Welcome to the Jungle

Despite the fact that I'm home already, I couldn't leave my blog at a standstill and just forget about bringing it all to a close. So I'll give you a peak into our last couple weeks.

After making a quick dash through five different countries the past two months, we felt a unique sense of excitement arriving back in Thailand. It brought the comforts of a homecoming mixed with new curiosities since this time we'd be tackling the southern part of the country. However our stint didn't last long at our first stop, Phuket. A place eaten alive by fat western men in trashy tank tops waiting for their Thai girlfriend (who's probably a lady boy) in some skanky bar ornamented with tacky florescent lights. As you can tell I was really fond of the place. It took all of about two hours for us to begin choosing our next destination.

When we planned our route back in September and decided to tackle Bali and Thailand's southern islands back to back, I never imagined I would get tired of the beach. But I needed a little break from the sun, sand, and saltwater. Luckily our good 'ol traveling companion Georgie knows me so well and suggested I head to Khao Sok, a national park she visited in April. Still able to appreciate the salty air and sunsets, Jbo picked her next destination farther south in the islands. We parted ways, regretfully (tear), but optimistic at the chance to swap our stories within a few days. We informed the parentals of our short term solo travels, and although we could hear their nerves rattle even through emails, they remained supportive and resisted the temptation to remind their 25 year old "don't talk to strangers".

After a four hour bus ride the driver pulled to the side of the highway, looked back at me and shouted "Khao Sok!" Anxious to see who would be enjoying this hidden little jungle treasure with me, I looked around to see who else was grabbing their bags and getting off the bus. And that would be all of about hmmm. . .zero people. Images of the spiders, snakes and other poisonous creatures featured on the parks website began flashing through my head as I began reconsidering my destination choice.

As I reluctantly stepped off the bus, a swarm of guesthouse owners bombarded me with posters displaying pictures of their bungalows, offering a place to stay for the night. One sign stood out to me. Not the fanciest rooms or the one with the great view but the cheapest. "200 baht a night? I'll take it!" In the car ride to the bungalows I learned my hosts name was Gui (meaning chicken in Thai) and he's lived at his family owned bungalows in Khao Sok his whole life. I figured he'd be a perfect wealth of knowledge and 'inside' man to make my stay worth the trip. This ended up being more than true and quite possibly the reason my plans to stay two nights turned into seven.

For the next week I soaked up what the world's oldest evergreen rainforest has to offer, which is quite the opposite from the beach town I left only days before. I exchanged the sounds of crashing waves for the sound gibbons howling in the trees. Walks on the sandy beach for walks through thick jungle terrain. Swimming in the ocean for swimming through pitch black caves. And in exchange for J and Georgie sleeping by my side at night, I held the company of mice, geckos, snakes and bats that so comfortably inhabited my tree house bungalow. Luckily my guesthouse included two watchdogs, Mac and Dado, who sat outside my bungalow most nights and barked at just about any sound that threatened my abode.

After lying on the beach the previous week my body begged for the exchange of some actual movement. I swam in the river, kayaked through murky waters, trekked through various parts of the park

and even took on mountain biking. Much of the activity took place on an overnight trip where we slept in floating bungalows over the Cheowlarn lake.

Our two guides, Tu and Ja, did an excellent job leading us through the jungle. Having lived in Khao Sok their whole lives, they have learned a number of crafty skills! They used vines to make hats, bracelets and rings for us while we trekked, showed us how to get water from bamboo
and even made extra straps on my sandals when they decided that flip flops would not be suitable for the caving excursion.


Khao Sok quickly became my newest favorite place to visit. In addition to the unbeatable scenery and excitement, it was the people I met that made the place so enjoyable. I ate dinner with another single traveler from Britain, enjoyed great conversation at a coffee shop with a guy from the UK, made friends with a couple from Holland accompanying me on the overnight trip, listened to Johann, a guy from Belgium, describe his plans to conquer uncharted territories in the jungle. And as a result of staying so long I was able to make friends with a handful of locals. By the end of the week I was invited into their homes, enjoying dinner with their families or just sitting back for a night cap. They were some of the warmest, friendliest people I've met in the past eight months and made me feel well taken care of as a solo traveler.

The last night I spent in Khao Sok, a live band came through town and one of the bars hosted a party for them. The other bars along the main strip in town closed up in order to support the party. Sitting back listening to great music with my new friends was a great finale to such an unforgettable week.

