Leaving on a jet plane...

     Just purchased my ticket and got my rail pass -- Japan and my trip to Asia is finally a reality.  It is pretty cool that I am picking up and traveling halfway around the world just a whim.  I am sure everything will work out but right now, one week away from departure, I am feeling a little bit anxious. 

     I've always been told that the greater the risk you might take, the greater the reward that follows.  I am sure that I will be rewarded with thousands memories of a foreign land that will be with me until the day I die, and that is very exciting.  Just have to get through the everyday monotonous life of being a laborer for another week.

     I have been thinking of the route I am going to take but have not really solidified it.  I know I am flying into to Tokyo and staying there for a couple nights.  Hopefully I will find a relatively cheap hostel somewhere in the city so I can explore all the ends of it but a place with 30 million in the city and suburbs, it might be a little bit hard to do in a couple days.  After that I will travel West on the train to Kyoto and Nara.  Couple days there and then further West and then South.  I will let you know my route as I go but I imagine I will create my own adventure.     

The last one...

So sorry to be off the grid for so long but I have just been living in the moment. I am going to give you a very brief explanation of what I have been up to the past few weeks and then I will say my goodbyes.

I believe the last thing I wrote was about Sapa...so I will continue from there. Well, after Sapa my mom and I went to Hanoi. We spent a few days there and saw everything touristy you could. Water puppets, the prison where John McCain and other P.O.W.s were held, a classical concert and ballet (did not really want to attend but it was not half bad) at the Opera House, and just explored the city. I found the more time I spent there the more I enjoyed that city.

My mom took off on the 15 and I stayed in Hanoi for another 4 days. Since I did almost everything there was to do by day I became somewhat of a night owl after she left. I checked into Hanoi Backpackers Hostel and had an absolute blast. I ran into some people I traveled with before, London Alex, Mad Mats, the three British kids from Brighton. It was a great time and made a mess of St. Patty's Day with about 8 Irish guys. had a lot of fun and then headed off to Korea.

Spent a few days with Kathleen in Korea. Once again loving the food and the company of a long time friend. Went to Bemoesa Temple on day and hiked around which was really a lot of fun and the other days kind of just lounged around. I came to Osaka a few days ago and really have been trying to get by on close to nothing a day which is a difficult task in Japan. Kind of been walking around and eating noodle soup everywhere.

I hate to say it but I wish I could just be home. I know I love Japan but I really need to start making money and finding a job. It is kind of making me nervous to come back to the States. I mean I know everything will work out but it is still nerve wrecking not having a job and knowing that you are dead broke. Enough whining already, I am sure it will work out.

Lastly, I would really like to thank everyone for following along with my blog. Knowing people are out there reading it made me want to keep posting all the way through. I hope I did an adequate job of keeping you involved and I am really happy to share my past 5 month journey with you. This will probably be the last posting so once again thank you and will see you stateside. 

Vietnam...who would have thought

Arriving at the train station in Hanoi was a little shock and awe for my mother. Let me introduce you to my mom if you are not already aware of who she is. Let's put it this way...she is a 39 year old woman trapped in a 61 year-old body. She has tons of energy and loves to travel. Although her step is not as fast as it once was, she still moves at a pretty high pace and while traveling with her I am always up by at least 9 ready to tackle the days events. So for a woman who has traveled the world this train station was a little shocking to say the least.


I think part of the reason this place was so shocking is that we flew into Hanoi airport which is like any small town airport in the states. It had all the amenities of the West except a bit smaller. Then we take a taxi to the train station and it is literally a parking lot with a building. There are a few train track and you were immediately thrown back into the 3rd world. We arrived a bit early...actually like 2 hours before our train was meant to leave and wanted to get some food. No fast food at this station so we walked around and found some street stand. We sat in little plastic chairs and ate a fine noodle soup which we bargained down to just over $1 a bowl. This experience allowed me to see just how acclimated I have become to Southeast Asia. This was truly what I was expecting when I heard train station but to her it was no anywhere near what she imagined. Guess it just comes with time.


