Happy Liberation Day?

This morning I arrived in Hanoi and am staying in the Old Quarter, a very nostalgic part of the city that makes you feel like you're in the middle of some late 1800's novel. It's not terribly different than Saigon, but the streets are a bit smaller, the buildings have fewer stories, and trees outline the streets. It's very charming.

People here are also incredibly nice. Not much more of a reaction when I tell them I am American than a smile and a nod, but really, what do I expect?

This morning I made my way to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex. I had to send my bag through a security check and then leave it at a desk before entering the building. The line was absolutely massive -- it stretched probably 200m out the door. But today is Liberation Day and everyone has the day off work. The wait was only about 10 minutes, though, because all you do is walk in and walk out. Well, there are guards at every corner that direct you through a cool and dimly lit hallway, up a cool and dimly lit staircase, and around a cool and dimly lit corner into the room where the remains of Ho Chi Minh himself rest (contrary to his death wishes, I might add). Children are escorted to the front where there is a ramp about 6in high so they can see. Everyone else is filed into two lines by the guards and again, there are guards at every corner of the room, pulling you by your arm if you fall behind. And yes I fell behind. Ho Chi Minh is just laying inside this case and is incredibly well-preserved; if I didn't know any better I'd have thought he was just sleeping. Anyways you enter through the back and walk along three sides of the glass case where he rests, don't stop for a second because there are probably 8 guards surrounding the case and the room, then just walk right on out. It was a bit strange, I think.

But now the even stranger part. Or akward, maybe. I paid 10000 dong (16000 dong is US$1) to go to the museum which I think talks about Ho Chi Minh's path from a poor Vietnamese living in France to the hero that he was to the country, along with some other stuff, but I can't really be sure because I didn't get to see any of it. After putting my bag through yet another security check and leaving it at the front door I walked up the stairs and started on my way through an exhibit. And not five minutes after walking through the museum doors this little old Vietnamese woman and her thirty-something year old daughter grab me by the hand and start smiling at me all cute-like. The daughter made some sort of gesture like they wanted a picture or something, so I chuckled a bit and agreed. And the woman continued to hold my hand and guide me through the museum, where I thought we were going to find one of their friends or family members with a camera. Oh no. It was just the two of them, and they didn't have a camera, and neither did I because I left my bag at the door, so the old woman just kept holding me by the hand, smiling at me, patting me on the back and stopping to put her arm around me every now and then, until we finally got outside the museum where there were some photographers. So we finally found one and took a photo of me and the old lady in front of the museum. But one wasn't enough. We had to have one in front of some other building. So we got one there, this time with me and the old lady hugging each other. And then she still wanted another, this time in front of the one-tiered pagoda. So the photographer told me to put my hands on the old ladys shoulders and she snapped one last photo. And the photographer wrote out a ticket for the old lady, and I waited for her to write me a ticket too so I could pick up my photo (because obviously I HAD to have one) when I was finished seeing everything I wanted to see.

But no, there was only one ticket. And the old lady took me by the hand again and we sat down at a bench with her daughter and some other old lady to wait for our photos to be ready. I don't speak vietnamese. And they don't speak a word of english. So we just kind of sat there, and they would be talking to each other about me and looking and smiling at me, and every once in a while the old lady would compare the size of our legs or arms or hands or skin tone or something. And the daughter pointed out some overweight caucasians to me. And then the old lady put her arms around my waist for a while. I think they asked me to sing, so I started singing Jingle Bells because that's one of the tunes the ice cream cyclo plays. Aaaand it was really akward, and really hilarious.

So after about 15 minutes of sitting, waiting, singing, and being really confused, we finally got our photos. The old lady kept two and I have the one of us in front of the pagoda. There's a nice little border on the photo with some vietnamese text that probably says "Happy Liberation Day 2008" or something. This is one that will definitely have to go in the album.

