Siem Riep

Today marked my first full day in Cambodia. Oh and if I wasn't paying for my internet I would post pictures. But time is money people!

I awoke to the smell of flowers, as there were some flowers sprinkled on my pillow. Yes, this hotel is so high class, they don't do mints, they do flowers. Craziness. It was about 830am, when I was dressed, but it was also when I was supposed to meet with my tour guide. Opps. So I found him and explained to him that I woke up late and had no breakfast, so he said "no problem" or "sure", one of the two sayings he used quite frequently, and next thing I know, I was seated at breakfast. I do not think I have had a formal breakfast in over 2 months. In thailand, I either ate toast with nutella, fruit on the street, or food at the school. In Vietnam I was incredibly lazy, would wake up around 10, for a 1030am class, and then just eat a big lunch. This was a white linen tablecloth, western style buffet breakfast. It was definately a sight for sore eyes. Where I'm normally used to rice, noodles, meat and vegetables, I saw pancakes, bacon, and even Hashbrowns. If only they had bagels and cream cheese it would have been absolutely perfect.

I was wisked off to Angkor Thom this morning with my driver and tour guide. I explored many temples, and learned much about Hinduism and buddhism. While they were interesting, the temples began to all look the same after a few hours. It was also incredibly hot and very aerobic! It was great having an individual tour guide, because he answered all my innane questions, without interupting others, he went at my pace(which is about the speed of a turtle) and he took all the pictures for me, so I'm actually in alot of them!!

Then I went to lunch. A buffet lunch. Ridiculous. So much food, but all very very good! While I have not been a huge fan of the food, I have grown accustom to it, but I had heard that Cambodian food is the most different, so I a very glad that I have more choices while here.

Then I was dropped off at the hotel, and given 2 hours to relax before Angkor Watt. I was finally able to enjoy this hotel to its fullest. After lounging around my room for a little I put on my bikini and headed to the pool, where I got a padded chair and all the sunlight I could want. I met a couple from Boston and a few guys on a "business trip" from Australia.

Angkor Watt was gorgeous. It was very beautiful. Although, since everyone I've spoken to while here told me of the grandeuor of this temple, it of course could not live up to the hype, but it was still great nonetheless.

Then I did it. I finally did it. After nearly 2 months of being so close, I finally RODE AN ELEPHANT!!! We had to go up a hill, and there was the elephant option, and even though it was $15, pretty steep, when a whole meal is under $3, it was well worth it!! I also bought some books to bring back to my future classroom.

I have just come back from a dinner show which also was a buffet.

Oh, I also wanted to take this opportunity to vent again about the Virginia Tech shootings. As I returned to my hotel room, there was a Cambodian magazine with the story on the front cover. Inside there were articles about 100s dying in Iraq, and wars all over Africa, but nope, 33 people dying in America makes top story. I am very certain that during the 3 years of the mass Cambodian genocide that it hardly made news let alone the headlines. I just don't understand?

Ok, finished for now, I am paying by the half hour.

Cambodia

So I have arrived, figuratively and literally. Literally I am here. I have physically arrived in Siem Riep, the stepping stone to Angkor Watt. Figuratively I have arrived as well. I am currently staying in a 5 star hotel, in an (or the, I couldn't quite tell) executive suite. My walk-in closet in the hotel room, is bigger then my entire bedroom. The window overlooks a pond that is covered in beautiful lilly pads. I have arrived.

My uncle, upon hearing about my travels in South East Asia, figured that while I am here I should check out Cambodia, because his immediate family put enough money together to create a school in Pursat. So I am like a spy, or an emmisary. Either way, I'm living in style. I have never stayed in a hotel as nice as this even in America!! I can't believe I am able to do this! Tomorrow I sight-see at Angkor Watt for the day, and then I head off to the school. It should be incredible, and I have my Uncle to thank!

It was very sad to say goodbye to Nha Trang. When I arrived I had this high from Nongkhai. I had the most amazing time and could not imagine that anything else could measure up. Of course, with that attitude nothing could. So I took a deep breath, erased all expectations and wound up having a great time, so much so that I did not even want to leave!

