Elsbeth writing…
I don’t know what the world’s come to lately, but I’ve been screaming a lot both in- and outside my head. The world is becoming a more and more dangerous place for Cinderella…a.k.a. me.
Just today as I was on an innocent cleaning spree, cockroaches were appearing left and right making me scream my head off. I HATE cockroaches and lately there’s been an infestation of them in our house. Last night alone, let’s see, there were…one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, EIGHT cockroaches popping up dead in our house. Presumably from all the Raid we’ve been spraying. I’m actually surprised we haven’t dropped dead as well. If cockroaches are supposed to survive even nuclear bombs, how powerful is this spray? Nevertheless, Caolan and I were going Raid crazy last night and screaming our heads off as we tried to kill these nasty buggers. This afternoon I was cleaning up the aftermath and as I was trying to get one long dead one from behind the sink another live one suddenly scurried away. I screamed and jumped about five feet in the air. Tony and Ellyn were in the living room watching TV. But of course they didn’t bother to ask if I was alright. They just gave me an odd look as I ran in to get the Raid. I could have been eaten alive by cockroaches by the time they bothered to saunter into the kitchen. After much screaming and cringing on my part, it eventually drowned in a bowl of water. At least I’m brave enough to throw them away. A piece of advice: Never smash a cockroach. Their guts splatter all over. And I’ve heard that, that bug juice contains cockroach eggs which hatch into baby cockroaches; however, I find that hard to believe and pass it off as an old wives’ tale. I did, however, experienced this disgusting splattering after crushing it with one of my books after it crawled across Ellyn’s feet in our HCMC hotel room. To make matters worse, it was still moving! They never DIE!
Moving on. Next perilous situation Cinderella has encountered…. There’s this massive, wolvish-looking dog in our neighborhood that I always see wandering the streets with its owner, who carries a stick to keep it in line (there are no leashes in Vietnam). It seems to be a fairly tame, family dog, but you don’t see many dogs this size here. The climate and lifestyle is not conducive for them. Today, I just got back from bringing Ellyn to fetch her bike from the mechanic. As I was driving back home through our neighborhood, I saw it snap at a child. I think it was protecting its owners’ children and I had a suspicion that it would snap at me when I drove past between it and the child—but both were in the middle of the road and I didn’t have much time to react. Surely enough it snapped at me, I screamed, lost my shoe, and drove off in case it chose to chase me down. I seriously thought it would jump up at me. I stopped not much farther down the Hem to check if the coast was clear. The owners were taking care of him. One woman just stood there and didn’t bother to even make a move to pick up my shoe. So I turned my bike around and slowly reached for my shoe without getting off my running bike, grumbling under my breath the entire time.
Cinderella went back picked up her own shoe this time….
Then for the most perilous situation of all (and not very funny either). Last Tuesday night we had some friends over from HCMC. They joined us for dinner and afterwards we decided to go out for drinks. Kaidian and I had to drop off our bags at home, so we left the others. I thought Kaidian and Tony were behind me, but they stopped at her apartment to drop off her bag. So I just kept going. The streetlights were off in our neighborhood and the streets were quite dark. As I was turning the corner onto our Hem another bike slowly drove past me and cut the corner where I was driving. I gave him a look like ‘what are you doing on my street at this time of night’? I had another sneaking suspicion that he would turn around, so I stopped in front of my house where the front light was left on; however, I didn’t make a move indicating it was my house and I left my bike running and in gear. Surely enough he turned around and came up close to me. He said ‘hello’ and I cautiously said ‘hello’ back. Everything sort of happened in this blurry slow-motion, but he reached out and touched me in an inappropriate place. At first I thought he was after my necklace and I pushed away his hand, but he tried again. I shoved him away, started blaring my horn, and drove quickly down the lane honking my horn the whole way. I think he started to follow me, but when he realized that I would probably wake up the whole neighborhood he scattered. I drove back to Kaidian’s apartment and called Tony. They came back to the house with me, but we didn’t see him. I can’t quite remember what he looked like anyway. It was dark and all I remember was that he had on a white shirt with some pattern. I also remember that he had one big headlight and three small lights underneath. Thinking back, the whole situation was like out of some horror movie.
This time, I never screamed or said anything. I was literally speechless. All I could do was honk my horn. In real emergency situations, it seems I can never say anything; I just react and do what needs to be done. And it’s good that I did what I did. Thanks mom and dad for training me to be paranoid all my life. Your gift of vigilance has paid off and hopefully it will continue to do so, because I know I’ll be even more paranoid now than ever.
