Thursday, Feb 21, 2008

Vientiane is a wonderful city. I felt entirely at east here, even though we arrived at 6am and had to walk around for a bit to find a guesthouse with available rooms.

The city is quiet but busy, the markets are clean(er) and the vendors are much less pushy, the weather was hot and crisp and the roads perfectly inviting for a day-long bike tour of the city. I visited some beautiful Wats, including the most famous Wat in Vietntiane Wat: Wat Pha That Luang:

This temple seemed to be made entirely from gold, or at least covered in gold flakes. It's color and brightness was overwhelming and made the day seem hotter than it was. Never have I seen a better color combination between architecture and sky--each color made the other much more dramatic.
We got lost on our way back and took an easy night. I think we may go to Vang Vien tomorrow afternoon or late morning. I might not go because I might have a party to go to... got the invite son!

Well.. didn't end up attending. Instead we met up with Laura and Nathan who were finally able to catch up with us. We took the late morning to explore one of the last sites in Vientiane and that was the Buddha park, home of the famous reclining Buddha, 25km from city-center.

This place was filled with statues, ranging from both the buddhist and hindu traditions. It is a very interesting place, full of photo opportunities. My favorite sculpture was of an orb, symbolizing the entirety of life on earth; on the insde were three levels: one depicting hell, the others, heaven and life on earth. When you reached the top of the sculpture was an opening which stood 10 meters abover everything else in the park. And on top of this orb was the tree of life--definitely a great piece.

After we were filled with the many buddhas and multpile faced gods we went back to Vietntiane and head off to Vang Vien.

Not only did we spend, and exhaust, two days in Loas' capital city of Vientiane, but we did so with the company of Laura and Nathan who were finally able to catch up with us.

Monday, Feb 18, 2008

We arrived in Chamapak around 1pm and hurridly hired a tuk-tuk to show us Wat Phou, a Famous World Heritage site. We checked this place out, although it was dotted with hundreds of locals as there was a large festival needing to be prepared for in two days. We lucked out because it would have been heaps worse.We decided it'd be best to head back to Pakse for the night, instead of finding a place in Champasak we headed back to Pakse, and, again, met up with the Joes.

The following day was such a great day: full of waterfalls and motorbikes. We drove for hours and saw the following waterfalls:

1) E-Tu Waterfall;2) Tad Niang;3) Tad Fane; and
4) Tad PaxuamEach was a huge surprise--we were planning on visiting only one, maybe two of these falls. Each had a rickety staircase. Tad Fane was the biggest waterfall I have ever seen in my life and therefire I must say was my favorite. But based on feeling, surroundings and beauty, I'd say I liked Tad Niang most. There was a natural viewing platform comprised of a small mountain of rock and soil positioned as if made to contemplate these huge falls--interesting.

We leave this evening on V.I.P. Overnight bus for Vientiane. 13 hours.

Sunday, Feb 17, 2008

This morning at breakfast, I bump into Nathan and Laura (from the Mekong boat trip and Phnom Phen)! Stoked. I invited them over to join us for breakfast and spent the day, myself and Johanneke, Nathan and Laura, and Joe and Joe on a Laos Boat (a very thin wooden canoe--with the tendency to tip, take water and never go straight) pushing our way through rough current to a secluded beach on the other side of the Mekong.

Its so great to meet up with old friends (about one week old, to be exact), both for the stories we share and the catching up we do, and of course the quality time, which is all the time. We loosely set plans to meet up in Vientiane or Vang Vien in Northern Laos at the end of this week. The origianl four of us set off for towns further north. Johanneke and I are going to Champasak to check out another Wat and the Joes are spending the night in Pakse--I think that's the plan.

Its sad to leave good friends--whom I want to travel with--so soon, but I know our paths will, and HAVE to cross in Vang Vieng, or else the universe will explode.

Saturday, Feb 16, 2008

We arrived yesterday late afternoon by moto, bus, bus, boat, bus, bus, boat (that's 4 buses and 2 boats!) to Si Phon Don, a small group of islands located in the area of the Mekong River known as "4,000 Islands."

The first thing that happened to us when we exited our personal boat that was ready for us on the mainland was.. nothing. And surprisingly so! It was unbelievable that no one would beg us to stay at their bungalow, or rent their bikes or force us to make a rash decision on where we might want to eat, drinks, stay, or how to get around. I knew I was going to love this place; and I have so much so far.

