Good-bye Vietnam - My last post

Well, it was a fabulous experience and a wonderful trip. I am sad this will be my last post (although I will updating with some photos when I arrive home). I am awaiting my flight back home. It will be a long one.

I arrived back in HCMC yesterday around 7:00 pm. I had a dress fitting at 8:00 pm (I had a wool/silk blend suit and a silk dress with matching jacket made) and then had plans to meet up with Juliana around 8:30 pm. We started off at a place called Mojo on Dong Khoi Street (near my hotel downtown in District 1). I never drink beer - I don't like it but there is something about a cold beer in a hot humid country! We went to dinner at a quaint restaurant (Alibi) with outdoor seating and then to a pub. It was a nice night.

We also met up today around 11 am (of course I was up early and shopping at 9am before our meeting to get a little more shopping in being it was my last day) and went to the Ho Chi Minh City Museum. It is always interesting to see museums in a communist country. There was a lot of war memorabilia and of course there was some mention about the US involvement. We also did some shopping, drank beer and had lunch and drank more beer. I took a Tuk Tuk back to the hotel and packed my bags.

Things I have learned about Ho Chi Minh City:

1. The non communist party call HCMC Saigon. You don't want to called HCMC Saigon when speaking to an official of the government.

2. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way for any reason. Crossing the street is an art. Never show fear or hesitation-just run like hell or you will get run over. They are crazy drivers and there appears to be more motorbikes and bicycles then cars.

3. It is a shoppers Mecca and I mean Mecca and there is nothing better then naming your own price-bargain like crazy and if they won't go that low then no worries because 10 other shops sell the same stuff.

4. There is no Starbucks or Peets Coffee. However, there is a Gloria Jeans and Highlands Coffee (who are they???)

5. There really is no middle class-you are either rich or poor and a monthly salary for many is $200 a month.

6. It is really, really hot here too.

7. One of the friendliest country's to visit. The people are wonderful and I also felt very safe here.

8. You shouldn't give money to begging children. It has to do with children being kidnapped into organized begging rings. I think this would apply to any third world country.

Last Night and Day in Siem Reap

Today I depart back to Ho Chi Minh City. I will have one more night in HCMC before I depart back to the states. If I haven't mentioned this yet in my blog I am looking forward to getting back home. I am getting home sick and am ready for a good American meal.

Yesterday my tour guide-Bunrath invited me to an authentic Khmer meal at his friends restaurant. He picked me up around 6:30 pm on his motorcycle (really fun). The food was fabulous-beef with lemongrass and beef with cucumbers and BBQ beef. I couldn't tell if it was cooked or not. Bunrath said it was but I don't think so. So far so good on not getting sick. He wanted to also take me to a Cambodian night club. Quite interesting. On the way to the night club just as we were leaving the restaurant he got a flat tire. He had his friend pick us up. I always wondered how 3 people could fit on a motorcycle (very common here and in Vietnam along with seeing children riding in the front of the bike). Well I wonder no more.

Some interesting things I have learned about Siem Reap.

1. They are very conscious about litter and the environment so for the most part it is clean here (at least speaking for Siem Reap). In the remote places in Vietnam you see a tremendous amount of garbage-their environment is their garabage can-unfortunately.

2. You do not want to travel to Angkor Wat if you are disabled, elderly or have knee problems. It is very physcial to walk the temples and the majority of temples have very steep stairs.

3. It is really really hot here.

4. Don't bother converting your USD into Cambodian money (Riel). They would rather have your US dollars and no one will ask you for Riel for payment.

5. I felt very safe traveling here alone and being blond. I never felt any threat even walking from my hotel to the Old Market at night. However, I did hear differently about Phnom Penh where you are offered drugs and prostitutes by everyone including the Tuk Tuk drivers.

