Pictures of Ho Chi Minh City

Arrival to Vietnam

These phone numbers were all over town.

Wall with interesting texture.

This past week was Khmer New Year in Cambodia, and I got the week off of work. A friend and I packed our bags, and hopped on the midnight bus to Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon. Cities I find hard to get to know in such a short period of time, especially with only Lonely Planet as a guide, so take this entry with a grain of salt (and note that several people I ran into thought HCMC was the highlight of their trip).

I can't resist a stray dog.

We spent two days in Ho Chi Minh City, and most of it was aimless walking in the city. The first day we wandered the parks, the tourist market, and finally the Jade Emperor Pagoda (especially gorgeous roof, and lovely light). Pho was eaten for lunch, but the non-beef version of a beef noodle soup was not as tasty as pho I had before becoming vegetarian. As night fell we slipped into a showing of the circus with a new friend from the hostel, half the acts were enjoyable, half were poorly done farce. Day two started out with serious perusing in the antiques shops, where it turns out I can't afford any. Afterwards it was to the history museum and the zoo despite my better judgment. Predictably, the zoo made me sad, far too little space for the animals. The history museum was alright, but not a lot of information was provided in English.

Inside a stunning pagoda.

The city was conspicuously clean in comparison to Phnom Penh, and there were much fewer people hawking goods or begging. Green space was abundant (including a park with a ride that made car alarm sounds.), most streets had crosswalks and traffic lights. Every moto driver carried a spare helmet for passengers. Aside from a few wonderful older buildings, the city was modern and plain, the neighborhoods blended into each other creating a constant stream of look a like buildings.

Fun colored crabs sold on the street.

I didn't personally enjoy the city that much, but I saw so little. There were lovely aspects to be sure, and there was the parts where everyone tried to rip us off (including changing our room price halfway through the night, bringing us things we didn't order and charging for it, and market prices starting at four times those in gift shops), but overall it lacked the vibrancy I want in a city. Even the market was organized with clear aisles, a sharp contrast to the stifling heat and condensed feel of markets in Cambodia. I suppose I found in the absence of chaos an absence of character. The city was fine, but it wasn't anything more than that to me, just a city, and a boring one at that. Luckily Vietnam had many other excellent adventures in store.

This heat is killer

I like to complain about a lot of things. Sometimes I complain about Phnom Penh, I make fun of how it has only five things for tourists to do, how despite the fact that every single weekday morning at the same time I walk the same place, the tuk tuk drivers still ask if I need a ride (I complain about that one a lot).



But the thing is, I really like Phnom Penh. It is hot and it is dirty, and those lecherous tuk tuk drivers don't get any less annoying with time. But it is also a city full of delightful surprises, places I haven't explored yet, mass jazzerobic classes along the river front. Friday night I accidently ended up listening to live music for an hour with a pot of tea. Sunday morning I listened to my flat mate play her accordion.



I've learned enough Khmer to explain that I don't need a tuk tuk because I'm going for a stroll, which gets me bales of laughter each time. I've learned enough Khmer to say that I know prices for Mangos are not a dollar a kilo, and to know which sellers will give me a fair price. I've learned enough Khmer to say that I work in Cambodia and don't rip me off. I haven't learned enough Khmer to not go through hilarious charades every time I visit the tailor.



I eat either a mango or half a pineapple a day. On days when I remember to look up, Phnom Penh has lovely architecture left over from other times. On days when I don't I'm fascinated by the complex entrepreneurship that has arisen over trash collecting.

My Cambodia experience is night time adventures trying to scale statues, pancake breakfasts, and all sorts of market adventures. I'll end this entry before I start complaining about the April heat.

Monkey Island Dreams

Things Cambodia is good at: Having a lot of national holidays. For some reason I'm still unclear about, there was no work Friday and I took advantage of a long weekend traveling with three friends to Sihanoukville and Koh Rong, an island three hours away. Koh Rong was literally so beautiful that of the four of us, only three came back. And who can blame my friend for wanting to stay a bit longer on a deserted tropical island with white sand beaches? Without me there constantly making LOST references?



Sihanoukville wasn't too exciting, crowded beaches filled with people hawking trinkets and snacks (including grilled squid), too crowded for my tastes. We had fun though, but were sad we hadn't chosen to spend the whole weekend at Koh Rong the moment we docked on the island.