Before Hanoi we were in Hoi an. We basically flew from Saigon up to Da Nang the day after she arrived. It was a short flight and I was some what surprised at the cleanliness and efficiency of Vietnam Airlines. Once in Da Nang, we took a taxi to our hotel which was once again heaps nicer than anything I would have stayed. We took some time walking around the old town doing our very best "No thank yous!" to all the people selling stuff. That first night we had the best meal. Although neither of us can remember what the restaurant was called it was very very good food. I think the thing that stood out the most was the money bags. It was a great name and I cannot remember quite what was in them but they looked like little money bags...who would have thought. They were basically deep fried spring rolls and we all know that deep fried anything tastes de...lic..ious.


The next day we rented bikes and set off on a journey of our own. We decided the night before we would go to the beach but did not think to check the weather report. As it turned out it was overcast and really windy down at the beach. We rode 5 km to get there and walked up the beach but could only really stay for half hour because the sand would blow up and pierce your skin. Instead of riding right back we went up and down the beach road and then down a little dirt path through the rice fields. It is quite amazing to see all the rice grass blow in the wind...pretty beautiful. After getting somewhat misplaced and saying hello to all the local kids we found our way to the road and had lunch at a really nice place beside the river. We had my staple lunch...fried rice and continued home. We did a little biking around the old town and such then went home and took a well needed nap. We had dinner that night at Green Moss that someone had recommended to me but did not live up to its hype.

The following day we got up early and ate breakfast and we were out of our hotel by 8 on our way to Marble Mountain. We had a guide who was very nice...Hia, a 32 year-old with a 4 month old. He was really nice and some how we got talking about the American War and I just had to apologize. He said that it was in the past and to not worry about it...what is in the past is in the past were his exact words. It blew my mind because we were in the area where the first Americans landed and probably that had to deal with our bloodshed the most and although he was only a child to be so forgiving and relaxed about the whole situation was mind blowing...kind of like the Japanese in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Enough about that...Marble Mountain was quite a nice place. We had to climb 176... I think... stairs to the top but they were fairly large stair and gave my mom a run for her money...to say the least we were both a little tired by the end of it. Throughout the mountain there were a few pagodas and temples. The second king in the dynasty of Vietnam...they had 17 kings from 1800 to the 1950s sometime...ordered these be built on Marble mountain so he could chill up there and over look the river and rice fields to one side and the ocean to the other...pretty cool, I thought.

After Marble Mountain we went to the Cham museum. It is filled with old stone relics from the Cham people. These people were all over central and southern Vietnam from the 2nd Century to the 18th I believe. They had some amazing temples that were unfortunately bombed by the Americans but some of the ruins remain. My Son is where most of them are but since both my Mom and I had seen Angkor we decided to skip it and just hit up the museum. It was a nice space...an old French colonial building...and Hia was very good at describing some of the pieces to us. The Cham people were Hindus not Buddhist like most Vietnamese people are today so there sculptures reflect this. If I were going to be a Hindu god I would be Vishnu for sure, he has snakes coming out of his head...how could you not like that?

That brings us to the train station essentially. After a long train ride we arrived in Sa pa today ready to see the hill tribes. We arrived at 8 to our hotel...really nice place and decided since we only have two days here we got to do some trekking. We showered up and went off with a guide today at 10. Our guide was a really nice girl names Chou from the village where we going to visit. Having a guide that speaks great English and knows the customs is irreplaceable. She let us in on so much information that a guidebook just could not touch. There village just got power 7 months before we arrived and since family takes precedent over everything. So this girl at 20 makes more than her whole family but still goes back on the weekends and gives them a lot of money to support them. It is really nice but I am glad I live in a place where it is okay to pursue what I want and know that my family will be able to support themselves. When the time comes...I know I will help out but it is not my end all be all to help my parents or sister out you know? Just how I feel and since I make the least of everyone it is not on my shoulders right now, I can do what makes me happy instead of having major responsibilities. Sorry about the rant just thought I would let you know how I really feel that's why you read, right?