Johanneke and I walked around the island and sat on a bridge (connecting Don Det to Don Khone) to rest. There I ran into Oefie, an Irish woman who I had met in Saigon not four and a half weeks earlier! Small world. We arranged a time to meet for dinner and then we met up with the Joe's from Ban Lung, from two nights before. What a great time. Also, this is the rice pudding over here: chocolate, coconut, hidden bananas, and probably condensed milk and rice:


Si Phon Don, more specifically, Don Det pretty much equals "nothing to do but relax." Not finding a bungalow with a hammock is impossible. This should give you an idea of the laid-back-ness of this place. For some it is a haven for illicit drug use and happy shakes, but for others (myself included) it is perf for the max relax.

Our first full day was spent bike riding, coincidentally bumping into the Joes again, around the island of Don Det and crossing the Bridge to nearby Don Khone. This island boasts a very large series of tumbling waterfalls, which, after blowing out one of my tires and returning it for a replacement I really enjoyed. I could not keep up with the number of waterfalls and cascades; each time I walked 10 meters down the river there were 15 more waterfalls: some small, others large, some immediately close, and others 100 meters off on the horizon. It was a remarkable place.
From there we rode to a small and private beach. I scrambled some rocks and soaked up some sun. We returned back to Don Det's "city center," but not before stopping an enjoying--at length--a delicious lunch, including many pastries from The Bakery.

The bike ride was draining and so we retired. Hammock lazing is great.

Now I am on the porch of my bungalow, watching the greens darken as the sun sets not wanting to leave this place. So I don't think I will just yet.

Thursday, Feb 14, 2008

I know its been a while since my last update but internet has been really expensive here and there and slow az. As I write t his now, I am facing a beautifully peaceful river, also in front of my favorite tree I have seen in a week. So, starting from a few days ago:

And the latest "here" and "there" are Kratie and Rattanakiri Province, among others. Early on 12 February I sadly left Courtney and Mel and hoped on a bus to a small town called Kratie, whose highlight attraction are freshwater dolphins and a good sunset. I chose not to embark on the expensive journey for the brief moment of seeing a mammal breathe then submerge not to be seen again by my eyes, so I enjoyed the quiet town and became reacquainted with Kryie whom I had met in Siem Reap at Ta Prohm. She was with Johanneke, another girl who we met on a bus trip from Siem Reap to Phnom Phen. The town was so quiet and I met many locals and enjoyed an early night and morning to relax with before yet another bus further north to the province of Rattanakiri.

This was a great place: small, excellent guesthouse and an even more spectacular environment. I traveled with Johanneke and this other girl named Erika and split a room to make it a bit cheaper. We woke early the next morning and rented bikes to ride to the crater (volcanic or meteoric) lake, "Yeak Loam." It was beautiful and some of the first freshwater we were able to swim in. I hiked a few kilometers around the circumference of the lake. There we met other travelers, two from England (Joe and Joe) and Yanna and Sanna (from Germany and Holland respectively). We made plans to meet up that evening for drinks at their hotel and left to seize more of the day.

I hired a private motorbike driver to give me a tour of two local waterfalls that were popular in the area. The first, Katieng, was very large, and beautiful, and best of all.. quiet--no one was around. The second, Cha Ung, was crawling with people but the falls were a tad bigger and slightly more aesthetically pleasing, but again, the large quantities of Cambodians bathing in the river denied me an opportunity to sit quietly with the waterfall; although, it did give me a cultural appreciation for those in the country I have been traveling and enjoying quite a bit.After our ride through Rubber Trees and Rubber Nut shrubs I returned with enough time to veg-out, recoup some energy and spend the night with new friends. Tomorrow I go to a new country: Laos.

Sunday, Feb 10, 2008

Having bought a three-day pass (either one-day, three-day or week-long.. great selection) I obviously want to get my fill of Wats. With this in mind I set my alarm for 6:30am and was out the door before 7 with a bike that I would ride into the "park."

The ride took about 45 minutes this morning, close to an hour, but I was treated with a quiet observation of "the tree" at Ta Prohm. It certainly is a magnificent place. About ten minutes after I arrived the effect vanished as BUS LOADS of Chinese and Japanese poured in from BOTH sides of the Temple almost entirely consuming the tree, roots, view finder, and atmosphere. It was a shame, but gave me reason for pressing on. The grounds at Ta Prohm are huge and I explored them decently enough.

