i really wish i could blog while walking...

because i always have ideas as i walk.  ALWAYS... and then i get to my kindle or a computer and i forget nearly everything.  like now.  but here is a perfectly good opportunity to blog while i figure out what i want to do for the day. okay... well i know what i want to do, it's just a matter of when i actually want to do it.

cambodia.... wow... i love that country.  it's so special.  it really is.  yes, i did mainly touristy things and hung out in the guesthouses with mainly westerners, but the interaction with the locals when i did have it was great.  and one of my most memorable things was in battambang when i was going to the killing caves (which is mindblowing on its own) and being taken through this village... every child was there waving, smiling and saying hello.  they were so happy.  all of them.  it was just really sweet.  the killing caves themselves were pretty humbling... to know that people were bludgeoned to death because they had an education, a decent career, wore glasses, spoke another language, etc... by their own people.. then thrown through a skylight... just.. disgusting.  and this happening only back in the 70s... just.  unfathomable really.  the killing fields in phnom penh were even more intense.  to hear how they killed people there was just.. disgusting.  children too... killed.  i never knew a thing about cambodia growing up and honestly only read up on the khmer rouge this past summer, but it really is just mindblowing.  and i was really turned off by the visitors in both of these places who were taking photos.  i don't know.  to me it just seems inappropriate to take photos of it.  it was really weird even just to have a tuk tuk driver bring me there.   just a really emotional day both at the killing cave in battambang and the killing fields in phnom penh.  cambodia is just special and i hope to get back there sometime and work or volunteer.  as you all know i'm not one for children... at all.  but those kids in cambodia... oh my goodness, they warm my heart.  i would love to work with them.  this is a huge thing for me to say... not only for the kid factor but also because i never have a desire to return somewhere i've already been.  i saw a couple ads when i was in kampot about volunteering there.  cambodia's version of the peace corps.

cambodia is just special.

why does this happen to me?  i can never remember what i want to say in a blog.. but when i'm out and about i have all these ideas.  i really should start taking notes on my phone or something.  there's always so much i want to share... and then i just blurb.  i'm a horrible blogger.  i apologize.

vietnam, so far, has been great.  things are quiet in ho chi minh city right now because it's tet... chinese new year.  for all of you who care what animal it is the year of, it's the horse.  tet is like thanksgiving, christmas and new years all wrapped into one.  i was lucky enough to meet up with my friend huan who i worked with in boston.  he moved back to vietnam 2 years ago.  he welcomed me into his family's house and out with his friends.  i always think it's amazing for someone to welcome you into their home.  and for it to be part of the holiday celebration... that's just really sweet.  we went to his aunt's house new years eve (jan 30).  and basically it's like thanksgiving.  lots of food, lots of drinking.  his uncles can drink.  and they kept filling up our glasses.  if the beer was cracked open, we were expected to fill our glass up to the top.  i had 3 or 4... and then huan's aunt and cousin were going to the salon to get a head massage and their hair done.  they invited me along.  who was i to say no?  i was buzzed a bit at this point.  so i got my hair done... then came back and kept drinking.  i didn't understand anything that was going on, except for "yo" which means cheers in vietnamese.  easy to remember.  one of his uncles loved cheersing me just because that was the only thing i could say.  :)  that night was new years eve and we went out downtown to a bar called broma.  there were a lot of westerns there.. and some locals too.  we were at a rooftop bar and there were fireworks at midnight.  i thought there was going to be a countdown but i couldn't hear anything.  then there was a dj playing random tunes... come on eileen, a-o let's go, other songs that i can't think of.  met this cool couple from england and new zealand who teach english here and have been teaching here for 4 years.  that night i stayed at vinh's (huan's bf) family's house.  i met his parents and sister early in the morning and then we went to huan's coworker's house.  there were about 5 or so kids there.  on chinese new year they have this lucky tree and there are envelopes with money on them.  guests are offered an envelope of their choice.  we were also offered grapefruit (or something which looked like grapefruit) as good luck.  the children then got in a line in front of the grandmother who had envelopes in her hand.  she wished each child luck and handed each an envelope.. and lucky money was inside.  then the individual families stood in front of the grandmother and were offered a lucky envelope as well.  that reminded me of christmas.  it was really cool to witness, actually.  i'm sure most westerners have no idea what happens during tet.  i had no clue.  so it was very special to actually observe it all.  :)  even if they spoke vietnamese and i didn't completely know what was going on at the time.  i just smiled and nodded.  afterwards, we went back to huan's aunt's house and had lunch.  the same spread was out.  lots of food.  just plates with food on them every inch of the table.  it reminded me so much of thanksgiving.  and like thanksgiving, i needed a nap after i ate.  we left shortly after that and huan dropped me off at my hostel.  which is where i am now.

so.... since i didn't want to rush through cambodia or vietnam, i decided to extend my trip!  :)  instead of coming back on february 5, i am now coming back march 26!  i will be in vietnam until february 25 since that is when my visa runs out.  so i have a whole extra month to play with.  not sure what to do... was thinking... philippines, indonesia (flores or other islands east of bali), or myanmar.  or going back to cambodia to volunteer.  what to do?  what to do?  not a bad problem to have.

okay, this was enough useless information for you to ponder.  i'm going to have to figure out a way to make more informative blogs.  :)