The Razzel Berry

Good Morning World!

2011-03-11T11:19:00.000+08:00

Well I'll be the first one to say it, it's been way too long since I've posted a blog. I can hardly believe it... 5 months! It's ridiculous! Not only have I not written, I haven't even loaded any new pictures onto my computer since Halloween!!

(I was roadkill, aka a dead cat!)

A lot of this has to do with the fact that it was in October that I finally gained employment and have been completely and utterly exhausted for the last four months (P90X has also had something to do with that). But coping with full-time employment is really only half of the story.

What it really boils down to is that after coming back from basically two years of gallivanting around the world, it has been really hard for me to find anything worth writing about here at home. Of course I do fun things here and there, but nothing really compares to the thrill and excitement of discovering something new in a foreign land.

That being said, I've made my mind up. I have spent an entire year trying to figure out how to exist back at home, trying to be content with being in one place and living a "normal" life, and trying to figure out what the hell it is that I want out of life. Enough is enough. It's time to start seeing my life here at home through new and fresh eyes. Not only is it time to do something blog-worthy, it's time to THINK something blog-worthy! For the love of God, it is time to stop living like a 9-5 zombie and find some light in the world again.

So there you have it. This is my promise to myself. I will start blogging again! Today is a new day.

Gone Swimmin' in the Dead Sea

2010-10-06T00:21:00.143+08:00

As you may or may not know, I had the opportunity this summer to go on a birthright trip to Israel with my sister and 40 other young Jewish folks from all over the country. I was in Israel for almost 2 weeks and I still cannot believe that I haven't yet written one blog post about it. Shame on me. But that is all going to change now, and here is my first post about the trip: my experience swimming in the Dead Sea.

I have to admit, going to the Dead Sea was one of the things I was most looking forward to on my trip to Israel. Of course it's not the most cultural or religious experience that one can have in the state of Israel, but being able to literally float on a body of water is certainly one of the most intriguing and unique experiences anyone can ever have, and so I was definitely excited about the prospect of visiting the Dead Sea.

By the time we arrived at the shores of the Dead Sea, the sun was blazing in the sky and we were all hot, sweaty, and exhausted from our sunrise hike up Masada.

(here is me passed out at the top of Masada, exhausted. It's only 7am and we'd already been up for a couple of hours!)

But after a week of sweating our butts off in the Israeli sun, I was invigorated at the thought of taking a refreshing dip in the Dead Sea. I was so excited about it, that I was actually the first one of our group to head out to explore.

I tip-toed into the sea, careful not to cut my foot on the ragged salty shoreline. As soon as I reached the water though, I turned around and gave a startled look to my friend Greg. He had been to the Dead Sea before, and had not warned me about what I was about to encounter.

Refreshing, it was not! Having a background in chemistry, I probably should have known that a body of water with such a high salt content would retain a lot more heat than your average ocean, but to be honest, the thought never even occurred to me. In my mind, I pictured myself floating on top of something resembling the Mediterranean or Andaman Sea, turquoise blue, cool, and comfortable. Kind of like my experience in Thailand - but more buoyant and with a lot more Jews....

But swimming in the Dead Sea was an entirely new experience - probably unlike almost anything you can find anywhere else in the world. The water was hot; like bath-tub hot or even a cup of coffee hot, and it was anything but refreshing. I imagine that swimming in the Dead Sea would be really nice in say January or February, but certainly not in the middle of July.

If I had taken a closer look at the shoreline, I might have been able to guess all of this, it doesn't exactly look refreshing, but I was so excited about going for a swim that I completely missed the obvious clues. After all, the name "Dead" Sea doesn't exactly sound inviting!

I quickly got over my initial shock at the temperature of the water, and kept on chuggin' into the sea. Once I reached about waist high, I started to experiment with floating on the water.

Although I've known about the phenomenon of the Dead Sea since elementary school, I don't think anyone could have ever prepared me for the actual sensation of floating on the water. It's absolutely incredible - and I had fun for a good 10 minutes just enjoying the novelty of it.

The most bizarre experience of all was that once we got out to a depth of about 4 1/2 feet, my friends and I were no longer able to touch the bottom of the sea at all! We were too buoyant to reach our feet all the way to the bottom, despite the fact that we were almost a foot taller than the water was deep. So we just "stood" there, completely erect, shoulders and heads bobbing above the water and marvelling at our own buoyancy.

Once all of the novelty wore off, I was able to take stock in my surroundings. Not only was the water exceptionally warm, but it was so thick with minerals that it actually had an almost syrupy consistency. It literally felt like swimming in a vat of warm baby oil. My skin was soft and slimy and I became acutely aware of a couple cuts and scrapes on my body that were now stinging from the exposure to all of the salt.

After about 10 or 15 minutes, we made our way back to the shore and into the shade of an umbrella. Our skin was feeling nice and smooth, and we were just hanging out chatting about our individual experiences and perceptions. All of the sudden, somebody walked out with a vat of Dead Sea mud and set it down next to our table. So of course, we began to cover ourselves head-to-toe in the world famous mud.

The mud was warm and slimy and we all enjoyed giving ourselves our own personal spa treatments. We covered our entire bodies - including our hair - and then walked around in the sun for a while until it all became dry and crusty, to make sure that our skin had absorbed all of the nutrients.

We couldn't actually go into the sea to rinse off because (1) it's not very refreshing and (2) you can't put your face into the water because the high mineral content will make your eyes burn, so we headed to the outdoor showers to get cleaned up. The mud was everywhere and it turned out to be no easy task to get the mud out of my hair. (such is the price for beauty!)

Finally, after we had scrubbed ourselves clean, it was time for that refreshing dip I had been anticipating all day. I turned my back on the bleak shores of the Dead Sea

and headed for a refreshing dip in a chlorinated swimming pool! Now, I know what you're thinking... "WHAT!? You were at the Dead Sea for what could possibly be the only time in your life and you spent the afternoon at a swimming pool!???" And let me tell you, I was thinking exactly the same thing.

Except for the fact that the Sea was so uncomfortably hot that I couldn't take floating in it for more than 10 minutes at a time. And let's not forget that we were in the middle of the Israeli desert in July - the heat was brutal! The pool was just calling my name!

And so I spent the rest of the afternoon splitting my time between the cool and refreshing pool and the uncomfortably hot, but nutrient-rich Dead Sea. I have to say, after spending all of that time in the water and covered in the mud, my skin was radiant. My legs were smooth and soft, my hair was silky and shiny, and my cuticles (which are typically dry and unattractive) were visibly healthier and moisturized. The Dead Sea definitely lives up to the hype, and if I lived any closer to it, I would probably go by once a week to keep my skin soft and youthful.

If you are considering a dip in the Dead Sea though, here are a couple of tips:

1) If you have any open cuts, they will sting when you're in the water so avoid picking scabs or biting your nails in the days leading up to your big swim

2) Don't shave your legs for a couple of days before you go into the sea (it will also sting!)

3) Do NOT dive into the water, you absolutely want to avoid getting the water in your eyes if at all possible

4) Don't wear any silver jewelry into the sea, it will tarnish

5) Consider wearing an old swim suit into the water, and definitely rinse your suit out thoroughly after swimming

6) Do NOT pee in the water!!

Other than that, feel free to enjoy the Dead Sea in any way you wish! I certainly did!!

How To Be Alone

2010-09-23T04:30:00.000+08:00

I have been spending a lot of time alone these days, as I am unemployed and most people in my life have things that keep them occupied during the day like work, school, baking, baby sitting... and so I have to say that I was touched when I found this video on one of my friend's blogs.

When you're unemployed, it's easy to waste an entire day watching TV or surfing the Internet. No one is around to make you get up, or make you feel bad for sitting on your butt. But it's really only when I waste away my day that I actually feel alone, because when I spend my time productively - exercising, going for walks, writing in my journal, reading books, studying Chinese, or working on obtaining employment - I'm not really alone. I'm spending time with my best friend in the whole world: myself.

Really, I'd like to think that I'm a pretty cool person to hang out with. What a lucky schmuck I am to be stuck spending my days all alone with myself. And although it can be infinitely frustrating to be unemployed, I am trying really hard to value this time and be productive, because once I do find work, it will (hopefully) be a long time until I once again have all this time to just hang out with myself.

Flowers, Photographs, and.... Parking Meters???

2010-09-11T09:32:00.000+08:00

Almost as soon as we arrived in Taiwan, I made the decision to carry my camera with me every where I went. It turned out to be a good decision too - a great many of my blogs were born from pictures I'd taken in the most unlikely places. I got so used to having my camera on me that even now that we're home, I almost never leave the house without it.

I've learned over the last two years that a simple trip to the dry cleaner is enough of a reason to have my camera; you never can predict when you will come across something unexpectedly beautiful or completely photographable.

Take, for example, this beautiful church on Colfax Ave. caught in the late afternoon sun against a perfectly blue sky

or Aimee's reflection in Jess's sunglasses

but mostly these days, I just take pictures of flowers. I never really paid too much attention to flowers until I started photographing them. Now, I can't get enough of them. I am constantly amazed by the variety and beauty of flowers. Mother nature is infinitely more creative than any human could ever dream of, and these days I make it a point to stop and smell the roses on a daily basis. Here are some of my favorite flower pictures from the past few months:

Today, as I was walking down the street, camera at the ready, I came across something completely unexpected and absolutely delightful: a parking meter wearing a scarf.

This may come to a complete surprise to some of you, but I had actually heard of this before. It's called urban knitting and it's apparently a form of "graffiti." I don't know if I saw it online, or in a book, but I had certainly never seen it out in the real world before.

And here I was, on the 700 block of Grant Street, when I came across an entire row of decorated parking meters!

What a pleasant surprise! I love it!!! What a great start to the weekend!

Denver Cruisers

2010-08-06T12:36:00.003+08:00

Picture if you can, 1,000 clowns riding bicycles through the streets of Denver. Sounds a bit creepy, right!?

Last week, I was one of those clowns, and it was awesome!

Denver Cruisers has got to be one of the most fun things I have ever participated in. Every Wednesday hundreds, if not thousands of people get all decked out according to themes like, “bubble wrap, duct tape, and cardboard,” Knights and nighties,” “hobos and hillbillies,” and “Pirates, Sea Men, and Mermaids.” Then they grab a 6-pack and hop on their bikes headed for a wild ride. This is not merely a bike ride, this is a full on bike-party.

Last Wednesday, at about 6:00, Ashley came over to my place to get ready to head out for the evening. This weeks’ theme was “clowns.” With a little face paint, some fancy socks, and a pair of suspenders, we spent the next 45 minutes sipping a cocktail and transforming ourselves into some pretty cute clowns.

Then, we were off to Jess, Robin, and Matt’s place where we met up with 7 other clowns for a little pre-gaming action.

Another cocktail and 30 minutes of catch phrase later, and we were ready to head out to Casselman’s bar to get the party started. As Matt loaded up the saddle bags of my bike with a 12-pack, everyone else grabbed their own “road sodas” and we were and headed to the streets.

Instead of water bottles, our bikes toted Busch Light tall boys for the 15 minute ride through the city, all the while, Jess’s portable MP3 player was broadcasting two albums worth of clown circus music purchased earlier that day on iTunes.

The night had just started and already I was having a blast. As we approached Casselman’s bar – the starting point for the weekly cruise – our 10 person group began to pick up members. By the time we arrived at the bar, we were travelling in a pack of 15-20 people, but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next. The street outside of Casselman’s was packed with 100’s of bikes and the inside looked like a clown convention gone bad. PBR tall boys were on sale for $2.25 each and 4 or 5 tables were set up for beer pong and flip cup.

