Excuse me...I'm Pai

So we walk into a bookstore and Rachel asks what time they close, the girl says "at 9 or 10." A bunch of Thai hippie kids are jammin Bob Marley songs and Oasis on the side of the street sharing whiskey and cigs.  Pai lifers teaching yoga and bamboo tattoo artists at every other corner, 2 street lights, and beautiful mountains, sunsets, waterfalls and hot springs = Π (pie, or PAI).  If I lived here I'd turn into a pot smoking hippie - probably selling ice cream in street made waffles, just like the ones we ate before going to the pool (where I wrote this from). 

Our first day in Pai we ate some amazing curry from a man who was running the tiny little shack all on his own - doing it all - and all so well.  That night we decided to go out to some bars and ended up in a all reggae music place with strong whiskey buckets.  We tried to bargain prices - the dreadlock Thai Rasta was not havin it.  We proceeded to the next bar, Don't Cry, for free shots.  We bought 2 and got 2 free...and 2 more..and 2 more..and so on...We met some cool ppl and by the end of the night Rachel and I talked with English accents and repeated the infamous "you sound like your from London," where ppl responded "I am."  Which made us laugh bc we don't think they understood our reference to Forgetting Sarah Marshall.  Regardless, we had a great time drinkin, minglin, and chillin by the bonfire which has become a regular routine for us.  I have also concluded that fire and water are my favorite elements.

The next morning (a big hungover) we headed to the hotsprings with our new friends from Bend, Oregon and Australia..Logan and Harly.  They were so goofy and made us laugh.  Logan says some off the wall shit.   The kinda stuff that you have to be there to hear and think its funny.  The hot springs were SOOO hott that they were BOILING and smelled like sulfur.  We caught the sunset on the drive back.

At night we were walking on the street and saw some Thai hippies jammin out.  We joined their circle, where they shared their whiskey and had a cool jam session.  Singing bob marley and oasis...thought of JULIA :).  Just chillin in the middle of the street, in Pai, with alcohol and music - why not this where I come from?  Later that night we relocated to one of the dudes houses - but who really knows..who or how many ppl lived there.  They made LOTS of instand Ramen noodle in a big community bowl for everyone to share, more whiskey and 4 french dreadlock hippies jammin french reggae.

Next morning I went to a 2 hour yoga session where the "yoga hut" i called it, was just like you'd picture...a light breeze, mellow music, and slow yoga with 30 minutes of meditation....tmrw we are going to another yoga place and then off to Phuket Island in the South!

Falling into Lao

Human beings are very adaptable creatures.  Just when you think you can't endure a 20 hour bus ride ~ you do, and then take 5 more.  When you couldn't imagine going #2 in a public squatter toliet ~ you actual prefer it and just when you thought motion sickness only happened to you when you were younger ~ you freak out during a mini van bus ride. Traveling is a great way to get to know yourself (not necessarily find yourself..but u can do that too) and has a funny way of surprising you and what you are willing to do.

Somewhere in between Laos and Thailand I have fallin "into Lao" with Lao.  You know when you hate something and it irritates you and you think you could never like this or that and then one day you prefer it, you miss it, and then realize you are in love with it...well this is how I felt about Laos.  I had come to this conclusion when we got into Thailand and we stopped at a bathroom and I asked one of the guys how the bathrooms were and he said, "very nice, western toliets," and I thought...that's too bad, I'd rather it be a squatter!!!!

Before we get into Thailand, I have to tell you about "our Lao."  After Vientiene we went tubing in Vang Vieng where Joni had a new mastercard commercial:

"Renting tubes 50,000 Kip.
Magic Shakes 100,000 Kip.
Tubing down the Nam Song River in Lao time, priceless"

Rachel has the pics of our awesome Tubing experience.

Then we headed to Luang Prabang and ate a HUUGE plate of food, buffet style at the night market for a little over $1.  From there we headed to an river village called Muang Ngoi.  In the middle of the boat ride we had to get out and hike for over 20 minutes because the river was to low to carry us over (not included in the explanation when we booked our ticket).  Finally got over and it was very chill.  We got a place in the garden and relaxed.  The village only had electricity that was powered by generators from 6pm to 10pm everyday.

We went on an all day excursion to caves and villages.  We got to the top of a hill and saw an amazing view from above of the river and the village we stayed at.

We got back to Luang Prabang and decided to book a 20 hour bus into Thailand that left a few hours after we got back to the city.

We got to Chiang Mai and booked a 3 day trek where we hiked, rode elephants, checked out waterfalls and rode a bamboo raft.  We are on our way to PAI!
 

Aisle seat

I have officially acquired a new meaning for aisle seat.  From Pakse we got a bus to Tha Khek.  The bus ride was supposed to take 7/8 hours and ended up taking 11!!!  We barely made the first bus, which was full, except for 2 seats for us all the way in the back - no air con - very run down bus.  The second bus was ridiculous, it was completely full - every seat was taken, I thought there was no way we were all gona fit - and then they pulled out the stools.  The aisle was lined with stools - for all of us without a seat.  So Rachel and I sit down and I couldn't help but laugh.  Are we really riding on this bus in the middle of the aisle in stools?  Not to mention the pink decor inside.  Rachel was in front of me, a guy trying to speak english was to my right, 2 lao guys drinking beer and having their own party with snacks and lao lao (a liquor that is technically illegal) to my left, and a french couple behind me.  AND NO AIR CON!

