My summer travels have finally come to an end. And what a
summer it was. The most recent set of adventures included a tour of Southeast
Asia in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
I went on this trip with friends from JMU (Sarah Marr, Samantha Marr,
Morgan Kimberly, Melissa Lohrer, and we added a little bit of Soup along the
way). The trip totaled 16 days, and as you can imagine, there are a TON of
stories to share from it. During our trip we visited 9 cities and 3 countries in
those 16 days. We were constantly on the move and our stops included:
- Bangkok, Thailand
- Autthaya, Thailand
- Hanoi, Vietnam
- Hue, Vietnam
- Hoi Ann, Vietnam
- Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam
- Siem Reap, Cambodia
- Phenom Penh, Cambodia
- Ko Phi Phi, Thailand
There is no way I could capture the entire trip here so I
will just offer three of the biggest highlights from the trip as a whole.
Ha Long Bay. A world heritage site, Ha Long Bay is a bay
area with around 2,000 limestone islets that have been developing for 500
million years. This was one of the sites that we were mos
t excited to see
coming into our trip, and it did not disappoint. We spent 3 days and 2 nights
in Ha Long Bay with some of the most interesting company you can find. We did a
tour called the “Castaway” tour in which you spent one night on a boat and one
night on a private beach/island. There was kayaking, high speed tubing, rock
climbing, jumping from the top of boats, and much more. But the trip had the
feel more of a Spring Break that it did a tour of a world heritage site. The
entire group of about 60 people were between the ages of 20 and 30 led by tour
guides who seemed to be inhuman going on no sleep at all. So aside from the
daily activities and incredible scenery, we also had parties lasting well into
the morning. On the trip we met a TON of great people from all over the world.
We even ended up running into people from this tour in many of our later stops
in the trip. One guy we met, Soup (yes…Soup), from the Netherlands ended up
traveling with us for a few days and gave me a break from all the female travel
companions! As you can imagine there are many more stories from this trip but I
will let you get those from me individually!
t excited to see
coming into our trip, and it did not disappoint. We spent 3 days and 2 nights
in Ha Long Bay with some of the most interesting company you can find. We did a
tour called the “Castaway” tour in which you spent one night on a boat and one
night on a private beach/island. There was kayaking, high speed tubing, rock
climbing, jumping from the top of boats, and much more. But the trip had the
feel more of a Spring Break that it did a tour of a world heritage site. The
entire group of about 60 people were between the ages of 20 and 30 led by tour
guides who seemed to be inhuman going on no sleep at all. So aside from the
daily activities and incredible scenery, we also had parties lasting well into
the morning. On the trip we met a TON of great people from all over the world.
We even ended up running into people from this tour in many of our later stops
in the trip. One guy we met, Soup (yes…Soup), from the Netherlands ended up
traveling with us for a few days and gave me a break from all the female travel
companions! As you can imagine there are many more stories from this trip but I
will let you get those from me individually!
Motor Biking to Hoi Ann. I love road trips. There is nothing
better than getting in a car and just going. One of my favorite trips I took
was with Sean and Travis when we drove around the entire US in just over 3
weeks. Driving Pacific Coast highway in California was one of the best moments
of my life, but Motor Biking to Hoi Ann really gave it a run for its money.
When we left Hue to head to Hoi Ann we had the option of renting a motorbike
with a driver to take us on the 6 hour journey. If you are EVER given the
option of taking a motor bike…Take. The.
Motor. Bike. We each had our own
driver since not only did we not have experience driving these bikes, the roads
were INSANE and would likely have died if we tried to drive ourselves. My
driver’s name was Duc and we had conversations about the Vietnam War, about his
life in Vietnam, his thoughts on Americans, and about his family. All while weaving
in and of traffic up a hill! The 6 hour journey to Hoi Ann took us through rice
paddies, sprawling countryside, past Kristal clear blue waters, and through
winding one lane roads up hills. There were moments where we weren’t quite sure
if we would make it, but in the end it gave us the best scenery views of the
whole trip. We met some people who were taking motor bikes through all of
Vietnam, and that would be QUITE the commitment. The 6 hour journey did us just
fine and then we got to enjoy the beauty of Hoi Ann, my favorite stop of the
trip.
