We are all that we have met.

Before I elaborate on my ventures in Cambodia (not Bolivia!), I just want to say that life at Rangsit has not been negatively influenced by the current political situation in Thailand. Briefly, what’s going on here is that Anti-government protesters have said they will not cease power over the towers and disruption of the airports until the current prime minister, and accused “puppet” of Thaksin, Mr. Somchai resigns, which he has refused to do. The image to the right is one that I took at the Election Watch in Bangkok at the beginning of this month; it shows Somchai and the U.S. Ambassador of Thailand, Eric G. John. The anti-government People’s League for Democracy (PAD) have taken over both Suvarnabhumi international airport and a smaller international airport called Don Mueang airport, which is just 15 minutes away from Rangsit University. A state of emergency has been declared at both sites. The protesters have remained defiant, claiming they were prepared to “fight to the death” (according to an article off BBC). Thailand has been in political turmoil since former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was ousted in a military coup in 2006. The PAD is comprised of royalists, businessmen and the urban middle class who believe that the government is corrupt and hostile to the monarchy. Luckily, Rangsit is far enough from all of this for me to feel like I’m cozy in a safe little bubble.

But otherwise, this has affected people beyond Thailand; thousands of passengers are stranded in Bangkok, including hundreds of Thai Muslims trying to travel to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj pilgrimage. Plus, some of my friends and a few faculty members went to Burma a week ago for student recruitment and they were supposed to return on Saturday. A couple of my other friends vacationed to Indonesia and they were stuck there for a few more days passed their planned departure. It is so unfortunate that this is happening the way it is, without any consideration of what these protests are actually doing for the country overall; people are not going to want to come here anymore and I think everyone needs to experience the wonders of Thailand! Further discussed in the article, the airport closure will cost the country around $4 billion in lost business and cause serious damage to its reputation as a tourist destination, something which will take the country years to recover from, especially during a time like this, where the economy of the world is already in shambles…

Cambodia:

Last weekend, a small group of us went to Cambodia on a whim. We took a bus from Bangkok, four and a half hours to the border. We spent USD$35 for the Cambodian visa which decorated yet another page of our passports. Then, we made a very wise decision to rent a private taxi to take us to Siem Reap. The second we rolled over the border, casinos and a mountainous road clouted us right in the faces! First of all, gambling is sturdily illegal in Thailand and there are warnings everywhere the second you land in the airport prohibiting the act of public gaming of such. Secondly, the roads…infamous for its jaggedness, proved to be a trek. It would’ve taken 6 hours to get to our destination in a public bus but it took half the time in a taxi! There were times during the ride where I felt like the tires were sure to explode, and miraculously, all four of them survived until the end. Supposedly, there’s a conspiracy theory that an unnamed airline is paying the Cambodian government to stall any sort of maintenance of these roads, while clearly failing to consider the citizens of the country and the plethora of people who cross the border every single day.

We stayed in a gorgeous place called Golden Temple Villa that lived up fabulously to its name. Our bedrooms were decorated, proving that an orange and purple color scheme can be attractive; it was also amazingly clean and welcoming. The name Siem Reap means the ‘Defeat of Siam’ which is today’s Thailand; it refers to a centuries-old bloodbath between the two countries. In 1975 (painfully recent), Siem Reap’s population, along with many of the cities’ and towns’ in Cambodia, were evacuated by the communist Khmer Rouge, the communist ruling political party, and driven into the countryside. However, since Pol Pot’s (the leader of the Khmer Rouge) death in 1998, relative stability and a rejuvenated tourist industry have been significant steps in a tentative but progressive journey forward to recovery. With the advent of war, Siem Reap entered a long slumber from which it only began to awake in the mid-1990s. But today, Siem Reap is undoubtedly Cambodia’s fastest growing city and serves as a small charming gateway town to the world famous heritage of the Angkor temples. Thanks to those attractions, Siem Reap has transformed itself into a major tourist hub; it is a vibrant town with modern hotels and architectures. Despite international influences, Siem Reap and its people have conserved much of the town’s image, culture and traditions. That’s why I loved it so much. Despite the masses of sightseers flooding the temples like Angkor Wat and the “tomb raider” temple (consequently named after being featured in the movie with Angelina Jolie), I could still feel a purity lingering strongly in the air.

