March 1 , 2007 - Life Story

Sarah and I spend 99% of our time in each other's company. We're both talkers and we've had all kinds of crazy conversations running the gamut from politics to waxing to men to art to cats to bathroom habits to renewable energy... and on and on and on. We noticed that we were also telling each other our life stories - little by little, bit by bit. The stories just seem to unfold, either by triggered memories or reminiscences or a renewed desire to revisit certain things that have happened in our lives. It's been fun listening to Sarah's stories and it's also been fun telling my own. We figure that by the end of this year, we'll know more about each other than anyone else will know about us just from the sheer amount of time we spend together and the amazing percentage of that time we spend talking. I think that automatically qualifies us for BFF membership ;-)

March 2 , 2007 - Telepathy

I've noticed that my mental telepathy skills have increased. Not only can Sarah and I communicate without speaking, but I can also sense when people from home are thinking about me. It usually happens when I've been quiet for a long time, either laying on the beach or waking up in the morning or just staring into space thinking my thoughts. Some random person will enter into my thoughts and I'll know that they've emailed me. This has happened 5 or 6 times now and I find it very impressive. I know some of you are now convinced that I've gotten too new-agey, but I think there's something to it. Maybe if you're mind is open enough, there's space to receive energy like that from other people. Who knows - it's totally possible!

March 3 , 2007 - Star Signs

Speaking of new-agey... our new friend Scott is a believer in star signs. He has a book that he carries when he's traveling that lists all the combinations of sun and moon stars a person can be born under. I have to say that I am a complete disbeliever in astrology. My mom used to love to read our horoscopes every morning and those things were always so vague and general that they could apply to anyone.

But Scott brought the book to dinner one night and looked up my signs (My sun/moon is Taurus/Aries which apparently means earth/fire. So he pops the book open to my page and proceeds to read an exact description of me. It was really spooky actually. It talked about my strengths and weaknesses and how I am outwardly versus inwardly and what type of people I like to be around. I thought it was very cool.

But being a doubter, I insisted that we read Sarah's signs the next night. To my dismay, her's was pretty much right on as well, except for one or two exceptions. And what's more, her description could not be applied to me at all. So the write-ups are not just generalizations to apply to all-comers.

If I'd known there was a book out there with one page that told me all about myself, maybe I wouldn't have had to work so damn hard the past 34 years to figure it out.

Written in the stars

March 7 , 2007 - One Foot Forward

Many of you know that I have several "issues". My biggest issue is that I hate feet. I don't like to look at people's feet,I don't want anyone's feet to be near my body, I don't want anyone to touch me with their feet and I certainly don't want to touch anyone's feet. I know this is strange, but that's just the way it is.

I've tried to push past this issue time and time again and have made a bit of progress. Kirsten's feet have been near me when we sat in our living room and sometimes I never said anything about it. On this trip, Sarah's feet have touched me several times and not only did I not say anything about it, but it really didn't bother me. But recently, I've broken new ground. I actually touched Sarah's foot! My girl needed me and I came through for her. She had cut the bottom of her foot on some coral and needed to apply iodine to it. She couldn't get it on the wound because of the angle so I stepped in and took care of it. As befits a momentous occasion, we got proof:

Serious progress

March 8 , 2007 - Karl and Amy Arrive!!

Our friends Karl and Amy came to visit us in Thailand. It was such a joy to be with them again. Karl and I have a history of thinking the same thing at the same time and therefore we believe that we were separated at birth. I am happy to report that nothing has changed - we're just as in-sync as ever despite the 3 month separation. Amy and Sarah have been best friends for the past 10 years and are unstoppable when they are together. It's so fun to be part of that energy. These are two of the people that we love most and when you're around you're favorite people, life is just better.

