lay-over

last post on my way home. i was dreading this trip back home due to the 12 hour layover in inchoen airport korea. what the hell was i gonna do at the airport? i took my time getting out of the airplane and into the terminal. they wouldn't let me into the transfer lounge because i didn't reserve it ahead of time. so i wondered around a bit to find some quite chairs to lay down and sleep. apparently this is common here in the international terminal. so, i got a few hours of in and out sleep. should be enough to hold me til i get back on the airplane. after my nap, got some food. still left with some 6-7 hours left to kill. there are a bunch of shops in the airport, mostly duty free and high end luxury brand stores. it's almost like a mall, except for the gate signs over head, you don't really notice the terminal gates because the are all behind the stores. they also have a korean cultural experience center where international tourist can do some crafts for free. 'course i'm all for free. i got to make this imprint of a lotus design from a stone slab. this may make up for the long layover. though still have a couple more hours to waste away...

saigon again

yay, back in saigon. bangkok was nice, but i really shouldn't be in a city by myself for more than 3-4 days. i get bored fast. plus, i think i lost 100 bucks :(

so flew back to saigon via airasia. the model themselves after ryanair. i flew with ryanair last year and it's fine if you just go with the clothes on you back. i was conscience of them possibly checking the weight and size of my carry-on. my backpack has a fanny pack that detaches from the main bag. so i was prepared if they were to check the bags. so when i noticed the were weighing the bags, i got out of line and detached my little side bag. oh yeah, i had put all the little and possibly heavy electonics (ie camera, iphone, unlocked cell phone) in my pockets already. luckily, when i went through, the bag lady was busy with someone else and i snuck past her. the game you gotta play on those ultra low fare airlines. got through the gate and proceed to the airplane, except it was a bus waiting, not an airplane. what?! apparently the bus shuttles people from the terminal gate to the airplane. i wouldn't be surprise airasia chose this option over a regular gate directly to an airplane via the sky walkway thingy for it might be cheaper. anyways, flight was quick with an ols creepy guy sitting next to me. he grabbed my upper arm and asked if i play sports. ugh. it so bugs me when people feel-up my arms.

so back in saigon with its busy streets filled with cars, scooters, smog and those crazy electrical lines.

red

yay! civil unrest, anarchy, revolution! loves it, hehe. i've been kinda bored around bangkok until i wandered into a red shirt demostration/protest thingy. it was interesting at first, all these people in red shirts coming out, blocking most of the street except for a trickling of cars coming through in single file. there were also police lined up with shields, but not full on riot gear. i secretly hoped something would happen, but thought they all would disperse when the rain starts. however, to my surprise when i came back after getting some food, there were more people even though it had rained. this time the street intersection was completely blocked with no cars going though. the police also wasn't in sight like before. as i went into the crowd, it felt more like a block party than a protest. there were the occasional chant of something in thai, i'm guessing it was somthing like "red, red, our shirts are red"? for the most part it was people walking around, taking pictures, random vendors selling food, bottled water, and of course red t-shirts. i wasn't properly dress for the party, i just went to crash it.  

air conditioned

so, it's hot and i'm tired of walking around in the heat. if not the heat, it pours and if i'm lucky i'm under some freeway or structure to wait for about half an hour to stay dry. so today i decide to go to the siam center. a big mall complex in the center of town. there's a big department store with everything from kids toys to brand clothes and make-up. the mall also have smallar name brand stores such as gucci, burberry and others. the food court has from american fast foods to high end-ish japanese restaurant. i'm so temped to eat at mcdonalds just cuz it just seems so wrong to do so in another nation. though i really want to use my credit card to do so. trying to budget my last thai baht cash, so can't squander it on micky d's. however they only do cash only, damn them. i end up getting something in their cafeteria like food court. though later i found a starbucks and they take credit cards, yay. so i order a tall americano and a banana muffin, all to my mastercard. they even have offer a pike place roast. not sure if that was what i drank but does anyone in thailand know what pike place is? any ways, the big complex also includes a movies multiplex, an aquarium, and what seems like a bowling alley from the map. all this and the whole place is well air conditioned. i even saw a lady who put a scarf over her shoulders prolly cuz it was too cold, but perfect for me. 

