tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73557825015238264482024-03-19T05:02:13.482-07:002 Incredibly White People in AsiaBenjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-58183326501585785462010-08-22T08:45:00.000-07:002010-08-22T08:47:46.270-07:00Blogger Kind of SucksIt appears that Day 21 won't budge as the first post on the blog. I'm updating new days but you'll have to scroll down to view them, it seems.<br /><br />Thanks for sucking, Blogger, everybody appreciates the inconvenience.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-30147725332981558332010-07-26T13:44:00.001-07:002010-08-27T06:54:51.243-07:00Day 29: Flying HomeAfter checking out of our marvelous hotel room at 7 p.m. we went to happy hour and hung out with Marv's former colleague until we left for the airport at 9:30. <br /><br />Since we hadn't spent barely any money in Bangkok we had some Thai bhat to burn so we decided to take a taxi to the airport instead of navigating the sky train system. After hearing we'd need to make 2 train changes I wasn't willing to put forth the effort anyways.<br /><br />We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare, and took off pretty much on time. Marv found out that there is a camera on the nose of the plane that shows live footage to your personal screen so he was like a kid on Christmas watching the plane take off from the pilot's view. <br /><br />Usually I drug myself to sleep on long haul flights with Dramamine (motion sickness tablets) and red wine. After the wine soakage I have put myself through the last few days I was in no mood for wine so I stuck to my trusty airplane drink, ginger ale. I was super sleepy, too, so didn't feel the need to drug myself. <br /><br />And I was able to sleep 7 hours of the 11 hour flight! This is a first for a non-drugged up me. My body tried to wake up after 4 hours, over Afghanistan, but I forced it back to sleep longer. I woke up for good just east of Moscow with a semi-decent nights sleep. <br /><br />We got to Oslo 15 minutes ahead of schedule and were so very, very pleased to see that fall had already arrived in Norway. It was 55°F (13°C) - and it felt AMAZING! I am built for cold weather. If you haven't noticed already I melt in the heat.<br /><br />As we were boarding the bus to take us back home I noticed that my debit card was not where it should be in my wallet. Um...not good. I'll go through my bag when we get home to see if it's there.<br /><br />Bags thoroughly checked, no debit card in sight. The last time I used it was Wednesday night at the hotel restaurant. They gave it back, along with our receipt and borrowed Hilton premium membership card - in a little paper sleeve. And I know that paper sleeve was in our hotel room the last time we were.<br /><br />Smart traveler me had copied all my credit cards and left a copy with my dad in the U.S. and Marv's dad in Norway, to be used in emergency situations such as this. We got to Marv's parents house, the only home we have right now, at 9:45 a.m. and called to cancel the card. As of Friday afternoon there were no fraudulent charges made to the card - fingers crossed!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-64263028540952730662010-07-26T13:43:00.009-07:002010-08-22T08:44:23.252-07:00Day 21: Kuala Lumpur Day 1Our flight for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (from here on out called KL) departed at 9:20 a.m. and 4 other people flew elsewhere at 9:15 so we shared 2 taxis to the airport. Hanoi traffic being the insane gong show that it is we had to leave at 6:30 to budget for traffic jams during the 40 minute ride. There was no major traffic so we got there in plenty of time.<br /><br />My visa to Vietnam was on a loose piece of paper, which I had glued into my passport, since that's what I had to do with the Cambodia one. Turns out when you exit the country they need to keep the visa - the very same one that was glued WELL into my passport. The emigration official looked at me like a child, not knowing what to do about the conundrum so I told him "well let's rip it out then". I pried it out as best I could, shredding the visa and 2 of my passport pages in the process. Which, if I am not mistaken, is destroying federal property and considered a federal offence. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMBe7K24NgvPuik6L4d05MX-q4SdFuYdBr0ogfCzJR74MeMaqpPMH6paMgoB2v9kzn2d3Lfa6uDPgOWDP6ZIuJ6G3_egwFZ8AHOYIzapDhbkhkF7oykdurgeTxtQDRwsyPuH3g5lhrHg/s1600/IMG_5575.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLMBe7K24NgvPuik6L4d05MX-q4SdFuYdBr0ogfCzJR74MeMaqpPMH6paMgoB2v9kzn2d3Lfa6uDPgOWDP6ZIuJ6G3_egwFZ8AHOYIzapDhbkhkF7oykdurgeTxtQDRwsyPuH3g5lhrHg/s320/IMG_5575.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507884166084697490" /></a>Arrest me if you will, America, I just wanted to get the hell away from places that hassle me about my visa at every single turn. At every border crossing we've made it has taken me minimum 3 times longer than everybody else to make it through. And I followed all the directions, so it's not me! I know America isn't the most popular country in the world but, c'mon people, Bush has been out of office for almost 2 years now. Give me a freaking break! <br /><br />We both crashed hard on the 3 hour flight to KL, and I was pleased to sail right through customs as if I were Canadian. I can already tell: This is a place I'm going to like.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJmPnw5BcJLFP505JVqHXkDZA_ftgN-1_nv9TQx7oQD1OEO5Foc8KgXPV0o_RVo0qfgLUEzOJWJSqconlne9vWuh6on6CmJHE31z5OI68JLdJKFqtN0ke5OzH-upYpVimHlXQN0yFQRY/s1600/IMG_5564.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhJmPnw5BcJLFP505JVqHXkDZA_ftgN-1_nv9TQx7oQD1OEO5Foc8KgXPV0o_RVo0qfgLUEzOJWJSqconlne9vWuh6on6CmJHE31z5OI68JLdJKFqtN0ke5OzH-upYpVimHlXQN0yFQRY/s320/IMG_5564.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507883333636224642" /></a><br />Not that I was planning on it, but I got a friendly reminder NOT to smuggle drugs into the country. Strict, much?!<br /><br />Instead of springing for a taxi, the easiest but most expensive solution, we transversed the public transportation system for a fraction of the cost. We had to take a bus and 2 trains and had really bad luck with departure times. As soon as we'd get to a station the would just be pulling away so we spent an extra 40 or so minutes of travel time waiting around for the next ones. Ohh well, the whole trip from airport to hotel cost us 13.90 ringgit per person, and where we were headed it's good to have a little extra moolah in your pocket.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sqRLc_dM11q-442yTTaKR13LGGktz3swjryBkn7_gEUyc8cyvQmcF9OyZrfeLiO0F1CpqYrs7gNLzHJ3D5KlMskSDCaGQrfH17UIRHkH0w6p44uf4fyVLMMhwxLa5e4Fm0e2ADSMiDA/s1600/IMG_5569.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5sqRLc_dM11q-442yTTaKR13LGGktz3swjryBkn7_gEUyc8cyvQmcF9OyZrfeLiO0F1CpqYrs7gNLzHJ3D5KlMskSDCaGQrfH17UIRHkH0w6p44uf4fyVLMMhwxLa5e4Fm0e2ADSMiDA/s320/IMG_5569.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507883523668471426" /></a><br />We got to the Mandarin Oriental - 5 star hotel - and immediately felt out of place <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdce4MpBg_1uv8UrpAFTWqxpEy2RCS8TtgkOY1whyphenhyphenNsS-Zx5gTaw44hLQ_x0JZFsytjz9fWGmqOBwI4eTzlFr0fm4nAulg4o_K8OWKVK9oMuLO0I7zoyytZ4pPEPx3-__UkqAsPQLS-I/s1600/IMG_5568.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvdce4MpBg_1uv8UrpAFTWqxpEy2RCS8TtgkOY1whyphenhyphenNsS-Zx5gTaw44hLQ_x0JZFsytjz9fWGmqOBwI4eTzlFr0fm4nAulg4o_K8OWKVK9oMuLO0I7zoyytZ4pPEPx3-__UkqAsPQLS-I/s320/IMG_5568.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507883698737533746" /></a>with our backpacks and cargo shorts. This place is top of the line! Five stars, did I mention that? KL is quite cheap, which brings such a nice hotel within (the upper reaches of) our price range. It's safe to say we've never been to a nicer hotel before, and very well could be the second to last time we ever stay in a 5 star hotel (we have another one booked for Bangkok). One thing is quite clear: I look good in luxury.<br /><br />Before we departed for Asia we realized that Ramadan, the Muslim holy month of daytime fasting, would be in full swing by the time we got to the very Muslim country of Malaysia. We were worried for about 2 seconds that food would be hard to come by during daytime hours, but after some quick Googling we found out that there are tons of non-Muslims, and it is a very Western country so we knew we wouldn't starve to death (since we are dangerously thin to begin with).<br /><br />Street food stalls are culinary tradition here but can be a gastrointestinal nightmare for Westerners. KL has come up with the perfect solution, by moving food stalls into mall food courts so they can be more regulated and hygienic. This means good, traditional, clean (and cheap) food for us. So for dinner we headed to the mall next door to dine on a selection of street food favorites, without fear of heinous stomach viruses.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCHwfyeKCmGW8d2ymoUlcxUJG6y-_A9bsiZj6V2iCnQz_TfB6AbE94PXiy_YGKIvNLVlr5fxYXWo_dm9vp27Bm_lL4PSW6DcdjC1ZQ0LGEOn3Cl3PbEZOsqHRDDXWM0sVLusUUbUkzRsg/s1600/IMG_5573.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCHwfyeKCmGW8d2ymoUlcxUJG6y-_A9bsiZj6V2iCnQz_TfB6AbE94PXiy_YGKIvNLVlr5fxYXWo_dm9vp27Bm_lL4PSW6DcdjC1ZQ0LGEOn3Cl3PbEZOsqHRDDXWM0sVLusUUbUkzRsg/s320/IMG_5573.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507883963939993218" /></a>Marv ate not one, not two, but three different dinners. I only made it through 2.5. They were all quite cheap and pretty much as authentic as anything we'd get from a street bazaar. We're going to do mostly mall food court eating here, since we can get perfectly good food for a really good price. <br /><br />Our hotel room is too sweet to be away from for long periods of time, so we checked in for the night after dinner. We have a birds eye view of the Petronas Towers, which were the tallest buildings in the world from 1998 to 2004. We enjoyed this view before going to sleep in our awesome bed, which I am convinced is made out of clouds.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-68933590573060720612010-07-26T13:43:00.008-07:002010-08-27T06:27:35.989-07:00Day 28: Bangkok Day 3Another day, another buffet breakfast. Another sleep until noon, another happy hour. Nothing exciting for you to hear. <br /><br />This is our check-out day but since our flight doesn't leave until after midnight (00:55) Friday morning we paid extra to keep our room until 7 p.m.<br /><br />I will keep this post short and confess my sins to the world: With all our free time We did not go visit the Grand Palace or Reclining Buddah. We didn't even leave to eat at a restaurant or breathe fresh air. <br /><br />WE DID NOT LEAVE ONCE! We lazed about that hotel for two and a half days!<br /><br />A full 55.5 hours, from Tuesday at 2 p.m. until Thursday at 9:30 p.m.<br /><br />I can say I have been to Bangkok but certainely can't say I've "done" Bangkok. My apologies to the city for choosing relaxation and red wine over everything it has to offer.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-60543674031298568632010-07-26T13:43:00.007-07:002010-08-27T06:05:30.514-07:00Day 27: Bangkok Day 2Since a breakfast buffet is something we consider worthy of getting up for we set the alarm for 8:30 so we could get up, eat, then go right back to bed. And that's just what we did. In case you were wondering it was totally worth it.<br /><br />We got up for real about noon, and showered and putzed around until we decided to utilize the executive lounge, and its free wifi access, again.<br /><br />It's been 24 hours since we've been outside the hotel.<br /><br />Marv has a colleague (former colleague, I keep forgetting we're both unemployed) who stays in Bangkok a lot and recommended this hotel to us. He happened to be in town so we met him in the lounge and hung out for a few hours. He is a very frequent Hilton flyer so has a fancy premium membership card which gives him 50% off restaurants at all Hilton hotels.<br /><br />Since the chances of our leaving the Hilton walls were looking slimmer and slimmer he lent us his card so we could get a proper dinner in us without having to spend a ton or - the horrors - actually leave the premises. Our motivation to venture out into the city and search for the awesome Lebanese restaurant we've read about completely evaporated. <br /><br />28 hours since we were last outside the hotel.<br /><br />There are 2 sights we'd like to see in Bangkok, which happen to be right next to each <br />other:The Grand Palace and gigantic golden Reclining Buddha. We're not doing any sight seeing today so luckily we have all of tomorrow to be tourists, since our flight leaves just after midnight early Friday morning.<br /><br />Happy hour was fabulous like yesterday, with the red wine even more free flowing. They were even more generous by walking around with full bottles topping people off. So we stayed right where we were until happy hour ended at 8:30.<br /><br />31 hours since we were last outside the hotel.<br /><br />Even thought we weren't super hungry we decided to hit the buffet restaurant anyways. It was good but, not being very hungry, wasn't quite the experience I was hoping for. I tried my first ever oyster, which was the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten. Eeew.<br /><br />After dinner we hit the hay. <br /><br />Man have we/this blog gotten boring! I don't even have any pictures to ease your boredom. But rest assured, I still look good in luxury.<br /><br />35 hours since we were last outside the hotel.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-66619000545756835872010-07-26T13:43:00.005-07:002010-08-25T04:57:16.235-07:00Day 26: Bangkok Day 1Our flight leaves for Bangkok at 11 and we need to take the metro, during rush hour, to get there so we left the hostel at 8. Unlike yesterday we stopped for the included breakfast, which was sufficient but underwhelming. I am over cheap-o hotel breakfasts at this point!<br /><br />The metro ride for both of us only cost $4.60 SGD ($3.39 USD) which is an unbeatable price. It is my belief that the hallmark of an awesome city is one that has direct metro access to the international airport. I'm skeptical of cities that require you to take a taxi between the airport and city. Shoutout to Singapore for being easy and cheap, and surprisingly not that crowded at rush hour (once we got out of the city center, of course). <br /><br />As we were making a train change I saw a sign on the train tracks that said "Respect Life, Act Responsibly". It was telling people not to jump in front of the train to kill themselves! Marv refused to whip out the camera and take a picture of it, damn him. I wonder if they have a problem with people throwing themselves in front of trains and, in turn, disrupting train service? God help me if I had a plane to catch and the train was delayed because someone jumped in front of it. I would resurrect them just so I could kill them a second time - I do not do well with airport delays! <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JDswsXKqBHpS4eGlZMcYuPMtu9p3Vc0SgsH6kKfMf3VTB_wpAeIoQzVIFPqP4nAjBylU2KJV1F1v34vQLhIdpiKJYNqqOsETMyNmDG9ObEFTILLYLTBkqEnENJiJAz2B2m-mRTpKzbE/s1600/IMG_5792.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8JDswsXKqBHpS4eGlZMcYuPMtu9p3Vc0SgsH6kKfMf3VTB_wpAeIoQzVIFPqP4nAjBylU2KJV1F1v34vQLhIdpiKJYNqqOsETMyNmDG9ObEFTILLYLTBkqEnENJiJAz2B2m-mRTpKzbE/s320/IMG_5792.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509309264910004562" /></a>Air Asia, the RyanAir (but infinitely better) of Asia, was more on time this trip and we left the gate only 10 minutes later than scheduled. We got (back) to Bangkok right on time. <br /><br />The day before this Bangkok started their "sky train" service between the airport and city. As much as I appreciate quick and cheap airport transit, we were in no mood to navigate this brand spankin' new service when a pretty cheap taxi could get us to our destination much quicker. Especially when they were predicting kinks that needed to be ironed out. No thanks...maybe we'll brave this on the way back to the airport on Thursday night. <br /><br />We got to our hotel, even more fabulous than our last fabulous one, the Millennium <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLEQzCD73010c-GBL_zxawN7fgkt4NMpGidn9P-C26iZTLDWtyoY_VaPb9G0hpc1FVWBtYm9eEu-Vqkbt_AyyPjOUoKzkTtQ6kayJTn9uA9Yond_Rt_2lijNilvl3Dzefz15l51zcoP4/s1600/IMG_5806.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiLEQzCD73010c-GBL_zxawN7fgkt4NMpGidn9P-C26iZTLDWtyoY_VaPb9G0hpc1FVWBtYm9eEu-Vqkbt_AyyPjOUoKzkTtQ6kayJTn9uA9Yond_Rt_2lijNilvl3Dzefz15l51zcoP4/s320/IMG_5806.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509309490601123218" /></a>Hilton. And, since it was available, we got upgraded to the Executive King Plus suite! You can forget all the raving I did about our last hotel room because this one is 110% better. It's gigantic - even bigger than our (former) apartment in Norway!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTHkVOkBQtDjxsC2DPChb7RBHP5rAQr0W3c9FLkhg1Qumdar9Gdv0aAqrfyDq7XTkGOILRHfVm2xLcOfJzuYARNfIFHdqfYzOINRBqkEYOLeQ8v2-gx3LfNUEKMPRL-J4zT5sVbgJsxs/s1600/IMG_5807.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTHkVOkBQtDjxsC2DPChb7RBHP5rAQr0W3c9FLkhg1Qumdar9Gdv0aAqrfyDq7XTkGOILRHfVm2xLcOfJzuYARNfIFHdqfYzOINRBqkEYOLeQ8v2-gx3LfNUEKMPRL-J4zT5sVbgJsxs/s320/IMG_5807.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509309668309001714" /></a><br />We were treated like royalty at check-in. Since we are on an "executive floor" got had to go up to the 31st floor, the "executive lounge" to check-in. We didn't have to check-in like all the regular chumps, we were special.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNPogylnaNHZ7mxyYXmSuv8w6O9W3aJ-cQKftt7QwBAIkB8duxNcfrk-lavI_N0wUPO9Kwqg8CtWmzch9Am8dj07_T142QXzygCXiu-u_DOvkU_PVi42BPzjVWqDUeKveLspP-5nD_jI/s1600/IMG_5809.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRNPogylnaNHZ7mxyYXmSuv8w6O9W3aJ-cQKftt7QwBAIkB8duxNcfrk-lavI_N0wUPO9Kwqg8CtWmzch9Am8dj07_T142QXzygCXiu-u_DOvkU_PVi42BPzjVWqDUeKveLspP-5nD_jI/s320/IMG_5809.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509309881987791730" /></a><br />We admired our fabulous new home and I was in bed the second the luggage porter dropped off our super fancy backpacks. Somehow the world has been able to produce a bed even more awesome than the one at the Mandarin Oriental. Sleep came heavenly hard and fast. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBMi-li62qjVR39katcIP2XhKG6xg_fCDevcwdMUvTadgx8z3-e7Qyrib7oBiK4ozOkUsgU_pwl2isA7W2cR7MI9zfNz-8459YPsYrXUDycm3i0dhyqdiG7GmF86tfnL049QMVtDvDtcQ/s1600/IMG_5810.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBMi-li62qjVR39katcIP2XhKG6xg_fCDevcwdMUvTadgx8z3-e7Qyrib7oBiK4ozOkUsgU_pwl2isA7W2cR7MI9zfNz-8459YPsYrXUDycm3i0dhyqdiG7GmF86tfnL049QMVtDvDtcQ/s320/IMG_5810.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509310078090347266" /></a><br />As executive suite dwellers we have free range of the executive lounge, which offers a complimentary happy hour from 6 - 8:30 p.m. If you know anything about me you will know that happy hour is my FAVORITE THING EVER. There's something about getting tipsy and being in bed by 8 p.m. that appeals to my lazy arse. So we planned to hit up this fabulous event before heading out for a proper dinner.<br /><br />My long lost friend red wine was ready and waiting for me at happy hour, so I dove in along with some snacks like bread, fruit/veg and cheese - glorious cheese. Asian food (still in the 'barf' category for us both) uses no cheese whatsoever, and I didn't realize until I ate some how much I missed it. I am convinced that cheese is like air: You don't realize its importance to your life until it's gone. I ate all the cheese I could get my hands on. It was heavenly.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mRE__vN0YvmCI-PP3fs3Yr9ygXuByVXUKjYspIOSSFof6tJZqVwJGWBQ0768ND0_EWU3B7EIbfe-0GSQzDQFnftdLYpGGqN3G3jHZ4L1qhE2SefVDJ6dHoQv1m2wt8pPCxY-nyDNcoY/s1600/IMG_5812.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2mRE__vN0YvmCI-PP3fs3Yr9ygXuByVXUKjYspIOSSFof6tJZqVwJGWBQ0768ND0_EWU3B7EIbfe-0GSQzDQFnftdLYpGGqN3G3jHZ4L1qhE2SefVDJ6dHoQv1m2wt8pPCxY-nyDNcoY/s320/IMG_5812.