Sappa: Day 4

Me and the girls. Sue was my favourite to the right of me.


Barber in the street... I considered getting a trim.

Sappa market.


I didn't know Tiffany was taking a photo. She was trying to set the timer. I'm a geek!



It was an uneventuful day and that was much needed. I woke up around 5:00am by an intense storm. I love storms! I listened for awhile and wondered if it would still be pouring when we had to ride in just a few short hours. That could make things interesting…

Tiff and I got up at 7:00am and the rain have thankfully tappered to a drizzle. We had an absolute beautiful, enjoyble and short ride to Sappa. The Tam Trom Pass was one of the most beautiful sections of our trip. We took our time, stopped, took photos and sang the whole way there.

We arrived in Sappa around 11:30. We explored the town and really enjoyed being off the bike for a day!

We couldn’t really go far without the cutest little girls tressed in traditional hill tribe clothing trying to sell us something. They were so sweet and smart and remembered our names. I couldn’t help but buy some bangles from them, which, by the way, turned my skin green.

Tonight Tiff and I went to a local pub and played darts before watching a movie in our guesthouse. The youngest girl we saw today (about 4 I think) came into our guesthouse lobby and we cuddled with her and I bought some bracelets from her. She was so cold and dirty. Poor little thing! Her mom finally came for her around 10:00pm. Late night for this little pumpkin!

Over Confidence: Day 3

Me and the guesthouse lady. I'm looking a little nappy at this point. We wore the same clothes everyday!



Tiff changing the spark plug.

This morning I woke up a little grumpy. It was probably because I was not looking forward to riding the bike today. Yesterday was scary and took forever! Today we had about the same distance to cover so I knew it was going to be another long day. I was just praying that we had already seen the worst of the roads?

The day started well and we rode 31/2 hours to our lunch destination. It was an interesting little town. We had no idea what we ordered but they brought us beef and pork and rice. It was pretty good, I’m certainly not picky. I was shown to the “bathroom” which was literally in the back of the restaurant in a grassy pen with the pigs. Nice one!

We left this little town feeling pretty confident because we thought we only had 100km further to reach our destination (Sapa) that day. I think at one point we actually high-fived each other – we are such nerds!

It all went down hill from there… first of all we took a wrong turn right off the bat and about 20 min later Tiff had a feeling we were heading in the wrong direction. I’m on the back and I have no clue. (I would hate to think what would happen to me if I was by myself) We stopped and asked someone. “Sapa?” we asked. They laughed and pointed in the opposite direction we were headed. That’s okay, no biggie? It only set us back 40 minutes.

We were on our way again, 20 minutes out of town in the right direction, when our engine suddenly died. The first thing we did was check gas. We were low but it certainly looked like it would be enough to keep going. We tried the reserve just it case? Nothing. Ok, if it's not gas what else could it be? We pull out the trusty manual and tool kit. At this point we have an audience. Three 13 year old boys.

I start reading. Aha, the spark plug! It says to check the spark plug if the engine suddenly dies. That must be it! Tiff immediately takes out the tools and removes the spark plug. Yeah. That’s it. This spark plug’s all black - it must be burned out. Tiffany said, "I remember Nam saying brown means dead… or something like that." Sweet. We are awesome – we can ride a bike and fix it! Tiff changes out our old one for a shiny new one.

We’re feeling so confident that we solved our problem that we both put our helmets on and hopped on the bike. Tiff kick starts it but nothing happens? What’s wrong? Just then these 2 men come around the corner on bikes and they motion to our gas tank. We wave them off as if to say, no no no, we have gas in our tank. They didn’t understand or weren’t convinced so one guy comes to look. Well… apparently we were out of gas afterall! Who knew? We had to coast 15 km downhill back into town. At one point the downhill ended and we slowly came to a stop. We still had 8 km to town. Now what? We tried the reserve again and this time it worked! Good timing. Now we had been set back almost 2 ½ hours. We knew we weren’t going to make it to our destination of choice that night. Oh well, what do you do? We laughed about it, gased up and were on our way. It sure is a good thing we "fixed" our sparkplug. Haha!

We arrived at this little town call Tam Duong and are staying at what I imagine is the only guesthouse in town. This older woman who runs the place is so friendly. When we got there she immediately led me by the hand to the roof to see the view of the rice fields. She loved me and kept holding my hand, smiling, speaking to me in Vietnamese and patting my butt. Haha.

We ate great pho bo (beef noodle soup) for dinner and walked around the little town. Mmm. This trip is turning out to be great! I really think yesterday was the worst of it!

Oh yeah, we finally named our Minsk. Gaston. We figured we needed a little testosterone on this trip!

Road Rash: Day 2

Busy roads at times!

Driving at dusk.


Me and the boys at the mechanics who helped us out!

