Saying goodbye to a few of my favourite things

I can't say I had a big "finding myself" moment or anything but it has been an experience of a lifetime and if I've learned anything it's to appreciate the small things and to not be afraid to ask questions and just figure it out as you go (mini freak-outs permitted). I may complain about the bugs, the humidity, lack of sidewalks or the general lack of organization but there are definitely some things that I will miss. A lot.

So here's to the beautiful family who runs Boom Boom travel and set me up with my visas, bus and plane tickets, the staff at the Golden Gate Hotel which was my home for a month and took the best care of me (including when I passed out in their dining room), hopping on one of the motos on every corner to get wherever you need for $1, my favourite local BKK market where you could find absolutely anything without being hassled and my love-hate relationship with the crazy streets lined with convenient stores which are indeed very convenient. A special shout out to all the amazing new friends I made and hope to stay in touch with and all the great clubs and teams I joined that kept me from being anti-social when I was feeling homesick (dodgeball, the hike group, nerd night, book club). I never dreamt I would have so many things to miss and I will always smile when I think of all the amazing people I've met.

Polo is my trusted tuk tuk driver. We became quick buddies from my first week here and I called him whenever I needed to go somewhere pre-planned. When my mom and Lynda came, Polo was happy to take them out while ensuring me "I'll take good care of them for you". He also made me cry when hugging me goodbye at the airport by saying "don't forget me". I died. 

Badly translated signs are an endless source of entertainment. 

Same goes with t-shirts. I've lost count of the times I've seen locals wear shirts knowing they have no idea what they say. (For example, "a apple a day keeps the STD away"... Ummmm)

The act of a bunch of children yelling hello at you and running over for high fives is something we warmly refer to as "the hello ambush". 

Out of the million DVD shops in town, this was my favourite.  She is so incredible sweet and usually the only person who knew what I was asking for half the time.

There is something so refreshing about a coconut being cracked open for you on the spot. Saves the day if you are dehydrated too! These guys are everywhere and you can get one for 2000 riel (50/cents). Fresh pressed cane juice makes it into this category too.  

What am I going to do without my mango guy?! He always stopped if he saw me walking and I even had his number in case I ran out. 

Weekly dodgeball! 

Day trip to climb Chisor Mountain with the girls. 

Failed attempt at a jumping photo on Koh Ta Kiev island during New Years with Holly and Jordan. 

Celine and the random bouncy castle. 

My roomie, fellow Canadian and soul sister Aviva. 

The night market farewell dinner to enjoy my favourite $1.50 meal and the best company a girl could ask for.
 

Ho Chi Minh round two

We were back in HCMC for 2 nights before taking the scenic route back to Phnom Penh. Since we saw quite a few of the must-sees the first visit here, we did more walking and stopped by a couple buildings we missed the first time around. We also knew what to expect so we weren't as thrown off by the craziness. However, I was still looking forward to getting back "home" to Phnom Penh which now seems so sweet and quaint.

After visiting the busiest post office in Vietnam and the Notre Dame Cathedral which is another French Colonial building that draws thousands of tourists. After another delicious dinner (I aware to you every meal I had was so good), we saw the Ao Show at the beautiful Opera house. The show is an art performance that reflects the spirit of the Vietnamese people and their heritage. A combination of story telling through music, acrobatics and dance made for a wonderful show. We could not take pictures so take a look at the trailer here.

To top off our visit we arranged a 2 day tour back to Phnom Penh by bus and boat. Day 1 was 6 hours on the bus with a visit to the Mekong Delta floating village in the middle. After seeing my fair share of people living on boats, the highlight was seeing how coconut candy, puffed rice and snake wine was made. Of course I was happy to taste test everything. Except the wine. I left that one up to my mom. Day 2 was an early start where we took a 5 hour boat into Phnom Penh. Aside from the deafening motor, it was a nice to switch up the scenery and chat up some other travellers.

I'll admit that the post office was pretty neat. However you had to swim through people inside to actually mail anything. 

The Cathedral which is only open to the public during Sunday mass. 

Hair cut anyone?

Cross this street without a break in traffic? No problem! 

Pho with the roomie. Just. So. Good.

Of course I forgot to take a picture of the outside of the Opera house, so here is the inside. 

Rice transport. 

The river is lined with shops and houses. 

These and small narrow row boats are everywhere. 

There are several stories as to why fishermen paint eyes on their boat but it seems the most common one is to help them find their way home and scare off sea monsters. 

Snake wine. Not going down well apparently. 

