Vietnam/Cambodia

Thanks to the curious readers out there who checked back and my apologies for the slow posting...it's been a busy summer with some additional summer classes (I'm teaching on Saturday during August) it seems like I have had very little spare time. So, my apologies and I hope that my posting with be enjoyable enough to offset the slowness thereof. HA!
As you can see on the right hand side, the Cambodia and Vietnam flags have been added, so YES...the Vietnamese visa was in fact valid and we had no problems getting in to the country!
We started off on Saturday morning at around 5:30 AM and headed up to the Incheon (Seoul) airport. Got there no problem but Sam had just a single entry visa into Korea (I had multiple, so can come and go as I please) and so we had to go get him an update to get back in to the country and that morning I swear 90% of the teachers in Korea were applying for the same thing. We waited and as anyone who knows me well can attest I am an antsy person when it comes to time. We were getting a little close on check in time, and fortunately when we got to the check in line the guy from the airline moved us right up to the front of the line...not sure if it was because we were running a little late or if we just looked like two cools guys (I'd prefer to think the latter) but anyway, we got all checked in and through security no problem. Well, at this point I was cool and calm, Sam however...not so much. Sam HATES flying...he loves to travel but hates to fly, which can pose a bit of a problem since living in South Korea makes it impossible to drive to any other country! We boarded the plane and I could tell Sam was very nervous, for whatever reason even though we bought the tickets at the same time and checked in at the same time, we weren't sitting together, so as people were getting on Sam was pacing up and down the isle. I gave him a questioning thumbs up and the lady next to me said "You know that guy?" I said yes, he's my buddy and she said "what's wrong with him?" HA! I just said he hates to fly and she said "yeah, I can tell!" Anyway, got in the air OK and got to Guangzhou, China OK. The dumb thing there was that even though we weren't even entering China, we still had to go through a check there where they took our passports (I'm a freak about keeping my passport in my hands, especially in a communist country! HA) and after waiting for about 5 minutes they came back and handed back the passports. We had to go back through a security check too and Sam (who's a smoker) got his lighter confiscated! He wasn't too happy about that, since oddly enough in Korea he could take it on the plane and yet even though we never technically entered China they took his lighter! So, it had been a rough morning/afternoon for Sam. I HATE mice and rats (courtesy of my sweet mother) and a few times during the trip I saw one and about jumped out of my skin...Sam chuckled and said "my fear of flying is like having a rat in my face for 5 or 6 hours" and so I have never made fun of him for hating to fly, I think I would literally die if that was the case. So, anyway...Sam had had a rough morning between the flying and the cigarette lighter getting jacked. Anyway, had a 6 hour layover, met some cool people that were waiting as well, met a guy that was teaching in Korea from Colorado and he had lived in Durango for a while, so it was fun chatting with people even though I was excited to get to Vietnam. So, we got to Ho Chi Minh airport after the long layover and relatively short flight, we were a little nervous about the visas working, so I nudged Sam in front of me in the visa line, I figured if he got cuffed or tazed then I could make a break for it back out onto the tarmac or something! He made it through no problem and so I breathed a sigh of relief. Got through and outside and the taxi drivers (as I had read and is so common especially in South East Asia) just hit us, 10 guys all at once saying "get in, get in!" Well, we haggled a bit and asked how much it would be, some people said 20 USD, and finally we found a guy who said 15 USD and we were ready to just get to the hotel. Well, as we pull out of the airport he says "well, you also have to pay 5 USD for some fee, blah blah blah inaudible inaudible" followed by more mumbling. Anyway, dude drives us into Ho Chi Minh and he said it would take "at least 30 minutes" (even though my print off from the hotel said 10-15 AND it was late Saturday night) but we were to the hotel in less than 10. So, he drops us off on the corner and points down the street and says "there!" I couldn't see anything so I was thinking he had just left us out in the middle of the city to perish, so I said "why don't