Bagan

Bagan

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Kampot and ostres beach Cambodia 12/16

My time in Cambodia is unfortunately short. After two nights in Phom penh I took a 4 hrs bus, accidentally the long way to Kampot. Could have done it in two hrs, if I researched the bus companies better. 

Kampot is a chill place, nearby a beach town. I booked at a 10/10 rating "Eco" place. The highest I have ever seen. Chill place with "healthy" food. I was stoked. They had some good food options but nowhere close to what I am use to cooking or ordering back home. I so miss cooking and eating heathy. I have gained weight and look forward to going home to straighten myself out. 

The setting was nice and quiet but 4km out of the sleepy like town with not a whole lot to do. This was fine for me because I was down to relax. Met some cool people at my hostel and that's where I spent Xmas eve and morning. No major party or activity which was fine by me as I was never a Xmas person. 
Two nights later and two hr mini van I ended at Otres beach. But only for one night. I heard about a hill hostel by the beach. It's a total backpacker spot and I really enjoyed the chill vibe. No big buildings, no resorts.

 Sadly I learned that the Chinese might have bought up the area and I gather in two years only the rich will afford to be here and probably ruin the beach with over development. No one seems to learn from others mistakes not care. 

I keep meeting cool people and it's nice to have dinner with people, learn about their country and travels. So many Australians and British I end up chatting with in Vietnam and Cambodia. 


Friday, December 30, 2016

Boarder Cross to Phnom Penh Cambodia & killing fields 12/16

7am bus for a 7 hrs ride, crossing the boarder  to Phnom Penh in Cambodia wasn't too bad. though I think I might have been ripped off with the visa price by $5. Welcome to corruption; though it's not only in Asia. 

 
I was surprised how relatively clean the city was compared to Saigon. And I was shocked with all the new development, mainly tall glass skyscrapers. I ran around the city to get money, apparently US dollars is preferred, which is odd and to see a doc for the toe. Saw penh hill and the Buddha site and ending the evening with a Quick, cheap 1 hr River boat ride to see the city landscape and slums across from it. 

Next day the big highlight was the prison S21 and killing fields. I knew it was going to be intense and glad I visited and learned about this dark history even on Xmas eve. This is what I have gathered and it probably is not 100% accurate and of course has some holes. 

The US in the 60s bombed parts of Cambodia (who was neutral) as part of a strategy against Vietnam. We also bombed parts of Laos, where people still suffer from loosing their limbs if they come across a weapon that didn't explode then. 

From 1975-79, just two weeks before Vietnam won the war, an idealist communist, Pol Plot, unleashed hell to his own Cambodian people. After tricking and betraying them in to following him, Khmer Rouge overtook phnom phen. 

Evacuated millions, walking for months without supplies in the heat, to neighboring towns that became slave camps. They worked 14 hrs a day in pior conditions to increase rice production to sell to China in exchange for guns. 

Those too weak to walk were shot. Those educated and skilled were taken to a prison detention, formerly a highschool. Through torture techniques people admitted to being a spy because that's what the soldiers, made up of brainwashed village teenagers, wanted to hear. From weeks up to 6 months of torture. Their families were taken to avoid revenge seekers. 

After false admission, their skulls were bashed to spare precious bullets. Babies were bashed against what's known as the killing tree. Sometimes tossed in the air and shot at. In front of their moms, who were sometimes rapped before their death. All tossed in to a mass grave pit. 

This killing field is one of 300 plus. It had the most deaths of about 20,000. Later a memorial was built to house the skulls and some bones that were found. 

Plot became paranoid and killed his own guards and their families. Attacked Vietnam because he bought they were going to attack. Vietnam attacked back and won; freeing what was left of the people. About 2 million died over 4 years. 

For twenty years, plot with a dedicated army lived in the jungle and ran freely. The Cold War still gave him power. He never paid for his crimes; he died at 73. After the Cold War, the king came back to establish a new government in the early 90s. Some top soldiers are still at international courts. 

The country is still poor and struggles to overcome the obstacles from the aftermath. Education is lacking. And sex trade is the new terror, even among the young. It just blows my mind how sick people are and how much people can suffer. There seems no end for this country. 

Why is there a demand for watching kids in sexual situations? The trauma caused by this and the continue domino effect from any of these terrible actions is countless and seems endless. Why can't we solve these evils that we know exist? 