6. Expect to be asked all the time if you need a Tuk Tuk or motorcycle ride. They are everywhere.

7. All Cambodian men (not sure about women) must study to be a monk (I believe the shortest amount of time is 2 weeks).

8. The Khmer New Year is Tuesday, April 15.

Temple Touring

I woke early and headed out to Angkor Wat at 5:30 am to watch the sunrise. Just my luck-too many clouds so it was anti-climatic. Nonetheless Angkor Wat is a stunning and breathtaking vision. I couldn't count how many stairs (and steep ones) I climbed today. It gets stiffling hot so my tour lasted about 3.5 hours and my camera battery died so I did not want to see Ta Prohm without taking photos. Ta Prohm is best known for being the backdrop in the Angelina Jolie movie-Laura Croft Tomb Raider and has massive fig and silk-cotton trees growing from the towers and corridors. I will see Ta Prohm and a few others tomorrow. It almost gets overwhelming how many temples there are. Cambodian children (the ones selling stuff) are quite funny-they know the capital of every state and country and ask you if they tell you what the capital is of where you are from will you buy something from them.)

My guide's name is Mr. Riem Bunrath. He is very nice and apparently at one time was training to be a monk. He pointed out bullet holes in the temple walls - a permanent memory left by the genocide of the Khmer Rouge. Banruth's father was killed in the genocide. I have never watched the movie The Killing Fields so it will be on my list to watch when I get back home. In my meeting up with Susan and her boyfriend David last night, they shared with me the helicopter tour they took of Angkor Wat. They said you could still see the bomb markings around the temples.

Bunrath took me to the Cambodian Cultural Village which gives a glance of Cambodia's history. They have 11 different villages which have distinctive cultural dance performances. One of the villages is called the Millionaire House which is an ancient style of Khmer construction and where a traditional Khmer Wedding is performed. I was asked to participate and be the groom's mother (not sure if I should be honored by the gesture or not...) but it was fun.

I have noticed that the Cambodian people are not as friendly as the Vietnamese. The Vietnamese love saying hello and how are you and having their photo taken. Cambodian's are a little more reserved and could careless if you take a photo and show it to them. Siem Reap is really easy to get around in the sense they use US dollars for everything - stores, markets, ATM's, restaurants, etc. Very convenient.

I took a lot of photos so I will have to add photos later. Off to bed.

I have arrived in Siem Reap Cambodia

The flight was nerve racking for me. It was a puddle jumper and it made me more then nervous. I wasn't even lucky enough to have someone sitting next to me to freak out to. The airport is beautiful. It reminded me of a Thailand temple. I am staying at the Viroth Hotel (a small 7 room boutique hotel). It is quite charming. I feel very safe here. The Old Market is close to my hotel so I walked over and have been doing some shopping, will eat dinner, get a foot massage and meet Susan (the volunteer from Catalyst who introduced me to the organization) and her boyfriend at the Buddha Lounge this evening. Oh, and for any of you who hadn't heard, my best friend who planned to meet me in Vietnam after the expedition and fly over to Cambodia with me emailed me 3 days into my aid expedition to cancel her trip. So, I am solo on the last leg of my trip which is a first for me.

Tomorrow morning I will be rising early to head out around 5:30 am to watch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. I have hired an English speaking guide for 2 days. Apparently it has only been 14 years since Cambodia has opened its doors to tourists and only 10 years ago that the area around Angkor Wat (series of temples) that all land mines were cleared.

Well I am off to get my $3 foot massage.....

Back in Saigon

Internet access has been hard in some of the remote places we have been in (so I apologize for the lapse in blogging).

Yesterday we went to Binh Chau Resort (hot springs) as a day of R&R for the volunteers. It is an hour or so bus ride from Long Hai. It was also the night of the auction. Unfortunately I was not able to bid for Huyen's artwork. I was out bid (her art fetched $850!)

We were up at 4:30 am to head back to Saigon. Officially the aid expedition is over. Most of the volunteers have flown home today. Some will stay a couple of days longer in Saigon. I leave for Siem Reap Cambodia tomorrow morning. I am off to meet a couple of the remaining volunteers (one volunteer Juliana who is a Catalyst volunteer for Catalyst living in Saigon but working on her master's in social work at Boston College). I will also meet up with her on Saturday upon my return from Cambodia as well on April 5th.

It was an amazing experience and I am sad to see it end.

