temples of Angkor Wat. After a few painfully slow skype calls (sorry 'bout the connection Kirsten and Family!) The three of us ran all over the nearby temple complex. We have had a lot to be thankful for already on the trip, and this day was no exception. The temples were incredible (even though there were so many, they all started to look the same after awhile), and watching the sunset perched on top of Angkor Wat looking out on the temple gardens was icing on the cake!



In the spirit of Thanksgiving, even though I am writing this thousands of miles away, I would like to thank all of you who have kept the three of us travelers in your thoughts and prayers! It really means alot to us. All of your comments and emails are like christmas presents opened every time we can find a decent internet cafe. I am thankful for such great people in my life!!

Dont read any further if you are enjoying a good day...

I don't want to be responsible for depressing any of you, since the major attractions we have seen this week have been the graphic memorials of war and genocide.

The major tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh City, our last stop in Vietnam, revolve around the "American War". The first historical site we visited was the Reunification Palace. It served as the office of South Vietnam's president until it was stormed by Northern tanks in 1975, effectively bringing an end to the war. The building has hardly been touched since its working days. It still contains its authentic 1970's burnt orange decor and archaic electronic devices. It was an interesting tour, and the first of which to offer a glimpse of the "American War" through the eyes of the Vietnamese as conveyed by the media on display and the local tour guide.

The next day is when things got heavy. We toured the War Remnants museum in central Ho Chi Minh City which showcases the war crimes of American soldiers during the war. Probably one of the most heart-wrenching things I have ever seen in my life. Vivid photos of torture and weapons of war are displayed along with descriptions from war correspondents and local Vietnamese citizens who witnessed the events. Victims of "Agent Orange" raids, and the My Lai (Son My) massacre were displayed on large posters covering the walls. It was very strange to see America in this horrible light. To say that the museum was biased would be a complete understatement, but still I was able to learn a lot from the stories and everything else that I wont describe in further detail.


We continued our war education the next day at the tunnels of Cu Chi. These tunnels were interesting to experience, since I have heard about them in relation to the war, but didn't realize how vast the tunnel network was, or how cramped and miserable the conditions must have been. It was especially sobering since the site was an actual war site. The tunnels were the same ones used by the Cu Chi to escape American raids, the massive holes in the ground from bombs still exist, and the trenches that were fought in still wind through the site.

Another aspect that made this experience so unique was the way the media and the tour guides explained the events. As soon as we arrive at the tunnels, we are crammed into a tiny movie viewing room to watch a half hour video describing the "crazy American devils who came thousands of miles from their homes to slaughter innocent women and children". I never heard that perspective from any history class I have taken in the States. Even the pictures on the walls tried to convey the same message. One picture was of an American soldier pulling another out of the tunnel who was looking gratefully at his fellow comrade. The caption below it read, "Cowardly American soldiers afraid of the tunnels". It was a weird experience through the eyes of the Vietnamese who saw the Americans so differently during that time.

Check out the video page for more crawling through the tunnels.

We left Vietnam the next day, and took a long bus ride into Phenom Phen, the capitol of Cambodia. The hostel we plopped down at was literally a pier built into this sweet lake. The sunsets were amazing, and it served as a great place to just relax for the next few days.

From this place, we booked a tuk-tuk driver to take us to all the major stops around town. First was a (shady) shooting range owned by some ex-military guys. We did some research to make sure we wouldnt be supporting anyone involved in the Khemer Rouge, and proceeded with caution. I'm not a huge fan of guns, but it was pretty fun to shoot an AK-47 and throw a grenade into a little pond (video is on its way...).

From here, we went to the two war memorial sites: the Killing Fields and the S-21 museum. It was definitely a good thing we went to the shooting range first, even though it still felt weird to do in the same day... The Killing Fields were just as in-your-face as the War Remnants museum, except it felt more real because we were walking around the actual site of the massacre of 8000 people. There are pieces of bone just laying out in the path ways, and a monument in the middle built to honor those who died, containing the skulls which were excavated from the graves.

I was pretty worked from seeing the killing fields, so the S-21 museum was sort of a blur. We watched another slanted video, and then toured the high school turned prison which Pol Pot used to hold anyone accused of opposing the Khemer Rouge. Women, children, and ex-officials alike were place in divided up classrooms that were turned into little cells and torture rooms. It was eerie, and overwhelming after already walking through the killing fields.

An interesting fact about the Khemer Rouge led genocide is that it began within months of the closing of the Vietnam war in 1975. It felt like we were on a chronological tour of horrible events: the war in the '60's and '70's, and the genocide into the '80's and early 90's.

Well, thats all I can write about this past week... We are now headed to Siem Riep where the famous temple complex of Angchor Wat is located.

The Vietnamese Truth

Lately, I have been feeling like this... like one big sucker walking down the street. It wasnt bad in Hanoi, but it really took hold in Cat Ba, and has become downright annoying as we move south through the country. Yes, I'm talking about just about every streetside hawker looking at my skin color, and deciding to spit out the only English phrase he has been taught to say, "hello, motorbike" or the more to-the-point, "hello, buy something" or the worst one, "hello, give me money". I'm not one to generalize, but honestly it's hard not to over here. Its predictable with 99.99% accuracy who will approach us and what they will say. And dont judge too quickly either, we put up with it for a while first. Once frustration got the best of me, I decided to not resist it anymore, but instead fight fire with fire. Now, with every question received, I give a question in return. This really gets people confused if their vocabulary is limited to phrases trying to squeeze every last penny from my wallet. But, on the rare occasion that something is returned in polite English, a fun conversation of "where are you from" and "how old are you" can carry on for about 30 seconds until they casually let you know that their second cousin has a tailor shop down the street, or a hotel around the corner. Maybe I sound arrogant or rude, but put yourself in my shoes. Seriously, if you have any suggestions, send me a comment, I'm still trying to perfect this art of dealing with hawkers.

