sa pa

before i came to vietnam, i was told that one of the things i HAD to do was a trek in sa pa. as soon as i arrived, i figured out why.

after an overnight sleeper train, i arrived in lao cai, the town closest to sa pa. from there it was a long and winding bus trip to the top of the mountains where we would be meeting up with our final group and tour guide. our group was small, only 6 people: me, two sisters from lichtenstein (yeah apparently they exist!), a guy from serbia who had lived in the states for a few years, and two guys from belguim. quite a mix.

unfortunately, the group didnt get as close as on my last trek (but that was obviously a tough group to beat!) and that was a disappointment, but the trek was good and the scenery was amazing. how could i not be with rice fields and farms set amongst grassy mountains?

our group did a homestay with another group at a big house and the best part of the night was dinner. they cooked for us and it was pretty good food, but after that they shared with us "magic water" which was basically rice liquor. they made us all do shot after shot until all the bottles they had were gone. needless to say, by the time the rain started pouring on us at 11, we were all more than ready to head to bed.

got room for 20?

the second day was a lot more work, uphill most of the way, and because of the rain the night before it was kinda slippery. but once we got to the top, it was so worth it.

please ignore my face.

o, and every village we went through had many puppies. i got excited every time. my group started making fun of me, but just look at the face!!

puppah!

the tiny town of hoi an.

as soon as we arrived to this little town, i was automatically in love with it. its tiny and easy to figure out how to navigate and has the laid-back feeling of asia, but at the same time has the elegance of an old european town because of all the french influence. the streets are lined with cafes, bakeries, and tailors that offer cheap prices for custom shoes, bags and clothing. at night, colorful lanterns are in all the windows and the riverfront restaurants, creating a glow off of the water. its an easy 4km bike ride to the beach, and a free bus runs from one of the biggest bars to the nightly beach party as well.

hoi an also has a few vietnamese dishes that is special to its area. one is white rose dumplings, filled with shrimp. another is a special style of fresh spring rolls, which are available all over vietnam but in certain areas they change it up a bit. the best is cau lao, a noodle dish with either tofu or meat, some greens and a certain sauce. i only had it once but fell in love with it and then couldnt find it again.

our time in hoi an was pretty relaxed and laid back. we did a lot of walking around the town, went to the beach one day and the market another, had some things made (3 pairs of shoes, a bag, and 2 pairs of shorts, hehe), and eating some great food. because of the holiday, we were here longer than we originally planned, but if we were going to get 'stuck' somewhere, this is the place in vietnam i would want it happen.

bus rides from hell.

if you ever travel in vietnam, DO NOT BOOK WITH TM BROTHERS!

the easiest way to travel this country is by purchasing an open bus ticket. its cheap and allows you to travel from the bottom to the top, or vice versa, on your own schedule, stopping where you choose. the standard stops (from bottom to top) are ho chi minh, mui ne, da lat, nha trang, hoi an, hue, and hanoi. the idea is that you take the sleeper buses at night and get as much time in each location as you can.

the first time we set out for our bus trip, we were going from saigon to nha trang. we wanted to leave at night on the 28th (of april, sorry im so behind in posting this!) but everything was booked, so we had to settle for the 8am bus the next day. we got up, checked out of our hotel, and went to the travel agency early in the morning. they kept telling us there was traffic but that the bus was on its way. by 930 we were getting really antsy, and shortly after bugging them a bit, we were finally told that the bus had already left. it wasnt that we missed it, it just 'forgot' to get us.

ok.

the agency we booked with felt really bad, and made sure to put us on the next bus at 8pm that night. so we hung around the city for one more day and were back at the agency at 730. unfortunately, two hours later we were still waiting. again, they continued to tell us that the bus was on its way, but after what had happened that morning, we were skeptical.

finally, the bus got there a little after 10. except it wasnt our bus. it was the bus that was going to take us to our bus, which was parked on the side of the highway about 20 minutes out of town. and so all of us switched onto said bus on the side of the highway and finally headed out of saigon.