Short stay in Saigon and off to Long Hai (Vung Tau Province)

We stayed one night in Saigon and left early for Long Hai - approximately a 2 hour bus ride to head to the beach where we would be getting ready to set up for our Spring Camp for 300 children.

I met Huyen that night. She was the most beautiful little 9 year old and I just wanted to take her home. When the children arrived that night we passed out supplies like toothbrushes, toothpaste, t-shirts and a toy. It was an emotional experience and probably the most rewarding moment for me. This was an exciting experience for these children who many have never been on a bus or been to the ocean. Here they are given a unique opportunity to be children, play, participate in games and crafts and shower...yes shower. We found out that these children were taking 3 to 4 showers a day when they arrived. It was a luxury. The girl we built the home for in the cemetary was attending the camp-it was great to see her. We were told yesterday that her home was completed as well (yeah!!!)

The next day was the camp. I have never seen such beautiful, happy, sweet and grateful children like I did at the camp.

I was in charge of crafts. It was a lot of fun. We also swam with some of the children in the South China Sea. After our swim we were told we had to go back to our hotel and jump in the chlorinated pool to kill the sea lice (very itchy!)

The evening brought the talent show where the children performed dance and sang. Catalyst also announced its winners of the art contest. Huyen was one of the winners. Her picture was titled "Cinderella".

I survived Tour de Saigon Century Ride

I just love that helmet!

Quick intro about the bike ride-this wasn't a race. This bike ride was to tour the countryside. This was an idea Scott (Caroline who started Catalyst's husband) dreamed up to do in order to not be sitting on a bus from one place to the other. The only real requirement for this ride basically was being able maintain a 12 to 15 mile an hour distance and to not be smart enough to figure out this is NUTS!

We were up early and planned to meet at 5:00 am. Our goal was to set out early before the sun rose to avoid as much as the heat as possible. The ride was challenging. We dealt with 93 degree weather and 100% humidity although I did hear temps in the area we were departing from were as high as 120 degrees. There were 7 riders total and 6 bikes (not our bikes but ones purchased by Catalyst to ride)-Scott, Dana, David, Amy, Charlene, Jack and myself which meant we had to rotate and have one rider out for approximately every 100 miles. Jack and Scott were the riders. The rest of us didn't have much training. It was completely crazy riding on a 2-lane highway in each direction with regular traffic and avoiding other bikes and being hit by cars. I earned the name Hollywood because I had all my riding gear-clothing, helmet, gloves, bike seat, pedals, sunglasses, chamois Butt'r to keep from chafing and shoes (clips). My training for this ride consisted of 3 rides-1st ride - 9 miles, 2nd ride - 18 miles and 3rd ride - 30 miles. I didn't know how many of the riders were avid riders so I figured it was best to at least look the part like I was a rider!

I can't say enough how impressed I was with Amy and Jack who rode the entire 100 miles without breaking (except for lunch).

I completed 75 miles. My back, bum, knees and well you can figure out what else hurt. The heat was intense although we did luck out periodically with some cloud cover. It truly was nuts-especially the last 15 miles through Ho Chi Minh City in rush hour traffic. It was a great experience and I am glad I had the opportunity to partake in the adventure and especially live say I did it. The photo is of the group post ride if you couldn't tell!

Post Script: Although I am now home I couldn't leave this post without mention of the "HELL"MET. One of the volunteers - Dana - did not bring a helmet. So, of course that is completely stupid riding a bike in a foreign country especially in Vietnam! A helmet was mandatory so off we went shopping at a local store and perused the only helmets they had-motorcycle helmets. My thought was if you are having to buy a helmet here you might as well have a little fun. After a few minutes of selling the idea, I picked out the dark purple helmet with the rainbow stripe down the front along with a cloud and rainbow on the side (if you were born in the 70's you know exactly what I am talking about). The sales girls were quite amused by the purchase. The next day I decorated the helmet with diva stickers, bible stickers and girly stickers. Did I mention that Dana is not a girl....and was not really looking forward to the idea of wearing it on the ride. However, that helmet became quite popular and in demand! It was a good laugh and still makes me chuckle. It was left in Vietnam and will hopefully be passed onto someone else on the next ride in 2010!