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!!

Countries I have traveled to

Canada
Mexico
England
Scotland
Ireland
Northern Ireland
Netherlands
Denmark
France
Belgium
Luxembourg
Liechtenstein
Monaco
Austria
Germany
Brussels
Italy
Vatican City
Spain
Andorra
Czech Republic
Pakistan
Egypt
Saudi Arabia
United Arab Emirates
Switzerland
Fiji
Australia

Pre- trip planning

I'm going to South East Asia next week..How this all started and why it took so long? I'm not really sure. I have been traveling all my life, and in the past 13 years managed to make it to 30 different countries on 5 different continents. I've never really had a great paying job so all my trips have been on a shoe string budget where cutting corners is the norm. After a while I found the best stories and craziest adventures come from living low to the ground and now I opt for the backpacker route on purpose. After all, a room at the Marriott Tokyo is the same as a room at the Marriott Paris and the biggest adventure there would be if someone forgot to leave a mint on your pillow! A person comes back to their hotel at the end of the day where everything is familiar and safe, they lock the doors and shut the rest of the experience out. Hostels are very different in that they are created to force you to interact with the world you have stepped into. They could be lavish bed and breakfasts that were formerly a castle to an old crappy factory with a bunch of bunk beds (I've slept in both). Most are some where in the middle and are equipped with common areas that are filled with other travelers and the explorers vibe. If I ever get married, I'll spend my honeymoon at an expensive hotel that isolates me from everything but when I travel I want to taste and feel the new world. I've been wanting to go to South East Asia for the past few years but never got around to it because I always put it off for some day. As 2009 came to a close I decided before I went out partying on New Years Eve, to buy a plane ticket. My friend Scott, an emigration lawyer in Chicago whom I know from Burningman decided to join me for two weeks on the first leg of the trip. The plan is to fly into Vietnam, hang out in Saigon for a few days and then head to Cambodia and check out the killing fields and make our way to the ruins of Angkor Wat. It's South East Asia's answer to the pyramids and I hear it can't be missed. After Cambodia we are going to tackle Bangkok and then head south to the full moon party on the Island of Koh Phanang. That's the outline of the trip. I'm packing super light and plan to buy things I need there. I figure that everything is going to be pretty cheap plus it would be odd to buy something in the states that was made in Thailand! I don't have any idea what to expect but I'm excited and I'm sure I'll find some shinanigans to get into. I don't know how often I will blog or if I'll even have access to a computer but I'll try my best to be consistent. This way people who want to know about my trip can follow along and I won't have to answer the same stupid question "how was Asia?" over and over again. I guess my someday is here...