SAB

BFF

March 8 , 2007 - Tiny Her Update

I was having problems with my camera and asked Kirsten to get me a new one and send it out with Karl. Not only did my wonderful friend take care of all of that (plus my taxes) on a moment's notice, but she also managed to go over to Simon's for a visit with Tiny Her. She proceeded to fill up my new camera's memory card with pictures and videos of my beloved. I don't deserve to have such a loving and thoughtful friend, but I'm so glad she's mine. (Please note Her's tiny-ness. Apparently, Simon has her doing laps up and down his long hallway and she's dropped some poundage. I hear that he's talking about a tummy tuck to complete Her's transformation. I'm not going to recognize this glamour-puss when I get home!)

Aunt Kirsten and Her

So tiny!

Her likes to play

Happy about Her

March 11 , 2007 - Thai Massage

While we were in Thailand, we managed to get a massage about every other night. At $6 a go, it was well worth the indulgence. I had never gotten a Thai massage before but was thoroughly impressed. Instead of rubbing, they do a lot of pressing to release muscle tension. They also incorporate yoga moves into the mix to stretch out muscles and get your joints back into alignment. A one hour session will leave you exhausted and ultra-flexible. There were a couple of days when we got worked over so much that we needed a rest day the following day.

When you get that many massages, you're bound to get to know the masseuses. We got to know a few of them and were really crazy about one in particular named Kao. She had such a fun personality and even went out dancing with us on our last night on the island. Unfortunately, we didn't get any pictures of her, but she's definitely part of our memories.

Thai massage

March 13 , 2007 - "Nell"

Sarah and were having dinner and were slightly buzzed. (We really don't drink anymore so just one drink will really throw us for a loop.) We heard some crazy music coming from one of the bars and were commenting on it. Sarah said it reminded her of some television show theme song. She couldn't think of it and to trigger my memory, she said that it was a show like Wonder Woman but starred a black woman with a big afro. Out of nowhere, one word came out of my mouth.... "Nell" ... Sarah and I started laughing so hard and I swear our laughing fit lasted for about 5 minutes. We were gasping for breath and trying desperately to swallow the food we had in our mouths. Then Sarah gained enough composure to clarify, "You mean Nell Carter?" I nodded my head and we laughed for another 5 minutes straight.

I don't know how Nell came into my head but when the word came out of my mouth, it sounded like I was possessed... like some other force took over my body to say that word. We are laughing hysterically as I write this because it was such a random, hilarious moment for us. I doubt it will translate well to anyone but us, but we can look back at this someday and roll around with laughter once again.

(For those of you who need to know, we figured out the next day that the show Sarah was referring to was Jackie Brown. A far, far cry from Nell.)

Nell

March 15 , 2007 - Imitation, Sincere Flattery

When we were getting our final Thai massages, our fave masseuse Kao told us about a Thai ska band that was playing at one of the beachfront bars. Martin and Matt, some new friends we met, joined us and we all met up at the Chill Out bar for a night of dancing.

Thai ska is a really funny form of ska - very upbeat and bouncy. We danced and danced and Kao was so fun. I noticed that she would imitate our dance moves and I thought that was so interesting. When we dance, we make a point of doing different moves from those around us, but imitating us was clearly her way of showing respect. Sarah and I both caught onto this and did the same for her. It was more like dancing with someone than just near someone. It was really different than what we're used to and it was really sweet and fun.

March 17 , 2007 - Two Steps Back

The guesthouse we were staying at in Siem Reap was a bit of a dump. But it had A/C and was only $15 a night so we dealt with it. The custom in Cambodia is to take off your shoes and leave them outside before going in the building - just like in Thailand.

Well... I took my flip flops off to go to our room to get something. When I went back outside, my shoes were missing. I was looking everywhere and soon many people were involved in looking for the shoes. Finally, one of the Cambodian men who worked at the guesthouse "realized" that he had on my flip flops and gave them back.

Okay... you know that I don't like feet. You might also know that I hate it when random strangers touch me (Remember that little girl on the airplane who kept caressing my arm through the armrest? Disturbing.) Now put those two things together and you're going to see a sweet girl from Indiana come apart at the seams.

