Saigon was officially renamed Ho Chi Minh City in 1975 when the North Vietnamese took the city and reunified Vietnam. Almost everyone still refers to it as Saigon, however. It is not the capital, but is the largest city and the commercial capital of Vietnam. Coming from Cambodia, I was shocked by how clean and modern it was. My image of Saigon came from Vietnam movies. It no longer looks like Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket version. They say there are over 10 million motorbikes in Saigon (more than the population). I can believe it. In any direction, it looks like a motorbike army attacking. I did not rent a bike here. The traffic is the craziest I have seen yet. There are almost not traffic lights; the intersections are just every man for himself. I am ... read more

Between 1975 and 1979 the Khmer Rouge regime terrorized the people of Cambodia, torturing and murdering hundreds of thousands of people (some say they are responsible for up to 2.5 millions deaths). In 1975 the Khmer Rouge evacuated Phnom Penh, took over a central high school building and turned it into an interrogation/torture camp. Today it is the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Much of the prison is left as it was found with torture devices and all. An estimated 17,000 people were held, photographed, tortured and interrogated here. Most were then taken to Choeung Ek, the most notorious of the Killing Fields. Several rooms of the school now have the thousands of prisoner photographs on display. It is a terrifying place. The Choeung Ek Kiling Fields are about 15km outside of Phnom Penh. 8,895 bodies were ... read more

I had picked up a Cambodian visa at the embassy in Vientiane as to not get overcharged at the border, a very common story. The borders are usually a bit sketchy. From the border I went to Kratie in central-east Cambodia. The town was littered with trash which is common in Cambodia, but the ouskirts were beautiful. Kratie is on the banks of the Mekong River and is known for a colony of the endangered Irawaddy Dolphins. I took a boat out to see the dolphins and although they only come up briefly for air you could see their characteristically round nose pop out of the water before the dorsal fin, then tail. There were about six or seven that were around the boat, but never closer than 30ft or so. They were too quick to ... read more

Champasak, Laos has the ruins of Vat Phu Champasak. These date back a ways and were built upon by the Khmer empire 900 years ago. The town was basically one road that led to the site. The ruins led up a hill with steep steps and it was hot as hell. Once on top the view was spectacular and weel worth the climb. There were several groups of Lao people that had come to visit including a family that wanted a picture with me. They were very nice and we spent 10 minutes trading cameras and taking pictures with each other. Afterwards I rode around the back dirt roads listening to Bob Dylan's John Wesley Harding until the sky opened up and I was completely soaked. ... read more

To begin heading to southern Laos I had to go back through Vang Vieng and Vientiane. I decided to stop off in Vang Vieng to take a motorbike trip through the region. The town of Vang Vieng is like a backpacker's ghetto, but the area around is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. I set out early in the morning and rode 80 km north through amazing karst scenery. Once you get 5 minutes outside the town, it becomes a very traditional Laos setting. The rainy season had just begun and I almost turned back as the rain intensified, but thankfully I kept on. The rain let up and the ride was one of the best days I have had so far. Words can't do justice to the scenery.... read more