The first day, we embarked on a tour of the three main Angkor temples in Siem Reap. Angkor is a name conventionally applied to the region of Cambodia, yet another UNESCO World Heritage Site (that’s three visited since I’ve been in South East Asia!), serving as the seat of the Khmer empire that flourished from approximately the ninth century to the fifteenth century A.D. (The word “Angkor” is derived from the Sanskrit “nagara,” meaning “city”). We visited Angkor Wat which is said to be the world’s largest single religious monument. It was beautiful and I felt like I was in some sort of peaceful palace because my friends and I went when it was a bit quieter, during sunrise. We also visited the many faces of Angkor Thom, which was the last and most enduring capital city of the Khmer empire. Our last temple of the day was the “Tomb Raider” temple. Unlike Angkor Wat, the lack of maintenance and the tree roots are what transformed the temple into mostly rubble. Tree trunks sit dominantly atop the cracked walls of this sanctuary, draping the boulders like a solid curtain with its powerful roots.

Pub Street was where we splurged our night times. Since it was lined with diverse restaurants and bars and a close-by night market, it was always filled with people. We even ran to a couple of people we met in Vietnam randomly and a few in our program who came to Cambodia for the weekend independently. During dinner, we watched Apsara dancers demonstrate various segments of the Ramayana. Apsara, the classical Cambodian ballet, is a stunningly graceful, 2000 year–old blend of sinuous hand gestures and graceful body movements. All the dancers were absolutely beautiful in their colorful and detailed costumes. In the photo to the left, I am surrounded by elegant and graceful Apsara-dancer carvings that decorate the many pillars of Angkor Thom.

The following days we went to the Landmine Museum, run by a man called Aki Ra, who is currently in the process of demining landmines which he probably planted years previously. He is a former Khmer Rouge conscripted child soldier who from 1993 to 2007, removed landmines by hand in Cambodia. He employs very unusual demining techniques, usually working only with a knife and a sharp stick. Today, he and his wife Hourt have brought home nearly 20 children who have lived through landmine accidents or are orphaned. They provide these children with an education, resources for succes, and a family atmosphere.

The three nations with the largest landmine problem today are Afghanistan, Angola, and Cambodia; the Cambodian conflict may be the first war in history in which mines claimed more victims, both combatant and civilian, than any other weapon. Serious. Landmines are known as hidden killers, weapons of mass destruction in slow motion, or the perfect soldier which never sleeps or misses. They have killed or maimed more people than have been killed by nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons combined. Unlike other weapons, most mines are designed to maim because a soldier without a limb is more of a burn in the budget of the enemy than a dead soldier. A mine has no target, it recognizes no cease-fire and every hour, three people in Cambodia become victims of landmines. One landmine costs as little as USD$1-$3 to plant but up to USD$500,000 to demine! It’s terribly sad that so many countries (37), including India and the United States (thanks Bush!) have not signed the Ottawa Treaty which bans all anti-personal landmines, and they continue to be produced there. Sad story.

The final day in Siem Reap, we paid a visit to the War Museum, which housed a remarkable collection of equipment and arsenal, from tanks of all sizes, to guns, and of course, landmines of every variation. Our guide was a victim of many kinds of tragedies, all sparked by the war. He lost a leg to one of the five landmines he had encountered in his life, he’s blinded in one eye, he has pieces of metal beneath his skin which in turn give him seizures every so often; the worst part is that people believe he has epilepsy, something which banishes him from heaven and causes society to ostracize him and limit the work he is given. He shared with us the scars and grievance for himself and his country. Leaving a bit sullen, we went on to clamber through a lush jungle temple called Beng Mealea, which hosted a few tourists since it’s about an hour off the main trail. As we made our way through the wreckage (also due to the power of the trees), we admired what was left under the drape of roots and leaves of carved-in-stone scenes from Hindu mythology. The temple maintained an awe-inspiring beauty despite the in ruins; I can’t begin to imagine how it must’ve looked when it was in its prime so many years ago.