The sun drying out rice paper. 

Coconut candy. Yes. I got 6 packages. 

Unless at a restaurant in the tourist parts of town, meals are usually family style. I love it. 

Our sweet ride (cyclo) to the boat in the morning. Our driver kept turning around while biking around and asking for a tip. And I kept saying "ya, ya, just get us there first". Yeesh. 

Our boat at the border. They didn't even take our bags out. Just processed the visas. 

We chose to sit in the back instead of inside. Which was a good choice if you wanted to stretch out. I may have lost some hearing but it was quite enjoyable. 

A fitting send off

Our last two days in Hoi An were gloriously uneventful. When not hiding from the blaring afternoon sun at our homestay, we have gone for morning bike rides to the beach and evening dinners out.

We also made a point of seeing a water puppet show at the small theatre in town. Water puppetry is a tradition that dates back to the 11th century. The performance is done with wooden puppets controlled by a long pole. The puppeteers stand in waist deep water and are usually hidden behind a screen. The show was small and quaint compared to big city performances but we enjoyed the story despite heat and the narrative being in Vietnamese.

Our final night was spent over more tasty food and a final send off by sending two lanterns down the river. These paper lanterns are lit up with a small candle and are considered good luck. You can buy as many as you like from one of the ladies patrolling the bridge and help set them in the water with a long pole.

So long Hoi An! It's been lovely.

Can't get enough of the architecture. 

People being rowed down the river.

The puppeteers thanking the audience.

There were 6 scenes. In this one, farmers are trying to catch some fish. 

Being a tourist. Even though they practically set the contraption and hat on you before you can refuse, they still expect you to buy fruit afterwards. Saying "no thanks" gets extremely exhausting. 

Biking through "the suburbs". 

We have been eating strictly Vietnamese food since arriving. We also haven't met a piece of street food we haven't liked.  We would go back to the same people for specific things and they would be so happy to see us.  

Eco tours. A popular way to get around. 

What we assume is a local boat taxi. 

The street lateens are the best. The cute local kids aren't bad either. 

I was determined to find the oldest lady I could find to buy from. She was adorable. 

We're ready for our good luck! 

The charm continues

After spending so much time in crazy cities, Hoi An is the perfect place to slow down, pick and choose what feel like doing even if it’s just strolling through the town or lounging at our homestay. I’ll admit that I wish I could have an entire new wardrobe and new shoes made here as the area is well known for its abundance of good quality tailors. Very few regular clothing stores here and it definitely contributes to the town’s character.

We spent one morning exploring Marble Mountain, which is a 40-minute drive into the neighbouring town of Da Nang. We tackled one of five and each have caves, tunnels and several Buddhist sanctuaries within the mountains making it a popular tourist destination. The area is well known for sculpture and craft making and the roads are lined with shops incase you feel the need for a 10 foot marble Buddha in your house. As usual, without the help of a map or signs we wandered around until we found pathways and caves to explore. Pretty sure we missed a couple things since we somehow ended up at the bottom of the mountain at a different entrance than the one we came up.

That evening the owner of our lovely homestay, Mr. Phuc, took us on a bike tour of the area. We cruised through rice fields, dodged under tents in the market, said hello to some students at the local school and stopped at his friends cooking school for a rest. It was nice to have a guide and our stay at his historical house has been lovely, including the language barrier with the staff that usually ends in us both laughing when we don’t understand.

The previous days bike ride was good practice for our trip to the beach. The traffic is not nearly as crazy as in HCM or Hanoi but you still have to pay 100% attention since most people fail to look before turning onto the street or whizz by unnervingly close with only their horn to warn you at the last second. Unfortunately the waves were too big to enjoy much of a swim but we enjoyed parking ourselves under an umbrella for a good part of the day instead. People watching and chatting with the local bracelet sellers about how “funny happy” we are made for a good afternoon.

Our homestay from across the river. 

One of my new favourite ladies! 

There was no reason to believe this was a tunnel I should be crawling into, but I gave it a try and it turned into another cave! 

One of multiple statues carved into the existing rock. 

A view well worth the 600 steps (and on vivid colour mode).

Another spectacular cave which is much larger than the picture shows. 

Bike tour lesson #1. How to avoid scooters, other bikes, cars and cows. 

Baby water buffalo keeping cool. 

Mom leading the way. 

Cua Dai Beach. Nothing fancy but no complaints here. 

Traditional bamboo bucket fishing boats. I can't imagine these being good in anything but perfect weather but they make it work.