During one of our many unnecessary stops (I mean we would stop for 30 minutes drive 40km and stop again for another 30 min not knowing why) Rachel and I ended up getting some seats.  I sat next to a cech man who told me his life story and Rachel ended up getting kicked out of her eat and back into the aisle.

Some things to mention about Laos:
They do not like feet!  You can't touch with your feet and you can't show your feet - it's all inappropriate.  ON the bus - I forgot this concept and decided to put my feet up on the headrest in front of me because I was worried about my ankles getting swollen - mind you - no one was sitting there and I had every intention of moving my feet if they did.  But this lady beat me to it and yelled at me in Lao which I translated to "get your feet off there, if your gona do that go to the back of the bus!" (i felt like my mother just yelled at me for coming home past my curfew...stomach sank, almost peed my pants) I said sorry bc i realized it was disrespectful.
BUT ~ you can pick your nose in public (like it's no big deal, not even trying to be inconspicuous) and hack up lugies (sp?) all day and night.

Also, in Lao, people go at their own pace - a real test of patience for me.   By the end of this bus trip I was so frustrated - we were on this bus forever with no air con, unnecessary stops and i just wanted a bed.  But what I realized is that it was not up t me - we get there when we get there and in the meantime...breatttheeeeee.  I guess I didn't have anywhere to be really - just taking in the experience.

ANYWAY, finally got to the guesthouse - slept on floormats in Brian and Jenni's room and headed for the Konglor Cave in the early morning.  We took a jumbo tuk tuk stuffed with people - including a grandma with a newborn and a woman who (we think) just gave birth to it.  By we I now mean Rachel and a girl named Jane we met at the bus stop.  Jane is from Ireland and speaks really fast with funny Irish-isms.  It took us 3 hours to get to the cave.  The 3 of us got into a boat and entered a pitch black tall dark cave - no lights at all!  We stopped along the way to check out the stalactites and mites and also to move the boat along the shallow water.  Jane headed back to Tha khek and Rachel and I stayed at a homestay.  This is when you sleep in a village at someone elses home.  Dinner and breakfast were included.

At first I was very hesitant and cranky bc I was hungry, and i told Rachel we could only stay there if this man we were following, lived with a family.  So we get there and he def had family!!!  Wife, children, grandma, grandpa and maybe an uncle?  As we got situated, they set up our "room" and we went outside to play with the kids.  Everyone gave us a really warm welcome, along with the pigs, chickens and roosters.  WE played baseball with them and then we got called for dinner.  They fed us SOOO much - we couldn't even finish it, which is unsual for Rachel and I.  We were laying around with the family, eating dinner on the floor and watching tv.  It was really nice actually and I got a real sense of family being with them - like they were taking care of us.  Then the kids took us for a walk in the dark to an office where we helped an Australian girl teach english.  The kids were so excited and eager to learn and their energy was so intoxicating and made me really happy!  Talk about "the simple life."  They were so happy and had nothing...a house they shared with everyone and chores, and maybe an english class or two.

The next morning we woke up to roosters and lugies getting hacked up and had breakfast (HUGE!), got blessed by the grandparents and headed to Veintiene - the capital of Laos.

We caught a bus that didn't have a seat for me (surprise) and I ended up sitting on 3 hard bags of pig feed with 2 other Lao men.  It was no so bad and theer was air con.  Eventually I got a seat.  Jane was on that bus also so we ended up rooming with her in the city.  We finally got to wash our hair and kind of watch tv.  At night we indulged in $7 pizzas (cheap in US, expensive in Laos) and couldn't be happier!

The next day we had an amazing breakfast at a bakery and Rachel and I went to the bookstore and bought some second hand books.  We went to the local swimming pool and swam laps and just relaxed.  We also got amazing oil massages - finally!  The two extremes we experienced overnight were so mind boggling to me.  I couldn't help but think how lucky we are and I wondered if the villagers thought about massages or ever crave pizza and it made me sad to think the happy little girls will never experience what we sometimes take for granted.

Laos: Pakse

After Been There, Don Det Island we went to Pakse.  We got tehre jut in time for the Wat Phu Festival.  We took a local jumbo tuk tuk with a bunch of girls laughing at us (of course).  It took about 2 hours to get there.  Once we were there, it was a really cool cultural experience.  There were TONS of people and we were the only white people there which meant a lot of people laughing at us and taking pictures of us and kids doing triple takes looking at us.  We are used to this though and when they laugh we laugh back, and when they take pics and do triple takes we smile.

We walked up this Buddhist temple lighting incense all the way up.  As we were going back down we saw another white guy and ran up to him to ask him about the potential lighting ceremony, which he knew nothing about.  BUT interestingly enough, he was there with a monk.  So we asked our new friend from Austria if we can ask his monk friend some questions.  He said sure and for about half hour the four of us chilled on the rocks of the temple during this festival talking about Buddhism.

Later in the evening the people were setting up for concerts and it seemed like it was going to get crazy at night, but Rachel and I left to get an early start the next day.  Our trip back was more local style - crammed into a jumbo tuk tuk next to a nun and a few monks.

The next day we got a motorbike and drove from 8am - 6pm all around the Boulaven Plateau - full of waterfalls and a coffee plantation.  On our way back we got caught in a rain storm, Rachel (luckily) pulled over into this village of about 6 bamboo houses and they let us chill there till the rain let up.  All of the villagers came where we were to see us and a few little girls remained - who all laughed at us and kept us company till we could ride back to the guesthouse.

