We'll Hit The Stops Along The Way; We Only Stop For The Best
I'm back in Bangkok, where the curry is tastier, the night life is hoping, and the internet connections are faster (and cheaper). With only ten days left in Southeast Asia, I'm planning on doing some scuba diving--though I haven't decided exactly where--and go and see the bridge over the River Kwai. I really don't want to leave Thailand as there's so much going on, so much to do and see, but I know that if I don't I'll never get to Japan. Never getting home doesn't sound so bad, but not getting to see Japan would really make me sad. Anyway, I haven't really updated in a while mostly because of slow internet connections, but also because I've been trying to crunch in as much as I could into my limited time in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. So, I'll try to catch you all up on what I've done since Hanoi.
Oh and as an important aside, I've decided to stop taking my malaria medication, Lariam (mefloquine). I've started to experience some of the more moderate side-effects (sleeplessness, nightmares, anxiety) and since all of the places I'm going have virtually zero-risk of malaria infection, I'd rather start to get the drug out of my system before I start developing some of the more debilitating side-effects. Also, I feel I wasn't presented with the whole truth about Lariam when I was given options for malaria prevention drugs by my doctor. It wasn't until I started traveling that I found out about much of the controversy over the drug, the extent of the side effects (I was told it would make my dreams more "vivid"), it's (potential?) link to Gulf War Syndrome, etc. Granted I could've done my own research about the malaria drug options before making a choice, but if I'm paying a doctor for her consultation and recommendation, I feel that I should've been given a more complete picture than I was given. That said, I now feel that the risk of me contracting malaria is so low that the risk of further side effects from the Lariam is more of a danger to me.
After Tet in Hanoi, I went on a three-day, two-night tour of Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. It was quite nice, especially for how inexpensive the whole thing was, and I got to meet some really nice people during the trip. When I got back to Hanoi, I stayed one night at the hostel that my new friends recommended, the Hanoi Backpacker's Hostel. I've stayed in a bunch of places so far, some really good, some, well, not, but this is the first one that I feel I should recommend. It's not in any guide books because it's very new, but that just means it's less crowded than it probably will be once word gets around about it. For $6 you get a really clean, comfortable bed, an immaculate bathroom , breakfast, free internet access, plus one free beer at their bar. And it's a great place to meet fellow travelers. Anyone who is considering running a guesthouse in Asia should copy their business model. Perhaps they'll expand in the future. Since all the trains were full for Happy New Year, I booked a flight to Ho Chi Minh City (which everyone still calls Saigon). There, I visited the Cu Chi Tunnels (a very good tour with a very good guide). With how sophisticated those tunnels were, it's no wonder that the Americans never found them. I also got so shoot an AK-47. On semi-auto or full-auto, I'm one hell of a shot if I do say so myself.
I took a boat ride up the Mekong this time to Phnom Penh in Cambodia. I spent only one night there, visited the killing fields of Choeung Ek and the genocide museum at Tuol Sleng (an experience I'm not sure I want to describe just yet), and took a bus to Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville is a wonderfully empty beach town with tons of beautiful, white-sand beaches that hasn't fully felt the expansion into a modern resort town like most of its equals in Thailand. You can still find $2 rooms and $0.50 beers there. The amount of construction that I saw would lead me to believe that it won't be staying as quaint as it is now for long, though I have my fingers crossed for it. I rented a scooter and toured the completely empty Ream National Park, another great place with vast stretches of literally empty beaches. I didn't have time to hire a boat to visit the neighboring islands, but they are supposed to be even more beautiful. If I go back, I may try and start my own little island utopia ala The Beach. A bus back to Phnom Penh and one more night there, with more sightseeing (the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda) and I was on a bus to Siem Reap.
The Temples of Angkor are nothing short of astounding. I took hundreds of pictures (not the moonrise one, though), so you should be able to see some of them when I get them up (maybe in Japan?). Anyway, I spent five and a half days touring almost all of the temples by bicycle. Some of them are really remote, and with 90 degree, sunny days with high humidity on an old, single-speed bicycle, some of those journeys were a little taxing. But I have to say that I was not disappointed in the least. I can only imagine what a place like Angkor Thom looked like in its heyday, when it had perhaps a million people living there and the structures were pristine. Another half day I spent at the landmine museum. Another experience I won't soon forget. After six days and seven nights, it was a bumpy ride to the Cambodian border town of Poipet and a smooth, comfortable ride back to Bangkok.
