The End, The Beginning, and Then Some...

Hi there neighbor (Mister Rogers greeting),

I'm sitting in my hotel room in Ho Chi Minh city, having just returned from a two day trip to the Mekong Delta (in Southern Vietnam...details to come, so hold your horses).

It's been a few days since I've written to you all, but please don't be alarmed or take it personally (except for a select few who will remain nameless...Hal).

I know I promised fun and funny, but as I sat down to write this entry, I found an error message on my camera. It is fucking broken. We had a great run, making videos, taking funny pictures, and for some of the trip, it has been my only friend. Goodbye Nikon Coolpix camera. We will never forget you.

On the bright side, these funny memories are on a memory card. For the technologically challenged (yes, Dad, I'm talking to you), a memory card holds all of the pictures and movies I have taken, and I will be able to just shove it into the new camera that I will barter for tomorrow. I hope to get it for less than my watch ($4)...a boy can dream.

Anyyyyhoooo....

As always, a few housekeeping things. First, thanks to everybody for all of your thoughtful comments. They make me smile. Second, did I mention my camera broke? Third, thank you JRS1. I am now living vicariously through you (lunch outside the office...you're an animal).

Now to the action:

Part One: Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, and Lara Croft

As you know, we were all very happy to get the hell out of Phnom Penh. We arrived in Siem Reap with eager eyes and adventure in our hearts. Upon checking into the hotel, we did what I thought was one of the most fascinating excursions so far. For those of you who don't know, the Mekong river actually flows both ways (like Balaban), and during the rainy season it flows into a lake near Siem Reap called Tonle Sap lake. On waterways that are just off the lake there are are floating villages and houses (during the rainy season people move/row their houses further inland to avoid floods). After driving past small houses/shacks that were literally perched on stilts no wider than my leg (crazy stuff), we boarded a wooden boat and cruised along through the floating village. We saw the following: stores (selling not only food, but electronics, TV's, plants, souvenirs and other things you may not expect to find on a hut in the middle of the river). Again, I was blown away by how differently people live (watch out for crocodiles). Also, we saw one family moving. For those of us who know how terrible it is to move, especially in NYC, you will be very jealous. Picture this.

Matt: Elana, do you want to move?
Elana: Sure, I was getting tired of this neighborhood anyways.
Matt: Okay, how does five minutes sound.
Elana: Nah, let's make it three.
Matt (three minutes later): I'm starting the engine. Give a shout when you want to stop, and don't forget to attach the garden (this was floating behind the houseboat).
Elana: STOP!
Matt: Home sweet home. And yes, you still need to do dishes in our new neighborhood (just across the river).

This process took no more than 5 minutes.

Cambodia - 1
NYC - 0

That night, we had a bit of a night out, but I went home early as we would be waking up at 4:30 to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat, the most impressive temple in the country, perhaps the world.

The next day at 4:30 was the worst I have ever felt in my life. But, even though it was dark, I was a trooper and decided to wear sunglasses (better to be prepared, right). We arrived at the temple and waited by the reflecting pool. Just to be clear, I was picturing the scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones finds the location of the ark by using the staff and the medallion. Unfortunately, I was severely disappointed. There was a cloud behind the temple, and although it got light out, the 'sunrise' never came. Basically, I got my tired and hungover ass up at 4:30 to be eaten alive by red ants and other insects and I didn't even see a fucking sunset. I plan to ask my tour company for a refund (they should be held responsible, yes?).

After the non-sunrise, we walked through the temple, which is HUGGGEEEEEEE. It was build in...um...well, it was build a really long time ago, so there! It's made of thousands of blocks of stone, each weighing a few tons, and the attention to detail was also fantastic, with images and stories carved into many of the rocks. I took many funny pictures. Our guide said that this is the right time to see it, because visitors are still able to climb on the rocks of the temple, but in a few years, they may change the rules. We finished the tour of the temple at about 8:30 (I was still fuming about the non-sunrise), and went back to the hotel for breakfast and a nap.

Side note: I have been told that it is weird that I have so many pictures of just me and whatever we are seeing. My opinion is that I like to have people in my pictures so that I can say, "LOOK! I was there!" Also (and no offense to those of you who were there), but who knows who I will end up staying in touch with, so why would I want them in my picture. I welcome comments and opinions on this intriguing matter.

