WAM, BAM thats veitNAM

I am constantly in a state of awe over big Asian Cities, it feels as if their life blood is constantly rushing through their vein like streets with the heart been the unique culture found only in Asia, Ho Chi Minh was no exception, it' s in your face, loud and everything seems to end up going past in a fuzzy blur and I can't get enough of it. I made my way up from down below to the tip of Vietnam and I just cruised the whole way. Vietnam is notably different from the rest of upper South East Asia, for one they don't muck around, everything is moving purposefully and efficiently and although it's communist it's sparlwing with large capitalist industries and business. Apparently after the Bali bombing, the usual holiday makers migrated to the undiscovered Vietnam, this is why there is such a large portion of Australians there. I had all my destinations planned in HCMC because you save mega bucks by booking one big open bus ticket, in fact I spend under $18 on transport in my entire time in Vietnam. After seeing the sights of HCMC you get the impression they aren't super pro American, and this is truly propagated through the War museums, horrific uncensored photographs that bring up all types of emotions, anger been a hard one to suppress. Before I know it, I'm on my planned bus up to Nha Trang starting to regret having to work my trip around a ticket until something pounded through my veins, I was elated and excited. After traveling over 2 months on inland landlocked countries I had finally come back to the Ocean, the mere smell of the salt water gave me goosebumps, I had spent that entire day bumming on the beach forgetting I hadn't slep for nearly 22 hours. Nha trang also had a really relaxing night life, I was dorming with a few Scandinavians which can only mean trouble when alcohol is involved, I have yet to find a nation to drink a Scan under the table, Nha Trang was a holiday within a holiday. The next morning was a bit of a downer when I found out I was drugged and then robbed the previous night but was redeemed with a boat trip I took to the local Islands, drinking very cheap wine on the Vietnam's turquoise water. I was then pulled back into reality quite literally by my bus ticket to Hoi an. This Chinese influenced backstreet town was paved with old bricks and lined with interlocking houses. I really enjoyed just strolling the streets which was good since there isn't much else to do other then buy incredibly cheap tailored clothing. This is what the town is actually famous for and is quite amuzing seeing these Western backpackers buying suits knowing their bags are already filled to the brim. The problem is the language barrier, it's all well and good getting something to your exact needs but is useless when the woman doing the tailoring doesn't speak English, I met a girl who wanted a woolen sweater and ended up getting it in lycra. The town of Hui was next and this town is pretty desolate, I stayed one night and left to the arduous journey up to Hanoi, over 750KM of road to the capital which by now I am very used to until I had the unfortunate luck of getting seated next to an Aussie Baptist that proceeded to tell me how science is evil. Luckily, I was given a tip by numerous travelers to take a couple Valium for the long excursions to knock you out, so I offerd the preacher a couple. I was finally at the capitol and although it's not as lively as HCMC it's pretty exciting. I was stuck here for quite a while waiting for my Chinese Visa to be processed to I took a trip to the beautiful Haolong Bay on a traditional Junk boat. Three days on the water with good people, great food and the local beer, sweet. Came back and moved around three different hostels, saw the famous Hanoi Water Puppet show and all the other sights and I was off to begin my next adventure. I decided to make my own way to the border since I am a cheap skate backpacker but it turned out to be much harder then I thought, I eventually got to the Vietnamese side of the border and was forced to stay the night in the rotten town of Dong Dang, waking up the next morning quite nervous unknowing what was awaiting me over the next 100m of land, CHINA....

The Jewel of Asia

"What are you dense?" I was some what surprised by his remark, I mean I knew it was good and had no doubts it would meet my expectations but I just couldn't fit it in my plans, I mean I can't go everywhere. "If you are to go anywhere in South East Asia, this should be it, it's the Jewel of Asia" We were in Laung Prapang in Northern Laos and I had just met this guy on my trek, I had already been in Laos for over two weeks now and felt I had to move on to my next scheduled destination, Vietnam, but I couldn't help but think about what this dreaklocked, ganja smoking brick layer was saying, for someone to say it's the ONE thing you should see in Asia I assumed would make it incredible. I haven't even thought about going that way, I couldn't, I had a schedule to meet to get the most out of my trip so I left for my bus back to Vientiane ready to go east to Vietnam. The trip was awful but also expected, seven hours of potholes and horn blowing but I couldn't stop thinking about this Jewel, this Treasure. We're finally in Vientiane and it's incredibly hot, I've been told close to 40 and I just want to find a guesthouse for the night and crash till the morning, I'm physically walking to a Tuk Tuk when my gutt starts to churn, not in a sick way but a way that completely blanks your mind and just tells you something, like it's in your blood or something. The next thing I know, I'm buying a twelve hour ticket to Southern Laos for that night despite my exhaustion and hunger and it felt so right. This is the thing about travelling solo, you can do what ever the hell you want, even make a 1000km detour to Cambodia.
It's the morning, and I took the initiative of pre booking a mini bus from the Southern town of Pakse in Laos, which funny enough sounds like a disease that you feel like you have when you arrive. So That morning I was already heading for the unknown lands or the Khmer's. One thing you notice the second you hit Cambodia is that everyone is trying to get something out of you. It is said to have one of the highest rates of corruption in the world which I think is kind of stupid, how can someone measure corruption but you really do get the negative impression that they perceive you as walking dollar signs. Like in the Visa office, which is quite literally a wooden hut, I am charged for the Visa, $20usd, fair enough but then you get the $5usd weekend charge and of course the $2usd stampage fee. This didn't matter though, I was on such a high, something in my gutt just felt so right, I was on my way to see my treasure. We were well into it now, the mini bus had broken down twice, the driver has stopped numerous times to stop and chat to his local friends and It felt liked the sun had just moved a little closer as a nasty joke. I can only describe Cambodia's land like a giant golf course. It is incredibly flat with very little trees, they have a major problem with logging but it has a serene beauty about it. Every few square meters there is huge palm trees that look strategically placed to make the fairway look fancy and groomed, the air conditioner was of course broken so the windows were down and it was so beautiful, the Khmer wind just feels thicker and stronger then ordinary wind, it just foiled around my face like a warm blanket, also, the Khmer's themselves look different to their other South East Asian counterparts, their cheek bones are very high and prominent and have very narrow con caved jaws, it actually makes them look fierce and warrior like and came to no surprise that the Khmer's were once the Major power of South East Asia. At this point I was so content until we got to Kompong Cham and we were placed with another Cambodian Scam, count 4.
I was excited for the next day because this was the day I would come to my treasure and the whole reason for coming to this mysterious land. Siem Reap, which actually means 'Siam Defeated', Siam of course was the home to the Siamese and is modern day Thailand, this land used to be the capital to the famous and powerful Angkor era, Cambodia's golden age which of course is home to the Jewel of SEA, Angkor Wat. These are the ancient ruins of the Angkor's and even today shows the true splendor and grandeur of these people, it is AMAZING, I have seen nothing like it, this place sprawls out over kilometers of beautiful grass land and rivers. I will talk very little about it because words alone cannot describe how amazing this place is. I had gotten my treasure and it had exceeded all my expectations!!!
I couldn't stay too long in Cambodia so after four days touring Angkor I make my way to the modern Capital of Phenom Penh, it's crazy, mean and fast but I really liked it. Highlight was definitely S-21, and old school that Pol Pot had transformed into an interrogations prison, it still had blood stains on the wall from the horrific torture the Khmer Rouge set upon the locals, horrific and very silencing.
I am now in Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh and now a whole new adventure awaits.