One Week

One week until I run marathon #10. First, I can't believe I've done 9 of these. I was never going to do one. Then I was like, "one and done". And now it's time for #10. I wanted this one to stand out in some way. The last few definitely have stood out, so this one needed to stand out in a different way. Marathon #7 I finally BQ'd. #8 gave me such a great PR. #9 was Boston. What could I do for #10? How about incorporate a marathon during my trip around the world. 

I did a lot of research to see which one I should do. I focused on Southeast Asia, since that worked from a timing standpoint. Although there was one in Jordan that I thought about for a hot minute. But after running Boston and a crazy summer at work, I wasn't fully committed to training and the race was in October. I was also too tired. I also had to be sure I was actually going on this trip around the world. So I gave myself a bit of a buffer and looked for one later in the year. 

For a little while, I considered doing one in Malaysia, which would have been a great place to visit. But I decided running over a 13-mile bridge and back may not be as much fun as it sounded. So I looked even later in the year and finally selected the Chiang Mai Marathon in Thailand. Thailand has been a place I've been wanting to visit for years, so running a marathon here seemed very fitting.  I was concerned that the race was too late in the year. Typically at home, I like running a marathon in October. This one is December 20th. The holidays just get a bit crazy and training part of the way into a NYC winter isn't appealing. However, I wasn't going to be in NYC. So no holiday parties and splurging, and no cold temperatures. So I registered. 

I knew absolutely nothing about Chiang Mai, but as I told people about it, they all praised the city. So this was a very good sign. And it's the 10th anniversary of the race. A nice coincidence to tie it to marathon #10.

First step, register. Second step, train. And boy, was training a challenge. You would think that by not working, you'd have all the time in the world to run. Not necessarily. I want to say I averaged running about 4-5 days a week, as opposed to my normal 6 days for the past few marathons. Also, Central Park was my go-to spot. Living so close was pretty amazing and I knew where I needed to go for long runs, speed sessions, and tempo workouts. Moving around to different cities and countries required a bit of research for route planning and a little bit of hope that it would all work out. 

At first I googled routes to run and had luck finding some spots in major cities, like Istanbul and Tel Aviv. Runner's World was helpful and I was able to get some solid short and long runs in without too much effort. But the further I went away from home, the harder it got to find routes on google. So I then started using the Strava heat map. This eventually became a key resource as I was able to see where other runners have gone in both the larger and smaller cities. I wasn't actually too concerned about small towns, as I grew up in rural upstate New York, so I know I can just run down a road and not deal with too much traffic and obstacles. And it tends to be nice scenery. 

I was able to get a long run in every country I have visited so far. Which is pretty cool. I ran in some crazy heat in Turkey and Israel, and humidity in Sri Lanka and Vietnam. I dealt with nonstop honks in Jordan, and cities like Amman weren't even close to being runner friendly. Dogs chased me in Sri Lanka and Thailand, and cows have gotten in my way in India.

Regardless of this, it was all fun and what an experience. I ran along tea plantations in Sri Lanka, I ran with other Israelis along the Mediterranean, I ran in the desert and through the jungle. I ran on rock formations in Turkey and on trails in Laos. I've seen elephants and monkeys (fortunately not chasing me). I've had people cheer me on and look on in disbelief. 

Getting speed and tempo workouts in were a little bit of a different story. Locating a track outside of the US has proved itself impossible. At least for me. I know there must be tracks out there, but I didn't come across any. Even with all my Google Earth searching. I had to make due with basketball courts and uneven paths in tiny parks. Tempos were a little easier as you just need the road. But you also need it uninterrupted, which was tough unless you were out in the middle of nowhere. I was pretty good about getting these key workouts in at the beginning, but it got tougher and tougher, so they became less frequent. I hope some of those earlier workouts will still benefit me, but it may have been too long ago. 

In NYC, I also have my running team and endless people to run with. Running isn't really something that's super popular around the world apparently. Getting honked at in Turkey and Jordan was just inappropriate and stressed me out a little on those runs. Israel was great since there were a lot of active people in the various cities. People in Sri Lanka were just very smiley and supportive. I saw a lot of walkers in India, as well as in Vietnam. I was definitely left alone in Cambodia and Laos. So many times I was just out running on my own. Other travelers like myself gave me a lot of looks. Like why am I running on vacation. I almost found a running buddy in India, but we never connected. I have seen other runners out there, but it's been rare. But I always give a smile to them. And even though I do wish I had someone to run with every once in a while, it's more for them to see what I see more than anything. 

So how do I expect next week to go? I have absolutely no idea. One of things I had hoped for was a lead-up race to the marathon. Ideally running a half marathon about a month out. Unfortunately I couldn't find any, or I was just a little too early. I was a week early for 2 races, one in Vietnam, and the other in Cambodia. I've gotten my long runs in. But my mileage is down a lot from previous training seasons. I haven't done as many key workouts either. So I can't really assess my fitness level. I know I'll finish the race. I would love to PR (who doesn't?), but I do need to set some sort of realistic expectation. I have a range of paces that I'm looking at. I plan to start somewhat conservatively and hope to speed it up as the miles tick by. The weather looks promising, especially at 4am when the race starts. It's supposed to be a flat course, although I do need to check on the elevation of Chiang Mai itself. I get to the city on Wednesday so will use those to days to check out the course and prepare myself. 

