At Cathedral Rock, Sedona, AZ

At Cathedral Rock, Sedona, AZ

Quote from Into the Wild

If we admit that human life can be ruled by reason, then all possibility of life is destroyed.

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Hello Cambodia. Phonm Penh- Capital

7 hours later….. Welcome Cambodia. It’s funny, we never have problems at the borders, but you always wander if they’re going to let you through or if you forgot to do something properly with your papers  But they let us through once again. Yeahhhh. And we got stamped. Our passports are starting to look professional and used finally.


always fun once you're through the border and stamped

Phnom Penh is our first stop in Cambodia (pronounced Nom Pen). The Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers converge here at this city, which has been the capital since the mid 15th century. It was one time very charming and lovely we are told, but is definitely now a boom town with property development, traffic, and poverty that follows. The riverfront made for a nice area to take a couple morning runs though, and we heard there is much available partying options to be had as well. Continue to be patient and prepared for begging, poverty and children selling, coming openly to your dinner table areas.


It’s different here in Asia. No one runs beggars or the poor off, they’re freely allowed to request at your table or post up on the street corners. Children weave in and out of restaurants freely trying to sell you a book or small bracelet or token. No police chase them off park benches, or from under shade trees. No restaurant manager’s pick them up by the ears and toss them out. It’s in your face, you’re aware of it and constantly reminded they are with you. It’s humbling and a fresh change to be forced to be reminded daily of how blessed, lucky and fortunate we truly are. For our situations could be all together different if not for the lucky circumstances of our birth. It’s difficult to see, but a great lever to change your attitude quickly. We can’t obviously support everyone that asked, but if you can’t daily spare a few notes to someone in need, you just don’t have a heart. Travel really cracks you open as my sister says. Very True.

We enjoyed some fun lunches and dinners to say the least, as we experienced a new cuisine we’d not yet seen. It’s apparent you can enjoy some very good pizza in Cambodia and if you are interested in a good mood, you can request your pizza “Happy” style. If you don’t have plans of any for the rest of the day, you can even opt for “Very Happy” style. Just plan to walk around with a smile. Happy Herb Pizza Restaurant is located down by the river front and is easily identifiable. Being the explorers we are, we did partake in the local delicacy, as we feel you should experience all a culture has to really offer, hahahahah. Quite an afternoon and evening. We in turn had some enjoyable Indian food one night as well. Grubbing on pahn breads brushed with butter and garlic, and spicey chicken tandoori and Indian curry for dipping.

For most tourists- us included, Phnom Penh is the place to stop and experience the “Killing Fields and S-21 Torture Prison” that were made infamous by the Khmer Rouge (Red People) during the American/Vietnam War. We spent an entire day touring the S-21 prison (once a children’s school) and the Killing Fields. It was a sobering day and important to us to understand more. These events truly occurred, the skulls, photos, mass graves, beds, and torture rooms, still exist on display. People were transported to S-21, imprisoned, interrogated, and tortured. After extracting a forced confession by torture, they were secretly shipped to the Killing Fields (about 10km outside of town) at night in large trucks. Once there, they were systematically kneeled down at the edge of large pits and murdered by blows to the head with a bamboo rod or other means. Guns were rarely used as not to alarm neighbors as to the happenings there. I understand more now why the whole world vehemently protested the “Vietnam Conflict”, this travesty was also a by-product of that war. As if 2 million displaced and dead Vietnamese peasants weren’t already enough.

Monument dedicated to those murdered at the "Killing Fields" (this entire monument is filled with actual skulls removed from the fields)

closeup of inside the monument
one of the tiny converted prison cells at S-21.  Imagine a regular school-room being split up into about 25 prison cells.  I could barely fit through the thin door and could touch both side of the cell with out-stretched arms.

