TravelStream™ news feed for member 1life2live on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/1life2live en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:36:36 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748180/tpod.html Sun, 06 Jul 2008 06:36:36 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Taipei, Taiwan

My flight on China Airlines from Bangkok to Seoul had to change planes in Taipei so I thought since I had to go through there anyway, I might as well try to see something and changed my ticket to allow for a 4 day stopover in the island country. I hadn't planned or expected that I would be in Taiwan and didn't really know much about the country or what there is to see there so I emailed some fellow couchsurfers in the city to see if anyone had a place I could crash at. I received several replies and finally decided that I would stay at one couple's house in Taipei. From the international airport, I took a bus and then subway to the station where the couple lived. I was greeted by Samantha (Sam) an English speaking Taiwanese lady who works as a financial consultant for ING in Taipei. She took me to her apartment where I met her husband David, an American guy who has been living in Taiwan for the last 17 years and works as a translator, and their 3 cats. They told me that I had come at a perfect time because that weekend they were going to be having their annual dragon boat racing festival. The first day, we just walked around their neighborhood and ate at a Chinese vegetarian restaurant.This is the history of Taiwan in a nutshell. Taiwan, the island also known as Formosa, has been a controversial piece of land in Asian politics for hundreds of years. Most recently, the Japanese controlled the island until the end of WWII when they surrendered and Chinese troops took control of the island. In 1949 during the Chinese Civil War, the Chinese Communists won and the Nationalists packed up everything and moved it all to Taiwan where they claimed they were the real government of China. Of course the communist government in China still claims that Taiwan is part of China, and the Republic of China (government in Taiwan) claims that they are an independent nation. It is a very controversial subject not only in China in Taiwan but also in international arenas around the world. My second day in Taiwan, Sam and David had to work so I set off on my own. I first went to the National History Museum but since it wasn't open yet, I made my way to the National Palace Museum. When the Nationalists fled China during the Civil War, they took with them many of the museum artifacts from the Forbidden City in Beijing. These are the artifacts that are currently displayed at the museum in Taipei. There are things such as jade jewelries, bronze ornaments, and imperial ceremonial clothes and scripts. They even had a free tour with English speaking guide that made the experience very informative. After the museum, I went to Taipei 101, the world's "tallest" building. I put tallest in quotations because that is another subject of debate. There are many different categories for tallest building depending on what you consider the guidelines to be. It also boasts the world's "fastest" elevator. The total height of the building is 1, 670 ft. to the top of the antenna. And the elevator can go from the fifth to the eighty-ninth floor in only 37 seconds. That is a speed of 38 miles per hour. From the observatory on the 89th and 90th floors, you can get an astonishing view of the metropolis of Taipei sprawling out below you. One of the most impressive things that I noticed about Taiwan was its modernity. Everything seems so new, so state of the art, and top quality. The city is really clean and they have a great transportation system. Not bad for a little island country. This is what technology and export led industrialization can do you for a country if you know how to do it right. My next stop was the National Taiwan Democracy Memorial Hall formerly known as the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall. Either way, it's a mouthful. Chiang Kai-shek was the leader of the Republic of China from 1928 until his death in 1975. He was a strong leader who was a staunch anti-communist and ruled with an authoritarian government. Like so many other things in Taiwan, he is also a controversial figure, hence, the renaming of the memorial. Later, I stopped back at the National History museum to see exhibits of jade artwork, traditional clothes, and a temporary exhibit on Taiwanese coffee houses/brothels. The next morning, Samantha told me she was going to do thai chi with some other people and invited me along to watch. We walked to a local community center at 6 in the morning where there were about 30 people already doing their morning thai chi. Most of them were elderly and only a few were in their 30's. I went with the intention of only watching but the instructor wasn't going to let me stand by idly and pulled me into the middle of the group and motioned for me to copy what they were doing. The combination of the music and the lady repeating, "Breath in. Breath out." was really nice and soothing. After our morning exercise, we stopped by a Taiwanese Buddhist temple. This temple was much more different than the Buddhist temples that I have already seen. There seemed to be a lot more detail with the ceramic people and dragons decorating the entire building. It was also a little creepy looking at it too. The night before, one of the buildings had caught fire near the temple and we could see the flames from our apartment window. Fortunately the temple wasn't damaged at all. At the top of the building was a pigeon cage. One of the neighbors said all of the pigeons were killed and that only their cooked breasts remained.   That day was also the day of the dragon boat festival. Dragon boats originated in China and are long boats powered a group of people with oars. They look something like what you would see a college rowing team in. They have a course set up along the river that they race on. On may sits in the back beating a drum or coaching the rowers, the rowers on each side of the boat, and one guy leaning off of the front of the boat waiting to grab the flag at the finish line. Samantha and David's apartment was about a block away from where all the festivities were taking place. We walked down ate some good food and watched the competitions. The teams ranged from experts to groups of friends who just wanted to put a team together and have fun. Of course the local fire departments and police stations had teams as well. After the dragon boat races, I took the subway to get on another train and headed out to Hsinchu, a town about an hour south of Taipei. A friend of mine from university, Kevin, has been living there for the last two years teaching English. I hung out with him for the afternoon and checked out the new Mexican restaurant that he and his friend were opening the following week. It was good to talk to him and get his take on what it's like to live and study in Taiwan. I have been planning to go to China after this summer in Korea to study Mandarin Chinese and had never actually considered Taiwan but after this trip and talking to him, it doesn't seem like too bad of an idea. I made it back to Taipei that night to make it to a party of several of the couchsurfers in the Taipei area. We met at a hamburger place and then went out to a night market afterwards. I wasn't too keen on the idea but they insisted that I ate some Taiwanese soup that has tofu in it and smells like wet dog. They assured me that even thought it smells horrible, it still tastes good. They were right, it did smell like wet dog but I wouldn't go so far as to say that the tofu tasted "good". I would just say, it didn't taste as bad as it smelled. The soup it was in was pretty good though. It was a really cool group of people and we had a great time. The next morning, Samantha gave me a ride back to the airport where we said our goodbyes and I boarded the plane again this time to Seoul, Korea.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748060/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:37:55 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Bangkok, Thailand

