After a fun night on the town I saw the sun rise in Bangkok, got an hour of sleep, packed my bag, got my last Thai Ice Tea and headed to the airport for 20 hours of travel. Then a stop in SF. Then a few more hours to Boston.
It was hard to leave, but I know I'll be back with the Peace Corps in a few weeks.
As I was flying I started thinking about all the travel I did this year: New Orleans, Alaska, Mexico, Israel, lots of times between Boston & SF, SE Asia: Hong Kong, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, not to mention driving across the US. And I was thinking about all the traveling that consisted of. Here are some numbers I came up with for 2004:
Number of Hours in a plane: 180
Days that adds up to: 7.5
Percent of my year on a plane: 2
Number of airports: 20
Number of Countries: 8
Number of Hours on a bus: uncountable....
Friday, December 24, 2004
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Sleeping on the beach
I knew it would be a night to remember sleeping on the beach in the coast of Cambodia. A few of the open bars offer free accomidation (matress and mosquito net on a deck) as long as you have a meal or two there during the day. I love the sound of the waves as I fall asleep and the people hanging out at Shivas Bar were all cool. Great, right? NO!
Late in the afternoon, well after I had checked out of my guesthouse I started feeling sick. Just sneezy and runny, I think due to late nights drinking with the Irish crew. So last night after hanging out for a while I decided to crash early. The music was still going, the lights were still on, but i put in my ear plugs, wrapped myself up in the big nylon hammock, and was so tired I actually fell asleep. Problem is the music went on for what seemed like many hours more. And after my exhaustion turned to simple tiredness I couldn't sleep with the music going. Couldn't get any worse, right? Wrong.
I went in and out of sleep till about 3am when I woke up with the strongest hunger pains I have ever felt. But by now everyone was asleep. I tossed and turned in my "romantic hammock by the ocean" feeling so cold and dirty. Untill my hunger pains actually turned to nausea and I threw up over the side of my "romantic hammock by the ocean."
It was indeed a night to remember.
Late in the afternoon, well after I had checked out of my guesthouse I started feeling sick. Just sneezy and runny, I think due to late nights drinking with the Irish crew. So last night after hanging out for a while I decided to crash early. The music was still going, the lights were still on, but i put in my ear plugs, wrapped myself up in the big nylon hammock, and was so tired I actually fell asleep. Problem is the music went on for what seemed like many hours more. And after my exhaustion turned to simple tiredness I couldn't sleep with the music going. Couldn't get any worse, right? Wrong.
I went in and out of sleep till about 3am when I woke up with the strongest hunger pains I have ever felt. But by now everyone was asleep. I tossed and turned in my "romantic hammock by the ocean" feeling so cold and dirty. Untill my hunger pains actually turned to nausea and I threw up over the side of my "romantic hammock by the ocean."
It was indeed a night to remember.
Friday, December 17, 2004
Time in a bottle
I wish I could capture all the feelings coming through my 5 senses, but words just won't do this experience justice. So many times these past few days on the beach in Cambodia I have looked around and said "Life is good." The sun, the wind, the green water off to the horizon. I spend all day in a lounge chair on the waters edge. The beach is lined with probably 75 bar bungalows behind rows of deck chairs and bright umbrellas. I have stayed at "Two Dolphins" for every meal and shake since I've been here and have really gotten to know the manager. I'm now with some new Irish folks and one has been practicing fire twirling at the waters edge all day and night. It is a big baton with fire at either end, and to see it twirl in the dark night is captivating. The locals are geniouses with the stick.
All day long locals come up to us in our seats and try to sell us fruit salad, sarongs, lobster, spring rolls, chips, massages. Mostly it's kids who are really fun, but can be a bit pestering. We have all bonded with the kids who speak amazing English. My favorite are a pair of 3 year olds who giigle all day long. Last night one of them fell asleep in my arms.
All day long locals come up to us in our seats and try to sell us fruit salad, sarongs, lobster, spring rolls, chips, massages. Mostly it's kids who are really fun, but can be a bit pestering. We have all bonded with the kids who speak amazing English. My favorite are a pair of 3 year olds who giigle all day long. Last night one of them fell asleep in my arms.