Outside the temple was a modest school called the Cambodia Children Rural Development Organization: Training school for the poor, homeless, and orphaned. Today, it’s simply two straw huts covering a few tables donated from Australia, a white board, and a few learning children, most under the age of 10. We spent a bit of time there; hearing about the future aspirations of this NGO that is surviving to help these kids make a living for themselves in the future. Cambodia is poor, there’s nothing newsbreaking about that. The government doesn’t support those who have been victimized by war, landmines, death, etc. and there isn’t enough sustenance for education, especially for the underprivileged. I enjoyed spending time at the school because for once, I didn’t feel futile when exposed to such destitution. Donating notebooks and pens, rice, etc. would make at least a spark of a difference. Although it would be difficult to use a squatter toilet in the midst of the jungle, I could imagine myself helping out as a teacher at a school like that nevertheless, which really needs all the help it could get, even if it’s just for a couple of months. But you know what, despite it all; the historical horror, dim present, and striving future, there is still laughter and a sense of adventure in the air, ambition and ardor in their minds, and most inspiringly, peace in their smiles.

Peace

First things first, O to B to A-M-A!!! I celebrated Obama’s sweeping victory at the Hyatt Hotel in Bangkok along side members of the U.S. embassy, students from various schools in the Bangkok area, and other tourists from all over the world interested in the change that was about to proceed. The students of the International College were cordially invited to join the Election Watch 2008. We walked into a large conference room filled with people in school uniforms, suits, and patriotic colors, as well as tables decorated with floating balloons and cocktail bites. When CNN finally announced their projection of “Barack Obama: The 44th President of the United States,” with the final count being 365 Electoral College votes vs. 173, my friends, not only from America but also from Bhutan, China, Nepal, and Thailand, all jumped in excitement, anticipation and pride (in being American). I’m sure it was an exciting time for many people all over the planet who could find one relation or another to Obama. After we got back to Rangsit, taxi cab drivers, teachers, and other students struck up conversations about “Oh-bah-maaah” (in wonderful Thai accents), and market venders sold artsy t-shirts exhibiting his face (of course I purchased one!).

Due to the fact that so much has happened since my last post to steer me off track from updating my blog, this one will be brief, with the pictures doing most of the explaining…

For Halloween, my friends and I spent one night in Bangkok at a karaoke bar caroling beside Thais who were 10 times more talented at it than we were. It was amusing nevertheless and I discovered that Asians are serious about their Karaoke! The International College also threw the students a Halloween party the following night at a nearby club called Sit Nee. This event marked the first time when I really got to know my classmates outside school regalia and classroom manner. It occurred to me that despite the fact that we are all from adverse parts of the planet, we enjoy very similar things like dancing, listening to music, laughing, and ultimately having a great time with fabulous company. I dressed up as the national tree of Thailand, the “Golden Shower Tree” or in Thai, Dok Khuen (I figured I’d be patriotic in some nerdy form). Most people were dressed up in costumes and many of the teachers attended as well. The image to the left is of me sitting beside the director and coordinator of the International College.

Soon enough, another festival rolls around in Thailand. Loy Krathong, one of the most beautiful festivals, occurred a few weeks ago. Loy Krathong means something like “floating banana leaf”and this occasion is celebrated on the 12th full moon of the lunar calendar. Thai people artistically construct banana boats out of biodegradable items like banana leaves, flowers of all sorts, food, toothpicks, etc. and float it down the river or lake to pay tribute to the gods of the water. Krathongs can be made incredibly elaborate; in shapes of towering crowns, graceful swans, or rich lotus flowers. People make wishes as they waft away their Krathongs filled with hopes of wealth and good health, typically represented by coins, incense sticks, and candles. Sneakily, Little children rake in the krathongs of others to the shore to collect the money! At Rangsit University, we burst fireworks on the track and field, browsed through a huge market set up right on campus., and even released rice-paper lanterns into the sky. The freed lanterns looked like a collection of fireflies gliding away toward the moon. We even made our own krathongs in my Thai Civilization class and floated them in the fountain pond in from of the building. It was such a pleasant celebration, I’m really glad I was here to experience it and I only wish that we had something like it in the States. There was also a Mr. and Miss Loy Krathong that was similar to Homecoming King and Queen at our high schools in the States. Teachers nominate students to fill those positions and they are eventually crowned before their classmates in a large auditorium with music, decorations, and a buoyant amibance.

