i’m nursing a pretty bad hangover from a pretty riotous night out. this usually happens when we order buckets, which are literally small buckets full of something like jungle juice. apparently, i hit my head really hard while dancing, but i don’t recall it! i tell ya, the saffy (south african) boys are ridiculous drinkers. i don’t understand how they do it nearly every night, but i’m guaranteed a wild, fun night out every time i hang out with them. they start the party at whatever bar they go, sometimes to their detriment.

i’m leaving tomorrow for a 2-day mekong delta tour, then taking the slowboat to phnom penh, cambodia. should be fun times. well, minus the killing fields.. but i’m certain cambodia will be an interesting country to visit. i’ll probably be there for about a week or so.. 2 or 1 day in phnom penh, 2 or 3 days in sinoukville (a beach town), and 2 days in siem reap for ankor wat.

my previous concern that i’d have to meet a whole slew of new people has been thrown out the window. besides the handful of friends i keep bumping into and/or traveling with, i’ve also run into doug, an american guy from dc/virginia i first met in chiang mai, the israeli woman i was previously traveling with in northern vietnam, an irish girl from my bus trip from laos who doesn’t like beer (poor excuse for an irishman!), and a few others. the sad thing about hcmc though, is that this is either the last leg or the start of most backpackers’ trips, so i’ll have to say goodbye to most of these guys soon…

i’m still considering meeting up with some people in indonesia as well as australia… we’ll see.

having been in vietnam since sept 27th, i’m quite glad i came (i almost didn’t, due to the poor reviews some previous travelers gave of the country). the only regret i have is not having gone to sapa, a mountain village up in the north where the hmong tribes live…

a brief note: this post has no coherence whatsoever, i’m just writing whatever comes to mind.. i wish i could write more about some of the adventures i’ve had and my friends’ have had, but that takes time, so i’ll save it for another day.

on an entirely different note, being american really does kinda suck sometimes while traveling. you get the feeling that everyone hates the american gov’t. you can’t believe the countless conversations i’ve had in which we’ve all (myself included) endlessly bashed american foreign policy and just the general backwardness of some things about america. EVERYONE, seriously EVERYONE in the world (except for one of the south africans whose mom is an american from nevada) wants Obama to win. the world wants Obama to win, and it will be VERY disappointed if he doesn’t. they probably pay attention to the debates and the ongoing news about the presidential race than the average American. go Obama!

well, right now, i’m off to the war remembrance museum, which used to be called the american atrocities museum. lovely! should make me feel great about being american.

i’ve posted a select few photos on facebook. check it out. there will be more to come soon.