Halfway There

So it turns out, a lot can happen in six months. Two of my oldest and best friends had their weddings. One of my closest friends since sixth grade got engaged and subsequently, relocated from LA to Boston. Another one of my good friends bought her first home with her boyfriend. My sister and The Russian moved into a new house in the Bay Area. My sweet Sadie Lady (my family's dog of fourteen years) passed away. There have also been break-ups, career changes, new boyfriends & girlfriends, fun group vacations and plenty of birthdays since March 16th. This is officially the longest I've ever been away from home. In some ways, it seems like a painfully long time to be away; in most ways, it feels like the months have flown by.

"I met a girl who kept tattoos for homes that she had loved. If I were her, I'd paint my body 'til all my skin was gone." - Something Corporate

Since leaving California, I've been lucky enough to find so many short term "homes that I loved" along the way. One thing I've learned about myself on this trip is that I can get very comfortable, very quickly almost anywhere, as long as I have some friends to play with (and ideally, a beach to play on). There was the Evershine Guesthouse in Goa, where I became instant life-long friends with Cat from England and Alice from Holland. I had an amazing three weeks in May traveling through Thailand with Erin from Australia, who I met as soon as I put my backpack down at the Pineapple Guesthouse in Karon Beach. The highlight of the trip was probably my "home" in Vilnius with Asta and Ramune, where I was so warmly welcomed and driven literally all over the country to meet relatives and see the highlights of Lithuania. And then there was "Sin-ville" with my CCPP cohorts. Similar to the way I still feel about my fellow abroad students from Madrid, a unique and strong bond was formed during that month we had together. I'll always have a smirk on my face when I reminisce about the Cambodian chapter of my trip. =)

While I feel incredibly lucky to have had these mini "homes" along the way, nothing compares to the parts of this trip that included loved ones from my real home. Being able to share this traveling experience with my Mom, Dad, Kate and Jess was more rewarding than I could ever imagine- and I think it made them feel better about my "adventure" as well, being able to witness it firsthand. Also, the generosity of people like Caren in Copenhagen and Liane in Germany allowed me to experience some of the more expensive locations of my trip with someone I already know and adore, without breaking the bank.

I could easily go on and on about what an enlightening, happy, adventurous, fulfilling, surprising, sunny and eventful six months I've had so far, but I think this post will be best summed up with a few of my favorite memories from the past six months. Enjoy!

Celebrating Uncle Jonas' 80th Birthday with a room full of relatives I never knew I had (April)









Fourth of July/Buckets & Paint Party at JJ's in Sihanoukville (July)









Spending the day exploring Gili Trawangan with Jessica (August)









Black Moon Party (August)









Sunset at Angkor Wat (June)









Biking through German countryside with Liane (May)













I hope you've enjoyed reading about the past six months as much as I've enjoyed living it. Next Wednesday, the Southeast Asia chapter of this journey will end, as I head over to Sydney to explore a brand new continent.

One love,
Maura

Six Things I Now Know About Bali

1) They love and I mean LOVE Barack Obama. As the opener to a conversation, most of the locals ask where you're from. America? Every single time, their next word is "Obama!". While Barack doesn't have any blood line relating back to Indonesia, his mother did marry an Indonesian man and I believe he spent part of his childhood in Jakarta. But the way their faces light up when they talk about him is adorable. I'll take that reaction over Bush comments *any day*.

2) You'll never see anything more beautiful than a Balinesian girl doing a traditional dance. Jess and I went to a traditional Fire Dance Show while in Ubud and we were completely blown away by the beauty of it all. The finger poses, the foot movements, the facial expressions, the way she looks like she's floating on air. The make up, the outfit, the hair. Its overwhelming. Without showing too much skin or shaking their hips, these girls can completely captivate an entire audience of parents, backpackers, teenagers and little kids. If you're ever in Bali, make sure not to miss this experience!


3) Young Thai women are to foreign guys as young Balinese men are to foreign girls. Perhaps its due to the "Eat Pray Love" phenomenon going on here, but it's almost unbelievable to me how the Balinese men flirt with the backpacker gals. The guy who I've been "renting" a lounge chair from on the beach each day keeps insisting on "we go dancing tonight?". No. We don't go dancing tonight. And that's not only because I've seen you ask the other three girls who are here alone. It might sound more bothersome or creepy than it is, but overall, Balinese men seem anxious to show foreign girls a good time. I'll pass.