We hung out for about an hour, and good times were had by all!

Ashley and Justin

group shot at the beer pong table

the sisters, jess and robin, were two of the creepiest clowns out that night

Finally, it was time for the actual bike ride - we all hopped onto our bikes and made our way through town. The destination was the "circle of death" at Civic Park near the capitol. I have to say that I'm glad I was on a bike and not in a car because the traffic was moving painfully slow and I would not have been a happy camper if I was actually trying to drive through that mess! We sat at some intersections through 5 or 6 green lights before it was finally our turn to move on, but we had music playing all the while and everyone was having a good time.

Finally, after what seemed like a pretty long bike ride, we made it to the circle of death. Again, I was just astounded! Even after seeing all of the bikes and people at the bar, and then riding down the road with that incredible mass of bicycles, I still could not believe how many people had congregated at Civic Park. It was incredible.

Mostly people just loitered around, hanging out, sipping on beers, and having a good time, but there was also a significant amount of people who were partaking in the infamous "circle of death." These people were all riding around and around in circles inside the amphitheater at Civic Park. I was absolutely AMAZED that there were no serious accidents!!! Especially since Jess was walking through the circle backwards in an attempt to creep out the riders! (which I think she succeeded in doing)

Although many or even most of the people out at the park were headed back to the bar after the circle of death, this was where we ended our evening. We hung out at the park for a while chatting away and taking in the whole scene, but around 12 or 12:30 we decided it was time for to take ourselves home. It was a Wednesday night after all, and most of us (present company excluded) had to get up for work the next morning.

I have to say dressing up in costume with a massive group or people and riding around on bicycles is an absolute blast. Throw a bar and a couple beers into the mix and you have the makings of a fantastic Wednesday night! I don't know who thought of this whole thing, but it's absolutely fabulous and it's something that I will definitely be partaking in again!

My First 13er!

2010-06-30T03:54:00.000+08:00

Nick and I arrived in Colorado a couple weeks ago and I have to admit, it has been quite a whirlwind. With so many friends to see and so much to do (finding an apartment, finding a job, hosting house guests, getting our lives in order....) we've barely had time to ourselves.

Since we've been back in the country, we've spent so much time catching up with friends and family that we really haven't done much together. Just the two of us. I have to admit, after having Nick all to myself for almost a year and a half, I have missed our little adventures together. Yesterday, after almost 3 months back in the US, Nick and I had our first solo-activity together: we hiked Mt. Audubon, elevation 13,223 feet.

Even though I've already spent two years living in Denver, this was my first 13er (Colorado speak for a mountain over 13,000 feet). I have to admit... I really wasn't that excited about it. Sometimes I really do enjoy hiking, being out in the mountains, taking in the fresh air and the natural beauty... but if I'm being honest with my self, most of the time I'm not such a big fan. Depending on the trail, for me hiking can just feel like walking up hill. And really, who likes to spend 3 hours walking up hill???

But thankfully, the trail up Mt. Audubon was a gentle incline, relatively easy, and full of gorgeous scenery right from the get-go.

We couldn't have picked a better day for our hike. The sky was blue (with not one cloud visible until about 12 or 1:00) and the weather was perfect, warm and sunny with a cool breeze.

Although it's already the end of June, the mountains still have a good amount of snow on them, and we did have to trek over patches of snow in a couple of places. I was wearing my Choco's which are not the typical foot-gear you'd consider when treking through snow. But I have do admit, it was pretty fun wearing sandals and hiking through the white stuff! We even had a couple of snow ball fights... Snow ball fights in June! It was awesome!

The peak of the mountain really looks more like a big pile of rocks (is this why it's called the "Rocky Mountains"?) and so we spent the last 20 or 30 minutes of the hike making our way through a big pile of boulders.

It's pretty weird because every time you walk over a loose one, it sounds like this big mound of rocks - this mountain - is hollow. It's almost the same sound a bike makes as it crosses an old wooden bridge - as if it would be possible for me to fall deep down into the pile. It was a pretty eerie sound to hear under your feet as you approach 13,000 feet in elevation!

I have to admit, wearing sandals while walking through a field of boulders isn't really ideal, but really my Choco's are probably the best hiking shoes I own at the moment - the have great grip and a really thick sole and are perfect for walking through areas on the trail that are snowy or wet - so I'm glad I wore them to hike in.

Once we got to the top of the mountain, we were rewarded with some of the most breathtaking views I have ever seen. Mt. Audubon is virtually surrounded by snow capped mountains on all sides, and it was absolutely gorgeous.

We spent a good hour up top, eating some left over pizza for lunch, taking in the views, and taking a nap on the warm rocks before beginning our decent.

On our way down the mountain, I was able to move a little slower (Nick was in much less of a hurry on the way back down!) and really enjoy all of the flowers that are blooming up in the mountains right now. I think they're typically long gone by this time in the summer, but because of all of the late-season storms this year the mountains are still full of snow-melt which means plenty of water for the wild flowers. I was pretty surprised by the variety in the kinds of flowers we could find this high up, about 3,000 feet above the tree line.

Everything about the hike was fabulous, the snow, the easy climb, the scenery, the flowers... it was probably the best hike I've ever been on and it was even better because it was something for Nick and I to do together, in our own country!

The American Dream

2010-04-17T02:47:00.135+08:00

We've all heard talk about the death of the American Dream; that the American Dream is no longer possible to achieve here in America. I can't speak on the reality of the rags-to-riches stories or the problems with our class mobility.... but I can assure you that the American Dream is alive and well. There are millions of people all over the world hoping that one day they'll get that all powerful green card and be allowed to immigrate to the US.

Everyone has a different reason for wanting a green card; a better chance for their children, freedom from oppression, a chance at a new start.... Even in Taiwan, an advanced and politically free country with great opportunities for entrepreneurs, it seems like everyone is working on getting a green card. (Although they view it more as insurance so that they have a means of escape should China ever attack Taiwan).

But the point isn't why people want to come to America. The point is that everywhere in the world are people just waiting and praying for a chance to come here.

I've always loved my country and had a strong sense of national pride, but it took me leaving for 15 months to really appreciate everything we've got here in America. Even so, I still found myself wondering why. Why would some people risk everything they've got - give up everything they know - for a chance to live here in America?

As soon as I arrived at my parents house, it hit me. This is why people come to America:

For a chance at owning their own plot of land, their own sanctuary from the craziness of the world. For a yard, and a picket fence, and 2.5 kids, and a dog. For a chance to get away from the smog and noise and people... for a chance at freedom and the pursuit of happiness.

It's funny though. I never thought much of American suburbia, never had too high of an opinion of it, until I really lived in the alternative. The American suburbs are great! Clean air, good schools, low traffic, low crime rate, they're quiet and convenient, and every where you look birds are singing and flowers are blooming... all around, the suburbs are just a great place to raise a family!

What I came home to is why people come to America. My father is a first generation American, his father came here from Germany as a young man. And here my parents are: with three kids, two cars, and a house. Their own land and the freedom to do (almost) anything they please with it. This is why America is a great country.

Now I'm not delusional, and I know we've got a lot of problems here in the USA - racial inequality, an increasing gap between the rich and poor, trouble with our schools and prisons, not to mention our screwed up foreign policy. I also know that it's not the only (or the best) place in the world where the "American Dream" is possible to achieve, but the fact remains that anything is possible here. This is a great country. I am proud to be an American, and it is good to be back!

A shot of my home town of Pittsburgh from atop Mt. Washington

Americans are Fat! and other observations...

2010-04-15T02:46:00.001+08:00

When Nick and I were living in Taiwan, I used to read a lot of other people's Taiwan blogs. At the time, I noticed that lots of bloggers kind of just dropped off the face of the earth once they returned home. I thought this was peculiar. As a reader, I was interested in how they felt upon returning, what surprised them, what wisdom they'd gained by looking back at it all... I wondered to myself how they could just abandon their blog and all their readers without even saying goodbye???

Then I came home. And here I am having not written a blog in 10 days. What do I have to say for myself?

Over the last week, I've vacillated between chastising myself for being lazy and reminding myself that after 15 months out of the country, I have every right to take a week or two to myself. I have a right to be lazy for a little while. I'm not sure if I really buy that excuse, but for now I'm using it as a way to rationalize sitting on my butt for a while and avoiding the real world.

But since I've been home, I have done some pretty cool things, noticed things I'd never noticed before, and had a couple revelations.

One of the biggest problems I've had in adjusting back to life in the US has to do with toilet paper. The plumbing in SE Asia is not really equipped to properly deal with the flushing of toilet paper. As a result, over the last 4 months, I became used to throwing my toilet paper into a waste bin next to the toilet.

It turned out to be a tough habit to kick. For the entire first week I was home, I was regularly not flushing my toilet paper. Every so often, I would remember to flush it and then marvel at the efficiency with which our plumbing whisks it all away here in America. Even so, 5 days after arrival, I found myself carrying my toilet paper around looking for a trash can to avoid clogging the toilet. It literally took me a full 7 days to get accustomed to the novelty of just tossing it in the bowl.

Over the last 10 days, in between bouts of laziness, I've gone to the Pittsburgh Pirates season opener, gone to the recording studio with my dad, gotten my hair done, gotten a pedicure, gone shopping, and met several friends for lunch.

Enjoying America's favourite pass time on our first day back in the USA

me at the recording studio with my daddy

My time spent out an about has lead to my biggest realization since I came back to the US: Americans are BIG! We're huge. Seriously.

Even the people that are not fat by any estimation are big when compared with people in Southeast Asia; we're taller, wider, thicker... we're just bigger all around. I was amazed just noticing chest-size alone! No one in Asia has boobs like American girls do. (Is it all the steroids that ends up in our beef and dairy products???) We've got regular sized Americans who are much bigger than anyone in SE Asia, and then we've got the bigger Americans that are absolutely super-sized when compared with people in Asia.

I tell you, it's certainly opened my eyes to this obesity problem we have in America. And it's also opened my eyes to the root cause of it: our food is HUGE as well!

Massive chicken salad I got in Pittsburgh including french fries, a pile of cheese, and a tub of ranch dressing

I'm finding it very difficult to eat healthy now that I'm back. Our portion sizes are completely out of touch with the amount of food someone actually needs to sustain life. Aside from that, our meals are far from balanced. One day this week, I found myself eating meals that consisted of 90% carbohydrates for the entire day! It's almost impossible to eat like that in Asia. I couldn't even if I wanted to!

This says nothing of all of the processed food, high fructose corn syrup, and fast food we've got available here. I don't know what has happened to our country, but it is sad that the cheapest and easiest food is the high calorie, processed food. In Asia, it is easy and cheap to eat healthy and fresh. And this is our problem.

The chicken sandwich my friend ordered had 2 huge patties!! who needs two patties on a chicken sandwich!??

And so here I am, trying not to gain all the weight back that I lost while I was gone (which eventually will require me to get off my ass and do something productive with myself). And trying to figure out how to eat healthily in a place that makes it so difficult to do so!

I'm Home!

2010-04-05T18:59:00.008+08:00

Well, here I am! After over 24 hours of travel, Nick and I have finally made it home! I can't believe it!

And what an emotional 24 hours it was. Nick and I both knew we were in for a bit of a roller coaster (emotionally speaking) when we found ourselves a bit too moved by the in-flight showing of Sandra Bullock's movie The Blind Side.

Neither of us actually kissed the ground when we arrived on American soil, but we both wanted to. I got a little choked up on the jet way, but kept my composure and hummed patriotic songs all the way from the gate through immigration and then through customs - the Star Spangled Banner, You're a Grand Ole' Flag, Proud to Be and American, My Country Tis of Thee....