Once again, Cinderella has fended off the ravenous wolves with her intuition…for now.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Cambodia: There and Back Again. An Elbus' Tale.
Elsbeth writing…
Cambodia! So much to write about…. Our trip over the TET Holiday was fantastic for the most part. It was definitely the different cultural experience I was looking for. We just arrived back last Thursday night and I’ve been working on correcting and posting pictures since, so check that out as well.
So we left early on Saturday morning for our trip. Caolan, Kaidian, Tony, and I caught the minibus into Saigon. We got there a bit early for our next bus to Phnom Penh so we ate at a good Italian restaurant and met up with Ellyn and her parents who just arrived from the states. It was good to see them—to see some parental figures from home—and I got my iPod! Thank you very much for bringing all those things for me! It’s great! Then we had drinks at a café while waiting for the bus. Finally, we caught our six-hour bus ride to Phnom Penh. We were all assuming that we would ride in a coach-style bus, but when a minibus pulled up we thought “are you serious?” I was hoping that this was just a transfer bus and that there would be a bigger one which would drive us the whole way…nope. We spent six hours squished in the back of this minibus. Caolan and I sat in the very back with the luggage. It was great…. On all our bus rides we ended up sleeping the majority of the time. I was hoping to practice my Vietnamese, get some more reading done, play cards, but we were all exhausted.
Arriving in Cambodia wasn’t so bad. The buildings around the boarder were all nice and new, but as we drove further into the country things began getting much more rustic. You could tell that this country is poorer that Vietnam and that people still live in a very traditional way. The first cultural difference I noticed was that the houses are on stilts—they’re raised off the ground and made of wood with thatched roofs. Perhaps it floods often in this country. Many of the houses were also a faded grayish blue with blue shutters. I thought that this must be a cultural thing. I even noticed that they sit on top of tables—sort of like tables—to eat, sleep, or socialize. I wish we had that. It looked pretty comfortable.
I really realized how poor the country is when we stopped our bus in a town to catch the ferry across the river. Street children, carrying naked toddlers, and disabled people bombarded our bus asking for money. There are many beggars in Vietnam, but these people seemed more adamant and desperate-looking. Throughout our trip we encountered so many street children. I can’t imagine what their lives must be like. Tip: Never give street children money—only food and perhaps useful things if you have something on you at the time. If they get money there is usually an adult who they must give it to or they use it to buy drugs. Food, on the other hand, is something they can keep for themselves. I have to hand it to them. They are probably some of the most intelligent, quick-witted children I have ever met and it makes sense that they are. They aren’t spoon fed an education. They are literally forced to learn things in order to survive. For instance, on one of our bus stops the girls selling pineapples knew English quite well—most likely because they picked it up off the street. They remembered Kaidian on our way back and nagged her to buy pineapple because she said “maybe” the last time. Another boy at Angkor Wat gave me a bracelet in order to get me to buy some things from his family’s stall. He knew English pretty well, too. Yes, it’s depressing to see these children living in this way, but there are things being done to help the problem. In Phnom Penh there’s a restaurant called “Friends.” It’s a colorful little restaurant with children’s artwork hanging up all over. All the staff at the restaurant were former street kids who are now being trained for the hospitality industry. The service was excellent and the food was so delicious, especially the tacos, which I was obsessing over. I haven’t had tacos that good since leaving the states…. Anyway, you can see many problems in the country, but you can also see much progress being made. I’m sure many things will have changed if I come back in five or ten years.
Despite the changes they seem to be retaining their distinct culture. I came away loving Cambodian cultural. It’s so rich and colorful. It’s a cross between Indian and South American cultures. Their traditional clothes, for one, are so colorful. The women wear long patterned skirts or baggy, bohemian-style pants. Men also wear baggy pants or red, patterned wraps. I mainly noticed that the men wore these wraps/skirts when they were working in the fields. They also wear head-wraps instead of conical hats like they have in Vietnam. Their traditional theater costumes are also very beautiful. They’re so ornate and colorful. The most famous costume is the gold speared hat that looks like a temple from Angkor Wat on the top of the women’s heads. I wish I knew what all these outfits and everything means. Someday I’ll read up on it….