Those are the highlights of the last couple of weeks. Now I'm off to get some dinner (more curry or pad thai? I'm not sure yet) and find out some info on diving spots (if the reef isn't too badly damaged, probably Phuket, otherwise either Ko Tao or somewhere in Krabi). Think of me when you whistle your song of defiance.
Oh and as an important aside, I've decided to stop taking my malaria medication, Lariam (mefloquine). I've started to experience some of the more moderate side-effects (sleeplessness, nightmares, anxiety) and since all of the places I'm going have virtually zero-risk of malaria infection, I'd rather start to get the drug out of my system before I start developing some of the more debilitating side-effects. Also, I feel I wasn't presented with the whole truth about Lariam when I was given options for malaria prevention drugs by my doctor. It wasn't until I started traveling that I found out about much of the controversy over the drug, the extent of the side effects (I was told it would make my dreams more "vivid"), it's (potential?) link to Gulf War Syndrome, etc. Granted I could've done my own research about the malaria drug options before making a choice, but if I'm paying a doctor for her consultation and recommendation, I feel that I should've been given a more complete picture than I was given. That said, I now feel that the risk of me contracting malaria is so low that the risk of further side effects from the Lariam is more of a danger to me.
After Tet in Hanoi, I went on a three-day, two-night tour of Halong Bay and Cat Ba Island. It was quite nice, especially for how inexpensive the whole thing was, and I got to meet some really nice people during the trip. When I got back to Hanoi, I stayed one night at the hostel that my new friends recommended, the Hanoi Backpacker's Hostel. I've stayed in a bunch of places so far, some really good, some, well, not, but this is the first one that I feel I should recommend. It's not in any guide books because it's very new, but that just means it's less crowded than it probably will be once word gets around about it. For $6 you get a really clean, comfortable bed, an immaculate bathroom , breakfast, free internet access, plus one free beer at their bar. And it's a great place to meet fellow travelers. Anyone who is considering running a guesthouse in Asia should copy their business model. Perhaps they'll expand in the future. Since all the trains were full for Happy New Year, I booked a flight to Ho Chi Minh City (which everyone still calls Saigon). There, I visited the Cu Chi Tunnels (a very good tour with a very good guide). With how sophisticated those tunnels were, it's no wonder that the Americans never found them. I also got so shoot an AK-47. On semi-auto or full-auto, I'm one hell of a shot if I do say so myself.
I took a boat ride up the Mekong this time to Phnom Penh in Cambodia. I spent only one night there, visited the killing fields of Choeung Ek and the genocide museum at Tuol Sleng (an experience I'm not sure I want to describe just yet), and took a bus to Sihanoukville. Sihanoukville is a wonderfully empty beach town with tons of beautiful, white-sand beaches that hasn't fully felt the expansion into a modern resort town like most of its equals in Thailand. You can still find $2 rooms and $0.50 beers there. The amount of construction that I saw would lead me to believe that it won't be staying as quaint as it is now for long, though I have my fingers crossed for it. I rented a scooter and toured the completely empty Ream National Park, another great place with vast stretches of literally empty beaches. I didn't have time to hire a boat to visit the neighboring islands, but they are supposed to be even more beautiful. If I go back, I may try and start my own little island utopia ala The Beach. A bus back to Phnom Penh and one more night there, with more sightseeing (the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda) and I was on a bus to Siem Reap.
The Temples of Angkor are nothing short of astounding. I took hundreds of pictures (not the moonrise one, though), so you should be able to see some of them when I get them up (maybe in Japan?). Anyway, I spent five and a half days touring almost all of the temples by bicycle. Some of them are really remote, and with 90 degree, sunny days with high humidity on an old, single-speed bicycle, some of those journeys were a little taxing. But I have to say that I was not disappointed in the least. I can only imagine what a place like Angkor Thom looked like in its heyday, when it had perhaps a million people living there and the structures were pristine. Another half day I spent at the landmine museum. Another experience I won't soon forget. After six days and seven nights, it was a bumpy ride to the Cambodian border town of Poipet and a smooth, comfortable ride back to Bangkok.
Those are the highlights of the last couple of weeks. Now I'm off to get some dinner (more curry or pad thai? I'm not sure yet) and find out some info on diving spots (if the reef isn't too badly damaged, probably Phuket, otherwise either Ko Tao or somewhere in Krabi). Think of me when you whistle your song of defiance.
posted by Scott at 2:17 AM
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