Guy at the mechanics working on our bike =)




We started out the day nice and early and by 9:00pm we were on the road. I was smiling. The sun was shining. The day was starting off right. I was also feeling confident of Tiffany's driving skills from the previous days efforts. We drove 3 hours to our lunch destination. We were making good time and the roads were descent.

After a quick bite to eat, which consisted of tofu, rice, and fresh tomatoes (those are the only things we know ho to say in Vietnamese) we were on the road again. I had mentioned to Tiffany over lunch that perhaps I was ready to give driving a go. I was getting a little bored on the back.
Well, lettle did I know the road conditions that we were going to be up against or the events that would transpire! The terrain started to change dramatically and soon after lunch we were on these narrow, windy, single-lane mountain roads with blind corner after blind corner. You had to honk evertime you turned the corner to warn other vehicles coming in your direction. For someone who's only driven a moped 2x before Tiffany was doing a fantastic job but I'd have to say at this point I began to rethink both our motorcycle trip and entrusting my life to Tiffany!

Even as I wrie this my jaw hurts from being clenched so tightly and every muscle in my back hurts from being so tense. I honestly saw my life flash before my eyes today. There were too many close calls that right now I'm having a bit of a hard time being super upbeat about this trip. I'm thinking: Wow we made it through today! Are we going to make it through tomorrow? I'm honestly, seriously thinking this way.

They are doing some major construcion on the roads (well actually they NEED to be doing construction but right now the road is in shambles). For about 1 1/2 hours we were riding straight up this mountainside on a dirt, one-lane road that was super rocky and bumpy. We were not motorcylcing, we were dirtbiking! I felt like I was doing a little motorcross actually! Why take a minsk should anyone ask? Today I understand...

About half way through our day (we were 25 km from the nearest town thank goodness!) we got in our first motorbike wreck. We were turning a blind corner and this big semi-truck was coming straight for us! To avoid a head-on we went off the pavement and onto the gravel and as soon as that happened our bike came crashing down. We were tossed off the bike and it landed on us! We were so fortunate that we weren't going very fast and we got off with a little road rash. Our bike wasn't as fortunate... the gear pedal was completely bent out of shape and the bike was badly out of line. We also smashed the rear-view mirror and the tail light.

We sat there for a bit, at the side of the road. Tiffany took out the tool box again... I just looked at her like whatcha think you're going to do with those plyers? The bike started ok and once we figured out we could use the gears we rode the last 25 km into town with it badly out of line. We stopped in town and conveniently right beside us was a mechanic shop. Thankfully mechanic shops are a dime a dozen in Vietnam. We acted out what happened to the mechanic and he put the bike back in line and put on a new gear pedal. $4 and 10min later we were off again. I love SE Asia! They didn't have a replacement mirror though so I had to look behind me and tap on Tiff's shoulders if someone was about to pass. A bit of an inconvenience but we made it work =)

Once I could get past my fear, I was able to enjoy the beautiful scenery surrounding us. My favorite part was passing all the little villages where hill tribes such as the Black Thai's and Muong lived. They were dressed in their traditional garb and were out working the land. We saw old woman who looked about 70 or 80, but were probably younger, carrying heavy piles of wood on their head and men and women working in the rice fields. The children were especially cute and they were so excited to see us and wave to us as we rode by. It was really neat to see everyone going about their day as usual. You knew it wasn't a put on thing for tourists. I love that!

We spent 10 hours on the bike today! When we arrived in Dien Bien Thu we went for dinner and we actually saw other foreigners. They were a French couple and once we started talking to them we realized we were doing the same trip as them. They looked at us and asked: "Are you girls riding bikes?" (with a big question mark). We explained that Tiffany was driving and how we really don't have experience etc and that I'm quite scared actually. "Wow!" the French guy said. "You mean you girls don't have a motorcycle licence are are doing this trip?" "Yep that's right," we responded. I then said -"we're either some of the coolest girls you'll ever meet or the stupidest. After today I'm feeling we're a little on the stupid side!" He laughed and said "yes, but cool too!"

They wished us luck and we said goodbye. I couldn't help but wish I was his girlfriend getting on the back of his bike and riding away! I'd feel a little bit more safe I think, besides he was also quite cute =) Good-night. I'm praying tonight for safety. We have hit the point of no return. No turning back now!

What's a Carburetor? Day 1

Outside the rental place, armed with our Barbie masks. =)

Me and our cook for lunch. I feel tall!

Tiffers at our first lunch spot. They were so friendly!

Tiff with the guys who fixed our bike =)

Riding in the fog.


Nam (the guy we rented our minsk from) and I as we bid farewell in Hanoi. Tiffany: the adventure is ours!

