Vietnam and Cambodia

I decided to do an email to the three people who might actually read it and care, about my 15 day trip to Vietnam and Cambodia. Day 1: Flights, no sleep, everybody tired. Stuff happened. Cycled around the city and saw the water puppet theater. People fell asleep during the water puppets. People took embarrassing photos of people asleep in the water puppets. I avoided falling asleep. Day 2: Flew up to Dien Bien Phu. Went and saw the hill tribes people and how they livede. It was a sight to remember, even thought I almost forgot about it. Remember talking to Billy (Tour guide) and Manov (Teacher. Actual name Geoffe Steele. I called him Manov Steely, Manov for short. Bad joke, but it stuck for me.) And two of the girls, Fiona and Ailsa. Good D&M at the bar at night with my 5 cokes. Day 3: Dien Bien Phu still. Went and saw the museum. It rained. Hard. My camera broke. Day 3, and my camera doesn't work. Wonderful. Still able to take pictures, just the screens broken. Sat on a tank. Good fun. Day 4: Linh's Birthday. Called her. Wished her happy birthday, let her know I loved her (a part of me always will, but it's a best friend love now. Not a lover's love.) I forget everything after the phone call until the next day. So I actually did lose a day. Oops. Day 5: Left Dien Bien Phu. Where did we go...? Sapa. On Motorbikes. We motorbiked our way, 5 hours, not us driving, up to Sapa. The views were amazing. Spectacular. Incredible. More impressive words I don't know. It really was something to remember. The water falls and the landscape. Can't believe that was Day 4... I raced Manov, continuously trying to get in the front. Then Blake showed up, and he took photos of me dropping behind. I still got to the restaurant in Sapa first. So I guess I won. We then wandered around the town, seeing the minor sights, and market. It was all pretty cool. Did a bit of shopping. Day 6: The hike. My sisters birthday. Rain. White pants. Dirt. Okay it was more of a trek than a hike. We walked through mud and buffalo shit. I slipped once at the start and got a tiny bit of mud on my right ass cheek. That was at the start. I called April. Let her know I hoped she had a Happy Birthday I went ahead and helped everybody up the tough slobes, getting mud just above my shoes. On my white pants. But I trekked on, and helped more people. Then we came to the village. the path was now completely covered in mud and buffalo shit. Step - Rock. Step - Rock. Step - Rock. Step - No rocks - knee deep in mud and buffalo shit. Stumbling through that mud and buffalo shit, I gave up. Bring on the mud. Bring on the shit. My shoes are full.My white pants are ruined (or so I thought) and I just couldn't care any more. In fact, for good measure, why not smear some on my face? So I did. Continued walking through the mud and shit. Later discovered there was an easy route. An easy option. So as to avoid all the mud and shit. Billy thought we'd enjoy the scenic route more. We did. But only a few days afterward. Good fun. Hung out in Sapa for a little while before heading back to Hanoi. Great fun, I guess. a few hour train trip before arriving in Hanoi at 5am. That was... not fun. Day 7: Arrived in Hanoi at 5am for half a day, before heading on to Hoi An. Arrived in Hoi An at about 9pm. Hello, relaxation. Day 8: Tour of the old quarter in Hoi An. Not much to see really, and not much to do except search for Tam Tam's Bar and hang out there, while everybody else got suits and dresses made. Found the cafe and had lunch with Billy, Sandra, Jimmy and Hally (Miss Hall, Teacher). Not the bar. Billy then told us where the bar was. Swimming. No sun burn. Day 9: The beach. Sun tan. Sun screen. Sun burn. Pain. Sun burn so bad, my hands turned purple, literally and I was "as red as a lobster" by the time I got out. Arrived back at the hotel room and didn't realive how bad it was. Hurt like hell. Cooking class. That was fun, until we started eating what we cooked. It wasn't bad, per se. But one of the girls thought that a chilli, cut into the shape of a flower was capsicum. She ate it and got juice all over her face. The teachers weren't there to help. To cheer her up, Khan and I smeared it on our chins. It hurt like hell. Good times. Day 10: Our last night in Hoi An. Fashion show for all the people who got stuff made. Mostly free time for the rest of the day. If it wasn't, I can't remember what we did before the free time. I didn't partake in the fashion show. I didn't get anything made, but also the pain from my shoulders was excrutiating. Left Hoi An and flew down to Ho Chi Minh city. Did a tour of the city, still in extreme sun burn pain, but not as bad as the day before. Went to the War Crimes Museum. Less full on, but still very confronting. The horrors the Vietnamese people went through, including civilians is terrifying. The transformation from a human into a soldier that could do... What so many soldiers did, not only willingly, but smiling. It's disturbing on so many levels. Then we went to the markets to cheer everybody up. All was well. Day 11: Just the one night in Ho Chi Minh city. Left and began our transit to Phnom Penh. By Bus. Long ride. Was asked to be one of the girls entourage, was then fired because I was too far away to stop her bag from falling over. Entertainment ensued. Did a tour of the city. It was a hole. A real hole. A slum. Horrible. Not a place you want to stay. Day 12: Killing Fields. S-21. Not places you go with small children. The cloth is still buried in the ground. The bones have not all been removed. You can see them as you walk over them. As you step on them. The blood still stains the roof of S-21, where people have been tortured so violently that the blood has sprayed up, and become stuck. Cemented in the roof. Cemented in the memories of those that have seen it. The photos of the victims is haunting. It's not something you can think about for a long time. Day 13: Transit. A 10-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. We stopped off in a nice little area called Spider Village. Bragging rights: I ate 3 whole tarantulas. Not delicious, exactly... But Bragging rights are bragging rights. Than came the live tarantula. It was on my hand, fine. It stepped on my wrist, Hell no. "Get it off. Get it off now. Right now. Remove it. Take it. Get rid of it. Now!" It was removed and all was good. Then... Then. I got Issy to put it on my hat. Which I was wearing. I could feel it. It was sitting in the center, but I was still frozen. Half kneeling, sticking my ass out. They got a photo when it was on there, and Issy began removing it. Then... Something struck my ass. I screamed. Not really screamed. More yelled. It was terrifying. Shut up. Arrived in Siem Reap. We went to one of the temples before they closed, the one used in Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie, back when she was semi-hot, and sane. We managed to get to another temple just before sunset and watched it from the top. It was beautiful. Got a night time tour of the city, after the "Award ceremony" conducted by the teachers. Khan and I then gave out the teachers presents. It was a grand night. Siem Reap is beautiful. The next big tourist destination. And they know it. Day 14: Angkor Wat in the morning. Amazing. Breath taking. Closed off at the top. Lame. We couldn't climb to the top, which was one of the highlights from the trip two years ago. Still good though. Went straight back to the hotel, Packed our bags, checked out and got on a plane to Singapore. Day 15: Singapore Airport. Flight home. I arrived home at 11am. It was a great trip. But I missed Shannyn a lot. -------- Who am I kidding, I still miss her. I can't stop thinking about her. For my 18th birthday, I'm getting a car. I don't want it... I just want to fly up to Darwin and see her.