If anything, I get to say I ran a marathon in Thailand. Not too may can say that. So here goes nothing. 

Vientiane

My last stop in Laos was the capital city of Vientiane. Not my favorite, but an ok city to have a stopover in. We got picked up at our hotel in Vang Vieng by a tuktuk. We thought there were only going to be a few of us, but we continued to pick people up. No biggie, except they didn't put our luggage on the top like they've done before. We were a little tight squeezed, but made it to the bus station without much difficulty. We waited for a few minutes and then boarded our VIP bus. Mind you, it's not really VIP. It's VIP since it's has AC. Some of the seats were broken, but in comparison to local buses, it's a dream. The ride was a bit more comfortable than the minibus we took from Luang Prabang. We had a short bathroom break about halfway and made it to Vientiane close to on time. Of course, we got dropped off at the North Bus Station. The Central Bus Station would have been so much easier. But why would they drop us off there. We went through the same spiel as in Vang Vieng. No negotiations and we boarded a tuktuk reluctantly. I guess since we got picked up at our hotel the other times, I'll even it out.

We checked into our hotel and then went in search of food. I heard and saw on the map, that there was a market nearby. But we found a children's carnival instead. I don't know if it changed or we missed it or if there was a special event happening. But regardless, we didn't find food. After a little bit of wandering, and bypassing a lot of Western-style restaurants, we found a local noodle shop with some delicious noodles and rice. We filled up, called it an early night, and headed back to the hotel.

Still not sick of rice and noodles.

The following morning, since I decided to do my long run on Saturday, I spent a few short miles exploring the city a bit along the Mekong River. Once I first got to the river, I thought the river would be right up against the boardwalk (not really a boardwalk, but that's what they call it), but the river was actually quite a distance away. Not sure if it's receded over time or maybe it's a seasonal tide thing. I'm no expert, and I'm sure I could google it, but not right now. There were a few others enjoying the boardwalk as well, and I saw a few runners out there. Towards the end of the run, it started to rain a bit. When I got back, it got even worse. We were going to head to Buddha Park, an hour bus ride outside of the city. But we were not going to do it in the rain. So we ate breakfast and hung out a bit. Once it let up, we headed to the bus station and hoped for the best. It continued to drizzle a bit on our way out there, so we decided to get lunch across the street from the park. We got papaya salad and boy was it spicy. I'm glad I had that beer to wash it down with. I was hungry and the salad was good, so continued to eat it, despite the hot factor. They gave us cabbage to tone it down, but it wasn't enough. So we also got fried rice.

Those napkins were for my runny nose due to the spice.

We paid the entrance fee (plus the camera fee) to Buddha Park and checked out the interesting but creepy Buddha statues throughout. Definitely some weird stuff going on, especially the scary pumpkin. Animals are a norm among the various temples, but these were definitely not the norm. It was kind of cool, and I'm glad we went. Although we didn't need long to explore the small park, so once we had our fill of all the weirdness, we headed back to Vientiane.

Scary pumpkin.

We did a little more exploring when we returned, but there really isn't too much to see in Vientiane. We went to see Patuxai (coined the Lao "Arc de Triomphe") and surrounding area. Later on that evening we went to check out the Night Market. We were hoping to find something similar to what we saw in Luang Prabang but was definitely disappointed. It was a lot of knockoff brands and cheap clothing. And when we did find a stall that had some items we were interested in, they wouldn't negotiate on the price. It was much more expensive and not worth the trouble. I wasn't really looking for anything and have hopes for Thailand. We picked up a bottle of wine and some food at the Noodle Shop and called it a day. I had to get up early for my long run and Susan had to get ready for her flight out. I'm glad she was on board with our plan. I was getting pretty tired. I was happy to support the same restaurant and even though her English was limited, she was really sweet. 

Dinner pick-up.

The next morning, I got my 14-miler in around the city and along the Mekong River. Ten of those miles were meant to be at marathon pace, but it was tough to maintain. You could say they were at marathon pace, but at a slower marathon pace than I would like. Since it's been faster than previous long runs, I took it. The scenery was good and somewhat enjoyed it. Fortunately the temps were cooler and there was a cloud cover, but I still managed to be dripping wet when I finished. I'm dreaming of when I can run in low humidity. But that will be a while from now, and would also probably mean I'm home. Which I'm not in a hurry to do.

One of my long run views.