A short story from Laos

IT EXISTS!!!!  what does, you may ask - please infer from this story.

This morning Rachel and I are leaving our little paradise at Don Det.  To leave this island you have to take a boat back to the mainland.  At 11am there are about 4 boats all going to the same bus station area.  As we all load up, a girl (I think from Australia or England...I can't tell the accents apart) gets into a bicker with one of the locals.  He comes up to her and says, "you owe me money, I book ticket for you..you owe me money."  She says, "I didn't book with you, I booked with the other guy."  He says, "No you come back from kayak trip and say you want to book but had no money with you, so I book and you were supposed to bring me money." She said, "I didn't book with you, when I came back to book with my money you were not there, so I booked with a different guy.  Aren't you all the same company?"  He says, "No we are not the same and you owe me money, I book ticket for you."  She says, "No I already paid and I'm not paying agian."

At this point EVERYONE is listening and watching because she is getting frustrated and he is becoming very aggressive.  He tells her he will call the police and starts taking her bag off her shoulder.  She tells him to let go of her bag and that she paid the money and refuses to pay twice.  The by standers (included Rachel and I) load up in the boats to head back and catch their bus to the next city.  At this point she is trying to get on the boat but he won't let her and NONE of the boats leave because we are all waiting on this girl. 

In my opinion, she was right.  Why did that guy book a ticket for her if he never got any money from her? (laid back Laos is my conclusion)  She paid the other guy and he gave her a ticket and that's it.  Makes sense. 

In the meantime, she met a guy on the island (I assume) and they have known each other for a couple days and are going to different cities from this Island.  He offers to pay for her (the ticket was about $30...which is expensive in Laos and for a bus ride in general).  She refuses the money and tells him that she does not want to pay twice!  This is all happening while all of us sit in these little boats that feel like they will tip over at any minute with all of our backpacks, some without sun coverings, and it's HOT! 

FINALLY, this guy friend of hers jumps out of the boat he was in and pays off the asshole who booked the ticket for this girl.  The girl gets in the boat...all 4 boats take off. 

So it does exist, chivalry.  Maybe this new boy friend of hers is just a good person or maybe she had the voodoo p***y, or maybe they never even kissed.  But, regardless this is a great example of a few things:

Comradery - this is what you experience when you travel.  Many people travel alone but all in all your all in the same boat (literally) and people do look out for each other and care about one another. 

Unfairness - the asshole just hasseled more money out of this tourist, because they probably are the same company and it was his fault for booking the ticket without her paying first and he used the locals against her when they all ganged up on her and the guy she did pay didn't help her out of it.  This is a great example of being taken advantage of and ripped off, but there is no one you can call bc the local police will always side with the locals.

Chivalry - balanced out by the unfairness.  It was nice to see that that guy helped her out, they weren't even going to the same town!  They JUST met, but he cared about her and if it wasn't for him we would have all been stuck their waiting, missing our buses, and she could have possibly ended up in jail!

It's all a part of traveling, the ups and the downs only to come back up again!

Lazy Laos...Literally

Laos is the kind of place you want to go to in order to get away from the hustle and bustle of travelling.  A place where the locals don't hassel you to "buy from me," they are friendly, hospitable and extremely laidback.  They food takes longer because everyone is straight chillin...HARD.

The bungalows have a fan and a mosquito net and apparently only recently has the island that we are on, Don Det, acquired 24 hour electricity.  Did I mention the hammock outside the bungalow where you can lay in or sleep for however long you please?  And also, all bungalows come accompained with your very own rat.  Surprisingly since I didn't see the rat, I wasn't bothered by it.  He got to my sesame seeds and made a hole in my water bottle holder on the side of my daypack, no biggie.  Anyway, you can do absolutely nothing, feel like you have nowhere to go and just escape - whether it's your life at home,the constant 'on the go mentality' as a nomad, or just the nusiance of Cambodian beggars and even your own head.

Our bungalow overlooks the water (which had a dead cow floating in it at 6am one morning) and is on the sunset side of the island. So missing a sunset is impossible and it is also a bit cooler than the sunrise side.  There is a sand bar in the middle of the Mekong River which you can swim to and sit around on and, you guessed it...CHILLLLL.  It looks so cool from far away, like you are sitting on water in the middle of the river.  To me this seems unreal.  We are living among the locals, sharing bathrooms, eating and sleeping at their restaurants, borrowing their laundry pan to wash our clothes...TRUST and a sense of community.  This is just what I thought it would be in my head but 4566132 times better.  It's like I'm in a movie...and I hope no one yells cut, end scene.


The next day we met a great group of people at breakfast.  They were all traveling alone and met on another island in Laos.  Rachel wasn't feeling too hot, so I ended up hanging out with them all day and night.  During the day we swam out to the sand bar and I taught a yoga session!!!!  Nothing fancy, probably 15 minutes and everyone loved it! ..or so they said.  I know I loved it!!! I've never done something like this before and it was a really cool experience.  The sun was shining, the sand was in our toes, and yoga...what could be better?  I met a French social worker who was excited about doing yoga his first time and told me he will always remember me as his first yoga teacher :).  That night we all met at the "Happy Bar" and had a guitar and a harmonica and the guys jammed out to the blues.  Everything closes down at 11pm in Laos so we headed to the beach where there was a "Valentine's Day Party."  There were people sitting around on the beach, swimming, watching the bonfire, listening/dancing to electronic/house music and I was just taking it all in.  Seemed unreal. 

