Last day in Cambodia

I'm coming back.

This is a country that I want to revisit later down the road to see how it will grow and develop.

There's both darkness and brilliant beauty here; stories of human destruction in the capital of Phnom Penh, but pride in its long and rich civilization with their vast Angkor Wat temples.

Tomorrow, Singapore.

Phnom Penh

My calf is burning. After leaning in to take a photo with our tuktuk driver this afternoon, I clumsily let the back of my calf brush by the motorbike. Now, I have a lovely blueish/black bruise on my left leg and I am sulking in an internet cafe.

The rest of my day in Phnom Penh, however, has been intense and amazing. I was an early riser this morning, taking advantage of the hot (yet not unbearably humid) temperatures, and started pounding the pavement at 6:30am. As I ran through a bit of the city, I saw the sun peeking over the imperial palace; a group of middle-aged Cambodians waving fans in a graceful dance; and monks in brightbright orange strolling the streets, gawking right back at me.

Then, within just a few hours, me and my travel friends went to the Killing Fields, toured a local orphange, and went to the genocide museum. Our tour guide (who lost his parents, sister, aunt and uncle in the genocide) explained the unthinkable destruction caused by the Pol Pot regime as we walked past mass graves which thousands of people were thrown into. It was a day of skulls and bones, lessons on the extremity of human cruelty.

From Halong Bay and Hue, to Ho Chi Minh City

Our Vietnam trip so far has been, in one word, chill.

We took a boat out to Halong Bay from Hanoi and for the first time in a while, I looked up into a starlit sky in Asia before heading underneath to our cabins for a good night's sleep. The following day we took an overnight train down south to the central coastal city of Hue, where I met up with one of my best friends from Oakville, Lindsay Cook.

Hue, compared to Hanoi and Saigon (or Ho Chi Minh City, whatever you want to call it), is a laidback city that isn't as terrifying when you're walking across the street. We toured the old Vietnamese capital, walked across the Perfume River to see the citadel and its version of a Forbidden City, then strolled through the humongous local market.

Eating through each of these Viet cities has been one of our favourite activities so far; flavourful beef broths for our pho noodles, the refreshing mix of dill, mint and chilis in various dishes, and chocolate crepes with Vietnamese drip coffee for dessert.

And this morning, I've woken up in Saigon after a night of a few too many drinks in a city of neon lights and in-your-face noise pollution. Finally, we're in a place with warmer temperatures. Time to break out the shorts, tank tops and dresses; time to continue exploring...

Hanoi

Between Monday and Tuesday morning, we traveled through three different countries: Embarked from China, a night in a bed and breakfast in Kuala Lumpur, then arrived in Hanoi Tuesday morning.

Though I've spent less than 24 hours in Vietnam, the city has already put China in perspective. Traffic is even more chaotic, if you can imagine, than Shanghai. Motorbikes are the preferred mode of transportation here and they roar towards you in packs, just millimetres away, and far too close for comfort. There are no Starbucks, McDonald's, or big box supermarkets. But sprinkled around the city are pint-sized women (in comparison to my height at least) wearing rice hats, walking here and there, selling fruit off of a stick that they balance on one shoulder.

And with an exchange rate of 16,000 dong = $1 USD, I can't help but feel a little bit confused whenever I make a purchase. Hanoi, another Communist capital in Asia, is developing; yet not quite as quickly as its gigantic Chinese neighbour.

And we're off. . . first stop, Kuala Lumpur!

"We are from China, but we don't eat dogs."

Musicwise, I can't get enough of anything electronica/punk lately: LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A, You Say Party! We Say Die!, and so on.

A few weeks ago, I saw Beijing band Pet Conspiracy at the that's Shanghai Christmas party. The lead singer Helen Feng was wild -- jumping freely on stage and energetically into the crowd, crawling and dancing among her much-too-timid onlookers. Comparable to Karen O, with a rich, gorgeous voice. This is definitely a Chinese indie band I am coming love.

"We are Pet Conspiracy. We are from China, but we don't eat dogs."

Countdown

One more week and I'm off on my Southeast Asian adventure!

Apart from my October holiday in Hong Kong to visit my cousin Debbie, her husband John and their adorable daughter Olivia, I haven't done any traveling since coming back to Shanghai this semester. And now that winter here is really starting to bite, I'm ready for a (warm) escape.

I'm flying to Kuala Lumpur with some Fudan classmates next Monday, then we're heading to Hanoi and traveling southwards in Vietnam for about a week. We'll then take a boat to Cambodia, and after about five days, I'll be meeting Debbie for Chinese New Year at their new pad in Singapore.

A few more essays to go, a couple thousand more words to write, and after I pack a few things... I'll be waving byebye to Shanghai for a month.

Does size still matter?

I've been doing a bit of freelancing for some English-language expat mags in Shanghai in the past few months. Here's one of my latest articles published in January's issue of that's Shanghai.

It's about the Shanghai Tower, the city's next superscraper project that's set for completion in 2014. Check it out...