Pix link to S21 prison and killing fields https://goo.gl/photos/FNTnidPtrTNj6zfL8

Monday, December 26, 2016

Saigon - Ho Chi Min City & Phu Quoc - Vietnam

 After the dark cave tour and in mui ne, I stubbed the same pinky toe twice. We cleaned it up and put a bandaid with ointment on it. I know wounds need to breathe so I removed the bandaid for the 5 hrs bus ride to Saigon, now named Ho Chi Min. 

Saigon is the capital; very busy and dirty. We walked to our hostel, which we later realized was a full blown party hostel. Staff comes to our room to give us shots of something. We get a free beer and they inform us of their pub crawl. I was too tired to drink. We had a nice dinner and met up with some other travellers.  

When I got home my toe didn't look right. I put peroxide on it and went to sleep. Friends gave me suggestions via a fb post and the next two days I went to some pharmacies to load up. Didn't find everything but an antibiotic cream and decided to take antibiotics because it was infected. 

 I still managed to go to the war musuem which was an interesting experience. They blame US for everything but never mentioned the war had started amongst themselves. But I don't think we should have entered this war. 

The photos of the long term birth effects of agent orange was horrible and interesting to learn Monsanto was one of the manufacturing companies. And we let them manage our food back home. We are so twisted, even to ourselves. 

Visiting the Chuchi tunnels is a must but later I learned I went to the tourist version. Pretty much didn't learn a anything, saw a documentary that was ancient and not understandable and saw some cheesy displays. For those small framed, we were able to go through some of the tiny tunnels. I don't think this site was real though. I also got mega ripped off by booking the tour with the hostel. Keep on learning. 

The tunnels is pretty much how the Viet Cong (who sided with the north but were located in the south) won in the south. Tunnels spanned across five villages where thousands of people lived (and 200 were born) during the war and survived the US bombs. 

Our second night, Sarah and I got our own room next to party hostel. she had a flight back to London so I had my own room for a night to catch up on much needed sleep and then caught a flight to beautiful island of Phu Quoc. I wanted to chill, no more buses, no more walking, no more sights/tours. 
 
The south is super humid compared to the north; the beach didn't have much of a breeze but the water temperature wa a perfect escape never without the strong sun, the air is hot. I met some cool people at my hostel and stayed at the beach for 3 days. It's super hard to keep the baby toe clean, but every day it looks better. 

I can't believe I didn't tour the island at all. I literally stayed on a beach for days. I caught up on sleep too! On my way back to the big city I managed a doc appt to see if the toe had any puss to drain before I go to Cambodia the next day. The local doc who told me to stop the antibiotics. We all know you should never just stop that treatment, you need to run the full course. All I can do it try here. 

The next day, I saw an English doc in Phnom Penh, who advised to stop the antibiotics on day 5 instead of 7. He said the trend is to be on antibiotics for less. After reading up on them, I decided to stop. It does so much harm to your immune system, and I have an auto immune deficiency.  I loaded up on probiotics but can't tell if they are the real good ones. I've been feeling weird; Stopping the treatment was my Xmas present. 


Sunday, December 25, 2016

Mui Ne - Vietnam 12/16

Just about every day for the last few days I'm on a bus. Luckily they are pretty cozy and have ok wifi at times. Much better than Laos and Myanmar minivans. I catch up on blogging and it's my solo quiet time.  it's also nice to take a break from walking all day. 

Onward to Mui Ne, At a rest area, a British chick started to chat with me. Sarah is 30 and happy to meet someone not in their 20s. sarah was staying at a hostel I was considering. I checked in and We befriended our dorm mates. 

It's amazing how many young travellers there are, which I think is a great experience. But it's terrible to see them drink to oblivion, trash these local places and make foreigners look like asses. I can see how locals can think we have so much money to waste and why they heavily try to sell things to us. Although I do see locals polluting as well but most of the time I honestly don't think they know better. And of course it's understandable for them to be upset with the US and France for what we did to their people and land. 

Tourism is increasing, therefore so is development of hotels, cafes, etc. Sarah said Vietnam doesn't feel like Asia anymore. Many places try to cater to the western ways. I wish I had come just a few years earlier. I worry this is what will happen to Myanmar. No one seems to mind or care though; they follow the dollar signs without thinking about the long term, sustainable impact. 

For this reason I think traveling by moto bike would be great to get off the many well travelled tourist roads. Many adventures travellers do this But you really should know how to ride a bike and do it all as smart as possible with Good gloves, helmet and footwear. I've seen too many wounds and heard many hardship stories. 