we were given the back, which consists of 5 beds big enough only for a small asian person and therefor we were squished as could be. the air didnt turn off and we were on the top, which made for a very bumpy ride. but we got to nha trang the next morning and thought we would have a good beach day (see here to find out why we didnt).

but that wasnt our only bad trip.

the next night, we were scheduled to go from nha trang to hoi an on the 730 sleeper. again, at 930 we were still waiting. again, after 10 a bus came to get us. this was a HUGE improvement from our last bus, and we were quite excited to have a better journey than the night before.

but about a half hour after we pulled out, we came to a stop and were told to get off the bus and get our belongings. it was a small, dark road we were on in the middle of no where and it seemed like the makings of a horror film. but up head there was another bus that we were told we would be getting on instead. confused, we put our things in an lined up at the door, only to find that there were already people on that bus. they told us they had been stuck there for 5 hours because something was wrong with the bus.

rather than move those people onto our amazing bus and continue on, they sent our bus back to nha trang and expected us to use the broken down one to make it all the way to hoi an. i still havent figured out that logic.

but they changed a tire and we were back on the road. kinda. moving very slowly because apparently the tire was still bad. we went to a few different tire stores before i passed out, but when i woke up in the morning we were told it was still 8 hours away, and it was only suppose to be about a 10-12 hour trip. i have no idea what happened that night, but this bus, unlike the last, had NO aircon and therefor smelt like sweaty feet, because everyone im sure had sweaty feet amongst other body parts.

there are multiple companies that book these open bus tickets in vietnam. the two main ones are tm brothers and hanh cafe. the moral of this story is use hahn cafe.

robbed in nha trang.

were told about it all the time, in cities back in the states and while traveling alike. its not that we dont think it can happen to us, but its tricky to keep it in the front of your mind 24/7, especially when the majority of the time you are surrounded by people who, even though you have only recently met, are nothing short of amazing and who many times, you would trust with your life.*

but the truth is that tourists are targets for crime. and in a place where you can be looked at from miles away and stand out from the local population, it is even more true. add to that the fact that we were on a beach, during a local holiday, and its obvious that we had probably been watched from the time we stepped onto the sand.

i really did get lucky in that my purse was looted through and, unlike meghans, dropped about 30 meters from where it had been picked up. though all of the cash i had on me (in 4 different currencies!) was taken, my debit and credit cards were not touched. i lost my point-and-shoot camera, but i had luckily emptied the memory card onto my computer the night before and THANKFULLY it was not my slr i had on me. my phone was taken, but since ive left thailand it has really just been serving as a watch/alarm clock and its cheap enough to replace once i return to bangkok.

it could have been really bad. but my passport and work permit were looked at and left.** my bag also contained my glasses, which had my bag been the one carried off instead, would have disappeared as well. not to mention my note book in which i write down important information and notes about my days to later refer to when writing this blog.

the "tourist" police were no help. none of them spoke english and all they succeeded in doing was making us more angry and frustrated. in the end, we filed reports and had to buy them envelopes and stamps so they can ship us the information they gather during their investigation...which im sure will never happen.

we went back on the beach later and some friends told us they had spotted a group of guys who had been snatching things from all over the beach and meghan approached them. obviously it was no use, and they feigned not knowing english before getting really angry with her. after her confrontation, they dispersed, making it clear they had been guilty of something, even if it wasnt of thieving our bags.

its annoying and makes me think of the city of nha trang in a negative light, as that was literally my only experience there. but from now on i will definitely be even more careful about where my things are, especially when in the water.

*mom, im sure this is one of those times you think i am showing/acting my age.