My alarm went off at 7:00am. Today’s the big day! We started out by eating a hearty breakfast and two cups of coffee each at this little café called the Good Earth Café just down the street from our hotel. About 8:30am we ventured down the bike rental place with a smiling Nam to greet us. He gave us our tool kit and fix-it manual and showed us the choke and sparkplug and a few more things that is all a little hazy at this point… Seriously! Tiffany and I have NO business riding this bike! We both looked at each other with glazed over looks. Ah well. If something happens we’ll figure it out in a pinch.

Next Nam leads us out of Hanoi on his bike. I’m on the back of his bike and Tiffany is following Nam. Hanoi is a HUGE city! I’m so proud of Tiffany for maneuvering through the crazy crazy traffic on such a big bike! I would look behind me ever so often to see how she was doing and I would laugh every time. Here is this cute little blonde hair blue eyed girl on this bad ass bike driving though a busy Asian city. This girl has guts!

When we got to the outskirts of town Tiff and I bid farewell to Nam and I hopped on the back of Tiff’s bike. I was not quite as confident as when I was on the back of Nam’s bike, but whatever, we were on our way!

Within the first 5 minutes of being on a bike together we seriously nearly took out this girl on her bicycle. Well actually she was crossing the street pushing her bicycle. Tiff and I drove behind her (as she should have) but was just a tad too close and our saddle bags caught her bike and knocked it around. The girl was fine so we kept driving. This is a great start!

A couple hours later we stopped for lunch at this little town called Hoa Binh and they were so happy to see us. I really don’t think many foreigners come through here and they spoke no English. Finally we’re off the very well beaten tourist trail in SE Asia. FINALLY!!

After lunch we started going up into the mountains. We were traveling in the fog on these mountain passes with these big trucks dominating the road. Thankfully the road seems pretty good thus far. I’ve got to hand it to Tiffany though. She’s a good driver! I’m so glad I didn’t drive though. I would have been in tears for sure! So I’m the designated team photographer. It was really cold in the mountains and I had to hug Tiffany to keep us warm. We laughed a lot. We are so dumb and dumber!

Oh wait. Back it up a bit. About an hour into this trip up a mountain road our bike started to make some strange noises. We stopped to check it out and discovered our fuel was leaking. So… we got out our trusty tool kit and manual and sat by the side of the road to read it. Tiff asked, (more hypothetically than anything) “what do you think that tube is called?” I said, “I don’t know. The fuel tube?” Then Tiff said, “I think it’s the carburetor.” I said, “Isn’t that in the engine?” I said it before and I’ll say it again. Tiff and I have NO business riding this bike!

We sat there for awhile brainstorming and finally decided the best bet was to put the bike in neutral and coast to the nearest town to have it looked at. Just as we were about to leave this friendly Vietnamese guy pulled over to see what was wrong. We showed him the leaky tube and he knew what was wrong. He acted it out with a piece of grass by mock tying it around the tube. Oh. There must have been a screw or something there holding it in place. OK. Cool. Then another guy comes to help and he brings out a piece of metal and pliers and uses that to jimmy rig it. Works for me =) we’re set to go. Thanks gentlemen!

We roll into Moc Chai where we are staying tonight around 5:30pm. What a cute little town. Everyone is so friendly. We go for dinner and basically ask them to bring us whatever. They brought us this lovely meal consisting of tofu, tomatoes, some unknown green little vegetable. Then we had some homemade yogurt for desert. We walked around for a bit and everything pretty much shut down around 7:00pm. It’s quite a change from the hustle and bustle of city life. I’m so stoked to be doing this trip. This is finally our chance to get off the beaten path. What a good day to begin our trip.

Erwin and Fanny's Motorcycle Diaries: Day Zero

Gaston: Our Russian Minsk!

Tiffany and I have been talking up this motorcycle trip in Vietnam since we started planning Vietnam. It’s a 6 or 7 day motorcycle loop of Northwestern Vietnam. We drove little mopeds in Vang Vieng (Laos) and Dalat (Vietnam) so we figured we were ready for the Big Trip! We were reading about this trip in the Vietnam Lonely Planet (we just got our hands on one today) and it said this trip on motorbikes is spectacular but only for the experienced biker – meaning: “has driven a moped 2X?” Mmm… that should have been our first clue and actually by this point I was getting very nervous. Tiffany didn’t seen bothered but she’s a different breed of girl- let me tell you! – granted I do think she’s a better driver than I…

So after we got back from our boat tour we went to the motorbike rental place that was recommended by lonely plant to rent these bikes called Russian Minsk’s. I took one look at the Russian Minsk and just about pooped my pants. It’s a big bike. Like a proper bike. Not a scooter like I’m “used to” driving (and “used to” as in 2X experienced).