I had found a good flight deal from Hanoi to Bangkok for only about 100 dollars. That seemed a lot better deal than 3 days on a bus for maybe 20 dollars less. I had gotten my visa to Vietnam at the Vietnamese Embassy in the Philippines. For some reason, when they gave me the visa, they put it the system with the code that the visa was for the purpose of visiting family members in Vietnam. I didn't realize this until halfway through my trip and I wanted to get the visa extended. They informed me that I was unable to extend the visa because it wasn't a normal tourist visa. I didn't want to have to leave the country and come back in and decided to "cross that bridge" when it came time. The time came when I finally showed up at the airport to leave Vietnam. I knew that I would have to go through customs and had already prepared my plan of attack. As I approached the customs counter, I pulled a 20 dollar bill out of my pocket and slid it into the page in my passport where my Vietnam visa was. I handed the customs officer my passport and boarding ticket. After looking at my passport, he held it up to me and told me that my visa has already expired and I have overstayed. I gave him a confused look and asked him to check again. We locked eyes for a moment and then he fumbled through some more papers, stamped my passport and told me to have a nice day. Andrew Jackson was no longer in my passport. He's a pretty good negotiator when he needs to be.Back in Bangkok, I found a guesthouse to stay in just off of Khao San Road. Most of my time in Bangkok was spent communicating with the university that I had worked at in South Korea this last winter trying to hammer out details of me going back early to help with their summer English Camp. I was constantly going out to the Korean embassy trying to get my visa to go back and work in Korea. On one of my trips to the embassy, I was riding in a taxi and we got pulled to the side of the road by a policeman. The policeman was standing by the road pulling over all of the cars whose drivers weren't wearing a seatbelt and issuing tickets. The fine for not wearing your seatbelt in Bangkok is 500 baht (16 dollars). When the taxi driver realized that he was busted. He began pleading the officer to not give him a ticket. Once he saw this wasn't going to work, he started shaking the policeman's hand. It wasn't just an ordinary handshake, this time he had put 200 baht in his hand that the policeman slyly put away in his pocket. This convinced the cop to leave the cab driver not with a ticket but rather only with a stern warning not to forget his seatbelt. Obviously Andrew Jackson isn't the only convincing person in the world. The Thai King is pretty good himself. (The following passage is Rated R - Parental Guidance Suggested) Determined not to leave Thailand without having first seen one of the infamous "Ping Pong shows", I finally made it to one. I didn't want to go alone into the heart of darkness so I convinced my friend Peach, who I went to university with in Tennessee and who is from Bangkok, that she should check it out with me since she had never seen one either. We caught a cab to the red light district of Patpong to begin our mission. Walking through Patpong, people can see stalls lined up from one end of the street to the other selling cheesy souvenirs and foreigners are constantly heckled by people selling things. Through the bar doors you can see dozens of Thai girls dancing on neon lit stages to the beat of hip hop music and wearing only bikini bottoms, and heels. A lot of the bars were advertising that they had a ping pong show so we finally settled on one that had "100 baht beers and no cover charge." In case you don't already know, a ping pong show is where girls put on a performance of these outrageous talents that they have discovered they have and can make money from.   Originally, the shows started out just doing ping pong shows where a girl would put a ping pong ball inside of her and shoot it out either at a target or an unsuspecting patron at the bar. Over time, the shows because more aggressive and girls started discovering new talents to attract more people. Some bars have girls shooting darts at balloons, writing someone's name on a sheet of paper with a marker, blowing out candles on a birthday cake or opening beer bottles. All of this sounds easy but keep in mind it is all done with their vaginas. Not the kind of girl you would take home to introduce to the grandparents. After 2 beers each, we decided that we had seen enough. A total of 4 beers at 100 baht a beer and no cover charge is an easy calculation of 400 baht (13 dollars) total for everything, right? Apparently not. When we got our check, the bill said that we owed an outrageous amount of 1,800 baht (60 dollars), more than 4 times what it should have been! I told the girl that was outrageous and that we were only paying for the 4 drinks that we ordered. The mama san (boss or manager) of the club came over and starting telling us about all of the extra charges that we had to pay for. (Ex. Cover charge, sitting fee, table fee, etc.) I told her she was crazy and that we were only paying the 400 baht for the drinks. I wasn't too worried about it because I knew it was just a scam to rip people off. Peach was really getting upset though and scared that we were going to have to pay all of that money. After about 10 minutes and the lady coming down on the bill by about 200 baht ever 4 minutes or so another guy came to take her place in the negotiations. He kept knocking the price down more and more and I kept insisting that we weren't paying anymore than what we should. Peach was ready to go and really upset so we ended up handing them 600 to just stop arguing and get out of there. Definitely quite an experience.Once I got my Korean visa situation taken care of, I decided to head south to some islands and beach time for a couple of days before jetting back to South Korea for the summer. I caught an overnight bus and ferry to the island of Koh Phangan in the Gulf of Thailand. If anyone has ever read the book or seen the movie with Leonardo DiCaprio, The Beach, this is one of the islands that are mentioned. On the southern tip of the island is a beach called Haad Rin. One night in 1987, a group of people got together on the beach and threw a big party during a full moon. It went so well that they decided to do it again during the next full moon and it just started growing exponentially from there. Now there are an estimated 7-10,000 people there for every full moon party. The entire beach is packed with people drinking whisky buckets, twirling fire, and loving life. In order to keep people coming all the time and not just during the full moon, they started having half moon, new moon, quarter moon, and three quarter moon parties as well. Basically, every night of the week is a party on Koh Phangan. Other the drinking and late night festivities, the beach is really nice during the day. The water in the cove is really calm and clear, the white sand is spotted with sunbathers and topless women, and people throw Frisbees or play volleyball. After a couple days of madness it was time for me to get back to Bangkok and catch my flight out of Thailand.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214748000/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:18:56 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Hanoi, Vietnam