**i wouldnt usually carry this on me, but as we did not have a hostel because we were only in town for the day, i felt safer having it on me than leaving it at the travel agency where we left our other bags.

saigon/ho chi minh city.

the old capital of independent south vietnam and formerly saigon, ho chi minh city is the largest city in vietnam. when arriving from cambodia, it is frequently the first stop for travelers. for backpackers, this usually means heading to de tham in district 1, which has a feel very similar to that of my often frequented khaosan road in bangkok. most of the people here are able to communicate in english and streets are filled with cheap hotels/hostels, restaurants which offered both vietnamese and western dishes, and bars that advertise drink specials for almost every night.

being our first stop in vietnam, the one thing i noticed right away was all of the motorbikes. i thought there were a lot in bangkok, but was in no way prepared for what we were about to encounter as we hopped on some moto taxis and headed to the war remnants museum. (perhaps in numbers they were less than in bkk, but percentage wise, they dominated traffic.) halfway through the first ride, i yelled to meghan while at a stop that it was likely i would die while in this country if we continued to take motorbike taxis everywhere.

motorbikes.everywhere.

we went to a buddhist pagoda that was a good distance from the center of the city so it was an accomplishment that we were able to make it there alive. it was interesting to see the differences in the buddhist temples here compared to all of the ones ive seen in thailand. its a different type of buddhism they practice, more like what is common in china, and the buddhas are the fat kind, which is what most people think of then they think of buddha.

inside the temple.

following the pagoda we went to see the war remnants museum, one of the main things i wanted to see in ho chi minh. it wasnt as big as i thought it would be and there wasnt too much new information, but it was incredibly interesting to look at the war from the other side. obviously, in school we are taught from the american perspective and getting the back story and history from the other side was really cool. additionally, i was impressed with the fact that there was still representation about the movement in america and the rest of the world thatwas in opposition to the war. it was definitely one of my favorite parts.

really liked this quote in the museum.

what was suppose to be our last full day in saigon was our trip to the cu chi tunnels. (well, actually it was suppose to be the day before, but we overslept and the agency was nice enough to let us switch our ticket to the next day!) we combined the tour with a temple that is apparently the biggest of its kind in the country, and it was interesting but seemed more like a waste of time because it took us 3x as long to get there as we spent there. the tour of the tunnels was slightly disappointing as well, but the tunnels were still amazing. when they told us that entire communities lived underground for years without seeing sunlight, i was shocked. i had thought that the tunnels were just used by guerrillas. there was a section of the tunnels that were bigger than the rest and this is where we were allowed to climb through. it was super hot and really tight in some spaces, but out of our entire group, i was the only one to make it through to the end :P

the big temple.

meghan in a man hole.

inside the tunnel. cannot see how small and dark they really are!

when i finished the tunnels.

i suppose the other thing to mention about or time in this city was that we had a place we hung out at almost every night with the same people, ones we had actually met back in cambodia. we went to go2, one of the backpacker hot spots, every night for their happy hour on the roof. there were a few times we ventured out to try to find another place that maybe had some dancing, but apparently dancing and vietnam do not mix well. so, we spent most of our time learning 'international drinking rules' and other such games from the english boys. all in all, good times.

the result of some rule in some kind of drinking game....

world of cambodia.

this entire part of the world has economies that are unstable and lifestyles that seem outdated by centuries. the people have been through so much and live life trying to survive from day to day. this is even more so the case in cambodia, one of the poorest countries in the world and THE poorest in the region.

but the people here are amazingly friendly and helpful. they have somehow been able to overcome their tragic history, that is surprisingly recent, and work to make the most of their days and their lives. any negative interactions we did have with people were limited to the standard begging or plea to buy something, which was clearly a result of the poverty they are facing.

my days in cambodia were limited and i was only able to see the two main areas of most notable tourist sites. however, in the short time i was there, i saw and learned enough to make me want to go back for at least a month after teaching and volunteer, probably in an orphanage. so it is safe for me to say that my experience with this country is anything but over.

a history lesson in phnom penh.

sorry, no inspirational music on this post. actually, its depressing to the max. cambodia is a country that has been plagued with hardship after hardship. speaking with the people on a daily basis, it is easy to forget this as they are absolutely one of the friendliest people around, but our one full day spent in phnom penh brought the facts of their history back to us, very clearly.

