So we caught a bus at 9am that picked us up from in front of our guesthouse. The bus was nice and empty so I was able to sprawl out and finish my book. This book really puts you in the life of a Cambodian during the Khmer Rouge era and can't help but feel sympathy for what theyve been through. The bus got in around noon and we instantly bargained with a tuk-tuk driver to take us to Otres Beach. This beach is outside of town and much less visited by the tourist. When we get there we search for a place to stay by walking up the beach. Otres beach consists of one dirt road with accommodations on either side, not too much to it but the beach! This is exactly what we wanted. No brits or aussies getting black out drunk. After a good 30 minutes of looking at places we found the right one, I mean the perfect one, no I mean the dream place for me to stay. No joke, this is what I would want out of a beachfront bungalow. The bungalows are made out of all wood with no metal roof and no metal what-so-ever. They are stilted off the ground and shaped as giant muchrooms. There is one window(no glass) that has a 180 degree view of the ocean and if it starts raining management will race to your bungalow and roll down a plastic window. Sleeping here was amazing all you can hear is the wind and the waves. As I love to say "Livin the Dream". We stayed here for two nights since it was a little pricey on our budget, the room was 15usd per night. Our days consisted of relaxing on the beach, eating, talking with local vendors, and nothing! This beach is really relaxed with under 20 people on it at a time so if your looking for night life this is not the place. Its so relaxed that you can buy joints in restaurants and smoke marijuana freely where ever and whenever you like. I was super surprised to see people rolling joints right in the middle of the public. I asked a bar owner about the laws, while hes rolling a joint behind the bar, he responds that it is legal to smoke it but illegal to sell it. This place makes me think of amsterdam but ur on a beach in the open and not in coffee shops. While enjoying the crystal clear water we met a fellow traveler from Maryland, USA and we decided since we had the same itinerary we would travel together. Matt had been living and working in Australia for the past 4months and will be travelling worldwide. On the third night we went into town, Serendipity Beach, to see what it was like. This place was a huge change from where we were staying at. Tourists covered the beach and vendors nagged at you to buy their goods or services. The next day we woke super early with our friend Matt and a girl from Finland to catch the 2hour boat ride to the island of Koh Rong.
Koh Rong is a descent sized island thats not very populated and with no roads. We got to the island and raced to find accommodation before everything sold out, which supposedly happens a lot. After a treacherous search Amanda and I ended up staying at Monkey Island and Matt and finland found their own places. The beaches were crystal clear but kinda run down if u stayed in town. Luckily we stayed outside town. That day Amanda and I hiked over boulders to get to a secluded beach that was miles long. We found ourselves on one of the most beautiful beaches ive ever been to with no more than 4 other people. The beach is so long you kind of forget theres other on it. Our afternoon was spent exploring the beach and jungle. The next day we met up with Matt in the morning to take a hike over the mountain to another secluded beach. When we found Matt in town I was surpised to find that Amanda was feeling a little sick so she decided to stay back and relax in our bungalow. I had herd the previous day from another colorado man that the trail is easy to get lost on. While on the trail I constantly focused on trying to stay on trail but of course we get lost. But someone famous said "its not an adventure until something goes wrong", and I play off that always. So while getting lost we are on a trail thats very narrow with thick brush on both sides slapping at your knees. I here something move very quickly right in front of me and I immediately step back a few. As i focus in on the foliage I find a snake about 4ft long and of a creamy white color. None of its body is touching the ground and by its slender shape I can tell it is a tree dwelling animal. Its head is very diamond like shaped which makes me think venomous and with it coiled up ready to strike I hesitate to move forward. With a long stick I scare it back into the woods and my friend disappears into the thick vegetation. So we ended up getting on the wrong trail and had to go back and find the right one. After sometime we find ourselves on the right trail at the top of the mountain, ready to make the extreme vertical descent to the beach. The beach was just as nice as the one from the previous day. On the beach we found a warning sign for snakes of the area and the snake we came face to face with was of the viper family. I believe it was called a white lipped viper, very venomous. Scary. Far away island + snake bite= no more adventure! Thats what went through my head for a while that day. I came so close to this snake and came out without a strike. I thank that snake for being patient and not striking so soon. After spending sometime on the beach we hiked back and I went to see how amanda was feeling. She was feeling a little better so we went to get some lunch at a place that had great views. The rest of my afternoon was spent playing some intense volleyball games, I love volleyball! The next day we caught the morning boat back to the mainland to meet up with Matt and figure out our next step in the journey. We decide on going straight to Saigon, Vietnam the next day.
