First Tour of Angkor Ruins

We woke up bright and early at 4 AM to catch the sunrise at the Angkor temples which we heard was a must-see. We arrived at Angkor Wat at around 5 AM to get a front row seat and waited for the sun to make an appearance. Unfortunately it was slightly cloudy, even rained a little so the sunrise was a bit underwhelming. It just went from not being able to see the temple at all to being able to see its outline, no cool colors or anything like that. If you ever see the temples during sunrise, bring a flashlight! It was pitch black when we arrived at the gates and luckily I had a keychain flashlight in my bag (thanks Haj!) so we were able to get to the temple without tripping over anything or falling into the moat, haha.

Angkor Wat, not to be confused with the collection of Angkor Temples was massive and complex. I loved the carvings on the walls that told traditional stories popular in the Angkor period and the layers of corridors that would make this place the perfect site for hide and go seek. There was a lot to explore at this temple alone, we spent about 4 hours here. Next, we went to Angkor Thom which is a collection of structures built by King Jayavarman VII in the late twelfth century. We saw the quirky multi-faced Bayon, the endearing Terrace of Elephants, and the mysterious Terrace of the Leper King so there was a lot of walking and a bit of climbing up the steep steps. It was getting hotter during the day but we still managed to finish out our small tour by visiting the height-happy but otherwise not so notable Ta Keo and the jungle-esque Ta Prohm where Tomb Raider was filmed. Really fun but tiring day, we have more temples to see tomorrow.

Apologies for a brief post but my traveling partner is getting hungry and impatient so more updates later! Hehe.

Teachings of Cambodia

Today was a traveling day from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, where Ali is currently working on a Fulbright essay. We spent the last two days in Phnom Penh, where another friend of Ali's from the Fulbright program has joined us. For a capital city, Phnom Penh is still under development as a lot of the sidewalks are a mess and there is a lot of construction left to finish which I'm guessing the city is still catching up from the events in the last 3 decades. There is a river running next to the many of the restaurants and bars the tourists frequent so it makes for a nice walk and there is still the occasional landmark or monument that may take you by surprise.

We visited the Royal Palace and Silver Pagoda which reflects the finest of recent Khmer architecture and is similar to the wats in Laos. The roofs are stunning and the inside Buddha displays are eye-catching. All the monuments are within an organized but pretty garden and the palace is still used by the monarchy. There are also exhibits containing royal clothing, the seat the king was carried in during his coronation, and gifts to the royal family from other countries. There are many stupas in the courtyard which must have served some significant purpose or memory of the royal family but we chose to not follow a tour so we're not really sure of the specifics. A block away the Royal Palace was the National Museum which houses numerous ancient relics and sculptures of the pre-Angkor and Angkor period. The building itself is beautiful as well as the open courtyard in the middle of the museum, but the exhibit was ok, very heavy on the ancient works of art.

I should also mention our first dinner in Phnom Penh. Ali and I walked into what looked like a nice restaurant by the river and sat near the patio under a fan. The food was great, I had a chicken amok, which is a mild sauce of coconut milk, lemongrass and egg that I was totally enjoying until I noticed that there were several black beetle-like insects trying to crawl into my food. I felt crawling on the back of my neck and swatted another insect on my lap. What started out as an annoyance turned into disgust as we figured out that these insects may have been falling on our table (and in our hair) from the ceiling. We asked for our check and peaced out as quickly as possible. Of course as we walked outside, Ali noticed one more bug in my hair, yuck yuck yuck.