4) Each morning, I have to carefully watch my step to avoid crushing one of the hundreds of "canang saris" on the ground. Actually- they're not limited to the sidewalk. I've seen them on windshields, motorcycle seats, on the steps of a temple (that one seemed least out of place) and even on the seashore. Hindus in Bali believe that spirits exist in all objects and elements of life, hence the seemingly random placement of the canang saris. As you can see below, the base is a square shape, made from a banana leaf. Inside, you'll typically find fresh flowers, a small portion of rice or fresh fruit, holy water and a few burning incense sticks. These offerings are a sign of gratitude for the gift of life; placing the canang saris out each morning (and sometimes again mid-day) is both a duty and an honor for the Balinese.


5) Kuta is Australia's Cancun. Sure, there are stretches of gorgeous white sand beaches and plenty of luxurious resorts with upscale bars and inviting swimming pools. But there are also packs of Australian teenagers, drinking 40oz. Bintangs for breakfast and hundreds of vendors, selling the same ten pairs of fake Ray Bans in their shop. However, there are always pros and cons to visiting a tourist trap like Kuta; there tends to be an ample supply of low priced accomodation (huge plus for yours truly), and you can always rely on plenty of Western style food in a town overrun by tourists. Thanks to the incredibly authentic and very affordable California-style burritos at Mojo's Flying Burritos, I'm willing to let the pros outweight the cons in this case. Plus- what kind of surf mecca would this be without a killer burrito spot?
(http://www.mojosflyingburritos.com/)


6) You'll never sit next to a Balinese person on the beach. You might see them walk by or they might offer to sell you a bracelet or cold beer. But they are not into the beach one bit; ironic, considering the Indonesian coastline holds some of the world's most spectacular beaches. Perhaps its because *every day* is a gorgeous beach day for them. Why rush out to enjoy it, when you know it'll be there again tomorrow? And every other day for the rest of your life?

BFFs in Bali

I jumped out of bed (well- the top bunk in an 8 bed dorm room) with a huge grin on my face on August 29th. In only a matter of hours, I would meet Jessica at the Denpasar Airport in Bali. Christmas morning had arrived. One ride on the KL metro, one hour long airport shuttle and one AirAsia flight later, I was still beaming with excitement. At Customs, I paid the $25 US for the 30 day Indonesian visa, took my receipt and got in line for the stamp. Only one hour until Jessica's flight lands and then its best-friend-time all-the-time for the next two weeks. Too good to be true. Next thing I know, the Official who is supposed to be stamping my passport is telling me that there's no more room on any of the pages and that he cannot give me a stamp. Talk about a mood change. My perma-grin was instantly replaced with a racing heart beat and tears welling up in my eyes. You're joking, right? After all of this, you're not going to let me into the country? My mind was racing- ok so I'll just wait here for Jess and we'll tackle this together? Or... I'll talk to someone immediately about getting an additional page sewn in? Ya right- I doubt they do that at the airport. But this kind of thing must happen all the time... right? I quickly grabbed my passport from him and started scanning the pages. Not only had I completely neglected to realize that, in fact, most of my pages were pretty close to full, but I also had no idea that the Indonesian Visa needs an entire page. Eventually, the guard's superior gave him the approval to only give me a stamp, but we finally agreed on a small corner on one of the pages where it would most likely fit. Right after he stamped, I gave a huge sigh, and homeboy whispered "Ok, I help you. Now you help me?" What?! He's asking for a TIP now? I explained that I only had $5 US dollars left and didn't have any Indonesian Rupiah in my possession yet. He seemed pissed and threw my passport on the counter while giving me a "you're useless, now go" sweeping hand motion. Welcome to Indonesia...?

