I’m now in Nha Trang, Vietnam’s only real beachside town (so I’ve read). It’s lovely here except for the 4-metre high waves. The weather isn’t great which explains the choppy sea but I’m enjoying my stay here. My room has a view of the ocean. Nice eh? It’s the best hotel I’ve stayed in so far.

I’ve stayed in some interesting places. Dripping taps, all night karaoke bars, pungent bathrooms, a cockroach or two. My favourite was the room with no windows.

I went on a boat trip today to some islands not far from the town. Enjoyed a fabulous lunch and read for a bit on a beach. Tomorrow I go back to Saigon and then, home. I’m ready for it now. I would however like to come back here again someday.

I’ll upload some photos as soon as I get home.

Li hai (“good-bye” in Cambodian). My Vietnamese isn’t so hot.

Hordes of motorbikes and the occasional car do not stop if they see you. They dodge you. To cross, you need to do as the locals – walk out on the street without hesitating. Don’t look left or right and don’t hesitate — ever. It’s counter-intuitive for me (and most westerners) but it’s the only way to get across safely. I won’t miss this when I’m home. Tonight I took another ride on a motorbike taxi so I could avoid crossing the streets!

I forgot to mention one of the biggest highlights I had in my last day in Pnom Penh: I went to Wat Lang Ka, a Buddhist pagoda where the monks offer free meditation sessions to anyone interested. I went and received a how-to on Buddhist meditation. After the how-to, the monk invited me to sit inside the temple and meditate for 30 minutes.

It was hard. I don’t think I ever got to the right state of mind but apparently with practise you do get there. The monk gave me some literature too which I intend to read when I’m home.

Today I went to a small town in the Mekong River Delta, called My Tho. The river is huge. It makes the Fraser look piddly. I saw only one arm too. It’s hard to imagine scale until you actually see it with your own eyes. If the Mekong is one of the great rivers of the world, I believe it. My tour took me through endless channels lined with coconut trees and other palm-like trees. The main arms of the river are tremendous, beyond words I think.

Food, food, where do I start? Breakfast: sticky rice with coconut and peanuts. Lunch: pork, mini bananas, and spring rolls. Dinner: prawns with chili paste (of some sort), eggs and spring onions, fried rice, shrimp rice cakes, something wrapped a stringy potato batter and deep fried. It’s all so good. I’ve also had soursop shakes everynight I’ve been here, my new favourite drink.

Tomorrow I go to Nha Trang.

I’ve enjoyed Pnom Penh — it’s a wonderful city although chaotic at times. Here are the highlights of my time here:

• Talking to monks (one invited me to his family’s farm in Battambang if I ever come back to Cambodia)
• More blessings in the main pagoda at the same place I met the monks (this involved getting water splashed on my face)
• Riding a moto (motorbike taxi) in peak-hour traffic — there were three of us on it!
• Eating rice gruel with salty egg and sweet pickled onion for breakfast (ok not a highlight but memorable)
• Buying pirated Chinese CDs (hope I can take these out of the country into Vietnam)
• Watching people eat fried crickets and other insects
• At a night market today, watching a Çambodian kid’s variety show — one 4 to 5 year-old knew his rock-star moves, complete with head-banging and encouraging audience involvement. It was super cute.

I’m sad to leave this country. It’s a very special place. I hope to come back someday. Tomorrow I go to Saigon.

Today, I enjoyed a grilled chicken with my group leader and than hung out – literally – in a hammock next to the sea for about two hours afterwards. It was heaven. I had to keep reminding myself that I was in fact in Cambodia. After my extended lunch, I went to another pagoda close to a national park (called Ream) and received a blessing from a nun. She wrapped a small red bracelet around my left wrist and dabbed it with an essential oil (i think sandalwood). I’ll try to wear this bracelet until it falls off my arm.

Here are some other things I’ve learned from the Khmer:

• you can run a small TV and one lightbulb on a car battery for a couple hours a day
• freshly ground pepper, coarse sea salt, and lime juice is an uber yummy dip for meat on a kebab (this is one of the dips I had at the beach side picnic)
• rice mixed with peanuts and dried shrimp and turmeric is also very very tasty
• you can drive a car/bike/moto into the ground and then still keep it running for many years
• never say “no” if someone asks something from you
• people have auras
• it’s hard to move around much mid-day because it’s too hot so why bother

Cést tout. Tomorrow I go to Pnom Penh. Until then!

I had the best sleep there I’ve had since I’ve been here despite the roosters and the cicadas. We drank locally made rice wine around the fire and I learned how to count to ten in Khmer. I also learned how to say hello, how are you, good bye, dear, delicious, thank you (and “no thank you” which is important because there are always people trying to sell you stuff in the cities)

I also met Cham who showed us the local swimming hole. I also learned that Cham use to a monk but not anymore. Apparently lots of boys stop being monks in their twenties because they’d prefer to get married and have children. In Cambodia there are about 30,000 monks. I see them everywhere, in their beautiful saffron-coloured robes and (at times) yellow umbrellas. They’re very striking to see. I hope to take a picture of one soon without seeming too invasive.

