Ho Chi Minh City! Ho!

because Saigon whore is overly used.

Oh, it's a rainy day, it is.

We rented a car and left the small town in Vietnam to head out to the big city of Ho Chi Minh.. also known as Saigon. Well the car ride was slightly butt numbing, I ended up in the bitch seat between my mom and my uncle. It's better than the cramp car ride thought, let me tell ya.

During the ride, we went across two really sweet looking bridges. The river (Mekong). Which is fairly close to the ocean is like 4 times bigger than Missouri.) It was pretty nice to see these huge exquisite looking pieces of architect. When we arrived in the city the streets were just a cluster fuck full of motorcycles, bikers, cars, it was insane. You can tell its a tourist kind of place when I saw the all different races of people pour in on to the streets.

While my parents were purchasing the bus tickets we went up to our hotel to relax a night before heading back to Cambodia the next day (another 8 hours). The hotel was a bit horrid but I dealt with it. They dead bolted the door to the porch, suspicious eh?. I had bugs crawling all over me and they usually don't bug me (ha, no pun intended) but these bugs bit really hard and well.. i couldn't sleep. Even the blanket freaked me out, not to mention mirrors were everywhere.

Here's the upside:

BOUTIQUES

My favorite part is seeing all the small independent boutiques, which makes me want to definitely open one of my own someday over seas. I think I'd have better luck and happiness then doing it in the states. The clothes are extremely fun and cute. I think I'd be really happy running my own store and meeting all the different people and sharing my fashion with the world.

PHO

Seriously had the best pho and noodles here. Don't bother going to the fancy restaurants, it's the alley way street vendor pho that's the best. Totally authentic and they put every spice needed, little robin eggs, even the noodles are just amazing. Don't forget to guard your pockets from pocket pickers.

MONSOOON

Looks like monsoon season came a month early. It poured and poured while I was shopping with my dad, uncle, cousin, & brother. While looking for dryness on our way to the hotel. I swear we were standing in front of a host club. Lots of handsome asian gentleman in suits leading little old ladies out. Very fancy and interesting.

I'm tired.

Good afternoon, Vietnam!

Welps.

12 hours to Vietnam was the biggest pain in my ass bus-ride ever. We had to hit up border control not once... but twice. Let me tell you. Lugging you luggage about a mile at a time (at least it felt like it) and filling out some paperwork for Visas stink. Not to mention the bus was tiny and Sunny and I aren't little people so we were squished like bananas on that damn thing.

We finally arrived in Vietnam Monday afternoon and headed to my uncle's family house. I didn't realize that they had moved from their small hut to this large 4 story stone house with a white and gold gate entrance.

Talk about instant upgrade.

With his 5 children, then two of them with children of their own, a-long with their spouses, a maid, and a cute little black pointer puppy, a house that big is necessary for all those people! The house was beautiful, all the floors are stone or porcelon. There is a nice lofty strairway that sqaures off in the kitchen to the second floor. There is also 3 porches and another pair of metal spiral stairs that lead up to a small area on the top level. It's quite a neat house. My uncle did well.

All the kids (my cousins) have there own scooter, bike, bicycle, moped of their own. One of my cousins Lih, I clicked with right away, we got a long pretty well. She's very tom boyish has a sweet boyish haircut and is super cute. She drove me around on her cool white moped (with flower decals) to see the city and visit with my extended family while I was there.

Okay, I'm getting bored with just writing a description. I think a list will be less tiresome to write and it saves you all the skimming. Here goes:

-Shared a bed with Sunny in a 13 year olds room, with teeny bopper posters everywhere and no ac.

-Sunny and I were annihilated by mosquitos. We look like we have measles. We tried to protect our selves with wool blankets. That doesn't work well in 90 degree weather with no AC. The first night was pure hell

-I met all 6 of my uncles .My dad is short and the pale one.

-Rode in a fishing boat

-Fell asleep on a board in a jungle

-Drank coconut juice out of a cocoanut freshly cut out of a tree!

-Sunny got drunk and talked to me for hours before going to bed (about his g/f and his car & my problems). Did I mention he never talks to me and is a huge shy introvert.

-Saw my dad go clam diving in the river. He's out-of-shape

-Saw my uncles go Lobster catching. With their bare hands.