My thirteen days with Jessica were, as she would say, "money". We had the MOST amazing time together; basically, I'll refer to that vacation together as our honeymoon. I mean, after living together for nine years and still coming out alive as the best of friends, we deserved something on the honeymoon-level, right? In true "Jessica" fashion, she arrived with enough Sephora products & samples for me to open a mini beauty store here (Jessica works at Sephora's Corporate Headquarters in SF). Face masks, toners, body scrubs, body butter, perfumes- I hit the at-home-spa treatment jackpot. And speaking of spa treatments, during our first few days in Ubud, we hit the spa twice. My only other spa visit was with Kate, when I treated myself to my first pedicure on Koh Tao. We found rave reviews for Zen Spa (http://www.zenbalispa.com/) on TripAdvisor and treated ourselves to the two hour Mandi Lulur Treatment. A traditional body massage followed by a body scrub with turmeric, sandal wood and rice powder, an exfoliation of yoghurt to eliminate toxins, and a fragrant blossom bath. It was absolute heaven, and it was less than $20 US. Win. We went back to Zen again the next day, where I treated myself to yet another pedicure & Jess enjoyed a foot massage.



From Ubud, we took a minivan and then a speedboat over to Gili Trawangan. Out of the three Gili Islands (Air, Trawangan, Mino), we opted for "Gili T", since we heard it had better nightlife and a pretty good backpacker scene. We ended up at the lovely little Sunrise Pondok Homestay; the walk down to the beach was on a small dirt road, usually swarming with overgrown bougainvillea, roaming chickens & roosters, stray dogs and adorable little Indonesian munchkins. During the day, we biked around the island and found secluded beaches, cozy little restaurants and usually stopped at a happy hour on our way home. One day we went on a snorkeling tour, which was a blast- we found Nemo AND spotted an adorable and slow moving turtle! For the most part, we opted for movie nights in our room more often than beers at the loud Reggae Bar down the street, but we did manage to meet up with Vanessa Reid! Vanessa is a fellow '01 Paly Grad who is taking her "bar trip" before joining the legal working world in the Fall. New total is FIVE random run-ins with Paly grads while traveling. Go Vikes.


Jess and I ended up staying on Gili T for seven nights before heading back to the mainland of Bali to tackle the Waikiki of Indonesia, known as Kuta. Unfortunately, our "three and a half hours" of speed boat + mini bus turned into eight long hours of waiting around and then sitting in traffic. Be warned, if you arrive in Kuta during high season, book ahead. We walked around town for over an hour (with our backpacks on- ouch!) asking for a double room at every hotel we saw. Finally, we settled for a room that was so grimy that I even refused to use the shower. There were strange smells and odd stains on the wall and Jessica insisted we find better for our last night together. Just like she did for our first night in Ubud, Jessica treated us to a gorgeous hotel for our last night in Bali together, and we spent most of the day lounging by the pool and planning the rest of my trip together.

The good news is that we had an absolutely perfect trip together. The bad news is that it's over. When I said goodbye to Jess, the reality set in that I won't see another friend from home (unless there are more Paly kids on the loose in Southeast Asia, hah) until Kathryn arrives in Sydney at the end of October. Que triste. On the bright side, I think I'll head to Sydney in a week or so, and I have a few friends from my travels who are currently stationed there. Familiar faces! I'll take it. Once I arrive in Australia, I'll find a room and a paying gig and actually have a chance to stay in one place for about two months. I'm both thrilled and devastated. I love moving around and seeing new towns and beaches and people all of the time. Will I go stir-crazy in Sydney or am I about to embark on the most exciting part of this adventure? Only one way to tell, right?

Thanks for reading!

Until next time,
Maura the "I'm so legit, my passport is full" Explorer

Sihanoukville -> Bangkok -> Koh Samui -> Koh Phangan -> Koh Tao -> Bangkok -> Chiang Mai -> Kuala Lumpur