The guy who worked there, Nam (who was absolutely adorable – by the way) told me to hop on and showed me how to kick start it and use the clutch to change gears, etc. Then he told me to take a spin around the block. You want me to do what? By myself? I thought.

I looked back at Tiffany with a look of terror in my eyes and she nodded and smiled at me encouragingly. I looked at Nam next and he smiled at me too- urging me on. Fine, I thought, it can’t be that bad. Just around the block right?

Pause for a second. Driving around “the block” in Hanoi is not your typical neighborhood block. The traffic in Hanoi is absolutely insane! Drivers are weaving in and out, cutting here and there, crossing over into head on traffic. Organized chaos it is.

Anyways… I start to go really slowly down this street. I take the first right. People are honking their horn and not just b/c I look fine. They are coming so close to my bike I envision my legs being crushed… then I take another right. I’m talking to myself at this pint. I’m riding this Big Bad Ass bike through Hanoi talking to myself. I’m scared. I’m wearing yoga pants and flip flops. Other foreigners are staring at me. I’m starting to feel really cool and then I stall the bike. I’m cursing in my head- or at least I think it was in my head.

Then I realize I no longer recognize where I am. I think I missed a right back there somewhere? I push my bike – which I can barely even push because it’s so heavy – to the side of the road as far over as possible. Then I literally just sit there straddling my bike for about 5 min. I was frozen. Finally I say to myself: Erin, think. All you have to do is retrace your steps. Easy! But then I’d panic thinking I’d have to cross the traffic to change directions. I honestly didn’t think I could make it.

Finally, these Vietnamese men who were watching me for awhile came over to see what was wrong. They thought I’d run out of gas so I had to act out the fact that I was lost. I couldn’t even remember the name of the rental place. So one of the guys hopped on my bike he drove me back to the place while I directed him. It was so nice of him to drive me back. I mean really… what a geek I am! Everyone was laughing at me when I came back on the back of this motorbike with a random Vietnamese guy driving me. The really funny thing was he didn’t even really know how to drive it either. He didn’t know how to shirt gears and stuff and he was used to the little moped too. So we revved our way in first the whole way back.

At this point, Tiffany had gone looking for me on another motorbike. She’s a good driver and has a much better sense of direction than I. She was like, “Oh Erin, how did you manage to get lost!?” It’s like me and computers and me and directions. Something always goes wrong! I just can’t explain it.

So that night after my driving fiasco I went back to the room to grab something before dinner and I cried. I said I don’t want to die! I know I’m going to die and my family will be devastated and I really really want to live!! So then I met Tiffany and told her I cried and I was scared.

Pause for a second. Tiffany is definitely the boyfriend in our relationship and I’m sure at some point in this trip people have thought we were lesbians. Since we’ve been traveling we’ll go into a guesthouse and ask how much rooms are? Then we’ll say. No 1 bed. Just one bed! We’re really adamant about it because it’s usually cheaper. I think sometimes we’ve gotten some strange looks… oh well. Anyways, Tiffany is an extremely gutsy girl. I certainly don’t view myself as a wimpy girl but Tiffany is one of the most independent, adventurous, fearless girls I’ve ever met!

So Tiffany then gave me a little pep talk and we talked about the possibility of sharing a bike. I was all over that idea b/c I was really beginning to think this motorbike trip wasn’t a good idea after all. After I made sure I was aloud to drive on the open road sometimes we agreed this was the best option!

After dinner we went off to buy last minute essentials for this trip. Rain jackets, batteries, face masks to protect us from breathing fumes and pollution from vehicles. We bought cool Barbie facemasks. Then I prayed for God’s protection on this trip. Something was telling me we are going to need a little more protection than our Barbie face masks could provide…

Halong Bay

Me in our little room on the boat.

Tiffany in our room on the boat with a look of fear b/c we hear a rat trying to get in our room!

Another boat like the one we were on to tour Halong Bay.

View on the limestone rock on our Halong Bay boat tour.

March 25-26

Today I returned from a two day tour. It was a boat trip in the beautiful emerald green water of Halong Bay with magnificent limestone rock formations jutting out of the water. At least that's what they tell you. It's supposedly one of the greatest tourtist attractions in Northern Vietnam. We had poor weather so I think that put a slight damper on our trip. However, it was relaxing and at least a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep from our time in Hoi An. The rock formations were a little hard to see in the fog but it made for an eerie effect.

We slept on the boat and my favorite part of the whole trip was playing cards with the Vietnamese boat staff at night. Tiffany and I were playing rummy when 4 Vietnamese staff joined in and played with us, for us, cheating and making up rules and such. We couldn't really talk so it was really funny. Tiffany went to bed a little earlier than I so I stayed up while the Vietnamese guys tried to teach me some Vietnamese. I would just repeat them and they would cheer when I got the words right. They thought I was actually learning Vietnamese. It made me laugh.. Then the younger brother of one of the staff caught a moth and tried to put it in my hair. When they discovered I really didn't like moths it became a new game and well I really am scared of moths (I think they're disgusting) so I went to bed soon after that. But I had fun with the staff. Every other foreigner on our boat stuck to themselves so I figure I had more fun!