Gado Gado

Alright time to sum up Indonesia for you. I mentioned a couple posts ago that my "to do" list there consisted of walking to the beach and sitting on it and that's pretty much what we did for a solid week. But before getting there we were able to mix in a little bit of activity.

From Cambodia we took a quick flight to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. No, we didn't get to meet "the prime minister of MALAYSIA!!!" like Derek Zoolander but we did get to see the tallest twin towers in the world. Other than that, KL was just a big city and way more expensive than what we've been used to (makes me worried about the shock of the dollar when I get home!) We spent a couple nights in Chinatown before flying down to Bali!Beaches, sunsets, surfers. That about sums up Kuta, Bali. Oh, and banana jaffles. Tasty little toasted sandwiches stuffed with bananas. We ate them every morning for breakfast. They taste even better when you have a sweet Conan O'Brien swoop in your hair like I do here.
Anyway, the beaches were amazing. The sunsets were gorgeous. And the surfers were hot. After spending a couple days gazing at the guys all googly-eyed, jaws dropped, we decided to participate in their little sport and give surfing a try for ourselves.


We woke up early in the morning and met up with a French guy from our guesthouse who had promised us a free lesson. Once we admitted that we had no idea what we were doing he suddenly disappeared down the beach. Well, fine then. We found a guy to rent us some boards for a few hours and when he offered us lessons for an extra cost the three of us began spelling out the random tips we've gathered from other surfers and assured each other we definitely didn't need to pay for lessons. You just paddle out, turn around, paddle really hard and stand up. Oh yeah, we totally got this.

Au contraire my good friend. This, we did not have.

Let's just say my first attempt resulted in me flipping over the board, saltwater shooting straight up my nose, my limbs flying everywhere. Eventually I ever so gracefully collided with the shore, washed up like a beached whale attached to a surf board. I stood up and looked out through the wet hair plastered across my face to see J and Georgie looking at me in shock. I gave the thumbs up to assure no permanent damage but we all decided to bring it in a little closer where the waves weren't quite as treacherous. After we did this we realized the only people out as far as we were are the local surfers. No wonder that Balinesian guy looked at us paddling out in the most amateur way possible and asked "Are you drunk?"

Despite the location change to the 'kiddy pool' of waves, I can't say we had much more success. In other words, after 3 hours I got completely blasted by about 85 waves, actually caught about 5 and barely stood up before falling over on 1. So my discovery of the day: a surfer I am not. Luckily we took it in stride and still had a hilarious time making fun of ourselves and imitating the surfer lingo as if we were pros.

After Kuta we stopped in the middle of the island for a little culture. Bali is the only part of Indonesia that is Hindu. The most obvious change we noticed was that the women were constantly giving their offerings throughout the day. We watched them present their folded banana leaves filled with crackers, flowers, and insense atop stone walls, doorways and sidewalks. Then they'd pick up a flower, dab it with some water and glide it over the offerings like a little dance. Pretty interesting to watch.

We moved on to the Gili Islands where we became official beach bums. We'd head out about 9 every morning, claim our chairs, dip in the most crystal clear ocean I've ever seen, then continue to sit for most of the day. Walking around the whole island (which you can do in about an hour and a half) was about most of the activity for the whole week other than swimming. We met some great people, snapped some good sunset shots, and ate tons of Indonesia's famous dish called 'gado gado'. And then we said 'gado gado' about 8 million times just cause it's fun.

The long-boat we took to our piece of paradise

Not a bad view for a whole weekThe beach was covered in pretty coralGotta love that sunset. . .And gotta love the old fishermen hanging out by the pier.

After Gili islands we were happy to get back to Kuta. Mostly because I felt like the beach life had gone on a little too long and I was beginning to feel guilty. But also because the island didn't always have electricity and they only had saltwater showers. Pretty sandy and salty after a week! We spent a couple more days in Kuta and then headed back to KL for a stopover on our way back to THAILAND!!! Our home away from home!

Unfortunately our goodbyes to Kuta also meant goodbye to our great friend Georgie. (We keep losing everybody!) We had to leave for our flight at 4:30am so the goodbye to 'Teacher G" was dark, literally and figuratively. I cried all the way down the street after hugging goodbye. Except I KNOW I will see her again soon. She has been such an amazing, hilarious, strong chica to travel with and a total inspiration! I can't wait to see her in South America or Denver or Seattle or wherever we meet up next! Love you GEORGIE! Backstage baby.

Angkor WHAT???

OK. Im going to try and make these next couple entries fairly short. As I'm nearing my departure date I'm realizing I might get home before I can get caught up with my current location.