On a more serious note, we spent our second day in town visiting sites significant to the Khmer Rouge. We started out at the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, a secondary school turned prison and interrogation center turned museum. The classrooms were turned into individual and group cells or torture chambers and we were able to walk into each room and see the bed frame, leg shackles, and the occasional photograph of a former victim. This visit was initially overwhelming, since I had a few of these rooms to myself I tried to imagine what had happened and had my breath literally taken away just thinking about it. Once other tourists joined the room, I could snap back to the present but took note of the red stains on the floor and cracked walls. The museum displayed many photographs of the victims and more helpful information on the Khmer Rouge such as the leaders, the philosophy, and some of the horrific acts towards the Cambodians. We could spent more than a few hours at the museum but had to move on to our next site: Choeung Ek, aka The Killing Fields. Our tour guide was a survivor of the Khmer Rouge and he told us he lost his parents, sister, and uncle along the way. There was a lot of hurt and anger in his voice which really let me know that this was real. He encouraged us to take many photos of the mass graves and trees where beatings took place so we could show our family and friends at home what had happened. The photos will always serve as a reminder to myself what happened but it will never compare to actually being at the site. One of the hardest parts was standing on the mound of dirt and still being able to see bone fragments poking out of the earth. This was a place that I will never forget and words that I write won't be able to fully describe what I was feeling or thinking about but again, something that I think is good to talk about in person.

So we left Phnom Penh by bus this morning and arrived in Siem Reap this afternoon where we will be waking up at sunrise to see the Angkor Wat ruins and as many of the temples around that we can fit in during the day. We are still sweating like crazy over here but I can't believe that we only have a few days in Cambodia left.

But again, don't worry we are doing just fine!

Saying Goodbye to Vietnam

So it's been a few days since I've been able to update once again. We actually just got into Phnom Penh, Cambodia about an hour ago by a long bus ride and I am already missing Vietnam...

Our last night in Hoi An, Ali and I decided to live it up and go out dancing by the Cua Dai Beach, which is about 4 km away from the Old Town. We got to the Hoi An Beach Club (my guide book called it the Seamile Beach Club but I think it's all the same) around 11 pm and it was pretty much dead. The drinks were weak and overpriced and the most exciting thing I saw was a couple of crabs in the sand. We ran into some college bound Brits who wanted to leave as well but then we were told that this place comes alive around midnight so we waited instead. Sure enough, a shuttle came in around 12:30 AM and more people strolled into the bar. The music was decent and we met even more kids from England (where were all the Americans?) who had been traveling for weeks going the same route as Ali and me, except in the reverse direction. We had some friendly discussions about American and British music (I excitedly told them about how I listen to Lily Allen and Goldfrapp all the time), who had an accent (they do!), and why we should all visit each other's hometowns. Some kids jumped in a nearby pool but we danced until around 4 AM. Fun night overall.

We picked up our tailored pieces the next morning and were happy with what was made for us. I was so excited about my new sun dress, I wore it right out of the shop! It's a white fitted sleeveless top with a light yellow eyelet skirt, with white lining underneath, if you cared to know. Had one last lunch in Hoi An, where I finished off my list of Hoi An specialties with a plate of banh khoai, a crispy yellow pancake with shrimp and bean sprouts and basil, wrapped in rice paper and dipped in peanut sauce. It was sad to leave Hoi An especially since we didn't have time to hit the beach during the daytime but a trip to Vietnam wouldn't be complete without going to its capital city, Ho Chi Minh City, aka Saigon.

Our flight to Saigon was delayed by a few hours so we arrived later that night. Unlike Hanoi, it is much more westernized and urban with all its street lights and much wider roads. Since we lost time from our flight, we had only 1 full day in Saigon so we used it to visit the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum. First, we went to the Reunification Palace first, where we saw a replica of the tank that stormed the grounds to symbolize the fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War. The inside has supposedly been untouched throughout all these years, since its use up until the 1970s so the furniture and walls definitely reflect a time capsule of this period. Many of the conference rooms were notable but the basement had the most interesting display of old American radio equipment, maps for strategic planning, and several other communication devices, it was so crazy.

