So, I'm now in Siem Reap, Cambodia and writing this article standing up. The reasons for that, I'll explain a little later.
To update from the last article, my last day in Saigon, Vietnam was the most interesting of them all... perhaps the most educational of my whole trip thus far. I went to the Cu Chi tunnels located about 45 minutes outside Saigon. Out tour guide himself was a character. He fought for the South during the American war and could tell all of his experiences on a first hand basis. To give you an idea of who this guy was... he called himself "Mr. Bean". Anyway, he told us tons of animated, passionate accounts of his stories from the war and I think this is what made the whole trip so entertaining.
On the way to the tunnels, we stopped at a factory where people that are handicapped from the war are able to work and make beautiful artwork from eggshells, paint and shells. According to our guide, the only people that are beggers in Vietnam are those that lazy and don't want to work. A few years ago people that are handicapped weren't able to get jobs because of their disabilities, but now there are jobs for everyone because of these factories. I stopped to watch the work that a group of people were doing and they invited me to sit down and learn how to do it. They were carving sea shells. It wasn't as easy as it looked, but my teachers were very patient and friendly. I was having such a good time, the bus almost left without me!
When we finally arrived at the Cu Chi tunnels, our guide took us around the complex and showed us real entrances to the tunnels (which were about 1 x 1.5 foot rectangular holes in the ground). A few people jumped in to see what it was like and if they were even a few inches bigger, they wouldn't have been able to get out! After looking at some models of the kitchen and work stations, we were finally able to crawl through some tunnels. I think I remember our guide saying that they made the tunnels a little bigger so that tourists would be able to crawl through them, but I don't know how people could get through them if they were any smaller. We crawled on our hands and knees for about 150 meters from start to finish and our backs were definitely touching the top of the tunnel at most points. Not only that, but it got really hot down there and I was sweating profusely when I finally climbed out. I can't even imagine how people spend years of their lies down there.
All in all, that was probably one of my favorite things that I experienced in Vietnam. Now back to why my backside hurts...
Yesterday, we spent the whole day walking and climbing up the Angkor Wat temples. They were amazing as I knew they would be. Today, we had the great idea to go to Kbal Spean (the original river of 1000 lingas) and Banteay Srei by motorbike... one motorbike. It's not unusual to have three or even four people riding on one motorbike, however Kbal Spean is a little more than an hour away. So, two hours spent on a little, uncomfortable motorbike is why my ass, yet again, is hurting.
Other than the problems with my backside, the trip was well worth the trouble. The river was beautiful and it's amazing all the ancient lingas (phallic symbols meant to bring fertility and good luck to the areas touched by the river) are still intact. The walk to the river and the waterfall was beautiful in itself and I don't know if I have ever seen as many butterflies in all my life as I did then.
After the river, we reluctantly hopped back on the motorbike and went to Banteay Srei. This temple has some of the most beautiful and well preserved carvings. There was also a band playing nearby that was made up of 10 land mine victims. They play traditional Cambodian music with missing limbs. It's definitely impressive to see a guy with no hands play something along the lines of a violin. Another guy played the leaf (an actual leaf from the tree next to him)... enough said.
Then came the dreaded time again... we hopped back on the motorbike and headed back to town with a quick stop at the Cambodian Land Mine Museum. It's a relatively new museum and looks like it's still in the completion stage, but it was definitely an informative and worthwhile stop. The man who started the museum needed to display some of the 50,000 plus land mines he has dismantled with his own two hands, while also bringing about an awareness of the destructive consequences of land mines to the visitors of the museum. He also gives a little information about his own incredible background as a child soldier of the Khmer Rouge who had to lay the land mines that he is now dismantling.
After finally getting back to town, I decided to never sit on a motorbike again. Unfortunately, I know that's not going to happen as it is the main form of transportation in Phnom Penh... our next stop.