I tried to hold it together. I didn't want to be offensive. But I just couldn't do it. Sarah took one look at me, saw the breakdown brewing and took over. She picked up the shoes and hustled me back into the room to wash up and collect myself. I'm not proud of this story, but I do find it fascinating, horrifying and hilarious all in one.

March 17 , 2007 - Angkor Temples

The biggest tourist draw in Cambodia is Angkor Wat - said to be the largest religious structure in the world (although Sarah and I would argue that the Vatican is technicaly larger). But it's actually much more than just Angkor Wat - it's an entire city called Angkor and all its contains hundreds of wats (temples).

On our first day in Siem Reap, Sarah and I armed ourselves with the Lonely Planet guidebook and went out in a tuk tuk in search of some ancient temples. We walked around the temples and tried to piece together the history of the place, but it was pretty difficult. We decided to get a guide for the next day and ended up learning quite a bit about the history of this amazing place and the culture of the people who lived here.

Angkor was once the capital of the mighty Khmer Empire back in the 9th-15th centuries. The Khmer people built some of the most amazing architecture of their time in Angkor. They mined limestone and sandstone from local quarries and built temple after temple in honor of their kings. The carvings along the inner and outer walls of the temples tells the stories of the wars fought by the Khmer Empire as well as traditional Hindu stories. Walking through the temples is like walking back in time.

Ta Prohm

Angkor Wat

Bayon

March 17 , 2007 - Nightmares

I have started having nightmares. One night I dreamt that Sarah left me behind and I didn't know where I was or how to find her. I woke up scared to death. I yelled Sarah's name and scared the crap out of her too. But she woke up and was immediately soothing - telling me where we were and what was going on and assuring me that she wasn't going to leave me. We reached across our 2-foot divide to hold hands for a minute and then cracked up about how we can't be apart. I hope that soon I will resolve whatever is going on in my head and stop having these nightmares. It's really unsettling.

March 18 , 2007 - Polin

When we were touring around the Angkor temples, we thought it would be so nice to have a guide to teach us about the history of the places we were visiting. We had a guidebook, but felt that we were missing both big chunks of information as well as small details and inside stories. I saw a guide and listened to him for a while and thought it would be great to have him take us around the following day.

And so Polin enters our lives. We introduced ourselves and agreed to talk later. When I called, Polin said that he was already booked for the next day but that he had been trying very hard to find us a good guide. He wanted to meet up with us so he came to the restaurant where we were eating. We chatted for a bit and he shared a lot of information with us about the history of Cambodia. We were shocked to hear that both of his parents were killed by the Khmer Rouge when he was four years old. He lived in orphanages for a while and also with his aunt and uncle who were farmers and therefore spared during the communist regimes reign.

Polin is a lovely man. He's so gentle and kind. He is very well educated and speaks 3 languages fluently. He is gracious and shares himself openly. After working all day as a tour guide, he goes to volunteer at the local orphanage to teach the children.

The next morning, we invited Polin and his wife to join us for dinner. He was very pleased by the invitaton and agreed to meet up with us later. After our day of touring, Polin showed up at our guesthouse with his scooter. Both Sarah and I got on the back and we all rode to the restaurant together. It was really fun!

Polin's wife Janay was lovely. She didn't speak much English but she was very sweet and was clearly very much in love with Polin. They had brought their wedding photo album and we enjoyed looking at all the pictures. It is Cambodian custom to have a 2-day long wedding and the bride and groom change into 8-10 elaborate costumes throughout those 2-days. It looked like a lot of fun.

We learned so much from Polin about Cambodian history and culture and it was so nice to really connect with one of the locals. We felt so lucky to have picked him out of the crowd of tourists and tour guides. It was yet another example of something being "beshert".