 Mui ne unfortunately is super developed. Hotels right up to the ocean water as erosion has taken away most of the sandy beaches. It's world class for kite surfing. Hotels don't let you through to get to the beach. We managed to sneak in one evening. And later learned there's a small public access area. The water was brown and I could feel rubbish in it. It's a sad experience overalland know I understand why hotels including hostels have a pool. 

Next day we did a half day tour to visit fairy springs, which was a nice walk literally in the water to see a not so great waterfall, and visit the white and red sand dunes. I've seen sand dunes Back home and these weren't anything special but still nice to see. We stopped at a local fishing village; pretty much anything in the ocean was for sale to eat; including endangered species. 

We rented a crappy, overpriced quad like bike at the white sands which Sarah drove. I'm too tired to operate anything. We got stuck many times and a tire went flat. At the red dunes we rented a cheap, shitty plastic slide. We had fun falling down the sandy hill while the sun sets and the boys doing crazy flips in the air. Happily no one was injured today. 

A bottle of rum only costs $3; apparently I drank most of it. I am told I was funny but don't remember half the night. I tripped over Sarah's messy luggage area, matrix style I am told, my back hit her tiled bed while the cup of rum flew in the air and on to the floor and gave a little show as my dress yanked down during the fall.  I woke up at 6am, had breaky, went for a swim with two beers and we booked a bus at 1 for the big city, Saigon (now called Ho Chi Min). It's amazing how the cheap booze gets you drunk with no hangover. 


Friday, December 23, 2016

En route to dalat - Vietnam

Since I landed here we have heard flooding reports. And it's not the raining season. There's heavy rain in the central coast which is why I didn't stay in hue or hoi an for long. My second and last day in Hoi An was rain free. And when it rains here, it pours nonstop. 
12 hrs on an overnight bus to Nha Trang and then transfer for a 5 hrs bus to Dalat. Parts of the highway was missing due to floods. A week later I felt super lucky as a chick told me the bus took 24 hrs and it just rained again for days in Hoi An after I left. 

I couldn't believe the conditions of the road and locals didn't seem to be worried.  I was worried since The night bus driver drove 10 hrs straight; i was impressed.

 Dalat is known for its beautiful countryside, views from the mountains. I skipped Nha Trang as its a huge city by the beach that's been overtaken by drunk Russians, so I'm told. For some reason Russians love to visit Vietnam but the locals and other tourists don't seem to love them here. 
 
I rented a private room at a nice place to get some sleep and much needed me time. It's nice meeting so many cool travellers but you end up never alone and talking to new people every day can get exhausting. 

A lady told me on the bus to visit crazy house which I did right away. It was like a small Disney land for adults. I kept saying to myself, "this is crazy". 

I headed up to my nice hotel in the mountains and stayed up there to save money from taxis. The rain came after crazy house tour so all good timing. The next day I wanted to take the cable car to the monastery but it was not working so I took a taxi instead. It was peaceful but not much to it. A monk did talk to me for once but I didn't have much time. 

Headed back to town to check out before my 5 hrs bus to Mui Ne. Later I heard there's so much more to do in dalat including a bar with a maze and a lot adventure activities. Can't see and do it all in a month here. 

More pix to dalat and monastery 

Pix link of  awesome crazy house 

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Hoi An - Vietnam

Hoi An is known for its nice beach, old city and tailored suited and apparently dresses can me made to order. I found a hostel in between town and the beach. But the rain stayed with me on my first day and I didn't bother to see the beach. I tried to ride a bike in the rain to the bus office to reserve my seat for the next day but I got lost and ran out of time. 

Everything was wet; I was not super happy. I did luck out with having the whole dorm to myself. The family owner is known for being hospitable. On Sunday's they go out for dinner. They motorbiked me and a kiwi to a local fried chicken place to dine with them. The chicken was excellent. Hotel owner loves to socialize and drink beer. He downs them fast and encouraged us to participate with doing a cheers for every sip. 

Back at home, He invites us to have more beer. I think it was 3 for me. His wife served salty, chewy dried fish and dried beef; I didn't like either but I tried it at least. 
 
Hotel guy is getting happy and friendly. He loves saying my legal name and kept saying "Malta" and " she's beautiful" to Sam. Later he tells me "I have you now", twice. I look at Sam as he hears this too. I say, "I see you tomorrow". He says, " I see you later". "Tomorrow" I say. 