Tomorrow we are embarking on a motorcycle adventure of northwestern Vietnam. I'm seriously freaked to do this!! But kind-of excited too. Should be interesting to see what these next 6 days bring! I'm terrified to be honest!!

Hanoi: First Impressions...

Me and Tiffers in Hanoi.

Anna-Karin and David. We first met then on our bus ride from hell from Laos to Cambodia. We have been keeping in touch with them and meeting up with them throughout Cambodia and Vietnam. This is our last night hanging out with them. Aww.

The girls. A night out in Hanoi for Tiffany's birthday. A bit of a gong show but we had fun =)

Playing frisbee in Hanoi with a Vietnamese guy, David and Anna-Karin. Tiff trying to get the frisbee out of the tree with her flip flop! This is before we had a work-out with skipping rope and such. I was skipping and this Vietnamese woman around 35 joined me and we skipped double dutch. It was hilarious. Then we had a gazillion Veitnamese taking photos of us. Apparently it's rare to see foreigners exercise in public?

We arrived in Hanoi this morning at 6:30am after spending a total of 17 hours on a bus. Our first impressions of Hanoi were not super positive. After being pestered by numerous motor drivers trying to get us to stay in their guesthouses (I hate wandering around with backpacks on: it's the worst b/c you're prey to any guesthouse owner, taxi driver and even random motorbike drivers) We said "no" firmly (you have to in Vietnam) which was reciprocated by F' you and a string of curses in Vietnamese no doubt. We were shocked and 5 minutes later the same thing by a different guy. What's the deal! It's Tiffany's birthday today so I just smiled at her and wished her "Happy Birthday!"

After finding a guesthouse, some breakfast and wandering around a little we warmed up to this city. It's definitely the dirtiest city so far in Vietnam but there are friendly people here too. I've never experienced such rudeness up until the two guys this morning. Ah well, water off our backs. =) It's chaotic here and Hanoi holds a certain intrigue for me.

I'm off for a nap I think...

What happens in Hoi An, stays in Hoi An!

Mike's family took us out for dinner. Mike's Mom, Evan, me, Tiffany, Max, Mike and Mike's Dad. My new American friends.

Tiffany, David and Baia (our French Canadian friends)

What a wild time in Hoi An! The main draw to this town is the numerous cloth shops where you can get tailor made clothes at excellent prices! Most visitors to Hoi An enjoy getting clothes made as well as experience a little down time as the night life is pretty tame here. Well, that was not exactly our experience…

In Hoi An we met up with Tiffany’s American friends she met in Thailand. I met them in Vang Vieng (Laos) about a month ago. I didn’t see much of them or Tiffany for that matter in Vang Vieng because I was mostly with my English friends.

Tiffany's friends names are Mike, Evan and Max and they became my friends for the next 4 days too. Mike’s parents were visiting for 2 weeks so they took us all out for dinner. It was so nice. I LOVE parents! Afterwards we went out to this bar out of town called Full Moon bar b/c everything else closes at 11:00pm in Hoi An. Tiffany and I ditched the boys somewhere along the way and ended up talking to a bunch of English blokes. At the end of the night we all took motorbike taxi's home.

Anyways, I really enjoyed our time with the American boys. I probably spent the most time with Max. He’s slightly schizo but he’s alright. Max you really should have had that lime green suit made. It would’ve been hot! Oh wait. I mean that’s the worst possible idea EVER! PS. Admit it - you LOVED my purple 80's prom dress!!

We also met up with our French Canadian friends David and Baia (we first met them in Laos too) which made for some very interesting topics of conversation and a more than slightly interesting night which Tiffany and I debriefed for hours the next day on the bus to Hanoi. Hmm...

Kitsch Hoi An

March 18th,
Today we arrived in Hoi An. A city in Central Vietnam bursting at the seams with character and intrigue. Tiff and I took a 12 hour overnight bus ride from Na Trang. Na Trang is a very large resort area in Vietnam and while we enjoyed the beach for a day and a half we cut our time their short in favor of a more authentic Vietnamese flavour. We hardly slept a wink all night so after walking around for about an hour trying to find cheap accommodations we finally settled into a nice, clean, and relatively cheap Hotel for Hoi An ($6/night). After having a silent breakfast together we went straight back to sleep for a couple hours. I Woke up feeling groggy and a little out of sorts but caffeine is beginning to kick in and we're about to go out to explore the city a little and check out many of the tailored clothing shops.