The people also look different. They have darker skin than Vietnamese people and their noses are more squished. They look very Peruvian, we thought. It’s interesting how you can tell the difference between people from different Asian countries once you’ve lived here for a bit. We can tell who’s Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, etc. You wouldn’t think the differences would be so noticeable. But it’s the same in Western culture. I can tell who’s German, English, Italian, Finnish—they all look and dress differently.
The language is also completely different from Vietnamese. Their script alone is different. It’s a very beautiful-looking script that reminds me of Hindu or Arabic scripts. The spoken language also sounds very beautiful—softer with lots of rolling ‘r’s. Plus, there aren’t all those confusing tones to worry about…at least I don’t think so.
The food is also very different. There are a lot of curries, flavored rice, and fish. It’s good food, but a bit heavier than Vietnamese food. I tried various dishes and they were all good.
As for the countryside itself, everything is very flat. Tall, bare palms dot the plains and look very desert-like. It’s so dry and dusty there—at least in this season. The streets are covered in dust…and pot holes. The roads are terrible. They aren’t well maintained, I suppose because they can’t afford it.
Anyway, those are some of my main general observations. Now back to our trip itself. We stayed the first night in Phnom Penh. On our bus ride we met another twenty-something guy from the States. He was really cool and all alone so he tagged along with us when we got in town, found a hotel, and went to eat. Then at the restaurant where we ate, we met another guy who I had seen earlier that day at one of the bus stops or somewhere—he looked familiar. He was sitting alone so we invited him to eat with us as well. He later came with us and got a room at the same hotel we were staying at. This is probably one of my favorite aspects about traveling—meeting other travelers, talking to them, and hearing their stories. You can make friends so quickly with other people when you’re traveling because you’re all in the same boat—new in a foreign land without much of a clue as to what you’re doing there.
The next morning we took another six-hour bus ride to Siem Reap—the town near Angkor Wat. It’s a very touristy, Westernized town which turns into a little New Orleans at night. You don’t notice the poverty anymore in this town. There are fancy, expensive restaurants and stores everywhere. I have to admit, though, it was relaxing to be in a fake Western town. When we got there we found a hotel and got a late lunch. Then Caolan and I walked around town and as we were looking in a convenience store Ellyn came up to us (she had flown into Siem Reap with her parents that day). We had planned to meet them later for dinner, but she saw my bright pink pants and surprised us. The first night we all ate at a very nice Cambodian restaurant squished in a lane full of other Westernized restaurants.
The next day we went to Angkor Wat for the day. We paid a Tuk Tuk driver to take us around all day. A Tuk Tuk is literally a horseless carriage—a motorbike pulling a carriage. We saw quite a few different temples that day (again pictures are on Shutterfly). It would be good to go back one day and actually have a tour guide to tell us what the temples and sights mean. We were just going by our Lonely Planet guidebooks. Here’s a little info about the temples: The temples were built during the Khmer Empire from 802 to 1432 A.D. Siem Reap was originally the political and religious center of Cambodia and the Khmer Empire; however, the capital of the country has changed to Phnom Penh. It’s also interesting to note that Angkor Wat was a finalist in the Seven New Wonders of the World Vote and it has become the foundation for tourism in Cambodia. So much (American) money has been poured into the country because of this old relic. At the end of the day we went to the top of a tall hill where there is a temple called Phnom Bakheng. You literally have to climb to the top, but it’s worth it to see the sun set. There were hordes of tourists up there all taking photos of the sunset. I was more interested in taking pictures of the people taking pictures of the sunset than the actual sunset. It was a good day and we saw a lot. I only wish I could have taken an elephant to the top of that hill (you can do that). Next time I guess….
That evening, after changing and taking showers to get rid of all the dust, we went to eat at a restaurant which had a traditional Cambodian show and dance. Their costumes are so beautiful and their dances tell a story—everything is very elegant. I also had this fish in a saffron sauce that was so good; however, it took forever to get service, get our food, and it took a good 45 minutes to get our check! Afterwards we went to the Night Market where there were lots of nice souvenirs. I bought a few small things. On the way we ran into the same guy who we met on the bus going to Phnom Penh and talked for a few minutes. Small world. Then as I was walking with Kaidian and Caolan, all of a sudden a little street girl runs up to me and starts kissing me on one of my…well, in an inappropriate place and left as suddenly as she came with a good squeeze on the other. The others had kept walking and didn’t see, so I called out, “You guys, I think I was just violated by a small child.” It was amusing to say the least; I think I was mostly in shock….