Not too long he comes into my dorm room and closes the door. I open it and Sam is there offering me water. The guy hugs and leaves and Sam and I disect the situation. Sam was uncomfortable as the dude walked in to his room too before mine.  We decided to stick together and share a room. 

I leave in the morning to enjoy the old city before my evening bus. Most of the old section avoided the war. The old Town was a South-East Asian trading port from the 15th to the 19th century. Architectural Influences by China, Japan, and some European. 

With such an odd evening I splurged on a dress that stood out. It's my first tailored dress, silk material about $57. I got her down a bit because I've been spending way too much money here and I know I'm getting ripped off often. 

There's a pottery village nearby. I so enjoyed pottery classes and was curious what they meant by 17th century style. THey get the mud by boat from the local river. Use their feet to move the wheel. Then dry the pots in the sun for two days, during rainy season more days inside.
 
Next it goes in the kiln for at least 2 days in the small one, 5 days In The larger kiln. The brick the door shuts except the bottom part where they can put burn the wood to get it hot. Then they break down the brick door and wait 5 days inside to let it cool down.

They let you try a turn; I super sucked as its been 6 years :( They guilted me into buying something. I'm such a sucker here. The constant hassling from vendors and everyone who sees you as a cash machine wears on you after a while. 

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Hue -Vietnam

 We had a night bus to Hue, known for its local food. The bus system is odd here. They want you there sometimes 30 mins before, sometimes an hour. They tell you the bus is at 7 when its at 9. Sometimes it leaves ahead of time, on time or late. 

Sometimes you can reserve your seat (with an open ticket) by phone via your hotel. Other times, they want you in the office to see your ticket to be sure it's with the right company. Lots of time spent on bus rides (5-12 hrs), not including the wait time at the office or the 20 mins breaks. When you get off the bus, taxi men are trying to get you and your luggage with them and you need to bargain to get a fair price. Gas is super cheap here and a light neon green for some reason. 

The AK guys were not sure if they were going to stay in Hue as they wanted to meet up with some travelling friends further south in Hoi An. I decided to spend 24 hrs. I found a cheap dorm and took a hard one hour nap. My sleep has been so screwed up the past 2.5 months for various reasons. It's always something disrupting my sleep, including just me waking up at odd hours. 

Since I didn't have much time, I hired a guy to motorbike me to one of the emperors tomb, the tallest pagoda in Nam and to the abondended waterpark that I just heard about that morning. It was eerie and neat, apparently it's popular for wedding photographs too. At night, I experienced the local food with a Candian traveller; the food was not too bad. 

Abandoned water park opened in 2004 for three million dollars. It opened before it was completed, however shut down due to business problems just a few years later. It's such a beautiful spot, huge park, nice trees and lakes. Mostly locals hangout here and some wedding shoots too. 

"The idea had been to create a family water park with amusement rides, slides, pools, shows and an aquarium. There used to actually be crocodiles living in the pool at the bottom of this slide; travelers reported them to PETA and the government relocated them."

The next morning I had time to visit the citadel, home to emperors long ago. Two hours was barely enough time to visit all the buildings, gardens and take in the structures that were not destroyed in any of the wars. 

I lucked out with no rain for the most part. So I decided to eat my bus ticket to Hoi An and take the well known motorbike ride tour with a guide to stop at some well known sights along the way. 

Well my luck ran out; it rained when we started and the whole 3 hrs way. My shoes soaked in an hour with a pool inside. I reluctantly switched to sandals to be more comfortable and less cold.  I was miserable and told him to skip the sights as that would add 5 more hours. I figured there's nothing to see in the fog and rain. 

The only good news is I got to Hoi An before the bus but spent some time trying to dry my shoes with a hairdryer. Apparently hair drying was not smart as I shrunk one of the shoes just a bit; the soles don't fit so well inside anymore and it crushes my toe. Can't win all the time. 

Hue waterpark and sights pix link https://goo.gl/photos/mXrFfdLHfbh37XGV9

Friday, December 16, 2016

Phong Nha: Paradise & Dark Cave - Vietnam

 Heading more south to phong Nha which is infamous for a collection of impressive caves. So many tours to choose from ranging in prices for one day to a three day trek, camping caving. Unfortunately you need to book the longer tours in advance. 

We decided on paradise cave, which opened up in 2010 as it was discovered only in 2006 by a loca who get a draft. The prettiest cave I have ever visited. We only walked 1km and its 32 km long for more professional Cavers to explore. 