I got back in time to have breakfast with Susan and send her off to the airport. It was so great having her here with me for a part of this. It went by so fast, but I had such a good time. I'm sad to see her leave, but it's time to be on my own again. I'll be seeing some more friends soon enough. After a quick nap and checking out, I made my way to the hostel where I was spending my last night in Laos. On my way, I met a girl and chatted with her for a bit as we walked. She gave me some recos on Thailand, which I ended up listening to. The hostel was kind of  cool place, so enjoyed some beer as I caught up on my running journal.

The rest of the day was low-key. I got food, bought postcards (I've been buying them in every country for friends and myself), walked for a bit, met people at the hostel, and got more food. I needed a relaxing day of doing nothing. And Vientiane was a good place for that.

Beer and running journal at the hostel.

The following morning I made my way to the airport. I got on a bus near to the hostel based on direction from one of the workers. Which wasn't a good idea since it wasn't going to the airport. I asked if any bus would be good and she said yes. Next time, ask again to be sure. I was concerned that I was running late so ended up taking a tuktuk to the airport with my last little bit of Lao currency. Of course it may not have been necessary since I sat at the airport for a while waiting for my flight. With no wifi. And it was boarding later than what I was emailed. Oh well. I was there and not late. Good time to read Go Set a Watchman. And get excited for my next stop: Thailand.

Vang Vieng

We only had one night in Vang Vieng, but it was a good visit. We got picked up at our hotel in Luang Prabang and joined a group of people in a crammed minibus. This wasn't a good sign for our ride to Vang Vieng. Fortunately they were only taking us to the bus station to switch to another vehicle. After a little confusion on the driver's part, we got to where we needed to be. This minibus (or van as they like to call it), didn't have as many people. But the ride still wasn't super comfortable. It was a cheaper option and took less time, but it was still a bit crowded and definitely warm. And coming slowly down mountain roads that aren't great, makes for an interesting ride. As much as I wanted to get to our destination, we did make a pit stop for lunch and I'm glad we did. It provided a good break, and we were able to get some food. It was a hopping place and it was pumping bass, including multiple songs by J Lo. I almost thought we were at an outside club in Miami the way they were cranking the music. But then I would look around and know that I wasn't even close.

Rest stop view.

We finally made our way to Vang Vieng and of course they dropped us off at the bus station that was furthest from town. Really, they couldn't take us one more mile? A little irritating as the sole tuktuk driver wouldn't even negotiate the price. He made a lot of money for less than 10 minutes of driving. We got dropped off at our villa and it was stunning. The Nam Song River and mountains in the background was beautiful. We were right on the water and was looking forward to our short stay there. 

View from our villa.

After we relaxed for a bit, we headed out to check out the town and get dinner. Besides food, one of our priorities was also to get wine. We've been doing that everywhere we go, and of course a new town meant a new bottle. We actually ran into the couple from Toronto and got some recos of what to do. Which really was to go to one of the restaurants nearby to get dinner and watch Friends. Yes, you read that right. Watch Friends. Someone we met at some point had also mentioned these restaurants. And since Susan and I both love the show, we went for it. It was really low-key and the food was cheap and good. And why not. So we sat there enjoyed some local food and beer, and watched a mini marathon of Friends. 

Beer Lao and Friends.

We bought our bus earlier on and chose the later bus so we'd have the morning to hang out and relax. I kind of wish it was even later though. I didn't mind getting into Vientiane later. It was raining when we woke up, but it eventually stopped and we took in the view over breakfast. The clouds and mist made for some stunning scenery. 

Morning clouds.

Afterwards, we packed up our stuff and headed into town to wander a little bit and check out some other parts of the very small town. Which didn't take too long. But got some more photos on this bridge. We did have to wait patiently as scooters went over this pretty consistently. 

More stunning views.

We then ended up back at the place from the night before to relax before our bus. So we watched some more Friends over lunch and a beer before heading out of town. It would have been great to stay an extra day or 2 to just relax and wander. 

Luang Prabang

Laos was our next stop. Susan and I got to the airport in Siem Reap with plenty of time and enjoyed one last Cambodia beer. As we were finishing up, we heard the boarding announcement, and just at that time, a woman came up to ensure we heard the announcement. We assumed it would take some time for the passengers to load, so I ran to the bathroom quickly. As I was exiting, I heard Susan's name being called over the loudspeaker. Which means they were waiting for us. So I ran back to where we were sitting and we hurried to our gate. We exit the airport and make our way to the plane, at a little bit of a jog. We get on the plane and don't find many people at all on it. There was a total of 9 passengers. And they were waiting for us. Well we felt a little bad, and maybe a tad embarrassed, but then realized we were taking off much earlier than anticipated. So no worries. We took off, got some food, and had our first Laos beer in the air. 

No one in front of us.

We then landed in Pakse, Laos. We had about 2 hours, or so we thought. We figured we'd go through immigration and wait for our next flight. Well we got off the plane, were given a transfer ticket, and entered the tiniest airport waiting area. Not the tiniest I've been in, but definitely small. We determined that we'd be chilling there for a while, which we weren't too thrilled about since there wasn't much to do and see. We decided to get some beers. But as we were about to pay, they changed over the destination sign, and started to load everyone for Luang Prabang. So we got back on the plane we just got off of. We just picked up a few more passengers. I guess there was a reason why there wasn't any specifics on our layover. But we were ok with that since we arrived in Luang Prabang sooner than anticipated. And we saw an amazing sunset as we landed.