I am really not handling the heat over here very well so we refreshed ourselves at a cafe during all the sights' closing lunch hours then headed to the War Remnants Museum. It starts out with an outdoor display of some of the American war vehicles, such as a howitzer and a helicopter then inside are rooms of photo galleries depicting the horrors of the war and what had happened to the Vietnamese people, including the following generation affected by Agent Orange mutations. These photos hit us really hard and I think we looked at the photos more thoroughly than the average viewer so we could let it sink in. I know that I went from sadness to anger to sadness again then just numb by the end. I don't really think that I would do myself justice to post my feelings online but I would really like to discuss them in person with anyone if they'd like. I would definitely have to say that any American visiting Saigon should make it a priority to visit this museum. Ali and I had some heavy discussion about what we saw over a bowl of pho at Pho 2000 (photos of Bill Clinton eating there all over the walls haha) then we walked through the market. We decided to check out the nightlife in our last night in Vietnam so we went to GO2 bar after dinner. There weren't many people there but we talked to a few Vietnamese workers who were eager to practice their English with us, they were good! You can't ignore the neon sign on this place, but we went across the street to Crazy Buffalo, where we danced among what appeared to be groups of high school aged foreigners. Oh well.

I should point out that I have been getting a lot of questions about where I'm from, from locals and fellow travelers. I always respond with that I'm American, but I've learned that answer doesn't suffice except for other American travelers, which we have met very few of on this trip. Even though I was born and raised in the U.S., my follow up question is, where am I REALLY from? I think they want to know what Asian race I belong to, because sometimes they guess that I am Vietnamese or Korean so then I elaborate my answer by saying that I'm Chinese American. This is just we noticed on this trip, I'm sure I'll be getting a lot more of it the rest of this trip. After all Ali's students in Thailand thought I was Thai....

Anyway we are looking forward to the last leg of our trip in Cambodia, sorry still no photos I think they will most likely be up when Haj gets to Thailand and I use his laptop, none of the computers at these internet cafes can read my USB cord :(

Hoi An Old Town

Hello, I'll keep this brief because we are getting dinner soon. Ali and I got a late start but were able to catch all the sights of Hoi An's Old Town, which has been wonderfully preserved as another UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is a mix of Chinese, Japanese, and European architecture that now serve as stores and restaurants and colorful paper lanterns line the streets. We visited the Japanese Covered Bridge, a Cantonese Assembly Hall with a temple dedicated to a sea goddess, the Historical and Cultural Museum, a merchant's house, and observed a traditional music performance. Hoi An is also known for their many clothing and silk tailor shops, where you can get an entire wardrobe made. I had a sundress tailored while Ali got 2 skirts for teaching, I can't wait to see them tomorrow morning! I had a Hoi An specialty for lunch today, a shrimp dumpling known as White Rose because the dumpling is bunched to resemble a rose and Ali and I enjoyed a Banh Bao stuffed with vegetables and a tiny hardboiled egg from a street vendor. So good! Anyway it's been a really hot day so time to shower and grab some dinner. We will be leaving for Ho Chi Minh City tomorrow afternoon by plane.

Ha Long Bay/Hue/Hoi An, Vietnam

Hello all, sorry for the disappearance, I've had a hard time finding a computer to go on, and an even harder time accessing Blogger from here. We've covered a good bit of ground since my last post so we are now in the adorable port town of Hoi An and I'll backtrack to Ha Long Bay.

I had really been looking forward to our trip to Ha Long Bay based on pictures that I had seen in the past and hearing stories from other people but was totally dreading the bus ride because I was still getting over my sickness, which had left me dehydrated and weak. Once I ate a little on the boat and went upstairs to check out the bay, I felt so much better. I don't know what it was, the salty sea air, the emerald green water, or the clusters of rock islands surrounding us but my spirits were back up and I took many, many, MANY pictures of the strange rock formations. I felt like I was in one of the paintings in my parents' house (the ones that included Chinese folklore in calligraphy on the same scroll) and our boat just went for hours into the bay. We enjoyed the company of the other travelers on the boat, who had come from Germany, Scotland, Canada, Singapore, and Malaysia as we explored the limestone caves and trudged to the top of one of the islands together. I could go on about this but Ali and I were definitely sad to leave Ha Long Bay when it was time to go the next morning.