We had an awesome lunch and then a quick Zipline to the dark cave. I haven't Ziplined in 6 years so the guy had to give me a nudge at the top. So much fun and I was able to take a video, not so great at the beginning as I had it super zoomed. 

Once landed, it's a quick, chilly swim to enter the dark cave. We walked a narrow line to avoid the sharp rocks as we were barefoot. The caves gets narrower and muddier. We have helmets (good for me as I hit my head) and a head lamp. 

Towards the end, there's no avoiding the mud. We end up swimming in a mud pool and it starts to lift your feet up. Like we are in space and you can actually float  on it not just in it. Such a bizzare, fun time. After 20 mins, I'm getting cold and it's time to go. I desperately try to keep my waterproof camera clean as I wasnt sure how it would do after the mud pool. It's ok!

We kayak back and are able to rinse in the water and do a sort of Zipline in to the water but not strapped on as you want to land in the water. Ended the tour with some free rum and coke; I skipped the coke part. 

We also rented motorbikes to check out the valley. I was happy to ride backseat. The "good" road was a bit of a scare with mud tracks. If I smoked, I definately would have needed a cigarette. 

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Cat ba island, Halong Bay & Tam Coc

 Heading south to cat Ba island to stay a few nights and take a day tour in gorgeous halong bay, known for its towering limestone cliffs out of the very cold water. The tour included visiting a fishing village and kayaking through caves. 

We lucked out with no rain and a tiny bit of sun. I caught up again with my Alaskan friends and we checked out a national park, sweaty 30 mins hike for a great view as the island is gorgeous as well. 

We headed south to tam coc (nickname Halong bay on land) near Ninh Binh.  Our place was a short cab ride and then a 20 mins walk through some fields; my friends wee a bit concerned about the place I selected.

It paid off at the end as it was next to the limestone cliffs and our bungalow was adjacent to the cane that you can see in our open air bathroom. 

We motor biked to a pagoda and the ancient city. I've been noticing the cemeteries are so beautifully colored and decorated with artwork. They are pretty big and vary In styles. 

We enjoyed our cultural experience during lunch at a local restaurant. These guys were all drinking their homemade rice wine and wanted to do shots with us. It's impolite to say no as it is a super social thing here. 

My friends were nervous because they were driving. Before and after each shot they shook our hands. My friends said no more; after 4 the local guys let us go. After some picture requests, they gave us two small bottles. 

My Alaska friends were on a quicker schedule than me so I decided to cut my time short to continue travelling south. 

Cat Ba island pix link


Friday, December 2, 2016

Sapa & Lao chai trek & Hmong tribe 12/16

 There are a few different tribes near Sapa spread out small villages. Each tribe speaks their own language and Vietnamese. My guide is with the Hmong tribe, black is their color. 

Rice paddies season starts in spring for 5 months. Right now it's just water and weeds; they will have to clean it up in spring to prepare for the season. 

The trek wasn't as hard as I imagined but different guides takes you to different villages on various routes. My guide took me to her village, Lao Chai. It's lower elevation than Sapa, which sits at 5,000 feet. But it's still cold. The hotel in sapa had no heat which is kinda crazy but in the village we could sit by a fire.  

We trekked through mud, narrow paths and rice fields. Passing tons of animals (buffalos, ducks, goats, chickens, pigs, dogs), many with babies. She was impressed how fast I was going as we passed larger tour groups. Im so happy I opted for my own guide vs going on a group. 

I haven't hiked since Colorado, two months ago; my legs felt it the next few days. It's nice to get out and about in nature again. 

Hmong village life 
 I was more entertained by the local village life than the beautiful landscapes we passed. It's winter so the fog prohibited me from seeing their full on mountain range view. The rice paddies was still a sight to see. 

Families live close together and pretty much share duties. You rarely see this back home; multi generations cooking and eating together. They don't move away, they don't go on long trips. They are a part of each other's daily lives. Life is like standstill in time here. Not much to do at night. Sit by the fire to keep warm on a hard low wooden stool. 

Tomorrow is their tribe's celebration and tribe members from other villages are coming to my guides house. Every year they take a turn who hosts. I was greeted with the sight of a butchered pig.  The men kill and prepare the meat together and the ladies prepared rice and other dishes. 

They get plenty of cold water from the mountains; they have electricity but my first day it was out. No shower because no electricity. I honestly didn't think we would have electricity or a chance for shower. 

The house is super simple, just made of a few large rooms with cold hard rock floors. It reminds me of models of typical villages from centuries ago I've seen at an archeological site. Small, low wooden stools, table and simple pad for bed. I'm a giant compared to the locals. The low stools hurt by legs after a while. Amazingly I slept very well despite roosters starting at 2am. 