I'll leave most of your 'window to Cambodia' up to the pictures, which is fitting because most of what we saw is pretty indescribable. Whether it was the massively impressive ruins of Angkor Wat or the remaining evidence of the 1970's genocide, most of Cambodia triggered our jaws to drop and gave us much to think about.

A City in Recovery

We started in Phnom Penh which is home to the Killing Fields and the Genocide Museum. In the mid-1970's a man named Pol Pot lead the communist party known as the Khmer Rouge to set out his goal of "restarting civilization" for Cambodia. In order to achieve this, the regime destroyed banks, government buildings, books and anything else resembling culture and tradition in Cambodia. Wanting to start from scratch and leave old Cambodia behind, the movement especially singled out intellectuals, torturing and killing them. It soon began an incredibly brutal genocide. The Cambodian citizens were forced into intense labor in the worst of conditions and expected to follow a series of the most unjust regulations set out by Pol Pot and his regime.

The first part of our tour through this unthinkable part of history was the grounds where over 200,000 executions took place. A tall glass building holding some of the actual skulls from the people killed serves as a monument dedicated to those who suffered. After lighting a stick of incense in their honor, we walked in silence through the Killing Fields full of massive graves that once held the bodies of innocent men, women and children who were brutally tortured and murdered.

Afterwards our driver took us to the museum which was once a high school before Pot's regime turned it into a prison full of torture chambers. We wandered through the eerily quiet hallways looking at some the objects used for torture, various photographs of those imprisoned and some of the rules imposed upon them.The whole experience was deeply saddening to say the least. We left with watery eyes, silently processing the incomprehensible acts that took place only a few decades ago. Later we talked about how scary it is that someone with such evil motives could have this much influence over others. Even more shocking is how we, along with most of the other travelers we've encountered, knew nothing about the genocide before coming to SE Asia. It seems like something of this magnitude should be put in our history books or at least discussed in social studies class. We left Phnom Penh with much to think about.

On a lighter note. . .

After a couple days in the country's capital city we moved north to Siem Reap. The city is famous for Angkor Wat, a massive temple complex spanning out to various parts of the city. Structured under a Hindu influence at first then eventually led by Buddhist influence, each section to the site provides its own variety of architecture, history and viewing pleasures. (Do I sound like a tour guide yet?) To make it easy, the place was freaking awesome.

We woke up at 4am to catch the sunrise, took a break for lunch midday and made it back for sunset. Each part was different from the next and we had such a good time acting like kids in a make believe game hiking up and down stone stairs leading up to the various temples. We heard stories about Kings being entertained by elephants fighting tigers in the viewing field and acrobats swinging from stone pillars 5 stories high. We walked all over the grounds, trudged up and down the temple steps and made the hike to the top of the hill for sunset. Although it was a long day, the fascination of each part left us wanting more.

The town of Siem Reap was surprislingly charming and ended up being a perfect spot to turn 25!!!! Not only was the location great, I had three fabulous friends who treated me like a princess on my big day. I felt incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such great people on a birthday far from home and can't thank them enough for that. However, the night was unfortunately bittersweet. Along with the birthday festivities we were also 'celebrating' Bridget's last night with us. Having signed on for another semester of teaching, she was forced to depart our SE Asia tour early. The night ended in many tears and Georgie, J and I immediately felt the loss when we woke up the next morning and she was gone. We miss you Bridget!!!!!!!!!!!

Playing Catch-up

Well, we've officially reached the most gorgeous spot in the world. Bali baby! I'm sitting on the beach, looking out at crystal clear water and the mountains of Lombok Island across the way, sipping coffee and thinking 'What did I do to deserve all of this!?" We arrived in Bali about a week ago. Spent the first few days in Kuta, a night in the rolling rice fields of Ubud and are currently residing in the Gili Islands, which isn't technically part of Bali but still Indonesia. I'm telling you, this is the life. I've officially been sucked into the beach-style living and after having "Go to beach. Sit all day." as the only things on my to-do list for the past few days, I decided that today I'd go for the big challenge and actually add "Update blog". I know, I know it's a big day but I'll see what I can do.

Since there's so much to catch up on and I feel like I'm already forced to leave parts out, I will leave Cambodia for a later date and finish up with the rest of Vietnam. I'm breaking it up into sections so feel free to take some time in between my long winded breakdown.