Cheers

Head out on the Highway...

Me on the little moped. So fun to drive!

View of the lake on our motorbike (well moped actually)

...Looking for adventure!

Tiff and I woke up to sunshine today! Yeah!

After a quick early breakfast we rented motorbikes and decided to hike this mountain 14km out of town. We shared the motorbike b/c we’re cheap and set out for our day.

We hiked a totally deserted mountain which was a nice change from hiking in Korea where even the mountains are packed with people! I love how hiking has a way of sparking good conversation! Although it would seem like Tiff any I have exhausted every possible topic we found new interesting territory to discuss and learned some new things about each other. As well, Tiffany and I are the queens of new ideas and trying to figure out our futures! We tossed around a billion and one ideas for next year and I came away from it only slightly more confused than when we started. Story of my life!

Afterwards we explored the countryside by motorbike and it was absolutely beautiful. We sang all the 90's songs we knew and just as I was driving into town around 4:30pm we got a flat tire. Good timing! We rolled it into a fix-it shop (they seem to be everywhere) and we had our motorbike tire fixed for $0.50. Gotta love that! Then Tiffany navigated us through rush hour traffic back to our guesthouse. I was hanging on to the back on the motorbike terrified as other vehicles and motorbikes would get so close to us I was worried they would crush my legs!

It was a good day. Tomorrow we head to the beach.

Lovely Dalat!

View of Dalat. Yes, it poured on us!!



At the "crazy house" (a guesthouse modeled after Alice in Wonderland apparently)

I arrived in Dalat yesterday and I LOVE it. It’s a beautiful mountainous town in Central Vietnam. We had been fore-warned that the temperature in Dalat is quite cool. I didn’t think much of it considering everywhere else we've been has been scorching hot in my opinion!
Tiffany and I got of the bus after a mere 6 hour ordeal and set off to find a questhouse. There were a million and one people asking us to stay at their guesthouse but we like doing our own think so we set about with our rucksacks on our backs and map in hand. Actually shall I rephrase that? Tiffany with map in hand. I must say she has a much better sense of direction than I and she is our designated navigator. So we finally settled in a very nice guest house called "Peaceful Guesthouse II" for a mere $2.5/per night each.

We spent the rest of the night wandering the town. Walking through the local food market testing little goodies along the way. We walked a 7km loop and then settled in for a nice dinner. Red wine and Vietnamese cuisine. Mmm. We brought our sketch books with us to design some clothes we want to get made in Vietnam. (Okay so we don’t have actual sketch books but notepads of some sort). I laughed at all my attempts to design clothes. Oh well, it was worth a shot!

March 13th. Today we woke up bright and early with the intention of renting a motorbike and climbing this mountain 14km outside of Dalat. But we woke up to the sound of pouring rain on the roof not to mention on my bed (I left our balcony door open) oops. So we closed our eyes and slept for another hour postponing our mountain trip for a day in hopes that it will be sunny weather tomorrow. Did I say how much I love Dalat? I feel like this is one of my first authentic traveling experiences since being away. I know that sounds weird but everywhere else I’ve been has been so geared towards tourism and it’s a lot harder to get off the beaten path that I ever would have expected.

Tiffany decided to get here hair down today so I wandered around the town. After getting soaked in the rain I ducked into this little hole in the wall restaurant for some reprieve from the rain and hot fluids. I ordered a bowl of Pho Bo (Beef Vietnamese noodle soup) and this Vietnamese guy named Quoc motioned for me to come join him at his table. So I thought why not. We shared an interesting conversation with many hand gestures and broken English and he played Celine Dion and gave me the thumbs up sign which I feebly gave back with a crooked smile. I looked at the CD case and it said "Best Happy Songs from around the World!" it had Eric Clapton and the Beetles, ACDC, Shania Twain. It was an AWESOME mix!

After lunch with Quoc, I found Tiffany at the hair salon (her hair now platinum blonde with blue streaks... love it! what else do you do on a rainy day?) we explored the city a bit more. After visiting this questhouse which is built like Alice in Wonderland by a quirky hippy lady we settled down to a nice steaming cup of coffee. Mmmm.

Evening: lovely diner followed by watching cheesy music videos on Much Music Asia. Loved it! We are such geeks!

Ahhh... Beach at last!

The lovely view from our room...

Tiffany, Craig and I. Craig was our English friend we met in Phnom Penh.

Tiffany doing her dance around the fire (part of our ring of fire game)

March 10th.

