Bangkok

Bangkok was quite an experience. Soon as we got to the border we switched buses and instantly you can see how Thailand is so different from Cambodia. It was like stepping back into civilization. Seeing trucks, trains, commerce, schools (things that you don't see in Cambodia) even the roads were better. We got into Bangkok and had them drop us off on Ko San Road which is the area all the tourist hang out. We decided to check into a nice hotel that someone told us about on the strip. For 750 Bht (which is about $20) we got to stay in a hotel with a full breakfast and a roof top pool. It was SO nice to just be chilled out away from the intensity and the poverty of Cambodia. After a nice dip in the pool we just hung out and met a bunch of people. Ko San Road is a five block strip which is a cross between a night market, food vendors, clubs, bars, and restaurants. You have tuk tuk drivers constantly soliciting you and people selling all kinds of things. The night life was a mix of tourist that gawked at all the sights and sounds and prostitutes and lady boys walking around looking for customers and the air is filled with the sounds of music thumping from all directions and the smell of grilled meat and exhaust from the traffic.

Kho Phanang

We arrived by plane to Surrat Thani and had to take a hour long bus ride and a 2 hour boat ride to get to the Island of Kho Phanang. We skipped the full moon party on purpose and boy were we glad. It was Phanag was filled with tourist and it felt like we were on MTV springbreak Asia. There were nothing but kids partying with buckets of vodka red bull, and everyone seemed to be bandaged up due to the high level of injuries incurred by moped rentals. We got invited by a couple of people to a pool party and we went but after a few hours we bounced out. The next day most of the party kids were gone and we took a ride up to the north of the Island. It was quite deserted and the snorkeling was incredible. It was my first time and the water was crystal clear and you could see all the different types of fish and marine life swimming all around. It was beautiful..The next day I took a tour around the island and we stopped at so many different part of the Islands. Had rin is where the main party is and it was pretty lame because it was all tourists and everything was western. I met up with some people from my tour and we went to Samui which was much better. It was very chill and beautiful except that it is an Island for honeymooners and I was traveling with four girls so we got the strangest looks. I would highly recomend it to people who want to just get away from it all and just have Island life for a while..After about two days I decided to head north back up to Bangkok and up to Chang mai. It was a 48 hours of boat, bus, mini bus, and more bus but I finally made it up to chang mai and the place is awesome!

Changmai

Chang mai is a great place in the north of Thailand. The hostel is super cheap because they make there money on adventures and tours so I was really excited to do a lot of crazy fun stuff. Yesterday I spent the day at a elephant sanctuary. First we had to go to the market and shop for food for the elephants, then when we got to the sanctuary we change into traditional mahu clothes (mahu are the people who take care and live with elephants)and learn the basic commands. We first feed the elephants bananas and its kind of scary because they are kind of HUGE animals but after feeding them we fo a bit of a bond. We take turns getting on an elephant and walking around on them, they key like all animals is not to show fear or the animals can sense it. After a few commands and rides we had lunch and just hung with the mahu..Then the ride. I climbed on top of my elephant who was a 12 baby who really loved to dance. (She kept doing this two step!) and with a firm hand gave her the order to go. We walked for about 45 minutes with all the handlers through streams and valleys and then we got to the side of the hill..The handlers walked away and let us climb the side of the hill alone, it was just me and meddi (my elephant) it was an incredible experience..Going up a steep hill on a two ton elephant alone and trusting her to know what to do and knowing the commands to communicate with her. She would veer off and eat a branch of see leaves she wanted and it was up to me to guide her down the path. It was awesome and scary because if she fell I would die instantly. We made it down and got to the water where it was time to give her a bath. It was like washing a playful baby and she kept spraying me and the handlers. It was one of the best experiences of my life and just so much fun