Brief History Lesson-in 1969 Cambodia was drawn into the Vietnam conflict (as was Laos but that’s another story as well). The USA secretly commenced carpet-bombing suspect communist base camps in Cambodia thought to be aiding the North Vietnam Army as supply chains to fight in the south of Vietnam. America and South Vietnamese troops then invaded trying to root out the forces. This failed. But the invasion pushed Cambodia’s indigenous rebels, the Khmer Rouge, into the country’s interior. Savage fighting engulfed the country. Pol Pot their leader, implemented one of the most radical, brutal restructurings of a society ever attempted. His goal was the transformation of Cambodia into a peasant-dominated, agrarian cooperative. Hundreds of thousands were relocated into the countryside, tortured or executed. Pol Pot’s goal was to rid their society of anyone educated, so if you spoke a foreign language, were a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer, in government or position to inform someone, you were tortured and executed or enslaved in farming work camps, but likely killed. Children were to defect from their parents as the new parent would become “The State”. Children were brainwashed as seeing parents as not part of their true family. Over time Pol Pot would have an entire culture groomed to farming work, production and submitting to StateHood Programs and the “Good Welfare of the State”. Perhaps 2 million Cambodians died between 1975 and 1979 as a result of these policies. That’s right 2 million. We’ve learned this was not a “genocide” as genocide is defined as a war against a specific group “like the attacked Jew in the holocaust”. This was classified as a “War Crime and Crime Against Humanity” as it was simply attacking people with different ideas and political views. At the end of 1978 after winning the war, Vietnam then invaded Cambodia and overthrew the Khmer Rouge, who fled westward to the jungles near the border of Thailand. They maintained a guerrilla war through the 1980’s, armed and financed by China, Thailand and indirect US support as well, against the Vietnamese-backed government. In 1991 the warring sides came together in Paris to sign a peace accord which enabled UN-administered elections in Cambodia to finally occur. This was hardly a democratic triumph, but it did help usher the slow death of the Khmer Rouge, by defection and splitting of the party members. Pol Pot was put on trial in 1997 but died on April 15, 1998 perhaps forever robbing the Cambodia people of the chance for truth and justice. Many of the very high leaders in the Khmer Rouge were still at large and enjoying freedom until the early 2000’s still as the government hypocrisy and politics aided by the UN assembly kept them from international tribunals.

The last week has really been a sickening eye opening experience to view all that history has seen up close.

one of the convereted 8 prison sections at S-21.  these 3 story units were once just a school.

Ho Chi Minh City (Siagon), end of the line Vietnam.

Yet another 5 hr bus got us to Ho Chi Minh City (otherwise known as Saigon). Saigon is actually just a name used to refer to a single district within the entire city of Ho Chi Minh which is very populous, and many people simply refer to the whole city as Saigon. The entire city is actually divided into 16 districts and we only experienced just a portion of district # 1, or “Saigon”. It’s just enormous and too much to cover in just a few short days. It would take months.


Ho Chi Minh City is Vietnam’s most populous city, I believe exceeding 10,000,000 although not exactly sure.

We spent 3 days here exploring as we arranged our visas to enter Cambodia, only a 3 hour bus ride to the east to reach the Cambodian border from Saigon.

We didn’t think it possible, but Saigon was by far the busiest city we’ve seen. The motorbikes and constant traffic here is just insane and really something to experience. It never stops, day and night. Would remind you of a little Tokyo I’ve heard. Saigon is fairly “western” in many aspects. And Corporate America can be seen easily as you walk the streets, easily finding Pizza Huts, KFC’s, Subway, and all the designer clothing shops you would expect back in the states, along with some serious high-rise buildings. Saigon was a tad more expensive than other cities we’ve visited, but I guess that’s to be expected in the Big City. Lord knows New York and London aren’t cheap either. But for perspective we only spent a whopping $30 per night for a pretty solid place to stay, right in the heart of everything backpacker.
Todd on streets of Siagon

The night market not too far from our hotel made for a fun evening as we walked the shops, browsing and negotiating with the locals for items we didn’t need. Anything counterfeit you could possibly want is here and more. It’s fun and sometimes overwhelming. Everyone wants you to stop and look, and if you look, be prepared to haggle. But that’s half the fun and makes for an experience.

One of the most memorable parts, was spending ½ of one day going to the War Remnants Museum. It was a fun bike-tuk-tuk ride just to get there through the crazy traffic. We spent 3-4 hours going through each phase of the museum that documented the history of the war, global protests involved, weaponry used, tactics, and the devastation inflicted upon the peoples of Vietnam. I was really proud to see that of the 8 or so sections, one entire section “Still Image Photographs and Journalist Perspective” was donated to the people of Vietnam by The Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, USA. Props to my home state. It was a sobering afternoon to say the least however. The Museum added considerable information and displayed the unfortunate atrocities that occurred in overwhelming detail. I was happy we took the time to take all that in. It changes you to at least consider the “other side” and learn. After all “Ho Chi Minh’s North Vietnam” did win the war. The museum used to be called the “American War Crimes Museum”, but the name has been changed so as not to offend American Tourists.