We returned to Hanoi and took a 13-hour sleeper train to Hue that took off at 7 PM. Ali and I were in a cramped 6 person bunk and we had each reserved the two top person bunks so we giggled to ourselves from our perch. Fast foward to 8 AM, we arrived in Hue, where twenty minutes into arrival at our guesthouse, we were whisked away to an all-day tour of Hue. Hue was quite a change from Hanoi in that it was quieter and smaller but not short of historical sights. Our tour took us to 3 Royal Mausoleums: the tombs of the weak but poetic emperor Tu Duc, one of the more recent emperors Khai Dinh, and the thoughtful but authoritarian Minh Mang. In my first real look at Vietnamese historical architecture, I noticed a lot of Chinese influence and imagery surrounded by gates or lakes. I really liked the dragon images wrapped around the columns and mosaic pieces on the tomb walls. We saw the once-mighty Citadel whose layers of gates surrounded their Imperial City. There was a lot of construction going on and I could only imagine what the citadel had once looked like when all 148 buildings were still intact. Then we made our way to the Thien Mu Pagoda, a seven tiered structure that once housed the monk who burned himself to death in Saigon in 1963, protesting of President Diem's repressive policies toward religion. The tour finished off with a boat ride down the Perfume River where we concluded sightseeing the lovely city of Hue.

Which takes us now to Hoi An, the most charming little town next to the Thu Bon River. I can now see why I have only heard good things about this place from other travelers. It's size and traffic makes it easy to walk around and there is a mix of sightseeing, shopping, and going to the beach. We've only been able to walk around the Old Town and along the river, but it's been nice eyeing the clothes and imagining the beach which is about 4 km away. We will be staying here another full day tomorrow so we will get to slow down our trip a little and enjoy Hoi An even more!

Under the Weather in Hanoi

Hello all, I'm able to write this a little earlier today because I am feeling a little under the weather so I've been taking it easy today while Ali has done more sightseeing on her own. With a bowl of pho for breakfast, we officially booked our trip to Ha Long Bay this morning through Hanoi Legend Hotel (thanks Ryan!) and I went back upstairs to rest and write some postcards while Ali wandered off to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum complex which consists of Ho Chi Minh's embalmed body on display and his large but simple house that remains untouched. We grabbed some lunch at the Tamarind then walked around Hoan Kiem Lake, the heart and center of Hanoi. We had to brace ourselves crossing the busy street but once we made it, witnessed a wedding photo and adoring couples strolling around the lake. No worries though, I'm feeling better as the day goes on so I'm really looking forward to tomorrow.

One Night Stand

Yes, and by that I mean Ali and I had what we call our one night stand with the Mixot Guesthouse in Vientiane. Everyone has their preferences for accomodation but we learned that $3/night/person will get you a room with a shaky ceiling fan (we made a bet who it would fall on at night), scratchy sheets, rotting walls, and shared bathrooms where the toilets didn't flush half the time. I know you are all so proud of us, and now that we survived the night, we can laugh about it over some Tiger beer.

But focusing on the finer things that Vientiane had to offer, we spent this morning sightseeing. We started out in That Louang, an immense golden stupa that represents Laos's most important religious building and serves as its national symbol. The main spire is surrounded by shorter spikier stupas and lotus petals, which all serve a special Buddhist meaning. This stupa is surrounded by other various Khmer temples and since we beat the usual tourist rush, we were able to enjoy these landmarks peacefully. Then we took a tuk-tuk to Wat Sisaket, the oldest wat in Vientiane built in the early 1820s and is the only wat to survive the Siamese invasion ten years later. When you look at this temple, you can tell that it has been through a lot. The coloring is faded and it no longer has that gilded shine that all the other wats in Vientiane have. The most interesting part about this wat was its collection of Buddha statues surrounding the wat and the little niches covering the walls of the temple containing two tiny Buddha statues in each niche. We passed by the glorious Presidential Palace and headed to our last destination, the National Museum. Ali and I were definitely moved by the information and photographs on the Lao Nationalist Movement, and have had some intense discussion about American foreign policy ever since (more discussed by Ali, I am still taking this all in).

We said goodbye to Vientiane as we flew over to Hanoi. From what we have seen already, I can say that Hanoi is a busier, crazier city and not as laid back as some guidebooks suggest. We can already see the differences between Vietnam and Laos in terms of climate and vegetation but we are excited about spending the next week here.

Sorry still no pictures, I uploaded them but this computer freezes everytime I try and add an image here. I'll try again soon!