No matter how far away I get from home, I become nostalgic when I travel.  As I'm dancing around the bonfire with my new friends, I met a Russian guy from NYC who now lives in Thailand.  After the music died down the guys got the guitar and harmonica and jammed out.  I asked the Russian guy to play my favorite russian song, GOP STOP by Rozenbaum  (Russians know this one) and all of the sudden I'm taken back to listening to my dad singing this song except for I'm in Laos, on a beach, and it's 2am and I'm the one singing gopstop.

The next day we went out and did more yoga in the morning, this time drawing a bigger crowd!!!  As we all layed in shavasana (corpse pose) without a sound, I was in disbelief.  Am I really in the middle of a river, on the sand, practicing/teaching yoga?  As we all layed there, the French girl next to me says, "wow, this is so nice." I concurred.

We continued the day by renting bikes and going out to see a waterfall.  Again, on the ride there and back I get taken back to when my dad taught me how to ride a bike to which I'm so thankful for.  Then I think to the present and remember watching him with my nephew and teaching him the same thing that is allowing me to have these experiences on this trip.  We ended our last night at the Happy Bar and after 11pm we migrated over to the bungalows and sat around a circle talking and laughing..and I thought, this is my life.

Interlude..Cambodia into Laos

Last few days in Cambodia were a bit of a disappointment.  We ended up missing our bus either because the girls working in the guesthouse were clueless or the bus company is full of shit.  At this point, it didn't really matter.  The fact remained that we missed the bus and had to figure out how to get to Laos!  Before all of that happened (after the post office, if you have read the last blog) Rachel and I were chillin at a near by park and this 26 year old Cambodian dude started talking to us and answering all of the questions we have had about the Cambodian culture: why do they laugh at us, is it because we are white and tall?  To which he answered - it was probably because of our clothes because we look like we are dressed to go to bed (we were wearing a dress and shorts and tank top).  Why do most people have a long PINKY nail? To which he answered - it was to scratch and pick at stuff on their face or in their hair.  You know, basic questions like those...
At the end of the conversation he tells us about an orphanage and asks us for a donation - just when we thought we met a cool dude who talked to us for an hour and answered our questions - it all came down to $$$$.  The Cambodians think we are the money tree.  They are mischievious and make us feel sorry for them playing our consciousness to where we finally give up a $1 or $5.  And it's not that I don't want to help, or donate (which I have), but the guilt trip really takes away from the acutal gift of giving and wanting to give.

Back to the bus story, so we ended up catching a bus to Kompong Cham where we stayed in a French guesthouse.  We met an 18 year old deaf guy who we managed to hold a conversation with (because Rachel knew American sign language) and at the end it seemed like he was asking us for $ too, but I wasn't sure. So at this point I realize I'm jaded and all of the sudden the genuinity of meeting that kid was lost - unless of course I give him benefit of the doubt and the money money hand gesture didn't translate to me correctly.

After Kompong Cham we ended up in Stung Treng because we got screwed by the bus company and instead of taking us to the border of Laos, they said the border was already closed.  So we got stuck in a town that smelled like the garbage that was all over it.  But I told Rachel and indirectly to myself, you gota go thru the bad to get to the good.  The next day we ended up in Laos or some may say paradise :).

What we can learn from Cambodians

The place that we went to go swimming at made me think that this is what they do for fun - go play in the water at this "resort" and spend time with family - just like we would.  It really is all the "same same...but different" (this is a quote you see on t shirts everywhere here, and a lot of ppl say this here).  Same in the sense that as humans, at the basic level we are all the same.  On days off we spend time with family or go on vacations or the beach.  The Cambodians are the same - they might be a lot poorer but they still meet the basic needs just not in the extravagant ways we might in America.  They don't need a big house, cars, or expensive "stuff."  They make due with what they have and they are truly happy people.  This proves that if basic needs are met and you don't expect more - you too can be happy.  The Cambodians don't think - "oh no my bicycle broke down - what do I do? how will I get to the market?  Who will fix it?" They just DO - they fix it (themselves) and go on about their day - there is no time to think yourself into a depression or unmotivation - they just do, no excuses.  We are all capable of doing - but why do we spend so much time talking ourselves out of these things or why the idea you once had might not be such a good idea anymore.  Just do and deal, don't think about what if - if Cambodians thought what if, they would not be so efficient or diligent, or as hardworking as they are now, but most importantly...HAPPY.  Even though they have one of the worst life expectancies (60s) and don't have cars or coach purses or an IPAD - and they still manage with the basics.   If you took the time to read this, take the time to appreciate your car, coach purse, and IPAD and smile because you have NO reason to think yourself into unhappiness.
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After Battambang (my favorite place so far) we went to Siem Reap.  Rachel and I went to the market where I bought some souvenirs that I will ship out before we leave Cambodia - read on for my post office experience.
But first, Angor Wat!  Rachel and I ran into Brian and Jenni randomly at the market so Brian, Jenni and I went to Angor Wat (not Rachel bc she has been there before).  We woke up at 4:30 am and went straight to Angor Wat to watch the sunrise - tons of people and their tripods gathered in the middle of the night to watch this once in a lifetime event.  Angor Wat was pretty breathtaking.  I ended up seeing the actual sun when I was inside Angor Wat.  I would have loved to sit there for an hour and just take it in - but we had one day for this tour so I couldn't.  We went to Angor Thom which included Bayon (temple of faces of the egotistical Cambodian king, Jayavarmen VII (sp?)), Baphuon (worlds largest jigsaw puzzle), Temple of elephants, Terrace of Leper King), Ta Prohm (where trees grow thru the tmple!!!), and we ended up back at Angor Wat and tired to find famous carvings on the walls.  This whole place was so overwhelming (in a good way).  I mean the intricate detail, the time it took to build and carve - how did they do it?!?!?! did they have any idea that people would be seeing their work thousands of years later!!!!!  I couldn't wrap my head around the daily chiseling and design and effort it could possibly take to make that whole city!!!  I was in complete awe and again, wished I could have stayed longer and chilled in the shady places in each temple and just enjoy these infamous structures.  They say one day is not enough and I get it - but I still appreciate this opportunity to see the "8th wonder of the world."