An American Girl in Vietnam

Thus far everyone in Vietnam has been incredibly friendly, even more so than in Thailand. Maybe it's because I'm traveling alone, maybe it's because I'm female, or maybe they are just very good-natured at heart. So far I've only traveled in the south: Saigon, Na Trang, Hoi An, and now Hue. Every time I told a local that I was an American they would get a big smile on their face and start talking about how their cousin or sister was living in Colorado or California or somewhere. I got a cylco ride back to my hotel in Na Trang and talked to the guy about the war a bit. He pointed out the signs to me for the Liberation Day celebrations coming up: 30 April, the day Saigon fell to the Viet Cong. He said people understand that the American people were against the war, and really the government was to blame, so Vietnamese people don't have hostility towards Americans. At least in the south.

Today in Hoi An I spoke with another Vietnamese man. He agreed that people in the south are very friendly towards Americans and have good relations with them, but in the north it may be a bit different. He said people will be nice, but suggested that I tell people I am from Sweden. I think he was only half joking.

In Hue I can already see it happening a bit, even though Hue is still considered to be part of the south -- the DMZ is about 100 km north of here. I told my moto driver that I was American and there was just a short pause...then a change of subject. And the girl at the front desk of the hotel just smiled and nodded when I said I was American. But they are all still very nice and friendly to me and I don't sense any hostility. Maybe it's all in my head.

Anyways, tomorrow evening I leave for Hanoi. I arrive Wednesday morning -- Liberation Day. I'm excited to see what kinds of festivites will be going on. I'm also curious as to what reaction Vietnamese will have if I tell them I am American. I'm guessing their reaction would be a lot different if we hadn't lost the war. I will just do as I have been doing, and leave a discussion of the war up to them. If they bring it up, I'll talk about it, if they don't, then I'll keep quiet.

One thing I was quite surprised about is the War Remnants museum in Saigon. I had read somewhere that the war was described as the "Civil war with American support," but I have not seen that anywhere thus far, it's all been the "American war." And this museum made the Americans look like absolute barbarians. I was almost ashamed to call myself an American while in there. But now I'm getting kicked off the internet so you can read about it on Wikipedia.

333 = Gross

Remember what I said about the beer? Yea, I take it back. Friday night I had a Saigon Red, poured into a mug from a bottle. Saturday night I had a 333, which has EXACTLY the same logo, except instead of saying "Saigon" it says "333." I drank it from a can with more pho. And it was grooooooss. Really, really, bad. Like Mountain Creek bad. Sick.

Gooood Morninggggg Vietnam!!

I LOVE Vietnam!! The people, the streets, the food, the sounds, the buildings ... OK so I've only been here for eight hours but so far it is fantastic! Maybe it's just the euphoria of embarking upon another journey through Southeast Asia but I love where I am right now.

I started the day with Luca and Ami. We went to an amusement park called Dam Sen where we saw statues made of porcelain dinnerware, a ton of crocodiles, a field full of hungry deer and goats, an ice sculpture building decorated with Christmas spirit, and a haunted castle, to name a few. It was, er, amusing, to say the least. It was actually quite fun and a good way to spend our evening since all the museums and temples were closed by the time we got settled.

But now Luca and Ami have met up with the others in Mui Ne and I have decided to stay in Ho Chi Minh City. Saigon, as the locals still call it. I got lost trying to find the so-called "backpacker ghetto" but after about a 30 minute sweaty walk through the humid streets filled to the max with mopeds, and sporting my 35lb backpack, I finally found it. And I really like where I am staying. I have my own bathroom on the 5th floor, mine is the only room on the top level, and there is a nice patio overlooking the street below. The desk staff are very friendly and helpful.

For dinner I ate at a place called Hao Mai, partly because it's right across the street from me and partly because some British kid was touting the place in somewhat of an exchange for some free beer. It was all in good fun. I got a bowl of pho, (pronounced "fhurh," or something to that extent,) what seems to be one of, if not THE, staple dishes of Vietnam. It's noodles with lettuce (or cabbage as the British kid said, "for simplicity"), soup, and some chicken, beef, pork, or meat of some kind. I had shrimp. And a Saigon Beer Red. It was pretty tasty! But I realized I think all beer is tasty around here, and I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that every time I get one I'm so dehydrated or that I have just grown to really like beer. A lot. Whatever it is, I'm going with it, cause it's delicious.