I had a great last day. Jade, Ryan and I took some motorbikes out to the country side and trekked/hiked to Ba Ho Waterfalls. It was amazing. I really pushed myself to the limits with all the climbing but it was so worth it. It was absolutely beautiful, but in a very subtle way. I will post pictures when I don't have to pay per minute on the internet. I have never however, felt like I was taking my own life in my hands, as I did when riding on the back of Jade's bike. It's funny though, because all day I was waiting for me to hurt myself, to trip on a rock, to slip and cut my skin, or to get into a little motorbike accident. So after the 45 minute bike trip back, we pull up to Kim's bar, and getting off I burnt myself on the overheated exhaust pipe!! All that worrying about getting hurt on our journey and I get hurt in from of my virtual living room!!!

Then Kim, the bar owner had a farewell dinner for me. I ordered the T-Bone. I mean I just had to!! It wasn't bad at all! Then I went to hang out with these guys that I have been talking to alot lately. Two of them were from Ireland, and picture any Irish stereotype and at least one of them fits it. They were great! The other two were from England, although I didn't meet the second one until this night. I had met the rest of them a few days prior, and they informed me that there was a fourth, but he awoke midday on the beach with a sunburn, a massive hangover and empty pockets. Of course, when I finally do meet him, he tells me how he wants to be a teacher. I just didn't see it though. Jade finally came back from swimming and we joined the boys at the Sailing club. It was really great! For most of the night, one of them was always near by entertaining me, conversing with me or just saying hi. It was amazing. I was an especially big fan of the non-alcoholic(although that is in the eye of the beholder as well) English man, which has joined a list of many English men I have enjoyed being around while here. This makes me think more and more that England or at least Europe is where I want to be for a while.

But why don't I get through Cambodia first, before I start planning my next trip?

America....the land of the free?

As children we are told how lucky we are. We are told how great our country is. We are told to appreciate all that our "forefathers" fought to preserve it. America sees it as its mission to spread the ideals of democracy, freedom, and liberty accross the globe. But at what cost?

Nearly every country I have spent time in is inundated with American media and entertainment. Understandably so in an English speaking country like Australia, but when I can sit in a bar in Vietnam and here at least one English word in each song, and be able to sing along to most of the songs, the American influence is very much understood. When I speak American "slang" to other westerners, or even non-westerners, I do not have to explain myself, they understand because they watch the same movies we do-those from Hollywood. I never feel in a completely foriegn place, because I can easily see or hear something that reminds me of home. Yet, is that a good thing?

America is a dichotomous culture, where on one hand we preach tolerance, diversity and acceptance of all cultures, yet govern ourselves by the will of the majority. We teach our children to be themselves by developing their own character and personalities, yet reward them most for conforming to very strict ideals(such as behavior and grading codes in school) and retaining the status quo. We tell our daughters that they are beautiful no matter what size, shape or color, but then glorify cookie cutter models, musicians and actresses. We tell our sons to respect women, but then allow them to watch music videos and movies where women are mere objects to be used and abused by the male gender. We are shown in school that everyone is equal and should be respected, and then throw them out into the real "dog eat dog" world. We are told that money and possessions do not make you happy, and then are put into a class system based solely on money and possessions. As children we are taught one thing and shown another.

While many other cultures are not our biggest fan, they look up to us nonetheless. Even in Vietnam, who does not allow any commercial international chain restaurants in its borders(except a KFC in Saigon, apparently), and whose country was completely devestated by a war of our making, they see more American culture then Vietnamese culture on any given day. They wouldn't admit it as such, I'm sure, but it seems that they are trying harder and harder to "modernize" in order to keep up with American and other western cultures. I understand that if they or other third world cultures "modernize" they prevent other cultures from seeing them as mere pawns in global politics, but in modernizing, they loose their culture and their identity, and join the melting pot of global culture. But is that right?