In the evening Jenni got too overheated form our day trip so she had to miss our "girls massages."  She is fine now, but she was running a high temp and overheated and was probably dehydrated.  Rachel and I went to get a "khmer" massage where they gave us a cucumber mask and massaged our full bodies including neck and face.  I was just relaxing and it was a good time for me to remind myself that I'm in Cambodia getting massaged and that I'm truly lucky.

The next day I decide to go to the post office to send my package.  I had a tuk-tuk driver (a guy driving a motorcycle with a little attachment where people can sit) take me to the post office and back for $2.  When I got there the package person was out till 2:30pm - so I just spent $2 and got nothing done.   The not so luxurious part of traveling - these little inconveniences.  Now I have to pay $2 again and hope that she is there at 2:30.  So right now I leave you to go try the post office again.

Ups and Downs

Next stop, Phnom Penh.  Here we got our Laos visas, where we think we got ripped off - but that is all part of the traveling experience.  We met up with one of our friend's friend who currently teaches in Cambodia.  They took us to a pub where a live band was playing.  I kept looking at the bad members and wondering what do they tell people back home, "o yea, I play in a band, IN CAMBODIA, it's cool."  It was cool to hear some live english music.  The next day I went to the killing fields where you walk around this area and can see actual graves of where the Khmer Rouge threw innocent people and how they tortured and killed them, and if that wasn't disturbing enough - they have a monument of skulls in lieu of the event.  After that I went to the S-21 prisons and saw the actual rooms the victims were tortured in with blood stains on the floor and pictures of all the tortured, devastating to say the least.  Cambodians are a lot like Jews, they both endured such horrible circumstances and lack of human rights.  I felt the same way here as I did at the holocaust museum in Israel. WHY did this happen? WHY did this leader come to power? HOW did he get away with this? It's.not.fair.

After all the misery I decided to buy myself a sundress because it was very hot and humid.  I went to the Russian market but there was nothing Russian about it and most of it was closed because of the New Year.  I bought a dress and wore it to meet another friend Rachel knew.  We got together with a group of very interesting people who all worked in Cambodia - from fund-raising , to sex trafficking, to toilet experts.  These people were super passionate about what they did and life.  This made me smile and think that I would LOVE to have a job I'm passionate about so I can talk with such excitement about what I do.

As I wrote this in my journal, we were in Battambang...a bus ride away from Phnom Pehn.  In Battambang we rode on a "bamboo train."  This train runs on one track and if another cart is coming from the other side the cart with the least passengers has to get off, the cart gets disassembled and lets the other cart pass.  Then the cart gets re-assembled and you keep going...until of course you see another cart.  The train went fast and it was kind of bumpy but a fun experience.  On our pit stop we got to see a snake for 75 cents and a little girl made me a ring flower, she was beautiful and I took a pic of her (will be up on shutterfly).  On the way back we rode with the sunset and I thought about what everyone was doing back home as Tom Petty played in the background of my head.

In Battambang, we stayed 3 days.  On the second day we hung out with our dorm-mate, Pasquel.  He is a French guy who lives in England and works in a catering business.  He refuses to conform to society which means no marriage, no staying at one place, no mortgage, and no debt.  He is quite the world traveler and has been to Cambodia 5 times!  We rented motorbikes and drove out out to the country side in search of a waterfall and a place to swim.  My badass friend Rachel learned how to ride a manual motorbike and I got on the back of it.  I was so proud of her!   Following Pasquel, we drove through mostly dirt roads with mini debri tornados where you couldn't see anything, but I put all my trust in Rachel and she got us there safetly.  After 1.5 hours we finally found water!  We went swimming and chilled with Cambodian families.  At one point a group of guys go their camera phones out and started taking pics of Rachel and I - this didn't bother me too much because I take pictures of random Cambodian people.  This only got creepy after one of the guys got really close to me and started taking pics of "us" together.  I got uncomfortable so I put a shirt over my head.  Pasquel said they take the pic back to their friends and say that the pic of me is their GF!!!!!!  So funny and weird!   Do the friends really believe this??  Another funny thing happened when Rachel went swimming and I was chilling on some rocks and all of the sudden this family swarmed me!  They were laughing and all taking pictures with me - I got a pic but there's a naked boy in it so not sure if I should post it.  I think the Cambodians find us interesting as I find them.  Continue to next post...