The weekend after, a few of my friends and I traveled to the second largest island in Thailand, Koh Chang to spend a few relaxing days on the beach once again. It means “Elephant Island” in Thai for the elephant shape of its headland, but I didn’t see any while there because elephants are not indigenous to the island. The recent success of Koh Chang as a serious tourist destination has been phenomenal yet it remains a lot more peaceful and less developed than Phuket.  We were there for a few days and since the main road perimeters the while island, we figured we’d have to provide ourselves with an independent form of transportation. I rode my first motorcycle here and I was able to see waterfalls, the mountains, the countryside, and a beach called “White Sand” beach.  It’s amazing how many precuations the U.S. takes when driving an automobile, especially a motorcycle in comparison to Thailand. Motorscooters or motorcycles are incredibly common here and in Koh Chang, all we had to do was present the lender with an ID of any kind and 150 Baht (about $5) for renting the bike for 24 hours! The most important thing is to not get in an accident or else they make us pay for the whole part of the motorcycle that was knicked and that could cost at least $20 (relatively expensive). Although the roller coaster-roads proved to be a bit of a challenge for an amateur like myself, I had a good time and smehow managed to avoid any sort of calamity. In the evenings, our hostel and those nearby provided us with firedance shows. We sat outselves on straw mats laid out before the shore and awed at agile locals who harmoniously danced with the flames. It was the perfect way to end each day.

Thanksgiving was this week. Rangsit University has an international day celebration every year and since this time it was during November, Thanksgiving naturally became the theme of the ball. I didn’t think it would be anything too spectacular; just the international students and a few teachers and some turkey, which I don’t eat anyway. But Rangsit and Thailand never lets us down when it comes to partying. Walking past the new international building during the day, we see a large sign that says “RSU Thanksgiving Party.” We realize that this event is going to be really exciting! Without disappointment, we arrive in the evening to a road on campus filled with stands of typical Thanksgiving food (turkey, stuffing, salad, mashed patatoes, breadrolls), Thai food, desserts and fruits, and drinks; all before a colorfully lit up stage hosting a live band. Students from all sectors of the University were there, the President, Dr. Arthit Ourairat, was there as well! I haven’t even met the president of Cal Poly being that I’ve studied there for three years already, yet in three months, I was able to meet the president of an international and local school of the same size, 20,000 students. Now that’s real. The image to the left illustrated a few of my friends from Bhutan, China, and Thailand dancing the night away; the girls were less shy than the boys at first but as more and more people joined in, it became a dance party on the street. After the party at school, a diverse bunch of us went to a nearby bar. The prince of Bhutan attends Rangsit University, International College and he was there as well. I hung out with a few Burmese and Bhutanese students and they enlightened me on the politics of the countries and I tried very hard to follow through the various accents and explanations.

Until soon…

As if we didn’t get enough vacation time from classes with our four-day weekends, we were given a week-long break before midterm week began. Since we technically got 11 days off with our weekends included, a few girlfriends and I decided to take a big trip, one that would be too big to do in just four days. After heavy contemplation over visiting northern India, the ultimate cost and rush for visa applications eventually cancelled that plan. We finally concurred on backpacking through two of Thailand’s neighboring countries, Laos and Vietnam. As time inched closer to the anticipated date of departure, our plans remained relatively underdeveloped therefore forcing us to be spontaneous, for lack of a better word. It was quite an adventure to say the least.

