It's Time for a Pizza

 Today is officially two months abroad =P. Let me see where we left off…Cambodia.

            After the Tonle Sap Lake excursion we headed North to the border of Laos and Cambodia to begin a three day river excursion in search of freshwater dolphins (need I remind you this counts as class…). 

Best dolphin shot I could get.

The expedition included my class, an upper level Cambodian government official (Tenaw) and his river guide crew (group of “coast guard”-like people trained to enforce conservation rules along the river). 

Tenaw and a classmate

We traveled by boat to our first village. Here we spent the day swimming in a waterfall. Khone Falls actually has some amazing geology – vertical interbedded beds of metamorphosed sandstones and lava flows. Amazing!I also got to chill quite literally on the border of Laos and Cambodia…things are a little more lax here than in the US.

Khone Falls

Structural Indicator at the Falls =)

After the waterfall swim in the morning the afternoon was spent swimming around looking for dolphins – saw a couple. 

River Marker from the French Colony.

That night the village prepared a calf. Very generous and a daunting amount of meat! The following day was journeying down the river to a second village. We stopped at a potential dam site that would block the migratory route of the dolphins. This night we stayed with another village. Here there was a large 300+ person party. The village had prepared several dance routines. In return we had to sing some American songs on a large stage with sound equipment. It was…ridiculous. I must admit I am getting quite use to embarrassing myself in front of lots of people here. 

            From the Cambodian village we took the “jaw bus” back to the capitol and flew to Hanoi.

Ran like a champ and smelled like an onion.

I wasn’t certain this bus was road worthy but be arrived no problems =). After a couple of days exploring Hanoi we headed south to Cuc Phuong National Park. 

Cuc Phuong Entrance

This was Vietnam’s first national park and a world renowned butterfly area. Gorgeous limestone peaks covered in lush tropical forest. Probably one of the most beautiful locations I have seen here. This is where I will be returned to conduct my research on karst =). 

Turtle and Primate Rescue Centers at Cuc Phuong...actually funded in part by the Columbus Zoo...a little slice of home

            From Cuc Phuong we traveled by bus to the northern edge of the park to learn about the Muong ethnic minority. 

Muong Village

What better way to accomplish this than stay with a household. Probably one of my favorite nights on the program. We stayed in a stilt house. In the evening we went with homestay mother to collect her cows from the forest. Along the way we gathered various plants for dinner. So amazing to observe a way of life so dependent on the natural resources.

Edible Plants

Hauling back the harvest

Homestay Mama...she was amazing

Along the trek we would stop frequently and she would point out various barks, leaves, etc and talk about how this plant cured stomach aches or this stopped bleeding.  That night the villagers preformed some dances and songs and naturally we had to do another performance as well. Luckily there are some good musicians in this group. 

Village performances

The following morning we helped weed the rice paddy and thin out the corn field. 

Eating lunch at the homestay house.

            From the Muong Village we traveled to Ha Long Bay to observe the effects of coal mining on this World Heritage sights. The bay itself was a surreal landscape of limestone peaks poking up through the water.

The Bay

All the boats are this style

Inside a cave at Halong Bay - My research begins!

Caves in Vietnam are displayed quite differently. This is an artifical pool stopping up the water flow within the cave and ruining the hydrology of the cave...=(

However, pollution effects from the coal mines are killing the reefs and coating the surrounding in a thick dirty black dust. Kind of ironic.

Coal Mine Near Halong Bay. The runoff from this mine enters the bay.

Community near the coal mine - everything is coated in grey dust from the mine.

            Currently, I am on hour 28 of a 30 hour train ride from Hanoi down the coast of Vietnam to a coastal town in southern Vietnam. Riding a train in Vietnam has to be one of the most interesting, adventurous means of travel available. The train is cramped and dirty of course but that is just a little flavor of life. I am in a six bunk room about 6 ft by 5ft.

Life on the Rails

I am on the top bunk and have about 2.5 feet of headroom.

My bunk

The sheets are scary and I think I might get lice. Getting in and out is a real trip. The toilet is a hole that looks straight down onto the racing train tracks below. The scenery is beautiful and I feel like I time traveled back to the 1800s. I should get use to this though because I  am riding back north in 5 days and then back south again in a few weeks. What an adventure! Overall, I am loving life here. Every day is a new surprise. =)

PS Two months marked a serious craving for some western food. Particularly burritos and pizza. No luck getting those yet. However, I found a cheeseburger. It was amazing. I also found a western foods store and bought little box of granola for $5. Also amazing… 

OTHER RANDOM SHOTS: 

I don't know...this was a restaurant

Fish Traps

Trip up the River to the Perfume Pagoda outside Hanoi

Market outside the Pagoda 

Inside the pagoda - literally a temple inside a cave at the top of a mountain. Here monks live for about 3 mo at a time. 

Took the cable cars back down the mountain

Boatride back 

Hanoi at Night

Shoe Street in Hanoi

It's Vietnam...sometimes you don't really know why there is a stuffed ostrich in the window

Water puppet theater in Hanoi