Dreaming

It was only a few months back that I would get this recurring feeling every once in a while. It'd often be while I was on a bus, or in a taxi or tuk-tuk. My mind would be wandering, thinking of any number of things, and as my eyes blinked closed for a fraction of a second, and then opened back up, I would get the feeling that I had just woken up, and immediately wondered how much of what I previously experienced was really just a dream. Was it just the last few thoughts, or has my whole trip been a dream? I was always very quickly able to realize that it wasn't a dream, and I really have been traveling the last 6 months all over Asia. But with my dreams feeling so realistic every night, I didn't think it impossible for me to suddenly wake up one day to realize this had all been one of my vivid and complex dreams - one I would remember only in the instant I woke up, with its memories fading as the day went on, ending as the vague memory of "that dream I had where I traveled all over the world." Well, so far, while it is a dream, it's also a reality. And one that won't turn into a vague memory anytime soon...

Back in Bangkok

Four nights in Bangkok were fortunately enough to mentally prepare myself for my triumphant return to India. I've been waiting for this day for a long time, but it's going to be a readjustment nonetheless after being in SE Asia for 3 months.

With my friend Liat who I originally met in India, and reunited with here in Bangkok, we spent our days here seeing parts of the city we hadn't seen previously. We walked around the city and saw the Golden Mount and temples. We checked out the party seen at the RCA the night before Halloween, and spent Halloween night with some friends on Silom Soi 4, a nice change of pace from the largely foreign and un-costumed crowds on the Khao San Road. We saw a movie in the VIP section of the MBK, which was quite swanky, and walked to the pier last night to see the festivities for the Loy Krathong Festival.

And now I'm only a few hours away from my flight back to India. I'm a little nervous, as I'm landing in Kulkata, a city I've never been to. But it's exactly these kinds of experiences that make me appreciate traveling alone and taking on these new adventures, with nobody else to rely on (not even a guidebook).

Cambodia's Kids

With more than 6 months of this trip behind me, I'm still eternally grateful that I'm able to find something new and amazing every single day of my travels. But not until my time in Cambodia was I truly shaken to the core with emotions that I hadn't the slightest sense I would get to experience, which came in the truly rewarding feelings I felt while volunteering and doing some good in a place that truly needed it. In Siem Reap, with a few friends I met, we took a trip one day to an English school the guys had heard about. I will keep the description as short as I can, as we are in the process of building a proper website for this cause as soon as we arrive at home and have the time and resources to do so. And I am not writing this to try to gather donations from any readers. I will be doing that when I get home and the website is built so I can do it more effectively.

The founder of the School For Children of Cambodia (SCC) is Mr. Ross. Since the early 90's, he has been building schools from the ground up and educating (with the help of volunteers) local children whose families cannot afford to send them to public school. When the children reach the sufficient level of education to pass their exams, and enough donations are collected to build the appropriate school environment, Mr. Ross hands the school over to the government to be run as a free public school for the children. It is an amazing and self-less cause, and I was immediately awe-struck when I saw how much good this man was doing for his country, asking for nothing in return. Along with the half-dozen orphans he cares for, local school kids arrive at his house in the late afternoon everyday to receive supplemental English lessons. This is where I spent everyday since my first there, alternating between playing with the kids, teaching their English classes (which was made easier because the kids were all so eager to learn), and building desks and chairs for them. Unfortunately, there's no Ikea in Cambodia, so it was a matter of using raw materials and rudimentary, dull, and rusted tools. But the jobs got done, and with a very kind and generous donation from my family we were able to build more desks and purchase more supplies for the classrooms.

In a country that is constantly ranked as one of the most corrupt in the world, it is rare to find people and causes that can be said without a doubt are trying to change things for the better, without putting anything in their own pockets. Even the 'high-and-mighty' NGOs are not without dirty hands. But this cause is one of those diamonds in the rough, and I believe that with work like this, Cambodia will eventually change and reach its true potential. It may take up to two generations for this dream to be realized, but I am hopeful, and determined to be a part of that positive change.