Here is my last photo before the "tourists" and this one seconds after they arrived--literally seconds; they flooded the place as if there was a race to the roots, as you can tell: multiple poses going on here.
From there I rode my bike to Takeo,l another pyramid-type temple, which was enjoyable but a little crowded so I left on a long bike ride--after breakfast--to a temple I seemed to have missed the previous two days: Banteay Kdei. Afterward, I triple-backed over the same road, past Ta Prohm, past Takeo to the small and secluded ruined temple of Tanei. I couldn't have more pleased with this place. So quiet, so natural; I felt as though I was the first to come upon it. There were no obvious signs of restoration and with the combination of the wind, the deafening silence and the mossy dark sandstone this place was heaven compared to many of the other temples in the area. I soaked up as much of this zen as I could and took it with me to Thammanon and Chau Say Tevoda temples, then finally back to Angkor Wat.

Angkor Wat is HUGE. The scale, compared to other Wats, is at least double, possibly triple the size. And I'm just comparing the size and height of the temples inside the city walls and inside the barricaded protecting wall. The land is enormous around the Wat and I felt dwarfed by it's size and what must have taken place there hundreds of years ago. Visiting this place, among all of the other Wats has stoked my interest in the History of the Angkor people and I will certainly feed my curiosity when I have time to.

At this point I must biked over 28km, in the blazing hot, unforgiving, sun. I was tired and visited every single major site in Angkor and beyond. I returned to my hotel at 2pm, when I said I'd meet back up with the girls. Since then I've been trying to make room on my laptop for all of these pictures (since the new camera has a slightly larger file size than the old), and making sure I know which pictures go with which Wats. I must have visited 25 wats. Phew. It was worth each second and each sunburned skin-cell but I can say for sure that I am shot, and definitely ready to return back to Phnom Phen to secure my visa into Laos, a cheap night's sleep, and a day of reading.

Saturday, Feb 9, 2008

The long distance Wats are on out list of things to see today. After hiring a tuk-tuk (this time ensuring that he spoke English and was good-hearted, which he was) we set off for the distant temple of Kbal Spean. After almost an hour of tuk-tuk riding, which really is that great after the first time you ride one, we confronted a rather large detour--actually, one where there was no detour. The main bridge connecting one side of a river to the next (that which contains two great sites) had collapsed under the weight of an enormously heavy truck transporting sand. The bridge was made of metal but, and tell me how this makes sense, its supports were made of wood. Not surprisingly the bridge was reduced to legos and the driver as trapped inside the cab. Our driver mentioned that this happened another time, three years ago.

We waded through the river water to get to the other side to explore Banteay Srei, known for its great intricate etches. It was worth it, because some of these threshold carvings and designs were genius. I am befuddled to understand the time and skill required to produce some of these pieces of art. Not withstanding, the surrounding grounds were impressive as a moat encompassed the inner temple and it wasn't as crowded as it could've been... having the bridge prevent the large tour caravans and all.

We waded back through the river and headed back the long road, not being able to view Kbal Spean. Bummer. In lieu of this obstacle we visited Banteay Samre. Headed west for me to climb a billion stairs (yeah, a billion) to quietly contemplate the ruins of Phnom Bak. The road after this was AWFUL. the LONGEST, SANDIEST, BUMPIEST, DUSTIEST, WORST road on the planet to ride a tuk-tuk on... and we were on it for ever.

Afterwards the temples of Roluos greeted us with unique architecture and great bricks for the setting sun to paint on. We were all very tired and Mel and Courtney were feeling under the weather, and it was the end of the day, so we returned to Siem Reap (on better roads). I watched the sunset from our open roofed restaurant. A good ending to a full day of tuk-tuk and wat.

Friday, Feb 8, 2008

Wat-explorage day kicked off at 9:30am and lasted until 7pm.

Mel, Courtney and I first entered the huge fortified city of Angkor Thom where I found my favorite (so far) Wat of the Day. Upon first entering the first temple, Bayon, I was blown away with the immensity of these grounds. There are I believe 54 towers, each of which is etched with a 3-dimensional smiling face. We took out time around these premises and then wandered to another area of the walled city.
Baphuon was another temple (under heavy renovation/construction) but was worth the high, steep steps to view the crane and scaffloding!