Last Stop in Hanoi

I left off my last blog in Halong Bay in Northern Vietnam. We made it back to Hanoi afterwards and decided to check out the Hoa Lo Prison, aka Hanoi Hilton, where John McCain was imprisoned during the Vietnam War. This, along with the Vietnam Military Museum began our history lesson of the Vietnam War during our visit to the country. Most of the lesson was continued in southern Vietnam but these museums made for a good start. We quickly realized we weren't in America anymore when we noticed all the pictures of people being honored for killing Americans and plaques listing off exactly how many "American enemies" they killed. In 'Hanoi Hilton' there were many pictures of the American prisoners. Oddly enough the only pictures included were ones of the soldiers having Christmas dinner, decorating a Christmas tree or smiling while they enjoyed a game of basketball or badminton. Underneath the pictures the plaques stated that even though the Americans committed so many crimes, the pilots never suffered any acts of revenge. Hmmmm. I guess John McCain can't lift his arms anymore due to a racquet sport injury out on the prison playing field. Later in the day I read an article online that quoted John McCain's response to the displays in the prison as "That's entertainment".

*Outside the prison*

*(Cells inside the prison)*

Add Another One to the List
After leaving Hanoi we decided to make the long trip down to Saigon aka Ho Chi Minh City. We knew we'd need to break up the trip so we picked Hoi An in central Vietnam as a middle point to spend a night. Figuring we could save a day, we decided to take an overnight sleeper bus. The pictures of the beds looked much more appealing than the 24-hour bus we took before; decent size and comfortable. What do you think we realize when the bus pulls up? Wait for it. . .yep, duped again. The beds were set up like bunk beds and of course the only ones left were on top. So we climbed the mini ladder up to the top bunk only to realize the bed was made for a small child with an awkward tube-like part to slide the bottom half of your body into. While I tried to get situated in it I looked over at Bridget next to me as she shook her head and asked, "Hey how's your bobsled feel?" Perfect comparison to what it felt like sitting "inside" our beds. For the next 24 hours we held on tight as the bus barreled through dirt roads going a million miles an hour. I almost fell off the bed about nine times. To add to it we were forced to listen to a blaringly loud Thai movie dubbed in Vietnamese. . .with only one voice for all of the characters. And to add to that there was a sign on the bathroom door stating "Bathroom locked on longer trips". Because that makes sense. We swore off sleeper buses as a form of travel.

*(Bridget and I wondering what we're doing in bobsleds)*

Once we got to Hoi An we realized there wasn't much to do besides walk around and buy specially tailored clothes (the town is famous for it). It's a very cute and colorful spot though consisting of brightly colored boats floating in a river which is lined with charming little restaurants and shops.

*(Cute little Hoi An)*

*(The river was pretty brown from the storms that hit a few days prior)*

Wanting to have enough time in the south we figured we'd spend only one night so we went to the owner of our guesthouse to book our transport out of Hoi An. What do we get talked into? That's right, a sleeper bus! After resisting for much of the conversation, our trusty friend assured us his company's bus would be better and much more comfortable. Sensing our doubt he told us if it showed up and we didn't like it then he'd give us our money back. When the bus arrived the next evening it was much better than the previous one. Finally! NOT duped! We were also lucky enough to get a stretch of four beds connected in the back so it was like one giant king size bed for the four of us!

*(Living the luxury of yet another sleeper bus)*

Pass the Salt

After realizing that we hadn't been near any ocean water since Ko Samet back in May, I realized how much I missed the salty air that we're used to being close to back in Seattle. We all agreed on stopping at the small beach town of Mui Ne. Someone must have been looking out for us from up above because we ended up with the coolest bungalow right on the beach for $6.25 each. We soaked up some sun, splashed around in the waves, ate lunch, had some beers, and then. . .thunderstorms set in. So maybe a few people down below were looking out for us as well. However the lightning bolts from sky to water, swaying palm trees, crashing waves and the booming thunder made for a pretty cool scene outside our window. Fortunately the hard-hitting storms we've run into haven't ever been long lasting so within a few hours we were back on the beach enjoying dinner. The next morning, right from the patio of our bungalow, we got to watch the locals bargain out their catch of the day.

We decided to stay an extra night in order to get a full day of the ocean breeze. Before our bus to Saigon the next day Bridget, J and I hit up the area's famous sand dunes. We hopped in an old jeep and within 20 minutes we arrived on our "Mission to Mars". The sandunes looked like a completely different planet and stretched out so far we felt like we entered a new world. Before we could even get out of the jeep, kids came running down the hill to bombard us with offers to rent their sled for riding down the dunes. I rented mine from a 13 year-old girl named Li who works on the sand dunes everyday, helping to design and make the sleds. She has the sliding down to an art and helped me get the best runs in. Two days a week there is a teacher from Saigon who comes to teach her English and other than that she learns it from the tourists. She spoke perfect English and did a fabulous job taking pictures for me. Afterwards she suckered me into giving her double the tip I originally planned. At 13 she is an accomplished sled designer and manufacturer, professional sand dune slider, A+ student, fantastic photographer and quite the little business woman. I'm thinking of hiring her as my life coach.