Everything about that island was excellent, from dinner (squid and barracuda curry, see previous post for pictures) to swimming late at night under the moon. I was only too sad to board the boat back and start the journey to Phnom Penh.



But back to Phnom Penh I went, back to work and cries of 'tuk tuk lady?' and all the wonderful things that come with living in the city as well. Tonight the office is screening a movie about poverty, and walking down the street I'm overwhelmed with evidence of prostitution and child beggars, and I miss the bliss of an island where you can ignore (for however brief) everything wrong and live a little luxury before the guilt sets in.



Not to guilt you either, or make things sound bad. My life in Phnom Penh really is lovely, and I'm having an amazing time in Cambodia, but empty pristine beaches and dirty city streets form quite the contrast. Still, it was nice to settle in, buy a pineapple from my favorite vendor, and curl up on the couch with a good book (Amerika by Kafka at the moment).



In short, what a lovely detour for a weekend. Some days I can't quite process that I live a bus and a boat ride away from spending the night in a bungalow on the beach. Then again, some days I can't quite process I'm lucky enough to live in Cambodia let alone vacation.

Tasty Things I Have Eaten in Cambodia

Happy New Years!

I’ve been in Cambodia for well over a month now! It feels weird that Seattle is still battling cold weather while I’m sweating in a tank top and skirt. The time difference of fifteen hours isn’t much good for talking back home, I tend to wake up my parents in the wee hours of the morning just to have a chat. Luckily everything else is wonderful and I’m settling into life here quite well.



2010 was a crazy year. I lived in Portland, Kyrgyzstan, traveled across Canada, moved back to Seattle, and now Phnom Penh. I learned a new language and promptly forgot it, I lived without running water, I helped build a house, I had my first year without school since I started pre school, and I bounced back from a long stretch of unemployment. Hopefully 2011 will be a little less eventful (civil strife I’m looking at you) but just as full of amazing opportunities.




For New Years my newest flat mate, my co-worker, and her Dad headed to Siem Reap. Siem Reap is so different than Phnom Penh, designed (at least the sections we were in) for the tourist, with more aggressive panhandling and tuk tuk drivers. However, it quickly becomes clear what draws people to this town, Angkor Wat is a stunning set of ruins. No ropes, no fences, just amazing and intricately carved temples in various states of restoration that you can climb all over.



I spent New Years eve itself sick with food poisoning, what a way to start 2011. We also had ‘Dr. Fish’ massages, where you stick your feet in a tub of water with little feeder fish and they eat away the dead skin. Quite the odd sensation, and hard for someone with as ticklish feet as myself, but fun until they found my bug bite. Then a little painful. But everything else was incredible, and it was nice to get out of Phnom Penh for a bit.



So much so that I'm heading out of town this weekend as well. Happy New Year!

How are you? How are you.

I had my first Khmer lesson Monday. There is something about learning a new language that never fails to make me feel like an infant. You’re completely helpless and don’t understand anything, and at the same time everything is totally new and beautiful and the world is filled with more possibilities than you can comprehend. There is also nothing like being able to appreciate the beauty in a new language, listening to it aesthetically devoid of meaning. Learning the literal translations that sound like poetry. To say tea you say water of the leaves, and for juice it’s the same; water of the pineapple. Something about that tickles my soul.



On the technical side of things pronunciation is difficult, but sentence structure is easy. There is no need for past or future tense, and no conjugations for different genders and people. Of course I could be getting this all wrong, I've only just started. The thing about languages is when I learn a new one my head tries to fill in the gaps with the same experience, other languages I’ve learned. So it goes down to Kyrgyz and then if no Kyrgyz maybe I know it in Russian, if not Russian than Spanish, and finally English. I’ve lost so much (everything except for scattered phrases) of all these languages but I always retain a few things.



How should I describe my experience: Should I tell you of seeing an elephant in the street? Going to the royal palace and seeing these fantastically beautiful buildings with golden roofs against a blue sky? Did I tell you of tasting a mango spleen, the white pearly center almost too sweet against my lips? Of seeing my first Cambodian rain fall gently into a pool while I sat reading on a pavilion without any walls?