Greetings from Kuala Lumpur! I realize that lots of time has passed since I've posted anything, and I've narrowed this down to three main reasons.
1) My camera is busted. Its so sad, I can't even talk about it. I've always been "into" taking pictures but this trip really solidified my love and passion for sharing what I see through photos. Also, not only was it a great camera, but it was a birthday present from my best friends in the whole world; it flew home with Kate last week, but I'm not sure it'll find its way back to me. What a sad and expensive situation. In any case, not having pictures to share makes me feel like I don't have anything to share. I guess that's not entirely true, but its one of my arguments.
2) I've been having "loads" (I'm so UK) of fun and have been pretty busy! I arrived back in Bangkok via 12 hour bus from Sihanoukville on July 30th. Two days later, Kate arrived in Surat Thani. After two AMAZING weeks together, exploring the Gulf of Thailand Islands, we ended up back in Bangkok so that she could catch her flight back to SF. Two hours later, I was hanging out with the lovely Victoria- another volunteer from CCPP, who was doing the Thailand route. Three days later, I was with Dan (CCPP art director) in Chiang Mai. Next day, I met up with a fellow San Franciscan in Kuala Lumpur and... now I'm on my own again. Meeting cool people is my absolute favorite thing about traveling. Sure- you encounter a Debby Downer or Snobby Sally (particularly from USA, to be honest) every now and then, but I have met some of the absolute coolest, most adventurous, well-traveled, talented, interesting people on this trip & for that, I am so thankful. Whats a day at the beach, without a cool person to chit-chat with? And how much fun is a bamboo river rafting trip by yourself? None at all. But add two Austrian girls, a pair of Australian newlyweds and a gregarious Malaysian casino owner, and you've got yourself an eventful day AND a story to bring home. That being said, the only thing I love more than meeting these great people is meeting BACK up with them somewhere along the way. That rocks. A familiar face to grab a beer with and trade travel stories? Two thumbs way up.
3) I don't know who is reading this. I'm in no way implying that this little blog is bookmarked on more than 1 or maybe 2 computers (Mom and Kate, haha), but I'll admit that it is slightly creepy and unnerving that really, anyone has access to this blog. For some reason, that has been bothering me lately. I love sharing these little nuggets of my trip with my wonderful family & friends, but I don't like the idea of a random person (or not so random, & not so favored by me) reading it and getting to know all about my adventures. I know- too late to worry about it now and you should have thought of that sooner, Maura. The explorer.
Here's a brief overview of where I've been and where I'm going....

I ended up staying in Sihanoukville an extra three days. Each day, there was a totally legitimate reason to stay- I swear! Now I understand why the Cambodian monthly travel guide is named "Stay Another Day". That place is almost impossible to leave behind! After a full day of buses and vans and waiting in lines and listening to my JJ's Playlist on repeat, I arrived on Khao San Road on the night of the 30th. The next evening, I caught an overnight bus to the port town of Surat Thani & took the first ferry to Koh Samui in the morning. One tuk-tuk ride later and I was laying out by 11am that day. Amazing. Two days later, I headed back to the mainland to greet Kate at the Surat Thani airport. It was SO good to see her - I had been waiting for that moment for about five months! She looked great, felt great and had it all going on. Haha (inside joke). We spent four days basking in the direct sunlight on Koh Samui and then partied like 21 year olds on Koh Phangan for three days. One night, there was a huge party on the beach, the next night was a Pool (Pool Pool) Party (Party Party) at our hotel and the third night was The Black Moon Party. Thailand is really into celebrating the lunar calendar. The Full Moon Party being the original & most infamous, Thai visitors also have the option to attend parties in honor of the Half Moon, Black Moon and Blue Moon.
The morning after the Black Moon Party, Kate and I (and our wicked hangovers) took the high speed ferry to Koh Tao, where we spent our last four days hanging out at the beach, snorkeling, drinking Chang Beer & hanging out with some pretty cool American guys. After Koh Tao was Bangkok, and you know the rest of that story. We had such a great time together & I miss my sister terribly already! Its weird to say goodbye to someone you love when you truly have no idea when you'll see them again.
So I'm in KL now and I'll take the bus up to Penang tonight. I've heard great things about the Northern coast of Malaysia- the capital city of Penang is Georgetown, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Can't wait to see it! I'll head back down to KL on the 28th and on the morning of the 29th, I'll fly to Denpasar Airport in Bali to see my Jessica! I'm beyond excited for more beach time/exploring with one of my best friends on the planet, and also thrilled to finally check out Bali and see these gorgeous Gili Islands for myself. After Bali, I don't have another "appointment" until October 29th when Kathryn D. Torrey arrives in Sydney for our Australian Adventure. I've heard rumors of a three week "cruise" (wooden houseboat, bbq fish for dinner every night, dirt cheap & rustic) you can take through East Timor and PNG from Bali, so you better believe I'll look into that as soon as I get there. Anyway, I had received some requests for an update on my blog, so there you have it. Thanks for reading!

