Guess Who's Back?

In Bangkok, that is.  I told one of my friends I was coming home on Sunday and she thought it meant the States.  Sorry to disappoint, but I'm still in Bangkok for another two months.  Well, sort of--I'll be traveling for most of it.

I got back from Vietnam/Cambodia on Sunday.  It was a jam packed 11 day trip and I have TONS of pictures to share, so unbuckle those seat belts, grab a beverage, and get ready for a longggg post.

Thursday morning we woke up before the crack of dawn and flew into Hanoi.  Little did I know, it was going to be raining!  Temperature: 50 degrees.  Can I please also note that I brought one pair of pants to Thailand because I didn't think I would be going anywhere cold.  When we arrived, the minibus from the hotel dropped us off super far from our hostel so my friend and I walked for over an hour in the freezing rain.  Great start.

But St. Patty's Day was excellent.  We met a ton of people working and staying at the hostel and I learned the lesson that the places you go are made so much better by the people you meet.  Friday we walked around the city more and left that night on a sleeper train for Hoi An, a coastal town halfway down the country.  The sleeper train was interesting but totally fun.  The scenery when we woke up was beautiful, making the two hours we had to be awake very enjoyable.

St. Patrick's Day Celebration!

Hanoi

Prison where John McCain was held for 5 years.

Random cathedral.

I think this was an American aviator outfit.

Gilded Turtle.

Hoi An ended up being the cutest town ever.  All of the buildings are this adorable yellow with matching signs.  We rented bikes one day and rode all around the city and to the beach.  I lost my key at the beach, obviously, and it was a huge hassle to get the spare.  The guy tried to cheat me which was unbelievably obnoxious, but I ended up paying what I felt was fair.

Beautiful Hoi An.

Japanese Bridge.

The nearby beach.

We stayed in the city two and a half days before flying to Ho Chi Minh/Saigon.  I didn't particularly care for the city.  There are some pretty cool cites, like the War Remnants Museum, but mostly I felt unwelcome as an American.  The Cu Chi Tunnels were awful.  If you ever go to Ho Chi Minh, don't go!  I thought an extensive, underground tunnel system sounded interesting but it ended up being a huge propaganda trip that explained the guerilla warfare tactics used against the American soldiers in the most insensitive manner.

Reunification Palace.

Sweet entryway.

War room in the basement.

This was intense.  Medals from a soldier.  Inscription: "I was wrong.  I am sorry."

Another cathedral.  This was one's called Notre Dame.

France was here.

Cu Chi Tunnel entrance.

We were in Ho Chi Minh for two full days and left on the third for Cambodia.  We traveled straight to Siem Reap which ended up being a full day of travel on a bus but it was really cool seeing all of Cambodia's countryside.

Before I "leave" Vietnam I'd like to share with you some things I learned/realized while in Vietnam.  First, they seriously overuse their horns.  Like obnoxiously so.  I thought people in LA honked their horns a lot, but they have NOTHING on Vietnamese drivers.  Second, their currency is stupid.  I can respect that some things are different but it's just dumb. 21,000 Dong to 1 USD.  Why does it need to be in thousands?  Third, fourteen million people reside in Ho Chi Minh, and there are nine million motorbikes.  It was intense to say the least.

On to Cambodia.

Near Siem Reap is Angkor Wat and several other temple structures.  This was THE BEST part of the trip.  We did 18 temples in two days.  I couldn't move my limbs at the end of the second day, but I was in heaven.  We climbed temples, investigated ruins, and saw the genius of an ancient civilization.  I was running around like a little kid in a candy store.  Literally.

Everyone needs to go there in their lifetime.  It is so unbelievably rad.  There's something for everyone.  You can climb up temples, go all through them and around them, and the royal palace and Baphuon are so totally awesome.  I can't describe in words how excellent this place was.  You'll just have to go and see for yourself.

On a totally not related side note, there is a bar in Siem Reap called "Angkor What?"  So creative!

Angkor Wat.

It looks like that pool in the final season of Lost. 

A smaller, yet beautiful, temple.  Literally smaller.  I barely fit in the door. 

Sunset terrace.  That pool area has held water for 900+ years.

So easy to walk on, really.

Tree: 14  Temple: 0

So many of the roofs were like this.  I don't know if the holes were on purpose or if they just
 got that way in the past 900 years. 

An example of the stairs we climbed up and down.  My legs still hurt. 

View from the top! 

They built a reclining buddha into the wall!
If you can't see it, I apologize because it was so cool.

ELEPHANT!

Tuesday I leave again for Laos.  We're spending a week there and then going to Chiang Mai for Songkran.  Get this, Songkran is Thailand's water festival aka A NATION WIDE WATER FIGHT.  This is what I've been waiting for alllll semester.  I'm getting a super soaker this week and going to go crazy.