5/15/2008
I've arrived in Hanoi. I'm pretty hungry and tired so this is going to be short. But I have to say. Vietnam is pretty awesome. I think you should all come here. Hanoi has streets filled with fantastic architecture. I love it. My hotel is like that which is really cool. Also only $9. Sucks the wifi doesn't really work though. Anyway, I can't wait until Alice gets here. I'm going to the airport to pick her up, actually. To be honest, I am really nervous about our travel partnership. I am so worried that she is not excited at all about this trip. She hasn't said a thing about it so I've just been e-mailing her to inform her of my decisions. Just like that. I feel like I am the only enthusiastic one!. But I''ll try to be more positive about this. Maybe she's actually kind of excited. I hope so. I really hope so.
5/13/2008
Saigon, Vietnam
Within getting into Ho Chi Minh City I went off to explore the area on foot. If you know anything about Saigon, the traffic is overwhelming. I had no idea why the city even had crosswalks because they weren't really crosswalks. I avoided crossing the street but I mean, I couldn't avoid it forever. I watched what the locals were doing and well, they just bravely went for it. I decided that was probably the only way and that I wouldn't die. So with swarms of motorcycles coming at me from all directions, I took a step onto the road. A frightened British girl trailed after me and muttered things under her breath. I just laughed and said, "Just keep taking steady steps, you know? They'll pause for us." And they did. When we got to the other side of the road in piece, she turned to me and said, "Do you live here?" I laughed and said, "I arrived an hour ago."
(Shoutouts to Allison Corbett for helping me become a global pro-jaywalker.)
It's funny how I have gotten used to the traffic, the honking, the motorcycles, the hassling, etc. I think Cambodia was a huge learning experience. HCMC feels somehow familiar and comfortable. And I am so excited that I am in Vietnam for awhile because the food is so intensely delicious. I ate a big, delicious bowl of Pho and drank some sort of sugarcane drink. And I ate some sort of pudding that was more like flan. All of this only cost me $2-3 total. Oh, how I missed you cheap delicious food! (Honestly, Cambodia is not so good for cost-efficient delicious local food.)
I also went shopping at Chợ Bến Thành and the night market. I haggled poorly but I don't feel like I lost anything. I badly needed short sleeve shirts. For some reason I thought that people only wore long sleeve shirts in Southeast Asia. I was wrong. Tomorrow, I am shipping home the jackets I brought with me along with some other heavy things I am tired of carrying. The Notre Dame Cathedral is right next to the post office so I'll go there as well as a couple of pagodas. I'll go to the HCMC central area and walk around. Find cool places to eat. Gin and tonic with Natasha in the evening. Obviously, I'm skipping all those war and weaponry museums. But I might go to art exhibitions.
I don't have much time in HCMC but I'll have plenty in Hanoi. It's strange to think that I'll have a travel partner in two days. I am booking the hostel for Hanoi right now. I am not really sure what's been going on with Alice.
But anyway, this was my first time crossing the border via land (except for Canada but that's easy for Americans). Our bus was interesting because half was upperclass Cambodians going on a family vacation and the other half was Europeans in their late-twenties with those hugeass backpacks/tevas/shell necklace/sunburn. This girl named Elisa (also a rising Junior in college) and I bonded. We're both traveling through Southeast Asia solo and we are both younger than most of travelers we meet along the way (she's 19 and I'm 20). It was really nice to talk to her about psychedelic 70s Cambodian music and food. And yes, I have 70s Cambodian music now. I'll WAMSHARE that shit.
At the border, the Cambodians got through quickly in the beginning. And then the Europeans. Canadians. Older Americans. Everyone got on the bus. And then there was this long pause. Elisa and I were the only ones left. We waited and waited and then they finally let us through.
We think it's because they don't really understand why young American girls would travel through Cambodia/Vietnam without their parents, etc.
Anyway. I am getting really sleepy. I haven't been sleeping much. Still strangely jet-lagged. Everyone still thinks I am Japanese. And the Vietnamese I have met so far have been so excited about practicing their Japanese with me. I need to consult Tachibana-san about this. I mean, Koreans don't even acknowledge me. Japanese tourists still talk to me. And everyone asks me, "How do you speak English so well?"
(Shoutouts to Allison Corbett for helping me become a global pro-jaywalker.)
