Camera broken!

I'm not sure what's wrong with the camera. I'm getting some kind of error message. I will have to find a repair shop when we get to Hoi An tomorrow. In the meantime, I will cobble together an assortment of iPhone pictures, along with some of Katrina's good photos.

We are in the middle of Tet, the lunar New Year, which is occasion for visiting family and adding an extra surcharge in restaurants. One of the fun things in Ho Chi Minh City was seeing the major park decked out in flowers and other decorations, like a cross between a parade, a carnival, and a state fair.

An important part of the holiday appears to be taking cheesy family photos in front of special Tet photo sets. We plunged right in!

There also seems to be some kind of animal breeding competition. This is a real fish. Really. I saw it swimming around with my own eyes.

We now are in Nha Trang, a surprisingly nice beach town.

However, there are some very rigid regulations. Hopefully President Trump will be able to roll back these kinds of intrusions on personal liberty back home.

This appears to be a huge hangout for Russian tourists (probably going back to the Soviet days). Last night we found ourselves watching a Vietnamese cover band sing American music to predominantly Russian tourists in a German restaurant. It was fun, and a bit surreal, but maybe that was because of the beer. Tonight we will take an overnight bus to Hoi An.

Angkor Wat photos, finally

We are already back in Vietnam, having taken a bus from Siem Reap to Saigon, and then an overnight bus to Nha Trang. Yes, lots of buses. And let's just say that the overnight buses in Vietnam are a very interesting experience. There are not any seats; instead there stacks of "beds," making it feel like some kind of convict ship.

Back to Angkor Wat.

The joy of the place is exploring, since the temples are spread out over many kilometers, sometimes enveloped by jungle.

Fortunately we were able to avoid any monkey attacks.

Katrina and I were the only ones who could muster the energy to return the following morning to watch the sun rise.

CJ, Sophie, and the flesh-eating fish! True story!

I'm still organizing my Angkor Wat photos, and we've had lousy wi-fi, so here is something of the bread and circus variety to keep the blog-reading masses happy: fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. Yes, that's really a thing in Cambodia. CJ and Sophie each paid $3 to put their feet in a tank while the fish nibbled at their feet. CJ took a while to muster up his courage.

Eventually they graduated to the tank with even bigger fish (all for the same $3 investment).

R & R

We have made it to Siem Reap, where we spent a day doing as close to nothing as is humanly possible. (Three of the five of us slept through the free breakfast; to spare us embarrassment, I will not say how late breakfast is served.) I have a cold. Katrina has a cold. Leah thinks she might be getting a cold. You get the picture. This is a perfect time to rest in a nice hotel, complete with swimming pool and outdoor patio.

We spent several days in Phnom Penh, which is a fun blend of old and new, made all the more remarkable when one considers what this country has been through in the past 30 years.

We had dinner and drinks (2 for the price of 1) at the Foreign Correspondents Club, the place journalists used to hang out during the Vietnam War. Not hard to imagine the Somerset Maugham types drinking here in the French colonial days either: a big open veranda overlooking the water, high ceilings with fans whirring, oversized bar.

The tonic prevents malaria; the limes protect against scurvy. In many ways, it's irresponsible NOT to drink gin and tonics.

From Phnom Penh, we took a boat seven hours up the Tonle Sap River to Siem Reap. I did this once before with students. It's an extraordinary way to watch the country go by, particularly the rural areas that depend on the river.

May it please the gods . . .

We have arrived in Phnom Penh and have just begun to explore. It is quieter, cooler, calmer, and more walkable than Ho Chi Minh City.

The shrine below is in the lobby of our hotel.

Query: Which offering do the gods appreciate more, the coffee or the fake American cash?

Along the Mekong

We made a small foray out of Saigon to the Mekong River, the heart of the country.

River boats are the transport of choice, but that does not preclude impressive feats on a motor scooter.

For an ostensibly communist country, there is also impressive advertising in public spaces.

And Buddhist temples.

For lunch on this adventure, of course we had to sample the "special Mekong river fish." Better than it looks.