The Voyage Home

Four months of living in Singapore has finally come to an end. So much has happened in these past four months that I never would have imagined, and I've met so many great people! I'm truly thankful for this experience and don't think I could have chosen a better place to study. Well, ok I didn't really pay much attention to school, and theres a few things I don't like about Singapore, but the region I am in is absolutely amazing. I love Southeast Asia!! The culture here is so incredibly diverse and ecelectic and the scenery is nothing short of breathtaking. I have been to many places and seen many things in this short amount of time but still feel like I'm barely scratching the surface. I know I will be back to Southeast Asia someday to explore it like it should be!!

So now I am at the airport in Singapore waiting for a flight to Ho Chi Minh City. From there I will head north through Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi, Halong Bay, and then I am planning to enter China overland from Lao Cai. Schedules and such didn't work out with my friends, unfortunately, so I decided to make the journey solo, which I am at once excited and a teeny bit nervous for. Once I enter China I'll take a bus to Kunming, then travel northwest through Dali, Lijiang, the Tiger Leaping Gorge, and Zhongdian. That's the plan, at least -- this part of China (the Yunnan province) borders Tibet and Zhongdian is pretty much the last stop before getting there. So far I haven't heard of any travel issues but you never know what could happen.

Lo and Behold, Ami and Luca just showed up at the airport, so I will have some travel buddies to hang out with for the first few days. Awesome!!

Now We See the Safari

An excerpt from a recent NY Times article:

“There is nothing really outstanding in Luang Prabang,” said Laurent A. Rampon, the former chief architect and director of the cultural preservation office here.

“When you look at the architecture, it is interesting but normal, very normal; the temples are a little bit rough, not refined,” said Mr. Rampon, who is now an independent architect and consultant to the city.

“What is really interesting in Luang Prabang is all that together,” he said. “It is the ambience of the city, the daily life, the temples and the monks. In Luang Prabang, when the ambience is gone, it will not be Luang Prabang any more.”

Luang Prabang was one of the most peaceful destinations I have visited thus far. It's a quite and humble town located on the banks of the Mekong and is surrounded by gorgeous moutains. And it's true, there really isn't much there, which is why we spent less than 24 hours in town. But the feeling you get when you are there is really the reason to go.

However, there were tourists everywhere. Wat Phu Si, where I took the sunset photo shown below, was swarming with tourists fighting for the perfect spot to get their perfect shot. So was the market. We didn't go to the morning alms, but I can imagine how many people would be hanging around there. (Read more about the morning alms here.)

UNESCO World Heritage Centers (WHCs) are established to preserve our cultural and natural heritage, but are they really doing more harm than good? Luang Prabang and all kinds of other WHCs are begining to lose their value to swarming crowds of tourists. Read the full NY Times article about it here.

Also featured as Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree Thread of the Day.

My Home in Singapore

So this Google Map feature is pretty sweet, so I figure I'll give you a look at where exactly I am in Singapore (and the world). NTU is located on the western part of the island. It takes about an hour to get downtown via the bus and the MRT. The green, red, and purple rectangles are the MRT stops, and the downtown is the whole area around the City Hall / Raffles Place stops, right on the bay.


View Larger Map

Best of Cambodia Photos

I've finished meticulously selecting and editing my very favorite photos from my trip to Cambodia, which can be seen on my smugmug. Our trip started in Phnom Penh, where we just explored the city (on foot, for the most part), including Wat Phnom, which gives the city its name, the Royal Palace, as Phnom Penh is the capital of Cambodia, as well as the Tuol Sleng Torture Museum and the Killing Fields of the Pol Pot Regime (I didn't take any photos there, however).

We also went to Siem Reap, where the main attraction are the Temples of Angkor. The most notable is Angkor Wat, and we hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us on the "small circuit," which in the map below is Route 66. You can see Ankor Wat is the first stop in the lower left-hand corner of the map, and you can also see the moat surrounding it. After that we stopped at Phnom Bakeng, to the left of the road, and Angkor Thom is the giant square complex in the upper left corner. That's where Bayon, Terrace of the Leper King, Terrace of the Elephants, and a few others are located. Keep going a bit more and you'll come to Ta Prohm, where parts of Tomb Raider were filmed.