This stream of consciousness(which is probably very treasonous as well) has partly to do with the recent shootings at Virginia Tech, and partly to do with the book "Freedom Writers" that I haven't been able to put down since I began reading. While reading the news about the shootings, all I could think of was, that could have been at Geneseo, or at Binghamton, I could have been affected, I could have been shot, and so could my friends. I've heard of shootings in the past, but they have never quite affected me as this one had. These shootings, instead of being isolated incidents, are becoming an epidemic in American society. What are we doing wrong that is producing these tortured souls who feel that they need to kill others? The same thought process runs through my head as I read the diaries of the Freedom writers. Everytime I open the book to read it, I can feel my tearducts filling. Nearly each entry brings about issues of homelessness, abuse and homicide. Why? Maybe its my very suburban upbringing, but I cannot fathom why the senseless misery and murder needs to continue.

When I left on this trip most people thought that I was crazy. My mother is constantly worried about my safely and well being. People fear this place because its unfamiliar territory, and known for hostility. Yet they have no guns. My biggest worry is how to avoid the annoying motorbike drivers trying to offer me a ride to my destination. I feel comfortable walking around at all hours of the day and night. There might be poverty, according to an American ethnocentric mindset. But they are happy, and I'd go out on a limb and say more free then "the land of the free". Parents in these countries do not worry that their children will not come home at night, or won't survive through the day. I have not once heard of a murder or a kidnapping while traveling. It might not have complete American ammenities or infrastructure, but I'd say that its safer and a more fulfilling life. They don't constantly worry about insurance policies and 401K's. They aren't constantly preoccupied with the future, they live almost completely in the present.

As a teacher of English in a third world country, I feel as though I am doing a good service. But at the same time, I am also instilling the same values, morals and thought proccesses that perpetuate the American ideals; the good, the bad and the ugly. Don't get me wrong, I love being American. I love our country's rich and accessable history. I truly believe in the government, and think that it has good intentions, but I also think that America was created upon the ideals of reforming the ills of European monarchy and society, and has inadvertantly created a vast new set of ills that, due to the far reaching American media and entertainment, are quickly being disseminated around the world. It's no wonder that nearly every foriegner that I meet asks me if I own a gun, or know people who do. Because of Hollywood, they think all American's run around with guns shooting people. Incidents like this prove that stereotype right.

I should probably stop here. I know I have not really made any solid points, and have created more questions then opinions or solid statements, but I do have to re-enter the country next few and fear that my potentially treasonous writings could bar me from entering. Yet America has a saving grace. I asked an old friend of mine to edit a political theory paper of mine first semester freshman year. After reading, he blasted me for my blind patriotism and naitevity about American politics, and then began to preach near Anarchy to me. I asked him why he chose to stay in America, if he hated everything about it. Then he told me something I will never forget. He said "that's the beauty of living in this country. You can live here, hate everything about it, and then complain, lobby or find some other way to change it. It is constantly evolving and constantly accepting of its faults." This is why I'm proud to be an American. I hope this ideal, that my friend so fervently preached to me is not slowly eroding away.

I (points to self) teacher...English teacher

When I first arrived, I felt uncomforable talking to the Vietnamese on the streets. I had heard, that all they wanted was your money and the second you refused them, they were completely unfriendly. Well, this was a little bit of an exaturation, but I could only work with the information that I had at the time. Now that I have been here a few weeks, when a Vietnamese talks to me, I talk back and treat him or her like a student. While most of them are trying to peddle products of some sort, they are also trying desperately hard to learn English, so if I have a few minutes to spare, I slow down my pace, and my speech and try my hardest to have a conversation with them. Once they hear, or see(because its mostly through pantimime that I speak to them) that I am an English teacher, I all of a sudden have an eager pupil wanting to meet me again to speak English. Since I am only here a few weeks, I have had to refuse, but a few of the long term volunteers have done this repeatedly and have made lots of local friends in the process. While some are jaded by the two faced-ness of the Vietnamese, I see that they on the whole very eager to learn, very smart but cunning and just trying to enjoy life as we all are.

