moving on

a few weeks have passed once more without an update but i am on holidays after all so i think i deserve a little break. things are still going great. when i last wrote, we were about halfway down vietnam. well, we spent a few days in mui ne, just chilling out on the beach and taking a much neeed break from riding the bus. managed to get some colour, slept a lot, read a lot and then just as it was seeming to get a little tired we set off for ho chi minh city. to be honest, i wasn't really in the mood for a major urban center after the tranquility of the beach, so we took in a few sights by taking a walking tour. only spent a couple of days in saigon, but i did manage to make it to the war remnants museum. i expected lots of photos and artifacts from the war, but they were much more graphic and showed the terrible cost of war. i won't describe the images but they were enough to make me want to leave after only seeing a fraction of what they had. that said, i feel it's an important part of vietnam's history and should never be forgotten what many paid with their lives for.

the next stop along the way was in cambodia, specifically the capital of phnom pehn. we had gotten quite used to the vibe of vietnam and crossing the border at moc bai was like entering a different world. crossing the border overland is always an interesting experience because you instantly get to see just how different the countries are. it was almost like night and day. if vietnam had suffered in the war, it had recovered some what while cambodia still seemed to be in the grips of it. there were maimed roads and people everywhere, a painful reminder of what war can do to a country. when we pulled into phnom penh and finally found a place to stay, these two young booksellers came up to us and chatted in english. i eventually bought a book off of one of the girl's who seemed to be full of life. i asked her how she learned english, from school or her tutor and she just said she listened and learned. she didn't go to school. she ate with us and then off she went, happy as could be ready to sell her next book.

our only real destination in cambodia was siem reap, the closest town to angkor temples. we spent a whole day checking them out, but realistically it wasn't enough time to fully appreciate it so we just took in the highlights. it was spectacular and completely worth the jarring and hot bus rides we had to endure along the way. i remember along the way, the bus got a flat and we broke down for an hour. then, there was no air cond and it was bumpy all the way. about halfway through our ride, we stopped for lunch and we were all bitching about the trip. just as we were getting back on the bus, a pair of girls found a young woman lying in a ditch, covered in bruises and cuts. she was barely conscious and was severly dehydrated. someone arranged for a person to go to the nearest town and get a doctor to come and collect her. the rest of us had to leave but the poor girl had to stay there in the ditch and wait for the doctor to arrive. it was a shocking image and certainly made the rest of us on the bus feel as though we had nothing to really complain about.

we soon left cambodia behind after a short stay of only 5 days because we realized how quickly time was slipping through our fingers. we took another bus (sensing a theme here?) to bangkok and have been here for the last three days. we leave tonight to head up north to chiang mai and do our elephant trek which should be a lot of fun. afterwards, we had planned to travel through myanmar but it looks as though we aren't going to be able to do that. it's funny, but we arrived in bangkok to do our visas and the day we went the office was closed for some reason or another. a sign perhaps? whatever it was, it made us reevaluate or time and money and so we've decided to spend the remainder on the beach which is fine by the both of us.

still feeling good about the trip we've had, but feeling a bit tired of the tours, the haggling, and so forth. also, both of us can feel reality started to close in around us which is scary. the prospect of having no job, no apartment and heading back to a country where everyone has to strive to have the best of all this is enough to keep me awake at night. literally. i have been not able to fall asleep for the last week or so properly. just keep thinking about how things are going to be, the people and the places, what am i going to do next? the other sort of life crisis that hits when moving back to a different country. i'm still happy with our decision to leave taiwan...i do feel it was time, but i think maybe a little more effort should have been put into as to what to do next. i'm sure things will work out as they always do, but i also think i should really start looking for something to do with myself. i can hear my parents already, most likely about a week after returning...the inevitable "what are you going to do now?" speech. it would be nice if i could have an answer like "I've been offered a great job writing for such and such magazine." or possibly "I'm giving my life to jesus. " hmm...that last one probably won't fly too well. anyway, i'm just going to keep enjoying the time left over the next few weeks and try to put it out of my mind for the time being.