Alright enough ranting about 'the cause' and get to what this blog is really about; my adventures and experiences around the world. My two weeks in Siem Reap were spent at, and bicycling between, the very quintessential backpacker guesthouse (The Garden Village), Mr. Ross' English School, and Pub Street. I met countless other travelers, some just passing through, and many who were also volunteering their time for various organizations in and around Siem Reap. I had low expectations for Cambodia, thinking that I wouldn't spend more than a few days there to see the major tourist attractions. At the end of two weeks, I was very sad to leave, but knew that with the limited time I had left I needed to move on. But my work is not finished, and I have been hatching plans on a daily basis to make as big of an impact as I can utilizing my most valuable skills (teaching English not being one of them).

I think the combination of traveling alone, and having low expectations for both Vietnam and Cambodia, ensured that I would see these countries in a different light than most of my friends previously had, and developed what I expect to be a life-long connection, as well as memories that will be reshaped and refined as I visit these countries again in the future.

Angkor What?

Waking up at 4:30 this morning, a few friends and I arrived at Angkor Wat, the largest temple in the world, at 5:30, a few minutes before sunrise. Unfortunately, the skies were partly overcast, and we didn't get to see the spectacular sunrise we were hoping to see. But being at this ancient, magnificent temple at dusk had a very special feel to it, and we were all happy we made it out early. The enormous Angkor Temple complex spans many square kilometers, and archaeologists and history buffs could spend days on end exploring all of the sites. But we were content with seeing the major temples, and were able despite our lack of a proper nights sleep to see them all by 2 PM.

The various temples have been converted from Buddhist to Hindu and back over the last 9 or so centuries, but one constant remaining is all of the phallic symbolism found throughout all of the temples. And yes, I'm 25 years old, but with the accent and choice of dirty words our tour guide (who went by the name Robin Hood) used, we still felt bashful and giggled. After exploring Angkor Wat, we continued to Bayon, which was probably my favorite of all of the temples. The 54 towers of the temples each contain 4 stone faces, with each direction's (N,S,E,W) smiling face symbolizing sympathy, compassion, kindness, and equality. We then briefly saw Baphuon, which unfortunately has been under construction for the last many decades, interrupted by the coming to power of the Khmer Rouge, and so much of it was off-limits. After seeing, and climbing up very steep steps (symbolizing the difficult ascent to heaven) to a few more temples, we finished our tour at Angkor Thom. Despite it's sheer beauty, with the roots of the enormous tree roots growing over and through the temple walls, I believe many tourists (mostly Asians for some reason) visit it simply because it is the filming location of 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.' But it is no surprise that they chose such a mystical temple to film the movie, and after being in Cambodia for only a few days, I wholeheartedly understand how she fell in love with the country, and her desire to adopt a child (or 10) from here. Mom, Dad, please don't be upset if I come home +1. Just kidding.

I've now seen most of the major attractions in Cambodia, but have no desire to leave just yet. I have no doubts I'll find something productive to fill my time, even if that just means reading through a few $3 photocopied books sold by children on the streets. What can I say? At that price, I can't afford not to read them!

Cambodia in Real-time

3 days ago, on our first full day in Phnom Penh, we hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us to the important sights around the city. First we started at Tuol Sleng, also known as S-21, which was a school that was turned into a prison during the Khmer Rouge regime, where thousands of prisoners were executed and killed. Not being familiar with exactly what had occurred during this time period, I tried to understand what really had happened, ignoring the bias of the museum and self-serving testimonies of former guards of the prison that claimed to just be following orders.

From there, we continued to the Choeung Ek Killing Fields, where the majority of S-21 prisoners were executed and buried in mass graves. After the fall of the Khmer Rouge regime, these graves were discovered. A Buddhist stupa now stands near the entrance, commemorating those killed at the sites, and housing over 5,000 skulls found in the graves.