Luang Prabang sunset after landing.

Once we leave the airport, we then get ripped off. We decided to take the taxi into town as there were no tuktuks around, which was surprising. We tried to share with a couple, but they said maximum 3 people. So of course we thought we were going in a small vehicle of some sort. Nope. They pull up in a van and pile us all in there. And made more money. They even confirmed one stop. If we were paying for a taxi, then we shouldn't have had to share. I don't mind sharing. I just don't want to overpay. A short ride later, we got dropped off at the entrance to the road where our guesthouse was. We checked in, took a few minutes to decompress, and then headed out to check out the Night Market.

Night Market.

I really liked this particular Night Market. Instead of a building with stalls, it was a road that was closed off for the evening, with tents set up along the sides. They were selling a lot of the standard items I've seen elsewhere, and also local items. It was hard to resist shopping, but I've decided to wait a bit longer before I go to town on buying things. We also found some delicious food at one end of the market. We selected our food and got the price. And then told her what veggies we wanted. Once the food was ready, we went to pay and of course she tacked on extra money. Well we didn't pay since they didn't tell us it was extra, but it was still kind of sneaky. We sat down nearby and met a nice couple from Toronto. We hung out and chatted with them for quite some time. They gave us some tips and we did the same, as we are going a little bit in the opposite way. They were in Thailand, so they gave me some recos, and we advised them on Siem Reap.

Deciding on what to eat.

We wandered a bit more and then decided to check out some of the tour offerings. There were tours to Kuang Si Falls, an elephant sanctuary, and other places. We decided to think about it and come back the next morning to figure what we wanted to do. Susan really wanted to do the elephant sanctuary (which I was totally on board with), but I also wanted to be sure we had sufficient amount of time to explore Kuang Si Falls (one place was only giving an hour to explore). We decided to see if there was a good tour that would allow us a bit more flexibility. And when we came back the next morning, we did. We were going to have 2 hours with the elephants, and then 2 hours at the falls. Good compromise, and we'd back in time for the sunset on Phousi Mountain.

After some breakfast, we joined a few others in a shared minivan and headed to the elephant camp. It wasn't the Elephant Village that most tours go to, and I think this worked in our favor. First, this was much closer to the Falls, and second, it's a pretty new establishment (opened in January), so it was flexible on timing and how the morning went. When we first arrived, we got a briefing of the sanctuary over a cup of iced tea. We learned that they buy elephants from people who have captured them from the wild and have been domesticated. They wouldn't be able to survive in the wild for very long if that's where they returned. Laos now has a law that it's illegal to capture elephants, so hopefully this minimizes the number taken from their home. They currently have 14 elephants, 12 adults and 2 babies, in total in the sanctuary. We learned they eat about 250 kilos of veggies a day (this is equivalent to over 550 pounds), which is crazy.  We got to feed them, and I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't overfeeding them. So I continued to feed them the banana stalks. And feed them. 

Feeding the elephants.

After feeding them for a while, we headed up this structure to get on the elephant for a short ride through the jungle. We all got to get on our own elephant, which was great. We did a mini trek and enjoyed the beautiful views of the Mekong River and surrounding mountains. At one point, one of the elephants couldn't hold it any longer, and just had to pee. And wow did it gush out. It was kind of amazing. You know in a gross way. And I'm really glad that I was up high on my elephant. We left the massive puddle behind and continued on our way. At some point I lost Susan. She got on an elephant right after me, but my elephant was in a hurry and passed a few others. And I figured hers was taking their sweet time. Once my ride was over I was waiting for Susan to finish. But I couldn't see her. I then looked over to where the elephants were and she was feeding them. Apparently hers got a bit scared and returned to the camp. Her ride was cut short, which was a bummer. But it was made up later on.

Going for a ride.

We then headed down to the river since it was now time to bath them. The elephants were there by the time we got down the hill (Susan and I were busy taking photos). We dropped off our things and went into the Mekong to join the elephants. We were able to convince 2 others who weren't doing the bathing to take our photos. I had to hop on one, which did take some flexibility, but I made it. And then I spent some time washing the elephant. It was very cool. And I hoped the elephants enjoyed themselves. It was cooling me off for sure. After a bit more bathing, it was time to head back. Since Susan's earlier ride got cut short, she was able to ride her elephant back up to the camp, which was nice. She was thrilled to ride it bare back too. They weren't hurrying us out of there, so we fed them some more. I'm sure they had many more kilos to eat for the day. All in all, it was about 2 hours of hanging out. It was then time to head to Kuang Si Falls.

Time for a bath.

