We took a public bus to the Cambodia border yesterday morning. We arrived in Phnom Penh (pronounced ‘panom pen’ ‘p’ as in ‘pup’ and then ‘pen’) in the afternoon. As soon as we crossed the border, the poverty of Cambodia versus Vietnam was very apparent. There are beggars everywhere. After arriving, we went to a cafe by the river and people watched, until an elephant walked by. Yes, Nelly the Elephant was just walking down the street, past cars and motorbikes, it was the weirdest thing. Hilarious! Today was probably the most depressing day of the trip. We toured S-21, Read more…

We toured the Cu Chi Tunnels this morning. What a cool place! It was really amazing to see the tunnels and museum. The Vietcong were really creative. I can’t believe that people lived down then, for years. The VC were really determined. After seeing the tunnels, it makes you realize that we (the Americans) had no idea what we were getting into, or who we were dealing with. We got to go through a section of the tunnel. No worries, I brought my trusty headlamp. :) It was really cold, damp and even though we just went through a short Read more…

We arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) yesterday. HCMC seems to just be an “official” name in southern Vietnam. Ever since we went through the DMZ area, it’s been referred to as Saigon. So Saigon it is! It’s heading into rainy season here, so we did a cyclo tour of the city, through the rain. But that’s what my Columbia rain jacket (with duck bill hood) is for. :) We stopped at the War Remnants Museum. It was a tough walk-through, but still interesting. After leaving our cyclos behind, we walked around the downtown square and then had drinks Read more…

Although I’ve been laughed at lately for this, there’s a reason I usually pack my bag the night before I have to leave early. Yesterday morning, it came in handy. I didn’t wake up to my alarm, and since I don’t have a roomie, I just kept sleeping! (I know, what a pain to have gotten stuck with my own room!) So I got ready in 15 minutes, and yes, that included a shower. We bused to Hoi An, and arrived around noon. I’m so excited because our hotel has bikes! Yay for bikes. We rode our bikes into town Read more…

Today we took a motorbike tour of the Hue countryside. We drove through little villages, past rivers and rice paddies, saw conical hats being made, incense making, and stopped at a nunnery for lunch. A vegetarian lunch I might add. After lunch we cruised on the perfume river (it sounds fun, but was actually the most boring part of the day), across to the Tien Mu Pagoda. It was a very full and exceptionally fun day. I totally recommend bike tours. It’s a chance to see parts of the countryside and rural life that you really can’t see unless you’re Read more…