you drive us down the street?" He said it was one way (which was a lie) and so finally we got out. Sam gave him 10 USD and the guy was upset saying we had agreed on 15 USD and we had to pay his "airport fee" (yeah right) and so we said "it only took 10 minutes, you said 30." We just started walking away and he was angry, but we thought "whatever!" So, find the hotel (which was actually very nice for the price) and after checking in I asked the guy "so, how much should we have paid for a taxi ride?" he said "Oh, no more than 5 USD!" HA...so, anyway, we got ripped off the first night. So, our plan was to go to Angkor Wat in Cambodia the next day. I had looked at the map and thought it was about 300-350km and so anticipated a 4 to maybe 5 hour bus ride...well, that was not even remotely close on the time. I have never lived anywhere that has roads like Vietnam and Cambodia...it's almost indescribable the road conditions there. Picture 1000s of scooters everywhere on a two lane road that isn't in very good condition and that's the roads in Vietnam and Cambodia. There's no interstate or express road like the US and Korea, not even close. So, we only made it to Phnom Penh, Cambodia the first night, we didn't get there until around 7 PM and P.P. was only about half way. So, we got a hotel and planned to visit the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum the next day. I had read a decent amount about Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge Regime of the 1970s but had no idea the atrocities that took place at Tuol Sleng. Basically it was a high school in P.P. that was taken over and used as a torture and prison camp. After Pol Pot took power he wanted to get rid of anyone who he feared might lead a coup against him and it is estimated that between 17,000-20,000 people were held tortured and then killed at Tuol Sleng (also known as S-21). At the end of the regime the Vietnamese army had liberated the city of P.P. and as they approached the last prisoners were killed off. The Vietnamese took pictures of some of the victims that were found hours later, and they were VERY disgusting to say the least. They tortured the people with electrocution, water boarding, strangulation, and about every other thing you can think of. It was equally as disturbing as my trip to Dachau in Germany. Anyway...it made for quite a somber morning. We caught the bus to head on the Siem Riep at around 1 PM and made another LOOOOONG bus ride on up through the Cambodian countryside. We arrived to Siem Riep at around 7:30 PM and we were literally locked inside a gate and had to use one of the tuk-tuks inside the gate for them to even unlock the thing! So, we paid maybe 4 USD for a ride over to our hotel. Got there and checked in and went out and got some really nice food at a really good restaurant for only about 4 USD. That was one thing I noticed, almost EVERYTHING in Cambodia and Vietnam was inexpensive. So, the next day we went off to Angkor Wat, which is a Hindu temple complex and certainly the most famous place in Cambodia (as seen on the flag). It was built around the early 12th century for the King Suryavarman II. We had hired a tuk tuk driver to drive us around the entire day (as Angkor Wat is HUGE!) and so we pretty much cruised around the entire place and saw most of what there was to see. They offered 3 day passes to Angkor Wat but we opted to just get the 1 day and I was plenty satisfied with just one day, it was very amazing and beautiful, but I am always ready to move on and see the next thing! HA! So, we decided to brave the 14 hour bus ride back to Ho Chi Minh the next day (if we had it to do over again we would have flown into Siem Riep and then just taken the bus ride once, but we didn't know...so what can you do?!). So, that's what we did, woke up early and basically rode the bus the entire day back to Ho Chi Minh. As we rode through the beautiful Cambodian countryside I was overwhelmed by the poverty in that country. Houses were barely held together, most places looked like they didn't have electricity or running water (I noticed a lot of town wells) and many people looked sad and hungry. I felt SO BLESSED to have been born where I was and to have all the things I enjoy in my life. I think too often we complain that others have more than we have, or we need more toys, or more money, or a better job, or blah blah blah and there are so many people in this world who have FAR LESS than you and I enjoy. So, not trying to get on my soapbox but it really was a life changing trip for me. I had never seen such poverty in all my life and I promised myself on that bus that I would be grateful for the things I have in my life and remember them everyday.
