Saigon was a bigtime city, completely unlike the others in Vietnam. Much wider roads and more cars. Less of a motorbike culture. We had a few $7 drinks on the top-floor of the ritzy Caravelle Hotel where the wait staff was dressed in tuxedos...but what did I notice them watching on the television set...? American 'professional' wrestling....
Cambodia is a much poorer country than the others we went to; even Laos doesn't seem to have such poverty. Lots of naked kids in the streets. The people were really friendly though. Everywhere you go around SE Asia people will try to hawk their wares to you, be it motorbike or taxi rides or postcards, food, or whatever. The Thais and Vietnamese were pretty aggressive about it. The Cambodians were easygoing though - I'd just shake my head and smile and they'd get the picture without hassling me too much more. Went to one of the famous prisons and the "Killing Fields" where many many people were killed during Pol Pot's days. Our tour guide said something to the effect that none of it would have ever occurred if America hadn't been tired of war and intervention after what happened in Vietnam; not to mention the credibility we'd lost in Cambodia by dropping some bombs on Cambodia's part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. It was just interesting to me the implication that this Cambodian man saw America as the only one that could've stopped it. Of course, had we tried and been moderately successful, I'm sure we'd have been given hell from the rest of the world and many of our own compatriots. Better to do nothing than intervene and do a job less than perfectly, right?
Saw the famous temples at Angkor, which were so huge, numerous, and beautiful that it shocked me to find out they were "lost" for 500 years or so as they were covered in jungle.
Probably the funniest part of the Cambodia bit was the bus ride out of back to Bangkok. The roads were really really bad; about like the trails we drove on in Iraq but with more potholes and bumps that our driver used as ramps. I was sitting in the back and getting thrown all over the place. The driver didn't feel compelled to slow down much. I laughed and told everyone the roads are so bad b/c the Americans must've bombed them... (there still exists plenty of propaganda over here blaming us for everthing).... I'm surprised no one got sick since we were all up till 4AM drinking on our last night out together.... Took us abouit an hour to get through customs on the border with Thailand. For a country so dependent on tourism, the Thais don't go out of their way for tourists. They had two passport control agents for Thais and one for everyone else. The line for foreigners extended out the door with not a single Thai national in the other lines. But no, those passport control agents did not help to reduce the longer line.
Back in Bangkok, I realized what a civilized city it is compared with the others we'd seen. My first time there I thought Bangkok was the most polluted, chaotic place on earth, but it's really pretty tame next to Hanoi. The group went out together one more time, this time we went to a 'ladyboy' show. Ladyboys are what you would think they'd be - men being women, and quite convincingly in many cases. The show was alright, I suppose, although live stage entertainment isn't really my thing. I had ended up sitting in the aisle seat which I knew put me in a position of danger in case the 'girls' wanted to incorporate me into their act, and, of course, I ended up getting pulled onstage (despite my desperate pleas to the girl from the group sitting next to me to jump on my lap or kiss me in case the ladyboys tried to get me up there) to dance with them for a bit. Unfortunately, I didn't have a drop of alcohol in my system so I don't think I moved very well. Mercifully, no one in the group got any good pictures....
Said goodbye to the tour group there in Bangkok. It was sad to see the group go. I think I'll be in touch at least periodically with many of them for a long time to come.
I was lucky enough to have a friend of a friend who lives down in KL so that made my stay there much better than I reckon it would've been otherwise. Kuala Lumpur is quite the party town despite what you might read about it being a conservative Muslim country in the tour books. Well, I'm sure some of Muslims are conservative, but the Chinese are a different story; they certainly know how to have a good time. Actually, scratch that about the Muslims being always conservative, as we ended up partying with several until the wee hours. While it is almost a bit embarrassing to see American wrestling abroad, it gives me strange sense of pride to see a bunch of ethnic Chinese, Malays, and Indians singing along to American rap artists in the clubs. KL is probably the most modern city I've seen in SE Asia, outside of Singapore. Most every young person I met spoke English and the food in the street stalls was awesome, although it did bring on a bit of an episode with my stomach. I can see why many westerners are retiring there.
Decided to take the bus from Singapore from KL since it was only 4 hours and the airport in KL is 1.5 hours outside of town - wouldn't have saved me any time to fly. Anyway, the ride was very nice - $15 on an "executive bus". Very comfortable, with a dinner, and pirated American movies on the tv. Can't beat it. We need more services like that one here for when you need to travel short distances.
Got myself back to Japan after a night in Singapore. Wanted to climb Mt Fuji but apparently it does not open for season until July 1. You can go before that but you won't have any support from the vending stalls, etc. I decided not to do it. The only real thing of note from my second swing through Japan was the night I sang karaoke with a bunch of Japanese. I suppose that seems a bit cliche, Japanese and karaoke, but it really happened and it was indeed quite fun. I was actually searching a bar for someone I was supposed to meet there, when I opened a door on a private party full of Japanese singing karaoke. They grabbed me, pulled me in, and asked me what my favorite band was. I said something to the effect that I'd grown up on Guns N' Roses. And thus I ended up singing "Used to Love Her" with a couple Japanese guys. I stayed with them for quite awhile and had a great time.
Got the military flight back to America June 30, my last day eligible to fly for free. Got the car started and started my cross-country drive....
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