Beginnings in Laos

Hi everyone! This marks my first time ever blogging so I am nervous but excited to share my trip to Asia with you all! I spent the first few days adjusting to the time zone in Shanghai while my Aunt Joanne, Uncle Ben, and my Grandma stuffed me silly with delicious Shanghai food and cheap massages. I left Shanghai on 3/13/2010 and after a 4 hour flight to Bangkok, 12 hour layover at the Bangkok Airport, and a 2 hour flight, I finally reached Luang Prabang a dusty but charming city in the north half of Laos. I was in a state of shock and awe as I exited the plane and took a minivan to our guesthouse, but then quickly turned to pure joy when I saw Ali in our room. Ali has been in Chiang Rai, Thailand since October on a Fulbright scholarship to teach English at a boarding school. It was really great to see her again and I look forward to our long but epic adventure in Southeast Asia.

We spent all day yesterday sightseeing in Luang Prabang, starting out early in the morning ascending the steep climb up to Phou Si, a major hill that overlooks the city also dotted with small religious buildings such as Wat Pa Houk (Wat = temple) and Wat Pha Phoutthabat which included a small shrine dedicated to the Saquatch-sized imprint of "Buddha's footprint". There were also multiple gold Buddha statues in many shapes and sizes and an abandoned aircraft cannon. At the peak is a stunning gold stupa, which can be seen almost anywhere from the city and from the airplane. Ali and I caught the Royal Palace Museum right before lunch time to check out the now-extinct monarchy's former digs and we were blown away by the wall artwork, which consisted of scenes of mosaic-like shapes of people in war and at labor, depending on the wall. The pieces were made of Japanese glass and looked like colorful mirror shards, I hadn't seen anything like it before.

After a quick rest of lemon fruit shakes and A/C, we walked over to the famed Wat Xiang Thong, the oldest standing monstary in Luang Prabang and definitely one of the most eye catching. I loved the low sweeping roofs, and the dragon-headed gargoyle like creatures lining the roof. The walls of the main temple had the same mosaic scenes we saw at the Royal Palace Museum so we were now able to take pictures of these images. The courtyard also had a small belltower, some smaller religious fixtures, housing for monks, and a golden chamber containing the the funeral chariot and urn of a former king. Every angle of this wat showed me why Luang Prabang was worthy of a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

Throughout the day, we had walked by quite a few monks in their orange shrouds, which I was quickly told that females should not make the slightest contact with them so when they walked by, I stood out of their way and made eye contact with the ground. From afar though, the presence of monks gave us a sense of calmness and inspiration and I'm not sure if it's because of the shade of orange they wear or their simple appearance but there is definitely an intangible force that makes monks so special in this community. Ali sees monks on a weekly basis in Chiang Rai and still feels this way, so there is definitely something powerful about their presence.

We ate a delicious Lao dinner by the Mekong river that night and strolled through the night market, buying some souveniers before closing time. I was really glad that we started out our trip in Laos' national treasure.

A bumpy but brief plane ride has brought us to Vientiane, where we have missed the sightseeing hours so we walked to the U.S. Embassy because Ali needed to get more passport pages. We reached the embassy, and surprise, Ali left her passport at our hostel. She says I can give her a hard time here and remind all of you of the good old Ali I get to spend lots of quality time with :) But no worries, I think we can accomplish everything we need to get done tomorrow morning before we leave for Hanoi.

In contrast to Luang Prabang, Vientiane is a more developed, laid back city with French influenced buildings and tree lined streets. We witnessed a minor accident during lunch where both parties handled the back-end calmly and quickly. There are wats dotting the streets of Vientiane but they look so different from the ones in Luang Prabang, as they look more extravagant and bold than the designs on the exterior of the Luang Prabang temples. I look forward to checking out what Vientiane has to offer tomorrow.

By the way, I can't post pictures quite yet because I didn't bring my USB cord to upload photos but they will be up soon! We took a LOT of pictures yesterday.

Also, if you were wondering about the title, I came up with it because I had so many worried comments before leaving on this trip. This will be a constant reminder that Ali and I are doing great over here so please don't worry!