Now for the story of the "Vietnamese Truth". There are a few to tell, but I think it is best explained by our episodes in Hoi An. We arrive on a sunny afternoon and step off our tour bus to look for a hostel. Based on the story above, you might have already guessed that about 10 different guys grab us and try to steer us to their wonderful hostels. Promises of free breakfast, internet, bicycles, swimming pool are thrown around in an attempt to separate one hostel from the next. So, we pick one and head for the hostel only to realize on arrival that he has taken back most of what he has said. Suddenly the price is now 25% more (like we wouldnt notice), breakfast and bicycles no longer exists, unlimited internet turns into 20 minutes each, and the swimming pool is actually located at his friends hotel down the street. It would all sound petty to me too if I read this in the States, but its about principle! So based on this recurrence, we have sadly started refering to these promises as just more "vietnamese truth". I really do hate putting up this guard though; I love seeing the good in everyone, but its a struggle when their motivations are written on their foreheads...
Episode number two: Motorbike Mafia. Our half-truth telling hotel manager learns that we want to rent motorbikes for the following day and insists that we rent from his sister. Why not? But for some reason he wants us to rent them that night for a 24 hour period. Strange, but we agree that if they are stolen it is on him, and proceed with the agreement. All seems well in the morning when we start up our bikes to head off for a fun day at a beach 30km away. Before I can even put my bike in gear, a random guy runs across the street and grabs on my bike, preventing me from moving and says that I cant take this bike out. I tell him about my agreement and try to maneuver around him. Now, about 15 of his buddies surround the three of us, and say the same thing to Carson and Andrew. They cant speak much English except that they will not let us ride the bikes we rented, but instead we can rent crappy ones from them. Ahhh, it all makes sense now; they are just mad they didnt get the sale. Now, I'm over them and try to leave again, but a police officer (or maybe a guy in a costume, I will never know) arrives at the scene. Now the unknown raises this situation to another level. The sister we rented from finally shows up, and the police take her three motorbikes to the impound (maybe...; again, we will never really know). The next day she promises us a free day of motorbikes for our inconvenience. Nice gesture; but conveniently they are not ready the next day, or the day after that. After the second, "they will be ready tomorrow, but when do you leave town" comment, I decided to tell here that we would stay until we get to ride the bikes, she freezes up and suddenly cant speak English any longer. We tried to tranfer her debt to her brother and his motorbikes, but that was a lost cause.

Traveling is weird here in Vietnam. We spend our days trying not to let the hawkers get the best of us, and each town has been built up too much in our heads, but still, life is good. Each day brings a new adventure and keeps us on our toes. I only have one week left until my visa expires, so we will be off to Cambodia shortly. Now, I am off to drink a round of bia hoi in the street again, but this time with a Vietnamese guy we met today who worked with the US as a translator during the war. Could be an interesting night of story...

So much Dong

It's really hard to get myself to write a post after the adventures we had last week... In comparison, things are moving at a much slower pace now. I have that feeling now like the first week of summer after a hectic finals schedule. We have spent the last week in Hanoi, just drinking amazing coffee, eating at French pastry places, walking around town, and finding local streetside beer stands. Sounds great, right? Except I just cant stop feeling the urge to keep doing something.

The great thing about Vietnam is that I can afford to do quite a few things. The currency here called the Dong (yeah, we've made all the jokes already;)) is one of the most devalued in the world, coming in at about 16,000 per dollar. Great for us lowly backpackers who can finally stuff ourselves for dinner for under a buck!

While in town, the only "cultural" sights we saw were the "Hanoi Hilton" (left) and the water puppet show. Both were a dissapointment. About 75% of the prison used in both the French and American wars (what the Vietnamese call them) was destroyed to make room for this fancy hotel... the rest was overly restored. As for the water puppet show, it was as boring as it sounds, despite the positive Lonely Planet reviews.

After an easygoing week in Hanoi, the three of us made our own tour to Cat Ba island (in Halong Bay). The first view of the ocean and the smell of salt in the air made my body feel at home. Once I took a dip in the tropical ocean, I was cured of all remaining bits of altitude sickness and travel aches I had left over from China. While the beach was great, the three of us still had trouble just "being" there (especially me, I just cant sit still on the beach; it gives me so much energy!), so we went off looking for a little more action.



The cheapest thrill on Cat Ba island is definitely the motorbikes. Since it is still early season for tourists, there are tons of streetside hawkers trying (relentlessly!!) for our business. We managed to rent morobikes for 50,000 Dong (less than $5) for the whole afternoon. The island felt like a safer bet than Hanoi to rent bikes, since there are hardly any other vehicles on the road. So, off we went exploring the island and heading towards the National Park somewhere nearby. The park seemed as if it hadn't seen tourists for months, and we easily persuaded the guards to let us take our bikes through the walk paths. We didnt see a single monkey in all the trees, but couldn't care less... we raced over dirt/road paths, up and down hills, and through long tunnels of overhanging trees. And to top off our sunset cruise back to the hotel, we played soccer with a bunch of local kids in a dried up rice field. This little excursion was definitely the redeeming factor for an otherwise boring island.

And now we are off to the central coast of Vietnam. I am crossing my fingers and praying to the surf gods that this typhoon might just send some little waves to our next destination...