Homesick...

Only nine more days left of my travels and I still have two more stops: Bangkok and Taiwan! And of course, that doesn't account for me being home for four days and then flying back to the Netherlands for another two weeks either!

After travelling for the past two months, these are the things that I miss:

- fresh laundry
- cooking and homecooked meals made for me
- driving, I miss my RSX!
- sleeping in my own bed
- hair that isn't dealing with humidity
- wearing clothes that are different from the four pieces I have been alternating
- my family
- my friends
- my boyfriend
- having conversations that are real, not passing by conversations
- living in a house, not a backpack
- being able to call my friends and bug them
- free internet/wireless
- my laptop
- interaction with people with no language barrier
- US currency
- being pampered
- shoes besides the one pair of Keen's (best shoes ever, highly recommend them!) that I have
- dressing up to go out on a Friday/Saturday night
- cocktails
- hanging out at a bar with my friends
- hanging out at home watching a movie
- real vegetarian options (in Asia, it's tofu or tofu?)
- LA traffic (weird to miss it, huh?)
- working! (I think that after three months of unemployment, I'm starting to lose my brain cells. Although I do need to start job hunting, anyone have any suggestions? Moving to the Bay Area and I need some help!)
- real music besides what is cycled through my iPod
- interactions with my friends outside of the computer!
- hugs. Really, I miss human contact. My hands get kinda bored trying to hug myself!
- putting on makeup and doing my hair (yes, that is quite girly of me)
- perfume (besides the au natural smell that my hippy self is now wearing)
- smog (okay, not really but the air is better in parts of LA than in Asia!)
- rude people (everyone here is so friendly, can't I just meet those people again who tell me to fuck off)
- s*x!!!

These are just some of the things that I miss and really am looking forward to being home and stable instead of moving from hotel to hotel every four days. It does start to wear on you after awhile. And to think that I was contemplating doing this for three months!

Anyway, just had to vent.

Judgement...

Pattaya, Thailand:

There is beauty in everything as long as we are receptive to finding it, it's there. However there is one exception to that case and that is Pattaya, Thailand. I cannot find any beauty here and although I haven't even been here for twenty-four hours, my judgement about this is place is that it truly is the armpit of Thailand. There might have been potential for this place long ago since it's a coastal town but it has been destroyed by hedonism and the Asian persuasion culture.

After a certain breakup, I told myself that I would never date anyone who has Asian persuasion again. There is just something about it that I no longer find amusing and now after being in Pattaya, I find it highly disturbing! (Really, no offense to anyone).

First off, my hotel is situated in the Red Light District. All day and night, I hear the "nnts nnts" of the loud bass thumping and the glow of the red light shining into my room. Second, you walk outside and all you see are Thai women, dressed incredibly scantily (sure it's fun at first but becomes sad very quickly, I would take photos but like Amsterdam, they don't really like it), hoarding like vultures waiting for their prey. The thing is, their prey is everywhere!

A minor detour: On my 15 hour bus ride from Cambodia into Pattaya, I was on a bus with 2 foreigners, an old white man and myself. I didn't understand at the time why everyone on the bus was so surprised that I was going to Pattaya, and gasp, going by myself! I now understand.

All throughout the town, are white men, many of them holding a tan line of the wedding ring and draped across them, like the latest fashion accessory is a beautiful Asian woman. Their amorous interaction with each other only suggest that they are not, married to each other.

I am the only woman traveler in my hotel. Walking through the streets, I am the only woman not walking with a man on her arm. During my meals, I am the only woman eating by herself without the company of a white male. Eavesdropping on many of their conversations, I hear the words "take me home," "you want marry," "let's go back to hotel (all the while giving him a hand job)." I understand that this is the life here but all I see is sadness here, no beauty, no life, nothing. My judgment is that I hate this place. Married men come here to have affairs. Incredibly ugly men (sorry but probably have a horrible time getting laid back home) come here to find women. And yes, even drunk college boys looking for some cheap action.

This is not the place that I expected. It truly does make me sad and only want to leave this place. Unfortunately, I am here for a week to get my PADI certification. At least I have that to keep my focus but if it wasn't for that, this place would have seen my dust the minute I stepped foot here.

Oh.

I also keep getting ripped off with my money...Maybe because I'm not a white male.

Really, I hate it here.

Food for thought

Siem Reap, Cambodia.

It's been six days since I've eaten. If anyone needs to diet for any reason, I highly suggest the "Montezuma's Revenge." It curbs your appetite and makes you run faster than you think that you could ever run! Anyway, today was the first day that I ate something that wasn't crackers so I'm finally feeling quite energetic enough to write.