With a genocide that occurred less than 30 years ago, and affected the civilians all over the country, I'm looking forward to understanding the perspectives and feelings of those who lived during this time, and their children who grew up in the shadow of it.

Now I'm in Seam Reap, getting over my cold before visiting Angkor Wat. I may join my friend Hannah volunteering at an orphanage before I have to head back to Bangkok to catch my flight to India. But of course, nothing is being planned. Just taking it day-by-day...

I Left My Heart in Vietnam

Hanoi

Contrary to what I had been told by the majority of my friends who had been before me, Vietnam is a beautiful country, very tourist-friendly, with warm and kind people that are happy to welcome all tourists (even Americans) into their country. I arrived in Hanoi, and spent over an hour wandering the streets in search of the Backpackers Hostel, as the hotels in Hanoi were too pricey for single rooms. Plus, I had heard there was a cool scene, with mostly younger people at the hostel, so I knew I'd meet like-minded travelers there. Although I had difficulty getting directions from the locals I asked, I understood that this was because they couldn't understand me. I thought the last people to help me would be proprietors of other hotels, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The two hotels I stepped into both handed me better maps, and explained to me how to reach the hostel. So far, I was digging Vietnam, and the unrelenting motorbike traffic and honking that would usually irritate me in any other country/city, I was able to appreciate it as just one more of the unique qualities of Hanoi. That night I went out with some people I met at the hostel to the Bia Hoi area, where glasses of draught beer cost roughly 12 cents. I planned to spend the next day in Hanoi, but I met three Israeli girls that night who were leaving on the Ha Long Bay tour the next morning, and when I woke up I decided it was a good opportunity for me to go with some people I know rather than risking it and ending up with a group I didn't jive with.

Ha Long Bay

The tour we chose was a 3-day, 2 night tour. Here's the recap:

After a 3 hour drive, we embarked on our boat from Ha Long City. Upon reaching the bay, I was struck with awe; this was by and far the most beautiful place I had ever seen in my entire life. We cruised around for a few hours, admiring the thousands of limestone karsts and isles surrounding us, before reaching the island that houses the enormous Phong Nha cave, which we explored for an hour or so. Then we kayaked for an hour, swam and jumped off the boat for another hour, and then had a nice sunset dinner on the boat. That night we slept on the boat, and in the morning we set off for Cat Ba Island, the largest of all the Islands in Ha Long Bay. We hiked up through Cat Ba National Park, in the jungle, to a viewpoint that was ultimately a little disappointing. But the hike was nice, so I didn't complain. We then had some beach time, which I almost passed up because I was very tired. I'm eternally grateful that I didn't, though, because the highlight of this tour was when a large group of 40 or so Hanoi residents arrived in tour buses to our beach, and a big beach soccer game was set up. When I asked to join, they all laughed in shock, chose to call me 'Beckham', and were happy to have me play with them. Fouls weren't called, rules weren't followed, and the score wasn't kept. But we all had a blast. That night we slept in a hotel on the island, and in the morning we made our way back to Hanoi, returning in the early afternoon.

Hanoi, pt. 2:

My plan was to stay in Hanoi only 1 more night, and then begin heading south. After bar hopping till late in the night, by chance I happened to meet a nice British fellow named David, who has been living in Vietnam for 4 years. I got his phone number, and decided that if I stuck around and we hung out, perhaps I'd get to see a side of Hanoi (and Vietnam) that most travelers don't. So I booked my bus for one day later, and David and I met up that evening for some drinks. As all the bars close in Hanoi at 12, there are only a handful that through bribes and such are allowed to stay open. So we headed to the Tet Bar, where within an hour we were surrounded by other travelers, of all nationalities and ages, sharing stories with no topics off limits. We left the bar when it was mostly cleared out, and only then realized that it was 5am. David obviously didn't make it to work the next morning, and for the next 3 nights we repeated this same pattern. Each night we went out to meet different Vietnamese and expat friends of David's, and then ended the night at the Tet Bar, where we became friends with the owner and the regulars there. But after 5 nights in Hanoi, I realized that my 30-day visa was counting down with each passing day, and there was still lots more I wanted to see and do in Central and South Vietnam, so after saying goodbye to my Hanoi friends, I took my first night bus in Vietnam to Hue.