The first thing I did once we cleared customs was to drink water from a water fountain (something I haven't been able to do for over a year!) Then, I called my parents collect from O'Hare airport (mostly just because I could!) and let them know I was back in the good ole' USA. After a short conversation, I proceeded to cry on Nick's shoulders for several minutes - tears of joy - because we were finally HOME!

Except that we still had a 3 hour lay-over plus a 60 minute wait on the tarmac for some maintenance. We arrived just after 8pm, an hour late. In anticipation of seeing my parents for the first time in 15 months, I shed some tears on the tram connecting the gates with baggage claim. Then, a couple minutes later when I actually saw my parents, I started to cry again!

But after that, it was all out of my system and we collected our bags and headed home to my first home-cooked meal in many many months - lasagna, pumpkin pie, and a 6-pack of Bud Light for Nick!

This morning, after only 6 hours of sleep, Nick and I awoke bright and early to a chorus of birds chirping outside of my parents' house. At first we both thought it was a recording being broadcasted over a PA system, or maybe some song birds hung in cages outside the window.

But it didn't take us long to realize that it wasn't a recording, but it was actually NATURE! We woke up to the sounds of NATURE! and beyond the chirping birds was blissful, American silence.

I still have another post about Singapore and then.... I'm not really sure what will happen to my blog, but I'm not quite ready to think about the future past my first day home yet. So all I have to say for now is It's good to be home!!!

Ha Long Bay

2010-04-03T10:25:00.001+08:00

For our very last stop in Vietnam, we spent 3 days in the gorgeous Ha Long Bay.

Just when I thought the chance had passed, you went and saved the best for last!!!

I know I've said this about a lot of places over the last four months,but Ha Long Bay (Ha Long meaning "descending dragon") has got to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. It looks like one day God became bored with regular old rain, so he decided to mix things up a bit. He replaced the boring rain drops with massive lime stone rain drops, whipped up a thunderstorm, and waited to see what would happen. Ha Long Bay is the result of that fateful day.

once you're deep inside the bay, the water is like glass

Ha Long is a lot like Tam Coc, but on a much larger scale. Instead of the limestone formations jutting out of rice paddies, they are towering majestically over the expansive sea. As you approach the bay from a distance, it looks as if you are sailing straight into an impenetrable mountain range shooting out from the depths of the ocean.

As you get closer it becomes apparent that what you thought was a continuous chain of mountains is actually the worlds largest optical illusion. Slowly, the mountain peaks separate and it is revealed that the bay is instead littered with massive limestone monoliths, 2,000 of them, some up to 100 meters high.

This one is appropriately called 'toothpick'

After some careful research, we decided to book a 3-day tour of Ha Long Bay with Ocean Tours. I have to say we were not disappointed. When we arrived at the dock in Ha Long City, the place was packed with tourists waiting to begin their trips and the docking area was just bursting at the seams with thousands of "tourist" boats.

I was expecting the bay itself to be a bit clogged up as well, but once we set sail, we left the crowds behind us and floated through the bay in almost complete seclusion. Ocean Tours gave us an awesome boat as well. It was able to seat maybe 40 people, but there were only 7 of us on the trip - including Aimee, Nick, and Me.

hanging out on the deck

We were served a fantastic meal for lunch on the boat and then spent a couple of hours just enjoying the ride through Ha Long. At about 3:00 we stopped deep inside the bay and spent an hour exploring in kayaks. The water was so still and flat that it looked like a mountain lake just after sunrise.

Finally, we hopped back on the boat and headed to our own little private island for the next two nights. In total there were probably less than 15 people on the island; everyone quietly doing their own thing. It felt like we had the place all to ourselves. While we were there, we stayed in a little beach bungalow where we could fall asleep and wake up to the sounds of the sea.

bungalows lined up on our small private island

Nick relaxing on our bungalow's porch

We spent the whole next day just relaxing on the island (and taking lots of pictures!) and on our third day set out for one more cruise through the bay. With limestone islands towering above our boat, we rode through the bay in silence, lost in our own thoughts.

Ha Long was an awesome way to finish our time in Vietnam and our trip in general. With nothing on our schedule but cruising through the bay, we were free to just soak it all in and enjoy the surroundings. It was definitely the cherry on top of our Southeast Asia Sundae and we enjoyed every minute of it.

dinner on the beach at our private island

48 hours

2010-04-02T16:25:00.002+08:00

Wow... here we are. In 48 hours I'll already be on an airplane on my way home, after 15 months. So how do I feel??

Well, to be honest, I'm not really sure. Every time I think about going home, I have a different reaction; sometimes I get butterflies in my stomach, sometimes a lump in my throat. Sometimes I'm really excited and sometimes I'm depressed and disappointed.

Until recently, I didn't even realize that it has been an entire 15 months since I was last home. 15 months is a long time! A lot has happened over the last 15 months and I'm not sure I can even appreciate it fully until I finally get home and process it all; get some perspective.

I have to admit though, that as excited as I am to finally go home and return to normalcy, a big part of me is really really sad that it's over. It's hard for me not to feel like, "this is it." It's over. I'll never do something like this again. I'll never have 4 months with absolutely no obligations, no place to be, nothing I HAVE to do - just 4 months to exist; to learn new things, see new places, to live life and to experience it in any way I choose. And that really depresses me.

But I have to just keep reminding myself that it doesn't have to be like that. I don't have to go home and get a job and get married and get a mortgage and have kids.............. I don't have to do anything. I think more than anything else, this trip has taught me that.

Life is full of choices - the world is my oyster.

I hope that I get the chance to do something like this again, but if I don't, it will be because I chose to do something else with my life. Something else that makes me feel happy and fulfilled.

But I do hope that I resist the urge to settle too much into normalcy. One of the things that I love about travelling is that it gets you out of familiar surroundings and forces you to think. You constantly have to think about things that you never have to think about in your normal life:

Where am I going to sleep? How to I eat this? How do I get from point A to B? What the hell is that? What should I do today? (with more options than ever possible at home). What is this person trying to communicate to me? How do I communicate? How do I use this toilet??

All of this thinking leads to lots more thinking and before you know it you just spent 15 months thinking; looking at things from a different perspective, learning about other world views, learning about your own world view... just thinking and learning and thinking some more. I never even realized how much of my life was spent not thinking, until I left everything that I knew and tried to survive in a completely foreign place.
Just thinking about all the thinking I've done is making my brain tired!

In the first two months of our travel alone, I read 13 books! Never before did I have this much time to spend on enlightenment. It was wonderful.

So, when I think about going home, I have to admit that a part of me is very depressed about the whole thing. But with home being only 48 hours away, a larger part of me is excited beyond words.

Home has a really nice ring to it right now.

Photo Shoot on the Beach

2010-04-02T00:07:00.001+08:00

While in Ha Long Bay, we had an entire day to hang out at the beach on our own little private island. Since it’s not exactly the best beach weather, Nick, Aimee, and I were the only three people on the island for the day.

We spent most of our time reading and relaxing, but in the middle of the afternoon, Aimee and I had an awesome idea. We rounded up some of the resort’s resident reindeer and headed to the beach for a photo shoot. Here is some of our best work:

Trekking in Sapa

2010-03-31T21:35:00.004+08:00

We awoke early on our second day in Sapa rested and ready for our trek. After some coffee and breakfast, we headed out of town with Zee.

Me and our guide Zee

Our plan for the day was to walk from town to her village – approximately a 3 hour trek – where she would cook lunch for us. Then we would hitch a ride back to town on a moto in time to catch a ride to the train station (for another night train, ugh!) at 5pm.

As we made our way to the village, we strolled through Sapa’s mountains and valleys on foot paths, dirt roads, and mountain trails. Occasionally, a group of locals would walk past on their way to or from the rice paddies, and twice we did cross paths with another small group of tourists, but other than that it was just the three of us and Zee walking through the mountains. The air was crisp, the birds were chirping, and the scenery was breathtaking.

Our route took us through farmlands and past small villages and every so often we were able to catch a glimpse of life up in the mountains.

A group of men working together to cut lumber to build a new house for one family in the village

Some boys playing on stilts in their beautiful back yard

Everyone in Sapa is carrying something on their back – typically it’s either a basket or a baby! In town it’s common to see children as young as 10 years old helping out their parents by carrying the babies around.

Farmers plowing a field where corn will soon be planted

Water buffalo are the most important asset for a farmer in Vietnam and can cost upwards of $1,000 USD for a large one.

The sky was overcast, but most of the fog from the previous day had lifted giving us great views of the mountains. The air had also warmed and the temperature was perfect for a hike – cool and comfortable. Although Zee’s English was a bit difficult to understand at times, she was a great guide and taught us a bit about local customs and culture, while we taught her a bit about ours.

But of course, the most amazing thing about the trek was the stunning scenery.

When you’re looking at the mountains, it’s impossible to miss the human intervention with the natural landscape. But here in the Lao Cai province of Vietnam, instead of interfering with the natural beauty – as we normally do with highways and cell towers – it has only made the region more beautiful. The people of Sapa have converted entire mountains into rice paddies, working in harmony with nature and using the natural contours of the hills as their guide to carve rice terraces out of Sapa’s steep slopes.

Rice terraces of Sapa

Right now people are just beginning to prepare the paddies for planting this year’s crop. The cold winter has left the hills a bit drab and brown, but I can’t even imagine how incredible the landscape must be when all of the paddies are flooded with water or full of lush green rice. Nonetheless, the sight was as impressive as it was beautiful and left me in awe of the hard work and ingenuity of the people of Sapa.

For almost three hours we walked through the mountains taking in amazing vistas around every turn. Finally, Zee’s village came into view – a small collection of bamboo houses set high up on a hill, overlooking the valley below. It was unlike any village we have visited thus far in that there was absolutely nothing touristy about it – no shops, no tourist traps… just a village that Zee was gracious enough to invite us to visit.

As we approached her house, a small boy came running up and grabbed Zee’s hand. Her son, only 4 years old, left his friends and came to greet his mother.

Once we arrived at Zee’s place, she got out some small wooden benches for us to sit on and began preparing our lunch.

Zee cooking for us

Her house was made of bamboo with a pounded-dirt floor and a corrugated iron roof.

It had two bedrooms, a kitchen (that had a spare bed in it for visitors), a living area, and a small room with a big water reservoir. They also had a loft up top for storage. It was pretty spacious living quarters for a family of 5.

Hanging out in Zee’s living room

The entertainment center – hooked up to a satellite in the front yard

The water reservoir

Just outside of the house is a small garden where they grow corn and some herbs and spices for their personal use and beyond that are rice terraces.

Zee’s front yard

Zee cooked us a great lunch of morning glory, instant noodles, stewed bean sprouts and tomatoes, and steamed rice. There was more than enough food for us all and to wash it all down, she offered us some of her husband’s homemade rice wine. Aimee and I only had two small glasses, but she insisted that Nick have 4 - for good luck, of course!

Zee was like an Italian grandmother – eat more, you must eat more!!

Pouring rice wine for nick

After lunch, Zee brought out some of her homemade garments and asked us if we’d like to buy something. She was most gracious when we declined and even gave us each something small for free – Aimee and I each got a headband, and Nick got a small money bag (read: purse).

At about 3:00, we moseyed down to the road into town (about a 15 minute walk from Zee’s place) and hopped onto motorbikes for the beautiful ride back to Sapa. One of our driver’s was Zee’s husband and before we left we even got to meet Zee’s daughters who were just finishing up their day at the nearby school.

It was an awesome day, and one of the most memorable experiences of our entire trip. Sapa is definitely a place worth exploring and there is no doubt that I will return there if I ever have the chance.