I was really appalled and ashamed of the devastation caused. (The picture album post coming next is rough)They’ll be suffering here for 3-4-5 generations still, due to the after effects of spraying DDT all over their country and killing everything. I’m not sure there’s anything nastier than DDT it appears? And we have Monsanto Inc., to thank for the development of that nasty shit. You’ve probably heard the name Monsanto if you’ve watched the documentary “Food Inc.” before. Yeh, same company, doing the same nasty stuff they have been for decades we’re learning.

Famous Pic- (Jane Rose Kimir protesting in a march for Peace at the Pentagon, placing a flower into a rifle)

We just need to get our damn noses out of policing the world and develop a more “diplomatic foreign policy”, using DIPLOMACY, yes that’s talking.   We were supporting Ho Chi Minh and his forces back in WWII to help us against the Japanese, then here we turn around and he's our next enemy.  Sounds eerily familiar.

Anyway, Saigon was cool, lots of travelers on the scene, lots of big pubs, fancy lights, restaurants, activity, high-rises, traffic, and business occurring.

We’re looking forward to Cambodia and having our passports stamped yet again though. That's like the most fun at the borders, once you get through and remember you have this great passport with all these intersesting stamp souveniers basically. 

Good-bye Vietnam, we will miss you. It’s been a great 45 days. We grew. We were changed. We enjoyed your natural wonders, people, culture, friendliness, beaches, mountains, bays, struggles, hopes and opportunities. Vietnam was very high on the list of places I had always hoped to visit, just to gain some perspective from what you always see in movies and on tv. The people couldn’t be nicer and more hard-working and family oriented, so ambitious to make their lives just a bit better, or hoping to get the chance to go to school or start a small business of their own. The only thing that’s like the movies is the scenary (quite beuatiful without the bombs going off).

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Mui Ne Slide show


Mui Ne, Vietnam

Peaceful Mui Ne, Vietnam is known for its enormous red and white sand dunes and a popular beach destination for travelers.  There was limited exploring on the tiny strip stretching approximately three miles along the ocean coast due to the highest tides since 2003, rendering the beach nonexistent.  On the up side, our guesthouse was beautifully landscaped and resided on the edge of the crashing waves.  
White sand dunes

Two doors down from the Nhu Huong Guesthouse was a hopping restaurant named Lam Tong.  Todd and I must have eaten there ten times over the course of our six day stay.  Good rule of thumb when choosing a restaurant in foreign countries or anywhere for that matter is:  “If it’s crowded, there’s probably a reason.”  The good reasons for Lam Tong being packed was the convenient location, the tasty morsels and the ridiculously cheap prices.  Coming from the food service industry, customer service was always a high priority, however, not so much here!  When I politely asked our server if I could receive my fruit plate before the rest of my meal he snapped “no” and sped away.  Being so abrupt with his answer I really couldn’t do anything except laugh.  The service never got better during our stay but when you can eat breakfast, lunch and dinner for two under $20 you have to overlook some quirks. 
Todd spent a whole day in recovery after drinking with Russians we met at a local club the night before. Being challenged to drink “much whiskey with big Russian, Todd was willing to hang in there until the Russian vanished to pass out”, unfortunately Todd lost the next 24 hrs himself. Next day back to normal, we were ready for an adventure on our rented motorbike.  The Fishing village at the tip of Mui Ne Peninsula showcased more boats than we’d ever seen in one place at one time.  Roughly five hundred brightly colored boats in shades of blues and reds and of all sizes swayed in the current as the rank smell of dried/dead fish saturated the air.  A narrow palm lined road runs about 10k along the beach towards the white dunes. 
Seeing the dunes against the crisp blue backdrop of the sky even from a distance was breathtaking.   The huge lotus lake right next to the dunes made for an amazing view. The novelty quickly wore off as the noon sun heated the dunes to an unbearable degree and sand found its way into even the smallest crevasses of our bodies and clothing as we attempted to “sand slide” down the massive dunes. A chained up small monkey made for a great shades break on the way walking to the dunes. We got some adorable pictures and got to wrestle with him for quite a while.
Fairy Springs flows through a patch of the red dunes and would have been a much more pleasant stroll had I have not realized my good Canon camera had tons of sand lodged into the lens and wouldn’t auto focus as usual.  I was bummed and disappointed in my judgment to use it with the fervent winds on the previous white dunes. All in hindsight you know?  Todd did manage to make me laugh by prodding a stream of running jokes about me ruining our camera and not being able to document this life changing journey…oh, and missing all these spectacular pictures of Fairy Springs!  While the stream was interesting in parts, as a whole I didn’t find much pleasure in walking in ankle deep water for thirty minutes.    
Mui Ne was our second to last stop in Vietnam and even though there wasn’t a ton of activities here it was a comfortable place to spend five days relaxing, reading and eating! 
PS.  Todd freed himself from the ball and chain /travel buddy to enjoy a day of “MAN” time at the SeaLinks Golf & Country Club.   Shot 85.  Nice course with caddies, gourmet lunch and posh locker rooms.  Rounds cost about $120.  Our guest house manager hooked Todd up for around $80.  Lucky BreakJ