Hue

I spent my first day in Hue with a motorbike guide, visiting the various historic/ancient monuments in and around the city. The next day, I took the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) tour, which is the area in Central Vietnam where most of the bloodiest battles in the American/Vietnam War took place. There was not much to see on the battlefields, but the highlight of the tour was seeing and walking through the elaborate Vinh Moc tunnels, where the locals took shelter during the heavily-bombed period of the war. While I did enjoy Hue, there was not much else to see there, and so the next morning I left for Hoi An.

Hoi An

Many travelers had previously told me that they loved the charm of Hoi An more than any other Vietnamese city. When I arrived, and walked through the old town, I understood what they meant. Unfortunately, on my second day, I began hearing people talking about a typhoon approaching, which was validated when trucks with loudspeakers drove around telling the locals, in Vietnamese, to prepare for the typhoon. I bought some food to have in my room, but since the typhoon wasn't scheduled to hit until the morning, I went out that night to the bar. The biggest natural disaster I ever lived through was a blizzard, and the thought of experiencing a typhoon personally was a little exciting. I didn't even know exactly what a typhoon consisted of, but in only a few hours I was going to find out...

The next morning, I woke up to the rioutous sounds of pieces of tin roofs crashing on the roof outside my window. The power had gone out, and there was too much noise to stay asleep, so I put on my bathing suit, put my camera in its waterproof case, and headed outside. I walked around for quite some time, taking pictures, and then decided to cross the river, where the flooding was knee-deep. There were not many other locals around, but the ones that were all laughed at the crazy sight of me in my bathing suit trudging through the flooded street. I ended up walking to the resort where some Canadian girls I met the night before were staying, and they as well were shocked to see me stroll up in my bathing suit. I spent a few hours hanging out with them, taking advantage of the restaurant they had at the resort, and in the late afternoon I walked back to my hotel. In the evening we hung out in our lobby, playing cards, until the water started to slowly pour into the hotel. We assisted the owner in moving almost all of the furniture up to the 2nd floor, and by the time we went to bed, there were a few inches of water accumulated in the lobby. When I woke up in the morning, I looked out my window to see blue, cloudless skies. I got excited, thinking the worst was over, and got dressed and headed downstairs, only to discover when coming down the stairs that the first floor was flooded under 4 feet of water. So, I went back upstairs, changed into my bathing suit, grabbed my camera, and headed outside.

As locals and tourists were floating around in boats, trying to get to dry land, I was walking through the chest-high water, capturing every moment on my camera. I walked on the bridge over the river, which was now only a few feet over the raging waters below, a fraction of what it was the day before. I helped some of the locals who had to move their carts from the flooded market to dry land, where a makeshift market was set up within less than an hour. While I was surprised at first by how quickly they did this, it sank in that it was not done for profit purposes as much as it was done out of necessity. People still needed to buy food, and people still needed to sell food while it was still fresh. I walked across town, on the dry part away from the river, towards my travel agency, only to realize that they were also flooded, so I wouldn't be able to catch a bus out of there that day, or probably the next day either. Eventually, I returned to my hotel, packed my bags, and got a boat to bring me to dry land where I found a hotel far enough away from the river so I didn't need to worry about it getting flooded as well. Two days later, with my custom-made suits and shirts ready and shipped home, I was able to get on a bus to Nha Trang.