Cooking Class in Sapa

2010-03-29T01:12:00.003+08:00

I have been really looking forward to taking another cooking class ever since the wonderful experience we had in Thailand. Finally, we had a chance to do another one in Sapa.

Just like the class we did in Thailand, this class began with a trip to the market. The only people in the cooking class were Nick, Aimee, and myself, so we had a nice private tour of the market.

Aimee helping to pick out oranges

Local woman carrying her purchases away from the market in the basket on her back

Dog meat is a specialty in northern Vietnam... and something we won't be trying while we're here

After our short trip to the market, we headed back to the hotel to get things started. It was at this point that we realized that this wasn't the usual backpacker's cooking class. Our class took place in the hotel's small but pristine kitchen which is just off of and completely open to their elegant dining room. To our left were floor to ceiling windows with an amazing view of the mountains and throughout the class we were served glass after glass of amazing red wine.

Our teacher was the hotel's head chef, Son, and instead of actually learning to cook, we were getting a chance to watch a gourmet chef in action. Everything we cooked that night was an original recipe of his and all of it was absolutely amazing.

The first dish we made was deep fried spring rolls. The filling was made of chopped veggies and chicken with the secret ingredient: mayonnaise. It was a bit like a gourmet chicken salad spring roll. After Son made the filling, he let all three of us have a hand at rolling them up.

Then, he dipped them in egg and bread crumbs and deep fried them. They were melt-in-your-mouth fantastic.

The second dish we made was another kind of spring roll unlike anything I've ever had before. The filling consisted of cold rice noodles, sliced cucumber, carrot, and pineapple, and fresh lettuce and mint leaves. Instead of using rice paper for the roll, Son wrapped it all up in a freshly made egg pancake (egg, flour, and milk). They were amazing.

They were hands-down the best spring rolls I have ever had. The mix of flavors was perfect - light, refreshing, and mouth watering. And, what was even more exciting was how easy they were to make. Although Nick has his doubts, I have high hopes that I will use this recipe when I get back to the states.

After the spring rolls, Son set out cooking our main course for us: a special Vietnamese hot pot. While we chatted and drank wine, he cut up all kinds of meats and veggies and whipped up a fantastic broth that was unlike anything I had ever had before.

A plate of delicious meat for our hot pot: pork, chicken, beef, and salmon

In the end we had an entire table full of goodies for our hot pot and ate one of the best meals I've ever had over a second bottle of wine. Although we didn't learn too much about Vietnamese food, we had one of our best evenings yet.

Good friends, good food, and good wine... what more could you possibly ask for in life???

Our Trip in Sapa... off to a rough start

2010-03-28T00:16:00.000+08:00

Sapa is a town way up in the gorgeous Hoang Lien Son Mountains of northern Vietnam very close to the border with China.

Surrounded by lush towering mountains, full of French colonial buildings, and relatively free of the noisy traffic that characterizes the rest of Vietnam, it's got to be one of the most beautiful and peaceful towns in Vietnam (or in SE Asia for that matter!)

typical architecture in Sapa

The mountains surrounding the town of Sapa are full of hundreds of ethnic minority villages. Tourism has no doubt had an effect on these people, but still, they continue to live very traditional life styles. They still wear colorful traditional clothing and live off of the land by farming rice in the huge network of rice terraces that blanket the mountains. The town itself is full of beautifully dressed villagers hawking their wares to tourists and offering their services as local tour guides.

Local girls hanging out in town in their traditional garb

On the advice of fellow travelers, we decided to take the sleeper train to Sapa, foregoing the bus this time. It was a good decision, too. The train is much more comfortable. The beds are big enough for us to stretch out fully and there is room to get up and walk around if you get antsy.

Despite the relatively comfortable beds, none of us got any sleep. The ride was wobbly and the train was squeaky and I was cursing myself for not buying ear plugs when I had the chance in Thailand.

When we finally arrived in Sapa at around 7am things were looking pretty bleak. The weather was very cold and rainy and none of us were in a good mood. The ride from the train station up the Sapa valley and into town was beautiful, but winding roads and reckless driving made it difficult to enjoy the views and we were all feeling a bit nauseous when we arrived in Sapa. When finally reached the top, a heavy fog was blanketing the entire town and surrounding mountains.

Short on sleep, cold, and cranky, I began second guessing the decision to come up to Sapa. At breakfast, Nick even suggested we might buy a return ticket for that evening!

Nick trying to stay warm with a cup of coffee

We decided to retreat into our hotel room and take a nap. With the weather so cold and rainy, we resigned ourselves to spending the day hibernating inside. At about 3:00 though, Aimee and I decided to get a massage ($6 for an hour) and left Nick to wander the town on his own for a bit. By the time we met up an hour later, Nick had inadvertently planned the rest of our stay in Sapa! In addition to booking a cooking class for that evening, he found us a tour guide for the following day.

Zee made Nick take this picture so we wouldn't forget who our tour guide was

She was from the Black H'mong ethnic group, and her name was Zee. Nick introduced her to us by saying, “I think I found us a tour guide for tomorrow. She doesn’t speak a lick of English, but she’s cute as a button, isn’t she!?” And he had a point, she sure was cute! She gave each of us a bracelet to signify our promise that we would spend the next day with her and we agreed we’d meet up with her the following morning at 9am.

A brief stop at the hotel room for a shower and we were off to our cooking class at the Boutique Hotel. The fun had just begun!

A Walking Tour of Hanoi

2010-03-27T12:20:00.017+08:00

a Noi is a fabulous city. Vibrant and fast paced, at times simply walking down the street can feel like a full-out assault on your senses, but we found that with a little patience and an open mind, Hanoi is a wonderful city just waiting to be explored.

We plan to have three full days in Hanoi spred out over our last week in Vietnam, so we spent our first day doing a little walking tour of Old Town. The tour didn't include any typical tourist sights really, but it was a great way to get a feel for the city and soak it all in. By the end of the day we were mastering the fine art of crossing the street and navigating the crowded sidewalks.

Tip: watch out for hazzards from above! I was hit in the head by a bolt that was dropped by someone working on the city's powerlines!

The streets in Hanoi seem to be organized thematically with stores selling similar wares all lined up together in clusters. As we walked from street to street, we passed enclaves of black smiths, tin smiths, carpenters, barbers, painters, manicurists and more. In a city as crowded as Hanoi, space is at a premium. Every inch is up for grabs and the city's sidewalks have all been converted into workshops, restaurants, storefronts, and salons with everyone was doing their work out in the open.

manicure on the side walk in front of an art gallery

cut and a shave just outside the Temple of Literature

Lock yourself out of your car? No worries, the locksmith is just hanging out on the roadside

power tools on the side walk

One my favorite stops of the day was the market. It was busteling with activity and full of all kinds of wonderful sights and smells.

At the end of our walk we went by Hoan Kiem Lake and the Temple of Literature to get a little zen in our lives.

incense at the Temple of Literature

Burning paper money at the temple on Hoan Kiem Lake

With the exception of a brief time when we thought we had lost some money (it's ok, everything is fine!!) we great day exploring the city. We've still got two more days to hang out in Hanoi and get some shopping done, but for now, we're off to the mountains of Sapa!

Tam Coc

2010-03-25T18:18:00.002+08:00

We woke up bright and early this morning hoping that the weather had cleared and we would have a nice sunny day to explore Tam Coc. Unfortunately, Mother Nature didn’t get our request and we awoke to pretty dismal weather – more rain and fog. We only had one day left in Ninh Binh, so we bought ponchos for a buck a piece, hopped on our scooters, and hoped for the best.

I’m glad that we did because we had an absolutly amazing day in Tam Coc. It has got to be one of the most beautiful and serene places on earth. With huge limestone mountains and rock formations jutting out of Vietnam's lush rice paddies, the lingering fog only added to the wonderful aura of the setting.

The main activity of the day was to hop on a small boat and paddle through the rice paddies down the Ngo Dong River. We arrived at the dock at 9:30 AM, just as the rain subsided and still early enough to miss the throngs of tourists coming down on day trips from Ha Noi.

Just the beginning

Tam Coc is an island of peace and serenity hidden among the cacophonous craziness that is Vietnam. For most of our two hour journey, we were accompanied only by one or two other boats and were able to hear the sounds of nature for the first time since we came to Vietnam - birds were chirping all around us.

As we moseyed down the river, we made our way through caves and watched as some farmers tended to the rice paddies. The two-hours we spent on our boat were probably one of the most relaxing and serene of our entire trip.

on our way under

Our guide rowing us through the cave

taking a break

Since the local guides spend all day paddling tourists up and down this river, it is expected that their arms would get tired every now and then. To give themselves a little break every now and then, they will start to paddle the boat with their feet!

Of course, everybody has their own way to enjoy Tam Coc. While I was spending the morning marveling at the tranquility of it all, there were other visitors who wanted the trip to be educational as well. In order to reach the entire tour group of 10 - 20 people, megaphones were necessary.

As soon as I heard the megaphone my blood pressure rose and I had a flashback to our time spent living in Taiwan and of blue advertising trucks interrupting my Sunday morning slumber. Thankfully we were able to navigate away from these small groups and spent most of our time enjoying the peace and quiet.

After our boat ride and some lunch, we went off to explore. The area around Tam Coc has very little traffic and the countryside is littered with small pagodas and temples. With nowhere in particular to go, we spent the entire afternoon meandering through the paddies and around the mountains just enjoying the scenery.

Bich Dong Temple

a view from above

As we were exploring one of the temples, a woman tapped me on the shoulder and offered to give us a tour. After Nick gave the requested $15,000 Dong (75 cents US) donation to the temple, she took us back into a sacred cave hidden in the mountain behind the temple. We made our way through various caverns and she pointed out Buddhas and stalactites, one of which looked like the revered Ho Chi Minh himself.

the door leading to the cave was just behind this statue

our guide unlocking the cave door for us

Buddha inside the cave

Vietnam has got to be one of the most cacophonous and vibrant places on earth; the energy here is high and everyone is on the move. Tam Coc, on the other hand, is one of the most peaceful and serene places I have ever been to. The fact that it's nestled in among the craziness of Vietnam makes it all the more refreshing.

As the Lonely Planet says, Vietnam's calm spots are like "sweetened condensed milk in an ice coffee so strong it would be illegal in other countries," and for me, that's exactly what Tam Coc was. The day we spent here was by far one of my favorites of our entire trip.

Navigating Ninh Binh

2010-03-23T21:47:00.001+08:00

With only two weeks left, we don’t want to waste any time. So we booked an overnight bus from Da Nang to our next stop in Ninh Binh. Our first leg, from Da Nang to Hue, was 3 hours in a standard coach bus, winding through Vietnam’s beautiful mountains and rice paddies. It was one of those bus rides that in and of itself can an experience. It was just beautiful.

We stopped just long enough in Hue for Nick to run and grab us a family meal from the local KFC and then we were in for the long haul. An 11-hour over night bus ride on a “soft sleeper” bus. It was really unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. The soft sleeper bus can sit 36 people. But you’re actually not sitting in your seats, you laying in one of 36 bunk beds just wide enough for a single person.

Nick in his sleeper bed

They beds are almost completely horizontal and are pretty comfortable considering that you’re ona bus. When we were on the bus I wondered aloud to Aimee why we don’t have anything like this in America. But really, there’s no way we could have something like this in the states. American’s are just too big. It wouldn’t be economical.