-Watch Sunny eat a freshly killed then roasted snake.

-Too many damn snails. Everyone eats them. Too slimy and creepy.

-Sunny and i finally got a mosquito net. We still look like we have measles.

-My aunt ask me if I had a face lift. I don't know if I should take that as a complement.

I HATE MOSQUITOS!

DAD-ATTACKING MONKEY!

We went to a centralized outdoor temple at the park in Phnom Penh today. It had elephants and monkeys just hanging out and chilling at the park.

So, there's this little pathway built for just the monkeys (oh they have bright red butts too). My dad tried walking up them and there just happen to be one little guy sitting right in the middle. He hissed at my dad and chased him right into the bushes. Funniest thing ever. We got it all on video. I'll have to post it later. But after his encounter here was his dialogue:

Me:"Dad, DON'T GET BIT! I don't want you to get an infection".

Dad: "It's okay they are the little ones, you can just kick them if they get out of hand."

(GIANT HUGE MONKEY SITTING BEHIND MY DAD)

Dad takes notice: "oh... it's just those big ones that scare me a little bit.."

Me:" uh huh.."

Sunny, kept' playing with all the random kittens that were staying with some of the locals by the temple and there were lots of pretty birds too. I think what I saw interesting was when they were walking some of the elephants back home and this little boy came running towards it and the keeper chased him off with a big stick.

Coincidence: I ran into the Australian gals I met in Battambang (8 hours away) right outside the river walk! I hope we become good friends.

Digraced hairstylist, No more!

I went a few days without washing my hair. Which is pretty normal for me as a hairstylist... washing your hair everyday can strip it of it's natural oils and health. (expecially when your hair is constantly bleached, colored, and tormented with hot tools like myself.) However, I ran out of shampoo.

I tried to resort to using just conditioner but that made it worse. WIth no shampoo to get rid of all the dirt and overly oily hair... I was a hot greasy mess. This gave me the excuse to go and get my hair done at one of the local hair salons.

Cambodia-style.

I also decided to try out a mani and a pedi too. I usually don't get those since I'd prefer to do them myself (or at all) but why the hell not.

I walked down the street from my hotel a couple blocks and I passed, say i don't know at least 3-4 salons. My mom is with me and we literally just walk into a random salon. This place had all the prices displayed on the door. A shampoo and style was 5 bucks and a manicure was 2 dollars. My mom told them to have their way with me so they did.

I sat down in the chair and they shampooed my hair while I was sitting down using a squirt-stream bottle and Panteen Pro-V (no big names, I am in a small city after all). I was impressed that hey didn't need the shampoo bowl till' they brought me back to rinse me and condition me. Along with the most amazing facial and head massage ever. (They massaged my head during the shampoo too) I got another massage while they point some oils in my hair and a good blow out.

While all this was going on I had one girl working on my fingers and another lady working on my feet. The only thing that worried me (but I was understanding about) was the lack of sanitation. They relied on limes and water to clean my feet and hands. When the lady accidently nipped my fingers, my god did it burn then she felt bad and put alcohol on me. It didn't bother me like I said I'm an extremely understanding person, but SHIT it burned. The paint job was magnificent and has lasted on my nails way longer than I expected. It also helps that I'm not constantly doing hair and sewing myself, since I use my hands a lot.

The hair lady straigtned my hair for me and did a great job. I normally don't style my hair like this but it was super cute. My mom told all the ladies I was a cosmetologist (from the U.S.) too so I can tell they were trying their absolute best. I think they did excellent. I normally don't pamper myself so it was a treat.

Grand Total : $7.00 (not including my generous tip for each of the ladies)

Pinchy. Pinch. Happy St. Pats!

I just woke up! but during my sleepy times, I hope all you had a wonderful St. Patty's day and were safe!

Be careful if you go out to the bars tonight too! I'll be celebrating in spirit for Bobby's Irish side

love and miss all of you immensely!

Love, Linda

Every Last Drop.

I'm leaving the city of Siem Reap today. Here is a list of things I noticed and took a liking to that I just half to mention, this doesn't really correlate with any of my entries.. it's almost like

left over blog spew.

Hoards of Sellers: Note to self and those of you who visit Ankgor Wat and the temples anywhere in Siem Reap. Never whip out your wallet (I'm looking at you Sunny!) flashing your money. Once you buy something from one independent seller, they will all mob you asking you to buy their stuff. It's hell to get out of of.