Nha Trang

I arrived in Nha Trang off the sleeper bus at 6 am, and at 7 am I was boarding a boat to go scuba diving. Visibility was not as good as I hoped it would be, but the diving was ok. When I finished diving and headed to the beach, I ran into a few friends I met in Hanoi, and we rented a small catamaran and went sailing for an hour. I spent the next two days reading and laying out on the beach, and going out to the various bars which make for a great nightlife in Nha Trang. I was still hoping to meet my friend David in Saigon the following weekend, which didn't leave me enough time to fully see Da Lat and Mui Ne, but I didn't want to miss them either. It was at this point that I decided that Vietnam was going to be at the top of my list of countries I wanted to revisit, with a longer visa and a bigger budget. But for now, I had to make do with what I had...

Da Lat

After I arrived in Da Lat, I had to wait in my room for a few hours for the rain to settle down, and then I headed out to see the city. Other than the cool climate, the first thing I noticed was that nobody bothered me. No motorbike drivers, no tuk-tuks, no people in the market. It was a nice change of pace from pretty much every country and city I've been to so far on the trip. My first destination was the Hang Nga Crazy House, a guesthouse/attraction which in my guidebook is described as Gaudi-meets-Alice-in-Wonderland. I won't try to describe it, so check out the link to see what it's about. I then spent the rest of the evening walking around the center of the city, and in the morning grabbed a bus to Mui Ne.

Mui Ne

The smallest of all the cities I had visited in Vietnam, Mui Ne consists of one long road that runs along the beach, with various hotels, resorts, restaurants, and bars on either side of the road. I spent the day on a motorbike tour, starting with a stroll down the Suoi Tien, the Fairy Stream, which is a shallow stream of running water with red and white soil building up the hills alongside it. It was a nice, peaceful walk up and down the stream, and it was one of the few times in Vietnam I wish I had somebody else with me to share the experience. From there, we continued to see the Fishing Village, which consisted of thousands of fishing boats out in the bay, along with countless tiny round rowboats that helped transport the fish to land. After a quick stop at the Red Canyon, we continued to the White Sand Dunes. In my mind, I expected to see dunes that stretched out as far as the eye could see, but this was not the reality. And after thousands of tourists had trudged over the dunes that day, the natural wind-swept ridges were completely covered over by footprints, also making the sight less impressive. The Red Sand Dunes, on the other hand were a nicer sight, and seeing the sunset from there was the perfect finishing touch on the tour. That night I hung out with some people at the guesthouse while we played guitar and sang, then went out for a few drinks and to shoot some pool. The next morning, I was off for Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City.

Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City

My first night in Saigon, I met up with some Vietnamese friends that I met in Nha Trang, and they took me to the Apocalypse Now bar, packed to the brim with locals and a few tourists. I spent the next two nights at the Chabad House, celebrating Sukkot and Simchat Torah, both holidays I can't recall celebrating in the last 10+ years. But I met many great people there, the alcohol flowed freely, and I had a great time. I also continued reuniting with more people in Saigon, so everyday I had another excuse to stay longer. I spent one day touring the Cu Chi tunnels, where the Viet Cong guerillas built an extensive network of tunnels to fight against the Americans and South Vietnamese forces, as well as the simple yet highly effect booby traps they used. Even crawling through a piece of the tunnel for 30 seconds was too much to handle, and made it all that much more astounding that the Viet Cong would spend up to 5 hours crawling 5km to reach the enemy bases to surprise attack them. After the tour, back in Saigon I headed to the War Remnants Museum, which more than just showing a biased story of the war, did show the unbiased effects of Agent Orange on the victims of Vietnam, both in the last generation and in the current one. None of the museum's patrons spoke as they looked at photos and read stories of these victims, and I'm sure each one of them could recall seeing such a victim out on the streets at one point begging for money. I walked out of the museum, still in shock for some time, not able to grasp the atrocities that the US had committed in the war. And while I know that there's always some sort of bias in any news you hear or read, those Agent Orange victims are victims of deplorable war crimes, and nobody can deny that.

With only 3 days left on my visa, it was time to leave Hanoi and make my way towards Cambodia, and I signed up for a 2 day tour of the Mekong Delta, finishing in Phnom Penh. The tour included visiting floating markets and villages, coconut and rice crispy factories, and then a boat ride to cross the border into Cambodia. And so began the next chapter of my journey...