Since we were over our time, I was worried our time at the falls would be cut short, but it wasn't. We grabbed something to eat quickly at the bottom of the falls and made our way to the top. The hike was a decent one. I did it in flip flops and barefoot at some point. Not super easy, but doable. And we were rewarded with some great views. 

Top of the falls.

On the way up and the way down, we got some great unobstructed views of some of the falls. The water was so blue and falls were very pretty. We tried to hurry down the other wise when we were done at the top, but it was a little steep, so had to move slowly. Which means we didn't have much time for swimming. We really spent about 5 minutes in the water. I think if we had an extra 30 minutes, it would have been perfect. I'm glad we did the hike, but do wish we had some more swimming time. The group was waiting for us, so we had to move. 

Kuang Si Falls.

Once we got back to town, we did some more hiking, and this time went to the top of Phousi Mountain to catch the sunset. It was a bunch of steps, and not as high as our earlier hike. So not major. It was a bit crowded at the top, but we were able to catch a nice sunset. The one from the night before was better, but the views were still pretty great.

Sunset from Phousi Mountain.

We spent the rest of our evening checking out the Night Market again and eating dinner. The next day, we were heading to Vang Vieng. I got a nice morning run in along the Mekong (and saw a few other runners) and got some nice misty views. Luang Prabang is definitely a recommendation and spending another day or 2 there would have been nice. But it was time to check out our next destination.

Siem Reap

Well Cambodia has gotten the least amount of days from me, but that doesn't mean it wasn't great. I arrived in Siem Reap on Friday and we left on Tuesday. However, for one city, that was a good enough time and it was kind of amazing. The biggest attraction, or maybe the only attraction, is the Angkor Wat temple complex. Which we didn't get to until Monday, so had lots of time to explore the town and get to know the area a bit.

I arrived kind of late on Thursday and my hostel arranged for a tuktuk ride once I arrived. I think he was waiting for a while since 3 flights landed about the same time and it took some time to get through immigration. Fortunately the ride into town didn't take too long. We didn't get any food on the flight, even though it was international. I guess since it was only an hour flight? So of course I was starving by the time I checked into the hostel. I dropped off my bag and went in search of an atm. And that took some time. The first atm didn't want to give me money. I thought the 2nd one was hijacked by criminals since it completely froze and took about a minute before I could get my card out. The 3rd one didn't have any money. I went in search for a 4th and that took some time, but finally I was able to withdraw some US dollars. I decided on that instead of local currency since all costs were in USD, including the restaurants, the hostel, and even the street vendors. Finally with some money, I went in search of food. When reviewing the menus in USD, it seemed pretty cheap. But by Southeast Asia standards, quite pricey. I definitely was facing a dilemma. On one hand, seeing my home currency on menus made me realize it was pretty cheap. But I also knew I was paying double the price for food that I had been in Vietnam and even India and Sri Lanka. I was pretty hungry though, so just planted myself at a restaurant. Which happened to be a Mexican themed restaurant. And I ended up ordering Italian. Solely for the fact that I was running a 20-miler the following morning. So there I was, in Cambodia, sitting at a Mexican restaurant, eating an Italian dinner with wine from Chile. Not quite the first meal in Cambodia I expected. On my way back to the hostel, I made a pit stop at the convenience store and I thought I was at home. So many familiar brands. I tried to not go overboard, but did end up splurging on some KIND bars. I figured they would be good nutrition during my long run.

Carbo loading.

The following morning came and it was time to get in my last long run for this training cycle. And it went ok. There was some pretty brutal humidity and I was dripping wet when I finished. But the scenery was amazing and I felt good. I was definitely thirsty when I finished and may have been slightly dehydrated (but this affected me later, not during the run). My goal was to get at least 18 miles in, so was pretty pleased that I made it to 20. When I was researching where to run, I had a general idea of where I was going to go. I am not familiar with Angkor Wat at all. Or I should say I wasn't at that point. I followed along the Siem Reap River for a ways and ran through a lot of little cluster of houses. So many kids yelling out "hi" at me, which was very nice. I'm not sure if they know much more English, but I wasn't stopping to chat, so no worries. I then found myself on these dirt paths through the forest. Or jungle I guess. Which was nice and peaceful. The trails were on my MapsMe app, so I wasn't going to get lost. I figured I would end up near the various temples of Angkor Wat, but wasn't sure if I was going to see anything or even be allowed in. I eventually made it on a road with some traffic, mostly tuktuks, and pretty much followed that. I decided I would stay on that for 10 miles and worse case scenario, that would be my turnaround point. If possible though, I wanted to do some sort of loop. And I was able to. I kept going and came across a few temples. Which was kind of exciting. They weren't the well known ones (I learned later), but it was still pretty cool to see. I didn't want to linger since I had miles to get in, but also was planning on an in-depth tour with my friend. The landscape was all trees and quiet roads with various market stalls close to the temples. There were a few people giving me looks, like why is this girl running around the temples. I didn't mind, especially after I saw signs for the Angkor Wat half marathon the following weekend. I'll pretend that people assumed I was getting ready for that. I have to say that I was a little sad that I'm missing it. This is the 2nd time that I'm one week too early for a race. I haven't been able to get any races in, and doing that would have been very cool. Maybe a future vacation. I eventually made my way around the complex (I saw Angkor Wat temple from a distance), I headed back to town and wrapped up my run.