Later that day, we saw two more temples, which I thought were equally impressive to Angkor Wat (the big one). The first was the temple with the faces. On almost all of the pillars, there were big faces carved into the rocks. Very cool. Also, we saw monkeys. The second temple (thanks for the advice Hayley) was the temple that Lara Croft Tomb Raider was filmed in. That's right folks...that movie with Angelina Jolie that wasn't very good but that Claire and I saw in the theater. This temple was AWESOME, and felt straight out of an Indiana Jones scene. There were huge winding trees, secret passages, and things to climb (I got in trouble for climbing, but I got the picture first...my poor camera).

That night was the last night for about half of the group, who had only booked the tour for 14 days and wouldn't be continuing on to Vietnam. Oh, for those of you who don't know, I decided to extend my tour and will be with them through all of Vietnam. Anyways, we went out for a group dinner (guess what I ate...) and then went out to a bar for more drinking and some dancing. The bar was called Angkor What?! Get it...Angkor What?/Angkor Wat. That night about 1 AM, I wound up in the pool. It was wet.

We said goodbye about 14 of our fellow group members the next morning. I pretended to be sad, but I was happy to see them go (am I joking?...). That was yesterday I think...no, two days ago. We flew from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City, which is where I am now. In the Siem Reap airport, they were showing the Nathans Hot Dog eating contest and I had Dairy Queen. Goodbye to the old...onto the new....

Part 2: HMCC, the Mekong Delta, and a Roomate?

I have now been writing to you for the better part of an hour, so you better still be reading. I'm not doing this for my health.

Upon arriving in HMCC (Ho Chi Minh City), we checked into our hotel and met our new group. It was weird. I hate change. We also have a new tour leader named Reuben (like the sandwich). We had a bite to eat and a quick drink (I bought cool shorts on the street) and then it was an early night, as the next day (yesterday) we headed down to the Mekong Delta to see what we could see. There were two very cool parts of this trip. First, it was my first experience with scary asian food. I ate fish straight off the fish (mom, you would not have been happy). Also, I held a big snake and drank snake wine, aka poison (snake wine is pure alcohol that is marinated in a jar with a snake in it). I didn't want to do it, but obviously I'm a sucker for peer pressure. Fortunately for me, nobody saw me gag (true story). Then we jumped on bikes for what I thought was going to be a nice leisurely ride in the Delta. Boy was I wrong.

Quick backstory. It is the rainy season. It has not rained one day since I got here...until yesterday. It has poured for the past 2 days.

Back to the Delta...so, we jumped on bikes (without helmets...sorry mom/Mary) and headed down this dirt/mud path next to the river with scooters passing us every few minutes. In hindsight, it was probably a good idea to check whether people were comfortable on bikes. To make a long story short, we lost one guide, I went back to find two people, then I changed bikes with one of them (hers didn't have breaks...yes, no helmet and no breaks...), then we got lost again (but yes, I saved the day....I don't want to brag, but I believe the word hero was thrown around), and we finally arrived at the guest house with mud up to our knees but smiles on our faces.

The guest house was fascinating. Apparently the family has lived there for over 100 years and now they rent out the rooms to tourists. There were 14 of us in a room...hooray for earplugs. After a cold but fantastic shower, we had dinner outside and listened to a bit of local music performed by some of the people in the town (not sure where they came from). Then, basically, we got drunk. Like VERY drunk. No more rice wine for this group for a while. It was a great night though, and we played kings with the cards that I brought (thanks Dana - apparently fendi cards work in asia too).

It was an early morning this morning, but I slept well (thank you ambien). We got back on the boat and toured the floating market which wasn't nearly as cool as the one in Siem Reap. I did see how rice patties were made (but don't ask me how). After the market, we had our first taste of the effects of the Vietnam War (or the American War as it is called here) on the country. We stopped at the Cu Chi tunnels, which are a series of tunnels that the Vietnamese soldiers used during the war. Picture an ant farm for people that stretches over 200 km. It was really a sight to see, and it was also very clear how recent all of this was (only around 35 years ago). We actually got to crawl through some of the tunnels (again, mom, this is not for you) which were tiny, but were even smaller during the war and have been widened for tourists. It was interesting to hear the locals talk about the war. While they refer to America as the enemy, they don't necessarily associate it with the fact that we are Americans. Truly an interesting disconnect.

We got back to our hotel a few hours ago. Now you know.

Fun Facts:

1. I ate a pigeon...
2. Snake wine is weird.
3. My waterproof hat, while ridiculous looking, is quite practical.
4. I now have a roommate. His name is Jim. That's all I know.

FUCK - this was a long one. For those of you who made it to the end, I salute you.

Tomorrow we travel to Nha Trang...

As always, keep those comments coming. Stay in school. Say no to drugs. No soda, no TV.

Hi mom!

Matt

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