We arrived to Viet Nam on Sunday March 22nd. I woke up at about 5 am to watch us slowly twist and turn down a river that eventually led us in to our port! It was really cool to watch the sunrise as we sailed between the jungles of Viet Nam. The first day we got off the ship and traveled our port city, Ho Chi Minh. We were all told that in Viet Nam, they can make dresses and suits specifically for you fairly cheap. So a group of us headed out to find a nice tailor to make our dresses. We finally found one and hesitantly I ordered a long dress and a short one. Yes mom, I ordered a LONG dress! We told them we would be back in four days to pick up the dresses. After that we went in to the markets. In these markets, they sell everything you could imagine. There were lacoste shirts, Polo’s, purses, silverware, house decor, and so much more. A lot of it is really fake, but it is so interesting to be surrounded by all of it. They grab your arms and shove their products to your face, its intense but I thought it was funny! My roommate Anna and I branched off and went down an empty isle. We stopped at one little shop and the women sat us down and tried to offer us everything under the sun. Well, it was so hot and we were so tired that we decided to just enjoy the seat. Whelp, by the end of that “rest break” they had conned us in to buying 3 pairs of pants and 2 shirts! Man they were good! BUT we didn’t let them win with the bargaining… we got them down about 40 dollars from their asking price! Over in these countries, bargaining is a sport and the people really enjoy people who are stiff bargainers. So after we were done and had a set price, Anna and I left. Well, about one minute later, one of the women had chased us down and gave us bottles of water because that is a sign of respect for someone who is a good bargainer. (It’s usually a local drink, but the local drinks aren’t that safe for us to drink so they gave us water.) After the markets, we went to the War Remnants Museum. This museum is dedicated to the Viet Nam war and it contains a lot of photos, articles, and facts. It was all so sad and in some way it made me really embarrassed to be from America. There were so many sad pictures from the Agent Orange and what was even sadder was there were people on the streets that were still being affected by it. After trying to soak all of that in, we went back to the ship to prepare for our trip the next day.
The next day, I left for my semester at sea trip to Cambodia. We took our one hour flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We went to a local restaurant for lunch and then went to Angkor Wat for sunset. Angkor is a temple complex that consists of about 100 temples. . The ruins represent successive capitals constructed by a dozen Khmer kings, which included massive stone temples, majestic causeways and imposing towers. The most famous temple is Angkor Wat and many consider it to be one of the most inspired and spectacular monuments ever conceived by the human mind. Its soaring towers are surrounded by a moat and the jungle. After exploring this beautiful ancient temple, we went back to our hotel. At our dinner, we were entertained by Cambodian dancers that gave us a taste of what Cambodian theatre was about.
The next day, we woke up at 4:30 am to go see Angkor Wat again, but this time at sunrise. I think I have seen more sunrise’s this semester than I ever have in my entire life. (And I know there are many more to come!) But it was a stunning sight to see the silhouette of Angkor Wat on the vibrant colors of the sunrise. It took a while for the sun to actually rise, but once it did it was so beautiful. After that, we went back to our hotel to eat breakfast. Then we went back to Angkor and went to one of my favorite temples on this voyage called Bayon. It consists of 54 towers that are each carved with the four mysterious faces of the Bodhisattva. They are all smiling and our tour guide called this temple the “smiling temple”. Everywhere you turned there was a smiling face carved into the stone. It was impossible to not smile there! We then saw the elephant terrace and the Leper King Terraces. There were carved elephants and carved faces within all of the stone. There also were actual elephants that were giving rides all around these terraces. After visiting these, we were taken back to the hotel had some free time. So Anna and another friend, Kelly, and I all took a tuk-tuk to the market. The tuk-tuks in Cambodia are different than in India. In India they are driven by men riding bicycles and in Cambodia they are driven by motorcycles. No dad, I was not riding the motorcycle, I was being pulled in a carriage by the motorcycle. In the market, we got something unusual but so needed. Let me explain. Cambodia is insanely hot and insanely humid. It was 108 degrees with about 60 percent humidity. There was also a beautiful inviting pool at our hotel and we did not bring bathing suits. So at the market, we found a man who was selling them. Well, of course we bought the cheaper 1980’s one-piece suits that were totally used and downright embarrassing to wear. So we got back to our hotel, put our suits on, and had the most needed and refreshing swim of my life. I think I honestly looked dead sexy in my aqua flowered ripply one-piece…I’m gonna bring back the one-piece. After our swim, we went to dinner and went to bed because our 4:30 wake up and intense swim took it outta me!
The next day, we had breakfast at the hotel and left to go for our boat trip in Tonle Sap to see floating homes and a floating market. This was the craziest most interesting thing I have ever seen. So during the monsoon season, this river floods so much that it is impossible to live in a normal house. So for miles before we even reached the river, all of the houses, or shacks, were on stilts that were many feet in the air. Once we reached the river and got out to the lake, I was mesmerized by what I was seeing. Over 6,000 people live in this floating village. These people were so innovative and it was inspiring to see how they compromised with the earth in order to survive. There were floating markets and houses that all were attached to sticks that were routed deep into the ground below the lake. I saw TV’s, animals, and so much more on these floating houses. It amazes me that their entire lives are on these small wooden houses. After leaving the floating markets, we drove back to Angkor to see one last temple. The temple called Ta Prohm is in the middle of the jungle and is infested by giant trees that are hundreds of years old. The movie Tomb Raider with Angelina Jolie was filmed in and around this temple. It is amazing to see these massive trees molding to this historic temple. After observing this majestic temple, we drove to the airport to fly back to Viet Nam.
The next morning I woke up and took a 2 hour drive to a place where the Chu Chi tunnels are. These tunnels were formed during the Viet Nam war and they are underground tunnels that were designed for the purpose of creating a hiding place for the Vietnamese people when they were getting bombed. After observing their huts, we went in the tunnels. They were so so small and half way thru the tunnel I had to get out because I was getting too claustrophobic. The saddest part is is that I wasn’t even in the smallest part of the tunnels. I could never imagine having to stay in these tunnels for any period of time, let alone days like they had to. They lived in these confined spaces for days at a time sometimes. At points I had to get on my hands and knees and crawl thru…me, and I am only 5 feet tall. It was so sad to see the conditions and warfare that both sides of the Viet Nam war had to use. After we got back to Ho Chi Minh, we went and picked up our dresses. They didn’t fit perfectly, so we had them altered and came back about an hour later to get them. I am so so happy with mine! I cannot wait to wear them!! Many of my guy friends got suits made and some girls had dresses and skirts made as well. And it was all so cheap. Some boys got 2 suits custom made for like 150 dollars. After roaming the city for a little longer, we headed back to the ship for our barbeque!
Viet Nam had many sad aspects but overall I really enjoyed the city. And Cambodia was utterly amazing. Even though I was honestly melting in both countries, I loved them. I really don’t think I am going to buy anything in the US because I will feel like it is so expensive. I was buying shirts for 2 dollars that would sell in the US for 18. I bought perfectly good DVD’s for 2 dollars that would sell for 20 in the US. Anyways, I was once again surprised by these countries and all they had to offer. Humanity amazes me in one way or another by each country I visit.
