Sihanoukville, Cambodia

The Beach

The Sunset

These kids wouldn't leave us alone, but I thought they were adorable. They tried to sell us fruit and wouldn't go away until some was purchased, but I didn't want some. So, they came up for a solution, which was for me to buy some fruit and split it with them. I did as they said and bought them some of their own fruit.

Thanksgiving in Phnom Penh

The CIEE group in Cambodia on the river in Phnom Penh for Thanksgiving Dinner, which was not turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, or apple pie, but vegetable stir-fry prawns, beef skewers, and fruit. I'll be sure to make up for at Christmas dinner :).

The sunset in Phnom Penh on Thanksgiving.

The Power of One (Crazy Person), Not at all good in this situation

All these pictures are from the Cambodian Genocide in 1975 to 1979. Pol Pot was the head of the Khmer Rouge and led a "revolution." Nearly 2 million people died. The last two pictures are from the S21 prison, which is were they brought people who the Khmer Rouge thought were traders, they would interrogate them through torture and then kill them.


The "Killing Tree" where Khmer Rouge soldiers would smash babie's and children's skulls against the tree

The children were brainwashed and trained to be soldiers on the Khmer Rouge side for when the Vietnamese invaded Cambodia. They were trained to kill for the people who killed most of their parents.

People were starved, even though they were forced to harvest plenty of rice a day.

The rules of the S21 prison, they are so insane. I don't know why the picture is flipped, but try to read it if you can.

TREES!!!!!

This temple in Angkor is where scenes from the movie "Tomb Raider" were shot. The trees decorating the walls are unreal. You can see the roots cover the walls from top to bottom, side to side.

Angkor!!!!

Angkor!!!! Spectacular

I don't really have much to say about these photos, they kind of explain themselves. They are from Angkor, an ancient city in Cambodia. Construction on these temples started as early as the 8th century and went on until the 12th century. Really just amazing stuff. Unfortunately, I did not go on an elephant ride, but I got a picture of it!!! :)

The sun sets and rises no matter where you stand in the world :)

The sunrise at Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  I would get up at 4 30 every morning if this is what I would be waking up to!!!

This is how we spent our first night in Cambodia, not so shabby.  After hiking up a mountain for 15 minutes we reached an ancient temple, where we had to climb super steep steps in order to sit at the top and watch the sun go down.

Laos

I got soaked at this waterfall and ended up slipping in the mud.  My clumsiness got the best of me and I was covered in mud, so I had to rinse my bum off in the river like a child.

We come from different worlds...

At a temple in Laos.  The girls had to wear these traditional skirts.  I was not a huge fan, they were not very fashionable and they were very itchy.

I liked this tree.  Isn't it pretty?  Very colorful, just my style ;)

This man is cool

Your typical rest stop......in Laos

So we were on our way from Central Vietnam to Laos and we asked to stop for some snacks, thinking we would end up at a convenience store or something relatively close to one at least.  Instead, the bus stops on the side of the road and we all pile out.  There were probably around twenty wooden stalls, all operated by women, selling different kinds of foods.  Not chips or candy but......

Crickets, yes I had one.  They were kind of like peanuts, salty and crunchy.

Frogs

Birds, some were happily alive, others looked like this...

Bag of snakes just on the ground in the middle of where we walked, a couple of us almost stepped on them.

The Thien Mu Pagodo in Hue is the stacked looking figurine in Hue.  One of the oldest Pagodas in Vietnam.

Sam and I getting some shade under a royal vern at the royal palace in Hue.

The image with the house was the King's stomping grounds in the early 1900s, also in Hue, Vietnam.  The man had 103 wives and no children.  I can only think of two reasons why one man could have so many wives and no offspring.....

These are cool Buddha sculptures from the ethnic group Champa in Central Vietnam.  There were so many I just chose a few to show you.  All were very cool!!

The Vietnamese woman in this picture with me was the woman who made my nice silk shorts for me.  She was hilarious, but tried to rip us off at the same time.  We would try to negotiate with her and she would raise the price from her original quote.  She actually hit one of my friends when he gave her a lower price and giggled about it and then when he paid her she "forgot to give him change."  She is also half my size as you can see, everyone here is.

The sunset at the beach in Hoi An, so pretty.  We went swimming, well three out of eleven of us did, myself included.  The water was perfect.  Women walk around trying to sell things and they always sport the conical hats.

Sam and I on bikes in Hoi An (Central Vietnam).  A historical town with historical prices.  We rented bikes for about 60 cents for two hours!  Totally worth it!!!!

All the roads were dirt in this town.  It was a blast to pedal through them!

The bridge is an ancient Japanese bridge built during the 17th century on the river, very beautiful!  

UNESCO world heritage site the Champa Sanctuary at My Son in Central Vietnam 

My Son

The remains of the early Champa civilization in Central Vietnam (7th Century BCE).

If you look closely you can see the old script on the stone.

The Holy Mountain in My Son

The silk worms used to make Vietnamese Silk, which they are very proud of.  I had some shorts made for pajamas.  They were about 8 bucks, made for my measurements and delivered to my hotel within 12 hours.  ;)

Tree outside Pagoda

Inside the Temple