So I have not spoken much about teaching, because while its my intent for being here, it only takes up an hour or two of my day, and I wind up doing many other things while I am here. Since I only have a few more days, I thought I'd fill you all in on what is going on in the teaching realm of my travels.

So Jade and I teach a group of teenagers. They are absolutely adorable. Full of personality, charm, charisma and general intelligence. Our expressed mission here is to work with these "street kids" in order to keep them away from pedophilia. While we don't see too much of that, that doesn't mean that these kids aren't deserving of our attention. They might not be propositioned on the street, but that does not mean that they aren't on the streets; selling postcards, cigarettes, food...whatever they can to make them and their families a living. Education is not compolsury here, and thus is private and expensive in terms of their meager earnings. For one student to go to school for a year, its about 3 million dong, or about $250. This might not sound like a lot, but you have to get out of the US dollar mindset.

One student of mine is around 15, he is a postcard seller. He begins his day at 930 when he has to walk his brother to Crazy Kim's bar for classes with Ryan and Naena. Then he attends his class with me and Jade at 1030. After class he hits the beach with his satchel of postcards, asking any tourist he can find if they want memorbilia of their trip to Nha Trang. If he sells three packets of postcards, for about 25, 000 Dong each, he's done pretty well. 75, 000 dong, while hardly enough to pay for two meals for my western appetite, could easily buy him, and his brother about three meals for the day. Although these meals consist of a bowl with rice or noodles, a few pieces of meat and some cucumber, for about 10, 000 Dong each. His mother sells Jewelry on the beach front and also has similar successes, making less then 100, 000 Dong. His father is a motorbike driver. Motorbike drivers essentially taxi a single person around the city. For example, today I hired a motorbike driver(with the help of the student I'm speaking of actually) to drive me about 3 miles away to the mud bath spa. He then waited almost two hours for me to come out and drove me back to my hotel. For two hours of his time and more then 5 miles of gas and wear/tear on his bike, I was charged 35, 000 Dong, which is enough for him to buy him and one other person a meal, basically, albeit a little nicer meal then I described early. So you can imagine spending 3 million dong on something that doesn't give them any income in return, does not seem to be the most logical choice. Therefore, while I do not necessarily see the whole child-sex tourism to be a huge presence, I still do see it as a worthwhile cause.

So in an effort to leave the students with a long lasting impact of our brief stay here, Ryan, Naena, Jade and I (although honestly, since I was gone this past weekend, they put alot more energy into it then I have, I'm just an eager supporter) have created a way for the students to gain more money and respect for themselves and their families. We are helping them create their own tour group, where groups or solo travelers pay the students to give them a tour around the city. Since it is not expressly affiliated with the bar(although we are using their name for reputability. Although its a good cause, I don't think I would "rent" a street kid for a day to do tours, without knowing there was something secure behind it, such as Crazy Kim's bar.) 100% of the proceeds go to the students, plus they get to practice their English and stay off the streets. We are working now on advertising, hats, and bringing them around to the sites so they can get as much information as possible. It's been great, because we get to hang out with them more and allow them to practice their English more. While in Thailand, I really liked my "students"(who as you remember were teachers), they were all the way in Udon, a 30 minute drive, and aside from the one field trip and a few emails, I never hung out with them outside of the school setting. These kids, who are the target age I like to work with have endeared themselves to me so much so, that I do not want to leave. I really want to see this through and see them succeed, and not leave them only a short time after I arrived. I guess I should have thought about that before I made the plans. I honestly didn't think that I would bond with them that much in such a short time. Most of them call me "crazy" because they didn't learn my name right away, but simply observed my teaching habits. For those of you who have seen me in the classroom, know that I am a little off my rocker while I teach. Then when they finally learned my name, they had trouble pronouncing it, and kept calling me Lazy instead. Since lazy and crazy rhyme it stuck. My favorite student, who's name is phuoc(and pronounced like a four letter word rhyming with duck) honestly refers to me as crazy and not as Lacy at all. It's funny.