Cambodia: Siam Reap

The last days in Phenom phen were kind of fun. We spent one day at an orphanage playing with these wonderful little ones. For children who have so little in there life, it humbled me to see them so happy and full of hope. So many western kids are such little brats who bitch and moan, and these kids only had one pencil a piece and they were so content. We spent the day playing games and I went over the alphabet and the numbers with them. When we were leaving I was in the tuk tuk and the kids started handing me there books (so I could write my name in it and they would remember me that way!)..I think this was one of the best days I've ever had. Later that night we all went to the market and did some shopping, the rule in Phenom Phen is they name a price, you offer them a quarter and settle on a half. Pretty simple, so I got a few things. The next day we were off to Siam Reap which is the capitol. A crazy russian girl who has been traveling for 4 years and a really cool english chick named Jaqui joined us for the journey, so the 6 hour bus ride wasn't so bad. We found a place to stay in the loney planet guide book and got a nice room with a fan for $6. The next day we rented out a tuk tuk and hit Angor wat which is anchient temples and ruins. Very cool to see, some of them were featured in Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider and they were absolutely amazing. The only negative of the day were the children selling things, and as tempting as it was to buy stuff I know it would encourage parents to keep them out of school if they made money. Although one girl managed to name the capitol of several countries so I was forced to buy a bracelet. The night life in Siam Reap was limited to one street fill with foreigners and loud music and restaurants. We spent some time at the night markets which were very cool and the vendors are much calmer than they were in Phenom Phen. We had dinner at a cafe and hung out at a few clubs that just weren't all that fun. When we were heading home the girls got attacked by kids who kept begging them to take them home. Its was shameless disgusting behavior and we could see the mother kind of egging the kids on. At one point a one armed gold toothed pimp who I met earlier at dinner (and who spoke the best english of any one in Cambodia) got involved and yelled at the kids. At this point we knew things were about to go south so everyone just looked down and ran out of there because the last thing we needed was to deal with this character. Siam Reap was much more cosmopolitan than phenom phen but Cambodia as a whole is a country that is struggling to stay alive. We got up the next day and hopped a bus to Bangkok, and soon as we crossed the Thai border and switched buses we felt that we were some where modern

Cambodia: Phenom Phen

Waiting for the bus in Vietnam to get to Cambodia was kind of nuts. Everything is very chaotic and disorganized but to me its so fun because it all gets done eventually. People approach you with water and gum you might want to buy and bus runners grab your bag and tell you to wait here, then they tell you to wait there. When we were waiting for the bus a lady selling gum came up with her baby and he was the cutest little guy I have seen in a long time. Just a smiley little guy who kept playing with me. Once we got on the bus to Cambodia we all got settled and drove to the border. At the border we had to getting off and get our visas and walk across where the bus was waiting for us. The ride was kind of fun because Zara and Wilika were telling us about there travel experience and I realize us Americans are such pussies when it comes to traveling. Both these girls have been on the road for almost a year and they road on the siberian express across Russia by themselves for a month! Once we got to Phenom Phen we got bum rushed by the tuk tuk drivers just yelling and screaming at the same time we were trying to get our bags from the bus, it was like being on the stock market floor with all the yelling. The girls took over the haggling and got us a $2 ride to the lake side which where all the back packers stay. We checked out a few places and found a nice hostel and the rooms were $6 a night! That was $3 a piece for scott and I. It had a really nice patio area with hammocks and hang out room. The strange thing about Cambodia is that every thing is in dollars and super cheap. I would get a potato ommlette for breakfast and a smoothie for $2. There are signs that say its bad to buy drugs but we were offered pot by 3 employees of the hostel. After a nice shower and some food we walked around the city. They are definitely not use to seeing white people and people were constantly staring and waving. We were always mauled by tuk tuk drivers soon as we walked out the gates of our hostel. There rule of haggling is that you offer them a quarter of what they ask and settle for a half. We went and checked out the killing fields and SR21 which was a school that was turned into a prison. Quick history lesson to understand Cambodia's current state of poverty is that Pol pot came into power in 1975 and in 5 years killed off the all of the inteligencia. Anyone who was educated in anyway doctors, teachers, lawyers, and one who went to school was killed along with there families so the entire population that remains is not only uneducated but also don't see any value in education. Poverty is a mind frame in Cambodia and corruption is rampant. Child prostitution is so bad that Cambodia no longer allows people to adopt there children. I had a couple of run in with some Fxx*ing pedophiles in Phenom Phen and almost punched one of them in the face. These old white guys creeping around with there long pants and old video cameras. Its like they might as well have a sign that says "I molest children". The way the Cambodians in Phenom Phen treat there animals is heart breaking too, and every animal I have met in this country has had its spirit broken. I have never understood the importance of education as much as being in Cambodia. The people are very sweet and humble but are just lost. Its a nation of sheep. The killing fields were intense because they dug up the bones of the mass graves (20,000) and placed them in a beautiful glass stupa (a Buddhist shrine)so you can touch the skulls and bones of the deceased. In total 20% of the population was killed and all of them were educated leaders that could have brought Cambodia away from poverty. On the brighter side the shopping is fantastic and food was decent.