Miss Saigon
After our last few travel days, the three hour bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City from Mui Ne felt like a breeze. Knowing my mom would appreciate it, I plugged the Miss Saigon soundtrack into my ipod and listened to it as we pulled into the big city. Drastic change from our few days at the beach but I've realized how energizing a busy city feels. Everyone warned us that Saigon's traffic is even crazier than Hanoi, but we all found the streets to be much more organized considering they actually use stop lights and crosswalks as opposed to the mesh of cars that just move along in Hanoi. However, instead of only two lanes of traffic we now faced about five lanes so we had to make a few mad dashes when crossing the street.

The next morning Bridget and I went and explored the Cu Chi tunnels. Used by the Viet Cong during the war, the tunnels served as hideouts and transport routes for materials and weapons, extending over 75-miles. Our guide was a war veteran and explained to us some of the history, showed us some of the terrifying weapons and traps used, then showed us a film about the tunnels. Throughout the video the narrator talked about various well-known Viet Cong members and how they were honored as "American killer!" or "Great fighter against America, the enemy!" It felt really strange to hear that. Especially since Bridget and I were the only Americans on the tour. Now I know why Steve Johnston, my friend Molly's hilarious dad who fought in Vietnam, told me to watch out for the Viet Cong while I'm visiting. After the film we got to go through part of the tunnels. They were incredibly hot, so small we had to crouch down, and pitch black. Claustrophobia central!!!!
Later that day Bridget and I went to the War Remnants Museum. Much more impactful than I expected, especially since we walked out afterwards in the actual country where the war happened and faced people who were alive to experience it. I especially realized how much I didn't pay attention in high school since so much of it felt like new information. Whoops! So I'm glad I've had the opportunity to learn about an important part of our history. I thought a lot about Steve Johnston, my uncle Scott and others who were here. In many ways they are part of the reason I am able to visit Vietnam as a tourist and have this amazing experience.


Well We Tried. . .
After Saigon we decided to head to the Mekong Delta and try to work our way up to Cambodia. Our plan was to start in My Tho which is only about an hour away so we decided to be adventurous and take the local city bus. Aren't you proud Dad!? The trip introduced us to the grungiest of bus rides, a variety of local characters and the frustration of traveling where no other English speakers exist. Another opportunity to perfect our charades skills! It was an experience none the less.

We realized that in order to get a full experience of the Mekong Delta we would need to devote about a week to the trip. Unfortunately our timing didn't provide us with that many days, so My Tho was the only town we hit up in the Mekong. There was an opportunity to take a rather expensive day trip to Unicorn Island and the Coconut Candy Shop (no we were not playing Candy Land) but based on the brochure and cost we sensed another "duped again" story and decided not to chance it. As the day progressed we got the feeling that My Tho was one of the sketchier towns we've been in and decided we'd get the hell out of dodge first thing in the morning. However we found our own reason for putting My Tho on the map. After another amazing game of charades with a side street vendor, we enjoyed the best bowl of Vietnamese Pho we've had for only 30 cents. Dish delish!


Realizing the sketchiness thickened after the sun went down, we found the best jazz club to sit and have some fresh fruit smoothies, escaping the creepy vibe of the town. Unfortunately our little distraction tactic was shortened when we spotted a giant rat scurry past our table. By the second rat run-by, we grabbed our things and headed back to our hotel to crash after a quick shower. We were happy to see that our accommodations splurged for the extra-large bath towels.


Since our plan to use the Delta as our transport to Cambodia failed, we decided to avoid a series of more sketchy cities along that side of the border and headed back to Saigon (city bus again Dad!) to take a direct bus to Phnom Penh. This resulted in another couple days in Saigon to explore the city, hit up another museum and experience some of the nightlife. All good fun before we headed to Cambodia!

Pheeeew!! Like I said, a lot to catch up on and that's not even the half of it. Hope you enjoyed sharing my journeys through Vietnam with me. When I get the motivation again to add "Blog update" to my excruciatingly long list of things to do we will be able to share Cambodia! Until then, I must tend to my other important task of sitting on the beach.