So we visited the Ngong people and they were very nice always smiling and made you understand how things must have been everywhere before modern technologies. You live in cycles...planting, growing, harvesting. They make their own clothes out of hemp and provide all their own food. They go to the market in Sa pa on Sunday and trade for things they really need but they are happy simple people. She said we walked 12 km today but we had such a great conversation with her that the time just flew by...it was really an amazing cultural day.

Well, I live such a hard life that I have to go sit through a 90-minute massage. I am sorry but it is really nice to pampered by my mom after such a hard life of traveling for the last 4 months. Write in a bit...checkya later.

Sorry I have been off the grid

I know I have been pretty bad about writing this last week and I am sorry about that. I got caught up livin the good life on the beach in Sihanoukville. Basically I arrived there from Phenom Penh mid afternoon on the next day...the 23rd I believe. Didn't really know where to stay but got hooked up with a really cool place after seeing one or two places that were too expensive...$7 a night. Chiva's Shack is where I ended up staying, really relaxed place where the rooms were $4 a night with a shared shower down some sketchy steps and down a long hall...but I guess you get what you pay for. First day got there and made friends quickly through a soccer game on the beach at sunrise.

The crew I would hang out with for the next week doing one thing after another. The unit was myself, James...my buddy from Siem Reap and Phenom Penh, Tony...a guy from Britain, Adam...a fellow American from Santa Barber, Mats...funny kid from the moon (that's what he told me but he later confessed that he was from Norway), Toby...another British kid who had been traveling for close to 4 years, and 4 British girls...Lisa, Leila, Lauren and Laura. That was the main group and then Laura left, followed by Tony. Then a few days later Adam and the other girls left. So we picked up crazy Kelly...a kid born in Jamaica that lived in London for a while and now lives in New York. Kind of a crazy bunch but the experience is all you make of it and who you meet along the way and these people were a really group of people that you could feel comfortable around so I was happy.

Basically the week in Sihanoukville was a lot like Spring Break in college. Drink too much at night and spend all day recovering to do it all over again. The only reason I could really justify it was because beer was 25 cents and it was cheaper to drink than water...I know that is a pretty bad excuse but it was a good time and I am on vacation. Some of the big highlights were as follows...the booze cruise that James and I did with Sessions, Small but sweet (a restaurant on the beach that our local Cambodian buddy ran), and the parties on the beach every night. The boat trip is a story in and of itself.

So this guy that owns Sessions...can't remember his name but he was pretty nuts. He was from Leeds and had moved down to Sihanoukville two years earlier and bought this bar that was going under. He put some money into it and got some of his buddies to come down and work for him and now he does a pretty good business but he runs this boat trip twice a week. It is a basic booze cruise except Cambodian style. We get to this deserted island with about 30 people and drink all day and play Frisbee and football and the whole lot and come back at 10 ready to paint the town red. I found out he pays off the military to stay out so late but I guess that only adds to the adventure. The beach was beautiful though. It was like something you see in the movies, not a person anywhere or any form of people living on the island and that was home for the day...it was great.

Next was Small but Sweet. This place was run by a very friendly Cambodian named Dhara. We would basically go there every night for dinner...anywhere from 5 to 8 of us so he came to like us quite a bit because we brought him some great business. He would always buy our first round and would constantly save us some of the good food. The place was on the beach maybe 100 meters from our guesthouse so pretty close and you always go first to stand on the beach. There is fresh seafood there that he will BBQ for you all you have to do is pick out what you want. Barracuda, king prawns, shrimp, squid, scallops...he also had a menu with other stuff on it but I would mostly eat seafood. So anything I listed above you would get a lot of it for $3 and then we would have 3 beers with one free so spend $4 on a really good feed. He liked us but we liked his food, his prices, and him most of all so it was a good friendship. I later found out because on my last night I went to say goodbye and hung out for a beer that he is only 25 and he has the place for 4 years and it is getting better every year. It is a difficult business though because rainy season lasts 6 months and nobody visits Sihanoukville then so you hope your money can last till the tourists come back.