Khmer friends

March 19 , 2007 - Phnom Penh Craziness

We took the bus from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh. The journey takes about 6 hours and costs $4. The bus we were on consisted of 4 tourists (including us) and about 35 locals. I think we had an authentic experience. They played Cambodian music videos the whole time and at the bathroom stop, we followed people to the "bathroom" only to find them all peeing in a field behind a building. In addition, we kept picking up more passengers and when the seats were all filled up, they pulled out plastic stools and had people sitting in the aisles. Very interesting.

When we got to Phnom Penh everything turned upside down. We were accosted by locals the moment we disembarked from the bus. Everyone wanted to sell us something or give us a ride or just get a donation. It's really difficult to deal with that on such a constant basis. It's very stressful. I'm not sure why it's so different here than it is in Siem Reap or any part of Thailand. Maybe because it's a large city that just doesn't have jobs for people.

The roads are an adventure. There are no lanes... people drive in both directions on any part of the road that they please. Most people ride scooters that hold 3, 4 even 5 people. There are also a lot of tuk tuk's on the road. People turn around in the middle of the road and no one seems to think anything of it . People walking down the road really take their life in their hands. You never know when a tuk tuk is going to come barreling down the street directly at you, or someone on a scooter is going to try to run you down, or an elephant is going to be strolling down the sidewalk. You really just don't know what's going to happen here.

Sitting in the aisle

No lanes

Walking down the street

March 19 , 2007 - Luxury at $23/day

Sarah and I were a little tired of staying in crappy places. We figured it would be a similar situation here, but we held out hope for a better room. And we got our wish! After getting turned away at a couple of places on our list, we popped into the Paragon to check out the space. We climbed up 5 flights of stairs and found home. The room was clean and cool and had a gorgeous bathroom. The shower is absolute luxury. It even has hot water!!

I am only slightly ashamed to admit that we spent our first evening just sitting in the room watching Speed and Witness on our television. Lovely!

Paragon Hotel

Gorgeous shower

Room with A/C, TV and hot water!!

March 21 , 2007 - The Killing Fields

We've all heard the stories of torture and genocide of the Jews in Hitler's Germany. But not many people know about the torture and genocide of the Khmer people in Pol Pot's Cambodia. I was shocked and horrified by what I learned here and I'm going to write about it in case others want to know the story.

In 1975, a man self-named Pol Pot (short for Political Potential) banded together a group of young Khmer soldiers and overthrew the government of Cambodia. These insurgents, called the Khmer Rouge (Red Cambodians), reigned terror throughout Cambodia for 4 years with a goal of creating a communist country.

The Khmer Rouge reasoned that they would be able to keep order by ensuring ignorance of the people and having all of Cambodians citizens working together to produce rice. To achieve this, they set about killing all the educated people in the country and forcing everyone out into the rural areas to become farmers. They tortured and killed anyone who was educated because they didn't want those people to rise up against this regime and take back the country.

Over the course of 4 years, the Khmer Rouge killed over 20,000 people through torture and murder and they killed about a million more people through starvation and disease because they weren't able to produce enough food to feed the people and there were no longer any doctors left to keep people healthy.

In 1979, Vietnam defeated the Khmer Rouge and Cambodia has been trying to rebuild itself ever since then. Destroying their entire educated population set them back at least 50 years. They have to focus on educating the children and eventually developing a population of skilled workers. Until then, the only thing they can do is teach people about what happened in order to prevent it from happening again.

Can anyone help me understand why so many political despots seem to come to power and destroy huge groups of people in the name of progress? I will never be able to comprehend how they are able to convince so many people to carry out their sick plans and why other, more powerful nations are unable or unwilling to step in and stop the madness. When will we as a people stop focusing on war and hate and racial/religious supremecy and start focusing on the betterment of humankind?

Choeung Ek Memorial

March 22 , 2007 - Dollar Signs

Cambodia is a very poor country and their main source of revenue is from tourism. They have created a range of hotels and restaurants to cater to western tourists and an entire sub-population of Khmers employ themselves in the business of street-hawking and begging.