Here are things I’ve learned from Khmer people:

• Cut whole pineapple with coarse salt and fresh chili is very tasty.
• Sedans can be converted into pick-ups (just cut-out the back window and top of the trunk).
• Holding your baby while riding shotgun on a motorbike is okay.
• Riding side saddle on a motorbike is lady-like.
• It’s okay to ask whether somone is married after you’ve just met them.
• Women don’t sit next to or touch monks.
• Jackfruit is the yummiest fruit ever.
• So is coconut water (drink right out of the fruit with a straw)
• If you own a car or a motorbike, you need to know how to fix it when it breaks down.
• You eat the shell on the crab as well as the meat inside.
• When driving, you use your horn liberally and often while passing
• Driving on the right-hand side of the road is a suggestion only.
• Babies — in warm climates — don’t need diapers (don’t dress them and hold them out and away from you when they go.)
• Bananas can have seeds too.

i had the best birthday i’ve ever had yesterday. the host of our tour group invited everyone to his home (in my honour!) where his wife made us all traditional khmer food. we all sat on the floor in his home and enjoyed curries and spring rolls. it was wonderful! he also prepared a special cambodian pumpkin cake and sang happy birthday to me in cambodian (khmer). it was very moving. i hope to share photos soon!

Well, I’ve made it! I arrived in Bangkok late Monday night (actually it was very early Tuesday morning). The airport bus dropped me off near Khaosan Road (thanks Andrew for the tip! It was very easy to find these buses and the driver was very helpful.) I found my hotel okay too. The next day I explored what I think is a very small part of the old city. (Agin thanks Andrew for the tips. You’re very helpful.) I walked to a flower and fruit market (Tewes Market) ate Tom Yum Gai and learned what rice is called in Thai — khao (or something like that). After I’d ordered the soup some men at the table next to me insisted in Thai that I order rice too. So I did. Afterwards I took a water taxi to the stop closest to Wat Poh. I took far too many photos. I’ll try to upload these later as the computer here is very old. I also visited the Royal Palace and saw the Emerald Buddha which didn’t excite as much as just walking around the old city. I drank logan juice and bought rice crackers and a bag of peanuts. They’re simple things but it made me really happy. I only had one full day in Bangkok unfortunately. I’d love to see more of this city (and of Thailand) in future.

I’m now in Cambodia! I can’t really believe I’m here. I’m sitting in an internet cafe but the streets outside are unpaved and the sidewalks are crumbling. Most people walk everywhere — they don’t drive. It’s hot — stinking humid hot which I’m slowly getting used too. Everyday I’ve been here I see new things I’ve never seen before. I don’t know if I can write it all here.

The border crossing was an intense experience because there were thousands of people trying to get into Cambodia to gamble. It’s legal here while it isn’t in Thailand.

Today I went to Angkor and saw Angkor Wat and a few other temples. They’re spectacular. Photos to come soon!

Tomorrow I think I’ll spend most of the day sleeping as I’m still feeling jet-lagged and I’m also pretty overwhelmed.  Tomorrow afternoon  I’m planning a trip to one of the villages at Tonle Sap (lake).

I’m now going to see if my bank card will work in an ATM. ‘Til later.

THAILAND
Dec 28: flying from Vancouver to Bangkok, via Hong Kong
Dec 29: Bangkok (arriving late)
Dec 30: a day in Bangkok (hope to see some stuff)
Dec 31: leave Bangkok for Cambodia via the Poipet border crossing, arrive in Siem Riep

CAMBODIA
Jan 1: New Years Day at the fabled Angkor Wat, north of Siem Riep. Oh it’s my birthday too : )
Jan 3: 6 hours by bus to Kompong Cham, a town north of Phnom Penh (look at more temples)
Jan 7: to Chambok or Takeo for a homestay (south of Phnom Penh)
Jan 8: Sihanoukeville (relaxation on a Cambodian beach, exploring Ream National Park)
Jan 10: Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capitol (visit the Khmer Rouge Killing Fields and the memorial museum)

VIETNAM
Jan 11: Arrive at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (I’ll spend the next day exploring the city’s markets)
Jan 12: leave Ho Chi Minh City for a two day tour of My Tho, Vinh Long, or Can Tho
Jan 14: to Dalat and possibly Nha Trang
Jan 16: leave Ho Chi Minh City to Vancouver, via Tokyo
Jan 17: meet my friend Hiroko in Tokyo for lunch (I hope!) and then *home*