The beach parties were the last thing that was really great about Sihanoukville. Every night a new place would have happy our where it was 25 cents a beer which you really can't beat. Towards the last few nights it rained and that really killed things and it now makes me appreciate being here now instead of rainy season. We would frequent Nap House, Dolphin Bar, Sessions, and Utopia. The nice thing about our place was that it was right on the beach but it was about a kilometer or so away from the action so during the day you weren't around all the people. That was good during the day but it made for long walks home at the end of the night but you were usually with someone so you could look out for each other. All in all I am really glad I went there... a little mad about not getting to Kampot or Kep but it is hard to justify leaving a place with good people where you just feel comfortable. Gives me another reason to come back.

Mats and I left Sihanoukville yesterday and it took us 10 hours to get to Ho Chi Mon City (Saigon). We met a guy on the bus from Scotland and shared a room with him last night and went out for a few. Ran into Ruki...the Finnish guy I rode the bus from Thailand to Siem Reap, and James again. I bet I run into some one again before I leave although I won't quite be on the backpackers’ cycle anymore. My mom comes to town tonight...in an hour actually. I am quite excited about traveling with her and it should be good fun.

Yeah today I woke up and checked into the hotel where I am staying with my mom...holy smokes. I forgot what a hot shower and having a room with your own toilet does to a person. I don't feel like a backpacker at all anymore...I actually washed my hair after a week and a half. After freshening up I went to the Reunification Palace and the War Remnants Museum. Just visiting those two places I really wish I knew more about the Vietnam War. I felt quite horrible after the War Remnants Museum to be an American. I know the winner of wars always write the history of the encounter but some of the stuff that there are photos of is absolutely horrible. Using Agent Orange was the worst possible thing I can imagine any country doing and we were the ones that die it. It caused such bloodshed and I know that there are plenty of bad things the Viet Chong did but it absolutely blew my mind.

The palace wasn't quite as moving. It was a cool place that acted as the center for military head quarters. The basement of the place reminds me of the war room in London where Churchill went during WWII. All these big old receivers, radios, and phones. This is where on April 30, 1975 tanks broke down the gate and made the leader of the Republic of Vietnam get on the Saigon radio and fully surrender. I enjoyed seeing such a historical place. I should be getting back to the hotel, my mom will be here at any point and I think I might just enjoy the air conditioning a little more. It will be nice to have a traveling partner for the next little while. Keep you posted. Later!

Living like a local

The past few days have brought this magical city of Phenom Penh to life for me. I decided that instead of paying for tuk tuks everywhere or to ride on the back of a motorcycle with no helmet I would rent a bicycle and explore the city myself. I truly believe it is the best way to get a grasp of what a city truly is and you can see everywhere...just have to be willing to deal with the 40 Celsius temperatures.

Day one I woke up a little late and had breakfast. I ended up running into 3 British guys (Alex, Catriona, and Bell) that it seems like I have been following. I met them my last night in Koh Chang, saw them on a night out in Siem Reap, at Angkor Wat, and now they are at the same guest house as me. It is a small backpacker network and I think everyone treats the Lonely Planet as the word of God so we all stay in the same places.

