kikifeet returns.

I'm looking through my buku jalan-jalan. First thought: My handwriting sucks (Cakar ayam is not so much proverbial as it is aptly descriptive)

I stopped writing after we reached Hoi An, and I'm not sure why..

When people ask me how the trip was, I'd have to take a pause.

Then I'd say, it was a good trip, and I learned a lot.

In truth: It was fun at times, frustrating at times, inspiring at times, tiring at times, thoughtful at times, annoying at times, peaceful at times, loud at times, slow at times, fast at times, new at times, old at times, swanky at times, impoverished at times, ecstatic at times, heartbreaking at times, full at times, hungry at times, pretty at times, hideous at times...

In short, highlights of the trip were:

Mealtimes. Ahh pho and cau lau and fresh herbs and fruit shakes, sugarcane with lime on the side of the dusty streets, rice with chopsticks... (yes I am now lebih sihat dan mantap.)

People. Vietnamese ladies who liked to hold my hand and talk to me in Vietnamese very fast with happy smiles. Other travelers who were there to TRAVEL and not to party. Travelers who are techno DJ managers from Germany, who like to say 'disgusting' to describe something unfavorable and have the funniest one-liners ever, travelers who are there to conserve the Siamese crocodiles, who like to chase thunder storms and say 'amazing' with the cutest British accent and also say the most hilarious darndest things, Cambodian tuk-tuk drivers who like choir music and sing for the Church on Sunday and have light brown eyes like the muddy waters of Tonle Sap in summer, waiters and waitresses in Cambodia and Vietnam in total, who just make your dining experience an absolute pleasure, a traveler who's name means infertile, who would otherwise possibly be the ideal person to fall in love with (based on a half an hour conversation) if only he was not an absolute REPUBLICAN from TEXAS (lol).

Sights. A little girl rowing from her house to her neighbors on the floating village of Tonle Sap. Schoolboys playing basketball on a floating gym. Tokyo just lazing around and looking at you from under the table at the Top Banana (Tokyo is a dog by the way. The most chill-out dog ever, who did something really gross. He barfed and ate his barf. Repeatedly.) Ladies carrying heavy baskets balanced by a beam on their shoulders, laden with goods ranging from eggs to live chickens to a ton of vegetables, to noodle soups and bread. A motorbike with a cage of pigs on it. Khmer and Viet men playing cards and bridge on the streetside. Viets playing badminton on a pavement at a street intersection. Couples sitting at the Hoan Kiem lake after dark, while old ladies did mass aerobics. The view of the coastline on the trainride from Da Nang to Hue. The massive tree trunks growing on the old temples at Ta Phrom. Dogs and cats on floating houses (lol). The mountain-islands of Ha Long Bay at dusk, at day, all day.

Sounds. The music at the Top Banana. I MUST FIND OUT. Amazing stuff. The sound of nothing but oblivious birds chirping after kayaking through a cave (hits you wonderfully.)Old Khmer ladies singing in the bus along with the sound of raindrops on the window.

Thoughts. War is never justified. Torture is never justified. Poverty is not an excuse for poor character and unkindness, plenty of people we saw were poor but kind. Keep your government in check, at ALL TIMES. Things like ISA is just one foot down an alley we don't want to go into. People who go to the Tuol Sleng museum should realize this and we have to put pressure to end the existence of ANY facility that allows for the stripping of basic human rights under some flimsy idea of national security. People are the most fascinating things on earth.

I could write more, but I have to shower now. I have an interview which I am barely prepared for and hella nervous about.

Back to my reality now.