Thursday, November 19, 2009

Cambodia to Vietnam: Full Throttle 24 hours


I eat when I’m hungry, I drink when I’m thirsty, I celebrate each day,
and I’ll sleep when I die.

0430: our day begins with an unwelcomed alarm and a visit to Angkor Wat for an unforgettable sunrise. The bright orange and reds highlighted the sandstone temple as the sun crept up the sky elongating the reflection of the scenery in the pond in front of us.
0630: We came back to our beautiful hotel and had a huge breakfast. We waited for the other half that groggily joined us at breakfast after opting to sleep instead of see sunrise.
0800: Our first tour of the morning was at Ta Prohm- this is where tomb raider was filmed!! The trees had roots like vines and grew all over the carved stone. I think it’s crazy that we were allowed to climb all over these ancient ruins. There are no railings anywhere and no one around to say ‘hey put that 800year old pot down!’ so we ran around swinging from vines and pretending we were in Indiana Jones, stopping our explorations only to hear the guide point out important areas and tell us interesting facts.
1130: back at the hotel we had a bountiful lunch with all of the unusual khmer food one could wish for.
1230: we are packed and checked out of the hotel. It already feels like we have had a full day. With hours of temple viewing under our belt it was hard to rally the troops for our afternoon tours.
1300: A lot of people sat near the busses and waited. I am glad that we walked through the last temple- it was incredible. The stairs were built so steeply so that whoever scaled it would have to always have their face towards the temple and their body bowed. We scaled these stairs up and down all over, it felt like rock climbing!
1400: After our guide left and we had an hour before our bus left, Casey and I walked around looking at all of the carvings making up stories to go along with the stone-captured action.                                                 

1530: We are at the airport. We have been to an airport each day of our trip. Each one feels like it was constructed just for us- vacant and pristine. Once again Eddie, our trip leader, asks for an extra dollar from everyone in our group. This is a bribe, on top of the cost for our exit visas, for the Cambodian officials to let us out of the country.
1630: Our flight is delayed. I look at magazines: Cosmo magazine sold for nearly $16- outrageous!
1815: we are landing in Vietnam- it’s dark and Ho Chi Minh is so bright! We are all anxious to get back and go out into this new country.
1845: Everyone is having trouble with the Vietnamese officials in customs.
1945: The bus is plowing through the flooded streets. Each night the Mekong Delta overflows causing the streets to drown in the knee-deep water. I notice that most places have names like ‘lucky clothing’ ‘happy food’. The Vietnamese are superstitious and put luck and happiness in front of every named place.
2045: Back on the ship everyone is already gone. The graffiti board has a list of highly-recommended places to go at night. Casey and I race showering, eating, and getting ready.
2115: Casey and I are ready to go. We make a pact that we are going to go twenty four hours. 0430 to 0430.
2130: We set out to Le Pub to meet up with a group of friends. The ten minute taxi ride costs two dollars for six of us. Brad and Tommy say that we are only taking a taxi because us ladies are in dresses- it’s more fun to take the motobikes.
2140: Le Pub is in an alley. Really, the way we got there was saying we wanted to go to Alley 175. How we find places like this, I do not know.
2215: Everyone is wearing bandanas that say Vietnamese phrases on. Jugs of mixed drinks are five dollars. There are SASers behind the bar, apparently this has been the hang out while we were away, the bartenders and students are good friends. It is fun to exchange stories and adventures.
2330: It’s been determined that the place to go is Apocalypse Now. Le Pub empties onto the streets. There are busses, motobikes, and taxis. Of course, I opt for the motobike. Stephen chivalrously allows me the bike with helmet.
2340: A convoy of motobikes stream down the buzzing streets. The drivers confusedly take us several places before we arrive at the club with red carpet.
2400: The club is alive. There are guards at the mouth of the club and locals hailing cabs. The neck of the club is a narrow hallway leading in from the street; it is lined with well-dressed hookers. The body of the club is a moving abyss of people gravitating to the tall chairless tables scattered around. There are teachers here, there are more locals, there are only a few students. The arms of the club are the long bars that span the length of the club; the bartenders moving as quickly as possible to serve the never ending orders. The legs of the club extend from the body, they are floored open courtyards; the students are gathered here to chat. The majority of the students are instead chatting at the foot of the club- the dancefloor. Using our feet and hips to communicate.
0200: The lights are turning on. Everything that was covered under a shield night, strobe lights, and smoke is exposed.
0230: Hundreds of people are on the street. I wait with Molly for the crowd to clear. She and a group of friends have rented a hotel room for $15 a night and wants me to join.
0250: Her group piles into a taxi. Three of us are left. Two motobikes. Danny and I manage to grip ourselves to the back of one. The driver doesn’t know of the hotel. We ask him to find a pizza place. We spend quite a while zooming around the vacant streets that are still lit with the neon lights of the vibrant city. It was incredible to see the city this way.
0330: Back on the ship we go to the seventh deck to look at the city and the stars.
0400: The sky is turning lighter, black to blue. There is a little produce market being set up below us near the ship’s gangway.
0430: We made it.  Cambodia to Vietnam. Ancient jungle temples to the electric jungle city.


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