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Vietnam:

Eating Tarantulas In Phnom Penh

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…

Tunneling 101 with the Viet Cong

06.03.08

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…

Goodnight Saigon

06.02.08

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…

Same, Same But Different

05.31.08

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…

Hue Motorbike Tour

05.29.08

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…

Olivia Raymer
Things I ♥: travel, food (I'm a pescatarian), the Pacific Northwest, bikes (I ride an orange mixte), beer (IPAs), summer, coffee, lists, and kittehs. Travel enthusiast, dabbler, and product manager at BootsnAll Travel Network.

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31 Before 31 List

1. Run a 5k
2. Eat completely local for one week
3. Go on an overnight bike trip
4. Roadtrip Hwy 101 to San Francisco
5. Visit all 31+ Breweries in PDX (7 left)
6. Try a new cocktail
7. Try wakeboarding
8. Go to Portugal
9 Take a 2+ week trip
10. Work remotely [not in Portland] for 1+ month
11. Get a piece of clothing tailored
12. Speak in front of 100+ people (at a conference etc)
13. Have a party at my house (ie. invite more than 4 people over)
14. Visit Hawaii again
15. Start a book club
16. Eat at Beast
17. Go to a Plate & Pitchfork dinner
18. Do a cleanse
19. Do another 30 day yoga challenge
20. Organize a group [bike] ride
21. Find a mentor
22. Paint a wall in my home
23. Go on a press trip
24. Sew something again
25. Do a month-long blogging project
26. Volunteer / do some pro bono work
27. Learn a song on the guitar
28. Find a karaoke song
29. Design a WordPress Theme
30. ____________
31. ____________