Half the reason I wrote this is because I really haven't mentioned too much about it, and really do think that we are doing some good work and it is one of the reasons I absolutely love it here and am hating that I have to leave. The other reason is because two new volunteers just arrived this weekend, and they are already leaving because the kids aren't "street" enough. Which I think is complete bullshit. I guess they are art therapists who don't really like teaching english(then why are they in a program to teach English??) who are trying to tap into the kids psyches and reveal their deepest darkest secrets. When only stories of a few molestations and some hunger came out of this art therapy session, they decided that they wanted to go to an orphanage or other area where there are "real problems". In one way I can understand because they do think that they will have a bigger impact in a more higher needs population. I mean, I feel the same way about teaching in the innercity. But at the same time, they are here for one month, and have made a commitment for that month and two days later decide that the kids aren't "street" enough. I don't know about you, but no one in my family ever touched me inappropriately and I never went a day without food in my belly. These kids might not be dirty and bleeding, but they are still in definate need of the education that we provide, and it really insulted me that they said that. Especially since I am so bonded to these kids and want only the best for them. But I guess if they aren't wanting to work here, then they might as well leave now, before the kids suffer.

a title that never fits

I stole that from Jovanna I think, or maybe Krystal? Either way, I have realized that I named my blog the lonlieness of a long distance traveler in haste. As I mentioned in the last blog I made friends everywhere I went the first few days of my "solo" trip, and I made even more friends the last few days.

So I decided to stay in Hue the next full day and went on a motorbike tour, run by the bar I was quickly becoming a regular at. When I arrived the next morning to begin the tour, there were 6 other people there. Two couples and two girls traveling together. Great I thought to myself, I have been meeting all these people and its come to an end, as often people who travel in pairs have no desire to talk to others. Well of course, leave it to me and my gregarious personality to make them all talk to me, even if they didn't want to!! One of the couples was from San Fransisco, which is great, because I now have a good contact there, when I move! The other couple was from Denmark and I wound up having lunch, a self guided city tour, dinner and drinks with them, and another German guy the rest of the day. We honestly talked, the four of us for like 8 hours straight! It was great! I also ran into Paul and his two sisters from the day before and made tentative plans to hang out, although they quickly got into a fight with the tourist agency, and I did not hold my breath for seeing them later on.

Oh yeah, the city tour was pretty great too! We saw some pagodas, the tomb of an old emperor(the city I was in served as the Vietnamese capitol for much of the 18th and 19th century!), how incense was made, impacts of the "American war", and some picturesque places. We also had a pretty bad experience, with the girl from San Fransisco. While on the motorbike, her and her driver swerved to avoid a crazy dog and wound up skidding on the ground. She got pretty scraped up, but I didn't think much of it. That was until she had like a mini seizure and blacked out for a few minutes. We saw them later on in the night though, and she was doing just fine! Its funny, because the entire time I was so worried that something horrible was going to happen, by allowing someone else to drive me around the city on a motorbike. Yet, after I saw the worst of what could happen, I realized it really wasn't that bad. I often allow that fear to stop me from doing most things, and while I do not wish to have my body scraped up, if it happens sometimes, and I get to enjoy my life more, I think I prefer the scrapes, to the fear.

Although the foursome wanted to go out longer, and wanted me to stay the next day, I knew I was tired, and wanted to head back to the hotel. When I told them I was taking the morning bus to Hoi An so I could explore that town, before taking the night bus back to Nha Trang, they were genuinly upset. They said they were going to hire a Vietnamese person, and paste a picture of my face on the Vietnamese, so they can feel like I'm still there. It was really sweet. Either way, I wanted to explore Hoi An, and so I did.