Needless to say, the seat was a bit small for Nick. Aimee and I were able to just fit into them and I actually slept pretty well. I would have really enjoyed the experience if it wasn’t for the bus driver incessantly honking the horn of the bus the entire night! It was like trying to sleep with a blow horn going off every few minutes just 6 inches away from your head.

writing a blog on the bus

O well, almost 15 hours after we departed Da Nang, we arrived in Ninh Binh – and promptly went back to bed for a nice 4-hour nap!

When we awoke, the sky was over cast, things were foggy, and it looked like it might rain. In spite of the weather, and thanks to Aimee’s motivation, we decided to rent motor bikes and head out to Cuc Phuong National Park.

The park was about an hour and a half from town and while we were there we did a very short hike (5 minutes) to a cave where people lived some 7,500 years ago.

Unfortunately, we didn’t have any flash lights and it was pitch black inside, so we didn’t get to see much, but it was still nice to get off the bikes for a bit and get the circulation flowing back into our hindquarters.

We got a bit of a late start, so by the time we got out of the cave it was already 3:00, and we decided to head back to town. In total, we only spent about one hour actually inside the park, but it was nice to drive through the damp jungle and enjoy the fresh air and a road free from traffic and honking horns.

The best part of the day wasn’t the national park anyway. Despite the insane traffic here, the best part of the day was our drive to and from the park.

The town of Ninh Binh isn’t anything too special in and of itself, but it is surrounded by limestone mountains and karsts shooting out of Vietnam’s endless rice paddies. That is why we came to this town, and today we got our first glimpse of this area’s natural beauty on our way to the park.

Although ear-splitting at times, the drive was pretty amazing and it just whetted our appetite for our big visit to Tam Coc tomorrow!

Hangin' at Hoa's Place

2010-03-21T20:14:00.001+08:00

After soaking up the craziness that is Ho Chi Minh City (Nick and I were there for a full week!), we were more than ready to head to the beach. Since we have less than 3 weeks left, we decided to skip Nha Trang and fly straight to Da Nang. What would have been 24 hours on a bus turned in to one hour in a plane and before we knew it, we were at the beach.

Thanks to some good recommendations (i.e. Lonely Planet and TravelFish.org) we headed straight for Hoa’s Place, which sits just 100 meters from China Beach.

Immediately, we were greeted by the man himself, Hoa, who has been called “the coolest man in Vietnam.” When our cab driver asked him for commission (for taking us to the guest house that we requested he take us to!) Hoa refused and told us that we have to “watch out for bullshit” but not to worry because Hoa “doesn’t fuck around with that stuff.”

Once the cabbie realized he wasn’t getting any extra money, he drove away, and Hoa ushered us to some seats at his restaurant. He told us to “take it easy guys” and introduced us to his specialty, the “local burger.” The local burger is an avocado and bacon hamburger served on a toasted baguette and it is amazing! We stayed for three days and during that time we had three local burgers each!

Every evening, Hoa’s wife serves up a family style dinner for all of the guests staying at his place – for only $50,000VND ($2.50 USD) it was all you can eat of rice, noodles, stir fried beef, salad, spring rolls, tofu, and veggies.

The dinners are awesome because he makes sure that all of the guests mingle together and no one is left out. At first, Aimee, Nick, and I sat at a table all by ourselves, but before the meal started Hoa’s staff made sure we joined the big table where we could make some new friends and take part in the family atmosphere.

Of course the main draw for hanging out at Hoa’s place (besides Hoa himself) is China Beach.

small spherical fishing boats resting on the beach

China beach is a loooooooooong (30km) stretch of beach along Vietnam’s central coast line. The sea was a bit choppy and the water is a little colder than it was in southern Thailand and Cambodia, but it was refreshing and fun to jump around in and we practically had it all to ourselves during our stay.

It was the perfect spot to get away from it all and recharge before our final two weeks of exploration in Southeast Asia.

Aimee on the beach for a sunset walk

Aside from a couple other tourists, our only companions we had on the beach were local fisherman collecting clams.

Once their rice sacks were filled to the brim with their catch, they would pack their load on to their motorbikes and haul them off to the market.

There are plans to make this a major tourist destination in the near future (hotels are in construction all along the coast) but for now it remains and peaceful place to get away from it all and just take it easy!

A Visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels

2010-03-19T23:12:00.004+08:00

Aimee is here!!!!

So this morning we set off bright and early to check out the network of tunnels in Cu Chi that the Viet Cong used to elude the American forces during the “American War.” Strategically, Cu Chi was very important during the war because it was right in between the end of the Ho Chi Minh Trail and Saigon. It was the Viet Cong’s launching point for attacks on the capital city of southern Vietnam.

The Vietnamese communists actually started building their vast tunnel system in 1948 when they were still at war with the French. The network of tunnels covered an area of 100 square kilometers. According to the documentary we watched during our visit, the Americans were dropping bombs on the area of Cu Chi like “a band of crazed devils.”

bombs that were dropped by the Americans on the Cu Chi area

The tunnels were up to 8 meters below the earth at some points. Bunkers that were 3 meters below the ground served as kitchens, meeting rooms, hospitals, and living quarters for the Cu Chi people.

diorama of the tunnels

There was an escape route that led to the river and bamboo stakes that provided ventilation for the 20cm x 80 cm tunnels. They even built their own underground wells that extended 13 meters below the ground. It really is a testament to the ingenuity and resourcefulness of the Vietnamese people.

Aimee crawling down into the tunnel

Although most of the tunnels were only a couple of feet tall and wide, the tunnels that we actually crawled inside were “king sized” especially for the tourists. Nonetheless, it was still pretty fun to crawl through and try to imagine what it was like to be down there during the war.

Nick in the tunnels

The “super-sized” tunnels were claustrophobic enough but I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be Rambo-crawling through these tiny, pitch-dark tunnels during a bombing attack - knowing that at any moment a bomb could collapse the tunnel and bury you alive.

In addition to building this vast tunnel network, the Cu Chi guerrillas laced the area with land mines and booby traps. The traps were mostly adaptations of traditional animal traps and they sure didn’t look like too much fun to get stuck in.

Scene depicting VC guerrillas sawing open an unexploded bomb to harvest the TNT for making land mines and grenades.

Our guide, Slim Jim, demonstrating how a booby trap works

Even though lots of people hate on the Cu Chi tunnels as “super touristy” and not authentic, I thought they were pretty cool and definitely a worthwhile thing to see while in Vietnam. Just like when we were in Tup Duc, I found myself saying “no wonder we lost” (and wondering what the hell we were doing here in the first place). But I also found myself sympathizing with the American soldiers who fought in Vietnam. I can’t imagine how terrifying it must have been to be surrounded by an invisible army out in a jungle littered with booby traps and land mines.

watch out for me!!

Our trip out to Cu Chi also included a stop at the “Holy See” which is the holiest temple in the uniquely Vietnamese religion of Cao Dai. Cao Dai (meaning High Temple) is a mixture of Buddhism, Catholicism, Taoism, and Confucianism and has 2 million followers here in Vietnam.

the Holy See temple

the inside of the temple

the holy alter in the temple – a globe with the “holy eye”

A picture of the three saints of the Cao Dai religion: an ancient Vietnamese poet, Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the KMT nationalist party that fled from China to Taiwan after WWII, and the famous French poet Victor Hugo!

While we were there, we watched one of the 4 daily services. There was no preaching or anything like that (not while we were there) just some music, prayer, and singing.

worshipers in the temple

Nick and I were especially interested in checking it out because we both read a book called “The Girl in the Picture.” The book was is about the subject of the most famous picture from the Vietnam War (a young girl running naked from a napalm attack) who also happened to be a member of the Cao Di church. She talked a lot about this area and the Holy See in her book, so it was pretty cool to come and actually check it out in person.

All in all we had a fun and informative day!

Hangin' Out in Ho Chi Minh

2010-03-17T19:19:00.005+08:00

After a couple of days in the Delta, Nick and I moved on up to Ho Chi Minh City to hang out and wait for Aimee to meet up with us. We headed to the main backpacker area on Pham Ngu Lao which is locally known as “foreigner town”. When we got there, we found a great little guesthouse tucked back in a small residential alley.

The alley is great because even though we’re completely surrounded by guesthouses and hostels, it feels like we’re staying in a little Vietnamese neighborhood. In the mornings, there’s even a little informal market set up with a butcher and some fruit vendors.

Lining the alley from the morning until after sunset are small food stands. One of them has my favorite Vietnamese dish: cold noodles with fried meat, julienne carrots, spring rolls, cucumber, basil and cilantro, and sweet and sour chili sauce. It’s delicious.

Nick sitting down for my favorite Vietnamese dish: cold noodles served on the street

At any time in our alley you can find children are playing, people sitting on their stoops eating noodles, women getting pedicures, and people lounging in plastic chairs drinking ice coffee. It’s great, I love it here.

Across the street from the entrance to the alley is a long, narrow park where locals go to get some exercise in the evenings. There are people playing volleyball and badminton, takraw and shuttlecock, and lots of people walking or jogging.

Old lady exercise in the park

And to facilitate the people in their quest for physical fitness, the government has installed fitness equipment in the parks including abdominal swivel stands and even a ellipticals. They seem to be pretty popular and after testing them out, I can see why!

getin' my workout on

No need to join a gym here in Vietnam, just head to the local park where you can find everything from group aerobics classes to exercise equipment.

For our first 4 days in the city, I have to admit, we didn’t do too much. We spent a lot of time hanging out in coffee shops, relaxing in our hotel room, and just generally lounging around the city. (We’re saving most of our sight-seeing time for when Aimee gets here)

But while our days have been pretty quiet, our nights have been quite the opposite.

Me, Nick, and Trang

My sister happens to have a friend who lives here in HCMC and she was gracious enough to take Nick and me out three nights in a row. Her name is Trang and she was awesome. I only gave her one day’s notice of our arrival, but she still came to meet up with us right after work and take us out for dinner and drinks every night.

Trang fixing our BBQ at the first restaurant we went to in HCM

On Friday night she even organized a big get together with her friends who took us out for Vietnamese food and to a hip-hop show later in the evening. Since we left Taiwan, this was the first time we had a local guide to show us around and help us find good food and good music, so that was pretty awesome.

me and the girls at dinner on Friday night

Group shot of everyone with "Akil the MC" from Jurassic 5

And now, Trang has flown to Malaysia on business and Aimee is only hours away from landing in Vietnam. As of today, Nick and I have exactly three weeks left of our trip and we will spend the rest of our time making our way north through Vietnam with Aimee. Before you know it we’ll be back the US, but for now, we’re just soaking it all in here in Vietnam.

Old school motorbike and side car outside of Acoustic Cafe in HCM

Boat Trips in the Mekong

2010-03-15T19:35:00.002+08:00

The best way to view the Mekong Delta is of course from the water, and so that's exactly what Nick and I did. By far, I'd have to say that the best boat trip we took was the one that brought us from Cambodia into Vietnam. I say this because it was only on that boat ride that we actually got off the "main road" of the Mekong and got to see the more provincial side of the Mekong backwaters. But while we were in the Delta, we did go on two other boat rides and had a great time on both.

Our first trip was a 2-hour motorboat ride around Chau Doc. The trip included a very brief stop at a fish farm and another stop at an "ethnic Cham village" which was basically just a small collection of houses on stilts where they tried to sell us some souvenirs.

Nick taking a walk on the pier

We also went through a "floating village" which was an area of the river with a lot of house boats.

a "three story house" three boats strung together in the floating village

It was a bit weird at some points because we were really just floating through people's neighborhoods. Imagine if you were minding your own business in your cul-de-sac when a couple of Vietnamese tourists rode up and started taking pictures of you mowing the lawn... that's what it felt like sometimes. But it was still pretty cool to see, and I guess they're pretty used to it.