We arrived today to a town called Mui Ne. Actually we're on the stretch of beach just outside of a fishing village called Mui Ne. It's beautiful. Although Ho Chi Minh was a great city I'm never one to want to stay in the city longer that a few days... It always feels like a breath of fresh air when I arrive in a smaller town. Craig, Tiffany and I walked up and down the street next to the beach trying to find the cheapest place. We were a little surprised that we couldn't find anything under $10. When you're on a tight budget and you're used to paying from $3-5 for accommodations this sounded like a load of money. We finally settled on this $10 place which to me feels totally resort style compared to the dives I'm used to staying in. We're right on the beach and spent our time basking in the sun and walking along the beach with a mission of purchasing a Frisbee which is a harder task than one would think!

For $3.33/night and the beach right out our doorstep I reckon this is a great place for a few nights =) (I'm starting to pick up the British lingo a bit. I "reckon" so) Ah! I've been hanging out with too many Brits! =)

Saigon!

A shot of the center of the town. Saigon is a really clean nice city and very busy of course!

Another action shot of the city.

March 8-9th
We arrived in Vietnam on March 8th. The city of Ho Chi Minh. Formally known and best known as Saigon. Saigon sounds so mystical and beautiful as opposed to Ho Chi Minh City and it's funny b/c Saigon signs are everywhere and many Vietnamese still call it Saigon. It was a 7 hour bus ride from Phnom Penh, not too bad compared to our 18 hour bus ride into Cambodia! and we were on a considerably spacious and air-con bus. Quite a step up from the sans air-con mini van actually. Ho Chi Minh is a very fun, busy happening city! It's a bit like taking your own life in your hands to cross the street though. You have to step out into traffic and wait while vehicles and motorcycles mainly whip past you until you can take another step wait again and eventually make it to the other side.

Second day in Ho Chi Minh City we set out to explore the city. We as in, Tiffany and I and another British bloke named Craig whom we met on the bus. We did our own walking tour and stopped at the Vietnam War Museum. The museum was loaded with excellent photos that were both graphic and horrifying. It was especially sad to see the effect of this agent called Agent Orange on the children of the parents who fought in the war. These children are completely deformed and handicapped now. It's terrible. Wars are horrific and to see the war crimes are especially appalling.

It's interesting being in Vietnam. I think of one of my high school friends who was born in Vietnam and think how different his life would have been had he grown up here...

I spent two quiet nights while the others went out on the town. I needed time to be by myself and reflect on what's going on here and what has been going on at home with my family. I still need time to allow myself to grieve and it feels really good to be alone sometimes.

That's all for now =)

Miss Kissy: Southern Cambodia

March 5th.
Tiffany and I at a beach party: Bar Utopia Sihanoukville: Southern Cambodia)

People: Cooper from Edmonton - occupation: Bar Tender at Bar Utopia, ex national diver. Nickname for Erin: Miss Kissy. Not sure why?

Swedish boy: Alex - occupation: professional model?
Swedish boy: "What's your name?"
Erin: "Erin"
Swedish boy: Erwin? That’s cool we only have boring names in Sweden.
Erin: Actually it's Erin. Just for the record. Erwin would be a HORRIBLE name.
Swedish boy: oh Erin. That's cool too.
Erin: not as cool as Erwin!

Jake and Andy: English bloke and his Aussie mate
Tiffany: "Who are you sharing that with?"
Jake: "You!"
Andy: "I like your dress."
Erin: "Thanks. It's a T-shirt."

4:00am:
Tiffany: "Where's my friend Erin!"
Tiffany (finds Erin): "We're leaving NOW!"
Erin: "mmm. OK!"
Erin: "let's eat some pancakes!! No pancakes? OK! Pringles will do..."

This probably won't make much sense to anyone else. Some stories are best not told in detail =)

8-year old Attitude!

Me and my friend Baroose who made me a bracelet if I pinky-sweared him to buy fruit from him later=)

Tiffany and Crammer on the beach

March 3-4:
Sihanoukville, Southern Cambodian

March 3:
Today we arrived at the beach!! Yay! We decided to come here a little earlier than anticipated b/c of a bit of a screw up with our Vietnam visas. It's our fault b/c we didn't specify dates and so right now we are suppposed to be there. We only have 1 month so we had to speed up our time in Cambodia a bit to give us 3 weeks in Vietnam. There are no bungalos on the beach (the bungalow craze hasn't caught on here yet) so we are about a 5 min walk to the beach... works for me =)

March 4:
Today we slept in. Much needed after a very late night in Phnom Penh and we hadn't had a chance to catch up yet... After a leisurly breakfast we walked to the beach and enjoyed a day in the sun. Actually this was my first time at a beach on the ocean. In Laos we were always on the river. I didn't think I'd enjoy the ocean because I'm soooo freaked out of sea creatures but the water was so warm and clear. I had a blast just bobbing around and body surfing a bit. The waves aren't big enough here for real surfing so I'm not sure if I'll get to try it? I bought some bracelets from a guy with no legs (land mines) and this little boy named Baroose made me a bracelet too if I promised to buy fruit from him. I thought it was a good exchange until he tried to charge me an outrageous price for fruit. We worked it out until we were both happy. Baroose was so funny and he had so much attitude!! I held the ends of the sting while he made me my bracelet and he worked his little 8-year old charm and got both my friends to to the same.