Friday, April 15, 2011

Dalat & The Motor Bike Gang

Dalat is the stepping stone to the Central Highlands of Vietnam.  Mist covering the valleys almost year round leads to its name “City of eternal spring”.  So as you can predict there was a wet blanket of fog hovering over the rain saturated streets as yet another overnight bus pulled up in front of the guesthouse.  Icky weather made for a quick journey through the town and local market before settling in for the day.

Crazy House designed by Architect, Dr. Dang Viet Nga was our first destination.  Impressive, unique and very strange!  (See photos)  We hopped on the motor bike rented for the day and scooted to the Dalat Flower Park which not only provides beautiful floral landscaping but is a showcase area for sculptures from the area.  Next was Vallee d Amour aka “Love Valley”. Besides the one amazing view of the actually Valley (lake area), it was filled with numerous picture perfect cheesy “love” props and/or random freaky animal figurines. The two waterfalls also bore the same ridiculously theme park vibe which we thought depreciated the wonders of nature’s beauty.  Very tourist kitsche.
While heading for Chicken Village we missed the turn and ended up in a Motor Bike Gang.  With lunch at hand and probably 10 miles past our location in the wrong direction, we decided to give our butts a rest at a local joint.  Let’s just say local eateries sometimes give you the urge to “Just Say No” no matter how loud your stomach is growling. As we approached the nearest clean table that doesn’t have a swarm of flies buzzing overhead, an Asian gentleman begins to walk toward us.  He and his fellow employees, a group of farmers, were out celebrating a profitable week which included a bonus for each.  Even though, they were already into their feast of a traditional Vietnam’s dishes a warm invitation was extended for us to join.  Luckily, nothing too weird was on the menu and sitting next to the Boss allowed me the pleasure of being closest to the pile of shrimp heads he was spitting out onto the floor.  Several Saigon beers and many “cheers!” later we also were asked to take part in the rest of the day’s festivities including a visit to Good View.

Eight motor bikes made up our gang and we were fierce as we zigzagged through the town’s side streets.  The farmers were 10 girls/women and 2 men.  Our new friends received “hey, did you know Westerners are following you?” looks as the crew stopped for fresh guava and watermelon seeds.  Good view fit the same theme as the other tourist locations in Dalat, kind of cheesy, however it did have these wonderful costume booths for dressing in traditional Asian clothing. Similar to the Western pictures or WANTED picture you might have done at a theme park.  Of course, it was too good to pass up and all the ladies crammed into the clothing closet to find that perfect outfit.   After about a thousand pictures later, Todd and I set back out on our own.  Dalat was not what we expected and sometimes as we learned with our Motor Bike Gang it turns out to be better than expected.                
       

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

School Children Singing in Sapa Gradeschool


Children singing before the day begins at school.  Just a song they were learning that week.  Equivalent to "twinkle twinkle little star" type song.

 

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Moving south, Nha Trang, Vietnam

After shipping all the custom clothes home, we decided to move on south.  Next stop Nha Trang, Vietnam, its turqoise waters await.  Nam's most popular sea-side party destination.

We arrived in Nha Trang after another 11 hr sleeper bus ride.  Interestingly crammed together this time, sleeping shoulder to shoulder with a snoaring 60 year old Aussie made for a long 11 hrs.  But we made it none the less, a little groggy, cranky and eager to hit a real bed.  Ruby Hotel was a good, inexpensive and clean spot to crash.   So we did just that.  A 6 hour recovering bus nap was in order. There was only maybe a 10 minute walk to the beach and our hotel was pretty much in backpacker central.   Would have to recommend.

There's plenty of locals peddling everything on the beach from pineapple and fresh cut fruits, massages, lobsters, frisbees, and sunblock.  After a while it can get a little annoying, but I guess we'll sacrifice through it :)

Nothing blocking the views here.  No hotels are allowed to build "on the beach", so the park-like beach front is well kept, wide, and convenient. Coconut palms provide shelther along the entire path and you can rent a beach chair with cushion and shade for $1 a day.  5 star views, 1 star prices, can't beat that.