Running on some trails.

After I packed up my stuff, and sat around for a bit to recover, I decided to walk around town. I checked out the Old Market where I finally got some lunch. I wasn't feeling super great, but the food helped. It was some version of pho (or maybe that is what is was?), and even though I was sweating while eating it,  I got some more fluids and what I hope was some sodium. I also bought myself a very cute tank top with elephants on it for only $3. I think I could have gone down to $2, but I didn't negotiate hard enough. I wanted to do some Christmas shopping, but decided to wait a bit longer since I didn't want to add too much more weight to what I'm carrying. Plus, I didn't know who my Secret Santa was at that point. 

Lunch in the Old Market.

I was ready to relax, and headed to where I was meeting my friend Susan. We booked a resort type place in between town and the temples. She was flying from NYC and was arriving late afternoon. I took the downtime to organize myself and anxiously await her arrival. Our bungalow was super cute and had a little patio where I could spot her coming down the path. Once she got there, we caught up over a few drinks and dinner at the hotel. We actually met a couple from LA and spent some time chatting with them as well.

Home for a few days.

We wanted to relax a bit the next day, so decided to do the temples on Monday. We slept in and went for a run (and a little bit of a walk) nearby. Eventually we headed into town and did some shopping in the Old Market, had a few local beers, checked out the Night Market, and then got some local Khmer cuisine. As with so many of the other countries I've visited, the food has been so fresh and amazing. The food in Southeast Asia definitely has a lot of similarities so far, well at least from what I've had in Vietnam and Cambodia. They just have so local twists on the standard rice and noodle dishes. I'm definitely not complaining. 

Hanging around Pub Street and the Old Market.

After we had our fill of food and shopping, Susan and I headed back in order to get some sleep before our day of temples. Our alarms went off around 4am so we could get to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise over the temple. We hired a tuktuk for the day that was going to take us from temple to temple, from sunrise to sunset. We made our way in the dark to the ticket office and purchased our one-day pass and then headed to our first stop, Angkor Wat. We had to fight the crowds a little bit, but were able to get a good spot in the corner where we could watch the sun come up behind the temple. The reflection in the lake was well worth the early wake-up call. After the sun came up, we went and explored the complex for a couple of hours. 

Angkor Wat.

After we had our fill, we went in search of our tuktuk and found him relatively quickly among all the tuktuks milling around. After a short ride, and a quick walk through the South Gate, we got dropped off to explore the Angkor Thom complex. This included the Bayon and Baphuon Temples, and the Terraces of the Elephants and Leper King. We climbed so many steps. And some were not easy since they are so worn down and somewhat steep. But the views were well worth it. 

Bayon Temple.

We then headed off the small circuit and stopped at Preah Khan. I wasn't sure what to expect as this wasn't on the must-see list, but it ended up being pretty cool. The walls had green algae and were pink-stained, which made for some cool stones. And this was our first glimpse of the crazy trees. I still have to figure out how they grow like this. 

Preah Khan.

It was finally time for lunch. We stopped at a restaurant, as opposed to the road-side stands. Our tuktuk driver really didn't give us a choice. But since we had breakfast so early, I didn't care as long as I was getting food. And since it was so hot out, we hydrated with some coconut juice. I kind of wish I had an IV for the juice. I definitely sweated my body weight hat morning and continued to do so. 

Hydrating.

It was time to explore, what I think was one of the highlights of the day, Ta Prohm. I think it's tied with the sunrise. There were more of these crazy trees everywhere, which was so amazing. This is actually where some of Tomb Raider was filmed. And I can see why. This particular temple has been taken over by the jungle. I couldn't stop taking pictures of all the different trees. And of course some posing throughout. 

Ta Prohm.

One more tree photo and proof I was there.

I did eventually stop taking pictures of the trees, and to cap off the day, we headed to Pre Rup to watch the sunset. My camera's battery did start to die at this point, so I don't have too many photos of this particular temple. And maybe I was "templed-out". But I was ok with it. The sunset wasn't as great as the sunrise, but it was nice to catch it over the jungle. 

Hiking up more stairs at Pre Rup.

Sun going down on a great day.

It was a pretty great day. There are passes for multiple days, but I'm glad we powered through the one day. And power through we did. According to my Fitbit, we walked over 20,000 steps and 11.63 miles, and hiked up about 50 flights. All in 93 degree weather. I know there are a lot more temples we could have explored, but all the more reason to come back. And I still want to do that half marathon. 

I capped off Cambodia with a run on the trails, a dip in the pool, and some food and beer before heading to the airport. Off to Laos we go. Cambodia was a very short visit, but so worth it.