While Hoi An does not have the cultural/historical attributes, it does have one unique thing; its numerous tailor shops. Essentially each of the many stores in town have skeins and skeins of fabric (such as silks, cotton, suade, khaki etc.) and samples of clothes as well as books and books of styles. As I have mentioned, most clothes in South East Asia does not fit me, because the people in this entire side of the world is about half the size of a westerner, so when I had the opportunity, I took it. I have Nicole's wedding to go to as soon as I got back and thought it would be great to have an Asian style dress that fits me perfectly. Unfortnately, to get a proper fitting, you were supposed to stay in town for a few days, to go for fittings and ensure everything was ok. I was there for 5 hours, ordered 2 dresses, a tank top and a pair of pink silk sandels. The town, which is known most for its peaceful and laid back lifestyle, was the most stressful 5 hours I have had while in South East Asia. Somehow, as it always seems to though, it worked out, and I have some great new clothes, that might just need a little more work done on them by my mother.

The bus ride back to Nha trang, from 6:30pm until 7am was definately not the dream that the ride up was. I saw with a woman from the Czech Republic who wouldn't sit with this one girl because "she was too big", although I was certainly bigger then this girl was. She then decided to wear a wool blanket and turn the A/C off, and take up most of her seat and mine. She was not a big lady by any means, but she just really spread herself out. I had to repeatedly ask her to move over, so the handle was not making a permenant mark in my hip. It was dreadful.

Overall, I had an absolutely great time! I was really nervous about going alone, as I said, and I found that I was hardly ever alone! At the same time though, I had no expectations, and did not hold anything to high standards, and therefore enjoyed everything for what it was. Although I am still not a fan of the complete transient nature of traveling, I think I could see myself doing it through Europe for two months, as long as I have people to see every couple spots. It was great to do something that I was terrified to do, and not only "get through it" but I really enjoyed myself!!!

I can't believe my two months in South East Asia are almost coming to a close. I have had the time of my life here and don't know how I can say goodbye, but at the same time, I'm so happy to go home and do all the great things that I have planned. I feel like I have gained so much confidence and a new sense of life and fun here, and I can't wait to spread it to the rest of my life.

Knowing that I am leaving soon, I am devoting the rest of this week to touring around Nha trang to its fullest potential, including finally seeing a waterfall!!

Report from the trenches

I have just returned from a lovely 12 hour tour of the Demilitarized zone. Although lovely is quite generous as is tour, I still learned and saw alot nonetheless. The tour guide unfortunately spoke really bad English and we spent more time sitting on the bus then sight seeing, but either way it was an eye opening experience.

The American war, as the Vietnamese call it essentially began as the French lost its hold on the country, in the mid 1950s(Dien Bien Phu). America who had been backing France realized it had to take matters into its own hands to prevent the domino effect. Fueled with Red scare fever, they split the country in two, on the 17th parallel, also a river, forming a 10km Demilitarized Zone. (shown in picture to right, this statue was on the Southern side) Once split, the Vietnamese had less then one year to decide who they had alliegence to, the Communist North or the American backed South. There was to be an election to reunite the country after that year, but that election never came. The American's used the split to garner support and get the support of the people of the South. The war waged on for nearly twenty years with neither side making many strides until Khe Son, which occured around the same time at the Tet Offensive, when the Western media finally realized that they were not winning the war, and public opinion essentially forced Nixon to abandon the war, giving American's their first military loss in their history(if you are really interested on my theories of the media's impact on the Vietnam war, I wrote my senior thesis on it and will email it to anyone interested.)

This is the American perspective, and very abbreviated. I was hoping to get the Vietnamese perspective, yet due to the unhelpful tour guide I was unable to hear the history, and only able to absorb the present and what was presented to me. So to dispell some myths....