The next day we left early for another six-hour bus ride back to Phnom Penh. Back in the capital city we had lunch at that Friends restaurant I mentioned, walked around town, made a pointless trip across town in a Tuk Tuk to the Russian Market which was closing early for TET, had drinks, and bought “happy” pizza, which wasn’t as happy as we’d hoped. We spent the next day—our full day in PP—sight seeing. First, we visited the Genocide Museum which was about the Khmer Rouge in the 70s. It was really interesting and terrible to see what essentially brainwashed and intimated people do to their own countrymen. I’d like to read up more on that. After that we went to the Killing Fields where people were transported to be killed and buried in mass graves. I won’t go into depth about what they did to them. Finally, for a little pick-us-up we went to the Royal Palace. The grounds are beautiful and all the temples and palaces have gold roofs. It looks very oriental. They still have a monarchy in Cambodia and every shop or restaurant has three standard pictures of the royal family. The city itself is very religious. It’s full of saffron, orange, and rust robed Buddhist monks walking around town with their bags, books, or yellow umbrellas.
It was a busy day, so we took a siesta, and later that evening met up with Ellyn and her parents. Tony and I wanted to check out the Foreign Correspondents' Club. One of the teachers at school told me about it. It’s where the journalists used to meet, I believe, during the war. So of course that intrigued me very much. And it did look like a perfect journalistic hovel—simple and straightforward. The food was good too, but a little expensive. I had pizza with potatoes and chicken on it. After dinner the others left but Caolan and I stayed to hear the live Cuban music. It was so good to hear good, live music and the band did a great job entertaining the small crowd of Westerners. The next morning as we were catching the bus back to HCMC, we saw the same band waiting at the bus stop as well. It turns out they were on the same minibus as us, but unfortunately they didn’t sing much. I was hoping they’d be a cooler Cuban version of the Partridge Family, but no. They slept most of the time. They seemed friendly though and we should have struck up a conversation with them, but I think all of us were exhausted.
So that was basically the end of our exciting adventure—sleeping soundly (or trying to) on the last stretch of our over 24-hour bus trip to and from Cambodia. We finally arrived back home around 6 p.m., got pizza, and relaxed. End of story.
P.S. If you're wondering who Elbus is, it's me. I have gained many nicknames here thanks to the Vietnamese mispronunciation of my name, among other things....
Cambodia! So much to write about…. Our trip over the TET Holiday was fantastic for the most part. It was definitely the different cultural experience I was looking for. We just arrived back last Thursday night and I’ve been working on correcting and posting pictures since, so check that out as well.
So we left early on Saturday morning for our trip. Caolan, Kaidian, Tony, and I caught the minibus into Saigon. We got there a bit early for our next bus to Phnom Penh so we ate at a good Italian restaurant and met up with Ellyn and her parents who just arrived from the states. It was good to see them—to see some parental figures from home—and I got my iPod! Thank you very much for bringing all those things for me! It’s great! Then we had drinks at a café while waiting for the bus. Finally, we caught our six-hour bus ride to Phnom Penh. We were all assuming that we would ride in a coach-style bus, but when a minibus pulled up we thought “are you serious?” I was hoping that this was just a transfer bus and that there would be a bigger one which would drive us the whole way…nope. We spent six hours squished in the back of this minibus. Caolan and I sat in the very back with the luggage. It was great…. On all our bus rides we ended up sleeping the majority of the time. I was hoping to practice my Vietnamese, get some more reading done, play cards, but we were all exhausted.
Arriving in Cambodia wasn’t so bad. The buildings around the boarder were all nice and new, but as we drove further into the country things began getting much more rustic. You could tell that this country is poorer that Vietnam and that people still live in a very traditional way. The first cultural difference I noticed was that the houses are on stilts—they’re raised off the ground and made of wood with thatched roofs. Perhaps it floods often in this country. Many of the houses were also a faded grayish blue with blue shutters. I thought that this must be a cultural thing. I even noticed that they sit on top of tables—sort of like tables—to eat, sleep, or socialize. I wish we had that. It looked pretty comfortable.