Underestimated sunsets

Cambodge - as the French say, has a touristy beach town called Sihanoukiville which was our first rest stop in Cambodia.  We lucked out and got a brand new room in a brand new guesthouse that opened the day we arrived.  We went to the beach right away where we were harrassed by little girls and women to buy things like fruit, bracelets, manicures, pedicures, and hair threading (yes, on the beach...for your legs!).  You have to be very aggresive with them and say NO! and NO NOT LATER! because they will say, ''ok later, you promise? i come back later' to which you firmly say NO NOT LATER! Because they will remember you and if you dare buy from someone else they will make it known that you are a liar.  For example, we didn't want fruit at 2pm, but at 4pm we did.  So we try to find the girl we promised to but she was nowhere to be found, so we asked someone else.  Out of nowhere the other girl comes running and saying we lied and that we  promised we'd get fruit from her and she asked us first...bla bla bla.  We tell her that we changed our minds and that we couldn't find her and she says, get this, "you changed your mind, same way you change boys ey! (in an angry voice)"and then she proceeded to swear at us, mind you she was probably 8 years old!

We had a great idea of going to watch the sunset at the end of the beach.  So Rachel, an English guy, a Canadian, and I all walked up and down slippery rocks to get to the end and watch the sunset. Sounds wonderful right? Yes of course, except for the painful fall I endured (don't worry just a scrap and a bandage tan on my shin) but we made it...and I can't say it was worth it :(.  We found an alternative route back thru what seemed like a backyard, or a grassy nole where a family went to the bathroom, who knows.

We met up with Brian and Jenni and got some food.  While eating we witnessed a fight between a police officer and a man who pimps the little kids who beg everyone for money (slumdog style).  A little kid threw a rock at the policeman and it didn't seem like anything was resolved.  Nobody could speak enough english to tell us what happened...so we made up our own story.

Rachel and I decided to stay an extra day on the beach, while Brian and Jenni ventured out to explore other parts of Cambodia.  We got all the stuff we had to do out of the way first (find a place to sleep, book a trip to Phnom Penh, etc..) so we spent the whole day relaxing.  First it was the beach.  On the beach we ate some coconut rice with mango and drank a happy shake.  I had a fun experience in the toliet and Rachel thought birds were bats.  At night we decided to eat a seafood barbeque on the beach and drink some awful whiskey bucket drink where I started to feel funny and couldn't tell if I was drunk, but then realized the happy shake kicked in again!!!! I couldn't stop laughing and we went to back to our room to chill out before going out again.  Turns out the happy shake goes in and out in waves, good thing we shared one! 

We finally pulled ourselves out of bed and went out exploring at night, got lured in by some guys who turned out to be promoters for this bar/club that we went to.  Met a Swedish dude named "Christmas" and decided to go swimming in the Gulf of Thailand at midnight.  We stranded Christmas on the beach and went for our 4th meal at the only spot opened.  Rachel and I both had our underwear on our heads and I explained to her that in preschool (In the Ukraine) the teachers would make you wear underware on your head if you forgot your hat...so we thought it was a great idea at the time!  We watched some girls play pool and decided it was time for bed, considering we had a bus ride in the morning.

For lack of a better word...

Happy Chinese New Year!  The whole time we were in Vietnam we focused on trying to out before "Tet"or the New Year because things tend to shut down during that time (little did we know, same goes for Cambodia..that's later).  After Mui Ne beach we headed to Ho Chi Minh City.  This was like NYC for the Vietnamese, ruthless motorbikers - not so different from other cities in Vietnam - but in Ho Chi Minh it was worse because there were TOO many of them!  The rooms were getting pricey because of Tet but we managed to find something decent.  Carrying our backpacks - that weight as much as a little child - up a very narrow and winding PINK staircase was the last thing we wanted to do after yet another bus ride, but the room was cheap and we were tired of looking for a "better deal." We ate at an authentic place where Rachel and I got a seabass hot pot served with rice noodles.  YUM!  It was great at first - the fish had some bone in it and I felt one go down my throat and all of the sudden I was reverted back to Italy when I was 5 years old and choked on a fish bone - so after that moment I decided to eat slowly and quietly and double checking before I swallowed to avoid that traumatic feeling again.  Towards the end of the hot pot it was starting to taste too sweet and on the way back my stomach was feeling funny, but no troubles :).

The next day Rachel and I booked a trip to see CuChi (pronounced coochie) tunnels.  These were the tunnels the Vietnamese used during the war to live, escape, cook, and trap intruders.  We all got to go into a hiding place (one at a time) which was cool and very inconspicuous.  We also got to crawl through some of the tunnels.  As everyone entered the tunnel one by one I saw the people in front of me start taking their time and stopping so I freaked out!  I consider myself a semi-claustrophobic person, so I decided to run out the same way everyone was coming in, pushing people to the side so I could get out!!!!  Why would anyone wana spend longer in those tunnels then they have to?!?! they seemed TINY and HOT and I had to get out!

I go to meet Rachel at the other end and the first thing she says, "Dude be happy you didn't go, it was so small and hot!" So I didn't feel like I missed much, but an unnecessary panic attack.  During our tour we also got to shoot an AK-47, of which I couldn't really feel the power of it because there was a man holding your shoulder while you shoot so you don't feel much of a recoil - I wanted my money back.