It's funny how I have gotten used to the traffic, the honking, the motorcycles, the hassling, etc. I think Cambodia was a huge learning experience. HCMC feels somehow familiar and comfortable. And I am so excited that I am in Vietnam for awhile because the food is so intensely delicious. I ate a big, delicious bowl of Pho and drank some sort of sugarcane drink. And I ate some sort of pudding that was more like flan. All of this only cost me $2-3 total. Oh, how I missed you cheap delicious food! (Honestly, Cambodia is not so good for cost-efficient delicious local food.)
I also went shopping at Chợ Bến Thành and the night market. I haggled poorly but I don't feel like I lost anything. I badly needed short sleeve shirts. For some reason I thought that people only wore long sleeve shirts in Southeast Asia. I was wrong. Tomorrow, I am shipping home the jackets I brought with me along with some other heavy things I am tired of carrying. The Notre Dame Cathedral is right next to the post office so I'll go there as well as a couple of pagodas. I'll go to the HCMC central area and walk around. Find cool places to eat. Gin and tonic with Natasha in the evening. Obviously, I'm skipping all those war and weaponry museums. But I might go to art exhibitions.
I don't have much time in HCMC but I'll have plenty in Hanoi. It's strange to think that I'll have a travel partner in two days. I am booking the hostel for Hanoi right now. I am not really sure what's been going on with Alice.
But anyway, this was my first time crossing the border via land (except for Canada but that's easy for Americans). Our bus was interesting because half was upperclass Cambodians going on a family vacation and the other half was Europeans in their late-twenties with those hugeass backpacks/tevas/shell necklace/sunburn. This girl named Elisa (also a rising Junior in college) and I bonded. We're both traveling through Southeast Asia solo and we are both younger than most of travelers we meet along the way (she's 19 and I'm 20). It was really nice to talk to her about psychedelic 70s Cambodian music and food. And yes, I have 70s Cambodian music now. I'll WAMSHARE that shit.
At the border, the Cambodians got through quickly in the beginning. And then the Europeans. Canadians. Older Americans. Everyone got on the bus. And then there was this long pause. Elisa and I were the only ones left. We waited and waited and then they finally let us through.
We think it's because they don't really understand why young American girls would travel through Cambodia/Vietnam without their parents, etc.
Anyway. I am getting really sleepy. I haven't been sleeping much. Still strangely jet-lagged. Everyone still thinks I am Japanese. And the Vietnamese I have met so far have been so excited about practicing their Japanese with me. I need to consult Tachibana-san about this. I mean, Koreans don't even acknowledge me. Japanese tourists still talk to me. And everyone asks me, "How do you speak English so well?"
5/12/2008
I'm back in Phnom Penh just for the night (mostly because I didn't want to be on a bus for such a long, long time). There is a rooster walking around in the internet cafe. And the internet cafe owner is singing karaoke with her headphones on. It's really endearing and she has a cute voice. She also sells all sorts of handmade bags and scarfs here.
It's funny to be back here. I got off the bus and recognized where I was. I didn't get overwhelmed by the crowd of moto and tuk tuk drivers trying to hassle the bus passengers and I easily negotiated a decent price. But my tuk tuk driver tried to pull some fast moves by suggesting that my hostel was too expensive (I told him it was $5 and he was quiet for a minute) and told me bus ticket to HCMC was hard to get (I purchased it in like 2 seconds through my hostel). And then he told me he wanted to take me to Tuol Sleng. All these tricks don't faze me anymore. And I'm done with tourist traps. Byebye Russian market. What up, Cambodia.
I also bought a Cambodian funk cd or at least what I hope is that. I'll share it with you guys if you are interested! Heading to HCMC super early tomorrow. I hear it's hectic but you know I keep my cool.
I still have questions about what I am supposed to do about beggers--especially small children and disabled beggers. A German guy that I met told me that I should carry candy for the children but I shouldn't give them money because they should be playing outside, not selling things.
The thing about Cambodia that is so different is that places (cafes, bars, restaurants, shops, etc.) that are cited to be cool according to other expats or Lonely Planet have absolutely no Cambodians. The only Cambodians I see in these places are few workers who speak English and drivers who linger outside. My question is: Where do young Cambodians hang out? Why not these places?