About half way through our trip, we were running short on gas, so we stopped by the floating gas station briefly before continuing on.

Further down the river, we saw a woman paddling around a floating "7-Eleven." Her boat was basically a convenient store on water and she paddled around between house boats and floating houses to see if anyone was in need of anything. While we were watching her, we saw her rinse off her veggies by tossing some river water on them.... definitely not the most sanitary of practices.

One of my favorite sightings was what looked to me like a floating dry-cleaner or laundry service.

And inside this floating village (of floating houses, as opposed to house-boats)

we saw a floating pig-pen! Who says you need to live on land to have farm animals??

All in all, our 2-hour boat tour around Chau Doc was well worth the $3 / each we paid (although we were told the entire trip should cost only $5).

A couple days later we arrived in Can Tho in search of a boat trip to check out the local floating markets. In order to really get a feel for the markets, you have to start just before the sun rises at 5:30am. This way, you can get to the markets when they're in full swing and before all of the tourist boats show up.

Unfortunately, I was the one in charge of the alarm clock that day and welll... let's just say I'm not exactly a morning person. Nick and I didn't wake up until 6:30 and by the time we finally got on the water it was already 7:30. Our boat moved excruciatingly slow and we didn't reach the first market until almost 9:00.

We definitely didn't get there early enough to avoid the masses of tourists

and we probably missed out on a lot of the early morning ambiance. Nevertheless, we still got to check out 2 floating markets and they were both pretty cool. By the time we got to the markets we were pretty hungry, so we bought our breakfast from the first boat we saw.

This little boy sold us our breakfast of champions: bananas and Coke Light

Here are some sights from the market:

a floating butcher - chicken, duck, and beef available here!

The bustling market

a woman rowing her boat full of fruit

traffic jam at the market

our friendly tour guide

Even though our Can Tho boat tour was much too long for me (we put-putted up the river for 6 hours!) it is still a fabulous way to soak up the Mekong life style.

washing the laundry

bridge crossing

two friends on the river

Touring Chau Doc by Moto

2010-03-14T21:38:00.073+08:00

Shortly after Nick and I arrived in Chau Doc, I was approached by a friendly moto driver looking for some business. His name was Dang. He didn't speak much English, but handed me a piece of paper introducing himself and his buddy Wong as tour guides. The paper described the sights of Chau Doc, and was so well written (an Australian tourist wrote it for them) that it convinced me that we should do a tour with these guys. For $11 each, they took us on a one day tour of Cam Mountain, Tuc Dup Hill, and Sam Mountain.

So, at 8 AM Sunday morning, Nick and I hopped on the back of their motos and were off to explore the area. On our way out we zoomed past rice paddies, fish farms, duck farms, and countless houses on stilts. A death-defying, ear-splitting, and butt-numbing hour-drive later, and we arrived at our first destination: Cam Mountain.

I wasn't quite sure what Cam Mountain was, but it sounded nice based on the description they provided, "beautiful mountain, lake, pagoda, and happy Buddha." As soon as we arrived at Cam Mountain, I had two relevations. The first was that it was Sunday, and the second was that this is a popular destination for locals to visit on the weekends.

Nick in line to buy an admission ticket to Cam Mountin

Ticket in hand, we were on our way to the top of the mountain. Apparently there is a gang of moto drivers who have a monopoly on carting people up the mountain and so our tour guides were not able to take us the whole way. At this point, we had two choices. We could either pay another driver to take us up OR we could hike up ourselves - about a 40 minute walk,we were told.

Nick is never one to shy away from a hike and I thought it would be nice to get some exercise, so we set off on foot. In my mind I envisioned a peaceful walk on a shaded trail winding up the mountain, but in reality, there was no trail. Instead we were walking along a busy road, up the mountain.

There was so much traffic, it was like walking along the interstate in the US, but with a 10 - 15% incline the entire time. And, as we are quickly learning, Vietnamese traffic is of an especially loud breed. The motorbikes have no mufflers to speak of and beeping your horn every 30 seconds seems to be completely necessary. The noise was deafening and at times it felt like we were "hiking" through an airfield.

A grueling hour later, we reached the crest of the hill and caught our first glimpse of our destination.

It was absolutely teeming with people. Immediately, I was reminded of Sun-Moon Lake in Taiwan (if Sun Moon Lake was small, man-made, and not as beautiful). In your mind, you might envision these Buddhist pilgramage sites to be tranquil mountain retreats - places to go to escape the city and make your peace with god, maybe even do some meditation. But there are just so many people and so few places to go; even the most 'peaceful' destinations are bound to turn into complete zoos!

But it didn't just kind of remind us of Taiwan... it was like BEING back in Taiwan for an hour.

There were even MEGA PHONES!!!!

If we were just some random visitors to Southeast Asia and stumbled upon this mountain, I think we would have been pretty disappointed by the whole thing. It was so crowded and the scenery itself was pretty underwhelming. But, after having lived in Taiwan for a year we were really able to appreciate it for what it was - a locals get-away - and found the whole thing highly entertaining.

a sea of motorbikes and people surrounding the Buddha statue (he's hidden behind the trees)

It's pretty funny if you think about it. If you ask most backpackers here what they're looking for, they'll tell you they want an "authentic" experience. It's every backpacker's dream to end up in a place where they're the only foreigner so they can really soak up the local culture. But if you plant most of them down in this place - which is completely devoid of foreigners and a totally authentic Asian experience - I'm pretty sure they'd be less than thrilled by it. Do they really want to hang out on the top of a mountain with thousands of local Vietnamese tourists???

A peaceful retreat from the hectic city below - this was not. Even all the way up here, drivers found it completely necessary to blare their horns the entire time.

Anyway, we spent a good hour up there, walking around and checking things out before we headed back for our 15% grade decent to our motodrivers. On the way down though, we did get to enjoy some decent scenery of the surrounding hills and farm lands.

After 3 hours walking up and down Cam Mountain, we were finally on our way to our next destination and thankful to be taking a seat back on the motorbike again. Our next stop was Tuc Dup Hill.

Tuc Dup Hill was a strong hold for the Viet Cong during the "American War" as it's known here. It's nickname is the "Two Million Dollar Hill" because apparently, that is how much money the American's spent trying to secure the area. They were never successful and when you visit this hill it's not difficult to see why.

Tuc Dup Hill

From a distance it just looks like a pile of rocks, and really that's exactly what it is. Because the 'mountain' is basically just a jumble of huge boulders, it is full of nooks and crannies where the VC could take cover during US bombings.

Although there are small boys wandering around the mountain offering help to tourists, Nick and I decided to go it alone. All along the mountain are little white arrows which lead the way through the caves and allow for a little self-exploration.

At first, we were doing a lot of crawling and slithering through cracks and crevices, but by the end, we were doing some pretty serious bouldering.

It was certainly a lot more difficult than I had anticipated and much more than I was really up for considering our exhausting journey earlier in the morning. We spent a whole hour exploring the mountain and made it almost all the way to the top.

As we crawled through crannies and climbed around the boulders, it wasn't hard to see why it was impossible for the Americans to uproot the VC here... it would have been virtually impossible to get at them. The American forces would have had to level the entire mountain in order to take over the area - which is exactly what they attempted to do.

a mock Viet Cong meeting set up in the caves of Tuc-Dup Hill

Before we left Tuc Dup, we stopped at the base of the mountain for a lunch break. One of the cool things about the Mekong Delta is that the resturants and little snack shops here are all full of hammocks.

So while you wait for your food, or after you've stuffed yourself full, you can chill out and take a nap. Nick and I definitely enjoyed this little treat after our exhausting morning.

After lunch, we headed back towards Chau Doc and our last stop for the day, Sam Mountain. There isn't much at the top of Sam Mountain but a view of the delta below where the huge city of Chau Doc sits in a sea of rice paddies.

Nonetheless, we enjoyed hanging out here for a half hour, relaxing and taking in the view before heading back down to town. Our moto-tour complete, we have seen pretty much all there was to see in Chau Doc. Tomorrow, we're off to Can Tho!

A Bit About Perspective

2010-03-13T23:17:00.029+08:00

If there's one thing I've learned from this trip, it is how subjective we are as people.

One thing that is interesting about traveling is that it really puts you on an emotional roller coaster. Any emotion that you might feel about a normal situation is often exacerbated while you are traveling. When you're happy, you're really happy and when your irritable, your really irritable. In general even the most level-headed person will have to deal with great mood swings and bouts of emotional instability during any long-term travel. It just comes with the territory.

Because our emotions tend to be so exaggerated while on the road, it lends itself to exposing things in human nature that are typically subtle and imperceptible - like the subjectivity of personal experiences.

Over the last three months, Nick and I have spent lots of time talking to other travelers. We've exchanged countless travel stories and lots of advice, and it never ceases to amaze me how different everyone's experiences and opinions are.

We can talk to five different people about the exact same place and hear five completely different stories and opinions. Some people will tell you that a Thai person will NEVER try to rip you off and others will tell you that they felt like the Thais were ripping them off every time they turned around. Some people find Vietnam to be fantastic and magical and others find their travel here to be merely mediocre. Many people have written online that they were extremely disappointed in the Mekong Delta and I found it absolutely fabulous and everything I was hoping for.

So what is the reason for such vast discrepancies? We're all over here doing the same thing. Virtually every backpacker in Southeast Asia is hitting the same cities, going on very similar tours, and hanging out at the same places... so how can all of our experiences be so vastly different?

What I've learned is that each individual’s perception of a country, a city, a people, has much more to do with that individual and what's going on in their life at the moment than it does with where they are or what they're experiencing out in the world.

Things that factor into a persons' perception of a particular place include:

How were you feeling that day? (were you sick or tired?)
Did you get a good night's sleep last night (or were there roosters crowing and dogs howling all night?)
Where are you in your trip - beginning, middle, end
How are you feeling about your trip? (I don't have enough time... I'm ready to go home...)

What were your expectations (often they were unreasonable to begin with or they were so low that you were plesantly surprised)

All of these things and more factor into how we perceive and experience things every day - not just when we're traveling. I always believed (thanks to my parents) that a positive outlook is important in life. I have always known that in any situation you can choose to look at things with the glass half full or half empty. But until I spent this much time out of the US I never realized how much our mental state really does effect our perception of life.

Can any two people ever have the exact same experience? I don't really believe so. Even Nick and I, who have been together day in and day out for over a year, are having our own independent experiences. Especially since we left Taiwan, we have done everything together. But if you ask us about our experiences you will probably hear very different stories. Sure the major points will be the same, but we focus on different things, we notice different things, we have our own independent swings in emotion, our previous expectations were different from each other’s and our previous travel experience was different...

If anything, it has reinforced my belief that a positive attitude in life is of utmost importance. But I think it has also taught me to look beyond myself and realize that my point of view is not the only point of view. It's not just about respecting other people's opinions, it's about respecting other people's perceptions of the world.

And, when taking advice from other travelers, it's important to remember that just because they hated a particular place, doesn't mean you will. Maybe they just had some bad dumplings that day.

Slow Boat to Vietnam

2010-03-12T23:07:00.003+08:00

For me, entering Vietnam was like a breath of fresh air. In travelling, as in life, there are always ups and downs. The end of our time in Cambodia marked a down for us. Nick wasn’t feeling in top shape due to his parasite medication, we were exhausted from the heat and our extensive touring of Angkor, and we were just ready for something new.