We ate some multicolored corn on the cob (too chewy and needed butter) and tapioca (looks like a yam, no taste).  We also had tea with our fellow "groupies" where an Aussie couple questioned my claustrophobia and called me "mate.""

--Side note about these people with accents - so funny when you listen to them talk, but not so funny when they look at the blind stare on your face because you could barely make out what they said - and you find yourself having that 'äha' moment and suddenly you understand and respond to what they said after what seems like / or probably is, 10 minutes later.

After our COOCHIE tour, we went to the War Remnants Museum - but before that we had to eat, of course.  So we stopped at a local Pho place and ordered beef Pho.  The beef was too chewy for my liking and after we finished I asked the guy if the beef was cow beef or dog beef...?   He laughed and said "oh, I dunno" (don't worry, I ate just the broth and noodles).

Back to the museum, saw a photograph taken during the Vietnam War protests in Kent - a very emotional pic of a girl on her knees crying, and screaming in horror.  There were plenty of horrifying pictures which left me questioning why did American get involved and also understanding why Vietnam War Vets are - for lack of a better word - fucked in the head.  So devastating.  Being in this museum had made me conclude that everyone hates America especially when we got involved in Vietnam, but there was no history in this Museum about America and their explanation.

Also, this museum has lead me to the tangent of how war is selfish.  The government can't get their shit together so INNOCENT people suffer - hardworking men, women, children and UNBORN babies suffer because there is no resolution until one day they have a meeting and say, "hey I think we reached the quota for killing pregnant women and fucking up the future generations who will suffer from deformation, mental retardation, and other horrible unforeseen things due to the horrible chemical warfare and killings we have bestowed on these people because we can't communicate and agree on peace until we fuck up some lives - but not our own of course."  And I understand that people join the army to protect and serve their country, and that's great, but the INNOCENT people who just live and love get tortured and killed too. Maybe they should leave the fighting between the armies and not the people who didn't sign up for possible death.

The next post will start on a very bright note, I promise!  (we are going to get beachy!)

From gloomy to long awaited SUNSHINE!

A 15 hour bus ride later from Noi An to Nha Trang (beach capital of Vietnam) and there was still NO sun.  It was definitely a whole lot warmer here but still misty rain, so much for swimming and sun bathing at the beach capital.  So how did we keep busy on a rainy day?  Went to a photography museum, saw a BIG Buddha, meditated to a prayer, and crammed into a small taxi with our new friend Phillipe from Switzerland, who we actually met at Cat Ba Island and have seen at almost every city we stopped at after that.


Not much to write home about here so I made a list of some "did you knows" about Vietnam.

*Most public bathrooms are squatters, there is a place for each foot and a ceramic type bowl where you do your business and it drains off - who knows where - far from sanitary or comfortable for that matter, BUT if you went to college (girls) you learned how to pop a squat - except for here you actually have somewhere to aim and the smell is far worse than the random alley you pick while bar hopping or finding your way back to the dorms.

*Usually you have to pay 10 cents, there is NO toliet paper and sometimes no sink for you to wash your hands.

*Bottled water only, about 30 cents for 1.5 liters if you bargain them down.

*Most places facebook is prohibited.

*They LOVE karaoke here.

*This internet cafe asks you to take your shoes off before you enter.

I will add on more to this list as I go.

HERE IS THE SUNSHINE PART!!!! ----- we are currently in Mui Ne - another beach town that is far more beachy than the last town.  It's FINALLY SUNNY here - woooohoooooo!!!!  It's warm, it's sunny, the feel good hormones are kicking in and we are happy!  Last night Rachel and I ate and drank coconuts on the street.  I was so excited! It was my first coconut with real coconut juice and then we ate the inside out with a spoon...sooo filling and hydrating.  Later on, we met some French guys and went to a bar on the beach where I ended up pretty much falling asleep on the bean bag chair because I was exhausted from our past two long hauls.  I'm NOT complaining...it was perfect being on the beach, drinking a beer and watching some guy play with fire.  We had to call it an early night because there were no blankets for us to actually sleep on the beach, otherwise I would have bc our hostel is not the best, but we have air conditioning!

Today we walked through a red stream and saw red sand.  We walked up to a waterfall and ran into some school children who wanted to talk to us in english, super cute!  On the way back we snuck into a resort and took a dip in their pool and layed on their pool chairs.  The ocean was RIGHT there also. Rachel and I decided to take a cab back to the hostel and before we got in we agreed that it would cost 10,000 dong (50 cents) when we got out he pointed to the meter and said it was 56,000. NOT what we agreed on (we didn't even negotiate a meter!) so we started arguing and he got some guy to translate, who barely spoke english, and we ended up giving him the 56,000 because I guess in the end arguing over 50 cents or about $3 was not worth it, because it was still cheaper than ANY cab ride in America (although I could buy lunch with that money and probably include a beer).

Today is a rest day and we plan on going out later.  Tomorrow it's another bus ride to Saigon.

Here's a link to my pics, right now this computer won't let me load any new ones, but I will soon!

http://annabanana26.shutterfly.com/pictures/5

Everywhere I go, I see the same...people!

The other night in Hue, Rachel and I lost Brian and Jenny at the market so we decided to sit down in the middle of the street on these tiny chairs by these tiny tables and had a beer with the locals.  Nobody spoke english, but we definitely knew that they were laughing AT us.  Maybe it was because our knees were ABOVE the little tables we were sitting at or maybe it was because we barely fit our left buttcheeks on the chairs everyone was sitting on - regardless they were amused and we stopped caring after we started drinking.  One of the men was pretty friendly and let us look at his sweet war zippo...we wanted to talk to them and ask them questions but the hand gesturing didn't get us very far.

