Da Lat and Nha Trang

I spent a few days in Da Lat. Its a nice area with a cooler climate then Saigon and Cambodia. My friend and I rented motor bikes and toured around the countryside. We also did a four and a half hour hike which felt great. After Da Lat we took a bus to Nha Trang. Its a nice beach town with cheap accomodation (5 USD for two of us), but we only spent two nights there. Last night we took the night bus to Hoi An. We havent seen much here yet because it was a little rainy this afternoon. Im sort of rushing to get to the top of Vietnam. I dont like traveling like that but I need to fly out in less then two weeks so I dont have a lot of time to spare. If everything goes as planned we will rent motor bikes for a week in the north near Sa Pa and tour the northern part of the country by ourselves. If that happens we will be able to get off the tourist path and see more of the countryside. It will be Vietnam's equivallent of Independence day over the next few days so it might make traveling harder and more expensive. Its always sort of a pain traveling on holidays because you have the normal amount of travelers plus local tourists trying to find busses and accomodation. Its been very beautiful here but the people are quite a bit different then the other countries Ive been to in SE Asia. So far its been a pretty enjoyable experience in Vietnam and it would be nice to have more time to really see the country and experience the culture.

Saigon

Ive been in Saigon for the better part of a week. The War Remnants Museum was informative and it gave a good perspective of the war from a non US standpoint. Then I went to the Cu Chi tunnels which were interesting as well. Yesterday we went to a waterpark in the city that was inexpensive and a lot of fun. Most of the people here have been friendly and its sort of surprising to me that being from the US doesn't effect their judgement of me. Its been a good time in this city but Im going to try to start heading north today. A friend I met in Cambodia doesn't want to get set bus tickets to the north so we are planning on going to the local bus station and getting on any bus that is headed that way. I have a little more then 2 weeks left which means I have to move quick, but I think I can see a lot of the country in that time.

Leaving Cambodia

I booked a bus ticket today from Kampot, Cambodia, to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon) tomorrow. I have to be out of Cambodia by the 19th so that gives me one day to spare. The month Ive been in Cambodia has gone by really quickly. For the first time today I realized that I am nervous to go back to the States. People have told me that there is always a little bit of a culture shock when you go home after traveling for a while. When I went to New Zealand after 6 weeks in Latin America I felt some of that culture shock. Now Im going home after 3 months in South East Asia where everything is much different then in the US. Its a weird mix of being excited to see friends and family, sadness that its almost over, and nervousness about going back to an American life style. Its the first time in months that I have been nervous about the destination and its funny because the destination is home.

Sihanoukville

Yesterday I took the bus from the capital of Cambodia to a beach town called Sihanoukville. I left the orphanage a couple days ago. The kids all went to their homeland for the Khmer New Year, so classes are stopped until the 20th. It was a good time to leave because all the kids were gone and I have less then a week left before my Cambodian visa runs out. I dont really have any bad feelings towards the guy who was most likely corrupt. I really enjoyed being with the kids and helping them in any way I could. I am going to head to Viet Nam within the week and Im excited to see it because it is such a large part of US history.

Corruption

I met a girl yesterday who volunteered for an orphanage that the operator of mine used to work at. She said he was fired for being corrupt with money issues. I confronted the guy and he didnt give a good explanation. I left the orphanage after talking to him yesterday to stay in town for a couple nights and figure out what Im doing. I havent given him any money or anything, but I feel like he was using me. Another orphanage down the road from the one Im staying at is having a New Years party tomorrow that I said I would go to. Im going to stay in town for that, but Im not sure what to do next. Its a weird situation and Im not sure if I should continue staying there to try and fix it, move to another orphanage, or take some time off and maybe try and volunteer at another one in Viet Nam. The problem is I really like the kids, but I will have to leave in a week no matter what.

Orphanage continued

Yesterday we had a big Khmer (Cambodian) New Year celebration at the orphanage. It was a good time and I think the kids had fun. It was exhausting but it went smoothly. It raised awareness about the orphanage and gave travelers a chance to see the real Cambodia. Unfortunately Im not going to be able to stay here for a full month because my visa only lasts one month, so I will be here for 3 weeks. That means I have 9 or 10 days left before I have to leave. Its been one of the best experiences on my trip so far and changing my plane tickets to stay here was a definitely good decision.