Upon arriving in Hanoi, I found what seems to be one, if not THE, only real youth hostel in Southeast Asia. It is called Hanoi Backpackers and its dorm rooms are full almost every night. The price of a dorm room is only about two and half dollars cheaper than getting your own room in a guesthouse somewhere but it is the atmosphere that people like. In hostels, there are places where everyone can get together, hang out, share travel tips and stories, and just meet new people. I think some more hostels could do really well in Southeast Asia and this is one place that knows how to capitalize on that. Hanoi, the former capital of North Vietnam, and the current capital of unified Vietnam is quite a different city than its southern neighbor Ho Chi Minh City. Hanoi doesn't seem to be as modern and is much more condensed than the spread out HCMC. You can really feel a different vibe here that is hard to explain. On my first day in town, I just wandered through the winding streets of the city. Many of the streets are narrow and the sidewalks are filled with goods flowing out of the stores so that most of the time, you are forced to share the side of the street with the hundreds of drivers on their motorbikes. In the middle of Hanoi is a famous lake, Hoan Kiem Lake (Lake of the Restored Sword). The legend is that a sword was sent by heaven to Emperor Le Loi in the 15th century. Le Loi fought and drove the Chinese out of Vietnam but one day while walking by the lake, a giant turtle came out of the water and took the sword to the bottom of the lake. There are still giant turtles that you can see in the lake today that live to be very old. In the middle of the lake are two islands. The larger one has a small temple on it and the other has a small tower known as Thap Rua or Tortoise Tower. This tower is a trademark of Hanoi. The next day was my birthday. Fortunately I wasn't alone because two cool Canadian girls (Raven and Katie) that I had med on a bus ride earlier on in Vietnam were there to celebrate with me. They even bought me a nice Vietnamese silk tie. We went out to a great Vietnamese water puppet show late that evening. Water puppetry is a Vietnamese art that has been performed for around 1000 years. The puppeteers stand chest deep in water behind a curtain that they are able to see out of but the audience is unable to see them. They hold bamboo poles with puppets carved from wood on the other end. They are able to make the puppets dance and act out many different scenes in Vietnamese culture. I had reserved some tickets earlier in the day so we were able to get front row seats. There is also a live band that provides the music and the little dialogue that is in the scenes. The whole event is a great example of Vietnamese culture.I had seen a movie one time called, Indochine, it was about a French officer and a Vietnamese girl during the time of French colonization. At one point during the movie, they are running from the French and are on a boat surrounded by mountains of limestone towering out of the clear blue water. It was a really unique landscape and I remember thinking to myself, "Man, I'd really like to see this place." Once in Vietnam, I found out that "This place" is called Halong Bay and is about 3 and a half hours from Hanoi. The word <i>halong, translates, "where the dragon meets the sea." It was believed that a dragon lived in the mountains and when it would fly, its tail would hit the earth and create depressions that filled with water leaving only the high lands dry. There are a lot of travel agents that book all inclusive tours out of Hanoi to Halong Bay that include your transportation, food, lodging on a boat, kayaking, and whatever else you want to pay for but I decided I would try to wing it and see what kind of a bargain I could get by just showing up. I paid for a van to Halong Bay but when I got there, I found out that hardly anyone tries to do it the way that I did and learned quickly that it was going to be difficult. All of the people, hundreds of them, who had already booked their all inclusive tours, were lined up being ushered to the docks where they boarded their boats. I, however, walked around trying to find someone who might sell me a spot on a boat that wasn't already full. I finally managed to find two guys who said they worked for some of the boats and could offer me a place on their boat. However, the prices they were quoting me were already more expensive than what I could have paid back in Hanoi. Eventually, I landed a spot on the same boat with a group that I had ridden the bus out to Halong Bay with.&nbsp; I settled with the guy for one day/two nights, all food, ride back to Hanoi, Kayaking, and caves for 50 dollars. I gave him the 50 dollars and he gave me a receipt. After waiting around in the port for a bit, we took off towards the islands.The islands and scenery were of course even more amazing in real life than in the movie. There are literally thousands and thousands of islands dotted all around. They are mostly inhabitable and covered only with rocks and short shrubs. We stopped at one island to walk through some caves that had some nice stalactites and other cool cave formations. They were illuminated with lights of all different colors for an added effect. After the caves, we got back on the boat and worked out way around some of the islands to a place where we could go kayaking. We stayed there for a couple of hours and then found another bay to anchor up in for the night. Looking at the antique ships lit up at night was amazing as well. We all just sat on the top of the boat talking and taking in the scenery. The next morning, the boat worked its way back through the islands until we finally reached the port again. The entire trip was breathtaking. The whole trip would have been a success had it not been for the "tour guide" trying to pull a slick one on me at the end of the trip. Two ladies from Switzerland and I had bought our tickets at the port instead of through a travel agent like I said before. So, on our way back to the port the guy came up to us and told us that we had to pay something like 10 dollars extra for the cave entrance fee. After I realized that he was being serious, I just told him no, that we weren't going to pay it because it was included in the tour price. He kept trying to argue with us and the ladies were getting all upset. I had to calm them down and tell them not to worry. If the guy kept pushing the issue once we got back, then we would just walk off of the boat and find the tourist police (I was assuming that there were some). He heckled us all the way back to the port but once we got there he didn't say anything else and we went on our way. Back in Hanoi, I had another day before I was supposed to fly back to Bangkok. I used that day to do a good tour of the city. I hired a cylco and driver for the day to take me to all of the sites. I went to the Ho Chi Minh Museum, the one pillar pagoda, the Army Museum, the Fine Arts Museum, Hoa Lo Prison (where John McCain was held as a prisoner of war), and the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (where the body of Ho Chi Minh can be seen). It was again a very educational day all but some of the one sided presentations in the museums. By accident, I actually found out where a traditional Vietnamese theatre performance was going to be held and was able to get a ticket to it. I was disappointed to see that there were only 5 other people in the entire theatre. The show turned out to be amazing. They wore some traditional costumes and played on traditional instruments as well. I was really glad that I had found the place. Fortunately, the theatre is government run and therefore doesn't depend on funding from ticket sales which also explains why it wasn't advertised very well.&nbsp; Early the next morning I hopped on a bus to the airport and said goodbye to Vietnam and hello to Bangkok again.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747940/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:07:09 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Hanoi, Vietnam