eh...

eh, it's okay here. rainy season, so cloudy, water little bit murky. not much to do here but hang out on beach and swim, did that. going try to head back to bangkok early. tried to change plane ticket back to saigon early, but essentially have to buy new ticket.

bus to samui

this was the bus i took on way to samui, island in southern thailand.

buddha od

went to another temple or something. i think i'm overdosing on buddha. lots of buddhas here. they do have a massive reclining/sleeping buddha. but pretty much the same as in phnom penh.

go-go

went to one of those go-go bars. they're all lined up one after another in a small alley. the guys working for the bars trying to get you inside are pushy. they grab your hand, try to push you into the bar. it's quite annoying. they're more pushy than the guys trying to get you into a girly bar. but the one thing they all have in common, at least with me is they initially speak japanese to me.

rainy season

just sitting in front of a hotel steps taking pictures of the cafe across the street waiting for the rain to let up.

not again

this time it was so not my fault. almost missed the bus to bangkok. they said they would pick me up at the hotel at 730am. i get down there about 10-15 mins early. wait some 20 mins and some says they already came. anyways, i manage to catch the bus after some back and forth with a few people. it was quite stressful, thought i might have to stay another night. 

bus speedometer wasn't working, notice rpm is almost at 2, though the speed is zero. 

damn tourists

so many tourists at angkor wat, even the president of slovakia was in the same temple i was checking out. then again, i was one of those same tourists. i opted to take a guided tour that picks you up from your hotel in an air conditioned minivan. not usually my style, but angkor wat is so big and the drivers all seem like scammers.

the tour itself was alright. it was quite hot and humid, so having the air conditioned minivan was nice going from temple to temple. there were also two other guys from brazil on the tour. one of them is a dentist and really hot. thought they might be family, but not. the tour guide was alright. he had somewhat of a heavy accent, so not everything came through. though he had a lot of information. so much that one of the other guys said something. he said he just wanted to walk and look. i agreed, since we stopped many time just to listen to him. if we were moving along, that would have been better. in all it was good for just one day, considering how much entrance fees cost, 20 u.s bucks.     

typical me

bought my bus ticket to siem reap (near angkor wat) and got a pretty good deal at a travel store near the hotel. it was cheaper than what the hotels were offering. 

day of the trip, i go back to the travel store to get on the bus. there, i show my ticket to a lady. next a motorcycle driver comes up and tells me he will take me to the bus station and information once i get to my destination. on the ride, i tell the driver i didn't get my ticket back. he says he has it in his pocket. once we get to the bus station, they just tell me to get on, no baggage check under the coach or tell me where to sit. sitting on the bus, a guy comes asking for my ticket. i try to tell him my driver kept it. later a lady comes asking for my ticket. she asks where i got my ticket, but i did not remember the name of the place. she asks me to get off, we walk back to the bus station to the office. i give her a reciept of my hotel stay. she calls them, talked for a few minutes, and for some reason that cleared it up. she writes a voucher for me and i run to the bus which has just started to head out, but made it. whew, nerve racking the whole thing.

on the bus i was thinking how i should have taken a picture of my ticket just like before for reference. so i take a picture of my voucher she gave me and put it in my wallet. in my wallet is the original bus ticket. doh, my bad!

street food

finally had some street food. it wasn't spectacular, but a good experience. seems difficult eating street food around here. don't see any tourist doing it, the vendors pretty much ignore you when you walk by. couple times i tried, and it was either a major rip off for what was given or doesn't speak any english. this one knew enough to tell me the price and it was reasonable for a tourist. so, i think this was last on my list for phnom penh. next.

boogie nights

so in these plazas, every night (at least the two nights i was in town), there would be these groups of people doing choreographed dance. it's almost like a flash mob type thingy. there are many different groups taking up different areas of the plaza. this was one of the smallest groups. they seem to grow through out the evening. one was doing what seemed like more traditional dance stuff. most were listening to and dancing to modern and western music. the other night one group was dancing to justin bieber.