Vietnam is not some dirty, horrible jungle. As I hope you see from the pictures, it is a great, vast mountinous area. (although even the pictures don't do it justice) It's topography definately aided the Vietnamese army, but it also greatly hurt the people. We visited a group of tunnels that the citizens of the town had dug in order to protect themselves from the invavions. Entire cities were built underground within the mountains. Yet unlike the amazing architecture of US bombshelters which were glorified in movies such as Blast from the Past, these tunnels were bareboned, small, dark and dingy. We walked through them, but don't let that smile fool you(I'm guilty of that cheesy American smile), it does not mean that it was a happy place to be. Each family was assigned a room, which was no bigger then a 4 door car. It was essentially made out of wet clay, constantly staining everyone's clothes. They had separate little alcoves for the toilet, for living areas and for hospitals. 17 babies were both in those tunnels. (for anyone curious, the people in the statue are fake, but definately scared the crap out of me when I first saw them!!) It was a horrible life. In the middle of the day, me and the 30 other Westerners I was with could hardly get through the tunnels without tripping and falling. The lighting was horrible, and I'm fairly certain it was alot worse 50 years ago. It was small both width wise and height wise(although do remember that Vietnamese are on the whole alot smaller then Westerners), and I had to duck repeatedly to get through. They warned the Claustrophobic that it could cause an attack. Imagine having no choice. Imagine being citizens of a country where other, more powerful coutries always seem to know whats better for you, and impose that opinion forcefully. Vietnam had been fighting for its own agency, for its own independence for over a century, first from China, then from France and finally from America. One of the people on the tour asked us, "well why didn't the citizens of this town move? Why did they have to go underground." First of all, why should they have to move? It's their country!!! Second of all, not having good communication, they would have had no idea how widespread the war was, and where it was safe to go. Especially with bombing raids so frequent you could set your watch by them. While the rest of the stuff we saw, such as part of the Ho Chi Minh trial(which supplied the North), army bases, and museums, this one site had the biggest impact on me. This would be similar to walking into a concentration camp in Eastern Europe and having them pretend to put the gas on, to show you the fear that the persecuted felt. I felt that fear. I couldn't stand to be in those tunnels for the 20 minutes I was down there, how could people have managed two decades?

I am really glad that I came here. This is exactly what I wanted to see on my travels. Thailand was great to understand the culture, and the present, but I was hoping Vietnam would show me some of the past. I was especially hoping to see a past not full of American propoganda(although I am sure I saw some Vietnamese biases, if only subtely). As a historian and future history teacher, it is important to see both sides of the story, and then ascertain the truest account you can based on the confirming evidence. Here, I see a country who wanted its freedom, and super powers who wanted to impose their own view instead. This was not a war concerning Vietnam whatsoever, it was a war of ideologies, in which neither side won. Yes, Vietnam might be communist, but from what I can see its just as Capitolistic as America. The market economy still exists, as does private property. The authories might be more overtly covert and their "progress" might not be as comples as our own, but other then that they are capitolist in all but word.

Overall this was a great experience and something that I have most been looking forward to since I booked the tickets to South East Asia. I wanted culture, and I have it coming out my ears, but now I have more history as well. Coming here, makes me realize how much I really would like to visit Europe and spend some time there to really get to understand the roots of American culture, as well as my roots, especially in Austria and Poland. I hope to soon. I also got to realize how great it is to travel on your own. As my previous blog stated, you are never really alone, even when you think you are. So maybe I was a bit hasty naming my blog. Oh well.

Although I haven't firmly made the decision, I think I am going to stay here another day and leave back to Hoi an the following morning, spend a few hours there and then take the night bus back to Nha Trang. I am debating whether or not to spend more time here, or spend more time in Hoi an. But our bus broke down about 2 miles away from my hotel, and I decided instead of waiting(I really had to pee!!) I just decided to walk it, and surprisingly I made it accurately(and unscathed!), and also got to really see the city, and I think I wanna do it justice and explore it for the whole of tomorrow instead of just the morning. Isn't it great that I get to make decisions like that?

Ok, this blog is long enough, but also one of the most important, I think. Peace out yo.

When you're alone, you're not alone, not really allllllone

10 points to whoever can name the movie the title is from!!!

So I've been on the road a little over 24 hours and I have to say I am not only surviving, but I am really enjoying myself.