We arrived at the train station the night of the 16th hoping to book a sleeper train to take us to Nong Khai, 14 hours away, the town on the border where we’d deal with the immigration and visa paperwork. It turned out, and not surprisingly, that the 1^st class and 2^nd class sleepers were all booked. All that was left: 3^rd class metal, unrecline-able seats. We weren’t going to turn back this quickly so we signed ourselves up for the 253 baht (approximately USD$8) trip and figured, well, at least it’s a cheap ride. After that slim purchase, we hit the tuck shop near by to splurge on snacks, soda, and Sang Som, Thailand’s infamous brand of rum, to prepare us for the lengthy ride to come. We were all a bit nervous while waiting for the train to approach and I personally had no idea what to expect. We had heard nothing but dreadful things about the Thai 3^rd class train that’s only tolerable for three or four hours, but not much longer…and there we were hopping on it for a ride longer than half a day. We went into it like warriors and I just told myself that one day, I’ll look back on it and laugh. I’m laughing now because in retrospect, it wasn’t too awful. There was nobody smoking next to me, or stinking up the car with a smelly snack, or even a baby crying the whole way, so really, I can’t complain. There was a couple sitting across from my friend and I and it was amusing to witness the many different positions they arranged themselves in during the ride to fall asleep. However, I’m pretty sure there wasn’t much sleep to be caught with anyone else in that part of the train.

The next morning we finally arrived to a collection of tuk tuk drivers outside the train station ready to transport us to the border. The Laos visa was USD$35 and we received it upon arrival within 10 minutes. Despite the plunge of the dollar value previously, it’s still cheaper to pay with USD as opposed to other currencies like the Thai Baht, in which case the visa worked out to be USD$45 after currency calculations. We proceeded to travel another 12 hours to a town we heard is worth seeing named Luang Prabang. We arranged a private van to take all six of us there for less than USD$20 after persistent bargaining and mild frustration. Since we initially thought the ride was only eight hours, we seriously considered turning back once we discovered from the driver that it was an additional four hours. I am so glad we didn’t because not only was the ride there absolutely gorgeous; a view of the magnificent mountains, the diversity of houses, and Laotians riding bicycles on the dirt road, but also because Luang Prabong ended up being my favorite place in Laos.

Although we arrived at around 2am to a dead town they called Luang Prabang, we woke up to an extremely different place; it was lively, pretty, and quaint. We were lucky to find a lovely guesthouse that was clean, welcoming, and in the midst of the happenings called Sacharinh Guesthouse. Since the French once colonized Indochina and Laos, there were remnants of French influence apparent in the architecture and food (there were baguettes everywhere)! Luang Prabang is understandably a UNESCO World Heritage site; I loved seeing colorfully painted, French-style buildings with white shutters closely neighboring beautiful gold, green, and red Lao temples. The city’s architecture and impression very much reminded me of Granada in Nicaragua; which, ironically, was invaded by English, French and Dutch pirates in the past as well. And by the way, the French renamed Lao with an S, “Laos” during colonization, but since the Lao language itself has no final S sound, none of the locals can or do pronounce it as such. Luang Prabang was also filled with backpackers of all ages but at the same time, it maintained a unique and cheerful ambiance that I adored. We rented bikes for USD$3/day and cycled around to a new and old bridge, over the rough terrain of more dirt roads while observing squatters and creatively constructed houses, children playing and mothers working all along the Mekong River. The Mekong is one of the world’s major rivers; it’s the 11th-longest river in the world, and 7th longest in Asia. After a few hours of touring around, we went for a drink along the river before returning our bikes. We uncovered a place with cheap Indian food (USD$5 for Chole curry and naan, garlic that is!) which was comparatively delicious to what I’ve had thus far. After getting adapted to the Thai Baht currency, it was weird to be exposed to a different form of money, especially the Lao Kip in its large denominations (USD$1= 8450 Kip).