Move the map around a bit to the south, zoom out a bit, and you can see the Tonle Sap, where the floating village is. I tried to find it on there but had no luck. Phnom Penh is located a few hundred kilometers to the southeast of Siem Reap. Just follow Route 6 until it meets up with Route 5.


View Larger Map

Those Damn Yanks

I found an interesting post on Lonely Planet's Thorn Tree forums regarding worldly views of Americans. One poster described the "typical American" as "superficial, doesn't know anything about the outside world ("You're from Amsterdam? Yeah sure I know the place man, my old man used to be in Germany for years") and consequently doesn't respect local customs ("Unbelievable that no-one speaks English here in France/Spain/Italy etc")." I would add that the "typical American" in some ways feels that because he is American he is obligated to more liberty and "freebies" than the locals (You American! Free drink for you! No waiting in line!).

I couldn't possibly be posting this with a certain exchange student in mind, could I??

Take a look at the thread here.

Suck It, China!!

I have been SOOOOOO looking forward to visiting China. Not Shanghai, not even Beijing. I don't want to go to the cities. (Though I was planning on spending a day or two in Beijing, but only because my flight home leaves from there.) I just wanted to go to Yunnan.

Yunnan!! Lijiang, Dali, Tiger Leaping Gorge, Shangri-la ... it was for peace of mind, really. A week or two for me to get out in the mountains and do ... well, nothing. Not-do. Just relax. Enjoy the scenery. Clear my mind. Meditate.

I was planning to spend a day or two here, another day there, and leave elsewhere when I felt like it. No reservations, no plans, no day-to-day itinerary. That would completely defeat the purpose of relaxation and my not-doing. And though I had read that flight and hotel confirmations were needed for visas, from what I read it seemed it was only for extensions, multiple entries, and more complicated visa situations. So this morning I went to the consulate with my passport, my 30 day single entry tourist visa application, and my flight confirmation home from Beijing.

And they wouldn't give me a visa!! I told them I was going from Hanoi to Kunming via train, but didn't know when I would get to Hanoi so I didn't have anything booked. She said too bad. She also asked for my hotel reservations, and I told her I'm too cheap for hotels and the places I stay in don't take reservations, though I did give her the information of some places I found in my guidebook. She said too bad. She said do it in Hanoi.

So I said fine, I'll do it Hanoi. No big deal, I guess, though it'd be a bit scary leaving Singapore and not being certain I can get into China to catch my flight home. But then I started reading travel forums and read that Americans can't get visas outside of the United States or their country of residence. So now I basically can't get in unless I book everything in advance in Singapore, which is impossible for my budget and impractical for my travel plans. Plus that defeats the whole purpose of my visit to Yunnan.

So now China has gotten its panties all in a twist cause of Tibet and cause, well, it's China, and they've gone and f-ed up my plans. I suppose they are quite justified in many of these new regulations, and have every right to deny someone entry into their country. Though they are being a bit too anal about it -- i.e. not letting a single person with any trace of a criminal record in. And stopping expats on the street, demanding to see their passports. Now having flight confirmations is a pain but is reasonable -- to an extent -- but hotel reservations?? How is anybody supposed to travel like that? Backpacker-style, I mean.

Whatever, I'll figure something out, I just wanted to rant for a bit. Naptime! :)

Happy New Year!!

Sunday marked the beginning of Songkran, or the Thai New Year. In Bangkok and Chiang Mai especially, Buddha images are paraded around the streets while people throw water on them to "bathe" them. Not only that, but people get out their hoses and water guns and have some fun on the streets with each other as well. Not only for the traditional cleansing and renewing purposes, but also because it's the hottest time of the year in the area -- the end of the dry season. When I was at Khao Son Road in the beginning of the month the King lead a parade through the streets, including Soi Rattumbutri where I was eating breakfast, to promote the celebration. This would have been a good weekend to spend in Bangkok!

You Know You've Been in Finland Too Long When ...

Found this on facebook. There was no mention of any other nationality besides Americans. Nobody likes us. :(

3. When a stranger on the street smiles at you:
a. you assume he's drunk
b. he is insane
c. he's an American

25. You hear loud-talking passengers on the train. You immediately assume:
a. they are drunk
b. they are Swedish-speaking
c. they are American
d. all of the above

Madison Dining ...