If you're in the market to get a suit made. I recommend Hoi An, Vietnam. This is a town built on tailors. Every street has dozens of tailors ready to make you a tuxedo, business suit, cocktail dress, or whatever else you would like to make with some material. I knew that if I was going to get a suit made, this was the place to do it. The only problem is that I didn't foresee myself going a bit extreme and ended up getting three suits, 8 shirts, and 10 ties. I had to buy an extra suitcase to put everything in. I knew that it was getting close to the end of my trip and I wouldn't have to carry the extra bag too far so it wasn't so bad. I settled for a black pinstripe, a brown pinstripe, and an all out white linen suit. I was really pleased especially since the suits only cost me $110 each for the pinstriped ones and $50 for the white linen one. These would have easily cost me several hundred dollars for the same thing back home. Other than the clothes shopping, Hoi An is nice because it has a lot of old buildings and streets. It is even a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Hue was the next stop on my itinerary. A couple hours farther north of Hoi An, Hue is located near the center of Vietnam and has been the sight of many battles fought in Vietnam throughout the centuries. The most visited sight in Hue is the citadel city of Phu Xuan which was originally built in the late 17th century. The citadel is surrounded by a mote and four walls almost a mile long each. Inside those walls, is another mote surrounding another walled enclosure. The builders of this place were determined to make a structure that if someone wanted to infiltrate it; they were going to have to put some effort into it. Inside the walled city were the living and working quarters of the emperor and all of his groupies. He also has a section known as The Forbidden Purple City. This is where all of his royal concubines were housed and taken care of. The only servants allowed to go into this area were eunuchs who couldn't have done anything even if they had wanted to. Ohhhh, the life of an emperor....'tis good to be the king!From Hue, I did a tour of the former demilitarized zone (DMZ) where the border used to be between North and South Korea. Because I had just visited the DMZ in South Korea a couple of months before, it was really interesting to see the effects of a country that has actually reunified. We saw a couple of sites where US military bases used to be as well as the beginning of the Ho Chi Minh trail. The Ho Chi Minh trail was a network of trails and roads that went from North Vietnam through Laos, Cambodia, and down into the southern part of Vietnam. Along this trail, the communists carried weapons, food, and people to the Viet Cong fighting in the south. Because the Americans controlled the seas to the west and Laos and Cambodia were "neutral" countries in the war, this was the communists' only way of getting supplies to the South. Even though the trail was continuously being bombed, they would continue to send people and supplies south like a trail of ants. In one of the museums along the way, there were exhibits praising the revolution and condemning "American Imperialism." Again, some of the presentations were so slanted that there's really nothing you can do but laugh a little. We also visited another network of tunnels, the Vinh Moc tunnels, this time just north of the DMZ in the northern part of the country. Unlike the tunnels in the south, these tunnels were built for people to actually live in and not only escape from bombs or mount attacks against the enemy. Because of this, the passage ways were larger and there were rooms carved out along the way. A total of 17 babies were actually born in the underground hospital there. These tunnels are located where some of the entrances even open up right on the beach. Leaving here, I caught another overnight bus to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747760/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:57:16 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Nha Trang, Vietnam

When I got ready to leave Cambodia and go to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, I starting asking about bus tickets only to find out that everything was booked for the next couple of days because of a festival that was going on. I wasn't content to spend several days waiting for a bus in Phnom Phen so I tried to find out what my other options were. I found out that there are boats that continue down the Mekong River and can take you to the Vietnamese border town, Chau Doc. From there, there are buses that leave hourly to Ho Chi Minh City. Once in Chau Doc, we boarded a minivan that was going to Ho Chi Minh City and got in with some other travelers. A couple from Germany wanted to sit in the front so that the ride would be less bumpy but the driver refused to go anywhere until all of the westerners were packed in the back of the bus. After we were all in, then the Vietnamese people began filling in the front seats. Apparently, other people won't get in the van if they have to sit next to a foreigner. I felt like trying to pull a Rosa Parks but figured it was still too early to rock the boat since I'd only been in Vietnam for about an hour. We didn't arrive until just before midnight so I quickly checked into a guesthouse and called it a night.Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) was formerly known as Saigon and is still used interchangeably even today. After Vietnam gained independence from France in 1954, the country was divided into two halves "temporarily" until there were to be nationwide elections in 1956. When it came time for elections, the government in the South decided that it wasn't in their best interest to hold elections because it is believed that 80 percent of the people would have voted for the communist war. This was the beginning of North and South Vietnam and soon after, the Vietnam War. Saigon was the capital of the government in the south and Hanoi, the capital in the north. After years of fighting, Saigon was finally overtaken and "liberated" by the North in 1975. The city's name was then changed to Ho Chi Minh City in honor of the late North Vietnamese communist leader.My first day in HCMC, I decided to walk around town and see what I could find. I walked past and into a couple of markets where they were selling Vietnamese silks, knock off perfumes, food, Chinese lanterns, and a lot of clothes. The major attraction of the day turned out to be the War Remnants Museum, formerly known as the Museum of Chinese and American War Crimes. It is a museum