As we walk down the street, we are constantly bombarded with people wanting us to buy something or give them something. When we walk out of our hotel, a bevy of tuk tuk drivers hovers around us shouting "Tuk tuk lady"... "Lady you buy me"... "Where you going lady"... We shake our heads, we say no and still they persist. They ask over and over and over again. It's quite maddening. If they weren't harrassing us past the breaking point, I know for a fact that we would take more tuk tuks around town.

As we eat our meals, people - mostly children - come at us from all angles. They want us to buy books or bracelets or food or they simply want a donation. They hold our their hands as we walk down the street. It's so difficult to be seen merely as a dollar sign. They don't see us as people at all. There is no interest in knowing us or interacting with us - only an interest in getting our money. It's a terrible feeling and it's hard to not let it get to you.

March 23 , 2007 - The Road Very Traveled

We took a bus to and from Sihanoukville and Phnom Penh. We paid $2 more than our last bus ticket (which was on a locals bus) and got a serious upgrade. This bus had excellent air conditioning, a hostess who handed out water and snacks and a toilet. We were so much more comfortable on this bus service.

But the one thing that stayed the same was the constant honking from the bus driver. On the two and a half hour ride, I think the horn was honked for about two hours of the journey. The problem is that everyone drives in the middle of the road. You look out the window and see people coming and going in all directions. There are people walking, people biking, many people on scooters, people in cars, people in vans and people in big buses and trucks. There are no apparent road rules and therefore people are constantly trying to pass each other along the road. In order to alert people that you're coming up behind them, the custom is to honk your horn. So basically, there is constant honking as you go down the street. Everyone is honking at everyone else. I have no idea if this system works for anyone, but it doesn't make sense to me. When you're on the road, you're constantly surrounded by weaving vehichles and are hyper-aware of what's happening around you. A horn seems unnecessary at thtat point and should probably only be used in situations where a person is actually in danger. Just a thought.

Although desperate to convey these thoughts to the bus driver, I managed to hold my tongue and block out the madness by alternating my attention between my book and the hilarious Khmer music videos. Sarah randomly came across a write up on Thorn Tree from someone commenting on this very subject. He had entertained himself by coming up with a system for the number of honks different groups would get (two honks for a scooter, one long honk followed by four quick honks for school children riding bicyles, laying on the horn without pause for any naked children walking along the side of the road). It was absolutely hilarious and gave us a whole new perspective each time we got into a vehicle from that point forward.

March 24 , 2007 - Lighthouse Orphanage

We learned about a great volunteer opportunity at the Lighthouse Orphanage from a friend we met in Siem Reap. We learned a little bit about the place and found that they welcome foreigners to help teach the kids English and to play games with them.

We hired a tuk tuk for the day and stopped off at the market and bought a 25 kilogram bag of rice to take with us . When we got to the orphanage, a bunch of the kids came running towards us. They were smiling and laughing and reaching in the tuk tuk to touch us. One little girl held my hand as we drove through the yard. They bombarded us with questions about ourselves... "what's your name?".... "where are you from?"... "how old are you?"... You should have seen their faces when Sarah tried to convey (through finger counting) how old we were! Shock and awe ;-)

They had already finished with their lessons so we just hung out with the kids. We talked to them so they could practice their English and in turn, they taught us several Khmer words. Then they started playing games. We watched as they took turns trying to jump over an impossibly high rope and I joined in a game of Khmer-style double dutch. They they started playing a game something like duck-duck-goose and they invited us to join them. We stood around in a big circle holding hands. A pair of kids would walk around the circle and touch the hands of two others and then they would race in opposite directions to get to the empty space first. The game was simple and fun and it was a joy to watch them play it. They were so engaged with them game and would laugh and giggle as people raced around the ring. They didn't discriminate about who got picked - they seemed to balance it out nicely.