Vietnam

So we started the day off in Vietnam walking around the city and made our way to the war museum. It was a really interesting learning about the war from the other point of view, but after seeing all the horrible things people suffered at the hands of the invading U.S. forces I stand by my original statement that there is no good thing that comes from war. After the museum Scott & I headed to lunch and got some traditional pho soup which was really delicious, but to give credit where credit is due the places in Seattle do the soup justice. After a long day in a a crowded hot city we decided to head back to our hotel and shower and change and go hit the town. Ho Chi min city reminds me of NYC in a lot of ways. Its very intense and dirty and crowded and really in your face but also very vibrant and exciting. We were walking around to a bar and a guy started asking me about my tattoos. We ended up going with him and his people to some bar and then a few other people joined us and there was a total of 10 of us roaming the streets of HMC bar hopping. We had a couple of canadian guys and 3 girls from England and 1 girl from New Zeland with us, so it was a pretty international crowd. We stayed at this go go bar that was very Vegas cheese but they opened up the roof top for us which was cool. Two American girls ended up joining our table as well. Scott got tired around 1:00 am and went back to the hostel to crash. He came back 30 minutes later and told me that they had lock the hostel up with a gate and pad lock, and on the way back so girl on a motor bike that he said hi to in an alley jumped off her bike and grabbed his junk and offered him "boom boom"" when he said no she started pulling him on to the bike and he ran off. We just hung at the bar and the girls let us crash on the floor of there room. I couldn't sleep so a couple of us just walked around the city. As the sun was rising people were up getting ready for the day. When we got to our hostel, it turns out they lock the gates at night but there is a night guard that sleeps next to the gate to let people in.. so we got into our room showered and got ready for a tour of the Cochie tunells. These are the tunles the vietcong used to fight the Americans. Our guide was this really great witty and funny guy who also fought in the Vietnam war. It was crazy to hear stories from the vietcong point of view from someone who was there. We actually crawled through the tunnels that were 150 meters and they were hot and scary and small! No way a big ass American could fit into one of those. On our tour we ended up making friend with an English and Dutch girls who were sitting in front of us on the tour. They kept refering to us as "dumb Americans" because of some of the conversations we had. We ended up meeting for dinner later that night and decided to head to Cambodia as a group. The best part of traveling for me is meeting people and when you are on a long hot 10 hour bus ride it is nice to have a mix of people from other cultures. Vietnam is a great country but one can see the scars that the war has left here. Prostitution is rampant (I heard that almost 30% of the women in HMC are in the sex trade) and American dollars are prized a bit too much here but the people are very friendly and they don't seem to mind staring and looking at you. When I went for my early morning walks people stared openly. Some of it had to do with my size since I am much bigger than the population but also there aren't a lot of brown people and tattoos are illegal here so I seem to be a triple oddity, but when I walked passed I always smiled and the people always smiled back...The traffic in Vietnam is nuts, there are no rules or lights every one just goes but after a few jerky attempts at crossing the road we finally got the hang of it. There is a cadence to the chaos and once you fall into the flow of the traffic it seems to work. There were several times where I thought I was going to get hit but kept walking and it feel like the motor bikes graze past you, but never hit you. We agreed to meed Zara and Wilika at the bus station in HMC and get going to Cambodia in the mid morning.

First night in VIetnam

It is 2:19 am and Scott and I jut got back from walking around the tourist center of Vietnam. The flight over was kind of long (16 hours) but it was like flying use to be in the old days. All the flight attendants had the elegance and charm of the when flying use to be glamorous. The plane was a huge 777 and people were treated well. I got fed a total of 3 meals, one of which was a Korean dish called bi bin bop. It was meat and vegies with rice and spicy paste that you have to assemble your self. sandwich, a bunch of sodas, juices, and teas. Each seat had a video screen and a selection of movies to chose from. I met scott at the airport and we went through customs very quickly. We caught a cab to our hotel, showered and got cleaned up and hit the town. We're in the tourist part of town and its surprising the number of prostitutes and drug dealers around. We ended up getting a really great sandwich and some beers for only $4!. We hung out at a tourist bar and a very nice woman was talking to us but I felt bad that she was wasting her time with us because I think she was a hooker. I can't begin to assume I know anything about Vietnam in the few hours I've been here but its a vibrant place with lots going on but more tomorrow...Its 6:30 am and after a restless night of sleep I got my butt up and walked around a bit. Saigon reminds me very much of Pakistan, its loud and bustling even so early in the morning. People are getting ready for the day, and there are so many road side vendors and little cafes, although most of them have child size plastic chairs. When I walked past many of the apartments I noticed many of them have shrines with this red disco light thing going on. I got a lot of stares this morning, I don't really know if its because I look like a tourist or all my tattoos or maybe cuz I'm brown, but there were a couple of smiles in the stares.The people are pretty small size wise and I'm definitely bigger than most of the people. Today I am going to try Pho (vietnamese soup) and check out some of the museums, but first I'm going to grab some breakfast!!