that shows exhibitions on the war crimes that Americans committed during the Vietnam War (knows in Vietnam as the American War). There are pictures covering the walls of people deformed by chemical agents such as Agent Orange, women, children, and elderly people that were killed, and one particularly vivid picture of an American soldier holding up the mutilated body of a Vietnamese soldier. Outside of the museum are American tanks, planes, and helicopters captured by the North Vietnamese soldiers. My feelings of this museum are mixed. On one hand, it is a good thing to know about and remember such atrocities that have occurred so that we understand how devastating wars are and that we may try to prevent such things from happening again. On the other hand, the museum was disappointing in the one sidedness of the presentations. Of course Vietnam is still a communist country and even though I would like to see them admit to wrongdoings as well, I'm not going to hold my breath waiting on it to happen. Anyone with common sense should know that a person is still only a human being no matter which side of a war they are fighting on. Everyone is susceptible to pressures, emotions, fear, and anxiety in the same way. For this reason, no matter how just you may think your country or its people are, we are all capable of doing horrific things as well as great things. People have been murdered, women raped, and children killed on both sides of every war. What we have to do is recognize this and show that it is war itself that is evil and not the sides that people are sometimes forced to take. The amount of traffic in HCMC is unbelievable. There is not a big public transportation system so everyone and their sister drive little motorbikes. Crossing the street in Vietnam for the first time is a life changing experience. You just have to start walking in front of hundreds of motorbikes coming right at you. As you continue to walk, the bikes weave around you. Each step you take is a step of faith praying that all of the drivers see you and adjust to swerve around you. If you waited for the street to be clear of traffic before crossing, you would be standing on the corner all day long. There are still many people who drive the cyclos in order to make a living. A cyclo is a bike that is designed to carry a passenger. These guys know all of the shortcuts in the city and will take you anywhere. It is interesting to see them mixed in with all of the other modern day vehicles. The following day, I made a day trip to the Cu Chi Tunnels just north of HCMC. The tunnels were dug by Viet Cong (VC-communist forces in the south) soldiers. The tunnels served as fighting and hiding positions against the American and Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN-South Vietnamese soldiers) soldiers during the war. The VC could attack their opponents, climb down into their tunnels, and reappear a mile away to attack somewhere else. Also, during air raids, the VC were able to descend into the deepest tunnels to remain unharmed until the bombings ceased. The tunnels are impressive for the vastness of their network, more than 150 miles, and the tactful usefulness of them. The tunnels were first started during the 1940's when, after WWII, the Vietnamese began fighting the French for their independence. Once that war was over, the tunnels retained their usefulness in the following war and were expanded and improved. Even though the South knew about the tunnels, it was too dangerous for soldiers to go in fighting in them because there were booby traps everywhere. &nbsp; The American and ARVN soldiers were never able to control this area during the entire war. Moving east to the coast, I stopped at a beach in Mui Ne. The water wasn't so clear but what drew most of the people to this area were the good winds that provide excellent kite surfing. All along the beach were resorts and restaurants. Everything was written in Vietnamese, English, or Russian. Most of the tourists there were Russian, another visible remnant of the cold war. Other than the kite surfing, Mui Ne is famous for its sand dunes. It is possible to go from the beach straight to a big desert of sand. The local kids have gotten entrepreneurial and taken some plastic sleds up to the dunes to charge tourists to slide down them. It's amazing how well capitalism does in communist countries.One of the good things about traveling in Vietnam is that there are several agencies who offer open tickets. What I did was buy a ticket from HCMC to Hanoi in the north with several stops along the way. You can get on and off of the bus at any of the cities that are along the route and continue on the next bus once you're ready. They also offer sleeper buses where you can almost fully lie down and have a good night's sleep. This way, you don't have to pay for a hotel the night that you're traveling and you arrive in the morning, fully rested and ready to explore some new things.I took the overnight bus from Mui Ne to Nha Trang which is also on the coast. I spent the day there hanging out on the beach and getting some reading done. The beach was really nice there and had some great water. I had heard from other travelers that the only other thing to do there was a booze cruise or some mud baths. I was anxious to get some new suits made at my next stop so decided to move on to Hoi An.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1214747580/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:39:16 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I met up with Joe and his friend in the 4 thousand islands for a couple of days. The islands are located in the very southern part of Laos in the Mekong River. There are hundreds of small islands dotting the region. We just spent a couple of days there hanging out in hammocks, renting bikes and exploring the island, and getting some reading done. When we split up, Joe and his friend went back up to check out the Bolaven plateau, where I had previously had my motorbike incident, and I headed south into Cambodia. At the Laos/Cambodia border, there is absolutely nothing around, no other cars, houses, shops, money changers, people, nothing. The border guards on the Laos side were demanding a $1 fee for the stamp to get you out of Laos. On the other side of the border, the Cambodian visa was $20 but a $2 "processing fee". They then send you to another little shack 50 feet away to get your stamp into Cambodia which they charge another $1 for. Of course none of these "fees" are official but you're in the middle of nowhere and you have to remember that the average yearly income for a person living in Cambodia is only $272. I know if I were the one working on the border, I'd probably be charging more than that. The bus was supposed to take us to a town just north of the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Phen, where we were supposed to spend the night, wake up the next morning, and catch another bus to Siem Reap. However, there was a lot of confusion between the guy driving the bus and everyone else on the bus. He told us that there was no other bus going to Siem Reap the next day from the place we were supposed to stop so everyone got back on and finished riding to Phnom Phen. We finally arrived around midnight after a long day of traveling. This is how the day went: 8am boat to mainland. 9am bus 1 to border. 11am bus 2 to ferry. 12pm ferry across river. 