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509312450134060866" /></a><br />A few more glasses in (Thai beer for Marv) we realized that we were pretty darn full from the 'light refreshments' and might not need to venture out for dinner after all. We were pretty happy and full by this point, plus it would be a great cost cutting measure. Again, if you know anything about me, you will know that cutting costs is easily one of my favorite things to do. <br /><br />We hemmed and hawed about it for a while - would it be cheap of us? Would we really survive the night without a full meal? Would we be pathetic for doing this? We went for one more plate of food and declared ourselves fed for the evening. Cost to us (beyond the hotel room): $0.00 USD. I have come to call this event our Ghetto Dinner - the best ghetto dinner we will ever have! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO5uRvSMvC97dKjfxZ-q9NpvDkVpBeQAjoVF51tU8DqjF6eaVFQzoyY7KRS1-NQd4RlnLtTqxKOqK8nsnW9daJYpQwHZ5A4DQYT63GeZ8qw2Qg4mhL3zZiH4i8bM1jevOxOroqXmkp7o/s1600/IMG_5819.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaO5uRvSMvC97dKjfxZ-q9NpvDkVpBeQAjoVF51tU8DqjF6eaVFQzoyY7KRS1-NQd4RlnLtTqxKOqK8nsnW9daJYpQwHZ5A4DQYT63GeZ8qw2Qg4mhL3zZiH4i8bM1jevOxOroqXmkp7o/s320/IMG_5819.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509313265631327490" /></a>At the end of happy hour we planned to come back again tomorrow (we'd be <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8Lf4bVn0TWvTeu3V7vKPxStv6mdmvK5l9g_3wxT1cXVzBRrslE-WtLU6kcWTqrgTMM8XmhgyLfFfeNsLZqc65h7r4yJ1U5MJfGYQx4bo45EdwmN8yjm7XYrEEhEgxesNNKk3DDpEcI0/s1600/IMG_5820.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8Lf4bVn0TWvTeu3V7vKPxStv6mdmvK5l9g_3wxT1cXVzBRrslE-WtLU6kcWTqrgTMM8XmhgyLfFfeNsLZqc65h7r4yJ1U5MJfGYQx4bo45EdwmN8yjm7XYrEEhEgxesNNKk3DDpEcI0/s320/IMG_5820.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509313469251345634" /></a>foolish not to!) and went to check out the jacuzzi/pool area, which they call The Beach. The jacuzzi had closed for the evening but the pool was open a while longer so we put on our suits to go for a swim under the stars. The infinity pool is outdoors on the 4th floor, with an awesome skyline view, and even has beach chairs in the water. The water was a bit chilly but during a 100 degree Bangkok day I bet it feels awfully nice.<br /><br />After our swim we turned in for the night. Tomorrow morning holds a buffet breakfast in the executive lounge which we HAVE to get up for. I'm not missing that for the world!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGCifK5wnRO7h3b7LZGsUmgkm_i7r-KTEpol2pu-S_vV42rhru2178ovWF47qpOuoOE6Bp6SYHfWcz_VsPr_w6mJ5a6VbKWs-MGIlbwgk54hQdkbJdefwFzU9vk39a8LEp10SZCr26cQ/s1600/IMG_5816.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGCifK5wnRO7h3b7LZGsUmgkm_i7r-KTEpol2pu-S_vV42rhru2178ovWF47qpOuoOE6Bp6SYHfWcz_VsPr_w6mJ5a6VbKWs-MGIlbwgk54hQdkbJdefwFzU9vk39a8LEp10SZCr26cQ/s320/IMG_5816.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509314923183084226" /></a><br />You know how anti-logging environmentalists chain themselves to trees so loggers can't cut them down? I'm going to chain myself to this hotel. Please don't ever make me leave!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-78248074038976540212010-07-26T13:43:00.003-07:002010-08-27T06:19:57.577-07:00Day 25: Singapore Day 2We didn't bother to set our alarm this morning, as we know ourselves well enough to know we wouldn't get up early anyways. So we missed breakfast and slept until <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNzmKfhFPJ2yIoFzqtY-gY10ac1zfFeMjvnSntmgKjLFRTB9VJcm5pVg-aiAQNW3lhMBh1rWa85GERcKf0VqLu8geO2-7uXF8HubpcgCRaIjLsiP6lErfdykMV5IXnk8qPJ0mdXXnsAw/s1600/IMG_5752.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyNzmKfhFPJ2yIoFzqtY-gY10ac1zfFeMjvnSntmgKjLFRTB9VJcm5pVg-aiAQNW3lhMBh1rWa85GERcKf0VqLu8geO2-7uXF8HubpcgCRaIjLsiP6lErfdykMV5IXnk8qPJ0mdXXnsAw/s320/IMG_5752.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509275336791115314" /></a>housekeeping came a knockin' at 10 a.m. Note to self: Actually use the Do Not Disturb door hang in the future. At any rate it kept us from sleeping until noon, which we have been known to do on occasion.<br /><br />It was closer to lunch time than breakfast and we had a major hankering for Middle Eastern food. I think our sickness of Asian food is manifesting itself as cravings for every other type of food on Earth. We are lovers of all food, we don't discriminate!<br /><br />Arab Street was within easy walking distance of our hostel so we hoofed it there and planned to go to the first decent looking restaurant we saw. And did we hit the jackpot! The first Middle Eastern restaurant we found was completely empty - Ramadan remember - so we got immediate and good service.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBPRdeIHkIyEY7dv6iVz1TmcDageiAB0CNo91gMB5UDTX3FCvtYB5FbbOlwa0VYl5whb6rAO7Pd4sMfvJ6fIfIMyJElUJ3DuAW53dBWrrlRKO2aH6FzZu4LqUnDI8_N3ZxIJZL2CWfnA/s1600/IMG_5748.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhBPRdeIHkIyEY7dv6iVz1TmcDageiAB0CNo91gMB5UDTX3FCvtYB5FbbOlwa0VYl5whb6rAO7Pd4sMfvJ6fIfIMyJElUJ3DuAW53dBWrrlRKO2aH6FzZu4LqUnDI8_N3ZxIJZL2CWfnA/s320/IMG_5748.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509274969148543826" /></a>We made our own meze with hummus, baba ghanoush, tabbouleh and chicken kebabs with fragrant Arabic rice, which surprisingly and deliciously came with a brown gravy. It was all amazing and we ate ourselves silly. It's lucky the waitress sat us down at a table for 4, since our food would NOT have fit on a table for 2. How embarrassing is that?! <br /><br />The restaurant service in both KL and Singapore have been a welcomed change from the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEfoRIDMscrbSsg3biAYTY7UyEK0hdGJ9XhDx8ZVu54-Ui0O6wRX-_trohZJtwagS_TrdG27iiToxccGW1BvNevVkNK7_kKYECLrDqK4dabapROdcpP4-LaAtVpAvhlwQolyjm_KkmEQ/s1600/IMG_5760.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCEfoRIDMscrbSsg3biAYTY7UyEK0hdGJ9XhDx8ZVu54-Ui0O6wRX-_trohZJtwagS_TrdG27iiToxccGW1BvNevVkNK7_kKYECLrDqK4dabapROdcpP4-LaAtVpAvhlwQolyjm_KkmEQ/s320/IMG_5760.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509275123030510434" /></a>horrendous, crap service in Cambodia and Vietnam. I love these cities - they get stuff DONE! <br /><br />We set off into the city to see some sights and walked by the Raffles Hotel, which apparently is THE hotel in Singapore. It's a very swank place, and I think invented the Singapore Sling drink. At the very least ordering one there is a big tourist <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56C_cNJcVU7jQOGhMlorQbNTr2uOKNvJnQeyUBYgtcsJFzO4RHJbY93qVR9Vq08gNFAJZfbhq0Vmmvl5R0KTPYcTiNcrlNBdfcHFx4-63u2nWR5FOv_r5sB3WeMnOC941jlBQ_1TwoC0/s1600/IMG_5762.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh56C_cNJcVU7jQOGhMlorQbNTr2uOKNvJnQeyUBYgtcsJFzO4RHJbY93qVR9Vq08gNFAJZfbhq0Vmmvl5R0KTPYcTiNcrlNBdfcHFx4-63u2nWR5FOv_r5sB3WeMnOC941jlBQ_1TwoC0/s320/IMG_5762.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509275683298018274" /></a>thing to do, but at $26 SGD ($19 USD) I could not bring myself to stop for one. It is a personal rule not to drink alcohol that costs less in ridiculously overpriced Norway. I will order one somewhere more reasonable in honor of our time in Singapore later.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYPC_5fhNEiCpyMussFOL89n2jDusP_tAmcp6Ntg0aQNKEL38unv4uA1H-d-FJN03Z1dgvw91o5xZMWI_DKogfc1qj5VWrBTzqLRZRCo21999KWFEJycfqZtb9xwnOgFDi1YlDVwUPBE/s1600/IMG_5767.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwYPC_5fhNEiCpyMussFOL89n2jDusP_tAmcp6Ntg0aQNKEL38unv4uA1H-d-FJN03Z1dgvw91o5xZMWI_DKogfc1qj5VWrBTzqLRZRCo21999KWFEJycfqZtb9xwnOgFDi1YlDVwUPBE/s320/IMG_5767.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509275855432123186" /></a>By this time we had walked through a lot of the city and Marv was dying from the heat. So we took ourselves underground to the metro to get to our next stop, the banks of the Singapore River. It was magnificently cooler there so we could actually spend some time hanging out. This sign is at one of the river bridges, which I think is funny. It's the original sign, too. <br /><br />The official "animal" of Singapore is the merlion (think mermaid), half-fish, half-lion and there's a big statue of one at the waters edge spitting a stream into the river. The cool spray from the merlion felt amazing, and we enjoyed a fruity Starbucks drink near it. Singapore has Starbucks! This place just keeps getting better. <br /><br />The heat was unbearable by this point so we went back to the hostel to relax and cool off until our next tourist event of the day, the night safari. As you can gather <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BVbiCKfDYYNDfalIupanfPW-5ddlQ3HZxPA5zfOS1XNtr-Yp3oYpxmEOS6JUv_VfGyWDXgqX_x_A11vQimWVow4WxnjgGHnjPrwIqQsQt_DGXqP2j1JErfiENCD3x-HsZgEAJuPDSw0/s1600/IMG_5776.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0BVbiCKfDYYNDfalIupanfPW-5ddlQ3HZxPA5zfOS1XNtr-Yp3oYpxmEOS6JUv_VfGyWDXgqX_x_A11vQimWVow4WxnjgGHnjPrwIqQsQt_DGXqP2j1JErfiENCD3x-HsZgEAJuPDSw0/s320/IMG_5776.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509276252550048738" /></a>from the name this is an animal viewing safari that's held after dark. There are all sorts of huge Asian and African animals, which can be viewed both from a trolley and from walking trails.<br /><br />It was raining quite heavily most of the time we were there but that actually turned out to be a good thing. We first took the 40-minute trolley ride to see the (not free roaming) animals. We couldn't use flash photography, which was blatantly ignored by several asshole tourists who were told REPEATEDLY told not to use flash, so we didn't get any usable shots from that distance.<br /><br />After the trolley ride we set out on the walking trails, which were pretty much deserted because of the rain. I have read really mixed reviews about the night safari, with most gripes coming from the fact that the trails are wildly overcrowded with tourists. I had my trusty $5 Old Navy raincoat and an umbrella so we were happy and dry on the trails, with some really cool close-up views of animals. <br /><br />There was a tiger who had just eaten laying right on the other side of the barrier glass, who was so stuffed that all he could do was lay there and pant. Which is how I like to live my life; He was a tiger of my own heart. Because he was so close we <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOsY2GWlvE_32m5xkFsG0l54CpSYZ6QbbCg6oN8H_4UKMmsWt6DxglxVPW8YEw888SjKp2SGOEFNwSSpmlqkc_Za67YzUceLcOtkiMrRlq8dYXJ0RlFjZ8rTFr78hHjCWT4q7dVmQu8Ak/s1600/IMG_5786.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOsY2GWlvE_32m5xkFsG0l54CpSYZ6QbbCg6oN8H_4UKMmsWt6DxglxVPW8YEw888SjKp2SGOEFNwSSpmlqkc_Za67YzUceLcOtkiMrRlq8dYXJ0RlFjZ8rTFr78hHjCWT4q7dVmQu8Ak/s320/IMG_5786.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509276616266305954" /></a>did get a half decent shot of him (no flash, of course). This is the only decent shot we got from the entire evening at the safari. It was really fun and cool to see all the animals (some were quite close up), and I think the key to an enjoyable night safari visit is to go when it's raining - fewer asshole tourists clogging everything up! <br /><br />We hadn't eaten dinner before our 6:30 p.m. departure for the safari so we gritted our teeth and paid the ridiculous price for a burger, fries and beer there. It was all surprisingly tasty, though I was perplexed by the cup of salsa served with the fries - no ketchup in sight. I will file that one under "unique cultural dining experience".Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-5818705819201792612010-07-26T13:43:00.001-07:002010-08-25T01:01:13.719-07:00Day 24: Singapore Day 1Our flight for Singapore departed at 10 a.m. and this being 1) Sunday 2) early morning and 3) Ramadan we didn't know how frequently the metro would be running to get us to the airport. So we were up at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m. just to be safe.<br /><br />KL is an amazing, wonderful place. There's designer stores everywhere you look, the weather is cool by Asian standards, A/C is powerful and abundant, and I am nowhere near the fattest person around. These are all important factors for me. But one thing that sucks horribly about KL is signage. They can't properly display a sign to save their lives. I'd take a piece of notebook paper with crayon written on it, as long as it was a sign! Because of this we had to sit around and wait for the airport train, as there is NO SIGNAGE stating if you, traveling the cheap-o airlines at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal, are going in the right direction. But finally we got on the train we were reasonably sure we needed to be on. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93dT9I-gvR3Yghmzp6rsNvBMp9O8ZWVZMlBZEVjmJBtDyg33E90AnE0Sfdtp02lC2CM6GGt3vXjHPHY0qjPcHHuMnerRMPtRsDC6AOTBkph3ZKiUqaWmCCwGHRAD78COcWhx3vO8TwJ0/s1600/IMG_5712.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93dT9I-gvR3Yghmzp6rsNvBMp9O8ZWVZMlBZEVjmJBtDyg33E90AnE0Sfdtp02lC2CM6GGt3vXjHPHY0qjPcHHuMnerRMPtRsDC6AOTBkph3ZKiUqaWmCCwGHRAD78COcWhx3vO8TwJ0/s320/IMG_5712.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509248153930365042" /></a>It's a good thing we got there so early so we could warm the seats, since our flight was delayed by an hour - BOO! We were still sitting in KL when we should have already landed in Singapore. But the wifi was free flowing so I can't complain too loudly. Plus, once we were able to depart, the flight took only 40 minutes from take off to landing, instead of the scheduled 1 hour. For you Midwestern folk, that's less than a Minneapolis to Fargo flight. Nice!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHIK5spf95K7KbLYEDcqXTikD21TrySvGToahmpFMLZAnBybfaoUFJEvrTiVXQYvv58dP6UjrFEyhQ3unnYGj3VrimZlF0c03MvhJMlTPXUO9dOMST1Q2DhO6UiomIi_KG3reBG2t_-s/s1600/IMG_5720.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 227px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrHIK5spf95K7KbLYEDcqXTikD21TrySvGToahmpFMLZAnBybfaoUFJEvrTiVXQYvv58dP6UjrFEyhQ3unnYGj3VrimZlF0c03MvhJMlTPXUO9dOMST1Q2DhO6UiomIi_KG3reBG2t_-s/s320/IMG_5720.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509247841519428978" /></a>Singapore runs a tight ship. Like Malaysia, they carry a mandatory death sentence for anyone smuggling drugs. I was surprised that we weren't checked for drugs at all, we just waltzed through the Nothing to Declare door like any other place. Another thing Singapore doesn't allow is chewing gum. Yes, CHEWING GUM. You have to declare it if you bring it in, and it's only available for purchase at a pharmacy. I think you even have to fill out paperwork, much like buying a firearm in the U.S. They will also cane you if you commit a crime. Like I said, tight ship!<br /><br />Once we got to Singapore airport we headed into the city on the metro. This being a Sunday afternoon you'd think that it would be relatively empty and uncrowded. Um....no. Singapore has 5 million inhabitants, more than the entire kingdom of Norway, on an island city 1.5x the size of Oslo. This means people everywhere, all the time. Rush hour never stops. <br /><br />It took us an hour to get through the metro system and to our hostel. Singapore is super expensive so we had to knock our luxury level down a few notches. At least we got our own private room and bathroom. <br /><br />Marv thinks Singapore is the hottest place we've been. I still reserve that title for Hoi An, Vietnam but I will agree that Singapore is the most humid. And humid = miserable. So once we checked in we immediately hit the hay. We had been up since 6 with no nap, and our room had no windows making it black as night in there. We slept like the dead for a few hours, in really awesome A/C. It was way, WAY too hot to be outside anyways. It felt marvelous and by this time in our travels, over 3 weeks in, we're pretty well beat. Any chance to relax and sleep WILL be seized by us.<br /><br />When we got up it was time to find dinner, and we were wildly craving Indian food. We happened to be staying in the Little India section of town, so we went on TripAdvisor to find the nearest Indian restaurant. Shoutout to hangout@mt.emily hostel for free wifi (ahem, Mandarin Oriental)! The highest rated Indian restaurant was only a 10 minute walk from our hotel so we made a beeline for the place.<br /><br />TripAdvisor doesn't lie, this place was AWESOME! It's been far too long since I've had Indian food and we had a feast. We didn't even get any pictures of it because we were too busy FEEDING (that is the correct word for what we were doing). I have never had naan bread stuffed with cheese before, but let me tell you, I am a new woman now that I've had it. Absolutely amazing! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nb9I9ytA65x3QfBEdzhbvVN7Wcj38dM6P9xoooaNF0RNFP58Vud2DxmbGA0dBmkFSPpk2FOBuIaiK6FDnxOSVUAgfLZAYMUzBRnj_21yuYgGzJFFVttAG4gVpQPtzkVa2kW2r7tL5PY/s1600/IMG_5723.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6nb9I9ytA65x3QfBEdzhbvVN7Wcj38dM6P9xoooaNF0RNFP58Vud2DxmbGA0dBmkFSPpk2FOBuIaiK6FDnxOSVUAgfLZAYMUzBRnj_21yuYgGzJFFVttAG4gVpQPtzkVa2kW2r7tL5PY/s320/IMG_5723.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509252574400444162" /></a>Our<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oNVuoH4nXpmMlqIan6QtphVjPQPTC-KfcXxXRqUxpwnsEus9fodmVoJ_vZ_rOieV_otf0XnDsqY6CtfUL0G3-91-YF7gzfCWQh_axzkyyzGStD1meyHPOva-IX1o2Vc5HPZ9vLvFecY/s1600/IMG_5725.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0oNVuoH4nXpmMlqIan6QtphVjPQPTC-KfcXxXRqUxpwnsEus9fodmVoJ_vZ_rOieV_otf0XnDsqY6CtfUL0G3-91-YF7gzfCWQh_axzkyyzGStD1meyHPOva-IX1o2Vc5HPZ9vLvFecY/s320/IMG_5725.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509252840838683458" /></a> time in Singapore is very limited, Sunday afternoon to Tuesday morning only. We already pissed away most of our first day sleeping so we had to get in at least one tourist attraction after dinner. So we navigated our way to the Singapore Flyer, the largest observation wheel in the world. From what I can tell it's exactly like the London Eye, which is a huge, slow moving ferris wheel that lets you see the city from high above. The highest point is 165 meters (541 feet) and we could see city lights and sky scrapers as far as the eye could see in every direction. I would have liked to see the view from daytime but at $30 SGD ($22 USD) per person, ride this was a 1-time ride only for us.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2peu_EmR3-IkWKIX4jtNNtEca8gs9dRLS1POFGDwnd2ABZBb8jmYK5forSOGs38NuZPik-4_pQLcHxKjPF_e-6xmGboCYN49W_wQkDUXPD1Fv6iUSqqo_MoSmkEPTX67xhMu5SDI5za4/s1600/IMG_5739.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2peu_EmR3-IkWKIX4jtNNtEca8gs9dRLS1POFGDwnd2ABZBb8jmYK5forSOGs38NuZPik-4_pQLcHxKjPF_e-6xmGboCYN49W_wQkDUXPD1Fv6iUSqqo_MoSmkEPTX67xhMu5SDI5za4/s320/IMG_5739.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509253719240065570" /></a><br />It was still ridiculously hot, long after the sun went down, so we headed back to the hostel after our half hour jaunt on the Singapore Flyer. The bulk of our Singapore sightseeing needs to get done tomorrow so we need to rest up!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-31905741789796446222010-07-26T13:42:00.003-07:002010-08-22T08:38:10.319-07:00Day 23: Kuala Lumpur Day 3Again the cloud bed sucked us in and wouldn't allow us to get up when our alarm went off at 7:45 a.m. Damn you, awesome bed!<br /><br />We got showered and had grand plans to go to another food court of "street" food stalls for lunch, but just as we were headed out the door Marv threw his hands up in the air and declared, "I can't take any more of this Asian food!" I thought he was <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUhY9eMoyQpBBO5uCVZcXQSyWChEJryrKm0ArSpozgCnXUvQT9DaMG7w-QD9ZwCyEV3mxKy7PfTiJRIqkRn-nW5qLXYvVbsNL48SQWwK30PJF-43rLW0F0435dnU1jmH9kCnrABihvQs/s1600/IMG_5665.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgUhY9eMoyQpBBO5uCVZcXQSyWChEJryrKm0ArSpozgCnXUvQT9DaMG7w-QD9ZwCyEV3mxKy7PfTiJRIqkRn-nW5qLXYvVbsNL48SQWwK30PJF-43rLW0F0435dnU1jmH9kCnrABihvQs/s320/IMG_5665.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508256250182737650" /></a>kidding but he most certainly was not. The thought of more Asian was majorly unappetizing, for both of us. <br /><br />So, we went to the mall next door and went to Burger King.<br /><br />Yes people, I flew 13 time zones from home to eat at Burger King.<br /><br />And it felt SO good! I have eaten about 5 Western meals since we've been on this journey, but Marv has only had 1. A Whopper with onion rings was just what the doctor ordered. Plus, they had free wifi! The Mandarin Oriental makes you pay for internet access (5 stars my eye) but Burger King is free. That's points off my hotel awesomeness-o-meter. Our laptop battery was all but dead so I didn't get to enjoy too much free wifi, but I would like to shout out to BK for being in the 21st century, and ask the Mandarin Oriental to get a clue. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItdtjkkrv9HdF-BB70SPWQeZEpEYGOwzcEImSh-s-pdyNi7EC4WLNJztnrfHmkTkm9YZs4kLb1wofoeWvRiqZoWcHekrbsTMNqLrIaLWeYfUfw6Owj0DaHWN_2LFGanDMHcOmvJvfDD4/s1600/IMG_5670.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiItdtjkkrv9HdF-BB70SPWQeZEpEYGOwzcEImSh-s-pdyNi7EC4WLNJztnrfHmkTkm9YZs4kLb1wofoeWvRiqZoWcHekrbsTMNqLrIaLWeYfUfw6Owj0DaHWN_2LFGanDMHcOmvJvfDD4/s320/IMG_5670.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508256432232206978" /></a>As Marv is a bird nerd some might consider me a shark nerd. Ergo, the nearby aquarium was a must-see for us. The place was swarming with school children (BOO) but there were some super cool fish and sharks to see. Places like this make me sad for my grandchildren, who might not have ANY fish or aquatic life to see, much less exotic ones like this. <br /> <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQDxXPuEOC_eGbmYGzgun9mw4u-bavNYE8G1EeGsDLvpj8QSmHZfR6SyuNj90z8BCA_yBOdNd6ohaW3GW9eEvm_zqKxwg3eVlXw9AYC9er6IUh-Nx9oSdb8fZQRS8SHv4mX7pwdYXQD4/s1600/IMG_5571.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQDxXPuEOC_eGbmYGzgun9mw4u-bavNYE8G1EeGsDLvpj8QSmHZfR6SyuNj90z8BCA_yBOdNd6ohaW3GW9eEvm_zqKxwg3eVlXw9AYC9er6IUh-Nx9oSdb8fZQRS8SHv4mX7pwdYXQD4/s320/IMG_5571.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508256781654969778" /></a>The Petronas Towers, the largest twin towers in the world at 88 stories, have an <br />observation deck that you can look out from onto the city. Tickets to get up there are free but the catch is you have to get there early to snag them. Since we weren't out of bed anywhere near "early" we didn't even try to get tickets for this. Which is fine, since our hotel room has a near identical view (though not panoramic). This is the view from our hotel of their observation deck.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOLX41aIOHcFvDws-6xbzoE_R-jYG9f-MLF6aGjcLmxofKI9Am10UT8LLMrgX0yDMkZBdA2noGnGCHdO-CLwhTnHlgyI4E3FKjmisX7tq6GRPVkKK-1DR0OVp5IcvRvbriXGo0yuGdhA/s1600/IMG_5675.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSOLX41aIOHcFvDws-6xbzoE_R-jYG9f-MLF6aGjcLmxofKI9Am10UT8LLMrgX0yDMkZBdA2noGnGCHdO-CLwhTnHlgyI4E3FKjmisX7tq6GRPVkKK-1DR0OVp5IcvRvbriXGo0yuGdhA/s320/IMG_5675.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508257158423130306" /></a>So we saved our panoramic viewing for the KL Tower, the 4th largest telecommunications tower in the world. I suspect this view was better, anyways, since it was higher and had a guided audio tour that showed you what you were looking at through each window. I don't know if I've ever been so high up anywhere before, and it was a clear enough day to see for miles and miles around.<br /><br />Once we got out of the KL Tower (by elevator, thank God) we decided to skip the nonsensical public transit system and walk to Merdeka Square instead. This is a little park that was erected to celebrate Malaysian independence from Britain in the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2AZx7rBswsLpwSAi05P5DnOiBmufM6idX4LiBTzc4am4zOz1EhZP-9ccl9LClPgoUvnXwqYjCnK7OGKfYEpfAZahEgzyQSlAhvjxMCoV7ype4ILPOjeD20uvCKyI8bEqU-H_d_Gs9ONc/s1600/IMG_5685.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2AZx7rBswsLpwSAi05P5DnOiBmufM6idX4LiBTzc4am4zOz1EhZP-9ccl9LClPgoUvnXwqYjCnK7OGKfYEpfAZahEgzyQSlAhvjxMCoV7ype4ILPOjeD20uvCKyI8bEqU-H_d_Gs9ONc/s320/IMG_5685.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508257411875693378" /></a>late 50's. There were nifty old colonial buildings all around it and a giant mosque next door. The loudspeaker was calling out for prayers while we were there. Allahu akbar! <br /><br />We had had enough touristing for the day so we headed back to the hotel and stopped at a grocery store for some snacks along the way. One thing I love about grocery stores here is their abundance of ready made sushi. So we got some sushi snacks and brought them back to the hotel room for some hardcore eating. This is the first sushi I've had in a month so I can't say I'm sick of ALL Asian food.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNizMPb37B6VuRrzashBNNF7JXk98b-lxMHGkeYgR0KqjG3m5BRi9LDtFIAkt9ZxrCdZZWpKWNrldJIWmYQ4Ca_WJ_m23XDP2gnlQp8O-xp3A9qK4V10GThhMyEUwMq6LXIsCl5_J0zJ0/s1600/IMG_5695.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNizMPb37B6VuRrzashBNNF7JXk98b-lxMHGkeYgR0KqjG3m5BRi9LDtFIAkt9ZxrCdZZWpKWNrldJIWmYQ4Ca_WJ_m23XDP2gnlQp8O-xp3A9qK4V10GThhMyEUwMq6LXIsCl5_J0zJ0/s320/IMG_5695.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508257999375388482" /></a><br />Marv has read a lot about different Ramadan bazaars that set up shop after sunset to allow Muslims to break their daily fast and do some hardcore binge eating. We enjoy hardcore binge eating so we thought we'd go to one and join in the fun.<br /><br />Um...not so much.<br /><br />The food was way, way, WAY too "authentic" for us, with miles of unrefrigerated food lined out on folding tables. Rice was served in a big beverage cooler and people served themselves by scooping it out with the bowl they were using. For the sake of not getting amoebic dysentery we took a look around and headed right back where we came from to eat. I can't imagine what would have happened to our intestines had we decided to eat that stuff. It was NOT sanitary.<br /><br />Back at our go-to mall we ate at Nando's, an "upscale" chicken joint that our new British friends had raved about. We were more than happy to eat 2 Western meals in one day. <br /><br />Just the thought of Asian food right now = BARF!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-22954405974053501242010-07-26T13:42:00.001-07:002010-08-21T18:50:19.120-07:00Day 22: Kuala Lumpur Day 2We set our alarm for 7:45 a.m. but the cloud bed conspired against us and wouldn't allow us to leave until 11. This bed is glorious! Every minute spent in it is a minute NOT wasted.<br /><br />A touristy hop-on, hop-off bus conveniently had a stop right outside our hotel, and having luck with these in the past, thought it would be a wise investment to drop 38 <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTK3tUJ9wgpgm-3slw-KXHOACqXTz_fp8q4MrkFFwkxhA8KoE7NDjv2Ak7O0WW_77Q9lxXDubzmlmwL-CSGZ9SO4LDUkRzbuFeUCP9UHckHOmZ1IWVVlLa6y_xE4Ly5WKRGIZlmXYRHoc/s1600/IMG_5590.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTK3tUJ9wgpgm-3slw-KXHOACqXTz_fp8q4MrkFFwkxhA8KoE7NDjv2Ak7O0WW_77Q9lxXDubzmlmwL-CSGZ9SO4LDUkRzbuFeUCP9UHckHOmZ1IWVVlLa6y_xE4Ly5WKRGIZlmXYRHoc/s320/IMG_5590.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508042464308543362" /></a>ringget (12 USD) per person for a day of transport and touristing. What we didn't know is that one of their buses was broken down so there was a grand total of 2 tourist buses circling the entire city. We had to wait ridiculous amounts of time for the next bus to pick us up. Boo!<br /><br />One of the first stops on the tour dropped us off at another mall food court, or "heritage food village" as they call it. This time we each made it through 2.5 meals before throwing in the towel. Trust me, there ain't no Panda Express at these food courts. The place was absolutely packed with locals eating different types of cuisine around lunch time.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4j9cVF-K9N858Av16Dp5z9QQ8x7AdZc20V8damRyDMb9tYdqjBljqtbyvQUupn9xajIbUB7rh6Stemjp0OfelVRQFdA27aU5mAyV_ypudLVcKJpd2As-C546JUaipSymoymH5aZ60Hbo/s1600/IMG_5598.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4j9cVF-K9N858Av16Dp5z9QQ8x7AdZc20V8damRyDMb9tYdqjBljqtbyvQUupn9xajIbUB7rh6Stemjp0OfelVRQFdA27aU5mAyV_ypudLVcKJpd2As-C546JUaipSymoymH5aZ60Hbo/s320/IMG_5598.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508042668219377698" /></a>We visited a grocery store which was disproportionately fun for me. They had so much American stuff! Campbell's soup, Keebler cookies and Ruffles chips to name a few. I saw stuff that I had forgotten even existed. I could really see myself living here someday, in part because of the availability of all these sweet American goods! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblPv5mL7dIEfv_n4nLLEtG0kuftzE6_8JdPX4pn69KynxxeQOUUCIveU54jF2LO_VDwBsxlbYSPIHbIrB9iNvBd8DV9pO27LgUEdwIsxvdg5BS_QsJhDHW90qkW4J1INDWrlc4z71fBI/s1600/IMG_5605.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblPv5mL7dIEfv_n4nLLEtG0kuftzE6_8JdPX4pn69KynxxeQOUUCIveU54jF2LO_VDwBsxlbYSPIHbIrB9iNvBd8DV9pO27LgUEdwIsxvdg5BS_QsJhDHW90qkW4J1INDWrlc4z71fBI/s320/IMG_5605.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508043132387501410" /></a>Our next stop on the bus was Chinatown, which had stalls and stalls of counterfeit designer goods, mostly handbags. We didn't stay long because we knew we had to make the next bus otherwise we'd be waiting quite a while for the next one. We stopped at the royal palace, but tourists aren't allowed onto the grounds so we could only look at it through the gates.<br /><br />This isn't common knowledge but Marv is a huge bird nerd. Meaning his interest in birds is borderline unhealthy. Thus, when I saw that the KL Bird Park was one of the <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkOANFjTBagvduPv37yKS5ntkkTGlW19g_ILhyvch-EegXyvagAaT8Lyfu9fARyo50Blc6MOrB6zYkAYuGATzLhhy69A7OwliIW9I5-SbNJ5xgi9NyyqSkjwBlDcw5WVZiR6XMCkGYLI/s1600/IMG_5629.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrkOANFjTBagvduPv37yKS5ntkkTGlW19g_ILhyvch-EegXyvagAaT8Lyfu9fARyo50Blc6MOrB6zYkAYuGATzLhhy69A7OwliIW9I5-SbNJ5xgi9NyyqSkjwBlDcw5WVZiR6XMCkGYLI/s320/IMG_5629.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508043551361777202" /></a>bus stops I knew I had no choice but to go to the "open air aviary". That means it's a giant open park with nets high above it, which allows the birds to fly around freely. We even made one of the twice-daily bird shows, where birds did tricks to entertain the crowd. This is a cool picture of a bird flying through a hoop, dangerously close to us. I was terrified I'd get crapped on at some point, luckily all the pooping I saw was done on the ground. <br /><br />At this point we were ready to get back on the tour bus and go back to our hotel but traffic was at an absolute stand still, it would have taken us well over an hour to get back to the area of town where we needed to be. So the minute we saw a public transit station we jumped ship and got on there instead. It was packed in there because people were heading for Friday evening prayers but at least we got back in a reasonable amount of time. That tourist bus was a gigantic bust for the amount we paid.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UNXW2o_HbpR4qB720xapbL-5CL-xIZnCzyKLlkPhwon69ZLFVvHjWbUQOTbFJxNHPcUoqUupOF653hNBeg2Ax8vt62ylVYn5L0YYM0mw2Tq8hTcTl-k6Sk_RjCfCY2y9XIDz5C3-EQs/s1600/IMG_5659.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2UNXW2o_HbpR4qB720xapbL-5CL-xIZnCzyKLlkPhwon69ZLFVvHjWbUQOTbFJxNHPcUoqUupOF653hNBeg2Ax8vt62ylVYn5L0YYM0mw2Tq8hTcTl-k6Sk_RjCfCY2y9XIDz5C3-EQs/s320/IMG_5659.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508044291754814514" /></a>Marv had read about a very popular-with-the-locals-and-tourists alike restaurant, Madam Kwans, that happened to be next to our hotel so we stopped by there on the way home to make reservations for later that evening. With all the cheap, good "street" stall food available we figure we'll hit up only one real restaurant during our stay.<br /><br />By the time dinner rolled around I was going through major red wine withdrawals. It's been at least 3 weeks since I've had any, and I love my red wine (all wine, <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigg4sHSB1kpIbb7fkmqMsybVSsIkEa-qPUJb_q_PzLyragrEVuWTriOGNe3nnbZbnB5KDHy8vDJ4lN-ZehvGPC2B4gOQbQbE05xOlK5iuxiIfHbAF2f3zqDzYO5jWYOympU5TPJujTIIM/s1600/IMG_5663.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigg4sHSB1kpIbb7fkmqMsybVSsIkEa-qPUJb_q_PzLyragrEVuWTriOGNe3nnbZbnB5KDHy8vDJ4lN-ZehvGPC2B4gOQbQbE05xOlK5iuxiIfHbAF2f3zqDzYO5jWYOympU5TPJujTIIM/s320/IMG_5663.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508044752273300466" /></a>really) passionately. When we got to the restaurant and saw only beer on the menu, and no wine on any tables, I was ready to suck the alcohol out of my stick of deodorant. I've had tons of beer on this holiday but it's just not cutting it anymore. I was BEYOND thrilled when they did have a wine menu, and immediately cracked into my bottle of Cabernet Merlot as soon as it hit the table. It was SO GOOD! <br /><br />Marv insisted we order the fish head curry, which is a main course to be shared between 2-3 people. And let's be honest, we have the appetite of at least 4 people. I am a fish lover but was leery about the "head" part. Thankfully it came with a lot more fish meat than just a creepy head. It was really good, as were the chicken and beef satay with peanut sauce, which is another popular local delicacy we had to try. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRZyY6Rt-HYVqDWQzzHoH76_txK8rsMKJxjd_zPjCymxnTh4PbYhsu2ajdqduSoT4rVCOIuBje7lEiO0DVWTO6F5vbJmsYjgQ-E4hlSrgMPZDwiDtEDCcIvwyQMDnhrjDQpqGIFkrp6w/s1600/IMG_5662.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRZyY6Rt-HYVqDWQzzHoH76_txK8rsMKJxjd_zPjCymxnTh4PbYhsu2ajdqduSoT4rVCOIuBje7lEiO0DVWTO6F5vbJmsYjgQ-E4hlSrgMPZDwiDtEDCcIvwyQMDnhrjDQpqGIFkrp6w/s320/IMG_5662.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5508044952328731538" /></a>But the shining star of the meal for me was the wine. I drank 3/4 of it and would have easily drank double that given the chance. I love my wine!<br /><br />After dinner we went back to the cloud bed in our hotel room to rest up for an early start tomorrow. Hopefully for real this time.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-85090218665677996122010-07-26T13:40:00.006-07:002010-08-21T08:18:20.354-07:00Day 20: Hanoi Day 2Since last night was a late one, and we didn't care to get up and see the body of Ho Chi Minh, we slept until 11 a.m. I don't feel the slightest bit guilty about this, as leisurely days like this have made it possible for me to NOT be an exhausted mess by this point - nearly 3 weeks into the tour.<br /><br />After lunch Marv and several guys set out on a mission: To buy the ugliest shirt money could buy. Clothes are readily available in tons of small stores and markets and MAN are some of them hedious. I don't know who buys these heinous clothes since people on the street are dressed perfectly normal. Everybody was encouraged to participate in the ugly shirt competition, and the winner would get free drinks for the night.<br /><br />Marv ran in to one very large obstacle when searching for a shirt to wear: He is roughly 3x larger than the average Vietnamese man. Their clothes are TINY so his pickin's were slim. This is the reason that I didn't participate in the competition. Clothes for women are even smaller than mens, so there's not a chance in hell I could find a single shirt to fit me in all of Hanoi (much less an ugly one). <br /><br />Marv was finding little success and the closing time was nearing for the only tourist attraction I wanted to visit, Hao Lo prison, a.k.a. the "Hanoi Hilton". So he paused his quest and we set off for the prison. We asked the tourist information office how to get there and had to explain that, no, we were not looking for the actual Hilton hotel. Having learned our lesson last night about taxis we haggled with the driver, who initially wanted more than double what was reasonable. It seems that the most effective tactic is to name the price you're willing to pay and, if they don't accept it, move on to the next one. Usually they'll fold and accept what you offer. <br /><br />The Hao Lo prison had been used since the 19th century to house Vietnamese people who fought against France's invasion. Of course I didn't know this, and only knew that it had been used to house American POW's during the Vietnam war.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdlEseQwvRzvbe8BQigCH8thVzYsRFf17KWRp_56UeMUP_hUSo7ZHEefvId5ko_L66D2DH_8lzX9OFF9jjq6c3IeBFu895H9TgO3Kw35LyxDHJg_Cj83wjxuSSF34yC3yLUffvd5bMWk/s1600/IMG_5526.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGdlEseQwvRzvbe8BQigCH8thVzYsRFf17KWRp_56UeMUP_hUSo7ZHEefvId5ko_L66D2DH_8lzX9OFF9jjq6c3IeBFu895H9TgO3Kw35LyxDHJg_Cj83wjxuSSF34yC3yLUffvd5bMWk/s320/IMG_5526.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507881684400613378" /></a><br />The propaganda machine was back in full force, as you can see here this placard says that the American prisoners were treated amazingly well and had a super awesome time during their incarceration. Yeah, and the name Hanoi Hilton is literal, not ironic. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-Y3ly2YmUv1ip6CO2__yJ7uYhC4nK_t239wxvMSAsrx36EH2UyZY4qqn8aiHeAfpmie5qzm4t44kWuvoym5HyqpK-C9HEFAWbgDc-aOaXjSpPtYNE-sxRyKXdnxHH2H43LbAon-FfTM/s1600/IMG_5529.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy-Y3ly2YmUv1ip6CO2__yJ7uYhC4nK_t239wxvMSAsrx36EH2UyZY4qqn8aiHeAfpmie5qzm4t44kWuvoym5HyqpK-C9HEFAWbgDc-aOaXjSpPtYNE-sxRyKXdnxHH2H43LbAon-FfTM/s320/IMG_5529.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507881490141592866" /></a>A face that kept popping up in pictures was a young John McCain, who, I would like to declare, was totally hot back in the day. They even had his jumpsuit and parachute on display that he was wearing when he was captured. He was in his 20's when he was at this prison and his hair turned white during his time tere. Also, he can't raise his arms up since they were broken there and he didn't receive proper medical attention.<br /><br />I learned that most, if not all, American POW's were pilots that were shot down over North Vietnam. I'm glad I took the time to go and, in a way, pay respects to those who served (voluntarily or not). I really haven't done too much war tourism, but Vietnam isn't all about the "American war" so I think I've seen a decent amount. <br /><br />After the museum I was ready for some A/C and relaxation but Marv was still on the war path for an ugly shirt to enter into the competition. I took a taxi alone back to the hotel (price determined in advance, of course) while Marv went back out shopping. And, amazingly, he found one that fit! Here is a group picture of all the competition entries:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkbiAcIGgxfyWwHW8hEU7RQs70laCI-6aZ3glwka4wNVzZcGhR8FV1d5dn8SIqrySScVRogRRZ1dji5-2tuHydBtHk6No27H4Bk5Q_foyWwo9lssR4pqjug519yj7mnRIQg_UPzonT00/s1600/IMG_5539.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLkbiAcIGgxfyWwHW8hEU7RQs70laCI-6aZ3glwka4wNVzZcGhR8FV1d5dn8SIqrySScVRogRRZ1dji5-2tuHydBtHk6No27H4Bk5Q_foyWwo9lssR4pqjug519yj7mnRIQg_UPzonT00/s320/IMG_5539.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507881871015083154" /></a><br /><br />This picture doesn't do the ugliness of his shirt justice, as there are various patches with nonsensical English phrases on it, and actual textured paint splatters. This thing cost $5 - not really cheap by any standards. <br /><br />On our way to dinner (our last as an entire group - boo hoo) we saw a pretty fierce motorbike accident. A cute little dog was trying to cross the street and was playing Frogger to get through the oncoming traffic. A motorbike slammed on its brakes, hard, so it didn't hit the dog and both people riding on it fell off and went flying. Marv swears he saw the motorbike hit the dog but it was nowhere in sight, so it was well enough to run off. The people got up and got back on but we could see one had a bloody face, despite his dinky little helmet. Once again: Traffic in Hanoi is insane!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6TX0zomkFVJY3eFSCz0FjuNCVkOHP9OUcazpT9ZieEzD-OKwy9bf7xDApvRdK8NiohvrASkPq7LLH2AUDBVGPYJeY34h4lTT0jaWmfkCNw7Qm9n4gcchC8ApnKSPea0W0Sef3TOBh2k/s1600/IMG_5534.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz6TX0zomkFVJY3eFSCz0FjuNCVkOHP9OUcazpT9ZieEzD-OKwy9bf7xDApvRdK8NiohvrASkPq7LLH2AUDBVGPYJeY34h4lTT0jaWmfkCNw7Qm9n4gcchC8ApnKSPea0W0Sef3TOBh2k/s320/IMG_5534.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507882024107985170" /></a>At dinner we held a secret ballot vote to see who had succeeded in finding the ugliest shirt. The title was neck and neck, with Ass-Tight-Pink-Spandex (on Stefan, 2nd from the right) versus Floral-Mesh-Cut-Outs (on Phil, 4th from the right). The competition was intense, but Phil won by 1 on the very last vote. I think the deal breaker was the fact that one of the floral mesh cut-outs on his shirt perfectly revealed a nipple. Now that's fashion forward!<br /><br />Here is a picture of me feeling up the spandex "Dolce & Gabbna" shirt, which I'm posting just because it was so obscenely gross yet sexy at the same time. And, for the record, it WAS a mans shirt. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSalrztOxuG-LE8rf93-4p3FQDcfCymh86sbNnpXUl563ziX3pGD8YVdP42x1pnrUoHzkcZ4gpe7jqlxm96_uCDVNqapU7rMTz5nfREiGK2QNdTd9D18OSoijpeX9bdX8Uai22gvpL1Q/s1600/IMG_5552.