The bus picked us up at 8am and would not get into Saigon until 9pm that night. We didn't realize the date but it was October 31, Halloween. We were bombarded by a lady with a guesthouse so we followed her through the narrow ally ways of Saigon until we found it. It was in the heart of the ally in such a unique place. Im already like the looks of Saigon! So we drop our bags and head for the streets where we are still unknowing of Halloween. The streets are like Lincoln Rd times 1,000. The people watching is of peak value and we find a place on the street to get a drink and watch the people. Amanda is in shock of how many people there are and goes into minor panic attack. I console her and try to explain life in a big city to ease her mind. While she cools down I am in absolute wonderland! Wherever the eye wonders I am struck with amazement and bewilderment. After a while of being in awe Amanda and I leave our friend to go to sleep. The next day we got breakfast and than went looking for a supermarket to find baking soda for my bed bug bites. Btw thankyou ericka, i think ur method worked. We than booked a tour for the Cu Chi (these tunnels our known to be quite hot and humid) tunnels and wondered through the streets until we hit the park. The park was filled with children playing as well as learning. We came to find that instead of children paying extra for english school they go to the park and meet tourist. So we find ourselves talking with over15 kids about our lives and theirs. This lasts for about an hour and than Matt and I play a game with some locals that I have no idea what it is called. Its between hacky sack and badmitton. Its shuttlecock shaped hacky sack. This last until almost night fall so before dusk we head to the market to take stroll. I buy myself a shirt and than we sit on the corner of one of the busiest streets in Saigon to enjoy some Pho and beer. The next day we got to the infamous Cu Chi tunnels by bus to find a very one sided view of the war. They are extremely biased and only use Americans as there enemy instead of including all the countries involved including their own people. We are the only americans on the tour and the only ones upset with what our guide is telling us. He can see our disgust with the tour and pulls us aside to console us about what he MUST say during the tour and what he MUST not say. Its straight up corrupt and fucked up. The whole world is coming to this attraction to get some history but they are telling in dead wrong. This was a very tough day to deal with. We returned to the city that afternoon. Enjoyed the best fruit smoothie ever(fresh smoothie with chunks of fruit thrown on top, we got drinks here everyday) as well as a Bahn Mi(this is the best sandwhich ever and I have no idea whats in it). That night we had some delicious street food that was comparable to a thai lettuce wrap but again I had no idea what kind of meat we were eating :). After stuffing ourselves for a couple dollars we walked the streets and found ourselves sitting at the same bar as our first night. Local vendors constantly pester you to buy whatever they have to offer. They sell books, bracelets, massages, and everything else. Some people are bothered by them but we love messing with them. The interactions are so much fun. We put back many beers and laughed with others. While observing the streets with our beers we are bombarded by a paddywagon. Everyone starts yelling federali federali and running in all directions! Chairs are flying, tables are turning, and people are moving at great speed. Without thinking i get up and back away from the streets not knowing what these so called federali will do. We are in a communist country. This whole fiasco was about where the bars have put their tables and chairs. If they got past a cemented line and a chair is snatched by one of the federali than they owe them money. Each chair is worth 500,000 dong (thats right dong, thats the currency here...the dong can go along way...sorry i had to) and that is 25usd, which is a lot of money out here. Its within seconds that once the federali leave the bar owners put back the chairs and tables to the illegal location. While chilling here all night we find that this doesnt happen just once but throughout the rest of the night. Its a gamble they are willing to risk. Its kinda like a game. This is how it works- Each bar has a man on the street as a look out so when one bar sees the federali they yell to the next to warn. Than that man warns the bar workers and than within seconds chairs and tables are gone. If they come away without a chair taken than all you see from the workers are smiles and laughs. They seem to love playing this risky game. I sure was scared the first time it happened and I constantly laugh about the situation. We had a late night and the next morning we were to catch a bus for the beach town called Mui Ne.