After eating and chatting them up a bit I went to S 21...or Tuol Sleng prison. It was a high school the the Khmer rouge used to torture and kill thousands of people. It was really a freaky place to walk through because they left everything the same. All the cells have beds in them and photos on the walls with people being tortured on the exact same bed...pretty horrific stuff. The most touching was this one section where they had mug shot of all the people right when they got there. It is people all all different ages and genders. Small children and women who I cannot imagine what they could have done to get tortured and killed. It was really difficult to understand at times, I mean this guy Pol Pot was educated in Europe for college and then he comes back and abolishes education and currency. It is just nuts. The most interesting thing I found about the mug shots is that there were several Buddhist monks taken there. Unlike everyone else who looks somber and knows they are about to die, there are a few monks with smiles on their face. It must have taken a lot out of them because although they were in a real life hell their outward appear is one of love and understanding...truly amazing.

So the story behind the Khmer Rouge...little history lesson... is that on April 17, 1975 they went around Phenom Penh with loud speakers saying that the Americans were going to bomb the city and everyone must flee to the countryside. You could only take what you could carry and people believed them but those they didn't were taken away. Then over time they began rounding up any non ethic Cambodian...even if you spoke Thai of Vietnamese was enough to get you killed. The terror last almost 3 and a half years where they killed 1/5 of the Cambodia population estimates range from 800,000 to 2 million. The crazy part about all this is that it happened only 35 years ago. Another interesting fact, when the Vietnamese backed the revolutionary forced that ousted the Khmer Rouge they were not recognized by the UN. So the Khmer Rouge held the seat for Cambodia at the United Nations until 1991 operating out of Thailand or where ever else they were exiled too...pretty amazing how such a thing could happen.

So after S 21 I went and picked up my visa to Vietnam. That went relatively smoothly and biked home. Went by the Silver Pagoda and Royal Palace, beautiful from the outside but it was too late and didn't get to go inside. Almost got taken out a few times on the way home but I think after the first day I figured out how to navigate traffic where everyone kind of goes for it and hopes for the best.

That night I went out with the three Brits and 4 Finnish people who have been doing to same loop and I have become friends with. We had a good time dancing the night away on a floating boat on the Mekong River. Needless to say we didn't do much the next day just sat around and watched movies. Partly cause were hung over and partly because it was 38 Celsius in the shade...ridiculously hot.

Yesterday I had another wild adventure. The killing fields are only 15 km away from the city, or so they say so I decided I would bike there. I knew it would be hot but if I left early it would not be so bad. Well, it was still bloody hot but it was a really fun adventure. I got lost for about an hour cause I didn't turn at the right place. Once I was about 500 meter away from the killing fields the chain on my bike broke. Found some guy who helped me out and we spent the next hour trying to fix the chain. He ended up adding 2 rusty links from another chain and it worked like new...kind of. Went and saw the killing fields...not going to lie but was a little disappointed. I mean half the structures were burnt down in 1979 so it really was a few pits and a monument. I mean it was moving to see but I would highly recommend going to the prison first because you get all the information you can handle and the killing fields is just there for you to see...no real information. On my long bike ride home got kind of lost and realized that I don't have Cambodian skin and was getting torched. Stopped several places to get sun cream and finally when I did it was too late...what's new Andrew Bean beaten by the sun again. I guess I could be worrying about how cold it was going to be in February but now I have to worry about getting to sun burnt.

Last night just took it easy and ran into another British guy I met in Siem Reap on my last night...James. He left today for the coast and we will probably meet up down there so I will probably have a travel buddy for the next few days down there. It was been good but can't wait to get out of a city for a little bit. Might hit up the central market today but could easily just relax out of the sun too. Decisions decisions. Til next time.

Angkor Wat

What an extraordinary place Angkor Wat is. I really wish I could share photos with you but you will just have to visit it someday or take my word for it. Angkor Wat is a vast assortment of temples dedicated to the Buddhism that includes the largest religious building in the world Angkor Wat.