We decided enter Vietnam via the southern route and begin exploring the country with a tour of the Mekong Delta, so we bought tickets for the slow boat from Phnom Penh to Chau Doc for $10 each. Although our day of travel started off a bit rough – our bus was 3 hours late picking us up – it ended with an amazing introduction to Vietnam.

house on stilts on the shores of the Mekong River

As soon as we crossed into Vietnam, we started an almost magical journey through the Mekong backwater. I could not have imagined a more quintessential scene of Vietnamese life on the Mekong River.

As we floated down the river we were warmly welcomed into Vietnam by children running out of their houses to greet us, and families taking a moment to wave as we passed by.

The area was bustling with early evening activity and you could feel that in these parts, the river is their lifeblood. From our point of view, it seemed that all life revolved around the Mekong. Along its muddy shores men prepared their boats for an evening fishing expedition while families bathed and washed their clothes in the river. With them were water buffalo escaping the afternoon heat and dogs playfully running about.

The life of the Mekong River was all around us and I was completely enchanted by it.

All along the river are small, shaky wooden bridges full of bicycle, motorbike, and foot traffic. At my first sight of one of these bridges, I saw an old woman in a rice hat slowly riding her bicycle across the river – and I think at that moment, I fell in love with Vietnam.

We even saw some people using a home-made zip-line carriage contraption to cross the river.

the empty carriage returning to pick up its next passenger

If our first couple of hours in Vietnam are any indication of what lies ahead for us here, then this is bound to be one of our favorite countries yet. One thing is for sure though; the Mekong Delta is certainly something special.

walking home…

Cambodia Exhale

2010-03-11T22:58:00.003+08:00

I have to say that although we enjoyed the month that we spent in Cambodia, it has been one of the most difficult times on our journey thus far.

Cambodia has an amazing legacy left over from Angkor Wat and the mighty Khmer empire, but it’s more recent history is tragic and disheartening. From French colonialism to American imperialism to take over by the auto-genocidal Khmer Rouge, to occupation of the Vietnamese and finally to a peaceful new beginning in 1999, the Cambodian people sure have not had it easy over the years.

pagoda at the Choeung Ek Killing Fields in memory of those who were slain by the Khmer Rouge

It is impossible to ignore the problems that face Cambodians today when visiting this country. In a poverty stricken country littered with landmines, the signs of destitution are everywhere. For me, it was the worst in places frequented by foreigners. Places like Sihanoukville and Siem Reap are flush with money from the tourism industry, and, understandably so, everyone is trying to get a piece of the pie. In every tourism center, the streets are filled with children hawking post cards and bracelets, women and children begging outside of restaurants, and amputees selling books or playing music for their supper.

After several weeks of being constantly bombarded with pleas for my money, it became almost unbearable for me. Nick and I both reached a point a couple of days ago where we just wanted to get out of Cambodia as soon as possible. This of course was heightened by the fact that we spent so much time in Siem Reap and Sihanoukville – the two biggest tourist destinations in the country.

One image that has stayed with me over the weeks is of a middle aged man selling photo-copied books in the street. Probably due to a land mine explosion, he was missing both of his hands. I cannot get the vision of the smooth scar tissue on the stumps of his forearms out of my mind. But in a country as heavily land-mined as Cambodia, there is nothing special about this man. He is merely one of thousands.

For me, the children were the most difficult to deal with. Angkor Wat is filled with 100’s of children selling sets of 10 postcards for $1. They are small for their ages (most Cambodian children are) and while many are as old as 14 or 15 most don’t look much older than 10. They are terribly cute and innocent looking, so it is always tempting to chat with them and look at their wares. But as soon as you show the slightest interest in one of them, you are immediately accosted by a group of 7 – 10 others, all with the same pleas “It’s not fair. You buy one from her, buy one from me.”

children playing jump rope at an orphanage we visited

Nick’s impromptu English class at the orphanage

It’s hard to see such young children working for a living. They should be in school and you know that they wish they were in school, but day in and day out, they are there; trying to make a buck for their family.

Nick talking to a young girl who “hates her job” selling books to tourists and hopes to be a tour guide one day

a little boy trying to sell postcards to nick

Cambodia left me with a great feeling that I should be doing something to help the people here. At the same time, there is so much that needs to be done for the Cambodian people, with little access to basic public services such as health care, education, and clean water, that I feel overwhelmingly helpless.

Cambodia is a beautiful country with smiling people and an amazing rich culture, but I have to say that as we leave Cambodia, I feel two very conflicting feelings: disheartened and relieved. I am relieved to escape to constant bombardment from people – who are only trying to survive - vying for my money and my business. Selfishly I’m just relieved that I don’t have to be daily confronted with the plight of the Cambodian people anymore. And that feeling of relief in and of itself makes me feel disheartened.

Exploring Angkor

2010-03-10T23:02:00.202+08:00

After our amazing morning at the Bayon Temple, Nick, Claire, Neil, and I went on an all out tour of the most famous sights in the Angkor Wat Archaeological Park. What we were unfortunately unaware of as we set our itinerary, was that most of these sights are currently in the midst of huge restoration projects and have been transformed into huge construction sites.

Baphuon temple undergoing some serious reconstruction

As we made our way through the green tarps at Angkor

to the extremely loud construction taking place at Ta Prohm, I wondered to myself why the park had decided to undertake such huge projects independently of one another and why they were seemingly fixing all of the most famous temples at the same time. Wouldn’t it be nicer for the tourists if only one sight was besieged by jack hammers at a time?

numbered blocks at Ta Prohm

But the reason for this becomes apparent when you realize that each project is being funded different countries. The list of benefactors ranged from France to Japan, to UNESCO. Of course the people at Angkor aren’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth “um thank you for donating hundreds of thousands of dollars for Angkor’s restoration – can we take a rain check until 2015.”

rubble at Ta Prohm

the four explorers

We pressed on and managed to see some pretty great stuff that first day. After Bayon, our first stop was the Terrace of the Elephants and the Terrace of the Leper King, both of which we really enjoyed.

Terrace of the Elephants

The Terrace of the Leper King is a pair of walls - and outter and inner one - that are covered in carved figures

Claire and Neil checking out the inner wall at the Terrace of the Leper King

Figures carved on the Terrace of the Leper King

Ta Prohm has been famously overtaken by banyan trees and is one of the most popular temples on the Angkor circuit.

Unfortunately, it’s popularity hasn’t been good for it and not only is it currently the sight of massive reconstruction, but the wooden walkways and photo-op platforms that have been placed throughout it have turned it into a bit of a circus and robbed it of the mystery and intrigue I’m sure it once held.

But it's definitely still a pretty neat temple to see.

Although I was a bit bummed by all of the work going on at Ta Prohm, I really enjoyed checking out the much less visited –and much quieter - Preah Khan.

I've got my hand on a linga to remind me what I cannot do...

some trees over taking the temple at Preah Khan

We finished our day with sunset at Angkor Wat

on our way into Angkor wat for the first time

sentry on gaurd at Angkor's font gates

Angkor Wat basking in the late afternoon glow

an Angkorian windowsill

Nick checking out the sunset from Angkor Wat

A couple of days later, Nick and I spent a couple days exploring on our own – one full morning from sunrise till about 1:00, and one more day of only the sunrise, only visiting Angkor Wat. And while I may have been slightly disappointed and put off by the crowds and construction on our first day of exploration, I was fully enamored and enchanted by Angkor after our three days at the park were up.

Sunrise at Srah Srang

Our first temple on our second day was Banteay Srey and it was by far my favorite temple. While is almost dimunitive in size it is completely made out of gorgeous pink sand stone and has been beautifully restored. The details in the base reliefs on the lintils and pediments are absolutly amazing.

Bantreay Srey

After that we visited Kbal Spean which the so called "Rive of 1000 Lingas." A linga is the phallic representation of the Hindu god Shiva. From the 11th - 13th centuries, the ancient Angkorian people carved this river bed with 1000 lingas and other sacred dieties in order to fertalize their water.

It's a pretty cool site with a nice little hike up to the top and a chance to splash your head with Hindu holy water once you make it to the end.

Banteay Samre also had some awesome carvings and was a really fun temple to visit becaues there was NO construction and almost no other people around. It was a great end to our fantastic day 2 at Angkor.

Nick all alone in Banteay Samre, imagining ancient life in Angkor

On our last day in Angkor we finally made it to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat and it was beautiful.

I must say that this is one site that lives up to it's hype. Make no mistake, it is a very crowded place during sunrise, so there's no one-with-nature, at peace with the world kind of sunrise here. But I think it is really the best way to experience how awesome of a sight Angkor Wat really is.

The best thing about Angkor Wat at sunrise, is that immediately after the spectacle is over, the entire crowd clears out and scatters about the park on their own explorations. The post-sunrise crowd doesn't file between 8:30 - 9:00. This means that if you go into Angkor between about 7:00 and 9:00 you can enjoy it in relative peace, which is exactly what Nick and I did.

Although the carvings on the outside of Angkor Wat are no where near as intricate (or well maintained) as those at Banteay Srey, the walls inside are absolutly covered with amazingly intricate and well preserved base reliefs.

checking out the base reliefs in the early morning silence of an empty hallway in Angkor Wat

an elephant warrior base relief in the halls of Angkor Wat

monks taking a stroll along the reflection pool at Angkor Wat

It was also at this point that we finally got to go up into the main towers of Angkor and I was finally able to appreciate how massive a structure it really is.

Angkor towers over the tree tops of the surrounding jungle and being inside such a great ancient structure is truely inspiring.

After almost 20 hours of temple touring spread over three days, Nick and I were exhausted and satisfied. Touring Angkor can be a daunting task and with temperatures in the mid-90's it can even feel a bit like work at times, but it was certainly an amazing experience. Angkor Wat is worthy of its fame and acclaim, it is truely an inspiring piece of human history.

Sunrise at Bayon

2010-03-09T18:25:00.000+08:00

After our disappointing sunset experience, my friends and I decided to go a different route for sunrise the following day. Bypassing the crowds vying for a picture-perfect sunrise at Angkor Wat, we headed straight for Angkor Thom.

As we rode out to Angkor Thom our tuk-tuk driver informed us that not many people go out there for sunrise. "No good view, are you sure you want to go there?" "Yes, we are sure!" But it didn't take us long to figure out why no one goes there for sunrise; as we approached the entrance to Angkor Thom, we were met with a road block.

Technically, the temple is closed to the public before sunrise! For a moment, I thought we were going to have to turn back and meet the masses at Angkor Wat. Without skipping a beat, our tuk-tuk driver moved the gates out of the way and we passed through with ease. (I love countries where rules are more like suggestions than actual laws.)

Angkor Thom is actually an ancient city complex encompassing several different temples. We hadn't really done our homework so we weren't sure where to go. Thankfully we had a tuk-tuk driver who, although a bit lazy, knew what he was doing. He took us straight to the gem of Angkor Thom: the Bayon Temple.

From a distance, Bayon looks like a big pile of rocks, but up close you can see that all of the towers are covered in huge stone faces. Every tower has 4 faces, one facing each cardinal direction.

serene and smiling faces surround you at the Bayon Temple

All of this was unknown to us when we arrived at 5:30 in the morning. Armed with 2 flashlights between the 4 of us, we headed off to explore the temple in the dark, having no idea what to expect.

Save for one lone photographer, we were all by ourselves in the temple. For a half an hour, we crept though the dark corridors, unsure what we would find around each corner.

The temple was completely silent, except for the occasional squeaks of bats getting ready for their dawn feast.

our first glimpse of the faces in the dark

As the first light broke through the darkness, the bats came out in full force. They were flying so fast that we could barely catch a glimpse of them, but we could hear them. It was a deep, bass sound a bit like a heart beat "vhoomp, vhoomp.... vhoomp vhoomp" zooming past us.

