Siem Reap, Cambodia

Angkor Wat, the biggest temple in the world

The area I stayed in and places I visited in Cambodia were VERY crowded and touristy, unfortunately. I had to maneuver through people and stand on my tippy toes to get the sunrise shots I wanted. If I were to ever go back, I would stay far away from the tourist locations and strictly teach English or volunteer. So many of Cambodia's people would really benefit from more help than they receive.

Cute, but mean. Speaking from firsthand experience...

My favorite accommodation in Southeast Asia (tied for 1st place with the hotel I stayed at in Hoi An, Vietnam)

Taking advantage of a beautiful pool and $3 cocktails

"Find beauty not in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides." -Junichiro Tanizak, In Praise of Shadows

Visiting a village about an hour away from Siem Reap

Spotted when walking back to the hotel from the night market. Did not try this place and I don't regret it.

Boat trip! The river was so mucky and brown and kept splashing up on us throughout the entire trip. 

Not the most picture-esque body of water in the world.

This family, like so many others, floated up to us asking for money. No matter what I did in Cambodia, there were always children or disabled people (accompanied by others) begging for money. It really broke my heart and often made me feel uncomfortable. Our guide said that if children asked for money for school, which they often did, it was a scam because they weren't in school if they were begging for money – they were taking care of their families.

I never knew what to expect when people would approach us, repeating, "give dollar, dollar, dollar."

I can tell you I NEVER expected this, though. I gave her a dollar because I took a picture of her and that's the etiquette there. But what a lifestyle, especially for a child. Can you imagine? Cambodia made me so much more aware of how many children aren't receiving educations. It's such a luxury here in the U.S. If you're looking for an organization to donate your time or money to, check out something like Room to Read. I wish every child could have access to education instead of being subjected to provide for their families at such a young age.

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Good morning, Vietnam! This is the incredible view from the rooftop of my hotel.

City's main post office

War Remnants Museum

I never felt uncomfortable about being an American while I was in Asia, except for a few moments when I was inside this museum. On a scale, this museum was VERY much leaning towards how the Vietnamese felt about the war, of course. Really no regard for Americans' feelings or POV: There was a bias in every single thing hanging from the walls that simply couldn't be ignored. Most of the photos throughout the place had pictures of Americans doing harm to the Vietnamese, which was when I started feeling sad (and awkward that I was a blonde-haired, green-eyed American). 

But with that said, it was fascinating to see how the Vietnamese people––and the rest of the world, according to the protest photos––felt about the war. The photos and images were incredibly gruesome and graphic; Some showed peoples' limbs missing, lone fetuses, body deformations from Agent Orange, etc. It was all so eye-opening. As much as it may have been biased in favor of making the Vietnamese look much more innocent, every photo on the wall was real, and they were horrifying. There are four floors of things to see throughout this museum, and every single aspect on every single floor made you think. It made me put myself in the shoes of others and imagine life in that time, living in terror day in and day out. In the end, that's what it's all about I think: Empathy.

I saw the Cu Chi Tunnels where Viet Cong hid out to kill Americans during the war. Wild to see real examples of booby traps and guerrilla warfare in person. Some land mines still exist in this area, so we had to be really cautious and stay on the path at all times. 

These things were all over the ground around the tunnels. Needless to say they sufficiently creeped me out.

One of the many examples of booby traps. We learned that an overwhelming amount of Vietnamese fighters actually died from their own traps set up for Americans. This war was brutal.

There were hospitals, places to get ammunition, and the like set up in underground huts like this one.

Fast forward to later that day: One of the highlights of my trip. These are friends I met on the curb in Ho Chi Minh City. Literally. I was walking to get some food from the market for lunch, and I saw a large group of Vietnamese college kids sitting around the curb. I stopped over to see what was going on, and learned it's a massive club called "Talking with the Tourist" (nearly 40k group members on Facebook!). They eagerly welcomed me and told me to sit down on the curb, so I did as instructed––and then we talked. About everything. We talked about school, traveling, local markets and how different-but-similar our lives are from each other.

They taught me about traditional Vietnamese street food. Czarnina.......look it up.

I taught them where I live in the U.S., and where that was in relation to NYC and L.A. They were enamored of those places in particular, as so many people inexplicably seem to be. We looked at oceans and capitals and even talked about Georgia peaches and good ol' BBQ.

My friend and I bought 2 kilos of chom choms (just looked it up and apparently the English name is Rambutan? Never heard of it. I need to figure out if they're available in U.S. grocery stores. That would be a game changer). Then we proceed to eat them all in one sitting. 

See how that building says Saigon? The fall of Saigon in 1975, which also marked the end of the Vietnam War, brought Saigon's new name: Ho Chi Minh City. This is now the city's formal name. However, when talking to most people in the city––tour guides, locals, and business owners––they still refer to it as Saigon.