Laos for Beginners

Our first destination in Laos was Vang Vieng, home of the infamous tubing down the Nam Song river. We had heard many stories, both good and bad, about the tubing, and thought we were well-prepared to take on the adventure. So in order to not finish tubing after dark, we decided to start early. At 10am we arrived at Bar 1, only to realize that the fun of tubing is being with the crowds, that usually don't show up until noon or 1pm. So we spent the first 3 hours drinking at Bar 1, and ziplining and jumping off huge rope swings into the river. For some reason, I had decided that I was totally capable of doing a backflip off the swing, even though I've never successfully landed a backflip before. And I was wrong, but fortunately learned my lesson by only getting the wind knocked out of me.

When we did enter our tubes, we only stayed in them for about 30 seconds, as the Laosians at Bar 3 threw us ropes and pulled us into their bar, where we spent another hour or so drinking and ziplining. This continued for the next few hours, as we spent minimal time tubing, and most of our time in the various bars. One of the bars was known as the mudpit bar, and when Ashley started throwing mud at me, I took the opportunity to exact some revenge on her, for my broken nose. We both ended up covered in mud, but unlike Ashley, I didn't end up with any in my mouth. At the last bar, in addition to the ziplines and rope swings, there was also a huge slide, which according to urban legends, one or two girls died on it a few months ago. Thus, it is known as the Death Slide, and gets lots of customers. It's hard to imagine how these girls died, but I guess with the quantities of alcohol consumed on the river, it's not too surprising. This is also the last bar, and from there we had about 1.5 hours of actual tubing down the river to reach the end of the course. So I guess saying that we went tubing that day isn't a complete lie.

The next day, we chilled out at the blue lagoon. And the following day, I decided I wanted to spend the day at the tubing bars, though I decided I wasn't going to tube. After reaching the last bar, I was prepared to take a tuk-tuk back into town, but a guy I met that day decided he didn't feel like tubing, and gave me his tube, which I rode down the rest of the river with a group I also met that day. Most of this tubing was done after darkness fell, which wasn't the best idea, but since we were a fairly large group, it was ok.

After 2 days, I was all tubed out (kinda weak considering I met some people who had been "tubing" for 30, 80, and even 260 consecutive days), and we decided to head north to Luang Prabang. We spent one of our days at the Kuang Si waterfall, which to date on this trip is the biggest and most awe-inspiring of all the waterfalls I've seen. A few days later, we took a bus north to Nong Khiaw, but immediately boarded a boat to Mong Noi. From there, we did a day trek through the jungle, stopping to admire some caves. We continued north, across endless rice fields, until we reached the tiny village of Ba Na. This was the first taste of true rural life in Laos that we saw, and it was nice change of the pace from the touristy cities we were in before. The children were eager to have us take their pictures, and then see themselves on our cameras.

Unfortunately, that morning Benami started feeling sick, and by night he was in really bad shape. When we got back to Luang Prabang the next day, at the hospital they concluded that he had Dengue Fever, or something similar. A few days of rest and medicine and he was as good as new.

While there was more of Laos I wanted to see, due to time and budget constraints, visiting the South of the country didn't make much sense, and I decided I was going to head east directly into Northern Vietnam. And because of some horror stories I read and heard about, I decided that crossing the border by land by myself would be a nightmare of an ordeal, and chose to fly both to save me the headache, and to also not start Vietnam off on the wrong foot, getting scammed and extorted at the border.

And with Ashley's flight from Saigon scheduled for two weeks later, I knew that I was going to split off from her and Benami and Vietnam since they'd be rushing through the country. And also, I was looking forward to the opportunity to travel on my own. Up until then, I hadn't spent more than a handful of nights on my own in the entire 5 or so months of traveling, and decided it was about time to do so. Only time would tell if I'd enjoy it as much, though I had a feeling it would change my trip completely, and only for the better.