I waited at my hotel at 630pm for the bus, but found out that it did not arrive til past 730pm. I was almost ready to throw in the towel and ask for a refund, but I waited instead. I got a row on the bus to myself, but I was soon joined by a cute boy who's name I found out 16 hours later was named Paul. He immediately took out his book to begin reading, yet asked me a generic question or two. Next thing we know its nearly 1130pm and the whole bus is silent so we opted to stop talking and attempt to sleep. The bus stopped at 1am, and we all got out to pee and eat. Since I had ignored my friend's in Nha Trang suggestion to buy food before I left, I was very very hungry. After the stop, we talked on an off the rest of the morning. He was a 21 year old from Perth, who was a tradesman. He had been traveling for a few months, and his sisters wanted to join him and choose his time in Vietnam to do so. I am not sure what we spent so much time talking about, but we never seemed to run out of things to say.

We arrived in Hoi An at 6:30am. I knew there was a bus leaving to Hue at 8am and one at 2pm. Traveling wise I thought it better to go right to Hue, knowning that I could always come back to Hoi an. I bid farewell to my new friend as his sisters had already booked him a tour for the day(random: he said to me "cheers for the company"...silly Aussies). I found a travel agency and found a tour to take at My Son through the Cham ruins/ancient city. My tour left at 8am. The bus pulls up, and my new friend was in it, along with his sisters. He finally introduces himself as he introduces me to his sisters. One of his sisters was great! A teacher, really bubbly and friendly. The other one hardly spoke two words to me. I wound up hanging out with them most of the afternoon at My Son. My son was essentially an ancient village of Cham people(chinese Hindu's), that the Viet Cong used as a hiding place during the Vietnam war. Out of 68 temples on the grounds, only 20 of them remain intact. Everywhere you could see bombing craters and buildings in virtual ruin. I apologized on behalf of my country. I met another group of people also from Australia, but adults, because my new friends had moved quickly through the tour and I wanted to take my time. I met back up with the siblings but quickly bid them farewell again because I had to get back to the travel agency and they had a boat tour already booked, however I have this feeling that I will see him again tomorrow, as they are traveling up to Hue.

I board the bus at 230pm and after a stopover in Danang, we arrive around 530 about 1KM away from our destination, and we sit there for almost an hour as the busdriver and operators change a tire. I finally arrive around 615 to one of the main backpacker alleys, to a child asking me if I was staying for the night. I nod affirmatively and he takes me to his hotel. Since I had studied my Lonely Planet guide book, I knew this one was in there, and knew it was something I could trust. After showing me expensive rooms with internet in room and 3 beds, I got them to give me two single beds with TV, Air Con and private bathroom for $8 a night. Not bad at all.

I spend an hour or two relaxing as I have not had any sleep in over 24 hours and had pretty full days, but quickly realize that I need to eat dinner. I head to the first place opens, that winds up being the most reccommended bar in the city. I am quikcly joined by two danish brothers who are endlessly fascinated with the fact that I have never seen any "good movies". About two hours later I bid them farewell, promising to return tomorrow, as I have to get some sleep because I am exploring the DMZ at 6am tomorrow morning. Yet, I am now online.

I am really enjoying myself. I am amazed how easy it is to talk to people while traveling alone. I assumed I would constantly feel akward, or look like a social leper, but that is not the case. I had the option to travel with one of the volunteers to Saigon, but I chose instead to give it a go on my own, and to travel to places less well known, and more culturally and historically rich. I think I made a great choice. Even in Australia, when I traveled alone, I merely did it just to do it, but here, I am really enjoying myself. Its very exciting to always be meeting new people, and realize that I can do things on my own. I am hoping tomorrow, I will be rested enough to stay out fairly late and really get to see if I can "go out" on my own. I can't believe how much I have grown and tested myself here. Australia, Italy, France, even Disney was nothing compared to what I am learning and experiencing here. I am really on my own, and not only surviving but having the time of my life.

Oh and having free internet in the hotel definately helps.

Peace out, see ya on the flip side!