We win

Blessing for Pringles.

My 24 hour bus to Ho Chi Minh was a real treat. Luckily the long distance busses in Vietnam are these multi level sleeping pods. They have reclining back rests and your legs are stretched out. They are surprisingly comfortable. I was able to sleep a good portion of the overnight journey. We then got dropped off at 5:30 am in a random town with s really strong Russian influence (who knew there were so many Russians in Vietnam?). When we stopped I over heard three friends talking about their "24 hour journey" I asked were they were going out of curiosity (24 hours on a bus, sounds awful right?) They too were going to Saigon. How did I not know I signed up for a 24 hour bus! Either I was lied to or my brain was napping when I bought the ticket. Nothing I could do at that point. We had breakfast then continued on to Saigon. I now feel a sense of accomplishment regarding my travel tolerance. If I could handle that bus, I could probably take over the world.

The bus luckily dropped us off on the same street as my hostel. I found it quickly, had some dinner and walked around a bit. The area I stayed in was the backpackers central. Tons of hostels and bars. The larger the city the more seedy it tends to get. I was constantly being warned by hotel staff and others to be careful with my bag. It was the first city that people seemed so paranoid about theft, which means it must happen often. The following morning I took a tour to the Cu Chi Tunnels. It's an extensive underground tunnel system that the Vietcong used. It was pretty aggressive to see all the booby traps used by the Vietcong... the thought of stepping into some of those makes you cringe! We even crawled a short distance through a tunnel. Thank god I'm not claustrophobics. The bus made a stop at the War Remnants museum for those that wanted to get off. I walked around the museum for about two hours. It was an extremely emotional day? I just found myself very overwhelmed and emotional thinking about what Vietnam and American soldiers went through.

I could happily live off fresh spring rolls and peanut sauce.

Liz arrived late that evening. It was great to have a friend to explore the city with. We just walked around the downtown area, shopped and chatted. That evening we met up with another Carrie. Nora's friend from home has been living in Saigon for about two years. We were lucky to get to hang out with her for a bit. The next morning Liz and I took a tour of the Mekong Delta. The river itself wasn't the most impressive body of water I've ever seen, but the small channels that lead to small villages were really charming. We went from boat to boat visiting a honey bee farm, a coconut candy making village, and experianced some Vietnamese music (don't buy the CD, just the candy).

The very first McDonald's is about to open in Vietnam.
 Can you imagine a place untainted be MacDonald's?

Nora and Arthur arrived in Saigon that night, we met up with them at Carrie's apartment. Carrie also arranged for Liz and I to stay at one of her friends apartment in the same building. Beyond generous of her and her friend and super convenient and free for us. It was great to hang out with someone who knew the area. We got to see a different part of the city and eat at her favorite whole in the wall restaurant (always were the best food is). It was the best Vietnamese dish I've ever had! Vietnamese food is delicious, and whats even better is their coffee. Have I ever mentioned my love of coffee? They use a drip filter that creates a really thick strong coffee, but the real kicker is that they use consented sweet milk. How has this not picked up in the US? It's unreal. I suggest you find a Vietnamese restaurant in your area and order a coffee. If only they could put it in a giant mug rather than these damn tiny teacups. How American.... wanting everything bigger.

Puppies are a big part of other cultures.

From Saigon Nora, Arthur, Liz and I hopped on a bus to Siem Reap Cambodia. We stopped in Phnom Penh and transfered to another bus. It took a total of about 12 hours. Stepping off any bus in southeast Asia you are swarmed by tuk tuk drivers/tour guides ready to take you anywhere or book any excursion. We were really lucky to meet Lucky. He was great and we agreed to use his services while in Siem Reap. The following morning Lucky's brother-in-law Tye picked us up at our guesthouse. We spent the day with Tye driving us around.