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeSalrztOxuG-LE8rf93-4p3FQDcfCymh86sbNnpXUl563ziX3pGD8YVdP42x1pnrUoHzkcZ4gpe7jqlxm96_uCDVNqapU7rMTz5nfREiGK2QNdTd9D18OSoijpeX9bdX8Uai22gvpL1Q/s320/IMG_5552.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507882517312152930" /></a>After dinner we went to a so-typically-Asian private karaoke room, which we actually had to book in advance. We only spent an hour there since the beer was so expensive ($2 - we ain't paying that!) but we did have a gay old time singing to the Spice Girls, Britney Spears and ABBA with our very own personal sound system. <br /><br />Marv & I had to depart for the airport at 6:30 a.m. the next day so it couldn't be a late night for us. The piss warm beers just weren't going down as smooth as they have - refrigeration is not a huge priority here - so after hanging out for a while we said our goodbyes and went to bed.<br /><br />I am absolutely crushed to say goodbye to these people, a few in particular. I have made some lifelong friends who I cannot wait to see again soon. It hasn't been 24 hours since I last saw them and I miss them terribly. <br /><br />It's a very sad day for me.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-27988939237837491772010-07-26T13:40:00.005-07:002010-08-21T08:10:23.669-07:00Day 19: Hanoi Day 1We got to Hanoi about 12:30 and as we headed to lunch Marv and I had to drop off yet another load of laundry. Lucky for us our tour guide knows where it's cheapest (hint: not usually the hotel) so we paid 74,000 dong for 2.5 kilos of laundry. I'd estimate we've spent $15 on laundry so far, and we have been very merciful on our bank muscles. We packed way, way lighter than everybody else so every time we're in a town for more than one night we need to do a load. Let me tell you, nothing is more humbling than hand washing a pair of your own underwear in a sink.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJhx5vYbeDirS971BBrwCKwUW9b4REaQTXfORcJq39TaWO2Ce49xS0kV6I1Qody7Y9lAPpBXyPNh8IKGUPQe1h8OQ_oS6mZvkYmOJxRiUJZC5rbknSBL2JJSEx-DelkVu6uSLSl2W23Y/s1600/IMG_5480.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLJhx5vYbeDirS971BBrwCKwUW9b4REaQTXfORcJq39TaWO2Ce49xS0kV6I1Qody7Y9lAPpBXyPNh8IKGUPQe1h8OQ_oS6mZvkYmOJxRiUJZC5rbknSBL2JJSEx-DelkVu6uSLSl2W23Y/s320/IMG_5480.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507879808931242418" /></a>Our group split up for lunch and we followed our tour leader to a very local soup place. The soup, it sounds like it's pronounced "fur ball", was really good since this had the added flavorings of pork wantons, chicken and pieces of liver (which I ate, because I'm a culinary rock star). A huge bowl of filling soup cost just over $1. Again, hot soup on a hot day is insanity to me, but the stuff is tasty.<br /><br />We met back up with everyone to do the one main touristy thing everybody must do in <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7Nn4PsRH403JX_8IYJsQJj5kX6NlJjDcANSlhzM9SdYz0kuIsO_FhesMrwHHyWSrdmueh_ukDhQn9FWwLpbggZv1XPvAj4Zg1yam2ooajC57Tr5H1U3vRzONqPeTAlf6pib5JwU-51g/s1600/IMG_5485.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7Nn4PsRH403JX_8IYJsQJj5kX6NlJjDcANSlhzM9SdYz0kuIsO_FhesMrwHHyWSrdmueh_ukDhQn9FWwLpbggZv1XPvAj4Zg1yam2ooajC57Tr5H1U3vRzONqPeTAlf6pib5JwU-51g/s320/IMG_5485.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507879956337888514" /></a>Hanoi: a water puppet show. We decided to be frugal tourists for once and didn't spring the extra dollar for VIP seats. This wasn't a great idea when we realized the comical amount of legroom provided to the non-VIP audience. Seeing a 6' man crammed into a chair designed for a 4' person is truly a sight to see. The show was nifty but I can't say I understood what story they were trying to tell. <br /><br />That evening we cabbed it to our restaurant for dinner, and being 16 people we couldn't all fit into one. The taxis were instructed to drop us off at a specific corner, and 2 of the 3 followed each other and let us off (unbeknownst to us) a block away from where we should be. So we spent the next hour running around like chickens with our heads cut off trying to figure out where the hell we were and where the hell the rest of our party was. Finally we were reunited, but this is not our last run in with a taxi that evening. <br /><br />We had the option of getting up early the next day to view the body of Ho Chi Minh, which is only on display from 8 - 11 a.m. Nobody was particularly interested, so our <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuDJioQif8yMlYo4IXrmfxpWxkeSi_5qloBesveojWeeeQ_X-5WQN_8x-3kO-QiFlfnhdJlbmS9w3TlDSK-zMXhwE4mjgiSF9xE5Ua__VS7tlhoJ9vLZwLiNqSfwR-dVS5EyeayGKUoE/s1600/IMG_5511.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvuDJioQif8yMlYo4IXrmfxpWxkeSi_5qloBesveojWeeeQ_X-5WQN_8x-3kO-QiFlfnhdJlbmS9w3TlDSK-zMXhwE4mjgiSF9xE5Ua__VS7tlhoJ9vLZwLiNqSfwR-dVS5EyeayGKUoE/s320/IMG_5511.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5507880537946027618" /></a>tour guide was able to come out and par-tay with us for once. We found a club that catered mostly to wealthy Vietnamese and partied well past the official closing time of midnight. Once we left the club we were shushed and shooed away from the door, so I'm sure the club owners have a delicate relationship with the government that wants to shut them for the night at ridiculously early hour. <br /><br />We hopped in a few cabs back to the hotel, and made the stupid (drunken) mistake of not agreeing on a price beforehand or requesting the driver use the meter. For comparison, our cab ride earlier that night cost 32,000 dong. Once we got back to the hotel the driver wanted over 150,000 dong for the short ride. Two out of the three cabs were trying to swindle us.<br /><br />Thank God for Amy, our Thai tour leader. No way was she going to let us get blatantly ripped off like that so she made a HUGE stink. She got the front desk staff involved and, at 1:30 a.m. on a quiet street, was screaming at the drivers that people like them make Vietnam look bad and threatened to call the police. In the end we paid each driver 40,000 dong (a perfectly fair price) and told them if they wanted to complain about that - the thieving bastards of course did not - they could wait for the police to come.<br /><br />A Vietnamese-born friend of mine told me "Don't let people rip you off just because you're white." I'd like to think we white people stood up for ourselves quite well!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-87001054448991954432010-07-26T13:40:00.003-07:002010-08-18T03:06:31.174-07:00Day 18: Halong BayWe arrived to our destination of Halong Bay at 8:30 a.m. amazingly well rested. We had nothing to do but sleep (and sweat) on the train the night before and the 3 hour pre-dawn bus ride, so we were ready to dive into breakfast.<br /><br />God smiled upon us and our rooms were available for us shortly after we stuffed our <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3g_z0BpPuteDzUe_AIx0jvz0NwsMjHd4WpWKIK2cq5vldNKn8iHgrjFZRGofWOpEIoGWBvrkC3ESCbKBAe8PsvVTCD8iPE4BiU-OUmsn6J8ESAr771ALPHzqeIvWGscwMZtED_tvUOeA/s1600/IMG_5417.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3g_z0BpPuteDzUe_AIx0jvz0NwsMjHd4WpWKIK2cq5vldNKn8iHgrjFZRGofWOpEIoGWBvrkC3ESCbKBAe8PsvVTCD8iPE4BiU-OUmsn6J8ESAr771ALPHzqeIvWGscwMZtED_tvUOeA/s320/IMG_5417.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506688613663105506" /></a>faces. Then came the sweetest moment of my life up to this point: A SHOWER. I am not a long shower taker but I must have scrubbed myself from head to toe for 20 straight minutes. I learned an interesting thing about how human skin works: when you mix sunblock and sweat with dirt and dust it turns into an invisible layer of mud, so when you scratch the skin your fingernails get filled with mud. My God that shower felt glorious. I will never forget it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5SdsA2EdJK9FqUwbjaJ7hGvLABJMPouL1g_oc_-cLBB26tTKd6PXRE_W2BojLl47GVv2jMz9CcHZEuFuertiQCVU-FPTcBnnzaz2R1ZYfRWgtQXal_XCvoXf6WyhmfXp9k1RGG4SSnM/s1600/IMG_5411.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq5SdsA2EdJK9FqUwbjaJ7hGvLABJMPouL1g_oc_-cLBB26tTKd6PXRE_W2BojLl47GVv2jMz9CcHZEuFuertiQCVU-FPTcBnnzaz2R1ZYfRWgtQXal_XCvoXf6WyhmfXp9k1RGG4SSnM/s320/IMG_5411.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506684465515217330" /></a>We had a few hours of down time before our highlight adventure of the day: A boat trip through Halong Bay. If you don't know what Halong Bay is or looks like, Google it. It's absolutely breathtaking. There are thousands and thousands of little islands within 6 kilometers of the coast and they are a crazy sight to see. The islands are uninhabited by people, and are so tall and jungle-y that humans probably couldn't walk through them if they wanted to.<br /><br />Our tour included this trip on the "junk boat" (funny name, I don't know where it comes from) along with a seafood lunch on board. Usually the food on this kind of <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzvSUlC8KAE7zfIl4WlkjJOKYZIMzXj-oNZGgrxQq9_eIxGrD-GL7Y_iDu6EnJHcemNb0Bj4HsXpfmaO4xOxJ5ocIbma41kYL4eQyIPB3xk_tZVwc7hVMcXJBLo8qxcNMGQBcK9KDoqU/s1600/IMG_5406.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuzvSUlC8KAE7zfIl4WlkjJOKYZIMzXj-oNZGgrxQq9_eIxGrD-GL7Y_iDu6EnJHcemNb0Bj4HsXpfmaO4xOxJ5ocIbma41kYL4eQyIPB3xk_tZVwc7hVMcXJBLo8qxcNMGQBcK9KDoqU/s320/IMG_5406.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506684658787477122" /></a>floating tourist trap is serious crap and likely to give you dysentery, but holy man was this food good! We had several courses of seafood, including freshly cooked, unpeeled shrimp, fried calamari and these awesome different-kinds-of-seafood-stuffed crabs. I was wildly impressed.<br /><br />Selling stuff to tourists is a way of life as we've learned, but while on the junk <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDOkzhDEoogCPqRpilzL_2jOY0wXbm6ZUcbPaGLYLL_W5BO8YwSmA5j6mmntaO4zIwQSykFT69stwa-ZGwo7i9guaFWZ7olh1X9E4zC_34tPM8xoHkg-EfMOCT-r-8Bg-HFKhahFhlbA/s1600/IMG_5404.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdDOkzhDEoogCPqRpilzL_2jOY0wXbm6ZUcbPaGLYLL_W5BO8YwSmA5j6mmntaO4zIwQSykFT69stwa-ZGwo7i9guaFWZ7olh1X9E4zC_34tPM8xoHkg-EfMOCT-r-8Bg-HFKhahFhlbA/s320/IMG_5404.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506685181992943410" /></a>boat we witnessed something beyond our wildest hawking imaginations. A small boat pulled right up next to our much larger boat, and a young girl (I'd say about 8) jumped from that boat onto ours with a bunch of fruit that she was trying to sell us through the window - in the rain! She was really nimble on her feet so I bet she does that jump 100 times a day. Craziness!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8yDA-tUOiKuoCLKMfJn4hrMlmQcUedYS1O2dYBuszQL67ahJhOHMk31ysgZhdL8SLJDUFWcL8S_Tm44zOCf2UW_73Io9ZX1RFu5yCQt0Q68g_4TURc6uMNVnX_iQUkQwqRPgMiH1bdI/s1600/IMG_5443.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ8yDA-tUOiKuoCLKMfJn4hrMlmQcUedYS1O2dYBuszQL67ahJhOHMk31ysgZhdL8SLJDUFWcL8S_Tm44zOCf2UW_73Io9ZX1RFu5yCQt0Q68g_4TURc6uMNVnX_iQUkQwqRPgMiH1bdI/s320/IMG_5443.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506685635649652098" /></a>A few hours into our boat journey we stopped at an island that had a cave, where we got off the boat and walked through the stalagmites and stalactites. They had jazzed it up with neon lights, which really robbed the place of any authentication, but it was really cool to see what nature had done all by itself. Had it not been filled with tourists and neon lights it would have been reminded of the movie The Descent, where cave monsters pick off a group of cave explorers by eating them. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52mBNp_d9TYrsDgD0LBe4C_auXhuC3yaKhkMg6w20nE9wONIGIrVHxR5-pcmdjHduys0f8I5CIcyK4hSHIXLY3qUOR7GryU15tLmwRgsdMdEBdooZQQmmYP0x4I7jYl4pPT-lEXcWhHM/s1600/IMG_5389.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh52mBNp_d9TYrsDgD0LBe4C_auXhuC3yaKhkMg6w20nE9wONIGIrVHxR5-pcmdjHduys0f8I5CIcyK4hSHIXLY3qUOR7GryU15tLmwRgsdMdEBdooZQQmmYP0x4I7jYl4pPT-lEXcWhHM/s320/IMG_5389.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506685953161862466" /></a>We got back on land about 4 p.m. and quickly realized that the only thing to do in the town of Halong Bay is see the islands. We don't have a travelers Bible, a.k.a. Lonely Planet guide, but the books other people brought made it clear that Halong Bay is not a place to spend much time in. See the islands, then move on. So we bathed in the glory of the A/C until we met some friends on their balcony (lucky ducks, we didn't get a balcony) for a few drinks before dinner.<br /><br />The restaurant we went to, like many other restaurants in town, had their available seafood on display, right out on the sidewalk. I was sad to see the fish and crabs awaiting their deaths in small aquariums, but if they didn't want to die they shouldn't have been born so delicious. <br /><br />Marv was a culinary adventurer and tried sea mantis, which we both had never heard of before. He even watched the little fellas get scooped out of the aquarium and hauled back to the kitchen. Here's what they looked like alive:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZrqP7PtffOqLar2B_aSKaZl9mfqU91Rmzja9GBZYM4nccJ6ZDnudu1kUJUhD7-c0p2FYBjsm9qbHebXQFx95s9Iz2Ol-evR7evpenyd3riIQQzxPIYIImRmEdK4Pt6iO0nS791nK9xs/s1600/IMG_5454.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZrqP7PtffOqLar2B_aSKaZl9mfqU91Rmzja9GBZYM4nccJ6ZDnudu1kUJUhD7-c0p2FYBjsm9qbHebXQFx95s9Iz2Ol-evR7evpenyd3riIQQzxPIYIImRmEdK4Pt6iO0nS791nK9xs/s320/IMG_5454.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506686222631393762" /></a><br /><br />And a short time later, not so alive:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJQMmdO_zzp-XyQ8VG32SVnGEpi82gQr4NZ6LamM94ggwzL1hE2KUtjLuBzSZDkrzb4KGCQftygHJG7xfJqQ3QHqkckbL8Jca0eDKdMZZ0aNXsvsuqPe0Q8oT6Efexs2OWgDHtZshotw/s1600/IMG_5456.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcJQMmdO_zzp-XyQ8VG32SVnGEpi82gQr4NZ6LamM94ggwzL1hE2KUtjLuBzSZDkrzb4KGCQftygHJG7xfJqQ3QHqkckbL8Jca0eDKdMZZ0aNXsvsuqPe0Q8oT6Efexs2OWgDHtZshotw/s320/IMG_5456.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506686384522482114" /></a><br /><br />He said it was like a big shrimp, with a lot less meat and taste. Boo for the most expensive thing on the menu not equalling a lot of yummy food. <br /><br />I was ready for home after dinner so I went back while Marv and a few others hit up a <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JqDz-RWnQMgCvy6BfrcKEzNXjA1ii3S51l3PFnqZXPnTTVCznTHfDyJVxL29Fx2KKBHY4_mqG4I-sMxt2NibnDxXToxDzq_jqc_Q-FfxoU9WUfGqk2nUS4K6BemqG_tto3nfjF5f5ZQ/s1600/IMG_5469.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4JqDz-RWnQMgCvy6BfrcKEzNXjA1ii3S51l3PFnqZXPnTTVCznTHfDyJVxL29Fx2KKBHY4_mqG4I-sMxt2NibnDxXToxDzq_jqc_Q-FfxoU9WUfGqk2nUS4K6BemqG_tto3nfjF5f5ZQ/s320/IMG_5469.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506687228882649922" /></a>bona fide locals club, called Club 18. As soon as they walked in Marv & Co. were surrounded by locals who wanted to talk to and dance with them. The people are so friendly here! Someone wrote on their cell phone "Welcome to Halong Bay, you are my friend" (aww!) and Marv even got a phone number - from a guy. <br /><br />Friendly indeed!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-19971013158077190422010-07-26T13:40:00.001-07:002010-08-18T02:44:21.463-07:00Day 17: Hue Day 2With our limited time in Hue the quickest and easiest way to see everything we needed to see was by motorbike. This time we weren't given the option of driving our own, which was a wise decision since traffic is way crazier here. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2WF4Qbir3tTMsYoedOzAij3We1gn6UJDCvsShurRZMTlcYao72298vglaupmmwjwAS17LcCUaZCih9cZos3LLDyL9Yf93WKOmeoVB9IwmgansEY5y4d2hF9UnNSi6x-nUflCWqk063M/s1600/IMG_5303.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM2WF4Qbir3tTMsYoedOzAij3We1gn6UJDCvsShurRZMTlcYao72298vglaupmmwjwAS17LcCUaZCih9cZos3LLDyL9Yf93WKOmeoVB9IwmgansEY5y4d2hF9UnNSi6x-nUflCWqk063M/s320/IMG_5303.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506680689183512546" /></a>We checked out of our room and were off at 8 a.m., all but 1 of the entire group. Our first stop was a local rice farming village. It had 1000 inhabitants which just happens to be the same size as my hometown. I think it's crazy that if the dice would had rolled another way I could have been born in white rice Vietnam, instead of white bread North Dakota.<br /><br />We went to a small rice museum, where an 82-year-old woman with jet black teeth showed us how rice is harvested. It was interesting to see how it's done since I had <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgDFl5lqXyQH87k3wnVZhRyB8G7_KHiVGuTzv-iMTJH_Jot6z8Xrj2bpvDeRE2zfMIJgNDcREPjHCs8H47NbjdAyf4gagmxhHfjqB5z1NR5c1UebxW77mDHTBJV4eabAFfjM5chfmDAc/s1600/IMG_5308.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNgDFl5lqXyQH87k3wnVZhRyB8G7_KHiVGuTzv-iMTJH_Jot6z8Xrj2bpvDeRE2zfMIJgNDcREPjHCs8H47NbjdAyf4gagmxhHfjqB5z1NR5c1UebxW77mDHTBJV4eabAFfjM5chfmDAc/s320/IMG_5308.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506681038035643506" /></a>no idea how the green stalks in the paddy turned into edible rice. I am not exaggerating when I say this woman was as tall as my belly button, and she wasn't a dwarf. She was just incredibly, ridiculously tiny. I feel like such a giant! The little lady sang us a rice crushing song, which Marv videotaped and has since replayed 200 times. We all thought it was pretty entertaining and overall rough on the ears.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbW4Qjsup6rVCa_Nw7YlFQYYKzE_GaPwpyJoOArGlBFbh4LGva_DrbawV_fTzqfd3nCMBeP55VdxRcyIhPzb-q_Be19OnbNl5DvVdLoxJcnJyH2dH-iAu0EkOjE_cPwAhlTvC6xavz7Q/s1600/IMG_5347.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIbW4Qjsup6rVCa_Nw7YlFQYYKzE_GaPwpyJoOArGlBFbh4LGva_DrbawV_fTzqfd3nCMBeP55VdxRcyIhPzb-q_Be19OnbNl5DvVdLoxJcnJyH2dH-iAu0EkOjE_cPwAhlTvC6xavz7Q/s320/IMG_5347.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506681605899792818" /></a>We drove up to another abandoned American bunker, which all seem to have incredible views, and took a few awesome panoramic river pictures. It was so beautiful up there and, blessedly, breezy too. <br /><br />On the way back to the motorbike I didn't see a gigantic rock on the road and kicked it HARD with my flip flopped foot. The nail on my middle toe immediately filled with blood underneath and I'm pretty sure broke in half, right in the middle. I get freaked out if I look at it too long so I just bandaged it up and hope to God it doesn't pop off. What would I do then?! Yikes! Two injures in two days. Somebody put me in a straight jacket! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NC6uDIaLSesvTE8WmZN5L75VlW0gHNRPM0S5TAQDQ8w8DjR0AjayRnV3wJZtiUDeck1GBiR3hjmwKMWIMbUAe3Xk1ZtSems6tsa8EJp0-_ZIyLmUwkT-QP4LzQSKRZ42K24IvRvIdr8/s1600/IMG_5327.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NC6uDIaLSesvTE8WmZN5L75VlW0gHNRPM0S5TAQDQ8w8DjR0AjayRnV3wJZtiUDeck1GBiR3hjmwKMWIMbUAe3Xk1ZtSems6tsa8EJp0-_ZIyLmUwkT-QP4LzQSKRZ42K24IvRvIdr8/s320/IMG_5327.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506681890876378882" /></a>We then went to an old Vietnamese king's tomb, though they don't know exactly where on the grounds he's buried since he's buried with a lot of valuables. There's no more royalty here since the Commies took over. Then we drove to a Coliseum-like arena (much smaller, though) where said royalty would have elephants and declawed tigers fight each other for their entertainment. That sounds like some seriously sick entertainment.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieWsYKT4jtaWED-kAK1FPxkZZWCqeYdvgQXbd-E0iifM87ZuFxfcxz7uORP6EL34RrPCbW-KqCM0L7dEULYWy7DgZD7iZaDnEzkZbU5e-nFyAHkebgWrHf59MQfbFw3ullYxrHJNqzqI/s1600/IMG_5353.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgieWsYKT4jtaWED-kAK1FPxkZZWCqeYdvgQXbd-E0iifM87ZuFxfcxz7uORP6EL34RrPCbW-KqCM0L7dEULYWy7DgZD7iZaDnEzkZbU5e-nFyAHkebgWrHf59MQfbFw3ullYxrHJNqzqI/s320/IMG_5353.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506682163259295218" /></a>We made a quick stop by the citadel and a pagoda, but by this time I was getting sun weary and mentally checked out. The architecture is beautiful, looks more fitting for China, but I didn't get a whole lot of useful information about what I was seeing.<br /><br />On the way back into town we stopped at a road side stand that makes incense and other handicrafts. I don't burn incense because I'm not Buddhist and don't have the need to cover up the small of weed, but I was in the market for a tote bag that I can keep our laptop and other carry-on travel items handy. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzPNu32vkjD2EmsdG2qwSybfyIsU_guEF9Xvnrwn92FeA25OHCvKYoaoEWdU-oFy84XCD4aSpYF9JQmpJQv5BrsEJMfTdqI1gaJEzXcKr1IKj-s06igbqrZTYliDQEWxks4qByJuzSRE/s1600/IMG_5362.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNzPNu32vkjD2EmsdG2qwSybfyIsU_guEF9Xvnrwn92FeA25OHCvKYoaoEWdU-oFy84XCD4aSpYF9JQmpJQv5BrsEJMfTdqI1gaJEzXcKr1IKj-s06igbqrZTYliDQEWxks4qByJuzSRE/s320/IMG_5362.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506682463162753410" /></a>And I succeeded! I got this hand embroidered bag for $5. They wanted $6.50 for it but I wasn't about to pay that much so I very gently dipped my toe into the waters of haggling. I am more than willing to pay $5 to finally throw away my ghetto ICA grocery bag.<br /><br />We had to cram in all our Hue sightseeing in the morning since we had to leave in mid-afternoon for our next night train. We left our hotel at 2 since the train left at 3, or at least we hoped it would. We sat there an extra hour and 45 freaking minutes until the train finally decided to arrive. We were all so wiped from our early start that day that, like toddlers, we immediately went down for a nap as soon as we got access to our bunk beds. We slept like the dead. It was the most glorious nap I ever remember taking.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHd0Vcd_MvzmaFbkInFq2EXK3i-qWfOVv69GVNSpVbTcv4hGTLNFb1Yv3n_O8TsD-vtYCoK2pFSPeM_QGvi3hwVG3BXhVqsfx2vSayQfTz9YFXgaAULF6Spvuy2YrME4JEWjP1hkTkw8/s1600/IMG_5372.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHd0Vcd_MvzmaFbkInFq2EXK3i-qWfOVv69GVNSpVbTcv4hGTLNFb1Yv3n_O8TsD-vtYCoK2pFSPeM_QGvi3hwVG3BXhVqsfx2vSayQfTz9YFXgaAULF6Spvuy2YrME4JEWjP1hkTkw8/s320/IMG_5372.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5506682853803869266" /></a><br />We hadn't had a shower since before 8 a.m. (with was many hot, sweaty, dusty hours ago) so we were all feeling quite grody. These trains don't have toilet paper, much less showers, so we had to fester the entire evening and night. They turned off the air conditioning at night, which was a decision that filled me with murderous rage. That train was literally a sweat lodge on tracks. It was BOILING hot in there. I think I can speak for everyone when I say we were absolutely POURING sweat. My pillow was drenched. By the time we got to our destination I am amazed that my clothes hadn't disintegrated straight off me. GROSS! <br /><br />We tried to be social and enjoy some drinks but the beverage cart quickly ran out and we were all tired and feeling disgusting from our long day. We hit the hay by 11 p.m. and arrived, amazingly on time, at 5 a.m. to Hanoi.<br /><br />But Hanoi was not our final destination. We were headed for Halong Bay, a 3 hour drive outside of Hanoi. So we got on our bus at the crack of dawn and headed 3 hours east. You can about imagine how wild and crazy that bus ride was.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-12667615635300249372010-07-26T13:39:00.004-07:002010-08-16T03:33:34.088-07:00Day 16: Hue Day 1Since we already had a day in Hoi An yesterday we decided to sleep in this morning. We weren't leaving until 1 p.m. and didn't have to be out of the hotel room until noon, so why not? Food service being what it is (read: slow as hell) we checked out at 11 a.m. so we could get some food in us for the bus ride ahead.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhJm_lTWyEm3V_t4ATtec43mhm8TQXV5SkAEMULibS7iUZBww1p6yeOnN1D-dtABfaKtT_6ThNXuOj55ihJGI44QhGRKE7UQ2d-T4VJF0u_eSCb23MG4ZEd45ykfSN48O3ynVVnfxpjE/s1600/IMG_5153.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhJm_lTWyEm3V_t4ATtec43mhm8TQXV5SkAEMULibS7iUZBww1p6yeOnN1D-dtABfaKtT_6ThNXuOj55ihJGI44QhGRKE7UQ2d-T4VJF0u_eSCb23MG4ZEd45ykfSN48O3ynVVnfxpjE/s320/IMG_5153.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505837965694357346" /></a>We searched restaurants on TripAdvisor and found one that was easy to find. I had pork wantons with homemade sweet and sour "sauce", which as you might remember was my favorite dish last night at the cooking class. And you know what? I liked mine better. I can't wait to make this at home! I also had a chocolate "milkshake", which was more like the best glass of chocolate milk ever, on steroids. I am very, very wary of their dairy here (milk is not refrigerated!) but it was well worth chancing gastrointestinal problems, which luckily never arrived. It was amazingly delish.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYhr9ldYZXNGqrXuDPRwau9NnB9I35k58dbl_Dp6L0RsntgY7K1Y0h0WKev_7gimgzxNnw4ANDUTuvxmB1Gf2BXAQriwT7n8aJ_bZao2AOLggKam0KGSHN3zQZ_nycqf-fFUu77OwQNI/s1600/IMG_5175.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdYhr9ldYZXNGqrXuDPRwau9NnB9I35k58dbl_Dp6L0RsntgY7K1Y0h0WKev_7gimgzxNnw4ANDUTuvxmB1Gf2BXAQriwT7n8aJ_bZao2AOLggKam0KGSHN3zQZ_nycqf-fFUu77OwQNI/s320/IMG_5175.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505835310984314242" /></a>We left for a 4 hour drive to Hue, which is farther north in Vietnam. We drove through beautiful, picturesque mountains. These are the mountains that the Top Gear guys traveled on their motorbikes - I beg of you to watch that video if you haven't already! It was breathtaking, and not half as scary as some of our tour mates made it out to be. Guard rails and a reasonable speed do not a death defying drive make. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RwFjCpscg6HgvwQnydOkBn6aS04M_dKrcjdqL3qLCar_CqT2NXbwUIAZKithmnQW7pMhk2slKao5H7YpMNJZ3CcrO_D-EIzgRDPxUnGbZnUYy20WpkEpmAdNqt2ouD3JjELq66TJ-74/s1600/IMG_5174.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4RwFjCpscg6HgvwQnydOkBn6aS04M_dKrcjdqL3qLCar_CqT2NXbwUIAZKithmnQW7pMhk2slKao5H7YpMNJZ3CcrO_D-EIzgRDPxUnGbZnUYy20WpkEpmAdNqt2ouD3JjELq66TJ-74/s320/IMG_5174.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505857695271378962" /></a><br />About half way through the mountains we stopped at an abandoned American bunker for panoramic views of the river (not sure which) and to buy some seriously cheap - real - pearl jewelry. All of us girls were told by the hawkers we "look way younger" than we are (ha!) but I wasn't in the mood for shopping. Though I see < $10 pearls in my near future.<br /><br />Just as we were entering Hue I was snoozing and felt the driver SLAM on the brakes and lay on the horn. Marv saw what caused this reaction, and apparently we were very, VERY close to running over a 5 year old child. I shudder to think what the hell would have happened had we hit it. This was an early, and valuable, lesson to learn about the traffic in Hue. It's nowhere near as civilized as it is down south.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6lIGIT7z1x8DG05qoIkFoYi9NmTOArNwkfqKIcRZKjLrzShWewdUriMrugCVe2SCxdz1nhcUilfVGKIOc3XAGuYUV0IijPBPd8a5stByXPOaVb6pH9veDuNFgzvD5nwdyfwH-rEh4Ik/s1600/IMG_5213.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM6lIGIT7z1x8DG05qoIkFoYi9NmTOArNwkfqKIcRZKjLrzShWewdUriMrugCVe2SCxdz1nhcUilfVGKIOc3XAGuYUV0IijPBPd8a5stByXPOaVb6pH9veDuNFgzvD5nwdyfwH-rEh4Ik/s320/IMG_5213.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505836683024171522" /></a>We only had 1 day in Hue so we had to make the most of it. Right away we rented a boat to take us down the river (again, not sure which) to see the city skyline. We even bought a few beers to bring with us for the 1-hour ride, because that's how we do. Imagine my elation at finding ice cold Budweiser in the store! Sadly, it was about as Budweiser-y as a can of spent motor oil so I'm glad I only bought one. Budweiser FAIL, sad for me. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfipBccFPdbFGpZTEI0Uam3n0-Q4yhRfpkUZwtWfL06ofufT_RQPbMW5YqoK5Np650DXc7UBMIqSZncy1x5_dPQKAJTBONl1sS0HjcobKcnbHAMUGUXPxY2xf68t81kmDkdhF3CRG95w/s1600/IMG_5228.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmfipBccFPdbFGpZTEI0Uam3n0-Q4yhRfpkUZwtWfL06ofufT_RQPbMW5YqoK5Np650DXc7UBMIqSZncy1x5_dPQKAJTBONl1sS0HjcobKcnbHAMUGUXPxY2xf68t81kmDkdhF3CRG95w/s320/IMG_5228.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505837149024114370" /></a>As luck would have it we left for the boat tour right at sunset, which starts at the ridiculously early hour of 6 p.m., which my northern dwelling self can't get used to. <br /> It was a beautiful, pleasant ride despite them trying to sell us nick nacky stuff the entire trip. It's an annoying fact of life being here.<br /><br />As we were disembarking the boat we had to walk a plank to get from the boat to dry land, and as I was concentrating on not falling off the plank I rammed my face into a rusty sheet of corrugated metal that was conveniently located at face level. It hurt, yes, but it seriously freaked me out because had it been located a few inches lower there's no doubt in my mind I'd be blind in my right eye. I hit that sucker hard. Lucky for me it hit my forehead (which is weird since my eyebrow hurt) and <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsU-7ijhMg2t0G7JroYtJZxajbfdOIW-7FRO9v35GHkDP5EN06cgEjZeQseGgavwSibcJ7Q5pcYyRT9Ivt9U9lnL5I0lStIZBz9727MJNbDybelcfYrWGpWYfan1mP9-cRhFaOR79Yzg/s1600/IMG_5242.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsU-7ijhMg2t0G7JroYtJZxajbfdOIW-7FRO9v35GHkDP5EN06cgEjZeQseGgavwSibcJ7Q5pcYyRT9Ivt9U9lnL5I0lStIZBz9727MJNbDybelcfYrWGpWYfan1mP9-cRhFaOR79Yzg/s320/IMG_5242.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505838507072442450" /></a>lucky for me I just got my tetanus shot updated before I came. I got a little cut on my forehead so Marv has taken to calling me "Scar Face", since he's loving and supportive like that.<br /><br />We then went out to dinner and for drinks at a bar called DMZ, which stands for Demilitarized Zone for those of you not down on your Vietnamese history. Sadly, it was my dear friend Amanda's wedding day back in North Dakota which I could not be there for, so I called her as she was getting ready for her big day. I hope she had a super fabulous day, and knows that I will celebrate with her as soon as I am able! <br /><br />We hit the DMZ a little bit harder than we should have (story of our lives, right?) since tomorrow will hold yet another motorbike tour for us!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-60982844474430632502010-07-26T13:39:00.003-07:002010-08-27T08:21:32.126-07:00Day 15: Hoi An Day 2Our hotel in Hoi An looks like one of the best we've had so far, and probably would be if you are deaf. There's construction going on and it is LOUD in the very early morning. Pre 8 a.m. early. Suck.<br /><br />So we were up by 10 through no choice of our own, got ready and went off to lunch at the #3 TripAdvisor rated restaurant in town. I really don't know how people traveled, much less ate on vacation, before TripAdvisor. Great site!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllw4by0HtgW57PTU72hwCgXRNAxLFQfvgUPxVZAkiAYF3gMsaqEvJGigCCrJt9LizwFkVqmGbQNEZlgk9FKQLyJGgCzok3WCPRqnAIN7RU4oIHgMvF0gLFTK5GDoLI4RdVvq2IZPLp8g/s1600/IMG_5119.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjllw4by0HtgW57PTU72hwCgXRNAxLFQfvgUPxVZAkiAYF3gMsaqEvJGigCCrJt9LizwFkVqmGbQNEZlgk9FKQLyJGgCzok3WCPRqnAIN7RU4oIHgMvF0gLFTK5GDoLI4RdVvq2IZPLp8g/s320/IMG_5119.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504901723848801138" /></a><br />Just the two of us went to lunch, and I don't remember the last time we ate alone. Part of the reason I wanted to do an organized tour is so I would have other people besides Marv to entertain me for 4 weeks. It was nice, and Marv ate his darling little octopus.<br /><br />We hogged out (2 frufru drinks, 2 Diet Cokes, a bottle of water, 2 starters and 2 main courses) for a tish under $23. I can't get over the affordability of this place!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LCooqEHtBjL4YrNWkQk9mrQ08QUnl75xqcbmUgrBg03Q1N7VkuKTn3P_e-dCCnZdaYVDlc5o2xJYB7fXYB39vHrzNI9PEWUwjsJXIkAlgYoxTAAWAD8mgSxhde3hQhOoj_COTVWsxPw/s1600/IMG_5122.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2LCooqEHtBjL4YrNWkQk9mrQ08QUnl75xqcbmUgrBg03Q1N7VkuKTn3P_e-dCCnZdaYVDlc5o2xJYB7fXYB39vHrzNI9PEWUwjsJXIkAlgYoxTAAWAD8mgSxhde3hQhOoj_COTVWsxPw/s320/IMG_5122.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505106944390012562" /></a>I was quoted by the tailors that my jacket would be ready at 2:00 p.m. and since we were in the area I swung by at 1:30 to see if it was ready. Unfortunately it wasn't - the suspense is killing me! The girls at the tailor shop were laying down under a fan, as far as they could get from the open store front, so we knew it's not just us trying to stay away from the heat in the afternoons. We took this as a sign to go back to the hotel and bask in the A/C.<br /><br />When the sun settled down a bit it was time for me to 1. Fetch my fab new winter jacket and 2. Go to the cooking class I had signed up for. It seems like a lot of restaurants in town do cooking classes, so myself and 3 other girls decided to attend one at the restaurant where we had dinner last night.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbByhIYqxoHDH01w7O0kBzPuhcDhwvfDPv8XHyjEMRy1XFCNk-eWefSRUcrPM_E1uBQAMaLzbDsiVpSowzXbmeMXuNMe7F5C8mrOSHubR8X41UeiaMbs1-UlxsHkGPuFv0mhtyEITnCWw/s1600/IMG_5150.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbByhIYqxoHDH01w7O0kBzPuhcDhwvfDPv8XHyjEMRy1XFCNk-eWefSRUcrPM_E1uBQAMaLzbDsiVpSowzXbmeMXuNMe7F5C8mrOSHubR8X41UeiaMbs1-UlxsHkGPuFv0mhtyEITnCWw/s320/IMG_5150.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5505105800607829058" /></a>First things first, here is my jacket! It turned out even better than I expected. It's deep purple wool, brassy gold snap buttons and lining that is lime-ish green (but not lime green). My choice of color combo shocked the girls working at the tailor shop and my tour leader Amy, but the craziness of it was exactly what I was going for - I wanted something that you just won't find anywhere else. I think it looks awesome!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6l-h-OzZbyVdjVh84kSJekjgKRjdEAELuIvMmziL6kl4xq_XT65LBvDk8TcIaSGQYdfrnYU8Cmahhlp1TVTYtnwXdii-UcMRdGdbEU1OFK4BVyHOOq5Ke_SyVJxP-oklq2JRb6WKaOo/s1600/IMG_5131.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB6l-h-OzZbyVdjVh84kSJekjgKRjdEAELuIvMmziL6kl4xq_XT65LBvDk8TcIaSGQYdfrnYU8Cmahhlp1TVTYtnwXdii-UcMRdGdbEU1OFK4BVyHOOq5Ke_SyVJxP-oklq2JRb6WKaOo/s320/IMG_5131.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504898429547966050" /></a>It was then time to cook my own dinner - and pay for the privlege of doing so. Since 1 of the 4 of us at the cooking class doesn't like seafood we got to double the variety of dishes we cooked by adding chicken and beef to the fish and squid. We (loving, by hand) made: <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznr38ZEELx9xYKNXjtqy76MVjdMD-maoajp5HScAPbDWqSOarKrebz4eoPllidljPBxFW15a2-MX2vHq3nhyQhiDMOXCNsAICkHrh-B0xaAkes1k4F7IltRpifZZcS2gplZukxWxAL30/s1600/IMG_5140.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznr38ZEELx9xYKNXjtqy76MVjdMD-maoajp5HScAPbDWqSOarKrebz4eoPllidljPBxFW15a2-MX2vHq3nhyQhiDMOXCNsAICkHrh-B0xaAkes1k4F7IltRpifZZcS2gplZukxWxAL30/s320/IMG_5140.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504897274153182786" /></a>-vegetable spring rolls<br />-sweet & sour "sauce" (more like salsa) to go over pre-made pork wantons<br />-fried squid with lemongrass, garlic & chili<br />-fried chicken with lemongrass, garlic & chili<br />-macrel cooked in banana leaves<br />-beef cooked in banana leaves<br /><br />Everything was good but my favorite thing was the sweet and sour sauce over pork wantons. The sauce was really easy to make so I plan to make it again in the future. It was all super labor intensive! Everything had to be cut very finely and we spent a good 2 hours cooking. I had a great time - entertainment with dinner included for $15. You can't beat that! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZa5B_Qkp5RBqSvfnmLaLUDaidkg74QY3eULthh-qWKccZYdU5U6uOoZsAErPj5XnIGNiliTZEGNTIF5JUBCGaoXxlgKgj53P06G42LYDNTNf-Rvd8CQrc2A6qusSTs8Fuvl9_EJM23ZE/s1600/IMG_5146.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZa5B_Qkp5RBqSvfnmLaLUDaidkg74QY3eULthh-qWKccZYdU5U6uOoZsAErPj5XnIGNiliTZEGNTIF5JUBCGaoXxlgKgj53P06G42LYDNTNf-Rvd8CQrc2A6qusSTs8Fuvl9_EJM23ZE/s320/IMG_5146.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504900333877438642" /></a><br />Speaking of food: I have been in Asia for exactly 2 weeks now and have not seen one single McDonald's. <br /><br />There is hope for the world yet!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-17727675400279573822010-07-26T13:39:00.001-07:002010-08-13T06:22:31.821-07:00Day 14: Hoi An Day 1Our night train was supposed to arrive at 10 a.m. but of course it was 11:15 before we got there. We got on a private bus and drove the half hour to our hotel, which thankfully was ready for us to check in. The last shower being in a crummy pool shower we immediately hopped in and washed the stink off ourselves.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3nT5i1U8CUVmf2QcJZqxgvJQeVZY34eNwmhX9NpCP22Zgr4dGd8RaSYAG-Up00S9Kq-roEuekrDbuYpW1h91vSyUzn9HG1JlO9vbaY3s8cZWVCVyif-zYY_h9_f9VsrABlYGZaifFg0/s1600/IMG_5072.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb3nT5i1U8CUVmf2QcJZqxgvJQeVZY34eNwmhX9NpCP22Zgr4dGd8RaSYAG-Up00S9Kq-roEuekrDbuYpW1h91vSyUzn9HG1JlO9vbaY3s8cZWVCVyif-zYY_h9_f9VsrABlYGZaifFg0/s320/IMG_5072.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504877541500168690" /></a>We then departed for the most traditional food I expect to eat on our journey. Traditional, in this instance, being code word for unhygienic. We handmade our own spring rolls out of sheets of rice paper, veggies, fried shrimp, pork and chicken. They were quite tasty, especially the mysterious dipping sauce that came with it. The unhygienic part being that the server ladies would grab sheets of rice paper - rice paper we would later eat - and repeatedly show us how to stuff and roll it. I don't know why I ate the rolls that came from their questionably clean hands (I didn't want to be rude) but I would pay for this decision later. Pay dearly, if you catch my drift.<br /><br />Hoi An is the hottest and most humid place we have been so far. After lunch we could literally do nothing else but drag ourselves back to the hotel and lay in the air conditioned room. Mid-day is not the time to do stuff, that is for sure. I am proud to report that I did not nap, but Marv crashed like the dead.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHuMGT6spikJE9WL8ixTckp4jGWq-ttPP-xQf8Hvy9_Tukcs1HqdVV9mEbMr0ntSp1_jmbUesGfWQ7bWr_yhi4vKOT4uXs5lLHNhIzjYgXznrm5vMoOCthk24lsq3j0RqMNdyy-U8jYs/s1600/IMG_5082.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmHuMGT6spikJE9WL8ixTckp4jGWq-ttPP-xQf8Hvy9_Tukcs1HqdVV9mEbMr0ntSp1_jmbUesGfWQ7bWr_yhi4vKOT4uXs5lLHNhIzjYgXznrm5vMoOCthk24lsq3j0RqMNdyy-U8jYs/s320/IMG_5082.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504879091231831218" /></a>Once 5 p.m. hit we thought it would be a reasonable temperature so we headed out to explore the town. We sat at a river side restaurant and enjoyed some frufru, non-alcoholic drinks, which I have declared to be my "new thing". They make a lot of shakes and juices from exotic things here and I rarely pass up the chance to drink something tasty. Drinking calories is a great idea, on vacation only. <br /><br />Hoi An's main industry is tourism or, more specifically, hundreds and hundreds of tailor shops that hand make any and everything a westerner could want. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtA0bVykyDyoNlq8Ooh3JRhvA739F3NNwinaC04eRXjyLvLQvaXQ2GX9aGooQj7g4haSXWNJrHuxBMlE8798dGDEYf5rDB_Tcf6Gbm0Xqus0X8haO6J6DO7voOpKf0cMraLQoUYdd7gQQ/s1600/IMG_5089.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtA0bVykyDyoNlq8Ooh3JRhvA739F3NNwinaC04eRXjyLvLQvaXQ2GX9aGooQj7g4haSXWNJrHuxBMlE8798dGDEYf5rDB_Tcf6Gbm0Xqus0X8haO6J6DO7voOpKf0cMraLQoUYdd7gQQ/s320/IMG_5089.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504880310290417138" /></a>A few of the girls on our tour went buck wild, paying less than $200 for a ton of custom made clothing.<br /><br />So, when dying of heat and humidity, what is at the forefront of my mind to purchase? A winter jacket, of course!<br /><br />Many of the tailor shops have winter jackets on display and my old jacket, Isaac Mizrahi for Target ($30 on clearance, thankyouverymuch) is in dire need of replacement. I figured buying a jacket in the UK would be a very pricey affair, and I won't be back to the US during winter coat selling season, so this is my opportunity. <br /><br />A few minutes of flipping through pictures, some quick measurements, and choosing the fabric colors and I was out of there in 10 minutes. I was even able to pay using my debt card - the ridiculously fab price of $45. Not as cheap as my Target jacket but this one is handmade just for me. It feels so extravagant! I am beyond excited to get my jacket - ready for pick up 17 hours after I placed the order. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyEV7SxIwh93Vt4QdN0bwqFlwmE2b0MnDMgSsLh2TC-fhtfpAU7nRHBjP_7kIdAsiju6sSmbE5yT6Kstw4UQQfHZCqLtL-auWzmMHYzUyxFsIROHW8kdC2wdLtkYQG_HCH8Pne4zmsso/s1600/IMG_5097.JPG"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixyEV7SxIwh93Vt4QdN0bwqFlwmE2b0MnDMgSsLh2TC-fhtfpAU7nRHBjP_7kIdAsiju6sSmbE5yT6Kstw4UQQfHZCqLtL-auWzmMHYzUyxFsIROHW8kdC2wdLtkYQG_HCH8Pne4zmsso/s320/IMG_5097.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504882342948164818" /></a><br />Since we don't have to travel tomorrow we decided to hit the town hard. It was also our last night with our amazing new British friend David (you may remember him vomiting on the side of the road in the outskirts of Bangkok) so we had to see him off properly. <br /><br />For my WeFest ladies: There was a group of people at the bar (British I assume - 90% of tourists seem to be British) playing Zumi Zumi! I interrupted their game screaming "I can't believe you guys know Zumi Zumi!" It made me smile and retell stories of our WeFesting days.<br /><br />This was the kind of place that encourages graffiti on the walls, so I had to represent:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIgX13PbVe5GVsvD2bDfkq1aMyqQ4iX7uH-ugzyKA51PWJ4a00sE3VwPvHFifIAjgC4IvtEWCARmhUdqZPYL1ylfrdhlKtWS5GGm8dWurao4mm6r21YKQjR6tUtdXermZKD9eIFAO7hE/s1600/IMG_5093.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZIgX13PbVe5GVsvD2bDfkq1aMyqQ4iX7uH-ugzyKA51PWJ4a00sE3VwPvHFifIAjgC4IvtEWCARmhUdqZPYL1ylfrdhlKtWS5GGm8dWurao4mm6r21YKQjR6tUtdXermZKD9eIFAO7hE/s320/IMG_5093.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504881534408499538" /></a><br /><br />I'd love to know if any other upper Dakota natives have patronized this place before.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-16174526756950451392010-07-26T13:36:00.001-07:002010-08-12T02:11:04.855-07:00Day 13: Nha Trang Day 2Our scheduled motorbike tour to "the" waterfall didn't start until noon so we took the opportunity to sleep as late as possible. Breakfast ended at the ridiculously early hour of 9 a.m. so we went without. We checked out of our room at noon (they were hassling us to get out at quarter to), put our luggage in the holding room and waited for our motorbikes to arrive.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjak62q3_tdWCMxNKMa5Chne8y6lnbioMmn_kt_7cRc2FoB6Cr60LR692k1gc_b0OAUlYrs-yWtO7VNg2BANMwJG7Jj0JTXeNTS2WWuQZQnYIAP92AXf301fr9k2Tt1JGcphozl6A0D4zc/s1600/IMG_5025.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjak62q3_tdWCMxNKMa5Chne8y6lnbioMmn_kt_7cRc2FoB6Cr60LR692k1gc_b0OAUlYrs-yWtO7VNg2BANMwJG7Jj0JTXeNTS2WWuQZQnYIAP92AXf301fr9k2Tt1JGcphozl6A0D4zc/s320/IMG_5025.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504444117933893554" /></a>So we waited and waited, a good 45 minutes before the bikes (and drivers for those not comfortable on their own) arrived. There were 9 of us on the trip, split between 6 bikes and 2 local drivers. I have never drove one before, and didn't want to clutch on to the back of a Vietnamese stranger, so I rode on Marv's bike, the rental of which cost $10. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAvsWNR7viWaDCnAVNdHzMJ0rtoLXRYxQag3GiD71Rcw94ChsI0FmpaUU7EwRlITudec-9qsTmg1mbSriON1sWxmi_VcEtIBmN9wu06BE4qK9NFEvjXh0VhCsBZN6zmKTcZyMHh5RHe4/s1600/IMG_5037.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAAvsWNR7viWaDCnAVNdHzMJ0rtoLXRYxQag3GiD71Rcw94ChsI0FmpaUU7EwRlITudec-9qsTmg1mbSriON1sWxmi_VcEtIBmN9wu06BE4qK9NFEvjXh0VhCsBZN6zmKTcZyMHh5RHe4/s320/IMG_5037.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504444465783423266" /></a>The drive up to the waterfall took about an hour and a half. One of the bikes, thankfully not ours, got a flat tire - twice - so while we waited for them to catch up we stopped at a quaint little fishing village. The boats in the water were very cute but man did that town stink. It was horrendously fishy.<br /><br />The drive there wasn't too harrowing, as traffic was light on the roads we traveled. We did see a semi truck tipped over in a ditch, though, which freaked me out. I didn't get a picture of it but the driver of that truck hopefully was wearing a seat belt. It was tipped over like a paper cup - scary sight!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhranDJhTNebJNEGgYSh3j-e5LabSloox_KuN0CgglN2pciPgJDWUOcK8hypxIBq27AH60YOEFYyFYT3HPo5lzcHQsWlz8mfcrjDg842cNnYassXNAeOurEh3s2e3KJuMZeOxsrj_6b5NI/s1600/IMG_5033.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhranDJhTNebJNEGgYSh3j-e5LabSloox_KuN0CgglN2pciPgJDWUOcK8hypxIBq27AH60YOEFYyFYT3HPo5lzcHQsWlz8mfcrjDg842cNnYassXNAeOurEh3s2e3KJuMZeOxsrj_6b5NI/s320/IMG_5033.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504444808380925842" /></a><br />It rained briefly at the end of our drive, which was miraculous judging by the ominous dark storm clouds positioned exactly over where we were headed. The weather gods were smiling down upon us so we only had to sport our fancy ponchos (polka dotted, most of them) for a brief part of the journey.<br /><br />Once we got to the waterfall area we had to ditch our bikes and hike up the rest of the way. It started off easy enough like this:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuiNug_5n5IdG03m58VhVrA-JJRrJ0Pf7n_gPinu8M4w9ndn6PjI5AiVvbqbcbNOApPaerQlEMgpfvoi-wmpb7eEUh2U9EeyXpAl2v58-sVkqubo_KQTwUJVOORAWDyKvXb5ROWBnsX8/s1600/IMG_5039.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOuiNug_5n5IdG03m58VhVrA-JJRrJ0Pf7n_gPinu8M4w9ndn6PjI5AiVvbqbcbNOApPaerQlEMgpfvoi-wmpb7eEUh2U9EeyXpAl2v58-sVkqubo_KQTwUJVOORAWDyKvXb5ROWBnsX8/s320/IMG_5039.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504446528343315714" /></a><br /><br />But quickly devolved into this monstrosity:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoe40jGi1x2O4PkAcei-qszjvKdaKEZdwuhLUa-Syk5kWbJmDZeg_T53fjvFvZaPo-l__gkZqRPzy2NFBcyQMrPqeeHSDDXF2rui1bFOkYV7mTA8aMVElUTM8aSFvmhEFzdLeXTBGzm44/s1600/IMG_5054.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoe40jGi1x2O4PkAcei-qszjvKdaKEZdwuhLUa-Syk5kWbJmDZeg_T53fjvFvZaPo-l__gkZqRPzy2NFBcyQMrPqeeHSDDXF2rui1bFOkYV7mTA8aMVElUTM8aSFvmhEFzdLeXTBGzm44/s320/IMG_5054.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504443940113728130" /></a><br /><br />We climbed our asses off around those rocks to get to the waterfalls, which turned out to be 3 separate waterfalls or "ho" as they are called in Vietnamese. This entertained me to no end, and will continue to do so forevermore. At least I had a sense of humor when I was huffing and puffing like a 90-year-old smoker.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoiCMuoqXDMDZv4khEvBfDKisBL_k8N3hsB8_G0A3jcSfQxn2_Evq9Xijt1QixyPChlNVaOZqL-c8fXIiImdzZZQh-OQFcSA2ZVSSowhGsCKKpyNt9U9JqtQp-jIxyETXH9QoqF7WZLA/s1600/IMG_5044.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoiCMuoqXDMDZv4khEvBfDKisBL_k8N3hsB8_G0A3jcSfQxn2_Evq9Xijt1QixyPChlNVaOZqL-c8fXIiImdzZZQh-OQFcSA2ZVSSowhGsCKKpyNt9U9JqtQp-jIxyETXH9QoqF7WZLA/s320/IMG_5044.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504445301090683842" /></a><br />We arrived at Ho 1 and immediately jumped in to cool off. The water was pretty cold which felt fabulous to our boiling hot selves. I don't have any pictures of us under the actual waterfall (ho) due to lack of a waterproof camera. It was awesome and the closest to nature I could ever hope to get.<br /><br />We got back to sweating profusely and climbed up to Ho 2. Half of our party got back to swimming but I was finished at that point. We didn't have a towel so I had to do <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP0-rn2Jh9yNc08JfvQfWYmTYZgw35ayn7Ih_K6m2BBjQ5UPTg6l8_2KhI9-o3q9isUGFe95MykW4PD6UqqGxAB9mdx27_x3lZajz7vYxE7m6trTul-f554cCoJ4fK0QNS77GeVNSYe8/s1600/IMG_5042.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinP0-rn2Jh9yNc08JfvQfWYmTYZgw35ayn7Ih_K6m2BBjQ5UPTg6l8_2KhI9-o3q9isUGFe95MykW4PD6UqqGxAB9mdx27_x3lZajz7vYxE7m6trTul-f554cCoJ4fK0QNS77GeVNSYe8/s320/IMG_5042.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504445549788928178" /></a>what I could to dry off. I hate wearing clothes while wet, but didn't have a choice.<br /><br />It started sprinkling a tiny bit, which freaked out our "guides", or local ladies who were following us around, helping us navigate (and of course expect a tip for their services). We decided by their reaction not to travel to Ho 3 so we started back down the mountain towards our motorbikes.<br /><br />Then the rain totally stopped. Instead of hauling ourselves back up past Ho 2 to get to Ho 3 we just chilled back at Ho 1. This time several of the guys did what we were too chicken to do when we first got there - jump off the rocks 50 feet above into the waterfall pool below. I was relaxing closer to the bottom when this happened, so didn't get to see this, but Marv bravely jumped and thankfully escaped a spinal injury.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKZl0OyKvP7W8Dh7-kyhAzNpFe8vCSqX-jrry4pmFDOQnQ6OftVcUzW99eo1FS7tBMOw_1cCBA24OWxJuORXVDp6A5LKYrcmRPHZm-Tdgkka1DuqRoAov00BJIEbON03e_7zsNh9mTr4/s1600/IMG_5049.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKZl0OyKvP7W8Dh7-kyhAzNpFe8vCSqX-jrry4pmFDOQnQ6OftVcUzW99eo1FS7tBMOw_1cCBA24OWxJuORXVDp6A5LKYrcmRPHZm-Tdgkka1DuqRoAov00BJIEbON03e_7zsNh9mTr4/s320/IMG_5049.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5504446170786540850" /></a><br /><br />It was about 4:30 p.m. when we decided to head back, which means we were hitting rush hour traffic on the way back in. It was much busier and much, much crazier driving on the way back in. The tipped over truck was still sitting in the ditch and it wasn't hard to see how or why that happened. Lanes of traffic aren't really used here, they are more gentle suggestions - that are immediately and blatantly ignored. <br /><br />Marv being the excellent driver he is got us back to the hotel safely in one piece. We no longer had our hotel room so we had to shower in the pool shower, which felt absolutely amazing after a day of sweating and baking in the sun.<br /><br />Before we left for dinner our tour guide Amy, who is Thai, was showing us videos of Thai lady boys on YouTube. All of the guys (the straight ones at least) agreed that "she" was the hottest chick they had ever seen. S/he was indeed a fine looking woman!<br /><br />We went to dinner at a restaurant called Good Morning, Vietnam! which, surprisingly, served Italian food. It was quite expensive but I've found that, for my sanity, I have to eat Western food every few days. There's only so many noodles and rice I can consume without craving a big 'ol plate of western home cookin'. This reminded me I need to see Good Morning, Vietnam again. It's been probably 15 years since I saw it.<br /><br />We were leaving for our night train at 10:30 p.m. and after dinner we only had a little over an hour to kill before we needed to go to the train station. I thought we'd have lots of time to kill today but we were quite busy/occupied the whole time.<br /><br />We boarded our second night train of the trip and were saddened to see this train was roughly 5000% crappier than the last one. Everybody was beat from the day of Ho'ing so we were happy to crash as soon as the train departed at 11:00 p.m.<br /><br />Sadly, there were no beer tower windows on this train.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-43854638092429297842010-07-26T13:35:00.003-07:002010-08-10T10:14:38.890-07:00Day 12: Nha Trang Day 1Instead of staying in a hotel, getting up early and busing it to our next stop, Nha Trang, we took a night train from Point A to Point B. It is more fitting to call it a party wagon on tracks.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuh1d323vHMJ9ardbas9gbMiKrmKx-6Nbs8arbGkQ3xLcPsJAEaSCSV47Gl9lK1rEgL35yY5bDSnVlQ5JXw_2941V3MlRiOo41nyf5FYlRa6frqk3soxVwCiQZwW6pyFRtQPgqyqGQduc/s1600/IMG_4985.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuh1d323vHMJ9ardbas9gbMiKrmKx-6Nbs8arbGkQ3xLcPsJAEaSCSV47Gl9lK1rEgL35yY5bDSnVlQ5JXw_2941V3MlRiOo41nyf5FYlRa6frqk3soxVwCiQZwW6pyFRtQPgqyqGQduc/s320/IMG_4985.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503825031936915906" /></a><br />I had never taken a sleeper train before, but Marv has in China. Much like his previous trip we got down to partying immediately upon settling into our spacious 5' x 6' room (designed for 4 people). We bought out the cold beer supply at the station, which was just enough to tide us over until the beer selling cart came rolling through the train, which we promptly bought out.<br /><br />There was a restaurant/bar carriage of the train where Marv went and made good friends with some drunken locals. Their communication consisted entirely of hand gestures and translating between English and Vietnamese on an iPhone. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxK3a6MHSsAROtpz2jjrO9dbdCIFI8SynZyoYYwXIvFDvymkKOBfAim0kf-wP8hbWm7hWk6nlRhi879GqUMyihDwSq39mxvCGNgM0z3UuZjNZ3a5dYUmKY68I_hJv06cKIrjgK0EES7s/s1600/IMG_5002.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFxK3a6MHSsAROtpz2jjrO9dbdCIFI8SynZyoYYwXIvFDvymkKOBfAim0kf-wP8hbWm7hWk6nlRhi879GqUMyihDwSq39mxvCGNgM0z3UuZjNZ3a5dYUmKY68I_hJv06cKIrjgK0EES7s/s320/IMG_5002.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503825251745593986" /></a>The guy was celebrating his recent casino win of $1,000 - almost his wife's entire yearly income. Marv bought the locals a round of beer in celebration of the guys good fortune. <br /><br />The train departed HCMC at 8:05 p.m. and should have arrived to Nha Trang at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. Trains "are always late in Asia" so we didn't roll in until 5:30.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjq8XSuOpgm0X3W1Vag0N80nv-jwpKN8EBdSKIqSbJGIyDHSMFcMosDjhKMuDYF_De8ZuVnmbOPEx-kKYbOY13Q5RzrZt6q00L7ca43i50dOkOC_PTFD_-NUHzbRnAs_4Wq2FY3eeoMoE/s1600/IMG_5006.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjq8XSuOpgm0X3W1Vag0N80nv-jwpKN8EBdSKIqSbJGIyDHSMFcMosDjhKMuDYF_De8ZuVnmbOPEx-kKYbOY13Q5RzrZt6q00L7ca43i50dOkOC_PTFD_-NUHzbRnAs_4Wq2FY3eeoMoE/s320/IMG_5006.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503828022491741458" /></a><br /><br />Yeah, not so fun when you got to bed at 2 a.m. and don't have a hotel room until 1 freaking p.m.<br /><br />It should be mentioned we were in the "super deluxe" train compartment. There were people on this train who had to sit in airplane-like seats the whole night. <br />Here is the aftermath, we were aiming to fill the entire window but we only got 3 levels deep:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkO5BnA6uktXA5e5DRWGs_ATaKFqQcSokR-3B58BHK5m9BqGgy1w0W-2tnFQvJtqkupiyQBjn8EbjIy8xIaWhzoE1U0oOICcRuyU9l_sjWmL6TOXuMQtMq6KjcDgc78mrDKDV6vv5CqvI/s1600/IMG_5005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkO5BnA6uktXA5e5DRWGs_ATaKFqQcSokR-3B58BHK5m9BqGgy1w0W-2tnFQvJtqkupiyQBjn8EbjIy8xIaWhzoE1U0oOICcRuyU9l_sjWmL6TOXuMQtMq6KjcDgc78mrDKDV6vv5CqvI/s320/IMG_5005.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503824775550980370" /></a><br /><br />We got to our hotel to drop our bags off at 6, and since Nha Trang is a popular beach side location there were no rooms available for early check in. So this leaves us 7 hours with nothing to do and nowhere to go - on 2.5 hours of sleep. So not fun!<br /><br />Our hotel has a pool and beach right next door so after dropping off our bags we high tailed it out of there in search of the best (meaning most sun-less) place to crash for the next 7 hours.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizX-BlUwRglVG-1TxZXXGK8fWJTXKsBVH5kH52rM4PI-QpwFBlH3V45CFIbLHa05kTOoSK7b-0eKkCLhyphenhyphen6KEdJQgU5b6IyCILx5w0RX1MFzQZOPZnNY2sGjYQrnQbRMg9IiFrXqBHyWgM/s1600/IMG_5017.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizX-BlUwRglVG-1TxZXXGK8fWJTXKsBVH5kH52rM4PI-QpwFBlH3V45CFIbLHa05kTOoSK7b-0eKkCLhyphenhyphen6KEdJQgU5b6IyCILx5w0RX1MFzQZOPZnNY2sGjYQrnQbRMg9IiFrXqBHyWgM/s320/IMG_5017.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503825689923650962" /></a><br />We were really, really fortunate to find a few beach chairs by the pool - completely shaded from the evil burning sky orb - which we immediately called dibs on. We snuggled in and promptly fell asleep. Mine didn't have a cushion but sleeping on rock hard wood with my purse as a pillow (and a towel for a blanket) was the best sleep I've gotten in a while. <br /><br />Lucky for us a room became available at 11 a.m. so we were only left homeless for 5 hours instead of 7. We got a few more hours of sleep, so our "night" of sleep was pieced together in 3 parts between the hours of 2 a.m. and 2 p.m.<br /><br />Once we rejoined the land of the living we headed out into the town in search of food. Google maps lead us astray, so we were in the least touristy party of town and it was a surprisingly difficult task. The place we eventually found had an array of frufru, non-alcoholic drinks. I had a banana/peanut shake - how crazy delish is that?! Total price of the meal per person: $3.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6S19P01K0Au5IN8RAku9AdyI6E84KLmBmXPZn8zfwBeVsDtILWn-viiM6fx6uZxSYRN_XseqTyRDBrxTuFCpidadGr-ThegshsGkmrpSvoOGJLzXAQk3amrE2GnQlO3mu96A091g-g0/s1600/IMG_5012.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA6S19P01K0Au5IN8RAku9AdyI6E84KLmBmXPZn8zfwBeVsDtILWn-viiM6fx6uZxSYRN_XseqTyRDBrxTuFCpidadGr-ThegshsGkmrpSvoOGJLzXAQk3amrE2GnQlO3mu96A091g-g0/s320/IMG_5012.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503830579351891138" /></a>Nha Trang has the world's longest cable car that runs from the mainland out to an island. We were psyched to see the beautiful panoramic view of the city and ocean, until we realized you have to pay the entrance fee for their amusement park also, you can't just pay $5 for the cable car like you used to. Ergo, they lost our business. I'm not paying $15+ for a half hour of enjoyment. Boo to you, Vinpearl Land.<br /><br />Instead a bunch of people went to the market, which is meant for locals, not tourists, but I stayed back to write this blog post for you. The thought of sweating my way through yet another market makes me want to stab my eyes out. However I am in search of a bag to carry our laptop, books, etc., so I need to start participating again in the market going. The ICA grocery bag I've been carrying for a week is starting to make me look ghetto with a capital G. <br /><br />This is the first place I've noticed people really staring at us. In Chau Doc people would recognize us, grab their kids hands and force them to wave to us and say hi. I think the kids were just an excuse for the adults (always men) to wave to us. But it was sweet and they were friendly so we always returned big smiles and waves to them. It's good to finally be noticed for my good looks.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnM_T8M_o-lJ2-XrUTTj81ufiimZ99CsfTnKudfmYbrPP_Rifh1PSkFokM-ot6x9Hy39dkqkdv7khlyftIsfwtQfONLG-EiTXzx0jNXVv5wz8Jci88fhloYLRodlCwIGlvoFSWI1aBYs/s1600/IMG_5021.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 180px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsnM_T8M_o-lJ2-XrUTTj81ufiimZ99CsfTnKudfmYbrPP_Rifh1PSkFokM-ot6x9Hy39dkqkdv7khlyftIsfwtQfONLG-EiTXzx0jNXVv5wz8Jci88fhloYLRodlCwIGlvoFSWI1aBYs/s320/IMG_5021.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503827333165992114" /></a><br />We went to dinner with the gang and Marv ate this whole fish. Afterwards we called it a night, as Marv didn't sleep much during our 3 installments of rest last "night" and I need to rest up for a big day tomorrow - motor biking to a waterfall! Also, another night train. Those rarely end well.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-59720705080559415542010-07-26T13:35:00.001-07:002010-08-09T19:16:19.133-07:00Day 11: Ho Chi Minh City Day 2First thing Monday morning as the world went to work we went out of HCMC to tour the Củ Chi tunnels, which is a fascinating web of tiny underground tunnels that the South Vietnamese lived/hid in during the "American war".<br /><br />The tour began with a short video, or blatant propaganda as I like to call it. The American soldiers were referred to, I kid you not, as "a bunch of evil devils" who indiscriminately shot at women and children. It was so over the top it would have been entertaining if it wasn't so hate filled.<br /><br />Check out how small this entry hole to one of the tunnels:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiK7dWtwJZ-b7-Vgq1VhIDz-ehM4a5CcxcaSNNCgUUjqejWr1hIXx6ByRMz_ez2nnvqQYds3a8CY5ztlSvfGjwd5bY8I1kFpLJu1imcy-ZL_16vF3I702bGWTVlSeBMeBgDx7vwnkQmo/s1600/IMG_4941.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfiK7dWtwJZ-b7-Vgq1VhIDz-ehM4a5CcxcaSNNCgUUjqejWr1hIXx6ByRMz_ez2nnvqQYds3a8CY5ztlSvfGjwd5bY8I1kFpLJu1imcy-ZL_16vF3I702bGWTVlSeBMeBgDx7vwnkQmo/s320/IMG_4941.