We vegged here for 5 days and honestly didn't do hardly anything but lay on the beach and over-eat on some solid Western food that we found well done.  Particulary good Sushi Night and then also found a great Memphis Style Rib and Chicken place one night.

beach view in Nha Trang, Vietnam

yummy- Found a restaurant actually owned by a guy from Memphis, TN.  Christina got chicken fried chicken and mashed potatoes, and I got bar-b-q pork ribs and chicken with corn, potato salad, cole-slaw and texas toast.  Saigon beer to wash it all down.  Slept well that night :)

Oh, and we went snorkling one day, but unfortunately had cloudy weather that day and wind.  Making visibility and the water quite cold and a bit harder to enjoy the snorkling.  I could see snorkling here a really fun thing to do here but on a calmer, sunnier day possibly.  We enjoyed some intense sun, worked on our tans and played in the surf and warmer ocean water several days. 

snorkle ready.....brrrrrrrr. that water was ccccoolllddd.

way back from snorkeling cruise, fishing village in the background.
 
New experience: I got my hair cut at a local barber shop (which isn't much work for them)- cost $2.
But the experience came when I let the barber "clean my ears".  another $2.  Apparently barbers are specialist here for the delicate and feel good experience.  Equipped with metals probes, swabs, headlamp, magnifying glass, long tweazers, and 6 other long shiny devices the barbers will ensure you can now hear your wife crystal clear.  It felt good and wierd, as if you got to scratch a good itch.  I'd do it again, but I think he removed 36 years of wax and buildup so I can hear like a small beagle hound now.

A fun highlight was also enjoying fresh lobster and "tiger" prawns (shrimp half the size of a lobster), cooked on open wood coals right at our feet on the beach.  Served up with cold beer, some spicey salad. Add the view, you've got one giggling fun afternoon.

$12 total for this feast had us both giggling.

C about to devour a Tiger Prawn Shrimp the size of a beer can :)

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Hoi An, "Why Not?"

Hoi An is both a sleepy and charmingly romantic town and a shopper’s paradise with over 200 tailor shops.  On the coast of the South China Sea in South Central Vietnam this picturesque village is inhabited by approximately 120,000 natives and highly trafficked by tourist and backpackers alike.  Todd and I first heard about this location from Emily, a friend we had met on our Halong Bay trip.  She raved about her “made to measure” clothing and what a fun, glamorous experience it had been.  I quickly added Hoi An to our travel destinations and pegged the clothing I would have made as my upcoming birthday giftJ
After a head spinning morning of scouting, we finally decided to go with Number One Design on Tran Hung Dau Street.  The shop didn’t offer anything that the others couldn’t have equally produced.  However, the two young ladies who ran it had such an energetic personality we knew they would provide us with a memorable first time tailoring extravaganza.  I started off shyly ordering only one Chinese style dress.  When Todd and I went back the following day for my fitting, I upped the ante to another sleek cocktail dress and two simple summer garments that could easily be worn while we travel.  Todd must have gotten either bored or jealous of my new duds and before I had return from the changing room his chest was wrapped in measuring tape.  He had chosen to have two blazers and two pair of pants done.
In the afternoons we rode bikes to the beach which resided twenty minutes away.  Being the first ocean we had encountered on our trip our skin was not use to the exposure of the harsh sun.  Needless to say the rays got the best of us.  We fried like pieces of bacon!  It created quite a painful couple of days and reminded me yet again about the seriousness of multiple applications of sunscreenL  Nevertheless, we did enjoy the warmer weather and the roar of the ocean.
The third day of fittings only lead to more hemorrhaging in our budget as we pursued into the persuasion of the “why nots” which were the ladies responses every time we considered another item.  The finally count was four dress, one button up shirt and a beautiful hand embroidered blazer for me and two blazers, two pair of pants and three button up shirts for Todd.  Hoi An was quick to break the travel budget but how many times can you say you had clothes custom made in Vietnam?  
While not shopping for new clothes or soaking up sun, we managed to enjoy several delicious meals on the riverfront.  The lantern lit streets were a virtual eating arcade with French Colonial style restaurants serving high end Western food and traditional Vietnamese cuisine like fried wontons and street vendors portioning out cao lau on the corner for fifty cents.  Shopping, sun and scrumptious food have got me asking "Hoi An..... why not?"        

Monday, April 4, 2011

A History Lesson for us, the Vietnam War.