There's No couches, No decor. They do have a flush toilet, shower and a fridge. Kids have no toys, however they are pretty well behaved. Toddlers carry their baby siblings on their back to care for them while the parents are working. The older kids entertain the young. 

No kitchen sink, which makes sense because the pots are so enormous. instead the Floor boards drains underneath or on the side through the walls. It's a huge area so multiple people can be functioning on the same space. 

 Huge pots over the fire also heats us while sitting by it. There's no insulation, I can't imagine the dead of winter here when they get snow. People have been coughing in town, in the village. They don't cover their mouths, which in the case when they are cooking that might be for the better because they use their hands often for hours and don't wash them all the time. 

Dried bamboo burns well. It's also used as a huge smoking device for tobacco and the bamboo ends are used as shot glasses.  The tobacco device totally looks and sounds like a bong. Marijuana is of course illegal to smoke but they are allowed to grow it to make clothing. The women carry it around and when they stop to take a break, they work on the hemp. 

Village people and culture
Village women learned English from speaking with the tourists. They make and sell items and now are our guides. If they have infants, they come with them.  The men and boys stay home to work, take care of the kids. They don't speak English so the women are the money makers. Tourists have really changed their society. 

The women wear traditional clothing daily, hair style (when married, no wedding rings) and traditional jewelry (brackets, giant hoop necklace with chain mail and big hoop earrings); the elderly have five big hoops in one piercing stretching their earlobe.it represents beauty. 

The elderly have so much energy and The women are strong. Hiking daily for hours, carrying loads and babies. They use huge knives and machetes to chop lettuce over the pot without a cutting board, split bamboo, and so on. 

Kids go to school for almost 10hrs. The
Highschool is in town; it's a boarding school so those who can't afford it stay in village. The kids that stay get married at 14 and Start having kids at 15. I meet 18-23 and  they had 5 year olds already. Not sure what the rush is but they seem to only have two kids each. And the girls are marrying boys of the same age. 

Kids are important to have so they take care of you when you are older. It's desired to have a son as they stay with the parents. The parents pay for the son to marry (usually $2k) as she will be living and taking care of that family. There's some options if the parents don't have a son or if they don't have money for a wife. It's so old school but it seems to work for them. 

They first asked me my age and thought I look younger. They assume I don't have kids and not married since I'm on my own here. Then they ask do I have a boyfriend. They don't ask or seem too interested in where your from etc. they are more interested in marriage, siblings and parents. 

Hmong ceremony 
 Music starts at 2:30 am with drumming. I don't fullyy get the whole story but they laid the clothes of two grandparents who died, honoring their life. They kill a buffalo which is a big deal as it's expensive meat. Visitors come with rice as a gift. 

It took more than 30 mins to get the buffalo in a good spot to kill. He wouldn't go through the wooden planks (which I thought was impossible especially with his horns), so with a lot of rope in his mouth, they tied him down and axed him twice. 
 Drained his blood, Cut the feet off to cook separately, apparently it's good. Work diligently together to cut the hide. Others run around handing shots of the homemade rice wine (happy water) and later on people are offering shots of water and sodas.

 It's a super social exchange with a game of passing it on to the next, that one can't say no to. From teens to grandparents; I saw an elderly lady hide from her friends but they found her and after a few minutes of intense talks she had to drink. Some are drunk by 8am especially the men. They don't drink usually; Those who couldn't walk anymore were carried to beds.

 I chose a three day trek to see more in depth countryside. Of course for me, my 3 day trek ended up being two days with one long day of drinking with in a village. When I got sick a few days before this trip, i stopped drinking.  I participated with a few shots, nothing crazy. 

We passed to a of chickens, pigs, Buffalos, ducks and also goats. Many with babies. I joked that this land is super fertile. It was odd to see such young teens being a mom already. Things are loosening up and the girl has Say in marriage these days. 

Oh and the most annoying thing on this trek is the amount of people that come up to you to sell the same stuff. After trekking for hours you get to sit for a nice lunch in town and you have to be firm with them. They come one after another. Even in town, even by the guides family when you are at the house but not as bad. 

Some ladies follow you the hole trek so you few guilted in to buying something. It happened to me and I said to myself I wouldn't. But you are so tired and just want to be left alone. I got a braclet that was ok. Probably got tipped off because that's apparently how the operate in this country :(