Who's up for it? Everyone knows that Madison has great food, but until now, I've never really been adventurous enough to try much more than Paisan's and the OG. But I have slowly been realizing that Madison just may have some really, really good authentic Asian food. And the food over here is amazing! (Except for the Chinese food, which gets really old really fast.) So, upon returning back home I have two goals: to learn to cook some of this amazing food, and to dine in local restaurants serving up these delectable meals.

To Cook:
Amok, the national dish of Cambodia. Fish cooked with banana leaf, coconut, and lemongrass, and served with steamed rice, sometimes with curry.
Curry! Red, green, spicy, mild, you name it.
Any Indian food, for that matter.
Banana pancakes, but they're only real if you cook the bananas inside.
Phat Thai, street-vendor style.
Hot and Sour Soup, my favorite in Canteen 2.
Kaya jam, the delicious green stuff Singaporeans eat on their toast every single morning.

To Dine:
Sukhothai, on Regent Street (Thai)
Lao Laan-Xang, on Willy Street (Lao)
Maharaja, on Odana Road (Indian)
Taj, on Park Street (Indian)
Maharani, on Dayton (Indian)
Bandung, on Willy Street (Indonesian)
Sa-Bai Thong, on Odana Road (Thai)
Ban Thai, on Willy Street (Thai)
Gum Seng, on Johnson (Vietnamese)
T & M's Vietnamese Cuisine, on Grand Canyon Drive (Vietnamese)
Peking Palace, on Midvale Blvd (Chinese)
Wah Kee Chinese Noodle, on Willy Street (Chinese)
Mekong, on Willy Street (Asian)
Nam's Noodle, on Regent Street (Asian)
And I am NOT going to Yummy Buffet. There is too much bad karma around that place.

Wow, this makes me want to move to Willy Street even more. If you're up for anything, check www.madisondining.com for reviews.

And I just realized I'll be home for the Taste of Madison!! WHOOOOO!!

"A Tonic for the Soul"

In a Buddhist town surrounded by mountains and the Mekong where honking horns and staying out past 11:30pm is prohibited, one can't help but leave feeling at peace.

Cambodia and Laos Highlights

People-watching at parks in Phnom Penh
The scenic bus ride from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng
Tubing in the Nam Song!
Eating amok every night in Cambodia
Exploring Angkor like it was a jungle gym
Cheap and delicious beer
Finding my Bangkok Rastaman (who only comes out at night ...)
Banana Pancakes (major bonus when they are cooked inside)
Hammocks
Bowling in Vientaine
Mountains and karsts of northern Laos
Five pressure points on a cougar's jaw
Luang Prabang handicrafts
Happy pizza
Kayaking partway to Vientaine
Rope swing- and cliff-jumping

And a few lowlights ...
Garbage spilled out all over the streets of Phnom Penh
Begging children in Cambodia
The Vang Vieng Friends epidemic
Mosquitos
Visa fees

Khao Son Road Syndrome

Today, I am in Bangkok. Partially because I wanted to just chill out for a while, partially because I wanted to do some shopping, partially because I wanted to find my non-english-speaking rastafarian friend from last time, but mostly because I didn't want to take two flights to get me back to Singapore. So I took an overnight train (really quite fun) and will be flying out on Tuesday (since I waited too long to book a flight for Monday and now they're all sold out).

Anyways, I started thinking more about Khao Son Road and the whole backpacker scene that goes on here. Being by myself this time, I've had an entire day to pretty much people watch and think. I wondered to myself what these people were like back home, wherever that may be. Do they have jobs? Do they have families? Do they wear suits and ties to work, or do they dress like hippies all the time? I have no doubt in my mind that many of them do, in fact, dress like hippies every other day of their lives, well, because they are hippies. But for many of them I don't imagine that.

So why do all these people travel? I sincerely hope that they don't just spend their days bumming from Boeng Kak to Vang Vieng to Hat Rin to Khao Son and back. But if they do, is there really anything wrong with that? I suppose there isn't. The reason why I travel is to learn about different people and different places, but I'm realizing that it's not quite as easy as it sounds. If I can't speak to the people that live in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, etc, because of our language barrier, how am I supposed to learn much from them? It just can't be done. At least not very efficiently.