1 pm bus 3 to Phnom Phen arriving at midnight. I got a room nearby, woke up early the next morning and found another bus to Siem Reap. The first thing that you notice when you get to Cambodia is how many friends that you have, especially when you get off a bus. Anywhere you see a bus full of people unloading a flock of guys on motorcycles all swarm to the door asking the person where they are going and if they need a ride. "Hello my friend! Where you go? Come on my friend, I take you there!" For most of the people, this is the only job that they have but competition is fierce. Definitely a buyers market. Siem Reap is a town built around the tourist industry to Cambodia's claim to fame, the temples of Angkor, the largest religious structure in the world. Despite the huge amounts of revenue that the tourists bring in, there is still a substantial amount of poverty to be seen all around the town. I was actually surprised to see a United Nations World Food Program facility set up near the town. I found a guest house, dropped off my things, and walked around the town a while. The following morning, I hired a tuk tuk driver to take me to the temples for the day for $10. The temples are a must see if you're in Cambodia and the government knows this which is why they can get away with charging $20 dollars per day for a ticket. The first thing that I noticed at the temples was the extent of the buildings. I have been to a lot of other ruins but none that are so spread out. Before going, I was contemplating just renting a bike and going around. Good thing I didn't because it would have taken me forever to get from place to place. The thing that impressed me the most however, was the detail put into the temples themselves. Other ruins that I have seen such as Tikal in Guatemala or&nbsp; Chichen Itza in Mexico were nice because of their symmetry but Angkor takes the cake in the amount of detail inscribed everywhere. The temples themselves are made out of stone but carved in the stones are faces, nymphs, and battle scenes. It's absolutely breathtaking to just sit back and think of the time and effort put into such a meticulous task. I saw all of the main temples in one day and decided that was enough for me. It would have been nice to see all of the smaller ones as well but that would have taken at least a week and since I'm no archaeologist, I decided that was enough for me. All around the temples there are people trying to sell you things (i.e. books, t-shirts, post cards, magnets, clothes, food, drinks, etc.). At times it can get really annoying after the 47th person in 3 minutes has asked you, "Mistah, where you from? Cold drink for you!?" But you just have to remember that they are only trying to make a living, smile, say no thank you, and keep on walking. One little girl about 11 years old was really persistent and kept trying to sell me things. She had the best line that I had heard all day. When trying to sell me a refrigerator magnet with the outline of the temples on the front I told her no thank you that I didn't need one. She quickly responded, "Well, if you don't need one then you need TWO!" hahaha! Because she was so persistent I did end up buying a book about Cambodia off of her. Most of the books sold in Cambodia are not originals but rather photo copies so you can end up getting them for really cheap. Property rights in Cambodia? haha yeah right. After looking in awe at the temples I went back to Phnom Phen. EVERYTHING is for sale in Phnom Phen. EVERYTHING I repeat. While walking down the streets you are bombarded with guys who will always greet you with the same line, "Hello my friend! How are you? Where you go? Moto? Tuk Tuk?" if you say no to any of these then they come slightly closer and lower their voices a little bit. "Weed? Marijuana? Opium? Lady? Massage? Boom Boom?" I'm sure if you asked for a three legged elephant wearing a pink hat and a Nelly t-shirt they would probably come back in about 30 minutes leading one right behind them. You could really get creative if you wanted to. While in Phnom Phen, I went to see the infamous Killing Fields and the Tuol Sleng prison (a.k.a. S-21). From 1975-1979, Cambodia was ruled by the communist Khmer Rouge and their leader Pol Pot. When they took over the country in 1975, they forced everyone out of the cities to go work on farms in the country. They believed that the farmers were the strength of their revolution and sent everyone to the fields to work and learn from them. Millions of people (former teachers, doctors, lawyers, government officials, and military people) were killed. It is estimated that between one and two million people died from murder or starvation during this regime. &nbsp; Tuol Sleng, S-21, is a prison where the political elite, educated people, and anyone else suspected of subversion were sent in order to "confess" their crimes against the government. The people were tortured until they confessed and gave the names of other "conspirators" and then sent to the now infamous killing fields where they were executed. Out of the approximately 17,000 people that were sent there, only 12 survived. At the killing fields, they have erected a memorial dedicated to the people who were killed there. Within the memorial are hundreds of skulls and bones that were recovered from the mass graves that have been uncovered. However, while at these two places, I had a feeling like the memorials and museum were more there to make a profit on the tragic events that happened there rather than to honor the people that died. One sign that really stuck out to me was one that read, "They massacred the population with atrocity in a large scale. It was more cruel than the genocidal act committed by the Hitler fascists." First of all, I don't think that such things can be compared as being more cruel. Killing innocent people is equally cruel no matter who it is or where they are from. And secondly, if you were to compare, I think 6 million Jews dying in WWII is a bit more harsh than 1-2 million people in Cambodia. &nbsp; What do you get after years of war are finally over?...&nbsp; A lot of left over guns and ammunition. Why destroy it or throw it away when you can charge tourists to shoot it? That's right. Have you ever wanted to shoot an M-16, AK-47, or even fire a grenade launcher without actually having to sign that enlistment contract with Uncle Sam? Well now you can if you just go to Cambodia. They have firing ranges where you can pay to shoot almost anything imaginable. And for an extra fee they will even put something as small as a chicken to something as big as a water buffalo out there for you to unload on. No kidding, I'm not joking. The government of course has gotten a lot of criticism from different organizations over the years and has cracked down on some of this but it is still very easy to find and accessible. Cambodia is the wild wild west of Southeast Asia for sure. &nbsp; I left Phnom Phen for a brief trip to Sihanoukville, a town on the coast in the south. I had heard mixed reviews about it and wanted to check it out myself. Final ruling, I don't recommend it. The beaches were littered with trash, the water was murky, and one girl that I met had gotten robbed by two guys with a baseball bat the night before. I left after one night. &nbsp; Back in Phnom Phen, I bought a boat/bus ticket to Saigon. All of the regular buses were booked up for the next couple of days but instead of waiting, I decide to pay a little bit more for a boat/bus combo ticket and move on to Vietnam. I was told before I left that we would cross the border around 3 pm and arrive in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) by 6 in the evening. We arrived in the border town at 5 pm and then to Saigon just before midnight. Surprise surprise!
