March 28, 2006

From Vietnam to Cambodia

Wow, the last few days have gone by so quickly but with many drawn out painful moments. My last day in Saigon I strolled into a gallery exhibiting an artist from Hue. Included in the show was a blank easel, waiting to painted with someone's face. I was up! Starting with a red blotch, my portrait evolved into a bright mixture of thick, wide strokes. A few Picasso-ish lines for the eyes and nose and it was done, very fun. But the day was mostly about eating... sampled a few freshly made waffles, cooled down with some ice coffee, tried ice cream at a trendy cafe, had a bowl of noodle soup on the street, savoured a cup of warm soy milk and then totally indulged into a massively tall Auzzie burger. Mmmmmmmm.

Then came the 'wonderful day on the Mekong Delta tour'. Two days of hot boats on a windless river, cramped buses filled with dust from the pot-holed roads, waiting for late buses, a shared room that was stiffling with no fan or windows that would open, getting up early, a 'free breakfast' of bread, arriving late, driving around trying to find a room. I absolutely refuse to get on another boat or take another tour! But the hassle of the last few days were reduced to a distant memory. The trail we had created within the first hour of entering Phnom Penh was a string of moto drivers, hotel workers and waiters that brought our separated group of four back together again. Cambodia is filled up to the rim of enormously helpful people. P

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