Overall, I was amazed by how well-adjusted the kids were. They were clean and healthy and, most importantly, they were genuinely happy. They took care of each other and were very loving both with each other and with the volunteers that came along. They so readily gave and received love and hugs that it really surprised me. Even though volunteers come and go from their lives everyday, they still make the effort to connect with them by interacting, by touching, by involving us in their lives. I was overwhelmed by their generosity of spirit.

We were told that they were giving a dance performance the next day so we promised to come back and watch. When we arrived, we got the same warm welcome and were amazed at how much they remembered about us. We talked with them and had them show us their dance moves and then we got to see them perform several traditional Khmer dances. It was so fun to see them showing off for us! It was very difficult to leave, but we felt great about getting to spend time with these amazing children. With them, we were able to connect with local Khmer people in a way that is usually difficult. It definitely made me feel closer to the people of this country and it gave me better insight into their ways and customs.

Jumprope game

Riding around

Sweet girls

March 26 , 2007 - Crossing into Vietnam

We took a boat down the Mekong River in order to cross the border from Cambodia into Vietnam. The trip was uneventful and entering into Vietnam was painless. We had heard from others that the bus trip across the border was really sketchy and that people often got tied up there for hours, so we were pleased that the boat trip worked out so well.

Once in Vietnam, we got back on the boat and continued along the river into Chau Doc. We took a "shortcut" through a local waterway and were delighted to see homes and villages scattered along the shores. The kids and even the adults would come out from their huts to wave to us as we passed by. You wouldn't think that we would be such an attraction, but apparently they hadn't seen that many tourists and the novelty hadn't worn off yet.

Our guide on the boat was a woman named San. She spoke English very well and not only gave us a lot of information about the people living in the Mekong Delta, but also talked a lot about her life and culture. We became such fast friends that she invited us to join her and her friends for karaoke. We were very excited to accept this offer because we thought it would be fun to experience a typical night with some locals.

We met up with San and sampled the local food in the market and on the streets. We made our way to the karaoke place where San had reserved a private room for us (remember Lost in Translation?!). Her friends joined us and we proceeded to belt out both American and Vietnamese songs until midnight. We had so much fun with these lovely people. They welcomed us whole-heartedly and we all really bonded throughout the night. They were clearly well-practiced at their karaoke-ing because they all sounded like professionals. After a few mortifying renditions of barely recognizable songs, Sarah and I finally rebounded with a very high-scoring performance of California Girls. We thought that was quite appropriate. :-)

Mekong River hut

Market eats

Bridge over Mekong

Karaoke queens

March 28 , 2007 - Spectacle

When we traveled through Cambodia, we certainly felt like we stood out. But not til Vietnam did we truly feel like spectacles. Everything we do seems to cause a crowd to stop and stare. It's disconcerting. In addition to staring, they usually have a few comments - some we understand and some we (thankfully) do not. Mostly people are remarking on how we look. The funniest thing we've heard is when we passed by two Vietnamese men and one said to his friend, "so big!". Hee hee!! And it's true - compared to them we are absolutely gigantic. We think this is mostly a consequence of diet. They eat so much rice and noodles and you're just not getting enough protein and vitamins from those foods.

I will admit that we sometimes do things that call attention to ourselves. We try not to wear tanktops very often, but when we do, we definitely stand out. Bare shoulders are not common in Vietnam. Stuffing two people into a one-person cyclo turned heads and stopped traffic. Our pronunciation of Vietnamese words causes giggles and guffaws.

Obviously we look and act different from Vietnamese people, but there are so many tourists traveling throughout the country that it surprises me that the locals are still interested in us. I'm curious as to how long that will last.

Crowded cyclo

March 29 , 2007 - Take What you Get

Because of the language barrier, I've found that we often have to just accept what we're given. There's not an opportunity to tell people how you want something done or how to change something you don't like. This is something very foreign to me. I like what I like and have never hestitated to ask for things to be done to my liking. That doesn't work here.