There was a fabulous and surprisingly large market that came alive at night. It sold souvenirs, clothing, and art which was all very different from what I’d find in Thailand. After dinner, we left for another city called Vang Vieng. Looking back now, I would recommend staying in Luang Prabang for more than one day; I found myself missing it once we hit our next destination. We arrived in Vang Vieng early morning, around 3am and checked into the first hostel we found called NaNa Guesthouse, which definitely wasn’t as nice as Sacharinh. Vang Vieng pretty much consisted of one lengthy dirt road lined with a few restaurants, hostels, and convenience shops. We spent about 16 hours in total there (which I thought to be enough). We dedicated the day to tubing down the same river we biked along the previous day and it was worth coming all the way to Vang Vieng for that. As we floated down the river, we passed an assortment of bars with water slides, swings, and beach volleyball courts, used to lure in the passerby tourists. Each of them blasted a different genre of music and it felt like I was tuning a radio looking for the right station. When we passed the sign for “last bar” the scene became quiet and incredibly peaceful with nothing but a breathtaking view of the mountains surrounding us. Three of us held hands as we drifted down the river on our tubes but we lost our three other friends. After two hours of tubing, we were wondering where the end of the route was and where our friends were, who also happened to have the waterproof bag with our money and cameras in it. As more time passed until we continued to see nothing in sight that might be the end, we heard lighting in the distance above us and we felt a cold drizzle. We half-joked about what we were fearful of at that point; getting hypothermia, getting struck my lighting, and/or showing up in a town we don’t know of in our bathing suits and getting exploited because of our empty pockets (or complete lack thereof)! Of course, none of that happened and we reached the sign saying “End of tubing” and we found the other three and all was well.

Once again, we took an evening van to our subsequent destination, Vientiane, which is Lao’s capital and largest city. We arrived early enough to go out and get ice-cream but soon after, we all hit the bed, especially because by this point, at least four people in my group of six were sick. Since there wasn’t too much to do in Vientiane according to our trusty Lonely Planet guide book and from what we’ve heard from friends and acquaintances, our goal for the next day was to sort out our method of transportation and visa to Vietnam. We also found falafels at a place called Mr. Falafel and it was fabulous! Surprisingly, there was a big group of Africans hanging out in Mr. Falafel and I kept trying to decipher where in Africa they were from but I couldn’t tell. We originally planned to take a 24-hour long bus ride from Vientiane to Hanoi, Vietnam but after spending almost two days total cooped up in van already, we weren’t easily willing to do it again for an even longer stretch of time. Plus most of us still had swollen ankles, or cankles rather, from the previous bus/van rides. We managed to find a deal at a travel agency that included a flight with Vietnam Air, and the visa in three hours processing time. It was a risky time crunch but we made the flight (which we booked five hours ahead) and we reached Hanoi within an hour, no problem. One minor hurdle was that I forgot to take out my Swiss-army knife from my hand luggage and after going through security, I was stopped and asked to remove my knife. I was undeniably nervous because they took my passport and started recording my details. Turns out, they were taking down my name so that they could return my knife once we arrived in Hanoi. Go Vietnam Air!

At first, I really liked the hustle and bustle of Hanoi. Motor scooters dominated the road, honking was not limited to a purpose, and there were more people sitting on bath stools along the sidewalk while eating and drinking than in actual restaurants. It was our first opportunity to experience some sort of night life without being dead tired since we left Thailand but unfortunately, there wasn’t much of it. There was a midnight curfew, that means everyone has to be in their place of residence before midnight by law…or else. I was reading an article about the curfew and the author cleverly described it as “kind of like an eight grade birthday party.” It’s comical but true. Vietnam is a Socialist country so that probably has a lot to do with the curfew and further explains government control over things like Vietnam’s media sector to follow the official communist party line.

The following day, we attempted to complete a walking tour of a portion of Hanoi called Old Quarter. It was mostly stressful and terrifying for me. Personally, I experienced more culture shock that day than I ever have here in Thailand. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack every time I had to cross the street, and finding vegetarian food was a bit of a challenge. Even buying fruits on the street proved to be a swindle because women were charging USD$1 for an apple, yes USD not Dong, the Vietnamese currency. We thought Laotian Kip was complicated to handle, the Dong came in an even greater demonination with USD$1= 16750 Dong! $1 may seem inexpensive but I rate prices relatively; in Thailand, we could get a full and satisfying meal of yellow curry, rice, fresh cucumbers on the side, and water for about that much, so I was certainly not going to get ripped off paying a buck for a banana! We eventually found a touristy but affordable restaurant called Tamarind that sufficed out vegetarian needs.