This is a nation that rises at dawn, or far before that. With my jetlag I’ve been rising with them, staying in my room listening to the sounds of the city awaken. At night it’s a different story, by nine the streets are emptying, some tuk tuk drivers are asleep in their vehicles. But in the morning before the sky has lit up and warmth has seeped into every thing already things have begun to bustle.



The pictures; the Royal Palace, the Royal Palace, some marionettes in the Russian market, me with fresh passionfruit juice (so delicious), and the view from my bedroom window.

On my way to...Cambodia!

That’s right, I’ve accepted a job in Cambodia and am moving to Phnom Penh.
I’m a little saddened that the sight of books in my carry-on (admittedly a lot of books), were so unfamiliar on the scanner that I had to get my bag searched. Despite that little mishap I’ve made it through airport security unscathed and am waiting for my flight to Cambodia! I have just one layover, in Seoul, and I’m worried that with only 55 minutes I’m cutting it too close, but hopefully things will work out. Excitedly, I also got a window seat!

I still don’t understand airlines policy of just one checked bag. Me and everyone around me has a tiny suitcase for the overhead bin, which means of course, that the overhead bin will be too full and we’ll just check our bags for free at the gate. And now for the 18 hours of flight time ahead of me I’m mostly looking forward to getting a nap. Although there appears to be a baby on this flight as well.

Goodbye cold weather, snow, and hello to heat in December.

Ice Cream

Whats a girl to do when her CSA box is full of stone fruits? Make sorbet of course.

Though, if we're being honest, considering I've made six flavors in the last five days I was just looking for another excuse to use my ice cream maker. Which I love. So far: blackberry (picked them myself), spicy chocolate, stone fruit sorbet (vegan friendly!), peanut butter (paired with a brownie is possibly the best thing ever), canteloupe, and chocolate with amaretto. How did I not already own this delightful machine?






The only problem? Giving it away before I stuff myself with frozen dairy goodness.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

I am of the persuasion that sometimes you have to work to enjoy a book. It may not be the most captivating thing, but even if I’m not engrossed after the first fifty pages I will solider on (unless I hate it so much and have no optimism, see “Eat, Pray, Love”). And based on reviews of Larrson’s “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” (though I prefer the Swedish title of “Men Who Hate Women”) I thought I had a big payoff coming after the first couple of hundred pages. And this book is long, my copy was a standard paperback clocking in at almost 700 pages. Even though the middle was enjoyable, I don’t think it was worth it.

Larrson has three main issues that he tries to work into this thriller. The first, violence against women, he does fairly well with. The female protagonist is believable, and though the scenes of graphic rape and the way she consequently deals with it are graphic and disturbing, you’re still rooting for Lisbeth Salander. There are a lot of men who hate women in this book, and the male protagonist is painted as a passive man taking whatever women wants him (and for a middle aged man and convict there seem to be a lot) into bed, and letting them totally dictate the relationship. Violence against women is a major theme, one dealt with realistically and well worked into the central plot.

The second issue is financial corruption among major corporations. Readers might read with glee after all of America’s wall street messes recently, but I did not find this particularly enjoyable. It reads like an average Joe on a soapbox (at one point the fictional book the fictional character wrote is extensively quoted on the problems with lax financial investigative journalism) with a juvenile revenge fantasy. The antagonist in this subplot (dealt with the first and last hundred pages, a murder mystery takes the middle) is never fleshed into an actual character and instead seems to be corruption incarnate.

The third issue is Nazism. In this the Nazi characters are simply categorized as insane, and that’s left as that. There is no exploration of the Swedish collective ideology on the manner, or what lead to their beliefs. Instead, it is an idea that is never quite fleshed out.

The writing in the middle, what I believe the book should have been edited out to, is a standard mystery. I hesitate to use the word thriller as times when the protagonists are in any danger is very brief. Was that part a good read? Yes. Was it the epic family saga or great literary gemstone all the buzz is about? I don’t think so. For me this book was poorly edited, mediocre writing, and never lived out as the great book I think it could have been. If you’re to read this, I’d cut out a fourth on either end. The middle is quite enjoyable. How much of this can be blamed on the translation I don't know.