Ho Chi Minh City

I parted from Pam at the Hanoi airport. She was headed back home to Texas and I was headed off to Ho Chi Minh City. I made it there without difficulty. I actually had the entire row to myself until a father and his baby decided to switch seats. No biggie except the baby had no pants on. All I could picture is the boy having to pee and it getting all over me. Put some pants on. I mean the kid was cute but come on. I also babysat it for 5 minutes when the dad used the restroom. I had to make sure the baby didn't roll off the seat. And I was successful. 

I didn't have long in Ho Chi Minh City, and I really didn't do too much. I had a few priorities, such as get laundry done, play catchup on my scrapbook, and run some miles. It would be great to have all clean laundry at once. But it typically takes time to get it done, and I don't have enough clothes with me to wear something clean while it's being done. However, it was at least pretty cheap to get it done and it came back all dry and folded. Of course, it didn't last very long as I now have more sweaty clothes. Mostly from running, but also from walking around in the humidity.

The afternoon I arrived, I planted myself at a nearby cafe and spent some time catching up on my scrapbook. There was a guy that had noticed and said he was also behind on his scrapbook. So I felt a bit better. I'm about 10 days behind now. Well maybe more now at this point. So not too terrible, but I definitely want to catch up soon. Trying to keep close behind with my blog updates would be ideal.

The first day I arrived, I couldn't go for a run because I ran out of clean clothes and they were with someone else getting washed. But once my clothes were clean on Thanksgiving, I went for an evening run. It wasn't a Turkey Trot, but it was good to get a few miles in, even in the humidity. I ran along the canal and Saigon River, which was quite pleasant. On my run the following morning, I narrowly missed getting hit by a bus. It was a little too close for comfort and I will be paying even more attention when crossing streets. It really is no joke that lights aren't not followed here. Motorbikes usually can get out of the way, but buses are a whole other story.

Very pretty underpass by the canal.

My birthday was the first of many upcoming holidays that I'm spending abroad. Spending that somewhere fun and exotic is a good way to spend my birthday. However, with Thanksgiving usually so close behind, I knew that would be slightly different. This is the 3rd Thanksgiving away. The first was when I studied abroad in London. My flatmates and I all came together to make our Thanksgiving dinner after we finished classes. And since it wasn't a holiday in the UK, we went out to the bars that night. A few years ago, my sisters and I were in Portugal and the family that hosted us made Thanksgiving dinner and it was a very suitable replacement. Warmer than most years, and my sisters were with me that time.

This year, no family, and pretty far from home where no one really knows what Thanksgiving is. It definitely wasn't a typical holiday for sure. Fortunately for me, every day is like a holiday for me. On this particular day, it was the only opportunity that I had to visit the Cu Chi Tunnels. Going to see where Vietnamese soldiers tried to kill American soldiers on Thanksgiving was a little weird. But it was interesting to see the other side of the war. I obviously wasn't alive during the Vietnam War and I can't say what side I would have supported. I am glad that my dad and uncles were all too young to be drafted though. Otherwise, my experience may have been slightly different. So I spent a couple of hours with my tour group seeing the various traps and tunnels the Viet Cong had used. The tunnels have been made bigger in order to fit tourists, but even so, they can be very claustrophobic. I went into 2 different tunnels, but only for a short distance and it was fine. But I can't imagine living down there and using the tunnels to get around. At the end of the tour, there was a video that we watched. We had sat down part of the way through it, but I didn't need to see the beginning. They called Americans 'devils' and all we did was kill their children. Not biased at all. I didn't need to see the first part. But we did. I honestly probably zoned out. Of all the time I was in Vietnam, that was the only instance of clear dislike of Americans. But it was from a video that was made decades ago from the looks of it. So I'll let it go. I had also heard the War Remnants Museum was very biased, but I didn't get a chance to visit it. 

The tunnels.

After getting our fill, we headed back to Ho Chi Minh City. Since it was Thanksgiving, I got my run and then hung out with a German girl I met in the hostel. We went to grab dinner (not turkey and stuffing) and some cocktails. Which were quite yummy. She also humored me while I went to get pumpkin pie. The one Thanksgiving item I had. I was a little skeptical, but it ended up being pretty delicious. 

Pumpkin pie in Vietnam.

We headed to a nearby bar, where all the Westerners hang out, and got a few beers. And people watched. That's one of the things that's great about Vietnam, all the people watching. So many times where Pam and I, or just I, sat on the sidewalk on tiny stools and took in all the motorbikes and people. Very entertaining. 

Bars galore.

I really enjoyed Vietnam. Hanoi was a great city. People were really nice. Loved all the motorbikes, even though there were a few near misses. I would go back and see more of the country, but glad I made the time to see what little I did. 

Next stop: Cambodia. 

Halong Bay

After spending a few days in Hanoi, it was time for Pam and I to head to Halong Bay. We both got our runs in, mine obviously for marathon training, and hers for her exercise streak, which was day 100! Way to go. We enjoyed our runs with fellow runners, walkers, and all the older women dancing. All at 6:30am. Love it. 