Everyone in the bus seemed to have a place to stay already and we of course didn't. We haven't booked a place in advanced since chiang mai, thailand. So when we reach the beach town a man walks up the bus asking where to get dropped off and when he gets to me I look at him and say "cheap, cheap". Instantly he nods his head and says "I have something for you". To our liking he drops us off at an amazing hotel where Amanda, Matt, and myself will pay 5usd each for monstrous room with A/C. With cold A/C, hot shower, and a balcony you cant go wrong and its just across the street from the beach. We spent that day chilling on the beach and wondering around. There's not much to this town but beach and kite surfing. And since i dont have money for kite surfing I will enjoy da beach. The following day we rent scooters to explore around the town including distant beaches and sand dunes. But 1st we must rent the bikes. Matt has never driven a two wheel motorized vehicle before so the owner shows him the ropes. He than gets on the bike and does the most common mistake...He gives a little gas and becomes scared and instead of squeezing the brakes he gives it more gas and flys out into the middle of road frantically. He crosses the road hits the curb and throw the bike to the ground. Hes stands up looks over at us with this stare of what the fuck just happened? We ask if hes alright and to our surprise he is just fine. So I burst out in laughter. I laughed about it all day. Instead of being scared of the bike he got right back on and we pursued our adventure. We drove all around the area to find ourselves stopping at a beach where you had to walk over sand dunes to get to. No one was on the beach but locals who were fishing for some kind of clam. I helped for a bit and tried to carry the days catch but was way to heavy. This women who carried it was made of bronze and steal. Ron Burgundy would be amazed with her abilities. We stopped for a drink close by at a resort where we also went swimming again than we were off to the red dunes. We covered ourselves in sand like kids and our smiles were as big and genuine as can be. We were getting hungry so we found a beach on the way back to town to wash up and than find something to eat. That night we splurged on food and had a seafood feast with fresh crabs and tiger shrimp. I also tried some of Matts frog. The next day was spent doing whatever each person wanted. I went swimming, napped, and read Papillon which i am loving. You must read this book if you have yet to. We had been travelling with our friend Matt for over a week now and the next day we would go different directions. He would take the long journey to Nah Trang and we would head into the central highlands to a city called Da Lat. In the morning we say farewell to our friend and than jump on our bus which turned out to be quite the experience. The bus was overbooked and people were sitting on the floor and bags were piled chest high in the aisle! Super cramped.
We arrived in Da Lat at about 5pm and was dropped off near the city center in front of a nice looking hotel. Of course they rush us, pestering us to come in and we usually decline but decided to see. It was 5usd a person with balcony and great room. Btw the temperature here is cool/cold at night and mild temps in the day time. We stayed at the hotel and have been enjoying it greatly. Like I said before Da Lat has a lot of french influence so that night we went straight to the bakery for some amazing baked goods. Da Lat is also known for their wine so after dinner and a walk through the market Amanda and I shared a bottle of wine. It was'nt too bad. The following day we went on a tour of around the city which brought us to some places far outside of walking distance. We saw amazing waterfall, coffee plantations, cricket farm(where i had a taste of some fried cricket with chili sauce), villagers, and a crazy house. Some of the coffee here is fed to weasels and than they poop it out and than we drink it. Sounds nasty but its the local way so we of course tried some hot liquid weasel shit. The tour finished in the late afternoon. We rested a bit and than went out for some streetfood at a local market. Theres not many white people in this town so I am looked at very differently. People take pictures or give me deathly looks. I just give them the biggest smile and they dont know what to think. We find ourselves some mysterious dishes and of course love them. We make it an early night and head back to the room for some R&R.
This brings me to where I am at now. Im in the hotel lobby writing you. We will leave for a new place tomorrow but are not 100% sure where we will go. I will let you know very soon.....
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