So you take what you can get with traveling. But I digress. I posted this as a rant and rave on Khao Son Road, thus I continue forward with my rant.

Khao Son Road is nothing but a circus. Just a big goddamn circus where everybody wears fisherman pants and has dreads and 5 bracelets on one wrist and drinks buckets of booze every night and where even the fellas walk around with those oversized purses. Or pouches. Whatever.

But here's the thing: I'm doing it too. Guess what I'm wearing right now? Yep, fisherman pants. And a BeerLao shirt. And I bought an oversized purse today at the market. See!!! I'm getting sucked into the trap!! It's like a quicksand circus that just pulls you in. To illustrate my point I'll post the text of a t-shirt I saw today whilst bumming around Khao Son Road. It's called "Khao Son Road Syndrome:"

1. I shall wear as big a backpack as possible to bare proud witness of my creed. Check. My backpack isn't so much a "backpack" as it is an oversized pouch, but is about fifty times bigger than the purse I bought today. It's really just one bottomless pit for me to stuff things in since there's not much for pockets and compartments.
   
2. I shall not leave Khao Son Road without a Lonely Planet guide. Check. I didn't buy one here, but I did bring my "Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Greater Mekong" book along.
   
3. I shall wear the traditional international backpacker's uniform and don at least one piece of local clothing (e.g. conical hat in Vietnam, a krama in Cambodia etc) to show my oneness with Asian people. Check and check. Thai fisherman pants, remember? And the purse? (Which is really more for the foreigners than the locals, but everybody has one.) I've also got a BeerLao shirt on and a krama up in my room, though those aren't from Thailand.
   
4. I shall eat banana pancakes and phat thai on a regular basis, for it is quintessential Asian food. Check. Banana pancakes + BeerLao, OR a pancake with a scoop of ice cream, is the best breakfast ever. And what did I eat for lunch today? Phat Thai from a street vendor. Oh yea, and mangoes with sticky rice for dinner.
   
5. I shall stay in the cheapest guest house. More money for beer. Check. This is true regardless of where I go. The room I'm staying in for the next two nights isn't much larger than the bed thats inside, has one window that opens to the hallway, and a couple of crickets. It costs 240 Baht, or about $8 a night. THAT is actually quite expensive. But not for Thailand.
   
6. I shall drink the local beer, for I shall always endeavor to be in tune with local culture and because it is cheapest. Check! So far Angkor has been my favorite. BeerLao is pretty good too, especially the dark. As for Thai beer, however, Chang doesn't quite live up to the standards, so I think for my breakfast tomorrow I'll go with Singha.
   
7. I shall make pilgrimage to a Full Moon party on Hat Rin at least once in my life. Check. Well, half-check. Does it count if I made the pilgrimage but the party was postponed? Even so, I'll come to a FMP sooner or later. Even if I'll be the crazy, creepy 40 year old woman, I'm going to a FMP eventually.
   
8. I shall bargain without mercy and hone my skill to a sharp edge, so that I can proudly proclaim our sacred motto "I got it for less than the locals." Check? Still working on this one, but I think the more I smile and bat my eyes the more luck I have.
   
9. I shall not leave Khao Son Road without having my hair colored, dreadlocked, corn-rolled, or shaved off. Half-check? I'm not dying my hair here, most definitely not corn-rolling or shaving it, and the dreads will have to wait until Peace Corps or for my year-long travel adventure, if ever. But I did get a henna tattoo, which for me, counts enough.

So there you have it. I suppose this means I have been diagnosed with Khao Son Road syndrome. Please, somebody get me out of here soon, because it can only get worse.

Oh right, but there's also the rave part of this that I forgot about. Khao Son Road is soooooo much fun!! You can just walk down the street and meet all sorts of crazy people, for example, the man that gave me a massage today. He did a really good job, and kept telling me I needed to release my chakras, then he told me he was going to clear my sinuses or something so I had to lean my head back and open my mouth. Then he blew in my nose. In my nose!!!! I was pretty freaked out so my reaction was to move his face away from my nose, and in the process I rubbed my recently-hennaed wrist onto my nose and got it all black. But that's beside the point.