wandering

with my bad experience with the tuktuk driver i decided to go at it on my own and walk the city... midday. actually, it wasn't so bad. found some shade under trees when i could. walked in fancy 5-star hotels or air conditioned shops for tourist when they are in sight to cool off. of course, i'm not going to buy their inflated price, just use the a/c for a few minutes. even had to leave one hotel quick cuz i took a picture of their casino, and i guess it's a nono. found two things i was looking for: food and the royal palace. got lost trying to find the palace, but found a decent place to eat. missed their buffet, but i probably wouldn't want to eat that much anyways. got a simple (cheap) bowl of noodle soup. it was quite good. the wide rice noodle (almost like banh uot) and the broth made it.

found the royal palace, though had to wait a couple hours to get in since they close mid-day. the place was nice. much of the area was closed off. there are a hella lotta buddhas in the royal palace. by the end of walking around the palace, i was definately feeling the effects of the heat, walking all day, and little water. only water i had all day was from the soup during lunch, and it wasn't a big bowl either. still made it back to the hotel myself. after some rest in the hotel, i ventured out and found a supermarket in a nice air conditioned mall. got myself a big bottle of water and juice. just walking around is best.

oh yeah, and i'm sitting on the promanade across the street from the expensive diners for tourists stealing their wifi, hehe.

duped

let my guard down and got into something i probably wouldn't have otherwise. 

the bus ride into cambodia went fine. the bus was big and comfortable with a restroom in the rear. the trip to the border was surprisingly quick, a couple of hours, i think. this was with traffic while getting out of the city. at the border, we had to get off the bus twice. it was rather unusual, but i just went along with it. i guess the first unloading is to cross the border with your belongings. the bus would the go further a bit and the we would have to get off for immigration. the hostess took care of our passports and visas. it was a bit confusing when she asked me for my passport back after the first stop when it seemed like everyone else got theirs back. turns out she kept mine and another couple from ireland to process the entrance visas. everyone else were cambodian or vietnamese nationals. 

once in phnom penh, i was completely lost again with no place to stay. i let a tuktuk driver talk me into driving me to a hotel and the duping begins.  told him i wanted a cheap place. took me to a decent place with a/c. after i checked into the hotel, i let the same tuktuk driver talk me to some tourist trap. he suggested the killing field museum. the ride to the hotel was rather cheap and i had forgotten to ask him how much to the museum. the ride was long. turns out it's way out in the country side. once i realized that i knew the trip was gonna cost money. already on the way, so i thought forget it. once he took me back, i was pissed by what he wanted. 3 times more than what i would expect and i was basing on what i would pay in saigon. anyways, i didn't pay him what he wanted, but still more than what i was thinking. i was really upset by it. so much, i went to another hotel the next day cuz he was the one who took me there. the hotel was actually fine for the price. 

bac ho

so, i think i mentioned earlier that the day after i arrived was a national holiday. i forgot to mention that the streets were lined with the national flag and even some red flags with the hammer and sickle (communist) symbol on it. i thought, wow i didn't know there were so many patriots (commies) in saigon. from what i was told is that people just put it up so not to be harrassed by the police. then, this surprised me a bit, an alter for bac ho (ho chi minh). it seems interesting to me. he's already embalmed in a mausoleum. and from what i understand is that he wanted to be cremated (wikipedia). then to have him on an alter? i suppose... most vnese homes have an alter for their dead parents and/or grandparents. and maybe an alter of bac ho will protect them of the commie police. but still... commies.

bus ticket

and so my travels continue. i got a bus ticket to phnom penh. originally, i was thinking about skipping out on phnom penh and just head straight to angkor wat. however the bus to angkor wat is 12 hours, while the bus to phnom penh is 6 hours. i guess i could stay in phnom penh for a night or two then head to angkor wat. what i don't get is why is there a boat trip from phnom penh to angkor wat that takes just 4 hours? then again not everything here makes sense initially. easier to just accept.