With that bore behind us--which it hardly was, because to create something of this design and stature in 1200 A.D. is quite imperssive--we entered the royal palace walls and quiety toured Phimeanakas a pyramid-like structure which was pretty cool, but hard to remember because what came next took my breath away!

PREAH PALILAY. I can't say anything more:
Next was Tep Pranam, followed closely and quickly by Prasat Suor Prat and the Terraces of both the Leper King and of the Elephants.

We visited several more temples after we left the City (including Preah Khan and Neak Poan) ate ate lunch, having to haggle the store vendors down from $3 a meal to $1.50 a meal, and still we paid .50 more than Cambodians.. I must admit that this place is leaving a very poor taste in my mouth only because so many people are selling needless things and aren't really selling them, but, rather, forcing you to buy them or make a deal with them: "hello sir, would you like cold drink? $2 how much you pay?" Let's make a deal.. no. Each time you enter a temple you don't have time to reflect on what you experienced not two seconds earlier because every single person that sells something is running toward you, merchandise in hand, annoying you, haggling you, and not getting out of your way--it's frustrating, but usually I reply with something smart, but it usually goes unheard. One little girl (while visiting [[[[[) could count to 10 in every language, even Irish! Many of the children sell post cards and are very smart and speak excellent English, like our friend Gia, but should stay in school instead of harassing everyone and their mother's at the one place that should be the center of their country's pride! Although, many ssay they need the money to pay for book to go to school, so...

We hit three more Wats, the first being my favorite, Ta Som: Next was Eastern Mebon and Pre Rup; both elegant but similar to the rest in stature and immensity.
A brief note: while taking photos of each place I play a game with myself which is "try to take a great photo, but without EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN SIEM REAP being in it." Its difficult but rewarding--random white and red t-shirts, purple caps and colorful dresses really ruin the ruins.

My other favorite (I had so many) was Ta Prohm, but the pictures I took were rather worthless because of the tourists just slothing all over the roots and temple--yuck. Very pretty though, if you could filter out the people. But it was disgusting here. The tourism is out of control, and this is the first place that I've felt naseaus just looking at people and tourists and everyone posing for a picture. It took about twenty minutes to snap this one because everyone takes turns posing with the incredible tree. I say everyone respect its beauty and enjoy a person free view of it.

Because of this we were quick to leave and just in time to meet the herd of people slowly moving up Phnom Bakheng to witness the same glorious sunset. This was the icing on the cake: first, because it was very beautiful and I was happy to see the sun which was baking my skin all day finally set; and two, because there were so many hundreds of people on this temple, with their cameras clicking away. Flashes all over the place and people yelling and calling out to others ruined what could have been and should have been a serene and tranquil sunset--yet, as happened all too often throughout the day, the beauty is disrupted and fleeting, and I was constantly reminded why this earth is dying and of modern humanity's eventual habit of destroying both history's and nature's more finer creations.

We have two more full days here, and there seems to be much more to see, so hopefully we can escape to more remote Wats and enjoy a quieter view of another sunset. Wish me luck!

Wednesday & Thursday, Feb 6 & 7, 2008

Today is walk around and absorb Phnom Phen day; and that we did with elegance-so much so that two police officers and their family, while celebrating Chinese New Year, invited us over for what turned out to be a 4 beer cheers! Lots of fun.

We were heading toward the Wat which is where the city was first founded, similar to our Plymoth Rock: Wat Phnom. A pretty grand sight.

On the way we ran into a herd of monkeys and played with them, as well as an elephant.

After stopping by the US Embassy for some free internet among other things we treated ourselves to expensive cocktails at an exclusive French Hotel (Le Hotel, to be exact). It was nice to play pool and then returned to our guesthouse to shower and get ready for a long trek to Wat-Town, better known as Siem Reap.

The majority of the following day was spent on the bus or in transit to Siem Reap. We arrived at two, found cheap lodging (7USD for a three bedder), and planned out the evening.

We heard that the sunset was an attraction at Angkor Wat (the city's claim to fame) and so we decided to check it out. It was flooded with tourists: many asians and Cambodians. We arrived just when the sun was at it's best and let loose the dancing shadows across each cuts and imperfection of the decaying temple's facade. The overwhelming number of people lessened the effect the sunset had on me, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

That was the day's highlight. Not much to report. Tomorrow begins the full Wat tour.

Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008

So I did it; I ate some pretty exotic foods. But we'll get to that later.

Today, we woke up early to get a head start on the day. The Genocide Museum at Tuol Sleng (Former Khmer Rouge S-21 Prison) was the first destination and proved to be the most intense as well.
Besides the history of the place, which you can discover on your own from Wikipedia or a website similar, closely rivaling the genocide Hitler was famous for, this school-turned-prison was a place where thousands of intellectuals, students, travelers, children, men and women of all ages, Buddhists, and anyone else who may pose as a "threat" (as loose as this sounds, it appears to fit well with the insanity the Pol Pot Regime was regarded with) were held, tortured, interrogated and slaughtered. Now a museum, each room revealed another death, another body, another weapon-of-choice, and another suddenly feeling of sadness, guilt, and pain. Each building (total of 4) was different--portraying types of containment, torture devices, men, women, (head shots and death-shots), and children.

It took about three hours to get through and took a lot out of us. I went there with Mel, Courtney, Nathan, Laura, Megan and Kyle. The trip was followed by a tuk-tuk ride to the Killing Fields where Pol Pot transfered thousands of unknowing enemy soldiers, his own personnel, and prisoners from S-21 and bludgeoned them all to death with clubs and bats and fists and prepared enormous graves in which they were to be buried. Mass groves, sometimes totaling over 250 people where excavated and their remains stationed in a large religious monument where lamenting music is played on top of the smell of incense and flowers paying homage to the victims of Pol Pot's insanity.
The day was hot and we returned to Phnom Phen to check out the local Russian Market, ate lunch, shopped around and shower to prepare for a rather big night.

The "bigness" of the night occurred when, after purchasing several types of insects and other delicacies, each of us ate our pick; and each of us ate quite well.

The night was late and I'm writing this from the top bunk of the OKAY Guesthouse, which I am paying 1USD for. I have no blanket, a fan a meter away from my shoulders, and another day ahead of me in Phnom Phen.

Monday, Feb 4, 2008

I joined a boat tour early Sunday morning at 7:30 to the Mekong Delta to see floating markets and heaps of touristy mumbo jumbo. And although I have been staying in the delta region for the past two weeks I felt that this re-visit (again, for the third time) was warranted as the following day allowed us access to Cambodia by boat, rather than by bus.
The floating markets, while in the morning are energetic, were entirely disappointing at 3pm. I was able to see how coconut candy was made and wrapped (entirely by hand and in minutes) as well as observing how rice can turn into popcorn in a vat of hot coals, separated and bagged all within seconds. It was all very drab but interesting. I think the worst part about it was it kitchy-touristy-overpriced crap everywhere, and that was rather disgusting in of itself.

The best part of this day was meeting Mel and Courtney, both from America and both great people. We laughed uncontrollably most of our first hours together, and by the end of the day the three of us had met and joined forces with 6 other travelers (4 of whom were heading to Cambodia as well). We spent the night on the boat in bunk beds but didn't use them until the whiskey I had boughgt (for 40,000 dong--ha!) and the beer that was on the frigate was consumed. That night was one I won't soon forget, and created solid friendships between almost everyone on the ship.

We woke at 4am to breakfast and a sunrise on the Mekong River where a more interesting Floating Market was taking place. This is when tradesmen and gatherers sells items and fruit and food and drink from their boats to other on their boats. So there are many boats and many colors, and was very interesting. I spent about 30 minutes just observing them with my binoculars. This was entirely better than the 3pm version!

From there we dragged slowly to the Cambodian boarder where we landed and hoped on a bus which should probably have held 12 people safely (including luggage) but instead held 23 (and also twice as much luggage). One poor man's seat was broken and sloping towards an open hole in the floor of the bus which gave him the zooming view of the rocky and tumultuous road which ran from the pier to Phnom Phen, Cambodia.

This city was shocking at first. Poverty, dirt, many people, many beggars, etc. It was similar to Viet Nam but certainly provided a clearer definition of "Third-World." Mel, Courtney and I found a place to stay for ONE US DOLLAR a night and our four other friends (Nathan and Laura, and Megan and her brother Kyle) found a hotel across from the street.