For example, ordering a meal at home is at art form for me. Not only did I have very specific dietary restrictions and preferences, but I know what I like to eat and what things go together. Therefore, when I ordered a meal, I was very specific with what I wanted, how I wanted it cooked and what I wanted with it. Here, I point helplessly at something on the menu that sounds edible and hope for the best. Often, they bring me an entirely different meal than the one I requested. But I just take it and eat it because it would be so damn hard to explain the situation and get them to bring me the meal I ordered. It's just not worth it.

Another example is getting a massage. We have endured some absolutely horrible massages since coming to Vietnam. They have yet to master the technique of a good massage. They do a lot of pinching and tickling and seem bound and determined to rub bald spots in my head. But I just take it. I know it will be over in an hour at the most and it would be absolutely impossible to get them to do it the way I like it (actually rubbing the muscles).

I realize that all of this is my fault. If I could speak the language, things might be different. However, I cannot and therefore, I'm happy to take what I get.

March 30 , 2007 - Fruit Tasting

We have tried so many different kinds of food since arriving in Vietnam. Sometimes we'll just randomly pick things off a menu and hope for the best. Other times, we let locals order for us and hope for the best. And some times, we just see something that looks interesting as we're walking down the street and give it a try.

We had already tried several fruits like dragon fruit, local bananas, longan and star apples.We decided to have a dedicated fruit tasting in our hotel room in Saigon. We went to a street market and bought durian, mangosteen, guava, custard apple and red and green water apples. It was really fun to set up a little tasting area and cut into each of these fruits. We had no idea what to expect from any of them and it was an adventure discovering each one. Our favorites are the custard apples and the red water apples.

I will admit that we were complete idiots to bring the durian up to our room. This is nicknamed "stinky fruit". It fits it's nickname. The stench this fruit puts off is horrible. I have no idea how anyone would ever bring themselves to eat this. Apparently, it's an acquired taste. The texture and smell combined to make it a fairly unpleasant experience for us and we quickly got it out of our room. Despite it only being in the room for about 15 minutes, the stench lingered for 2 days!

Pretty colors

Making choices

Peeling

Cutting

March 31 , 2007 - Crazy House

We got into Dalat in the evening and, while we could have spent several days there, we only had one night. The thing we most wanted to do was visit the "Crazy House". This house sits on the outskirts of Dalat and is the creative genius of Hang Nga - a local Vietnamese artist. You can buy a ticket and tour the grounds like a museum. What's even better is that you can stay in one of the uniquely decorated rooms that look like homes an animal would make for itself.

We walked around structures that looked like giant tree stumps connected with ramps and tunnels and bridges and scattered with signs of nature like spiderwebs, caves, animal sculptures, trees and flowers. We were overwhelmed with the creativity it took to make something like this. While it was incredibly original, it also reminded me of something out of Alice in Wonderland or Lord of the Rings. It felt like the artist was trying to make a statement about how people can live in harmony with nature, even after we've destroyed it.

We followed a tiny kitten through a doorway and played with it for a while. I'm so glad we did because as we cuddled and tickled the kitten, a glamourous and eccentric looking woman came out of the studio. It turned out to be the artist. She had such an air of peace and mystery about her. It was fascinating to be in her presence. We talked with her a bit about the building and her plans for expansion. Within the next 5 years, she will create several new structures and make more community spaces.

We loved this experience partly because the artistry was so unique, but also because this type of creativity is not typically expressed in Vietnam. People seem to be existing on a lower level where they are struggling to get by and aren't at all focused on artistic endeavors. In addition, in a communist country, art like this isn't always allowed to exist. In fact, some of Hang Nga's early creations had to be destroyed because the government deemed them to be "anti-socialist". So it was quite refreshing to see someone who was willing to put herself on the line to create something new and different and to express an opinion.

Front door

Sarah looks out

Tree house

Spider webs