So, we arrived to Ho Chi Minh late that evening and checked into a hotel, we had a few problems and I think Sam and I were both a little irritated at the hotel staff(they had promised we could use a laptop which then was broken and they had promised Sam he could check his camera and video camera in to their safe and then they said that it was too small!) but after grabbing dinner and relaxing for a bit we were both OK. We had planned to go up to Mui Ne a really nice beach area in the morning. So, we got up early and headed to Mui Ne, not a bad bus ride, about 4 hours. The countryside in Vietnam was quite different from that in Cambodia, much more mountainous and rocky than Cambodia which seemed to have miles and miles of fertile fields. We arrived in Mui Ne and I must say, it was pure heaven! We had reserved a nice resort hotel for one night and I couldn't believe when we got there how amazing it was! We were both elated. We wanted to rent some scooters and ride around the town and coast and so for just 10 USD we rented some scooters from the resort. The town of Mui Ne really cool, very laid back and seemed like a true Vietnamese beach town. There were some other more touristy places, but I'm glad we chose Mui Ne. We rode the scooters around most of the afternoon and enjoyed everything there. The resort wasn't very full and I found out that July is kind of the slow time for Vietnam tourism, most of their tourists are from Europe and don't start showing up until around later September, October time. So, here we were at the amazing beach-front resort and there was hardly anyone there. We chilled out at the pool for most of the evening, just relaxing and enjoying the down time. We had originally planned to just stay one night, but when we were out at the pool we were talking and both easily agreed that we should stay one more night! HA! It was relatively cheap (65 USD) and I am certain that a place like that in the States would have easily been 120-130 USD a night. It was amazing, private beach, nice pool, beautiful grounds...everything you could want! Mui Ne is famous for their sand dunes and so the next day we took the scooters up to the sand dunes and enjoyed looking around and seeing everything. It felt a little to me like my brother's old town of Prescott, Arizona and I had a little deja-vu when we stopped to take a picture, I remembered riding back with Mer and Derek from Wal-Mart and it made me think of them and miss them. We rode scooters pretty much all day, all over the area, down to the beach and the area where they had tons of little, stinky fish! HA! Not even sure what they are (don't know my fish very well) but they didn't smell very good! So, sadly we knew the trip was winding down. We enjoyed our last night in Mui Ne and then took the bus back to Ho Chi Minh the next day. When we got to Ho Chi Minh we walked around and saw some different local sites and visited the market there. We stayed at the same hotel the last night and then headed to the airport at about 6 AM on Sunday. Had another long layover in China and then got back to Incheon airport ready to get home...well, the day we went there it had been raining in the morning and apparently Sam had accidentally forgot to turn the lights off. So...HAHA, we had to try and get jumped off, but the battery was too low, so eventually we just pushed it (it's a stick) and Sam was able to pop the clutch and we were off! We got back to Cheonan around 1 AM and I had to leave for work early the next morning.
It was an amazing trip...one of the best trips I have ever been on. I had a great time with Sam, we shared plenty of laughs and some serious conversations about how lucky we are to live the lives we do. I saw things I'd never seen before, thought a lot about my life and how lucky and blessed I've been. I got to check off 2 more countries on my list (up to 12 now! woo-hoo) and got some cool visas in my passport. I was a little disappointed with some of my pics, I think I set the shutter speed wrong a few places and when it was really sunny I didn't seem to get very good pics. Sam is an amazing photographer and seems to be able to capture certain elements much better than I do, some of the pics here are from his camera, so they are a combined effort. He has an uncanny ability to capture humans, something I seldom do. I usually like the "postcard" pics and he always gets some cool shots of people doing seemingly ordinary things, yet it captures the moment probably much better than a postcard shot. Anyway...I hope you enjoyed the trip update, surely I forgot some stuff but I hope you could get a good feel for the trip.