Now I'm just chilling out at my guesthouse. Some Aussie guys are watching cricket and there's some fun music playing. I think I'll go read for a bit before dinner.

That's all for now....

Killing Fields and S-21

In the back on our tuk-tuk on the way to the Heart of Darkness bar in Phnom Penh. These were our new Swedish friends: Nicholas and Anna-Karin. We were searched for weapons at the bar entrance because apparently there was a shooting two months prior at this particular bar. Ooooh, danger... Inside it was definately seedy but we danced the night away to particularly bad music. I had a blast. Nicholas got in a bad situation with a Cambodian girl who told her she would hurt him if he left. Dude, can't a guy just dance with a girl?! This led to a particularly interesting ending to our night... thanks Nicholas!

Tiffany and David in the back of our tuk-tuk.


Some faces of many of the Cambodian children killed during Pol Pot's regime. Unbelievable.

Very disturbing photo of a woman with her baby admitted to the S-21 prison. They were both killed.

My Cambodian friend for the day. I'm embarrassed, but I can't remember his name.

One of mass grave sites at the killing fields.


Skulls on showcase at the killing fields. They were separated into categories. Children/Men/Women.

The glass showcase of skulls located at the killing fields

March 1-2
Phnom Penh

March 1: Today Tiffany and I arrived in Phnom Phen by bus from Siem Reap. As soon as we arrived we were bombarded by taxi, motorcycle, and tuk-tuk drivers trying to sell us the "best deal" for their guesthouse. Before we were even out of the bus two young Cambodian guys pressed their sign up to our window. "No Problem"Guesthouse. $2, $3, $4 rooms available, on the lake. We saw the $2 and we were sold. We didn't care what a dive it might be as long as it was cheap. Next thing we knew we were on the back of a motorbike on our way to "No Problem"Guesthouse which turned out to be a really cute little guesthouse on stilts on the lake, bungalow style. The lake was extremely polluted, but that was besides the point. There was a fun little common area with movies, so for the next couple hours we watched a movie (Supersize Me) and didn't move far from the couch. We met a Swedish guy named Nicholas and made plans for the following day to explore Phnom Penh and all that it have to offer. We didn't have the energy for much else that night.

March 2: Today Tiffany, Nicholas and I rented bicycles and decided to ride to the Killing Fields and S-21 prison. We were advised against this because of the distance but like I said we're always up for an adventure and adventure it was. We cycled about 30 km today and the traffic was so crazy. I was riding on the shoulder and on my left side I had traffic whipping past me and on my right side I had motorbikes coming towards me. It was terrifying at first until I got the hang of it. Even though I was starting to feel confident in the traffic I still managed to have some close calls... shall we say. We didn't see one other foreigner on these roads and we got a lot of stares from the locals. We were the only ones crazy or stupid enough I guess. I was glad to get out of the city. Once out of the city this Cambodian guy on his motorbike rode up beside me and wanted to talk to me. He asked if he could come with us to the killing fields, I said sure. He didn't leave my side for the next 10 km. I think he wanted to practice English but I was getting a little suspicious so when he asked I told him Nicholas was my boyfriend...

The Killing Fields were an area on the outskirts on Phnom Penh where 17,000 Cambodian men, women, and children were brutally tortured and killed between mid-1975 to December 1978 under the regime of Pol Pot. The remains of 8985 people were found in mass graves at this site and more that 8000 skulls arranged by sex and age are in a glass case for viewing. What an incredibly haunting site. As I learn more of the history of the Khmer Rouge I am horrified that such a radical and brutal genocide took place from 1975-1979. Their leader was Pol Pot and he was a former school teacher. He particularly targeted the educated but killed many children and the families of educated men and women in the county. He was Cambodian which is what is so unique about this mass genocide: he killed his own people! Almost 2 million people died under Pol Pot's regime.

Next we went to S-21. It was a former high school taken over by the Khmer Rouge where people were detained and tortured before being taken to the execution fields. There were only 7 survivors total. We looked at all the photos of all the faces that had been murdered. When people arrived at S-21 they all had a mug shot taken and were forced to give a false testimony of some treason that they had "committed"or else they were tortured. It was especially disturbing to see the faces of very young children and even babies... they were ALL killed.

Wow what a heavy day!!! Every person in Cambodia has lost someone: a grandparent, uncle, child, etc. 1 in 4 Cambodians were killed during this period!! I hardly knew anything about this tragedy before coming to Cambodia. It has been an eye opener!