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Pakse, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

I arrived in Pakse, the south of Laos, early in the morning and, like all bus stations, was surrounded by drivers wanting you to pay for them to take you in to town. Me not knowing what the real price should be and because I'm cheap when I travel, decided to walk in to town, whichever direction "town" might be. It looked like most of the cars were going right, so I went right. I walked for quite a while before I finally came to something that looked like a town. I was in Pakse. This is a good base for anyone who wants to see the southern part of Laos. I stopped in at several different guest houses and finally found one that was a good deal. That day, I decided that I wanted to see the Bolaven Plateau and would rent a motorbike to do it. I met a nice guy from Switzerland, Frank, who had the same idea so we decided to meet up at 9 the next morning.&nbsp; The next morning, we set off on two 110cc scooters armed with a couple of backpacks, a basic little map, and some water. Our first stop was Tat Fan waterfalls, a couple of waterfalls 120 meters high, the tallest in Laos. They looked really nice from a distance but we couldn't be bothered to hike all the way to the bottom of them. It would have taken several hours to get down and then we would have had to hike back up. We had too much ground to cover. The next stop we made was at some smaller but still very nice waterfall, Tad Nguing. It was a lot easier to get down to the water there and made for a great swim. The plan was to go a lot farther east and spend the night in a small town called Sekong. When we got back on the road, we were making good time until we started feeling a couple of rain drops and saw a huge storm cloud overhead. I pulled Frank over and suggested that we stop in at a small restaurant, get something to eat, and wait out the storm. He agreed and we turn off on to a small road where we saw a sign for a restaurant. We had driven farther than the sign said the restaurant was so I decided to make a quick u-turn and hurry back because by now the rain had started to pick up. In my rear view mirror, I saw Frank on his bike behind me so I slowed down so that I could turn. As I was turning, a guy (about 30 years old), a woman (about 40), and a little girl (4 years old) came speeding by. I didn't have time to stop and they slammed right into the front wheel of my bike. The guy lost control of his bike and they all three went flying off into the grass on the side of the road. I dropped my bike and ran over to where they were to see if they were alright. Everyone was fine except for a couple of scratches. The girl and woman went ahead and went to the local hospital just to make sure everything was alright. Everyone told us to just leave the bikes where they were so that the police could come and make a report. After the initial shock and seeing that everyone was alright, I started thinking about how much this was going to cost me. In the end, the police didn't come because the locals said it was Sunday and there are no police on Sundays. (Note to self, if you want to rob a bank, steal a car, sell some drugs...do it on Sunday). This is probably a good thing because then the police could have gotten some money for themselves from me if they wanted to. I went to the hospital to check on the little girl and the woman. The bill was 121,000 kip. I gave them 200,000 (25 dollars), we all shook hands, and said our goodbyes. Then Frank and I got the hell out of Dodge or in this case out of Paksong.&nbsp; By the time the whole even was over, I had a broken mirror, hand brake, and spokes on the wheel. The basket was dented but I just bent it back into shape. It wasn't until later that I noticed that the bike was called a Suzuki Crash. If I had seen that before, maybe I would have chosen a different bike. Frank wanted to go back to Pakse. I wasn't going to let that be the end of the trip so we continued on.&nbsp; It's a good thing we did too because things went so well after that. We had to re-route our plans and instead go off on a dirt road to a town closer by since we wouldn't be able to make our original destination before it got dark. We passed by a lot of small towns with kids playing naked in the trees, pigs and chickens running across the road, and lots of smiles and waving. We got to our destination just before it got dark and were able to find a place to get a shower, something to eat, and a nice bed. The next morning, Frank and I split up and I took a long dirt road back to Pakse. I chose it because I know that everyone else takes the paved road back to town. It was really great to see this part of Laos. As I was riding by, people would stare at me, with a serious look in their eyes not knowing what to think of this white boy who was obviously lost. Then as soon as I would smile and say, "Sabai dee!", their mouths would break open into a huge smile and everyone would wave back. It's a strange but great feeling when you drive by and everyone in a town is staring, pointing, and waving at you.&nbsp; I came back to Pakse and took the bike back to the girl whom I had rented it from. I told her what happened (well not completely) and told her I would pay for the damages. She was really nice and we went to the local shop to get all of the parts then went to another guy to replace them all. It only took about 45 minutes for everything. That cost me another 230,000 kip (about 29 dollars). So all in all, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been.&nbsp; Since the bike was fixed and I still had some daylight left, I took off again and drove a little farther south to a UNESCO world heritage site in Chamapasak. It is a temple called Wat Phu. It was built just on the west side of the Mekong River along the side of a mountain where indigenous people had worshipped their local gods even thousands of years earlier. It was nice to see but I must admit it wasn't that impressive. I just met up with my brother Joe and his friend from Thailand. The plan right now is to go south to the 4 thousand islands in the Mekong River just before the Cambodian border. Plans can always change though. &nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208408400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208408400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208408400/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:02:56 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Wien Chang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Vientiane , the capital of Laos is actually pronounced Wieng Chan. We have the French to thank for the funny spellings. Actually, Laos is pronounced like "cow" with an "L". You don't actually say the "s", it is silent. I know, it's weird. I made it here on a truck from Vang Vieng. There were no more seats on the inside but I was more than happy to hold on to the back for the 4 hour trip. I know it was definitely a lot cooler back there than inside with all of the other people piled in. I arrived later on in the evening and after finding a room, I took a much welcomed shower. I wanted to see a traditional Laos performance but the theater where the normally have them was closed until November. I found out from one guy though that there was a hotel nearby that has performances every night but not as good. I found out there was not admission fee, that the show was included in the price of the dinner. They had a set meal ($6) for a huge assortment of dishes. There were two large round tables of about 15 people each and then me sitting at a small table in the corner by myself. The group of people seemed like it could have been some communist party convention because throughout the night I found out that everyone was either from China, Cuba, Laos, or Vietnam. The dinner was great and the show was very entertaining as well. The only bad thing was that not more people knew about it to enjoy it.&nbsp; After dinner, I was walking to find a local bar. As I was going down one street, I noticed a western couple walking together in my direction. A couple of seconds later I heard, "Hey, you wanker!" I looked up and saw that two guys on a motorbike had rode by and tried to grab the girl's purse. Luckily, the guy she was with was able to catch the guy by his shoulders before they took off and pulled him off the back of the bike. The would be thief who was driving the bike lost control and crashed in the middle of the street. By this time, the first guy who fell had gotten up and ran off while the couple started to beat up on the guy who was driving the bike. He was able to get it started though and drove off. The girl was a little scratched up and her purse was broken but she still had it. Good guys 1, bad guys 0. I found a pub with live music and decided to mingle with a few of the locals. Everyone was really nice but the music was unbelievably loud. The bar closed at 12 but I was then invited to an "after hours" club at a hotel nearby. I got there and it was amazing. Almost all of the clubs in the world have at least a 10 to 1 male to female ratio. I found one of the extremely rare clubs where it was almost the complete opposite. I couldn't believe it. I thought to myself, "For sure, something shady is going on here." Like the clubs that are full of girls flirting with the guys who get them to buy drinks but them get a commission off of every drink but in fact this was a genuine rare find. I couldn't believe it, I thought these kind of places only existed in fairy tales. Needless to say, I had a great night. Guys, if you're ever in Vientiane, Laos, do your best to make it to the club in Sun Park Hotel.