Hanoi was the capital of Vietnam for almost a thousand years (1010 to 1802) and is considered to be the cultural center of Vietnam, where supposedly every dynasty has left behind their imprint. We read about the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi, modeled after Lenin’s tomb in Moscow and firmly decided that if anything, we had to visit the mausoleum. Ho Chi Minh wanted to be cremated and have his ashes in urns buried on hilltops of Vietnam ⁽because “Not only is cremation good from the point of view of hygiene but also it saves farmland”), so obviously the “honor” of having his own mausoleum violates his last wishes. Alas, the embalmed body is sent to Russia to be maintained during two months of the year, one of them being October. So we settled for the Ho Chi Minh Museum which is dedicated to his life and work.

One evening, we watched a Vietnamese Water Puppet Show. Water puppetry originated in the delta of the Red river in the tenth century. The farmers in this region devised a form of entertainment using natural medium available to them in their environment. This art form is unique to North Vietnam so although the show wasn’t anything spectacular, it was a worthy cultural experience.

We spent the last three days in Vietnam coasting on the Ha Long Bay, another UNESCO world heritage site featuring thousands of limestone karsts, isles, and beautiful mountains. We spent a night in a hotel and one night on an old boat with about ten other people. We had a really difficult time enjoying the food provided for us on this tour, mostly because each meal consisted of rice, Chinese broccoli, fish patties, squid salad, and if we were lucky, French fries and tofu, half of which I can’t each. However, the view of the bay and the stars from the top of the boat made everything worthwhile. I felt like we could see every star in the galaxy. It made me reminiscent of the time we went camping in Johannesburg, South Africa and there were no lights at night besides that of the moon and stars. Anyway, a few of us fetched our ipods, claimed our spots on the reclining chairs, and devoted the night to stargazing. We saw quite a few shooting stars too!

The final day on the boat, we went cayaking and swimming in the bay after a dispensible and flustering argument with the Vietnamese workers and the capitan, who required us to check out before so that we wouldn’t have access to the showers. This is when I noticed the cultural differences between the tourists on the boat and the Vietnamese workers. When hearing that we couldn’t shower properly after swimming, some of the Americans protested immediately. There was a quarrel between some Americans, and a British woman and the Vietnamese workers about checking out after so that we could shower. The Vietnamese people were yelling and most likely cursing at us in Vietnamese while the Americans were buttering on the attitude and complaining about not getting what was paid for. After the tension and negativity on the boat, we were taken to a portion of the bay that was littered with trash an oil, “here, swimming. 20 minutes” the Vietnamese workers said. We looked over th boat and thought, out of all places on this beautiful bay, they take us here, that’s a bit ironic. There were two British men on the boat as well who had been living in Phuket, Thailand for a few years. They slyly paid the captain more money than they should have to take us to another more acceptable part of the bay to swim. That was really nice of them and I could tell, the Thai way of poignant generosity has rubbed off on them already. They explained how the Ha Long Bay tour company in Vietnam monopolizes the sector and whether or not one batch of tourists is satisfied doesn’t affect the ones coming in soon after. Plus, the people who actually work on the boat don’t get paid enough to be inspired to practice “good customer service.” On the other side of the spectrum, there was a Japanese couple on the boat as well and as soon as they heard about checking out right away, they showered quickly in their room and progressed to playing cards in the dining area on the boat while everyone else bickered in the back. I respect their behavior but I also wonder to what extent we’re supposed to demand what we deserve (or at least what we paid for) and when we need to realize that sparking a feud is futile.

Although we had an enlightening and mostly pleasant quasi-backpacking experience, we were happy to leave Vietnam. I realized how much I love Thailand, the culture, people, and I’m not going to lie; the prices as well! It was really good to be “home.”

Chetna