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503340607999527058" /></a> <br /><br />There's no possible way we could've fit in that hole made for Vietnamese bodies so we didn't even try. Luckily for those crazy enough to crawl through the tunnels there were larger entrance holes available.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyARvgCAss_dq-6xpFcjYvN1h5McwsdaXiXIucst_ljvLhu8XkLVSGG4JGBmwcti1LqR3GO24AHiFVAVKLiCXvPSSu4j5aX6l1xQjk0Mn0q2gGRCb5d9MWix8muUHOBaCBuDgWs9Wygc/s1600/IMG_4952.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyARvgCAss_dq-6xpFcjYvN1h5McwsdaXiXIucst_ljvLhu8XkLVSGG4JGBmwcti1LqR3GO24AHiFVAVKLiCXvPSSu4j5aX6l1xQjk0Mn0q2gGRCb5d9MWix8muUHOBaCBuDgWs9Wygc/s320/IMG_4952.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503597736350314514" /></a><br /><br />After "the worst experience of my life", crawling to the center of a pyramid in Egypt, I have learned a very valuable lesson about putting myself into uncomfortable underground, dark, airless situations. That lesson being: Don't do it. So I stayed above ground while Marv ventured down into the tunnels. He said it was barely wide enough to fit his hips, and he saw a spider (in the guides flashlight beam) so he jumped ship at the first available exit. I remain 100% satisfied with my decision to stay the hell away from that claustrophbic terror.<br /><br />I was pretty excited to see one of these, casually left behind by the 'murikans:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXUy453C0-rL_cZsMqVgrXWiryDILcUtavdWz9YAGdXNljI6Lur-vr0HrbCyBTSxLvkakKTS9nCjwaZJQJO5iTymH-wvu8s4P-VaSx6QgA-RaUGnMmsAHW_zVvcjSFrmbwP73M7yipH4/s1600/IMG_4956.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnXUy453C0-rL_cZsMqVgrXWiryDILcUtavdWz9YAGdXNljI6Lur-vr0HrbCyBTSxLvkakKTS9nCjwaZJQJO5iTymH-wvu8s4P-VaSx6QgA-RaUGnMmsAHW_zVvcjSFrmbwP73M7yipH4/s320/IMG_4956.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503342846969218898" /></a><br /><br />Then I did something most people (thankfully) never, ever get to do. I shot an AK-47!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsRWKEEcPTo1tVBJwGbp9_jpgDGeHsRDr-Zz1bMqyVnIo27fdrXj7v9xIQ1zWOtYbzMzaO3GSonHvZXvEhvBiOO_HVHPImJN-Z1JOj996-XOLcih9mVDFAzEyTxLH8QCbEmZg-qRbrKo/s1600/IMG_4969.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLsRWKEEcPTo1tVBJwGbp9_jpgDGeHsRDr-Zz1bMqyVnIo27fdrXj7v9xIQ1zWOtYbzMzaO3GSonHvZXvEhvBiOO_HVHPImJN-Z1JOj996-XOLcih9mVDFAzEyTxLH8QCbEmZg-qRbrKo/s320/IMG_4969.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503343259441259938" /></a><br /><br />How awesome do I look with a gun?! It was really an awesome experience, even though I only got 4 bullets. They cost $1.50 each and it was totally worth it. Merv got in 7 shots:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj570S7ZTVo9rHTZBGOmwDHtIH69aejtgTaXY4dysgJu-qFiFBqj_uEJQOJRyU5SjDfcg3kIrmtRzAUn1g6zNt07XQaD8tkPthJvixfSD51T1EdDKJLFWSu0533vI_LxY3ZKNlTx-ekn48/s1600/IMG_4965.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj570S7ZTVo9rHTZBGOmwDHtIH69aejtgTaXY4dysgJu-qFiFBqj_uEJQOJRyU5SjDfcg3kIrmtRzAUn1g6zNt07XQaD8tkPthJvixfSD51T1EdDKJLFWSu0533vI_LxY3ZKNlTx-ekn48/s320/IMG_4965.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503343824415924114" /></a><br /><br />He shot this gun before when he was in the military but it was still fun for him. Again, totally worth it.<br /><br />Our Vietnamese tour guide was a translator for the American troops during the war. He worked side by side with the Americans for years, and really seems to love America. I asked him if he's ever visited before, which he has not, because it's so expensive. He said he'd love to get in touch with the American soldiers he knew during the war. He even remembered their names, unit numbers and APO address during the war, but "isn't good with the internet" and doesn't know how to get in touch with them.<br /><br />Information being so available in 21st century, and my dad being a superstar historical researcher, I realized I can't in good conscience <span style="font-style:italic;">not</span> help. So I got his business card (he uses email for work) and am going to put my dad on the case tracking down these Vietnam vets. I really, really hope we (ahem, my pa) can find some of these guys. It will buy me a lifetime of good karma, and I can't wait. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinlmScRnoJZoFuB1_IRgXCXUu8CxL-fCfdCgQIFxxRDaG4Ie5OqGZCP8vd7U2bRuK-mp5Ki33-omU_5DOqyt033mvRxyZ-4-IORkwm-XhRFccDhhZgv75ZKJN0-KowpYVmLX9a3dt8ioo/s1600/IMG_4925.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinlmScRnoJZoFuB1_IRgXCXUu8CxL-fCfdCgQIFxxRDaG4Ie5OqGZCP8vd7U2bRuK-mp5Ki33-omU_5DOqyt033mvRxyZ-4-IORkwm-XhRFccDhhZgv75ZKJN0-KowpYVmLX9a3dt8ioo/s320/IMG_4925.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503347848840063826" /></a><br /><br />After getting back into HCMC we went to the famous Pho 2000 restaurant, famous because their pho soup is awesome and famous because a former president you may have heard of, Bill Clinton, has dined here before.<br /><br />I can't for the life of me figure out why a country as hot as Vietnam loves hot soup so much, but the soup is indeed delicious. I just wish I could eat it on a cold Norwegian night, instead of a suffocatingly humid Vietnamese day.<br /><br />Instead of checking out of our hotel room at 8:30 a.m. before our tunnel tour we decided to spend $13 (divided by 5 people) for a day room until 6 p.m. so we had someplace to shower and relax until we left on our overnight train out of HCMC. <br /><br />Again, it was so worth the money, to be able to have an air conditioned place we could hang out and regroup after our hot and humid outdoor tour of the Củ Chi tunnels. We would need every minute of relaxation we could get before our first experience on the night train to come!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-23678271295319191442010-07-26T13:34:00.000-07:002010-08-09T02:16:32.039-07:00Day 10: Ho Chi Minh City Day 1Today was another big travel day (every other day is, we're covering a lot of ground <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sgoalamhHccJKKD4KUF61t0LQeby-s7jW4omMb4k_EetFcY757KimLknPnbyg6aFJUWinUi2HMoUvrijmZMhjHLD8D5MEKQSpWh0as85bGLIj_kzFvfA-shAag8sA6SvKzthyphenhyphen8a1-1g/s1600/IMG_4807.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-sgoalamhHccJKKD4KUF61t0LQeby-s7jW4omMb4k_EetFcY757KimLknPnbyg6aFJUWinUi2HMoUvrijmZMhjHLD8D5MEKQSpWh0as85bGLIj_kzFvfA-shAag8sA6SvKzthyphenhyphen8a1-1g/s320/IMG_4807.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503084418538446322" /></a>in a short period of time) so first thing in the morning we left Chau Doc for the capitol of South Vietnam, Saigon. Of course it should be noted that "South" Vietnam no longer exists and the city was renamed Ho Chi Minh City before I was even born.<br /><br />The bus ride was supposed to take 7 hours but thanks to it being a Sunday we were able to zip through in about 5. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-UAm0tp4p76F_MzHqQz2FA0RNHgSOYokyT4rbC8IKJw7AmI5EzNrSi3EcPPdejOduJH3pcHmUOPr4egGHLEh_DOHpuMn6Do2WKFxISujGGxmfhu26TaaPvaIAEXiLHeHu5eOvaYuqyYQ/s1600/IMG_4864.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-UAm0tp4p76F_MzHqQz2FA0RNHgSOYokyT4rbC8IKJw7AmI5EzNrSi3EcPPdejOduJH3pcHmUOPr4egGHLEh_DOHpuMn6Do2WKFxISujGGxmfhu26TaaPvaIAEXiLHeHu5eOvaYuqyYQ/s320/IMG_4864.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503084168232690882" /></a>We stopped for lunch but had to wait around a while since our bus broke and we had to wait for a mechanic to come, in the pouring rain no less, to come fix it. Thankfully we weren't delayed more than 45 minutes or so. Also thankfully, Marv didn't order the eel for lunch, as we saw where the poor little buggers were being kept, awaiting their destiny on a plate.<br /><br />I never would have pegged Marv for an animal rights activist, thanks to his insatiable appetite for all things once alive, but these poor birds - <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZPubXsc6kSRjigZzs2vzltdtVOVZUPo1RM9vW61sLPeZ_oPDNW7iH3nfSbNT7F_3lpAc7vE6Q7X7DjBHbMrrutlbt0h6OOtXhW5dK9hQUVn6Ecl9fJ_t_Ryqa8OvudAdiGt2RG-fVSc/s1600/IMG_4867.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZPubXsc6kSRjigZzs2vzltdtVOVZUPo1RM9vW61sLPeZ_oPDNW7iH3nfSbNT7F_3lpAc7vE6Q7X7DjBHbMrrutlbt0h6OOtXhW5dK9hQUVn6Ecl9fJ_t_Ryqa8OvudAdiGt2RG-fVSc/s320/IMG_4867.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503084948213239458" /></a>still alive, tied at the feet, and dangled upside down for sale as dinner - struck a cord with PETA's newest member.<br /><br />So the 'ol softie coughed up $1 USD to buy one (he was expecting the whole bunch for that price, when in reality a local probably would have gotten such a deal) and set the little fella fee. See how cute he is?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdLEVfe1q_P1IXoPqELJJHyBTMEaclsNSvBgy55PIaHTQuzi3weh6RjjMWI7qgUEuLyUPeDtv293lbmeyshbiOlvW_zFTbqJzzXsysX71ftRxFvY-Up_1l5Ymp_IqCIOLBcsZsvzwk0w/s1600/IMG_4870.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDdLEVfe1q_P1IXoPqELJJHyBTMEaclsNSvBgy55PIaHTQuzi3weh6RjjMWI7qgUEuLyUPeDtv293lbmeyshbiOlvW_zFTbqJzzXsysX71ftRxFvY-Up_1l5Ymp_IqCIOLBcsZsvzwk0w/s320/IMG_4870.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503085419843625650" /></a><br /><br />Unfortunately for Mr. Bird his wings appeared to be clipped and he couldn't escape the tree he was set free in. So, odds are by now he's become the tasty treat of a cat or dog, instead of a human. At least we can blame that on the food chain.<br /><br />I watched the season finale of Glee on the bus and cried my way through the whole damn episode. I don't know what it is about that show but man am I an emotional wreck when I watch it. Anybody else? I hope I'm not a freak. It's so, so awesome.<br /><br />Once we got to HCMC (I'm too lazy to type it out from here on out) we took a quick trip through the market closest to our hotel. I've got to be honest, after the 200th market you feel like you've seen them all, especially when luggage space doesn't allow for many purchases. They're hotter than the center of the sun and stink to high heaven thanks to the raw food section of the market. Not to mention this one was quite touristy and expensive, though it took a good among of will power for me to step away from the gorgeous grey Marc Jacbos handbag, which is about as authentic as Heidi Montag's triple D's.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZNhdh_adHRRMLbz4A4k-7TnJOBMC4B9S44x36iJZ3qhc9cVzPUtNQCvPAdNMSCzoWLOSkQovWlB9O6QS8h4sPpNO6sOpWaUTo2kmuvf_OBbl-2Z5qauWGUUcs9ZzDZsdDpkWE3hkW08/s1600/IMG_4914.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWZNhdh_adHRRMLbz4A4k-7TnJOBMC4B9S44x36iJZ3qhc9cVzPUtNQCvPAdNMSCzoWLOSkQovWlB9O6QS8h4sPpNO6sOpWaUTo2kmuvf_OBbl-2Z5qauWGUUcs9ZzDZsdDpkWE3hkW08/s320/IMG_4914.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503336002214929074" /></a>Then it was time to meet our new tour members, or The Newbs as I have come to call them. We've got 2 British couples, 2 British girls (who came together) and 2 German guys (who came together). I was scared I'd feel like the old lady who lived in her shoes being on this tour in a couple but we're one of many so I don't feel bad at all. Marv & I don't even bother sitting together at meals anymore...there's more interesting people to talk to - ha!<br /><br />Then it was off for some hello/goodbye drinks to see the old group members out and The Newbs in. We found a place with 2-for-1 beers but the catch is you have to walk up 5 flights of stairs to get the deal. So walk we did!<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGBuGiNp6wc9mToRwChdQ3psy4s5sm3gCu43mrh0yPBYk7BdbyO11rkHd5hENz3qUynjEvq7kvNBFon3An7NOc5Z_RPuaNOrM80b9fM42hinVFyQujD0z86TaAU5pJzCe53V4fOpi1Gk/s1600/IMG_4919.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGBuGiNp6wc9mToRwChdQ3psy4s5sm3gCu43mrh0yPBYk7BdbyO11rkHd5hENz3qUynjEvq7kvNBFon3An7NOc5Z_RPuaNOrM80b9fM42hinVFyQujD0z86TaAU5pJzCe53V4fOpi1Gk/s320/IMG_4919.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5503336201900223122" /></a><br />In one night Marv tried local red wine, whisky, rum (spelled rhum) and vodka and, amazingly, was able to get up the next morning and walk upright. The best of the 4 being the r(h)um and the worst the "disgusting" Dalat red wine.<br /><br />Blasphemy, there's no such thing as bad red wine!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-23712699725719733412010-07-26T13:32:00.004-07:002010-08-08T09:49:55.803-07:00Day 9: Chau DucOur time in Cambodia is over (yikes - 1/3 of the tour already), so it's time to head off to a place that my small town arse never thought I could possibly go: Vietnam.
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<br />Our entrance wasn't quite as dramatic as the arriving-in-'Nam shots you usually see in movies, but I still couldn't get this little ditty from Forrest Gump out of my head:
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<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_S24eumkMwhf-ihOVeQTtZYZvRqqYb6uvCZ5mBws8U0yAdIN8JPKhu5UUOczQzHaE4fWTFdC73mJ0tjsqYk6dK7BAgsrzizBhAIOqChjALrGUwVmWQYzTZ2wAT7QVQ2ljK_Ud3YBTaQ/s1600/IMG_4717.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS_S24eumkMwhf-ihOVeQTtZYZvRqqYb6uvCZ5mBws8U0yAdIN8JPKhu5UUOczQzHaE4fWTFdC73mJ0tjsqYk6dK7BAgsrzizBhAIOqChjALrGUwVmWQYzTZ2wAT7QVQ2ljK_Ud3YBTaQ/s320/IMG_4717.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502992773105352194"></a>That was a compilation of clips from the movie, not the actual clip that I remember, but I've never been able to disassociate that song with Vietnam since seeing that movie, for some reason.
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<br />We took 2 mini vans from Sihanoukville to the border with Vietnam, the last hour of which being the bumpiest road I have ever encountered in my life. This border is not one crossed by travelers usually, it's used almost exclusively by farmers and workers passing between the two countries. It was, need I bother to say, a bit rustic.
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<br />We switched to a different bus, thankfully a private one, to continue on about another hour to the city of Chau Duc, our stop for one night.
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<br />Miraculously I was not hassled at the border, like I thought I would be. Not that I think the<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0jHbNuPsx4L-Ijl0J-9aKc6kprixZTYUwAVoaWJJBWSDk4USJrDAEwsMBDqXF1Zj6eUURs5nBlDCNmNe8uAmMBtAIu5eWWzAr5E_Sa_Qmy7sxYWgaU627hQzf19lU6pkT68oLCp5vPQ/s320/IMG_4729.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502992261223974242"> Vietnamese are unfair towards one citizenship over another but the guy checking my departure card on the Cambodian side gave me a funny look. Thankfully my loose leaf (meaning not stickered into my passport like normal) visa was a.o.k. and I got in with no more or less problems than everybody else. Marv, being a citizen of Norway, doesn't even need <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ORfX0phfJicJGKI5ZNOmBKG9u6NUWgUMXZIb449aeJbt0NoC66x7tdeNCfp3Nxci0kzexZrpHUXr_Y_c3_o9jtEtllcDvvU9S485k6Age8FOS5fisFOxtiohif-RABbonfycE27ceyI/s1600/IMG_4739.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4ORfX0phfJicJGKI5ZNOmBKG9u6NUWgUMXZIb449aeJbt0NoC66x7tdeNCfp3Nxci0kzexZrpHUXr_Y_c3_o9jtEtllcDvvU9S485k6Age8FOS5fisFOxtiohif-RABbonfycE27ceyI/s320/IMG_4739.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502993148668810770"></a> a visa to come here (since his stay is less than 15 days). Vietnam only extends that honor to 3 countries: Norway, Sweden & Denmark. Lucky Scandinavians!
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<br />It rained quite heavily a lot of the drive so our tour guide wasn't sure if it was "safety for us" to go on a motorbike tour once we arrived in Chau Duc. Turns out the
<br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-haeuVCqpwlVyQJarIxcySXdg6QnUD1qdsRlJy9C9eyluCAD9ZmA4lvZsSqEVG3BqY0FqxUi0JSX_oI0g6zbW1cBHu4ranfvgZFbIPPB78HgvzMNcALUB7BwkQpfg0dFOOHgRmQKGN4/s1600/IMG_4778.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4-haeuVCqpwlVyQJarIxcySXdg6QnUD1qdsRlJy9C9eyluCAD9ZmA4lvZsSqEVG3BqY0FqxUi0JSX_oI0g6zbW1cBHu4ranfvgZFbIPPB78HgvzMNcALUB7BwkQpfg0dFOOHgRmQKGN4/s320/IMG_4778.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502993395551394946"></a>conditions were indeed safety for us, but we wouldn't be able to see all the usual sights so the price got knocked down to $5 (a mere 95,000 Vietnamese Dong) for a 2 hour motorbike tour.
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<br />As with the harrowing boat tour yesterday, Marv decided to participate and I did not. My reasoning being that 1) There will be more (and better) motorbike tours farther north that I will without a doubt participate in and 2)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiloFcSKnY-xSPBnN_lkmMCxHkUecqPfEk6Dlo4MRIXBdTJ7ZSJMYqgy5Thxf0R7sUCoiG_v4NH9u1UhwDpBhYYAqnIEBEDHew4M801hLYrN62GQUzx5R8gOtDRI553XLiJ-w-fXCdZyA/s1600/IMG_4760.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiloFcSKnY-xSPBnN_lkmMCxHkUecqPfEk6Dlo4MRIXBdTJ7ZSJMYqgy5Thxf0R7sUCoiG_v4NH9u1UhwDpBhYYAqnIEBEDHew4M801hLYrN62GQUzx5R8gOtDRI553XLiJ-w-fXCdZyA/s320/IMG_4760.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502999676989087122" /></a> I'm not entirely sure our travel insurance will cover repatriation of a dead body. I decided to hang out with a few girls on the tour, and enjoy the seriously fabulous hotel room we were given. I eat my previous words, this hotel is not progressively worse, it is exponentially better!
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<br />After Marv and the motorbikers arrived back in one peace we had dinner, and were pleasantly surprised to learn that Vietnam is way, way cheaper than Cambodia. At least the places we have been. In Vietnam they use their own currency, dong (hehe, I am 12) and a lot of dong goes not-a-long ways.
<br />Have you ever had 2,000,000 ( two million) of anything before? Besides maybe skin cells?
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<br />This is Ayesha with our 2 million dong, which is the max we could take out of the ATM. How much is 2 mil worth, you ask? <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YduJpHpimERkSFoWTsznkZlSzjpxPCTgcIVErEWVVOEsDAkRFpKSQq6XHPE_eHF8meGmf0MlZOwh-NL4wfKkFOVZCojaUFE4V_m-RDdSK0OKIPHXMvLaUpsyxZjAyM-ogRxvf2A0Myo/s1600/IMG_4745.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YduJpHpimERkSFoWTsznkZlSzjpxPCTgcIVErEWVVOEsDAkRFpKSQq6XHPE_eHF8meGmf0MlZOwh-NL4wfKkFOVZCojaUFE4V_m-RDdSK0OKIPHXMvLaUpsyxZjAyM-ogRxvf2A0Myo/s320/IMG_4745.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502994714570363362" style="text-align: center;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 179px; "></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">$104 USD (619 NOK). And that 2 million should last us a while!</div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After dinner we went out with most of our group for one of our last nights all together. 5 of our group members (4 Brits & the Aussie) were only along for the Cambodia ride, but we will have 8 ones joining us for Vietnam (2 Germans and, surprise surprise, 6 more Brits - not that I'm complaining). </div><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>These beers were only 3.8% alcohol but we wanted<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUA03oK1zWwBSn6110eevlSTbp9KWurpeuDSElY8f8qaqncbgC6S27QVERVP2MiQzm2mpjUdlGgE-MUZwkbw6_YMxFY_47R_X7PEhCTq7q1ivUnkk3YTmrH4sWiWj15viS9sLptL6daM/s1600/IMG_4786.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTUA03oK1zWwBSn6110eevlSTbp9KWurpeuDSElY8f8qaqncbgC6S27QVERVP2MiQzm2mpjUdlGgE-MUZwkbw6_YMxFY_47R_X7PEhCTq7q1ivUnkk3YTmrH4sWiWj15viS9sLptL6daM/s320/IMG_4786.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502998458976278994" /></a>
<br /><div style="text-align: left;"> to sample the local stuff, as we were at a legitimately local bar once we got lost and couldn't find the touristy floating bar on the river that we were searching for. The price for these half liter beers: $0.36 (2 NOK). All the beers you see on this table cost a total of $2.88. Even if they aren't full alcohol that is a price I'm willing to pay! </div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-YduJpHpimERkSFoWTsznkZlSzjpxPCTgcIVErEWVVOEsDAkRFpKSQq6XHPE_eHF8meGmf0MlZOwh-NL4wfKkFOVZCojaUFE4V_m-RDdSK0OKIPHXMvLaUpsyxZjAyM-ogRxvf2A0Myo/s1600/IMG_4745.jpg"></a><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#0000EE">
<br /></font>One last thing: Facebook is no more for me until the 19th when we get to Malaysia. Communism has never bitten me in the arse so hard before, lest the people have access to information get crazy ideas in their heads.
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<br />A life without Facebook. Can you imagine?!