The sun slowly rose across the horizon and with it came the noises of a new day. First it was the bats zooming past us in search of breakfast. Then an orchestra of crickets broke the early morning silence with their chorus of chirping. And just as the sun finally broke free, we experienced a final, huge rush of sound. The cicadas - as if on cue - began to sound their deafening call from every corner of the jungle in unison. And in that moment, a new day had begun.

Slowly we began to make out faces and shapes surrounding us as we continued to explore the temple uninterrupted.

the ominous faces of the Bayon at dawn

elaborate base reliefs of the apsara dancers that adorn all Khmer temples

i always feel like somebody's watching me....

We had a full hour and a half at the temple before anyone else showed up. But as soon as the sun shone fully in the sky, we were transformed from intrepid explorers to just the average tourists. The crowds slowly filed in and we left our temple haven to join the masses.

The Bayon Temple in the early morning light

In a place as popular as Angkor Wat, it is virtually impossible to explore a temple on your own, but for a brief moment that morning we had the temple all to ourselves and it was serene.

me and my favorite Bayon face

My First Glimpse of Angkor... from a hot air balloon!!!

2010-03-08T17:25:00.004+08:00

After anticipating this moment for the last 6 years, I finally got my first glimpse of Angkor Wat.

Neil and Claire only had 2 days with us in Siem Reap, so we needed to take full advantage of their one-day pass. To do this, we planned to buy our passes at 5pm on Wednesday. This allowed us to see Wednesday’s sunset plus a full day of exploration on Thursday.

As we had the entire day to burn on Wednesday, we spent the good part of the afternoon lounging at our hotel’s swimming pool. At about 3:00 we hopped into a tuk-tuk and headed out for our first glimpse of the temples – from a hot air balloon.

For $15/each we got to spend 10 minutes hanging out above Angkor Wat in this huge hot air balloon. In my mind’s eye, our trip up into the air was a magical experience with a breathtaking view of the biggest religious complex in the world – the ancient Angkor Wat.

In reality, the view was somewhat disappointing…. We were probably about a mile and a half from Angkor and we were tethered to the ground (not floating freely through the open sky) which made for a rather uneventful hot air balloon ride – kind of like being in an expensive open-air elevator. I guess this is pretty cool in and of itself, but not exactly what I had envisioned when I heard that we could see Angkor Wat from a hot air balloon.

a zoomed-in view of Angkor from our balloon

Regardless of the distance at which it is viewed though, Angkor is an impressive structure (even with the massive green tarp that is hanging over the front of it at the moment.) The balloon ride only whetted my appetite for getting a close-up view of the temple.

After our ten minute ride in the sky, we were off to check out the sunset.

Well, not really. First, we sat around killing time for 2 hours, sipping on coke-lights and checking out Angkor’s resident monkeys and THEN we were able to head up to check out the infamous Angkor sunset.

The most famous sunset spot in the Angkor area is from Phnom Bakheng – a temple set atop a small hill overlooking Angkor. According to the Lonely Planet this is “the definitive location from which to photograph the distant Angkor Wat in the glow of the late afternoon sun.” In addition, the Siem Reap city guide lists it as a Must See temple and the most popular location in Siem Reap from which to watch the sunset.

Once we arrived I just could not understand why. Like many things in life, the relationship between popularity and actual value is not always proportional.

First of all, the temple itself is nothing too special, especially when compared with all of the other amazing temples in the surrounding area. But that’s ok, we were expecting a great view, not necessarily an amazing temple. And we had been warned that the place would be a complete circus around sunset, which it was.

Virtually every tourist in the park was clamoring up the hill for a view of the vanishing sun. But that would be OK if it came with a great view of Angkor Wat OR of the sunset (like the books lead you to believe it will) but the truth is, it just doesn’t!

I don’t even have a picture of Angkor from that evening because I could hardly see ANY of it from the hilltop. Not only was it pretty far off in the distance, but our view of it was completely obstructed by the surrounding trees. AND the sun was setting in the complete opposite direction. Yes, I do understand that a mountain is a good viewing spot for a setting sun, but I absolutely could not comprehend what all the fuss was about.

the “legendary” Phnom Bakheng sunset

It is really beyond me why people go up to this spot in such huge masses and even more mind-boggling is all of the rave-reviews I’ve read of the sunset from Phnom Bakheng and its “magical” view of Angkor Wat. I just kept thinking to myself “WHAT VIEW!!!???”

Just because you can almost kind of see something in the distance does not mean that it’s a great view! What are all of these people talking about!??? After all of the hype, I have to say I was exasperated. I left with a sense that it was my fault that I didn’t enjoy or appreciate the view… were my expectations just too high? Maybe they were, but I still have to say that going to Phnom Bakheng tops my list as one of the most over-hyped tourist attraction in Southeast Asia.

My one nice picture from the Phnom Bakheng sunset …

And so I am off again, to search for the elusive magic that encompasses Angkor Wat, hopefully tomorrow will bring better luck!

Cambodian Cuisine

2010-03-07T22:17:00.002+08:00

As you may have guessed based on my post about the fetal duck egg, people eat some pretty strange things here in Cambodia. (well, strange to me - certainly not too strange to them!) I have to admit, that the only really strange thing that I had the guts – or the ambition – to try was the balut, BUT Claire and I did snap some pictures a couple other local culinary curiosities.

bbq chicken anyone?? Thigh comes complete with foot still attached!

For example, many of us at home are very familiar with fried rice – you can usually get it with chicken, beef, pork, or shrimp, but here in Cambodia you can also get it with ants! Yup, that’s right. Fried rice with ants – a great source of protein!!

stir-fried ants

And the insect cuisine doesn't stop there! Some popular snacks to munch on at the market are crickets, beetles, and spiders - BIG spiders! Like 3 - 4 inches big!

Or you can try a fried embryonic chicken

Or maybe some deep fried frogs!

But if you’re not into any of that, you can go the safe route (like I did) and check out some of the more tame dishes on offer here in Cambodia. Despite some initial hiccups upon entering the country, Nick and I really enjoyed the food while we were here. There is certainly more variety available in Cambodia than there is in Laos and Cambodia’s cuisine was a nice departure from the familiarity of Lao and Thai food.

My favorite dish in Cambodia is their signature “Fish Amok”

Fish Amok in banana leaves

Amok, which can come with chicken, beef, pork, or fish, is a somewhat mild curry with it’s own special mix of Khmer spices (called Kroeung). It’s color can range from green to almost pinkish to brown, and can be mild or spicy. Every time I got it, it tasted a little bit different – but it was always delicious. Cambodia has a great selection of locally caught fresh water fish, so if you ask me, the fish amok is always the best choice.

The second signature dish of Cambodia is a beef dish called Lok Lak. It’s basically small cubes of beef served up in a tomato-based gravy with a side of rice. I only had it once or twice but I quite enjoyed it.

beef luk lak served with a fried egg on top

And if you have to eat on the go, one of my absolute favorite things available here is sticky rice. It typically comes either wrapped up in long leaves or in a big tube of bamboo, and you can usually buy them from vendors in markets or around bus stations.

Inside it is filled with glutinous sticky rice with a little bit of coconut and some soy beans and it makes for a fantastic snack when you’re eating on the go.

As with everywhere in Asia, noodles are ubiquitous and come in many varities.

Nick about to induldge himself in some noodles from the market

Clair enjoying some noodles from a street vendor

more market-fresh noodles

With all of the tourists around, Phnom Pehn, Sihanoukville, and Siem Reap are rife with great options for the international pallat as well – from fantastic BBQ ribs to great Indian food to pizza and pasta. We even had some pretty decent Mexican food while we were here. All in all I’d give Cambodian food an enthusiastic two thumbs up.

From Kampot to Siem Reap

2010-03-06T17:09:00.003+08:00

We woke up early the morning after our trip to Bokor to find that the town of Kampot had been flooded over night. Even though it’s the dry season, a long night of heavy rainfall had covered the town in several inches of water.

The first floor of most buildings (including the hotels) was flooded and everywhere you looked people were working hard to get the water out.

But unlike most places, it wasn’t just the first floor that was flooded in our guest house. Even though we were staying on the third floor, we awoke to an inch of water on our bedroom floor. Fortunately, my backpack and all of my clothes were on the bed, well above the water level. Nick’s stuff, however, was strewn about the room –all of it on the floor and all of it soaked! Our computer bag also happened to be on the floor, with my laptop inside.

Fortunately, my computer was only slightly damp and suffered no damage. Our passports, on the other hand, were sopping wet and we spent the entirety of our 12-hour bus ride to Siem Reap drying them out page by page.

The entry stamp on my Cambodia visa has been completely washed away, but I am hopeful that this will not cause any problems when we exit the country. (keep your fingers crossed!)

Well, a 12 hour bus ride done and we arrived in Siem Reap to begin our exploration of Angkor Wat. But first we spent a night hanging out in town.

Siem Reap is a tourist haven with fantastic international food, spa treatments galore, 50 cent draft beers, and the best shopping in all of Cambodia. The options for food are endless ranging from $1 noodles to great western food for only slightly more.

Neil was still raving about the amazing chicken Kiev he had here 3 years ago, so of course we had to stop by at Molly Malone’s and check it out – it was deliciously drenched in butter.

One of the peculiar things about Siem Reap is that there are “fish massages” lining the streets everywhere you look. For $3 you can stick your tootsies into a tub of little fish and have them eat away at the dead skin on your feet. So, after dinner, Claire and I had a go at it.

I stuck my feet in first and immediately had hundreds of little fish nipping at my toes.

The feeling was wonderfully weird at first, and it tickled so much that I wasn’t sure I would be able to keep my feet in for more than a couple of seconds. After persisting for a minute or two the strangeness of it died down and I began to really enjoy it. It almost felt like having my feet in a bucked of Coca Cola - like hundreds of little bubbles were popping away on my skin.

After 5 minutes or so, we decided to graduate ourselves from the little fish to the tank of bigger fish. These guys were at least twice the size of the small fish and the sensation was much stranger. First of all, because they were much bigger, I could feel the slipperiness and sliminess of their skin rubbing against mine. But the even stranger part was that I could actually feel them chomping away at my feet. It felt exactly like what it was, a little tiny mouth scraping away at your skin. It didn’t hurt at all, it mostly tickled and once I got over the weirdness of it all, it was really quite enjoyable.

Claire and I stayed in for about 45 minutes just hanging out with the fish. They did a pretty good job too, and our feet felt super smooth once we finally took them out of the tank!

Dinner done and spa treatment complete we were off to bed to rest up for our first day hanging out at Angkor Wat.

2010-03-05T21:48:00.001+08:00

There are some sights Nick and I have come to realize are quintessentially Cambodian. Regardless of where you are in this country, you will no doubt see minivans packed to the brim with people, men lazing about in hammocks, and small children running around with no pants. Coconuts and fruit shakes abound and a smile can be found on almost everyone's faces.

But by far, the most ubiquitous sight here in Cambodia is trash.

trash in the market - where I bought my new "Gucci" sunglasses

One of the first things that struck me when I came into the country - and something that has remained with me througout this entire time, is the fact that trash is everywhere. It’s along the roadside, in the road, in people’s front yards, in the markets, in the zoos, in the national parks… it really is almost everywhere.

pile of trash in the zoo

trash at Bokor National Park

I’ve only been here for a couple of weeks, so I must admit that don’t know too much about the everyday life of the average Cambodian. However, I can only assume that the omnipresence of trash must be an indication of that there is a severe shortage of public services that are available to the average Cambodian. If anything, it certainly serves as a constant reminder that we are visiting a third world country.

trash in someone’s front yard - with a fire burning in the back