siem reap, cambodia

we have arrived yet again, or at least we are in a new town. my friend adria was already here when we arrived, so when we got off the bus a guy was holding a sign that said nicole and susan for jasmine guest house. (i've always to arrive some place with my name on a sign) at first we thought they had just sold our names from the last guest house (which they often do) to try and guilt us into staying at one they are affliliated with in another town, but it was adria who set it up for us. sooooo nice! as soon as we pulled into the bus station the bus was mobbed by moto and '"tuk tuk" drivers saying lady, miss, miss, you need driver?? it so much chaos and commotion you can't even say no before someone else is asking you again, and again, and again... i told one guy no thanks i already have a ride and he said, but i don't see anyone and the guy was behind me and said, its me. quite irritating sometimes. so anyway, it was a relief to have someone waiting for us and we didn't have to pay to get to the hotel. since when is anything free in southeast asia?
since not too much has happened since i last wrote, i think i'm gonna back it up a bit as i keep remembering things i meant to mention before.
for one, in the last email i talked about the horrors of cambodian political history and the s-21 museum.... i had forgot to mention the p.o.w prison in han oi, vietnam. unfortuantely this may be a little depressing like the last one, but i'll do my best to make fun of the bull shit that they had in this museum. (traveling through vietnam was really great since its such a huge part of american history as well).
so there is this museum in p.o.w museum in vietnam. at first it was used as a prison by the french who tortured and killed political vietnamese political dissidents during the french colonial period there. this part of the museum consisted of various stories of torture and abuse by the french on the vietnamese, including pictures and the actual devices used. it was quite interesting and informative, quite sad for the vietnamese who just wanted their country back from the french.
but then..................... one walks across the other half of the museum. i should preface this by saying that i don't know a complete history of the prison, therefore these are solely opinions i have on the bias and absurdity that i saw. anyway, after the french left the vietnamese alone they turned the prison into a state run prison, run by the vietnamese. during the american-vietnam war, it was once again used as a p.o.w prison this time for the americans who won't leave the vietnamese alone.
in the part about the french vs. vn (vietnamese) they made the french seem like torturous brutes and devils and praised all the brave souls who fought for an independent vietnam (this is of course true). basically the french are arseholes, the vn are helpless.
however, in the part where the americans are stored in the prison, it becomes a weird "happy" place where american soldiers were living the high life in prison and thank god for the vietcong rescuing them from the horrors of the war in the jungle....
i couldn't believe some of the exhibits! like i said, i don't know the entire history of the prison or the prisoners and maybe they didn't get medevial type torture as in the days of the french occupation, but my god they made this place sound like the hilton.
they had nice,clean tennis shoes on displays, playing cards, jump ropes, clean silver ware and bowls that the americans "all enjoyed during there stay at _ prison"". according to the exhibits the soldiers not even recieved packages from home, but were given gifts by the "uncle ho's" men???!!! can anyone confirm this for me? susan and i were shocked and angry. it was so absurd the way they tried to make the place sound so nice. of course i now know the extent of the damage the americans did on the rest of the country, but this museum was ridiculous!!
its quite strange traveling in such politically turbulent and unstable countries. me as a foreinger and outside observer can see the bias and bullshit the government tells the people here, but the people can't... well probably some or most can, but they are too afraid of what will happen if they speak out.
as "ündeveloped" and sometimes unstable as these countries are, it is so easy to travel and get around here. i've seen more foreigners here and eaten more western food in the past 3 weeks than i have in the past 6 months in china. i feel priviledged to have the opportunity to see all these amazing places, but with all these people here it seems a little less adventurous and maybe takes away from the beauty and greatness of some of these places. daily life is definitely much more of a struggle than a month in the rest of s.e. asia. don't get me wrong, its still amazing, but if you really want an adventure live and travel in china.... it makes for funnier blogs and a more hectic life!
keep it real
nrj