The first night in Siem Reap George and I went out on the town pretty hard...til like 4 in the morning. It is a pretty fun town with a bar street and plenty of watering holes throughout. It is not a very big place so everyone kind of gets to know each other quite well after a few days. We first went to the Irish pub to watch the Ireland - Italy 6 nations rugby game. While there we met the co-owner...a french guy. Very strange a French guy owning a Irish bar in Cambodia, who would have thought. Turns out his wife is Irish so I suppose that is reason enough to open an Irish bar. From there we went to Angkor What? bar which totally lives up to its name because after a night there and a few buckets the last thing you are thinking about is going to visit Angkor Wat.

The next day George and I just chilled and got ready for the experience of Angkor Wat. We walked around a bit but really just relaxed culminating with a seeing hands massage...$5 an hour full body massage It is a really fabulous massage given to you by blind. I think because they can not see they just use their hands to find the pressure points and it feels great. It also helps these people be self sufficient which is a win-win for you and them.

When the time came to go to the temples of Angkor Wat we hired a tuk tuk for the day and were on our way at 5:30 in the morning to see the sights. We were there for sunrise but it was a cloudy day so no sunrise. A little upset that we woke so early for nothing but the fact that we got to explore the first temple all by ourselves was quite the experience. So here is George and myself walking through Ta Prohm (where they filmed Tomb Raider) with not a single person around in almost complete darkness, I feel like I should have had a big torch and be standing next to Indian Jones or something. The temple itself is in the thick jungle I guess you could call it and has kind of been left so there are gigantic trees growing out of the rubble, it is quite a sight. We spent around an hour there then got in our tuk tuk and were on our way to the next stop which were two right next to each other...Banteay Kdei and Sras Srang.

Those two were alright but not really anything crazy special. We sat down and chilled around Sras Srang for a while and were bombarded by several little girls asking to come in their shop. The deal is they ask you where you are from and then spit back the capital and President/P[rime Minister. At first it is alright but then over the course of the day you get the hang of what they do so I started testing the little kids. I would say I was from here and there and surprisingly they know a lot of capital cities throughout the world. Algeria is one the stumped one of then and she looked at her cheat sheet and it wasn't on there so she just smiled and laughed...pretty funny.

After hanging for a bit we went to Bayon which was quite large. It was nice cause we kind of worked backwards so people were filing the other way so it wasn't as packed as I was thinking it was going to be. Bayon was meant to be the center of the city back when i9t was built in 1200. There are over 11,000 figures around the area of Bayon and the northern library has a giant laying down Buddha kind of placed in the side of the building. Unfortunately the temple was not really architecturally sound so the top two tier collapsed and they are restoring it. all you can really see of the Buddha is the head but still pretty cool, kind of plays with your eyes cause sometimes you can see it and other times you can't...like magic eye things. After a few hours of walking around there we came to the mama of all temples...Angkor Wat.

This is the largest religious building in the world and it is really amazing. It is be masterfully restored and it is an awe inspiring sight. I truly can't describe how cool this place is. It is as big a the forbidden city and it is utterly unbelievable that people would make such a structure and abandon it 200 years later. The amount of detail in Angkor Wat is incredible, not only is it large but the outer hallways that are each abut 200 meters long there are epic battle portrayed in carving. It must have taken forever to complete.

After a few hours there we decided we were Angkor Watted out...don't know if that is a saying. It was really cool but I think had I to do it again I would have hired a guide because we were constantly wondering things that we just could not answer but I was really glad to see it. Most people stay til sunset but there was not going to be one...because it was cloudy which in the long run was quite good because it was a lot cooler. We were there for about 9 hours and tired so we just went home. I took a nap and we got ready for a night out again.

The following day we went shopping a but and just relaxed again and then had one more big night out until this morning when I got on a bus to Phnom Penh. Phnom Penh seems pretty crazy but it is only going to take one day to get my visa for Vietnam so might do the tourist stuff... killing field and S-21 and then be on my way down to the beach. Just to give you an idea of what kind of place this is there are no real traffic lights, people just go and their are wild monkeys at my guest house. Kind of nuts...but I will let you know more later.