Wanting to try and understand more.  This is a simplistic but amazingly explanation on understanding the Vientnam War.  Both Christina and I wanted to have a better grasp while we are here.  It's important.  It's also scary how much it reflects what we're doing in Iraq and elsewhere in the world.  It's 40 minutes long, but well worth all of our time to view in my opinion.  Never quite understood as well until now.


Sunday, April 3, 2011

Hue, Vietnam


Hue, Crazy Incident (Vietnam)

Before I get to the crazy incident.  Let me update just the town of Hue, Vietnam first.

We got there via our first "sleeping bus" experience.  13 hrs from Hanoi to Hue.  The sleeping bus is basically a tour bus but with bunkbeds of really slim, hospital beds in 3 rows all the way down the bus.  Seats about 35. You get your own tiny little area, a decent comfortable spot to stretch out and try to sleep for the long haul.  Unique experience, not all bad, just worth taking a sleeping pill or 2 to help you sleep through a few bumps along the way.  Depart Hanoi 8pm, arrive 9am next day in Hue.

We pulled into Hue quite groggy and sprung for a little nicer hotel for the few days we'd spend there.  We upgraded to the $15 a night suite :) hahahahha.  Quite nice though, and really great free breakfast even. Yeh!!!!  We highly recommend where we stayed, check out our "accomodations page" for more info.

Hue is a good size town, but not massive, and you can easily get around just walking, maybe a bicycle rental, but we chose a combination of walking and a bicycle-tuk-tuk to tour us around on our 2nd day.  Cost $6 for about 5 hours of personal tour guide and much fun on the weeee-tuk riding.  We had a great time with our guide who's name was Hue (funny coincidence) as we explored the walled in city, the Citadel, the Forbidden Purple City (absolutely amazing) and Palace grounds, the views of the Perfume River,  had cheap authentic lunch with our guide, and then the Thien Mu Pagoda (one of the most famous in all of Vietnam)- spectacular.  Great town to simply be a "tourist" honestly.

This city was badly damaged during the Vietnam/American War.  (Note: they call the war over here "The American War".  We call it at home "The Vietnam War", interesting eh.)  You can still see the mortar damage and bullet holes in the cities fortress walls.

We had a great Italian dinner one night and enjoyed sitting next to a retired couple from Scotland. One of the funniest things we've heard since leaving was the old gentlemen giving us a bit of warning before we departed company.  He was really funny.  He was kind of warning us of being ripped off and theft, etc.  As he leaves he turns and says "make sure you keep your hands on your Dong".  The "Dong" is the currency here in Vietnam.  Christina and I thought that could easily be a best selling T-shirt.

Ok- on to the crazy incident.  The day we went touring, it was misty, grey and cloudy, the streets still wet.  We were walking across a bridge to get to our first viewing spot and as we turn, we see a couple hopping a chest high fence to short-cut an exit in a park area they were in.  Well the lady makes it over.  Keep in mind they're about mid-40's or so.  The guy slips as he gets half way over and literally impails the back of his thigh on the speared tips of the fence.  We see this occurring from the other side of the street and rush across traffic.  His hands on reaching for the ground and he's upside down, leg still impailed holding him on the fence.  By the time we reach him, his leg apparently gives and rips through as he falls to the ground, eyes rolling back in his head, turning white, and gasping for air.  His wife is freaking (rightfully so), and we tell her to put pressure on his leg and wrap it in a scarf tightly to help stop the bleeding.  It kind of works.  I grab his legs and hold them up in the air and get him on his back.  He's pale white now and a crowd has gathered.  Blood still running down the fence.  We yell to a nearby "policeman" asking him to call an ambulance, he seems un-concerned.  7-8-9 minutes go by, no ambulance.  The couple is French and speak only little English, a by-stander luckily speaks French and all decide to hail a taxi and get him to the hospital (The policeman obviously not caring that much).  Me and two other guys lift him up by the legs and shoulders and carry him to the street and put him in the back seat of the taxi.  The one tourist goes with them to help since he speaks French. Away the taxi speeds.  I'm standing there with blood on my hands, rain in my face, a shocked wife, and quite a story left to tell.  Christina, always the prepared mothering type pulls out the antibacterial wipes for a safety clean up of the blood on my hands and away we went both a bit shaken.

We later snap a couple pictures for memory sake as the blood was still on the fence 5 hours after our tour as we went back by.  Crazy man, crazy!  Note to self: use the public exits to places, don't jump wet fences with spear tips.  That guy is lucky he didn't puncture a lung and it was just a leg.  But that'll really ruin a trip.
Man, when travelers do dumb sh*t someones bound to get hurt!