&nbsp; You'll thank me later.&nbsp; The next day, I rented a bike to be able to see the town. I drove around looking for the Cambodian embassy to try to go ahead and sort out my Cambodian visa. They were closed until 2:30 so I went to the bus station to ask about a bus farther south. The bus station was way on the outside of town and took me about an hour to get there. I was considering on staying another night in Vientiane to be able to go back to the same club as the night before but didn't want to ruin my image of the place so I went ahead and booked a bus for that night. I went back to the embassy only to find out that they were closed for another 3 days. Apparently they make up random holidays and are hard to find working. Sounds like a government job everywhere else in the world. I spent the rest of the day biking around the town and checking out some more temples. THE temple to see in Laos is Pha That Luang. It is the most important national landmark in Laos and impressive to see. I returned my bike and then found a tuk-tuk back to the bus station. The bus was a sleeper bus, meaning that there are small beds that you can lie down in instead of chairs to sit in. The catch is that you don't have a bed to yourself, two people to a bed. My bedmate was a guy who was about 55 or so. He looked a little upset that he had to share with the tall white guy but after arguing with the people in charge he finally gave me a hug when I lied down beside him. The beds are made for Asian people, clearly not anyone over 5'5". I was able to lie on my back but my legs were cramped up the whole ride. Nevertheless, it was still much better than 10 hours in a cramped seat.&nbsp; &nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208322000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208322000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208322000/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:53:43 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Vang Vieng, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

We found a bus out of Luang Prabang. When we bought our ticket at 9 in the morning, the guy said the bus was going to leave at 10. At 10, the guy said the bus will leave at 11 and at 11, we found out the bus leaves when it gets full. It got full around 12:30. But then, we were on our way happy and comfortable in the nice air conditioned bus. That is until only about an hour later when the a/c stopped working. I was seeing flash back of the Philippines already. Fortunately, these guys were professionals and we just pulled over, replaced a broken belt, and continued on our way. The road south toward Vang Vieng was through some mountains that have a bad reputation for having bandits stopping buses and cars and robbing them. All along the way at different points, you can see guys standing under small grass huts and guarding the road with AK-47's slung on their backs. I'm still not quite sure if that is supposed to make you feel safe or a little worried. Everything was going along quite well until a couple of the people got sick from the mountain curves and decided to discard their bad feelings in the middle of the bus isle, the stopped the bus and cleaned out the isle, only to stop about an hour later and clean it out again. We arrived in Vang Vieng in the middle of a downpour but managed to find a place quite easily right along the river. This town is known for 4 things: tubing, "Friends" the television show, drinking beer, and "happy" shakes and pizzas (shakes and pizzas with hallucinogenic mushrooms). It is basically a backpacker's party town. A group of us rented some tubes the next day and went down the river. All along the river there are bars that have built rope swings and platforms for people to jump off. It is really nice; I just don't think the combination of alcohol and 30 feet high rope swings mix well together. Hence, there are a lot of accidents. The background is amazing as well. On the west side of the river are large limestone mountains that make a beautiful background the to river and rice farms. Back in town, almost all of the restaurants are serving the happy shakes and showing re-runs of "Friends." You can literally stand on one corner looking into different restaurants and see about 10 different episodes of "Friends" at one time. Some of the places are getting a little more creative and now starting to show "The Family Guy."&nbsp; In my opinion this place is good for a day or two but if you're looking for that kind of scene then you might as well be back home. Next stop Vientiane. &nbsp;
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208235600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208235600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/1life2live/1/1208235600/tpod.html Sun, 29 Jun 2008 11:49:28 -0400 Adventure Asia - South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

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Luang Prabang, Lao Peoples Dem Rep

Happy Lao New Year! All I knew was that I wanted to be in Laos during their New Year celebrations. I didn't know that Luang Prabang is "THE" place to be during the celebrations. Laos, Thailand and Cambodia all celebrate during the same time. The New Year is based on the Indian calendar which begins the New Year in the middle of April. My friend Gee and I had met another really cool girl, Stephanie, from Canada and her boyfriend, Francisco, from Spain while on the boat. We knew that room competition would be fierce when we arrived in Luang Prabang so we devised a plan for when the boat landed. As soon as the engine was turned off, Stephanie and I jumped out of the boat to beat the crowd to the guest houses. We split up and started going to every guesthouse asking about rooms. A good 95 percent of everything was already full and what wasn't already taken was available only for that night. We finally found a place that could accommodate all 4 of us and we could have it for as many nights as we wanted. The price was a little more than we wanted but considering our options, we weren't in a good situation to bargain.The next day, the party began. There were people everywhere on the streets with water guns and buckets of water. The popular thing to do is wait until someone drives by in their car or even better on a motorbike and then douse them with water. No one is safe. The dryer that you are, the bigger of a target you have just made yourself. It has traditionally been celebrated by people just splashing water but now more kids have added throwing white powder that sticks to people when they're wet. Also watch out for lipstick, colored water, and even some black greasy stuff that will not come out of your clothes at all. Trust me on this one. On the other side of the river, people make sand stupas which are decorated with flowers, flags, and powder. There is a lot of loud music, dancing, good food, and temple visiting. If you're interested to know more about Lao New Year check out the wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lao_New_Year The second day of the New Year is pretty much a continuation of the first but they also had a big parade complete with monks, beauty queens, the local fire department, and people dressed in traditional clothes. I'm sure it is great to celebrate the New Year anywhere in Laos, we even had a lot of fun celebrating at the Buddhist temple back in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, but I don't think there could be anywhere better than Luang Prabang. It is a former French colonial town full of old buildings and beautiful temples. The best word to describe this town in "charming." Charming describes it completely. The people are all so friendly and everyone was just having a great time.&nbsp;After the parade, a group of us rented a tuk-tuk (motorcycle converted to carry several passengers) and went to Tat Kuang Si waterfalls. They are some really nice waterfalls just outside of Luang Prabang flowing down limestone rocks. The water is so clear and beautiful, a great way to cool off during a hot and sticky Lao day. There are hundreds of small pools where you can jump in and swim and at one point there is even a small rope swing. The next morning, I woke up at 5:30 in order to see the monks doing their morning alms where they walk around and receive food, money, flowers, small children and other things from the people (Ok, not really the small children). It is really nice to see them all walking around in their bright orange robes.&nbsp;So far Lao is incredible. I almost feel sad because I don't think it can get much better than this here.&nbsp;
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