And no, I still don't know when I'll be home. =)

Cambodian Children's Painting Project

Life is good here in Sihanoukville. Truly, "living the dream". By day, I am a volunteer with Cambodian Children's Painting Project (www.letuscreate.org). By night, I am a regular at the beach bar/paint party/bucket night party scene that rages until the early morning hours each night. Yes, every single night in Sihanoukville, one of the beach bars hosts a giant full-moon-style beach party. Most people are only passing through "Sin-ville" for two or three nights, but to live here for a month is to be, essentially, constantly covered in paint.

When I was planning my trip last year, I decided I wanted to spend a good chunk of time in Cambodia and figured that volunteering with an NGO would be a good way to make a contribution while taking my time getting to know the country. My search brought me to the Thorn Tree Forum on lonelyplanet.com- ideally, I wanted to find a situation where I could volunteer WITH kids NEAR a beach. It seemed like a tall order, but voila! I found rave reviews for CCPP and quickly emailed them to begin the application process.


Its hard to say which I've enjoyed more- getting to know the gorgeous and happy children of CCPP... or the amazing and diverse group of volunteers here with me. In only two weeks time, I've grown incredibly close to many of the "teachers" here, and am thrilled to now have friends in places like Morocco, Frankfurt, Paris and Reunion Islands (near Madagascar). We are naturally making verbal commitments to visit each other next year, which I fully intend on doing!


The children of CCPP are the most beautiful kids I've ever met. Not only are most of them incredibly good-looking (Angelina was onto something...), but they are very polite, take good care of each other, share toys effortlessly and take pride in cleaning up after themselves. Cambodia has spawned a breed of Super Kids! Many of them are very intelligent and speak pretty good English; others come to CCPP with dirt on their faces & empty bellies. There is no smile more sincere than that of a hungry child receiving food- and I get to see about 100 of them every day.


My first week with CCPP, we moved into a new facility down the road. In three days, we took the vacant lot of a Swedish Restaurant and added walls, bleached counters, painted rooms and trimmed the trees to make the place a giant playground for the kids. Previously, CCPP was located on the main road down to Serendipity Beach- it was nice, since many tourists would stop by on their way to and from the beach, but the space was not big enough for the 100+ kids that come to CCPP each day. Now, the old space is used as our gallery/studio area where we prep boards and stretch canvases and sell paintings for $4 a piece.


Each day at 8am and 2pm, our driver Pip comes to the gallery to pick up volunteers to transport us up the road to the new facility, where there are always kids waiting for us with those giant smiles on their faces. The first 90 mins of each shift is painting with the kids- helping them with sketches, passing out paints with brushes, etc. In the afternoons, painting time is followed by free time. In the mornings, the kids follow painting time with English classes (in our on-site classroom) and then receive a free lunch. As the food is served, the children who sold paintings the day prior receive $2 cash for each sale. A round of applause is given between each announcement of a sale. If the painting was a larger canvas painting (prices vary from $15-$80), then the money is given to the child's guardian.


Cambodian Children's Painting Project is a fantastic and well-run NGO with its heart in the right place. To learn more about CCPP, please visit: www.letuscreate.org. If you would like to make a donation to the project, or send art supplies/clothing/shoes/medical supplies, please let me know and I would be happy to put you in touch with Madeline, the director of the program. If you are interested in buying a painting (or 10...), send me an email and I would be happy to help!

Cambodia: Week 1

At the moment, I'm sitting in a little cafe on Serendipity Street in Sihanoukville, drinking a fresh mango smoothie with old school Mariah Carey playing in the background. Life is good. The rain is pouring down outside (don't worry- it'll be hot and sunny in a minute or two) and the noise makes me wonder if this roof is made of tin? So loud! Eager tuktuk drivers sit in their vehicles, beckoning the business of tourists. They're not so much pushy here, as they are assertive. "Ok, miss? Tuktuk now?" Their unique approach makes me laugh to myself as I shake my head and decline the seven to ten offers I typically get when I leave the grounds of my hotel.With its dirt roads, bipolar weather and blend of both foreign and wealthy Cambodian tourists, Sihanoukville is a special place. Most of the guesthouses and cafes are located on Serendipity Street, which leads directly from the main traffic circle in town to Occheuteal Beach. I get the feeling that most of the establishments are not Cambodian owned, but the majority of staff members are Cambodian, so that's good; jobs aren't necessarily being taken from the locals.
Perhaps its due to Cambodia's newer status as a mandatory stop on the S.E. Asian backpacker route, but there's a different energy towards tourists here. People are anxious for your business, but not to the point where they will harass you (ahem, Vietnam). I neither feel like an outsider, nor like I have a dollar sign tattooed to my forehead. Its refreshing.