our first stop was choeung ek, one of the most famous of the killing fields in the entire country. basically, these places are sites of mass executions and consequently, many many mass graves of people who were killed by the khmer rouge, a group with a communist mindset run by pol pot, who were charged with killing millions of cambodians who threatened their power and their most brutal time period being between 1975 and 1978.

upon entering the site, it first comes off as quiet and rather peaceful. however, that impression soon vanishes when you come upon the tall, white, stupa which was built to commemorate the victims who were killed at the camp. shelves upon shelves of human skulls are the dominating feature here, and its surreal to see all of these together in one place. it really drives home the facts of how many people were not just killed, but tortured and brutally murdered, by the regime.

a walk around the fields showed us some of the mass graves that had been discovered and exhumed in 1980. a look through the museum gave a concise but decent explanation about who the khmer rouge was and what they wanted. many of the leaders have been, or are in the process, of being tried for their crimes.

from choeung ek, we headed to s21, the most famous of the security prisons that the khmer rouge ran and where prisoners were kept and interrogated before being sent to a killing field. the museum was once a high school, which was taken over an transformed by the khmer rouge and housed over 20,000 victims from 1975-1979. there was an eerie feeling throughout the entire place, which included 4 buildings which had been used as cells and torture rooms and a small graveyard for the last 14 victims killed here and discovered by the liberating forces. the buildings now house testimonies of the few survivors and former khmer rouge members, pictures of the victims, and some of the instruments used for torture.

its so grim, that meghan had to leave before the 3:00 showing of the video, and so i finished the day out on my own.

by the time i got back to the hostel, i was quite depressed. the most haunting thing is how recently in the past this had happened. its crazy to think that it was capable then, and then you start thinking about how similar things are still happening around the world in different areas today.

to get me out of the sad state, i played with these guys for a bit, because, as everyone knows, puppies never EVER fail to make me happy.

the magic of angkor.

before you start reading this post, i want you all to open this in a new window and listen to the song as you do.

ok. so now youre in the proper mindset to experience the magic that is angkor wat. ill start with some pictures to further inspire you:

our first full day in siem reap was spent at the temples.ta phrom, known as the 'tomb raider' temple, was our first stop. this one is well known because it is one of the only ones in which they left the jungle as it was, taking over the structures. the trees are gigantic and roots intertwine with all of the walls and constructions.

much foliage around the temple.

(sorry, ive never seen tomb raider so i couldnt act it out.)

overgrown roots.

next we climbed up the steep steps of a nearby temple of which i have forgotten the name, and got a nice view of the area from 50 meters up.

my big feet make it difficult to climb these tiny steps.

view from the top.

the best part of all of the temples was our next stop, the bayon temple inside of angkor thom, which was the walled city that served as the khmer capitol in the thirteenth century. the reason why this temple was so amazing was that it had hundreds, possibly and probably thousands, of these faces carved into it. apparently it is also interesting because the layout of the temple was an experimental design and so it is different than most others.

close up. of one of the faces.

carved faces at bayon.

for our second day at the temples, we got up early to go watch the sunrise over angkor wat. even though the entire site of all the temples is referred to by that name, the one wat that is most famous is actually called angkor. hundreds of people gather at angkor each day to watch this event, and once you see it, you understand why.

angkor wat at sunrise. picture not doing it justice.

this is one of the largest temples and so we blocked out a few hours here. it was nice because it was still early in the day and while it was still hot and we were still sweaty, it wasnt quite as bad as the day before. we came across one spot that said we could climb up and get a view from the top, but that it didnt open until 8am. it was just after 7 and so we decided to sit back, watch the japanese tourists for a bit (because even here in asia they are very humorous), and wait to be the first ones up. an hour later, as we are standing in line, we are told that what we are wearing (shorts and tank tops) is not appropriate to climb up in. obviously we were quite angry. we debated getting people to let us borrow their shorts to cover our knees, but this was not a likely possibility and so we trekked on to the back of the temple where we found some interesting characters who gave us some great last shots at the temples.

mama and baby sharing a tasty banana!

fascinated by the mirrors on the motorbike.