<br />Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-49795562505854550152010-07-26T13:32:00.003-07:002010-08-07T03:36:04.891-07:00Day 8: Sihanoukville Day 2Since the most exciting part of my day consisted of reading "Are You There Vodka? It's me, Chelsea" I'm going to let Marv tell you about his action packed day on the islands. It's like Lost, just with less John Locke.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOqKZ2piuYyY9gKLUGSqV_0PSUk-QujlfDN5qTayAm7DRwo2EmwDfxMUI2uu3ZpUtJHKo4Rj9dfKmYLp8bU3dqRoqH7FioES_imFrb2nfXHgrZ2xKUIwBUJ7K9DaouzKY5iICcW1UQ58/s1600/IMG_4589.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOqKZ2piuYyY9gKLUGSqV_0PSUk-QujlfDN5qTayAm7DRwo2EmwDfxMUI2uu3ZpUtJHKo4Rj9dfKmYLp8bU3dqRoqH7FioES_imFrb2nfXHgrZ2xKUIwBUJ7K9DaouzKY5iICcW1UQ58/s320/IMG_4589.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502610071693020850" /></a>Sihanoukville seems like the sort of place Thailand was 50 years ago. It is very run down and dirty. Unlike Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, poverty is visible everywhere - and there are cows grazing freely. The beach isn't that nice either - filled with begging cripples and children. However, it had an amazing market with a superb selection of top-of-the-line bermuda shirts (see attached photo).<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0PYLA98kmxgPhoneJZbiRNibpFEiG9kDp7CCMfIRV-oHAKE0L4TDFnNoETZHVk4zsgf4rG_r-gPH93L-yanRTL3pfpPspVNuQj2Ch5FNVkGiHgolAipmgJbAusDe3VclOmEmvuPKo9A/s1600/IMG_4598.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd0PYLA98kmxgPhoneJZbiRNibpFEiG9kDp7CCMfIRV-oHAKE0L4TDFnNoETZHVk4zsgf4rG_r-gPH93L-yanRTL3pfpPspVNuQj2Ch5FNVkGiHgolAipmgJbAusDe3VclOmEmvuPKo9A/s320/IMG_4598.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502610285122560034" /></a><br />On this day Adam, David and I decided we wanted to get away from the filth of the city and out into the islands which are located about an hour away by boat. As last night was full of shots, beer and buckets of whisky (yes, buckets), we were feeling a bit rough as we got up for our 9AM boat departure. The trip to the islands started off with a rather paltry (but complimentary) breakfast (1 chewy baguette and two fried eggs). A few minutes to 9AM we got into the boat. We waded through the water for about 30 feet before climbing onto the deck. The boat is a typical Cambodian fishing boat converted for tourist purposes. There are two rattly old engines out back that drive a very long propshaft straight into the water. There <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RI7lYbHH8WDU4API7Qru06JJBrDsmEwTqVSZXwSlJvWtX3CCMM8Bj_YZa6osKm_BvOLrTr4gzYCDznPNCoCCld4_CFECA-419vVf45l196x88R79zpSw-srBURWEm6JpTWBqZWeno4o/s1600/IMG_4652.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RI7lYbHH8WDU4API7Qru06JJBrDsmEwTqVSZXwSlJvWtX3CCMM8Bj_YZa6osKm_BvOLrTr4gzYCDznPNCoCCld4_CFECA-419vVf45l196x88R79zpSw-srBURWEm6JpTWBqZWeno4o/s320/IMG_4652.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502610648384036066" /></a>is also a tarp covering the seating area - this proved useful later in the day...or not.<br /><br />The boat ride was pleasant enough and took approximately 50 minutes to the first stop by a coral reef. I wasn't particularly interested in snorkeling as I suspected the provided snorkels were riddled with Hepatitis and other diseases of the Orient. Plus, since I have visual acuity similar to that of a mole rat I wouldn't have seen much anyway. However, Adam and David wanted to snorkel (they had brought their own snorkels) so I remained in the boat reading SuperFreakonomics (recommended). After about 30 minutes of snorkeling we moved on to our next stop - the island of Koh Russei. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSy1DGeolLhZwg4-583ELhI8UKaMWW2fLFz9VgWIgyI2NyYVHH2XdTfsO2Ahzr0n4QQZxKH8bxORDQXJ-5b3SAzhhI0IpatG1ACF_JK9EG39-WBsnyILQ9OKObsItVSJuaWuYkuo3xmX0/s1600/IMG_4665.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSy1DGeolLhZwg4-583ELhI8UKaMWW2fLFz9VgWIgyI2NyYVHH2XdTfsO2Ahzr0n4QQZxKH8bxORDQXJ-5b3SAzhhI0IpatG1ACF_JK9EG39-WBsnyILQ9OKObsItVSJuaWuYkuo3xmX0/s320/IMG_4665.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502611106527524642" /></a><br /><br /><br />As we got off onto Koh Russei the clouds parted and the sun came out. The scenery looked exactly like it does in movies like Platoon and Apocalypse Now. It was strikingly beautiful. We went swimming in the green waters for some time before having grilled barracuda for lunch (my 4th Barracuda meal so far). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU5Tl0myYlg-8sEJ-yaWigqBvhjpb_ZDGXGotu7dCtwObIs6GtTQvu6T095v_rxl7aK8KcRZ0eEBCL3DXL_8ar_DHr6pg3W6tTS4LfWbDg0QBl410yW5WnE8tw3f10QP5vZuH-vqCrUQ/s1600/IMG_4676.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYU5Tl0myYlg-8sEJ-yaWigqBvhjpb_ZDGXGotu7dCtwObIs6GtTQvu6T095v_rxl7aK8KcRZ0eEBCL3DXL_8ar_DHr6pg3W6tTS4LfWbDg0QBl410yW5WnE8tw3f10QP5vZuH-vqCrUQ/s320/IMG_4676.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502611456386972754" /></a>It was delicious, if not entirely sanitary. Following our lunch we went for a walk through the jungle to the other side of the island where we happened upon the most stunningly beautiful beach. <br /><br />The beach was the sort of unspoiled beach I would imagine are plentiful in Thailand or Indonesia. There was almost no other people there and the trees provided wonderful <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMjKAy0QwpCKHslxMhHvty77HCOcSqJAtATAIuGLRbRrvXz8kpeTPNoEDkuo1BEVdTwKFakIiAAbhhgYXsbbXIdqwCYDZngmZCT87cTtybE_e1luwBdsuSQ9oPdadbTTFcMvSCajlC1c/s1600/IMG_4684.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKMjKAy0QwpCKHslxMhHvty77HCOcSqJAtATAIuGLRbRrvXz8kpeTPNoEDkuo1BEVdTwKFakIiAAbhhgYXsbbXIdqwCYDZngmZCT87cTtybE_e1luwBdsuSQ9oPdadbTTFcMvSCajlC1c/s320/IMG_4684.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502611885465123042" /></a>shade from the strong sun. The sand was soft and supple, and the sea was green. Speaking of the sea, it is about as warm as the air (30 Celsius / 85 Fahrenheit for you Yanks!). We spent about an hour swimming and relaxing before heading back through the jungle, where we saw termite mounds and huge centipedes. As the trip out from Sihanoukville took about 50 minutes, we were expecting the return trip to go equally quickly. This was not to be. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZsqAe1i_DT4RsKQ7HgBiEenRKfnCKvvPtJF_z_VeDLiSo6mdwwNHVUWarmS-ispdF9p7Ozz7CsdbW3uQA-XYMxziXs3fE99uTYhdTL1cJhnhsjs-mKTFSpu2oCsWIVeehrpLtj60P2o/s1600/IMG_4670.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUZsqAe1i_DT4RsKQ7HgBiEenRKfnCKvvPtJF_z_VeDLiSo6mdwwNHVUWarmS-ispdF9p7Ozz7CsdbW3uQA-XYMxziXs3fE99uTYhdTL1cJhnhsjs-mKTFSpu2oCsWIVeehrpLtj60P2o/s320/IMG_4670.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502612440547400562" /></a>As soon as we got back into the boat to return to shore it started raining. And then it rained some more. Then the wind picked up - in fact it was so windy that the tarp had to be removed, leaving us fully exposed to the elements. Now, I knew that it would be the rainy season, but this was unlike anything I have ever experienced. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4yzANy0Jyf0X7KCE9flqTDtZXeqCMZj5vTEWe1MePGu5IfjrfQBqNhz0OzTsbFgPCNYRFREu50cambQxwzFr93Z0a4IGvZpGPu_w3pnVJVOu9QVq2DWl1dyS1WpNBOSE6yxRblaNYRA/s1600/IMG_4693.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg4yzANy0Jyf0X7KCE9flqTDtZXeqCMZj5vTEWe1MePGu5IfjrfQBqNhz0OzTsbFgPCNYRFREu50cambQxwzFr93Z0a4IGvZpGPu_w3pnVJVOu9QVq2DWl1dyS1WpNBOSE6yxRblaNYRA/s320/IMG_4693.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502612837081445250" /></a>The sheer amount of water falling from the sky soaks you in less than 10 seconds. Being the experienced seafarer that I am, I would guess that the swell (wave height) surpassed 6 feet. The boat rocked back and forth and from side to side with such force that the sides of the boat were briefly submerged. Every time we crested a wave, about 10 gallons of salt water came crashing onto deck. Everything was completely wet - thankfully the camera was in a zip lock bag. I never thought I would say this, but I was freezing cold in Cambodia! Although it was awful I couldn't stop laughing. I never felt endangered (as I am quite the swimmer), but it was a bit unpleasant. However, our fellow British female companions "had never been so scared in their lives"...<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhDaM44rNHPpE-FoN2TZM7n3Rw0F47ArRTG3gEhnfrzdTQ_wkXJVcFNnu1XdsR2C2apvGvwzYHA7t1ZO7TcCpdvEoDtp56QDwhDAIJyERgzWMgN8Mgr0nKEOdRt1x_lM_-2lp_CAXXvg/s1600/IMG_4577.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfhDaM44rNHPpE-FoN2TZM7n3Rw0F47ArRTG3gEhnfrzdTQ_wkXJVcFNnu1XdsR2C2apvGvwzYHA7t1ZO7TcCpdvEoDtp56QDwhDAIJyERgzWMgN8Mgr0nKEOdRt1x_lM_-2lp_CAXXvg/s320/IMG_4577.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502613138591444802" /></a><br />The ride back to shore was twice as long as it should have been, partly because we had to tow a broken down Cambodian fishing vessel. We were all extremely cold as we got back to shore, but jumping in the warm sea helped a lot. Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the event as I feared the camera would be ruined by the wetness. Now it's on to the Mekong Delta and Saigon. Hopefully we will still have wireless internet access so we can continue to keep you updated.Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-12946479847217531332010-07-26T13:32:00.001-07:002010-08-07T03:53:55.900-07:00Day 7: Sihanoukville Day 1With our time in Phnom Penh over it was time to move on to Sihanoukville for some time by the sea. After a sparse continental breakfast (it appears our hotels are getting progressively worse) it was time to board another public bus and drive "about 3 hours" south. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgw9g4ck0GfsErqKOb3L9hHPMkk7kzavF5AncZS3ZcOfruJ2ZdfVXj98wvinCJ8JrA6rIL27MW-pPAdGeHYvxop1gFZyvorio990Jnb6WNXwO8h-c1Vm8WaoKPuhRpowvo8IyfEIq_tk/s1600/IMG_4496.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgw9g4ck0GfsErqKOb3L9hHPMkk7kzavF5AncZS3ZcOfruJ2ZdfVXj98wvinCJ8JrA6rIL27MW-pPAdGeHYvxop1gFZyvorio990Jnb6WNXwO8h-c1Vm8WaoKPuhRpowvo8IyfEIq_tk/s320/IMG_4496.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502618281535797954" /></a>In reality it was 5.5 hours drive but this bus driver didn't have the same love affair with the horn as the last one so I was able to catch some Z's. I think I was out before we left city limits.<br /><br />As we were waiting at the bus stop for our bus to arrive the most awesome thing happened: We saw a monkey! It was crawling on a power line and crawled onto the balconies of an apartment building. I bet if someone left their window open that monkey would crawl right in and help itself to anything edible it can find (while pooping all over the place). Marv didn't get a good shot of it but hopefully it will not be the last monkey we cross paths with.<br /><br />We arrived in Sihanoukville at 12:30 p.m. I will spare you the details and photo of the dead you-can-about-imagine that was on our bathroom floor when we entered. We headed to the beach for lunch and when we got back they (yes, plural), thankfully, had been disposed of by the housekeeping staff. Like I said, progressively worse! <br /><br />The public beaches are a magnet for hawkers, mostly children selling bracelets. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilpV3q-Shf4og_Spb0EYwg0udowiqWRw3aBxA1ENCrmCYWYVnur07h4VJByFMMDjYIuRnbI3ACVA5meRhV8KwmuAb3wJajxVWQ4YEfNM-X2DaiCW1egvB4aUb0Qen0vacdO6OJtZfTxw/s1600/IMG_4584.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilpV3q-Shf4og_Spb0EYwg0udowiqWRw3aBxA1ENCrmCYWYVnur07h4VJByFMMDjYIuRnbI3ACVA5meRhV8KwmuAb3wJajxVWQ4YEfNM-X2DaiCW1egvB4aUb0Qen0vacdO6OJtZfTxw/s320/IMG_4584.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502618617697196434" /></a>Very few straight out beg, but it's not unheard of. I am seriously amazed at their English skills, they can actually speak and understand, as opposed to reciting a few memorized syllables. This makes me think they go to school, as we learned school runs in morning, afternoon, and evening shifts. <br /><br />There are also millions of women carrying around a basket of supplies offering "manicures and pedicures". I shudder at the thought of how unsanitary their mani/pedi equipment is. Eeew, staph infection much?!<br /><br />The public beaches are almost unpleasant to lay on (some would say completely intolerable) because of all the distractions selling goods and services. But if you keep your nose buried in a book and just shake your head 'no' they can be brushed off pretty easily. Other members of our group plan to pay $5 to go to a private beach tomorrow so they can chillax without miniature Billy Mays's assaulting them every ten seconds.<br /><br />Being the good melanoma prevention advocate I am I sat under an umbrella, completely shaded and slathered in SPF 50, and read for a while after lunch while Marv went into town to the market. He bought a super douchey "bermuda shirt" which, at $5, I think was wildly overpriced. He and Adam now wear their hot pink "we are douche tourists" shirts with pride. <br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQsVxz7u0PvaVdYV0DmKt_2mYMFwkx04vJrpVWMp81CJk0tQwQf0lJirvBn5tXh9DTwXM0kgNTz0vIHqrW3BiCyvwJA64Gddl-HzUyHVjPsiuXjqpSxPgL5fX6VkcgbYfsA50PucughU/s1600/IMG_4591.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiQsVxz7u0PvaVdYV0DmKt_2mYMFwkx04vJrpVWMp81CJk0tQwQf0lJirvBn5tXh9DTwXM0kgNTz0vIHqrW3BiCyvwJA64Gddl-HzUyHVjPsiuXjqpSxPgL5fX6VkcgbYfsA50PucughU/s320/IMG_4591.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502616257766239602" /></a><br />Our "bungalow" has a fan and A/C so we hung out in the room cooling ourselves off for a good portion of the afternoon. Hot damn it is hot and humid here, especially in the afternoon. But it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be (knock on wood).<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpM0ssG63jlx2UUaIwhADcqgxt0Nl_bod2tt9lOqwVgaG1-rRXtjujuY5Hau_VeDNV0_mxMzncd9cFiBBmHB0bvwlGwBZK86esksHTjll9yCplU5TFmREHG00FW7uVBkFX5OzyXgDzzfg/s1600/IMG_4598.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpM0ssG63jlx2UUaIwhADcqgxt0Nl_bod2tt9lOqwVgaG1-rRXtjujuY5Hau_VeDNV0_mxMzncd9cFiBBmHB0bvwlGwBZK86esksHTjll9yCplU5TFmREHG00FW7uVBkFX5OzyXgDzzfg/s320/IMG_4598.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502616618385758802" /></a>We all met up and headed down to the beach for dinner. After a short happy hour of $0.50 draft beers we went to a restaurant recommended by our tour guide, which also happened to have $0.50 beers. <br /><br />Earlier that day Marv had barracuda for lunch, which I had of bite of, and it was honestly the best bite of fish I have ever had in my life. And I am a dedicated fish eater. So for my dinner I had BBQ (meaning grilled) barracuda and noodles. It was amazingly delicious! Who's ever eaten barracuda before?! If you ever get the chance, do it. It's divine.<br /><br />I had my first pang of "I am the only one of my kind here" during dinner, when I asked everyone if they had seen Legends of the Hidden Temple from Nickelodean back in the day. Nobody had even heard of it! How can a group of people my age, give or take, never have seen Legends of the Hidden Temple?! Suffice it to say nobody remembers the Blue Barracuda team from that show. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-y6KCE5oM07vqfX9gj1a_idcf30JNCnpvYzHO4hiQgIIp2g0bzTi31PjEyN39xpB523xB6W2LjuCVVhwq_hPEbJum6nnW3QieIMiysMZ2bMwbmmqZl672ykpUQ0LNKpgC4nJx9hxkwk/s1600/IMG_4601.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm-y6KCE5oM07vqfX9gj1a_idcf30JNCnpvYzHO4hiQgIIp2g0bzTi31PjEyN39xpB523xB6W2LjuCVVhwq_hPEbJum6nnW3QieIMiysMZ2bMwbmmqZl672ykpUQ0LNKpgC4nJx9hxkwk/s320/IMG_4601.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502617377943652082" /></a> That was my only association to the barracuda fish up until yesterday.<br /><br />After dinner we decided to hit the town (beach is more like it) hardcore since tomorrow we don't have to travel and we need to use our free days as hangover recovery days. On every bus ride we've taken someone has been hoarking, usually before we exit city limits. We spent the night drinking $0.50 - $1 beers and checking out the Cambodian "prozzies", what the Brits call prostitutes. It was a fun night and we had to take tuk tuk the few minute journey home since it was monsooning. When it rains here it pours, and the rain comes without warning. We made it home relatively dry, at what time I don't even remember.<br /><br />Tomorrow Marv and a few guys are taking a boat tour out to some nearby islands. The tour starts at 8, and shade from the sun is not guaranteed, so there's no way in hell I'll be joining that trip. I'll be sleeping in and reading my book in the shade (or possibly in the air conditioned awesomeness of the hotel room) because that's how my white arse does a beach!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7355782501523826448.post-45994944723553582182010-07-26T13:31:00.004-07:002010-08-07T02:12:53.439-07:00Day 6: Phnom Penh Day 2**updated with photos**<br /><br />Being the rock star traveler that I am I did not use our entire free morning to sleep in late (or "have a lay in" as the Brits say, which is a new phrase I learned). <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF2EtRqusScUSkqf6k5fwQUafu7qDyOxvn5a1SbtAuji69yHZHs6vdJmXO1PJ88TzP4cJQ6X2Ll5YTzil8ZRR7q5Legqq4c0ydHtpx6C4JyfGc7C3NAUVSNTDfHMMLsjoFS0zKTGE5Z1M/s1600/IMG_4498.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF2EtRqusScUSkqf6k5fwQUafu7qDyOxvn5a1SbtAuji69yHZHs6vdJmXO1PJ88TzP4cJQ6X2Ll5YTzil8ZRR7q5Legqq4c0ydHtpx6C4JyfGc7C3NAUVSNTDfHMMLsjoFS0zKTGE5Z1M/s320/IMG_4498.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502590690947103058" /></a> I used our free time to go out and about by tuk tuk and see the sights of Phnom Penh.<br /><br />We first stopped at the royal palace, but the entrance fee was $7 which is more than I'm willing to pay for a palace. We have palaces where I come from, and royalty doesn't tickle my fancy anyways.<br /><br />After briefly checking out the palace grounds we tuk tuk'd it to the Russian Market, which is a market that ain't very Russian. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9c22vAqX0KFI0IH5LYJBEukqHTI_q8iNakJieBQl3QgV3ApJMI5s5v-cWUzDLid1eu6YBumSEk7NqYutupAM4gWr6SaUcHV4fLQNg9QYKQw0IOq7hL5NDdI_-w3fxEnaP6hLbkvW2m4/s1600/IMG_4509.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje9c22vAqX0KFI0IH5LYJBEukqHTI_q8iNakJieBQl3QgV3ApJMI5s5v-cWUzDLid1eu6YBumSEk7NqYutupAM4gWr6SaUcHV4fLQNg9QYKQw0IOq7hL5NDdI_-w3fxEnaP6hLbkvW2m4/s320/IMG_4509.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502591136560916354" /></a> They had the usual wares for sale; scarves by the millions, tourist t-shirts, traditional figurines and the like. I bought a little pouch, for the overinflated price of $1.50 since I just don't have haggling in my blood. The shop keeper needs the extra 50 cents (I know I could have gotten it down to a dollar had I tried) more than I do. I've needed a cute, practical receptacle to store foreign currency in for years now and I think $1.50 is perfectly reasonable for that purpose.<br /><br />Near the market was a grocery store where we stopped to buy some sunscreen (for $9.50 - flat out extortion) and more water to keep us going. They don't seem to do shopping bags printed with the store logo here, so you get whatever bag fits your purchase size. And guess where our shopping bag came from? <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmPMRSA5ZFjHaob9V_sLnk0gxprorEITSVhHc3zcRnMvzW_n_B4u7ZsBIUs84eW0KFsJecGfFm0uiTSwCEe2y2VNS1ye_g0b-nR9vgi52Bs16ItNu-HKCmEtVlQDcpdeVtaOWCjYTG-4/s1600/IMG_4512.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 179px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXmPMRSA5ZFjHaob9V_sLnk0gxprorEITSVhHc3zcRnMvzW_n_B4u7ZsBIUs84eW0KFsJecGfFm0uiTSwCEe2y2VNS1ye_g0b-nR9vgi52Bs16ItNu-HKCmEtVlQDcpdeVtaOWCjYTG-4/s320/IMG_4512.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502591524006266674" /></a>System Bolaget in Sweden (the government run liquor store)! How crazy is that? I knew the size and color of the bag looked oddly familiar as they handed it over, and the Swedish gibberish printed on the side confirmed my suspicion. How crazy is that?! I want to know how that bag got from Sweden to Cambodia. <br /><br />US dollars are the only currency really used here. 4000 Cambodian riel is $1 USD so they are only used as change in the denominations of 25, 50 or 75 cents. When I was in the U.S. this summer I took out $300 (a third of which in $1 bills) but that money is all gone now and we had to take $100 out of the ATM to get us through our time in Cambodia. Even the ATM's dispense USD! I really wonder how it affects the US to have so much of their money not in domestic circulation.<br /><br />For lunch we ate at a restaurant called Friends, which is staffed by former street children. The kids (by now young adults) are taught the skills needed to work in good restaurants, which is a pretty sweet gig when your other option is begging on the streets. It was by far the best service we've received in Cambodia so far, and the bathrooms the best and cleanest. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGPUzjbM5Q5gJZtS3WGvk2mgDLGo2HmZv-6COgjZ7kr7s6ixYU5D0snj0ycJiJ_CUi_famleN9QzVLhklPXi9cyqW-oBRe7XAueK3wrlz6D1ut-AjjSJrhOOiPViGM9-doKXj4uWWH5w/s1600/IMG_4528.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHGPUzjbM5Q5gJZtS3WGvk2mgDLGo2HmZv-6COgjZ7kr7s6ixYU5D0snj0ycJiJ_CUi_famleN9QzVLhklPXi9cyqW-oBRe7XAueK3wrlz6D1ut-AjjSJrhOOiPViGM9-doKXj4uWWH5w/s320/IMG_4528.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502591836080482514" /></a> Plus it's a charitable cause (with proceeds going to help more street children) so I can be smug about doing something good for the world. Everybody wins! Good food, too, if a little pricey for what you get.<br /><br />In the afternoon we did a group tour of the S-21 prison and the killing fields. The prison is where thousands and thousands of Cambodians came to be interrogated and tortured before <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyL-kLpD0DU6dq2NmBJzBBh6TSLITAxVh2jP59TnXmQruhVhgeSKy_0nQ_UcguZGihacqZKXndL14lbt7H0LJP6joJicOQlts5wDXSExiv2yNBPzsl7pLdAnD-k1iAnplpiR2dnhljT1Q/s1600/IMG_4540.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyL-kLpD0DU6dq2NmBJzBBh6TSLITAxVh2jP59TnXmQruhVhgeSKy_0nQ_UcguZGihacqZKXndL14lbt7H0LJP6joJicOQlts5wDXSExiv2yNBPzsl7pLdAnD-k1iAnplpiR2dnhljT1Q/s320/IMG_4540.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502592158183535714" /></a> being shipped off to the killing fields to die. It used to be a high school but Pol Pot's maniacal ass converted it to a prison - in the late 1970's. I just cannot wrap my head around how recent this happened.<br /><br />Then we went 15 km out of town to the killing fields, which we've all heard of because of that movie (which I need to see). I've got to say it looked really, really different than I was expecting. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsOy38MF9OOPk_ui6_WdtN_2yqGFK4kq0JOYprzaijtvymdcRjMZMdIfmqCtTuKEn9A0VoyZ-2Jombzy4FSYHzf9mz4tCAMPvQ3BTYkOoBQdu2MbUEszf2BbPOb3BQGQdE4HhrVOcdyI/s1600/IMG_4541.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtsOy38MF9OOPk_ui6_WdtN_2yqGFK4kq0JOYprzaijtvymdcRjMZMdIfmqCtTuKEn9A0VoyZ-2Jombzy4FSYHzf9mz4tCAMPvQ3BTYkOoBQdu2MbUEszf2BbPOb3BQGQdE4HhrVOcdyI/s320/IMG_4541.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502592427739272770" /></a>I was expecting a big, open field but it looks more like a park, though they have done a lot with the place since the killings happened. Many bodies have not yet been exhumed, and probably won't ever be, since the mass graves are now buried under swampy water. <br /><br />The stuff that happened there, and at the prison, makes my stomach churn. I just can't wrap my head around indiscriminate killing of men, women and children. Half of the Cambodian population today is under 18, in large part because half (it could be more or less, I'm not sure) of the population was wiped out during the mid- to late- 70's. It was not that long ago! Absolutely astounding, not to mention horrific.<br /><br />Our tour group went to dinner at Friends restaurant <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHCAJm6uEEht-jFxJ4-tUaTNBRjKTzG__5RjFV6_Yv4FI7AyN9RrLan3wSPTMpFtcwNLTMCCd7zQ1S3JWLMYWZYmiKnOlIkUl65Qmyl_PIUhtwZxbwUMGFOHWedeuSKbEjkgIJL9nAYY4/s1600/IMG_4553.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHCAJm6uEEht-jFxJ4-tUaTNBRjKTzG__5RjFV6_Yv4FI7AyN9RrLan3wSPTMpFtcwNLTMCCd7zQ1S3JWLMYWZYmiKnOlIkUl65Qmyl_PIUhtwZxbwUMGFOHWedeuSKbEjkgIJL9nAYY4/s320/IMG_4553.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502593080159771538" /></a> (Marv, being the online trip planner that he is found it all by himself) and we weren't about to eat at the same restaurant twice in one day so we, along with newly engaged Adam and Laura, struck it out on our own, to a bona fide restaurant for locals. We were the only Westerners (white people) there!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGG4vDzKvU1GItILRYEXI1740qrPR4qfU109LH96Jc5t58xMl-4CLG-YPzyOZJ-fxcyTRvzKUrBJY9S-oZsngyFakViKHsylGRbcyYwq1zup38k6b50P0oIh18dmuKwiX8B3evkRisB8/s1600/IMG_4550.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 179px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnGG4vDzKvU1GItILRYEXI1740qrPR4qfU109LH96Jc5t58xMl-4CLG-YPzyOZJ-fxcyTRvzKUrBJY9S-oZsngyFakViKHsylGRbcyYwq1zup38k6b50P0oIh18dmuKwiX8B3evkRisB8/s320/IMG_4550.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5502592711453793010" /></a>We had steak. A big 'ol plate of beef each, fresh from the whole cow carcass that was roasting outside on the sidewalk. We supplemented it with plain white rice but we ate as the locals did, with a big, steaming pile of beef. Just beef. And pitchers of beer for $1.75 each.<br /><br />In case you were wondering, I loved Phnom Penh. It is what Bangkok used to be 20 years ago, a just-being-discovered tourist gem that will soon get ruined by tourists and their dollars. Go while the gettin' is good (and cheap)!Benjihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10087365229805877205noreply@blogger.com0