We went out for dinner and enjoyed it, as well as the company of a little 13 year old girl, Gia, who spoke incredibly good English. After some time we invited her to get ice cream with us, to which she was surprised, reluctant, but happy she came along (as were we) and we bought her some ice cream. The night ended in conversations on balconies and we're off to the Killing Fields tomorrow... heavy.

Saturday, Feb 2, 2008

After arriving from Phu Quoc, I was back in Saigon (3rd time this trip, so far) and in Phum Gnu Lao. This place is rather aggravating and full of western tourists and is leaving a bad impression on me.

On my way around town I picked up a new backpack (check), and did some laundry (check), and bought some travel books (Cambodia: check; Loas; check). I still needed a camera, and I asked a Vietnamese woman if I could borrow her membership card to a place similar to BJs or Costco, and she surprisingly handed it over! This was an excuse to travel into District 2 of Ho Chi Minh City, rather far away from district one, actually. Regardless, I was stoked because this is around a climbing gym, and when I mention a climbing gym, I mean the only climbing gym in Vietnam!

Well Metro had zero cameras within my budget. X-Spot Climbing was super decent and I had a blast climbing with the owner, Tim. The day was hot and sunny but the walls (being outdoors) provided some nice shade. The climbing area is comprised of aqn extinct man-made waterfall. It had about 12 routes, all top-roped, and were all pretty fun. The last route, the most difficult was a great challenge. The lunch I had was great and Tim and I discussed some exciting adventure opportunities in Hanoi. With business cards in hand .i had a bunch of grat almost-itineraries set for my trip to Hanoi, once I make it through Cambodia and Laos. Yes, I start this trip in less than 24 hours so wish me luck!

After climbing for several hours I was back in District 1 where I finally purchased a digital camera (Canon SD1000) after I met a kind Vietnamese-American man who helped me haggle with the store owners (check).

I'm ready for my trip and excited for it. Going solo will be excellent and I'll let you know how it really goes..

Thursday, Jan 31, 2008

I'm off again on my travels to let my mind chill out and let my body take a breather. The past week has been rather consuming: one of our housemates became very ill and to make a long story short--after rushing to Saigon from Can Tho (typically a5-4 hour drive, taking exactly 2.25 hours), and not sleeping, and being quite worried about Sarah, and then Kristen falling under the weather, and finding a hotel at last minute and then taking a bus all the way back to Can Tho (this time a 4 hour trip), and then still not getting a camera or a back-pack for my trip, and then leaving the next morning for my next leg of the journey--it's been a long week full of surprises.. unfortunate ones.

As you can see I certainly needed some time away from all of this turmoil. I chose for myy destination the small island (but rather large) of Phu Quoc, Vietnam. After a three hour--very bumping, very nauseating ride--I took a ferry. Two hours later and a drool soaked pillow I hauled myself onto Phu Quoc and found a bungalow about 6 minutes from the beach.

It was very relaxing. The first day I rented a motorbike and toured the souther half of the island extensively; it took all day and two full tanks of gas but was worth it for the ride back was an amazing experience. But before we get to the pictures of the ride back I visited Bai Sao, a small secluded beach near the south on the eastern coast of Phu Quoc. White sands and clear blue water reminded me of Byron Bay in Australia, but this beach was desolate. Empty frames of bungalows and hotels scattered the sands and there was only one restaurant on the beach.

Ok so, the way home started with this:

In the south it was a mix between desert, beach, red dirt (similar to the outback of Australia) and weird tropical jungle and mountaints. And closer to Duong Dong--where I'm staying--the sunset liughts the road on fire and the way home is great.

Sunset, red dirt road, and small towns (if you can call them that) spotting the way back home. Also, here, cows just walk around willy-nhilly--like, so many cows.

The food was great (like this pineapple, prepared right in front of me on the beach):

.. and not so great (I don't even know what this is):

it's eggs, but a dessert...

the people were great (like this crazy guy asking for handouts at the lighthouse):

the kids were great and cheerful:

and it was a good getaway and settled my mind. I read my book and received a Vietnamese oil massage... on the BEACH! The three days flew by (while taking the time to write this did not!)

My last night held a great sunset
and I was off the next morning on a plane back to Saigon to check up on Sarah, to buy a camera and a backpack and to figure out just what the heck I'm doing with the rest of my time in Southeast Asia.