He took us to two really beautiful temples that are a little bit outside of the city (not in the same area as Angkor Wat) and a floating village. The floating village (homes built on stilts along a river) was one of the coolest things I've ever seen. It was impossible to capture the magnitude and beauty of this"city" or more impressively, the unique lifestyle. We had such a great time just seeing the country and hanging out with Tye. He was super fun and informative (killer combo). The day was also really special because it was Nora's golden Birthday and she came prepared with all gold attire. I'm pretty sure Cambodian children think she's a princess. We celebrated Nora's birthday quite aggressively that evening. Tye even met up with us at the bar. It was a great night, except for getting scammed by a kid in the streets. In my extremely intoxicated state I bought a giant can of baby formula for a kid. Tye told me the next day that he's totally the bad kid on the street and quite the scammer. I was really drunk, he won.

Local babies and Tye.

Tye picked us up again the following morning to take us to Angkor Thom. It was a little rough at times considering the night we had had, but was so amazing nonetheless. The pictures can't do it justice. These buildings were absolutely incredible. Sitting in front of Angkor Wat was such an incredible experience. So many times throughout the trip we've stopped to talk about how fortunate we feel to be where we are. The fact that we are able to see such magnificent and important parts of the world, its quite humbling. Angkor Wat, specifically, was always this mystical idea to me. I'd seen photos and read about it, but never really imagined I'd see this part of the world. That night we had a much more calm/mellow evening. The town of Siem Reap is really charming and enjoyable.

On our third day we rented bikes and rode around Angkor Thom. Unfortunately we lolly gagged in the morning and had to rush our bike ride. We made it back to our guesthouse at four to be picked up for our next bus ride. We left Siem Reap for Sihanoukville, a beach city in the south of Cambodia. Leaving Siem Reap was sad. It may be one of my favorite cities and who knows if or when I'll be back.

Sihanoukville was a smaller coastal city. The main beach area was really charming with lots of restaurants on the sand. We had some dinner and drinks on the beach watched the sunset. Then we met Leda. Along the way we've constantly been approached by little kids selling bracelets and what not. Luckily for us girls we have Arthur with us. He can't say no! He rarely bought their products though (who needs that many bracelets), instead he just gave them money. I think all the kids must have told their friends about him: the tall foreigner handing out dollars. Leda approached us at dinner with more bracelets. It was however impossible to say no to this girl. I've never seen such sales talent in a twelve year old. She had so much personality! I think she'll do great things in life (I hope). When Nora was having trouble picking the colors of her bracelet Leda suggested she use all of them that way she could be "the boss of all the colors".... sold. We had a short layover in Sihanoukville, the next morning we headed to Koh Rong.

The ferry to the island of Koh Rong takes about two hours, but for some reason it took us about five. We stepped off the ferry to this small island hideaway. Koh Rong was like Neverland, there's no other way to describe it. The island is said to be Cambodia's "hidden jewel" but I'm pretty sure all the hippies/backpackers/wanderers have found it. Most guesthouses and restaurants had all foreign staff. Apparently its very easy and common to work at these establishments for a week or so for free accommodation. Which was very evident with most servers, it seemed as if it was everyone's first day. The island was so mellow (due to the copious amounts of weed everyone was smoking) and beautiful. It reminded me of the movie "The Beach", this deserted hippie commune where people just wanted to have a good time. It was really great to see, but I wouldn't want to stay there more than a couple of days... nor was I ready for dreadlocks. However, I did have one of the coolest experiences ever on Koh Rong: swimming in phosphorescent plankton (it really happened, I was not on any mind altering drugs at the time). We had some BBQ and drinks on the beach then hopped on a boat around 9pm. I don't know how far we went out, but we started to see the plankton in the wake from the boat. The boat stopped and our Australian guide jumped in. With the big splash the water lit up!! Everyone immediately started jumping in. It was one of the most magical things I've ever seen! Good thing I wasn't on any mind altering drugs... I don't know if I could handle that. Nature sure can be magical. The only way I can describe it is like the scene in The Little Mermaid when Ariel's father turns her back into a human, when she comes out of the water she and the water are all glittery. Watch the movie (it's so great) or look up some I ages of phosphorescent plankton. Another real treat of the island was the forty minute hike to the other side, it was pretty unreal. It was the most deserted beach I think I've ever been on with the most beautiful water. We didn't want to leave.

That afternoon we ferried back to Sihanoukville then made our way back to Phnom Penh to fly to Laos!!!