Typical Asian Tourist: Okay, think of all those (you think they'd be racist) cartoons and movies that have the big groups of asian tourist with the ball caps, sun hats, black sunglasses, floral shirts, scarves, and those huge canon cameras strapped around the neck. Korean and Japanese Tour guide to add to the mix. You think these movies exaggerate that. No. NO. I saw it. It was glorious. Which made me think of the ultimate theme party. (Don't you dare steal this idea... Actually.. if you do take pictures and credit me, I'll love you for it [invite me too!]).

Dead skin-eating fish: There are these big aquariums sitting variously throughout the city. They have a kagillion sucker fish ( called Garra Rufa) in them with big booths for people to sit on and dip their feet in. The fish will swarm your feet and eat all the dead skin. This takes approximately 25 minutes for $1 (sometimes with a free tasty beverage). I enjoyed all the signs that said "NO PIRANAS!"

Sugar cane blocks: My little cousin offered me these small soaked yellow pieces of sugar cane. You bite, suck, and spit, suckering up every piece of sweet cane juice there is. It was really tasty, better (but reminded me of) those wax bottles with juice in them.

My dad's haggling abilities: While visiting the old and new market the variety of stuff they sell is so neat: Statues, hookahs, spices, bags, clothes, even small vile' of alcohol with scorpion, alligators, and other weird animals floating in them. As things weren't cheap ($1-$10) enough anyway, watching my dad talk the price down is insane. He's able to talk down a price in half or get a lot more out of it.

Seller: "$15 bucks for this"

Dad: "how about $7"

Seller: "10 is the lowest I'll go

Dad: "What if I buy 2 for $15?"

Seller: "Sold."

Damn Dad! How'd you do that? Apparently he had years of haggling selling veggies as a kid. He looked at me and told me he was a pro. When Sunny and I went later to try the bargaining ourselves... it was a complete failure. They take you more seriously when you can speak fluently. I was only able to get a few dollars off.

Ankgor Wat, Bayon, Siem Reap +

Angor Wat is beautiful!

Ready to go at 5:30 AM. It's actually pretty cool out and it's so early that the shops are just now cooking breakfast for the locals and tourist. We all hit the taxi and take a good 20 minutes drive out to all the temples. Ankgor Wat is the first large land mark we visit. For some reason it looked much smaller to me from what I did see in pictures. Then I realized... I was only walking through the stone gate way to get to the actual temple. When I finally walked under that on to another stone pathway, I saw all it's glory and the beautiful ponds on each side and the palm trees accenting the building nicely. Workers were scattered throughout the site restoring some of the reliefs and larger parts of the building that have worn away. (this made me think of Brandon a lot ). This also made me think that some of my Art History classes really paid off despite how boring they were. (Mostly just for it's basic terminology to recognize certain historical artifacts.)

Seriously, climbing these extremely steep stairs to some of monuments reaching a good few stories up is tiring (Some of those monuments had monuments within' those monuments and those were filled with more reliefs and statues!). Parading through rock gardens, long pathways, and did I mention there were about 10 more smaller temples that we checked out? I didn't even realize there were more! Another temple that particular stood out to me was called Bayon, (HUGE smiling buddha faces). It was absolutely fascinating seeing some of the wear and tear of these huge stone temples and & the faces etched into them. It really doesn't compare to seeing just pieces of it in a museum when you got the whole she-bang in front of you.

Even the surroundings of these temples were fun to take in. Monkeys were hanging out every where walking freely and I even saw a few elephants lead around by people as well as giving rides to whoever wanted to shell out cash. I tried to drink some pond water (yes they sell it) but my stomach was already upset. The water was from a huge stone swimming pool by Bayon, apparently the king use to bathe there in his down time. Other things I took notice were huge, big black bee's nest and large trees with roots big enough to make a small home out of near these temples.

I have a whole new appreciation for history. I never really liked it or was good at remembering important events. It turns out that I was just learning about boring shit this whole time and never gave a rats ass. Today was a new-age hippie and art history teachers orgasm. (especially for those interested in the Buddhist and Hindu religions & practices), either way just seeing it all is worth learning about it.

I want to type more.. but I'm sleepy. Goodnight.