It's funny to be back here. I got off the bus and recognized where I was. I didn't get overwhelmed by the crowd of moto and tuk tuk drivers trying to hassle the bus passengers and I easily negotiated a decent price. But my tuk tuk driver tried to pull some fast moves by suggesting that my hostel was too expensive (I told him it was $5 and he was quiet for a minute) and told me bus ticket to HCMC was hard to get (I purchased it in like 2 seconds through my hostel). And then he told me he wanted to take me to Tuol Sleng. All these tricks don't faze me anymore. And I'm done with tourist traps. Byebye Russian market. What up, Cambodia.
I also bought a Cambodian funk cd or at least what I hope is that. I'll share it with you guys if you are interested! Heading to HCMC super early tomorrow. I hear it's hectic but you know I keep my cool.
I still have questions about what I am supposed to do about beggers--especially small children and disabled beggers. A German guy that I met told me that I should carry candy for the children but I shouldn't give them money because they should be playing outside, not selling things.
The thing about Cambodia that is so different is that places (cafes, bars, restaurants, shops, etc.) that are cited to be cool according to other expats or Lonely Planet have absolutely no Cambodians. The only Cambodians I see in these places are few workers who speak English and drivers who linger outside. My question is: Where do young Cambodians hang out? Why not these places?
5/11/2008
Rewards of Traveling as a Woman and Sexual Harassment
I fired my moto driver Nureak at 2 PM. Yes, the one that I thought was so great yesterday. And I was very nice to him even though I just wanted to throw him on the side of the road, steal his moto, and drive away. I guess I just wanted to get back at the hotel safely and I doubt Cambodians would take my side over his. So once I got back to the hotel safely, I told him to fuck off.
All of Siem Reap is extremely rural despite the tourism and that is one of my favorite things about it. I am still not afraid of traveling alone and I don't think the Nureak meant harm. But none of his passes were welcome. He crossed the line completely when he took me to some remote place and suggested that I try driving the moto there. Well, I've wanted to drive the moto but that was all I'd agreed to. He kept saying he loved me so much and started touching me. It made me feel so sick. And goddamn, since we were off somewhere remote, there was nowhere to go. I couldn't throw him off the moto or beat him up. So I firmly let him know that was not okay but kept my cool. To be honest, I wanted to make sure I could go back to the hotel safely.
I think that was the best choice.
I understand that there is always going to be staring, cat-calls, and unwanted attention. What I cannot tolerate is unwanted physical harassment. I do not, do not, do not want to be touched at all.
It's making me feel so disoriented and angry. I am getting out of Siem Reap 6:45 AM tomorrow morning. To be honest, this leaves a very unfortunate stain on my experience of Cambodia but I am not worried about the rest of my travels and I am still very positive about this summer. I still have faith that there are good people out there and that there are great rewards of being a lone female traveler in the world.
This article was a big encouragement for me to read. And it really comforts me to know that there are many people at home who love and care about me very much. I miss you all especially a lot today.
P.S. Why is it so useless to be American? Visas are harder to get than when I used to be Korean and the visas actually cost more. And the U.S. embassy has no resources addressing events like this. The Australian embassy has extensive information dedicated to women travelers.
All of Siem Reap is extremely rural despite the tourism and that is one of my favorite things about it. I am still not afraid of traveling alone and I don't think the Nureak meant harm. But none of his passes were welcome. He crossed the line completely when he took me to some remote place and suggested that I try driving the moto there. Well, I've wanted to drive the moto but that was all I'd agreed to. He kept saying he loved me so much and started touching me. It made me feel so sick. And goddamn, since we were off somewhere remote, there was nowhere to go. I couldn't throw him off the moto or beat him up. So I firmly let him know that was not okay but kept my cool. To be honest, I wanted to make sure I could go back to the hotel safely.
I think that was the best choice.
I understand that there is always going to be staring, cat-calls, and unwanted attention. What I cannot tolerate is unwanted physical harassment. I do not, do not, do not want to be touched at all.
It's making me feel so disoriented and angry. I am getting out of Siem Reap 6:45 AM tomorrow morning. To be honest, this leaves a very unfortunate stain on my experience of Cambodia but I am not worried about the rest of my travels and I am still very positive about this summer. I still have faith that there are good people out there and that there are great rewards of being a lone female traveler in the world.
This article was a big encouragement for me to read. And it really comforts me to know that there are many people at home who love and care about me very much. I miss you all especially a lot today.
P.S. Why is it so useless to be American? Visas are harder to get than when I used to be Korean and the visas actually cost more. And the U.S. embassy has no resources addressing events like this. The Australian embassy has extensive information dedicated to women travelers.
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