I really realized how poor the country is when we stopped our bus in a town to catch the ferry across the river. Street children, carrying naked toddlers, and disabled people bombarded our bus asking for money. There are many beggars in Vietnam, but these people seemed more adamant and desperate-looking. Throughout our trip we encountered so many street children. I can’t imagine what their lives must be like. Tip: Never give street children money—only food and perhaps useful things if you have something on you at the time. If they get money there is usually an adult who they must give it to or they use it to buy drugs. Food, on the other hand, is something they can keep for themselves. I have to hand it to them. They are probably some of the most intelligent, quick-witted children I have ever met and it makes sense that they are. They aren’t spoon fed an education. They are literally forced to learn things in order to survive. For instance, on one of our bus stops the girls selling pineapples knew English quite well—most likely because they picked it up off the street. They remembered Kaidian on our way back and nagged her to buy pineapple because she said “maybe” the last time. Another boy at Angkor Wat gave me a bracelet in order to get me to buy some things from his family’s stall. He knew English pretty well, too. Yes, it’s depressing to see these children living in this way, but there are things being done to help the problem. In Phnom Penh there’s a restaurant called “Friends.” It’s a colorful little restaurant with children’s artwork hanging up all over. All the staff at the restaurant were former street kids who are now being trained for the hospitality industry. The service was excellent and the food was so delicious, especially the tacos, which I was obsessing over. I haven’t had tacos that good since leaving the states…. Anyway, you can see many problems in the country, but you can also see much progress being made. I’m sure many things will have changed if I come back in five or ten years.
Despite the changes they seem to be retaining their distinct culture. I came away loving Cambodian cultural. It’s so rich and colorful. It’s a cross between Indian and South American cultures. Their traditional clothes, for one, are so colorful. The women wear long patterned skirts or baggy, bohemian-style pants. Men also wear baggy pants or red, patterned wraps. I mainly noticed that the men wore these wraps/skirts when they were working in the fields. They also wear head-wraps instead of conical hats like they have in Vietnam. Their traditional theater costumes are also very beautiful. They’re so ornate and colorful. The most famous costume is the gold speared hat that looks like a temple from Angkor Wat on the top of the women’s heads. I wish I knew what all these outfits and everything means. Someday I’ll read up on it….
The people also look different. They have darker skin than Vietnamese people and their noses are more squished. They look very Peruvian, we thought. It’s interesting how you can tell the difference between people from different Asian countries once you’ve lived here for a bit. We can tell who’s Vietnamese, Japanese, Chinese, etc. You wouldn’t think the differences would be so noticeable. But it’s the same in Western culture. I can tell who’s German, English, Italian, Finnish—they all look and dress differently.
The language is also completely different from Vietnamese. Their script alone is different. It’s a very beautiful-looking script that reminds me of Hindu or Arabic scripts. The spoken language also sounds very beautiful—softer with lots of rolling ‘r’s. Plus, there aren’t all those confusing tones to worry about…at least I don’t think so.
The food is also very different. There are a lot of curries, flavored rice, and fish. It’s good food, but a bit heavier than Vietnamese food. I tried various dishes and they were all good.
As for the countryside itself, everything is very flat. Tall, bare palms dot the plains and look very desert-like. It’s so dry and dusty there—at least in this season. The streets are covered in dust…and pot holes. The roads are terrible. They aren’t well maintained, I suppose because they can’t afford it.
Anyway, those are some of my main general observations. Now back to our trip itself. We stayed the first night in Phnom Penh. On our bus ride we met another twenty-something guy from the States. He was really cool and all alone so he tagged along with us when we got in town, found a hotel, and went to eat. Then at the restaurant where we ate, we met another guy who I had seen earlier that day at one of the bus stops or somewhere—he looked familiar. He was sitting alone so we invited him to eat with us as well. He later came with us and got a room at the same hotel we were staying at. This is probably one of my favorite aspects about traveling—meeting other travelers, talking to them, and hearing their stories. You can make friends so quickly with other people when you’re traveling because you’re all in the same boat—new in a foreign land without much of a clue as to what you’re doing there.
The next morning we took another six-hour bus ride to Siem Reap—the town near Angkor Wat. It’s a very touristy, Westernized town which turns into a little New Orleans at night. You don’t notice the poverty anymore in this town. There are fancy, expensive restaurants and stores everywhere. I have to admit, though, it was relaxing to be in a fake Western town. When we got there we found a hotel and got a late lunch. Then Caolan and I walked around town and as we were looking in a convenience store Ellyn came up to us (she had flown into Siem Reap with her parents that day). We had planned to meet them later for dinner, but she saw my bright pink pants and surprised us. The first night we all ate at a very nice Cambodian restaurant squished in a lane full of other Westernized restaurants.