Okay, time to Skype, so more on this later. Or just ask.

Laos

Today is my last in Laos; Quinn is on a connection flight to KL right now before heading back to Singapore, and I'm hanging out for a few more hours until my train leaves for Bangkok. It's an overnight bed and I'll arrive in Bangkok around 6:30am. From there I think I'll bum around Khao Son Road for a day, then head to the airport and finally back to Singapore on Monday.

The trip to Laos has been quick and fun, but we really just scratched the surface of what it's like here. Eighty percent of the population lives off the land and the rest are in the cities -- Luang Prabang, Vientiene, and Pakse. From what I saw on the bus ride, their homes and villages don't look much different than those we saw in Cambodia, but they aren't living in poverty like the Khmers. It's comparable to the way the Native Americans used to live. I was hoping to have time for a homestay and actually live in a hill-tribe village for a night or two, but funds and time are short so it will have to wait until my next trip to Southeast Asia. (And believe me, there will be another!)

Luang Prabang was a delightful and charming place, and is a fabulous spot for anyone who just wants to relax and unwind. A real "tonic for the soul" as its been described. It's this small old-world town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site), surrounded by mountains and lined by the Mekong River. An 1130pm curfew is enforced and all the restaurants, shops, and internet cafes close down before then. Honking horns and even talking too loudly are prohibited. The views there are gorgeous, and the shopping is amazing!! Artists from the area flock to the main drag to set up shop for the Night Market, a very charming (and peaceful!) market illuminated with Christmas Lights selling high-quality scarfs, blankets, slippers, fisherman pants, dolls, lanterns, and a myriad of other goods, made right in their villages and sold in the town.

Vang Vieng is a backpackers' mecca, and though it's filled with kids just barely out of high school mindlessly staring at a TV all day, it's quite a fun place! One of the times when I jumped into the river from a swing I sort of landed angled on my left side, and even now, a few days later, it still feels like somebody punched me in the side. At least it's not as bad as Quinn's battle wounds -- she fell into the river about two meters from the base of the ladder.

Instead of taking a bus all the way from Vang Vieng to Vientiene, which would have taken another eight hours or so through the mountains, we kayaked part way down the Nam Lik river. It was my first time kayaking and it was quite fun!! There was one set of rapids and Quinn and I did pretty well on them -- we were the only ones in our group to make it through, until the very end when we lost our balance and our kayak tipped.

So now I'm in Vientiene, and will be leaving for Bangkok in about four hours. I'm not going to do anything but bum around KhaoSan Road all day, and maybe do some more shopping. I'm getting pretty exhausted from traveling, but I think all I need is a day to not do anything and I'll be ready to get back on my feet. Quinn and I have had a busy busy week and a half, going from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap and Angkor to Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng to Vientiene, and every day has been hectic and full of activity. So it starts to get to you after a while and you get very exhausted. But it's fun, and exhilerating all at once.

Am I Really Here? Is This Really Real?

Did I really just spend the entire day tubing down a river in a village surrounded by limestone karsts? Did I really stop at multiple tube-up bars and have a giant BeerLao at each, play volleyball in the mud, and jump from 10 meters into the middle of the river?? Did I really just take a six hour bus ride through the mountains to get here? Am I really in Vang Vieng, or is this just a really vivid dream as a result of my malaria pills??? I love it here. There is absolutely nothing to do except tube down the river, all day, every day, enjoy being in the middle of absolutely nowhere, in Laos, surrounded by limestone karsts that display the beauty of the world. Well, actually there is a lot more to do -- rock climbing, kayaking, visiting villages, and the like -- but I could really spend an entire week here tubing every single day. And I met a number of people today who have done just that. Every day they try to leave they end up staying a little bit longer.

Okay, so if you've read anything about Vang Vieng, you'll be well aware of the TV-bar Friends epidemic, and let me tell you, it is no exaggeration. I had a banana pancake and BeerLao for breakfast and we sat and watched Friends for maybe an hour. And the place across the street? The exact same thing. And down the other road? Yep, there too. At least there was one place showing Family Guy.