apparently, they also have "laying down" chairs where one could sleep. i think this is only for overnight travel. this would have been useful information for my mom. the long bus rides sitting in chairs doesn't go well with her. maybe next time with this bit of knowledge.

also got my plane ticket from bangkok back to saigon. i'll be heading back to saigon on the 21st, a few days before heading back to the u.s. so now i have my tickets for leaving saigon and coming back. eveything else in between is still uncertain. dunno where i'll stay in cambodia. dunno when i'll be heading to thailand, dunno how i'll get to thailand for that matter. eh, it's all part of being lost in this world.

night market

after cruising around and heading back home, went to a night market. for some reason, it's nice getting a bite after a night's outting. i guess these vendors know this.

cruising

mostly, that's all i do is cruising around when i'm on my own. doesn't really seem good for me being surrounded by all the engine exhaust, but eh. it's nice just checking things out through out the town. at times it is kinda nice to ride around on the streets at night. you get a nice breeze from it when the traffic isn't so heavy. 

lost

so i got to use one of the scooters where i am staying. a scooter is the best was to get around town. helmets are required now unlike my last visit here 9 years ago. some of the helmets i've seen around town are cute - bowl type helmets with a little bill built in. some look like hard baseball type caps. the face mask is not required, but probably quite necessary engine exhaust all around you. almost everyone on a scooter has one.

well, this was my first venture out alone and i got quite lost. all i wanted to do was head to the city center and check out some place familiar to me from way back then. instead it turns out i was going in the opposite direction and took me some three hours or so to get to downtown. it should have taken me just about 20 minutes or so.

in the city, some of the streets were familiar, some had changed. riding around, i got caught in a few down pours. the first one, i took shelter under a tree to wait it out. after about 15 minutes or so it let up, so i continued on. i thought that was it. unfortunately it started raining again. this time i took shelter in a little restaurant. had bun bo hue for 20,000d. saw another place serving bun cha hanoi.

started on my way back early. since it took three hours to get to downtown, it might take me just as long to get back home. the way home wasn't so bad. made it back in prolly 30 minutes or so.

host

staying with a couple from seattle. they have been living in saigon for at least eight years. recently, they adopted two boys. the first full day, sept 2nd, was a national holiday. indepedence day from the french after world war 2, i suppose. a lot of people had the day off. spent most of the day with donn going aound the city, going to a cafe, swimming at a local pool. the picture was dinner with the family my first evening. everything was great. half the dishes were vegetarian.

even though i slept some 7 or 8 hours my first night, i was still jet lagged through out most of the day. its been quite some time that i experienced jet lag. it really takes some time to reset yourself some 10 hours. also, i had not realized it was already september 2nd, thought it was the first. apparently, i lost a day.

flyboy

the flight to seoul korea took 11 to 12 hours. the first thing i notice was the onboard entertainment, which everyone had their own set on the back of the seat in front. it provided a selection of movies and other videos as well as music including full cd albums. i watched ironman 2, clash of the titans, george michael live concert in london, and how to train your dragon. watching george made me a bit giddy.

the second thing i noticed was that i had my window seat has more leg room than the aisle seat in the same row. after staring back and forth between my seat and the aisle, i first concluded it wasn't my imagination.  i realized the row i was in is where the plane starts to taper off towards the end. puttin in the row of three seats, they would have had to place it at a slight angle from the preceeding row with more room for the window seat. it was nice to have the leg room, though i don't really need it. what was nice was the middle seat next to me being empty. felt less confined with the empty seat.

the second flight was immediatly followed my first flight with no time to check thing out. flight to saigon was quite turbulent with lighting flashes outside the window.

in all, the journey to vietnam was long (some 20 hours?), uncomfortable and tiresome - coach. i found the most comfortable (or least straining) position for me to sleep on the flight was placing one leg (calf and foot) on the tray with the other leg (shin) resting against the end of the tray ...with my eye covers ...and listening to george michael.