Later on while roaming the streets we found Brian and Jenny at an Indian restaurant.  We joined them and split a chicken curry dish with naan.  We went to a couple bars, had a few drinks, played some pool and met some people from Vancover.  On our walk back we were accompained by a bat and a rat - which left us screaming and running thru the alley back to our hostel.  The next day we went to the "forbidden purple city" where the emperors used to live.  It was misty raining outside but I thought it to be refreshing and a sort of enhancer to the colors of nature - if you will :). 

As I type this, we are currently in Hoi An.  It's warmer here, but still no sun.  This is the city where people come to get their clothes made.  Last night we walked around the city..where the power went out a few times and the street was pitch black...not so safe for a place where they warn you to watch your belongings.
We ate Cat Lau...noodles, salad, sauce, and pork...delicious but left me hungry..so I ate a chicken sandwich...shaved chicken pieces...on a baguette...lettuce...sauces...it was yummy!  Then we went to a bar where we saw the same Danish kids we met at Cat Ba Island.  We also saw some French people we passed by at Cat Ba as well.  The bar was playing sweet American music and we ordered pitchers of alcohol...4 pitchers...one for each of us - it was happy hour!  Played some cards..and met some new cool people from Toronto and Ft. Lauderdale (originally Chicago).  They gave us the scoop on what NOT to eat in Laos and where to find the "good stuff" in Thailand.

Today Rachel and I rented bikes and went up to the beach.  We ran into the kids from Vancover!  We also stopped a bunch of school children and asked them to perform a dance for us.  They were sooo excited, and their energy really picked up my spirits...considering there is no SUN here.  I practiced my Vietnamese and they practiced their english.  They were about 15 years old.

Sidenote: Remember when in school they used to tell you that you couldn't wear certain shirts because they were offensive, I remember this kid wore a shirt that said "mean people suck" and he got sent home.  Well this girl I met today was wearing a shirt that said "I get frisky when I drink whisky" hahahahahhahahhahaha!!

It was karaoke day at the market...they were dancing and singing and I think celebrating a birthday.  So we stood around and watched...I wanted to dance with them, but I'm so GINORMOUS compared to them, they'd probably just laugh.  Rachel and I got pedicures and they charged extra for nail polish...speaking of ginormous...the bucket that I was supposed to put my feet in, barely fit my toes!  I ordered a dress to be made, I have a follow up appointment tomorrow for a fitting and then at 6pm we take the bus to the next city!  Getting closer and closer to hotness and sunshine!

Adventure...lands!

Welcome to Vietnam!  So far Vietnam has been on adventure after another.  Lets start off at my lay over in Tokyo where I had 3 hours to play with their awesome automated toilets.  One press of a button and an electronic badeau pops out and sprays you with warm water for as long as you please.  I for one, thought that if it was accompanied by a squirt of soap - it would have been the ultimate experience.  Still this is more exciting than the typical US toliet.
--> As I write this (I wrote in my journal first) we are on a 9 hour overnight bus to Hue, Vietnam from Nanh Binh.  This bus is nothing like I've ever experienced before.  There are no seats in this bus, just reclining beds.  Three rows with about 6 or 7 beds per row, with 2 levels...pretty crowded, but surprisingly comfy.

Anyway, so I met Rachel in Hanoi, Vietnam where it took me another hour to get my visa and my backpack and I thought Rachel was going to leave me there.  But thankfully she didn't and we were off in a cab to our hostel where I met Brian and Jenny. First day in Hanoi, I was in awe of the culture - work, eat pho, go back to work.  Hanoi was crazy busy with people going places on their motorbikes and funny facemasks to keep them warm and I assume to lessen the inhalation of pollution.

We made our way to an island east of Hanoi - Cat Ba Island.  Speaking of adventures, just getting out there had to take 2 buses, a boat, and another bus.  Mind you the roads are bumpy, windy and loud with constant beeping from everyone to let everyone else know your coming behind them, to the left of them, to the right of them, in front of them, or even above their head!

Finally we make it to Cat Ba where we rented motorbikes and cruised around the island.  I went rock climbing for the first time and when I cam down I couldn't stop shaking from the adrenaline rush.

We learned very quickly that there is the "good pho" and the "instant ramen noodle soup pho" and before we eat we now make sure it's the "good pho" with rice noodles.

During our 3 day stay at Cat Ba we checked out a cool hospital cave that they actually used during the war!  We went to the national park and hiked up a hill with a beautiful view and clean crisp air.  It was super high but totally worth it!  Rachel and I ventured out to "Monkey Island" where there were supposed to be endangered monkeys but we didn't see any :(.  It was a 2 hour boat ride but it was worth it to see the cool rock formations that we passed on the way there and back.

After Cat Ba Island we went to Ninh Binh and checked out some cool caves on a 2 hour boat trip where we ended up rowing 2/3's of the time in and out of caves, which was sooo beautiful!  We also climbed up a LOT of stairs to the top of a pagoda with another beautiful view.  Even though the weather is far from paradise...cloudy, misty, low 50s, Vietnam is definitely beautiful.


-->It's 6am on this bus and we are "almost" at Nue - and the adventures continue....