Killing Fields and S21. Although this experience was by no
means pleasant, it was by far the most impactful of the trip. Between the years
of 1975 and 1979, Pol Pot and his regime brutally murdered one third of
Cambodia’s population (approximately 3 million people). Cambodians were run out
of their cities to move into the countryside where they were forced to work in
rice fields which doubled as genocide camps. Over the course of just 3 days all
of the cities in Cambodia were evacuated and killings began. The killing field
we visited was called Choeung Ek and was located about 30 minutes outside of
the Phenom 
Penh. Choeung Ek served as a memorial, museum, and educational tour
to share the atrocities that took place during those four years. At the fields
all visitors are given audio tours that take you through the grounds and
provide context to the actions of Pol Pot and his regime. As you walk through
the grounds you walk past mass graves, piles of bones and clothing, listen to
the stories of those who lost loved ones, and try to imagine how anything of
this magnitude was humanly possible. On the audio tour it was explained to us
how these murders were executed and the brainwashing that took place. Sayings
such as “better to kill an innocent by mistake than to spare an enemy by
mistake” were commonplace to give workers a rationalization for their actions. After
visiting the killing fields all of us were in quite somber moods and feeling
incredibly thankful to have been born to a country with political stability.
Penh. Choeung Ek served as a memorial, museum, and educational tour
to share the atrocities that took place during those four years. At the fields
all visitors are given audio tours that take you through the grounds and
provide context to the actions of Pol Pot and his regime. As you walk through
the grounds you walk past mass graves, piles of bones and clothing, listen to
the stories of those who lost loved ones, and try to imagine how anything of
this magnitude was humanly possible. On the audio tour it was explained to us
how these murders were executed and the brainwashing that took place. Sayings
such as “better to kill an innocent by mistake than to spare an enemy by
mistake” were commonplace to give workers a rationalization for their actions. After
visiting the killing fields all of us were in quite somber moods and feeling
incredibly thankful to have been born to a country with political stability. 
After leaving the
killing fields we visited one of the torture prisons right in the heart of the
city, S21. This torture prison was a converted school in which people were
brought there to admit to crimes they did not commit. Prisoners would be held
for months at a time before admitting and signing documents that stated crimes
they could be persecuted for. The images of prisoners were disturbing,
especially the personal accounts that were written. Having seen both of these
sites in the same day, it was difficult to capture what your emotions were. It
is inconceivable to think something like this occurred just over 30 years ago.
It makes you question human nature. How is there no outside intervention? How
much do you take for granted in your personal life not having to deal with this
kind of brutality? We spoke at length about the sites trying to answer our own
questions and we will surely be learning more now that we have returned. Pol
Pot was removed from power in 1979 by a group of Cambodians supported by the
Vietnamese army. Charges were never brought against him and he died 20 years
late in his home. The same political party has been in power since 1979 and
there are elections taking place on the 28th in which many
Cambodians are hoping for change. So we will be watching the elections closely
hoping that Cambodians experience some freedom from their haunted past.
Now this is just a VERY small snapshot of my time in
Southeast Asia. There were also questionable bathroom massages, adventurous
foods (ie. scorpions, frog legs, snake, crocodile, kangaroo, etc), Muay Thai
fights at bars, incredibly kind service, BANANAS!, the best sandwich you will
ever have, street food, postcard quality beaches, and a FULL cast of characters
we met along the way. If you want to see more of what we did on a day to day
basis Sarah kept an AMAZING blog for the trip here:
http://sarahstreetsauce.blogspot.com/
I hope you enjoy some of the pictures and get the chance to
visit SE Asia at some point. It is an incredible part of the world full of
welcoming people, incredible history, and pieces of paradise. I feel so
fortunate to have taken the trip and owe a HUGE thanks to Sarah Marr for
organizing the trip from the start. It was amazing to spend time with old
friends on this adventure and can’t wait for the next one!!!
For now, I am back in Doha celebrating Ramadan. I have been
fasting this week and enjoying the sense of community at Iftars (meal after
sundown) and Suhoors (late night meal before sunrise) all week. At work we are
preparing for student trainings, orientation, and Fall programs. It feels great
to be back in Doha and settled (aka not living out of a backpack).
Some sad news from Doha is that Brennan will be leaving in
about a month to move to Dubai. He had some issues with his job here in Doha
and it was necessary for him to look for a new one. Unfortunately the best
opportunity came from over in Dubai (only a one hour flight away). At least he
will still be in the region but he will be missed greatly. And right when we
were just getting started, he heads away. We will just have to make the most of
his last month here and now there will be a lot more weekend trips to Dubai
than before!!!
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