vietnam part I

we've now been traveling in vietnam for the last 2 weeks and it has been nothing short of awesome. i feel a little stupid that i hadn't chosen to take a holiday here sooner but better late than never. i've been keeping a journal everyday (or nearly everyday) to try and keep track as well as fill in the gaps in my memory of the places we've seen and been

June26.2007

What a day! Day 9 and feelin' fine. We hopped aboard our minibus where we spirited away to the splendor and wonder that is Halong Bay. it is every bit as good as it looks in photos and more. aquamarine water, chinese junk boats everywhere, rocky outcroppings with hundreds of areas to explore, some only accessible by sea kayak. we went to this natural cave which was just so....incredible. splendid. amazing and all those other adjectives i can't think of right now. also took a walk up 400 steps for some wicked views of the entire bay. also tried our hand at sea kayaking which is definitely something i would do again in the blink of an eye. great exercise...can't believe i said that but it's true. tonight, sitting down to a great seafood dinner aboard the junk where we will be spending the night.

the feeling of being here on the water at night is sublime. a warm breeze is blowing off the water while a melody is being played on a bamboo flute somewhere in the ether.

June 27th.2007.

said farewell to the beauty of halong bay and hello to 5 hours of bus riding. tonight, we're going to stay in ninh binh which is nothing more than a place to stop and rest for the night. the next leg of the hourney is going to take us a grueling 10 hours so wanted to try and break it up as much as possible.

we've decided to slow down a bit and just take our time, otherwise this holiday is going to be over. fast.

june 28.2007.

we weren't able to book ourselves on the bus today but let me tell you, i'm glad it worked out that way. we decided to take in some of the sights of north-central vietnam. it feels like an entirely different world out here. very rural complete with floating villages, rice paddies and water buffalo. so tranquil and serene. we visited tam coc, which has the familiar karst rock formations, except we saw them by being rowed down a lazy river. what an absolutely perfect way to spend a hot afternoon. we also hired a couple of motorbikes to take us around and really got to see some of the countryside. all in all, a perfect day to while away.

july.1st.2007

happy canada day! yet another national holiday spent abroad but i can't imagine doing so in more picturesque surroundings. we left ninh binh behind and got our first, true taste of the bus system here in vietnam. long story short, it was awful. intermittent air cond, thread-bare seats and incessant horn honking every 10 seconds. even after two sleeping tablets, i didn't manage a single wink. i tried until about 4:30 and then just plain gave up. on the plus side, i did see my first sunrise in years. (without me trying to get indoors from the night before, that is!) we arrived here in the former imperial capital of Hue and just crashed. after this bus ride, i've been too tired to truly give this sleepy city the attention it no doubt deserves, but still pretty cool. we depart tomorrow night for another yet shorter bus ride to another culture capital...Hoi An.

july 5th.2007

this has been a weeks of lots of moving around and seeing lots of great stuff. as i mentioned, hue was alirhgt but didn't really have a lot of the stuff we were looking for. Hoi an on the other hand was much more in keeping with the rustic and ancient feel we've been wanting to see. fading yellow building with terraces, draping plants over them , cobblestone streets lined with shops selling all sorts of handicrafts and knickknacks. it was slow-paced, scenic and enchanting. as far as culture goes, hoi an has been my favourite place so far. it did rain but it made for a nice day of shopping. i actually got a couple of shirts and a suit made which is awesome...all for the bargain price of $60 US!

Now, we've arrived in Nha Trang after yet another grueling 12-hour bus ride. Slept some fo the trip but just crashed as soon as we got to the hotel. today, just been taking it easy in the room. tomorrow, i think we'll just check out something in the morning and then hit the beach for a few hours in the afternoon. i think it will take care of this travel weariness we've been feeling. just a combination of travel, changing rooms too much and dealing with other travellers. (see future post for further details about this)