My first week in Cambodia was spent in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. My whirlwind trip through Phnom Penh included a nice riverside hotel with my new friend Aaron from NYC and visits to both The Killing Fields (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Killing_Fields) and S-21 Prison (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum). Visiting these places within my first few hours of arriving here was both overwhelming and heart-breaking, but it immediately put Cambodia's history into perspective for me and gave me a real sense of the tragedy that the Khmer people have only recently overcome.
My first night in Cambodia, we got home from a night of pizza & beer to find my FAVORITE movie playing on TV: Scream. Aaron had never seen it and it had been at least a few years since I sat down and watched the whole thing. In the morning, we woke up just in time to catch the second half of the final Celtics vs. The Kobe Show game. It was actually a very odd morning- not only to be in a hotel room (mostly hostel dorms for me), but to have a TV in my room, be able to watch a live NBA game and chit-chat through the entire thing with a fellow American, who I had only met 24 hrs earlier at a bar in Vietnam? In fact, I think we agreed to share a room in Phnom Penh before we even exchanged names. Strange things happen when you travel. And I love it.


From Phnom Penh, it was off to Siem Reap via conditioned bus (only $5!) through the Cambodian countryside. Aaron and I were lucky enough to get the front row passenger side seats, which gave us a great view of the scenery from the huge bus windshield. On our first day in Siem Reap, we wandered around the town and walked along the river to the Palace. Figuring that it would be smart to visit the museum before seeing the temples, we stopped by the newly constructed Angkor Wat National Museum; wait a minute- its $12 to get in?! And its only $20 to visit the actual Angkor Wat temple? What's going on here? We (obviously) didn't go in, but I hope they lower the price of the ticket soon! In Cambodia, $12 is a large sum of money. Outrageous.

That evening, we hired a tuktuk driver to take us to Angkor Wat for a few hours. A little birdy told us that if you head to the temples after 4:30pm, they don't check your tickets at the gate. Since we were planning on spending the early morning and afternoon at the temples the following day, our first visit was just in time for sunset and I was honestly blown away by the majestic beauty of Angkor Wat. In fact, I actually caught myself saying "unreal" so many times that I had to make a mental note to knock it off. There is so much beauty and so many details to take in -it is mind-boggling to think that the entire thing was built back in the 12th century!

Angkor Wat temple is only one of many, many temples on the grounds, but we decided to focus on just the one site for that afternoon. After spending about two hours getting lost in the hallways, stairwells and rooms of Angkor Wat, we sat on the wall of the entrance gate and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever seen. And thats saying a lot because both the Baltic Sea and Karon Beach provided some stiff competition.

At one point, we turned around and noticed there was even a rainbow over Angkor Wat behind us. When I set off on this journey, I knew that I would be visiting many famous and beautiful places, but that afternoon at Angkor Wat was on another level. The Taj Mahal was breathtaking and Halong Bay was stunning, but Angkor Wat was, simply put, "unreal".

Adventures in Vietnam (co-starring Mom & Dad)

Ok, I'll say it. I didn't love Vietnam. I really LIKED Vietnam and I had a fun, interesting and eventful two weeks with Mom and Dad during their visit at the end of May. The food was great, the beer was cheap and each city had its own lovable quality. But overall, I never felt fully comfortable in Vietnam. With people constantly walking up to you on the street, offering motorbikes, books, rooms, sunglasses, taxis & spa offers, etc. it was hard to ever relax. There were far too many times where myself or the group I was with somehow got ripped off or scammed. The air quality was pretty bad in the main cities and overall, most cities had litter all over the streets. I didn't write any blog posts while I was there, due to lack of inspiration. I realize that tourism is somewhat new to Vietnam (compared to places like Thailand) but their effort to accommodate as many as possible, as soon as possible results in a lack of compassion & pride for showing off their country. Every restaurant sells bikes/ books tours/ has a guesthouse above it oh- and the owner has a brother who can drive you to the airport for $5. Its just too much.