I love Cambodia! This is by far, one of the top favorite countries that I have visited! The people are incredibly friendly and the culture of this country is what really makes it stand out. Although one thing that I do not like is the ""bugs as food" factor. During my six hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, I sat by a really friendly woman who kept offering me all her food. Everything from chicken jerky, beef jerky, shrimp chips to breathe mints. I politely kept saying no since I don't know how to say "I'm a vegetarian in Cambodian." Now on our last rest stop, we stop at a little village that sells all kinds of food, including their main delicacy, roaches. Of course this was the perfect photo-op so I took a picture and went on my merry way. Now, remember the friendly woman who was sitting next to me who kept offering me her food? Well, we get back on the bus and she has a plastic bag filled of these roaches! And what does she do? She offers them to me. I think that I must have turned green because she started laughing at me! So after I regain color, I notice that everyone on the bus is eating them! I try to gain my composure until I watch the woman next to me and the process of eating them. They rip off the tail legs and head and bon appetite. I had another two hours on this bus sitting next to this woman! All I could do is stare intently out the window and wish that the ride was over. BLAH!

Anyway, besides the adventure of my bus ride, I do want to muse a little bit about Phnom Penh and Cambodia. There is a lot of history and sadness in this country, some that I really wasn't fully aware of until I got here. Sure, I knew about the Khmer Rouge and the Killing Fields but I did not know the full story of it. Tuesday was my day of knowledge and I am still shaken up by it.

There were two tours that I did, one to the Killing Fields and one to Toul Sleung Prison (which was where they tortured people. Side note, Toul Sleung used to be a high school so imagine being on the premises and seeing remnants of a playground to only know that this is where they ruthlessly killed people).

During Pol Pot's power from 1975 to 1979, he killed over two million people and the population of Cambodia during that time is five million people, you can only imagine the atrocities that occurred. He abolished everything from currency, government, schools, declaring it Year Zero. There is still so much sadness that can be felt when you look into the eyes of anyone that is over twenty seven. The wounds are still fresh. Being at the Killing Fields, I will share one thing with you. On the trails throughout the area, the muddy walkways are dense but not only with nature growing through it, but also with the remnants of the clothing of the people that died there. At first, I did not know what I was stepping on until closer inspection, reality kicked in and so much sadness filled my heart.

The sadness that I felt has still lingered in me, three days after I have experienced it but to know that I have been here to learn more about it has only given me better perspective of this country and what they have had to deal with. By getting to know the country and the people here has offered me a new outlook on life. The people here are very friendly. Today after I went through some of the temples (Angkor Wat and Bayon), my tuk-tuk driver, Mr Chet, who was incredibly friendly, asked if I wanted to stop by at the children's hospital since he had to drop something off. So I spent some time there playing with the children and I even, haphazardly, gave a little girl a french braid. It was a pretty pathetic braid but spending the time there was nice. I even set up an appointment to donate my blood since they really need AB positive for people with dengue fever. Don't worry, the company is a very reputable company that I have already done my research on via the Internet. I wish that there was more that I could do but I think that the time that I am giving versus just being an American tourist is something that makes me feel that I am making a small effort.

Anyway, I just really wanted to share with you my journey here through Cambodia because I feel that this is the place where my soul-searching has lead me too.

Underwater Adventures

Hue, Vietnam:

It's hot here. And humid. And although I have already endured lots of different weather during my travels, Vietnam would almost be the worst. The heat and humidity here is almost unbearable. However, the best thing to do is to just grin and bear it. Although I would have to say that the bugs here are also the worst. I have been fortunate to not get too many mosquito bites, instead, I have become ravaged by ANT bites! Yes, ant bites. Those suckers SUCK! Not only are my feet and ankles covered by them but somehow, these suckers ended up in my pants. So yes, I have over fifty ant bites on each butt cheek. It's a little uncomfortable to say the least but I do giggle about it cause it seems that it is something that would only happen to me.

However on a separate note, I have discovered scuba diving and fell in love with it! My dad took Mai and I out to Hoi An, which is a coastal resort in Vietnam that is absolutely gorgeous. We decided to do the "discover scuba diving" lessons which is more of a trial run. Well I fell in love with it! Once I got used to breathing underwater (it's a little weird getting used too), I couldn't believe that underwater life that I need to discover! It was so amazing watching the fish, corral and even gross sea cucumbers living their lives. So I got the bug and decided that I will get licensed. I will be heading into Pattaya, Thailand later in July and will spend four days there getting my PADI certificate. I am super super excited because not only do I get to do scuba diving with my dad in the future but will be able to go scuba diving in NorCal once I have situated myself there. Goodie!

Everything else here is amazing. It's great traveling with my family (although we do drive each other crazy at times) and to hang out with my mom's family has been wonderful too. It's been a family reunion on my mother's side and it's so funny to watch her with her siblings. The last time the three of them were together was over forty years ago! The last time I saw my cousins were fourteen years ago. We have a lot of catching up to do although the language barrier is a bit of a challenge.

Hope everyone is well and had a wonderful Fourth of July!