The next day we went to Angkor Wat for the day. We paid a Tuk Tuk driver to take us around all day. A Tuk Tuk is literally a horseless carriage—a motorbike pulling a carriage. We saw quite a few different temples that day (again pictures are on Shutterfly). It would be good to go back one day and actually have a tour guide to tell us what the temples and sights mean. We were just going by our Lonely Planet guidebooks. Here’s a little info about the temples: The temples were built during the Khmer Empire from 802 to 1432 A.D. Siem Reap was originally the political and religious center of Cambodia and the Khmer Empire; however, the capital of the country has changed to Phnom Penh. It’s also interesting to note that Angkor Wat was a finalist in the Seven New Wonders of the World Vote and it has become the foundation for tourism in Cambodia. So much (American) money has been poured into the country because of this old relic. At the end of the day we went to the top of a tall hill where there is a temple called Phnom Bakheng. You literally have to climb to the top, but it’s worth it to see the sun set. There were hordes of tourists up there all taking photos of the sunset. I was more interested in taking pictures of the people taking pictures of the sunset than the actual sunset. It was a good day and we saw a lot. I only wish I could have taken an elephant to the top of that hill (you can do that). Next time I guess….
That evening, after changing and taking showers to get rid of all the dust, we went to eat at a restaurant which had a traditional Cambodian show and dance. Their costumes are so beautiful and their dances tell a story—everything is very elegant. I also had this fish in a saffron sauce that was so good; however, it took forever to get service, get our food, and it took a good 45 minutes to get our check! Afterwards we went to the Night Market where there were lots of nice souvenirs. I bought a few small things. On the way we ran into the same guy who we met on the bus going to Phnom Penh and talked for a few minutes. Small world. Then as I was walking with Kaidian and Caolan, all of a sudden a little street girl runs up to me and starts kissing me on one of my…well, in an inappropriate place and left as suddenly as she came with a good squeeze on the other. The others had kept walking and didn’t see, so I called out, “You guys, I think I was just violated by a small child.” It was amusing to say the least; I think I was mostly in shock….
The next day we left early for another six-hour bus ride back to Phnom Penh. Back in the capital city we had lunch at that Friends restaurant I mentioned, walked around town, made a pointless trip across town in a Tuk Tuk to the Russian Market which was closing early for TET, had drinks, and bought “happy” pizza, which wasn’t as happy as we’d hoped. We spent the next day—our full day in PP—sight seeing. First, we visited the Genocide Museum which was about the Khmer Rouge in the 70s. It was really interesting and terrible to see what essentially brainwashed and intimated people do to their own countrymen. I’d like to read up more on that. After that we went to the Killing Fields where people were transported to be killed and buried in mass graves. I won’t go into depth about what they did to them. Finally, for a little pick-us-up we went to the Royal Palace. The grounds are beautiful and all the temples and palaces have gold roofs. It looks very oriental. They still have a monarchy in Cambodia and every shop or restaurant has three standard pictures of the royal family. The city itself is very religious. It’s full of saffron, orange, and rust robed Buddhist monks walking around town with their bags, books, or yellow umbrellas.
It was a busy day, so we took a siesta, and later that evening met up with Ellyn and her parents. Tony and I wanted to check out the Foreign Correspondents' Club. One of the teachers at school told me about it. It’s where the journalists used to meet, I believe, during the war. So of course that intrigued me very much. And it did look like a perfect journalistic hovel—simple and straightforward. The food was good too, but a little expensive. I had pizza with potatoes and chicken on it. After dinner the others left but Caolan and I stayed to hear the live Cuban music. It was so good to hear good, live music and the band did a great job entertaining the small crowd of Westerners. The next morning as we were catching the bus back to HCMC, we saw the same band waiting at the bus stop as well. It turns out they were on the same minibus as us, but unfortunately they didn’t sing much. I was hoping they’d be a cooler Cuban version of the Partridge Family, but no. They slept most of the time. They seemed friendly though and we should have struck up a conversation with them, but I think all of us were exhausted.
So that was basically the end of our exciting adventure—sleeping soundly (or trying to) on the last stretch of our over 24-hour bus trip to and from Cambodia. We finally arrived back home around 6 p.m., got pizza, and relaxed. End of story.
P.S. If you're wondering who Elbus is, it's me. I have gained many nicknames here thanks to the Vietnamese mispronunciation of my name, among other things....
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