After packing, eating breakfast, and checking out, we boarded our bus to Halong Bay. I booked a tour through the hotel and was given several price points to choose from. Essentially the more money you paid, the nicer it would be. I decided on a mid-range point and hoped I made a good decision. If it was only me, I would put up with whatever it ended up being and learn from it. But since my friend was with me, I was a little nervous and hoped it was good. And I have to say, it ended up being great.

After about 4 hours on the bus, which included a rest stop at a massive tourist shop, we got on a small boat which took us to the big boat. We were happy to see that it looked clean and the food was yummy. We ate a very delicious lunch all while enjoying a Halong Bay beer as we made our way into Halong Bay. And it was beautiful. Although the haze and clouds definitely downplayed it a bit. We had 3 days in total, so we hoped it would get nicer. 

Hazy Halong Bay.

Once we had our fill on lunch, we made our first stop on the boat at Hang Sung Sot, a cave on one of the many islands. There were about 15 of us on the boat, which was a very manageable number as we did our various activities. Our guide, Peter, was pretty great and we had him for all 3 days and led us everywhere. Very enthusiastic and even though it took some time to understand him, pretty funny as well. We took the small boat to the caves and made our way through the various chambers, each getting bigger than the last. And each one more impressive than the last. 

One of the cave chambers.

After we had our fill of the cave and got some spectacular views of the area, we officially checked in on the boat. We were happy to find we had clean living arrangements, and I was excited to sleep on a boat. We made our way to where we were docking for the evening and went kayaking for a bit. Pam and I went into one of the coves, hoping to spot a monkey, with no luck. But we enjoyed being out on the water, even though I did want to go swimming. Apparently there were large jellyfish, so we weren't allowed. At least not there. 

Kayaking Luon Cave.

The food continued to be amazing and we chatted with our fellow passengers from Europe and Australia. A lot of boats advertise themselves as party boats, and in my old age, I wasn't interested in staying up all night and getting wasted. So I'm very happy that we found a good mix of people to hang out with and drink with, but also go to bed at a reasonable hour. So there wasn't any karaoke, but maybe another time. 

All about display.

The following morning, we got up early to eat breakfast, and make our way to Ti Top Island. This is where we did a small hike and went for a swim. It was a fairly quick stop, but instead of choosing between the 2, a lot of us chose to do both. Work up a sweat and then go for a swim (where there weren't any jellyfish apparently). 

View from Ti Top Island.

We got back on the boat and got ready to check out. There were 4 of us, including Pam and myself, that were headed to Cat Ba Island. We took the small boat to the island, got on a bus, and joined another group of people. We were glad to see that Peter was joining us. We made our way to Cat Ba National Park where we had a bit more strenuous hike ahead of us. Nothing that Pam and I couldn't handle, but for those who partied too much the night before, it would be a challenge. We climbed all the stairs and were rewarded with some amazing views. We couldn't even see the sea, which was amazing. The island was much bigger than I expected. I also rewarded myself with a post-hike beer. 

Made it to the top. 

The fun wasn't over yet. After lunch and checking into our hotel, Pam and I decided to check out the monkeys on Monkey Island. We read TripAdvisor reviews and had an idea of what to expect. Our expectations were met. The first thing we see when we arrive is a monkey stealing a banana from a small child (who, to the monkey's credit, was bigger than the monkey). And right after that, another monkey took off with a man's pringles. These monkeys weren't nice monkeys. I mean, I guess when humans are antagonizing them all day, they will get aggressive. I swam for a little bit, but I didn't want to leave our stuff unattended. The monkeys would probably run off with my purse. 

Keeping an eye on the monkey (that's not my stuff). 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. We watched the sun go down and had another delicious meal. Oh and drank our Vietnamese wine that we bought at the tourist shop. It was ok. I figured I had to try it. 

The following day was probably the best day. Mostly since it was my birthday. I'm now a year older. And it was pretty cool to spend it in Vietnam doing a lot of my favorite things. And to have Pam there. We started off with a run around Cat Ba. Then made our way back to the boat where we had a spring roll lesson and had lunch. And of course had some birthday beverages. 

Concentrating. 

Unfortunately, I did have to spend a few hours on a bus for my birthday. But I decided to nap a bit. We made it back to Hanoi in no time and continued to enjoy our last day in Hanoi. The hostel we stayed at surprised me with a birthday cake, which was so sweet of them. There's absolutely no reason they had to do that, but it just goes to show the hospitality of the country. I first thought Pam put them up to it, but then we figured they had my passport and knew. Regardless, it was so nice, and I got cake on my birthday! 

Birthday cake. 

After devouring the cake (we shared with others), we made our way out to do a little bit of shopping, drinking cocktails, eating bahn mi, and getting ice cream (yes, more dessert). All in all, a pretty great birthday. It would have been nice to celebrate with family and friends, but so thrilled that Pam was able to celebrate with me. And it feels like my birthday every day.