Monday, December 13, 2004
watch your step
I went for a run with the Phenom Pehn Hash House Harriers. Like in Chiang Mai we went to a place far from the city center and were running in a small village. Luckily it wasn't anything like the jungle run in CM and we stayed to roads and clear paths. There was one time for about 20 yards we were running in a forest. I was very careful to step exactly where the guy in front of me stepped, but a little distance back. Don't want to find a land mine.
At the end there is a little drinking and some gentle hazing. I had to introduce myself and as I said I was from the U.S. the group, largely made up with non-american ex-pats, let out a collective moan. I was so taken aback I didn't even have time to say that I didn't vote for George Bush.
At the end there is a little drinking and some gentle hazing. I had to introduce myself and as I said I was from the U.S. the group, largely made up with non-american ex-pats, let out a collective moan. I was so taken aback I didn't even have time to say that I didn't vote for George Bush.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Times up
Turns out my visa for Vietnam was going to run out 2 days before I wanted to leave. I asked a few people and they said it would be no problem, I'd just have to pay $5 for each day I went over. That seemed like a better option than paying $20 for a visa extention.
I took a trip through the Mekong Delta as I was leaving the country, so I passed through customs at a riverside border. In the morning as we got on the boat I told the guide that my visa was 2 days over. She said "OH NO. That is a big problem." I thought she as joking at first, but she wasn't. She said the people who say $5 don't know what they are talking about. It's 50,000 dong a day, unless you get someone corrupt who wants more. 100,000 dong works out to $67. Damn!
So we get to the crossing and I am really nervous. I was prepared and wearing my nicest skirt, and I put on a nice clean button down shirt, fixed my hair, etc. Basically I tried to look like a nice, respectable girl, not a dirty backpacker. While most people went to eat lunch the guide dealt with our passports, and I sat in the chair behind her and tried to smile and look a little nervous, which wasn't hard. Eventually one uniformed man got up and the guide said we had to go talk with him now. She had lied on my behalf and told them I was very sick which is why I stayed too late. Luckily I didn't have to lie; he never asked me why I stayed late. I don't remember exactly what we talked about at first, but he was quite friendly and joking around. After a few minutes he said, why don't you stay in Vietnam longer! And I knew I was in the clear.
Best part? He didn't charge me at all!! But I think my name is on the computer in Vietnam and next time I'm in the country they will be watching me.
I took a trip through the Mekong Delta as I was leaving the country, so I passed through customs at a riverside border. In the morning as we got on the boat I told the guide that my visa was 2 days over. She said "OH NO. That is a big problem." I thought she as joking at first, but she wasn't. She said the people who say $5 don't know what they are talking about. It's 50,000 dong a day, unless you get someone corrupt who wants more. 100,000 dong works out to $67. Damn!
So we get to the crossing and I am really nervous. I was prepared and wearing my nicest skirt, and I put on a nice clean button down shirt, fixed my hair, etc. Basically I tried to look like a nice, respectable girl, not a dirty backpacker. While most people went to eat lunch the guide dealt with our passports, and I sat in the chair behind her and tried to smile and look a little nervous, which wasn't hard. Eventually one uniformed man got up and the guide said we had to go talk with him now. She had lied on my behalf and told them I was very sick which is why I stayed too late. Luckily I didn't have to lie; he never asked me why I stayed late. I don't remember exactly what we talked about at first, but he was quite friendly and joking around. After a few minutes he said, why don't you stay in Vietnam longer! And I knew I was in the clear.
Best part? He didn't charge me at all!! But I think my name is on the computer in Vietnam and next time I'm in the country they will be watching me.
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Vietnam war
I'm in Saigon now. Still with the Irish crew. They have almost as many motorbikes here as in Hanoi. You just have to close your eyes and cross the street. So far this year there have been over 15,000 deaths in the country due to traffic accidents. That's almost 50 a day!
Today was a depressing day as I visited some "American War" spots. The first was a town 2 hours north of Saigon where there are many of the origional underground tunnels and living quarters from the war. Imagine hundreds of kilometers of winding tunnels. First of all I didn't think about how dark it would be. Pitch black. And stuffy. And small!! The vietnamese are tiny people and they purposefully made small tunnels so Americans couldn't fit in if they were ever discovered. I was on my hands and knees a lot of the time. Most of the tunnels we went in were short, but there was one that we went in for 10 minutes. I can not believe people lived like that for years. Let alone the fact that they were concerned for their life the whole time. I don't consider myself too prissy but I was so sweaty and dirty and unhappy about the bats by the end of those 10 minutes. Was I really just complaining about haveing wet feet for a few days? What a brat!