I was in Vietnam for three & half weeks and spent the first chunk of my trip with my parents! We agreed to meet at our fancypants riverside hotel and ironically, when Mom and Dad pulled up in their taxi, I was standing outside of the hotel, arguing over the cost of my taxi from my hostel to the new hotel. Ahem. M&D spent their first day touring the sites while I worked on my tan at the pool. I had already seen most of the attractions during my first two days in Ho Chi Minh with two friends from Paly High that I ran into at the Bangkok Airport. Small world!
While in Ho Chi Minh, we did a Mekong Delta Tour (eh), visited a few night markets, had some fantastic meals & enjoyed the roof top pool at our hotel. After two days, Mom and Dad flew to Nha Trang and I took the five hour bus to Mui Ne & hung out on the beach for two days before taking a NINETEEN HOUR bus ride up to Hoi An. I will never again, as long as I live, EVER save $40 by sitting on a bus for nineteen hours, haha. Lesson learned: my time and my back alignment are very valuable to me.

We had a lovely time in Hoi An- stayed at the wonderful Long Life Hotel, which we highly recommend! (http://longlifehotels.com/main.php) The majority of our free time was spent in tailor shops, having suits and shoes and shirts and dresses made. If you know me, you know that I am a complete bargain-shop-a-holic, so I was in absolute heaven: spending less than $100 a pair of leather boots, 100% designed by me. Which leather do you want? Which heel do you like? We have a few zipper choices for you. How tall do you want them to be? Fabric swatches, sketches of dresses and measuring tape. I had a blast and each of my purchases turned out really well! Cafe 43 was a gastro highlight of Hoi An & I really enjoyed renting bikes one day and checking out Cua Dai Beach.

From there, we all flew to Hanoi, where we immediately headed to Halong Bay. Mom and Dad treated me to a snazzy cruise package with a visit to the caves, kayaking (where Mom and I came in second place during a race back to the dock), wine happy hour, and three fancy meals per day in the dining room of the boat. This was definitely the highlight of my trip to Vietnam: Halong Bay was gorgeous and majestic- see it for yourself as soon as you can!


After Halong Bay, we had one more night in Hanoi before Mom and Dad headed home. One last delicious and fancy dinner (at the swanky Highway 4 restaurant) , then a Vietnamese Water Puppet show, followed by coffee and dessert on a balcony, overlooking the bustling streets of Hanoi. After a teary and bittersweet goodbye, it was back to hostel-living and extreme budget travel for me!

Before heading down to Ho Chi Minh to catch the bus to Cambodia, I decided to travel up to the northeastern mountains of Vietnam in Lao Cai to visit the hill tribes of Vietnam. Originally settled by the French in the late 1800's, Sapa is only a few miles from the Chinese border and therefore, has an interesting blend of influence from both cultures. In Sapa, the air is cooler & cleaner, the locals are dressed in traditional Hmong costumes and the views are spectacular. My tour (which can be arranged by any of the tour shops/restaurants/internet cafes in Hanoi) consisted of a 10km hike the first day, overnight with Hmong family in a home stay, 6km trek on day two, one night in a hotel in Sapa Town and a 3km hike to a waterfall on day three. Overall, I would recommend a visit to Sapa but suggest doing two nights in a hotel, since most of the "home" stays are actually only buildings put up within the last three years, to accommodate tourists. Usually one or two Vietnamese girls take care of the cooking and cleaning; I had a great experience and the food was spectacular, but I felt misled by the term "home"stay. Oh well.

Above: child carrying child in Sapa.
Below: view of the valley in Sapa.

Upon returning from Sapa, I spent three more days checking out Hanoi and then flew down to Saigon, where I spent another two days hanging out with new hostel friends and taking in all of the sights. From Saigon, I took a 6 hour bus across the border to Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Due to bad planning, I unintentionally managed to visit the Vietnam War Remnants Museum, The Killing Fields and S-21 within 48 hours: arguably three of the most heartbreaking cultural sights in Asia, if not the world. Each site was powerfully moving and disturbing but left me with a new appreciation for the astounding resilience of these countries.


Above: Memorial at The Killing Fields, outside of Phnom Penh.
Below: S-21 prison, where 20,000 Cambodians were jailed & then killed during the Khmer Rouge Regime of the late 1970's.