No more photos...

The last few days have been filled with many highs and many lows. Let's see the last time I wrote I was on Koh Chang just relaxing on the beach. One night there was a beach party and met up with some people that I had met in Vang Vieng and had a few drinks. They had fire dancers and everything and it was really an awesome time. Some of us decided to go for a swim in the Gulf of Thailand. Probably not the smartest of ideas while a little intoxicated but no one drowned which was good but we came back to the beach to find all of stuff was stolen. I mean I guess it is our fault but we left next to one of our friends who was passed out. I thought he might wake up and scared them off or at least deter anyone from stealing our stuff. It was the first time in 3 days that I brought my wallet and camera out so from now on I will only be taking old school film photos so you will just have to take my word as to how beautiful things are. Thank god I have a back up ATM card and my passport was not in there or else I think I would be a permanent resident on Koh Chang.

After that big blow I decided not to rent a motorbike because I lost about $50 as well when the wallet was stolen. I laid on the beach one more day and enjoyed Valentine's Day with a bunch of Aussies. It was a pretty fun night only to be followed by a very long and frustrating journey to Cambodia. So I was told to be ready at 8 am to leave for Cambodia but got a knock on my bungalow door at half 6. I was told to get in the minibus and we drove to the ferry port. Since I went to bed at 2 in the morning slept for the first 4 hours of the journey and then we stopped and waited at a bus station. We waited there for about 30 minutes only to get back on the same minibus to the border another 2 hours away. I think we changed buses once more and then got to where we needed to get visas. In the guide book and everyone I was with knew we were only supposed to pay about $25 for our visa. We got to the border then the driver got a call so he took us to a hotel to fix our visas out. We had to pay 1200 baht which is close to $40 and we all made a scene but there was nothing we could do. The man said it had to be expedited and this was the only way. First scam dealing with Cambodia.

Then once we got through all the border crossing we were told that Siam Reap only had one ATM and it is often out of money and the best place to get money was there but the money was Thai baht that you could change to Cambodian ruil with no commission. Since all I have on me at this point is an ATM card I believe him. Basically got murdered on the exchange rate and lost another $15 when it was all said and done and I realized how much each currency was worth but it was too late. Second scam in Cambodia.

Then on the other side you have to take government bus to the bus station which took 30 minutes of waiting in the really hot heat of Cambodia. At the bus station the bus came and I was one of the last to get in line. They said there was no more room and I walked away but then they let on a German couple right after me. By this point I had kind of lost it and laid into all the guys working there saying this is bullshit and reenacting my best pissed off Mark Bean. But it was and I was furious. Of course they reassured me another bus was coming in 10 minutes but everyone that was on my minibus was on the bus and I was left out at this bus station with no one else in it...of course I am not an idiot and they are not going to send a bus for just one person. Luckily I met this British guy George on the minibus and he was not in the mood for a 7 hour bus ride to Siam Reap and according to the people at the bus station could upgrade to a taxi ride there for only $8. George said I could get in and ride with them but when time came they wanted money out of me. I told them I was not paying and waiting for a bus that they had said was coming. Apparently there was no bus because the man I originally argued with told me to just get in the cab and did not want to deal with me anymore.

After a 3 hour car ride we arrived in Siam Reap and got a room. nice room with two double beds for $2 per person. Finally after all hassle of getting here we got a reasonable rate on a room. We were both up to get some dinner so ate and had a few drinks and decided today we would just relax. Tomorrow we are gonna get a tuktuk tour of Angkor Wat which I am really excited for. I am really sorry I will not be able to share photos with you but when I get home in a month I will get all my photos scanned and put them up for you to see.

Cambodia has been frustrating and it seems that everyone is out to make an extra buck where they can. It is really frustrating because they want tourism to take off here but when people piss you off it will give nothing but a bad name. Maybe that was only getting in and it will be alright but the jury is out. Hopefully things will be better in the days to come.