Then it was on to the war museum which had the most graphic pictures of the war. GIs hunched waiting to fire in ditches, vietnamese escaping acrossing rivers with their babies over their heads, two little Vietnamese boys walking down the road, and lieing dead in the next picture, GIs holding up the heads of Vietnamese as trophys, babies born with body parts missing. I spent a little while talking with a Vietnamese man just a little older than I am who lost his hands and leg at the age of ten by a landmine. Really friendly, kind man. He was excited when I said I was from the US.
For me the most poinient display in the entire museum was a little quote displayed at the entryway to a building that showed pictures of all the Vietnamese suffering. The quote is from July 4th, 1776.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
If only....
Today was a depressing day as I visited some "American War" spots. The first was a town 2 hours north of Saigon where there are many of the origional underground tunnels and living quarters from the war. Imagine hundreds of kilometers of winding tunnels. First of all I didn't think about how dark it would be. Pitch black. And stuffy. And small!! The vietnamese are tiny people and they purposefully made small tunnels so Americans couldn't fit in if they were ever discovered. I was on my hands and knees a lot of the time. Most of the tunnels we went in were short, but there was one that we went in for 10 minutes. I can not believe people lived like that for years. Let alone the fact that they were concerned for their life the whole time. I don't consider myself too prissy but I was so sweaty and dirty and unhappy about the bats by the end of those 10 minutes. Was I really just complaining about haveing wet feet for a few days? What a brat!
Then it was on to the war museum which had the most graphic pictures of the war. GIs hunched waiting to fire in ditches, vietnamese escaping acrossing rivers with their babies over their heads, two little Vietnamese boys walking down the road, and lieing dead in the next picture, GIs holding up the heads of Vietnamese as trophys, babies born with body parts missing. I spent a little while talking with a Vietnamese man just a little older than I am who lost his hands and leg at the age of ten by a landmine. Really friendly, kind man. He was excited when I said I was from the US.
For me the most poinient display in the entire museum was a little quote displayed at the entryway to a building that showed pictures of all the Vietnamese suffering. The quote is from July 4th, 1776.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.
If only....
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Beach bathing
Ahhhh, now this is a town in Vietnam I could get used to. Actually I have spent a couple more days here than I planned already. A small little beach town with white sand beaches and crashing waves. Finally the rain has stopped and man that sun in Vietnam is a strong one. Thankfully there is just the right breeze that I can lie out in my bikini, under a palm tree, and not get too hot. Of course when I do there is the ocean right near by to jump into. Pretty big waves crash all day and night and make the perfect background noise when I'm going to sleep, or waking up in my beachside bungalow. I'm splurging on a $10 room so I have a view of the water as I lay in bed.
I've been hanging out with a few Irish who I met up in Hoi An. We get a meal, head back to our loung chairs and repeat. It is certainly true what they say about the drinking of the Irish. It has been dangerous for me to try to keep up. But we are having fun at the beach bar at night.
I am certainly not seeing the life style of many Vietnamese here. Mostly interacting with other travelers. But I've gotten lazy about going off the beaten path in Vietnam. It is so easy to do everything by tour here and I'm enjoying all the westerners I'm meeting. And I'm loving my spot on the beach. We also went sledding in these gorgeous sand dunes. How cool!
I've been hanging out with a few Irish who I met up in Hoi An. We get a meal, head back to our loung chairs and repeat. It is certainly true what they say about the drinking of the Irish. It has been dangerous for me to try to keep up. But we are having fun at the beach bar at night.
I am certainly not seeing the life style of many Vietnamese here. Mostly interacting with other travelers. But I've gotten lazy about going off the beaten path in Vietnam. It is so easy to do everything by tour here and I'm enjoying all the westerners I'm meeting. And I'm loving my spot on the beach. We also went sledding in these gorgeous sand dunes. How cool!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)