Final Day - Bangkok

From 11/22

We woke up early, as the train starts to make noise around 6am. People walk up and down the aisle offering different types of food. Some of them are passengers that brought the food with them, some are the actual train employees. I'm not sure how the rules work but nobody stops the passengers as they walk up and down the aisles yelling what they have to offer.

Anyways, we woke up and got into Bangkok at 9ish. We took a tuk tuk to our hostel and were luckily able to check in early. We put our bags down and were off!

We went around the corner to a cafe and had a mango pancakes with passion fruit sauce on top. We wanted to take advantage of the fruit while it's the freshest! Afterwards we walked to the market just down the street to look at the vendors.

Today's main focus was to get some final last items. We've seen a bunch of things (like incense, a Buddha, etc.) that we knew we wanted but didn't want to carry around for two months.

We walked down the market and found a bunch of trinkets, some that are cheap (and look and feel cheap) and some that are really nice quality. We remembered the prices and planned to go back later. Then we were off to shopping mall section.

We read about a market online that said it had Asian arts and crafts. It was a bit out of the way, but since we had all day (and we've seen Bangkok's sights at the beginning) we took a tuk tuk the 5km out to the mall. The arts and crafts market was supposedly on the 4th floor.

When we arrived we were surprised. This area is like the Mall of America but mall of Asia. It's a bunch of huge buildings connected that are all shops, most of which are name brand or well known chains. This was very different than what we're used to: old rickety markets down one street with tents set up in case it rains.

We went in and took the escalator to the fourth floor. We had already seen two Starbucks' - one on the first floor and one on the third. Why? This isn't Seattle make your own coffee companies.

When we got to the fourth floor it still look like a mall? I pictured in my head that this one floor would be a smaller area and have a market feel set up. We wandered awhile and couldn't even find artsy shops, it was all food. We ended up finding the shops and wandered around them. The quality of the products here are significantly better, or at least displayed better.

We got a couple things we wanted off our checklists and found a place to eat lunch. We were hesitant at all the shops because we wanted to end our trip with lots of Asian food. We didn't want mall food to be our last lunch!

A beef soup shop caught our eye because there were lots of people there and it was right next to us. We were getting a little grumpy (I was for sure, which made me think Alex was but that isn't always true). We ate it and it was delicious. We've had better soups, but for mall food I'll take it.

We both decided that we didn't want to try any of the "markets" in the malls surrounding so we headed back into the better part of Bangkok. Our tuk tuk driver was a schmuck on the way back. I understand that sometimes there is a lack of communication when I try to explain where we want to go. How I work around that is by showing the drivers my map, and point where I want to go. This tuk tuk driver kept saying stuff to us after I would show him the map making it seem like he knew where to go. He took us to the wrong place and I again pointed out where we needed to go. I changed the language to help if he needed to know exact street names, but that didn't even help. We directed him to where we wanted to go eventually, but he was all angry about taking us out of the way. All I said was "I didn't understand what you said, so I showed you the map. You didn't have to take us."

But whatever he got us there and we still paid the agreed upon price. We went back to the real market (in my eyes) and got the trinkets we wanted. The vendors were nice and I also got some unexpected items.

After a hot day of walking around and shopping (always a tiring activity for me) we sat down to enjoy a coconut and play some cards. The coconuts are so refreshingly cold and the chunks we scrape off are to juicy and tastey. Definitely on thing I'll miss is these fresh coconuts. I guess I'll just have to drink coconut milk to get my fix.

We headed towards dinner but meandered around Khao San Road and another street market on the way. For our last Thai meal we decided to revisit Thip Samai, the Pad Thai restaurant we ate at the first night. This place was PACKED! We got there and had to wait about ten minutes before they decided to use their outdoor seating. Everyone in line filled up the outdoor seating immediately. And the line continued to build. There was probably 30-40 people waiting in line by the time we left, the food is that good.

(Pad Thai in an omelette)

After a fairly early dinner we walked out way back and had some tea at a blues bar. If you look back to the beginning of this trip we went to this blues bar then as well. We had some tea, played cards, and reminisced while listening to live music (love it).

(Views as we walked back)

On the way back to the hostel we couldn't find and coconut ice cream, so we went up to pack and repack everything. Now that we're playing home, we have to prioritize what goes where. It took some pushing, shoving, and rearranging, but everything fit in the four bags we originally brought with us!

Then we read and fell asleep so we could wake up for our 7am breakfast. We have a taxi picking us up at 9am and we'll go straight to the airport. Crazy!

So many things have happened in the last 8 weeks it's insane. It's going to take some time to decompress and really realize how amazing the trip was and how it has affected me. Tomorrows our last day, but really a majority travel day back to the states. A couple flights and I'll be seeing some of your shining faces! Can't wait and hope you didn't miss us too much.

“Nothing can be compared to the new life that the discovery of another country provides for a thoughtful person. Although I am still the same I believe to have changed to the bones.”
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Koh Lanta day one

From 11/19

We woke up to the sun heating up the room, as we were placed into the sunrise room. It's like they knew we were early risers. We had breakfast at our hostel and played a game of cribbage. Now that we're in Thailand again, we went to get Thai Massages on the beach after breakfast.

I've only had two or three Thai massages now but this one was definitely the most painful. You would think since it's right on the beach you would be more relaxed but she killed my muscles. When I stood up I was actually sore, like the feeling of actual bruised muscles. Also when she was using her feet she literally kicked me in the nuts (they use their feet to massage your inner leg and hamstring. I thought she was a professional. All she did was make an "oops" noises and continue. 

It was a good massage and I felt really loose later on but it was painful. That being said I would do it again. After the massages we walked to lunch at a place called Irie (place we listened to music last night). We shared a large salad and a brown rice chicken dish. It was amazing. They also had coconut shakes that were pretty good, but not as good as the Koh Rong shakes. 

We wandered back to the beach and swam and read for a bit. The water isn't as beautiful as Phuket, but it feels just as nice to jump into when it's so hot out. 

(Views)

And then this came rolling in. 

(A storm - we could see the rain come in from up the beach)

We beat the rain and went to a beachside bar to grab a coffee/beer to wait out the rain. After our hang up with the rain we went for one more swim and then headed back to the hostel to relax before dinner. That's when I wrote this and when we planned or next day and a half in Koh Lanta. 

After enjoying the hammocks and lounge couches we made moves to get dinner. On the way we stopped at Irie and Alex picked out a bag she wanted. All the bags are handmade and they can make custom changes for you as you wish (same with their jewelry). The bag hung a bit low and didn't have any zip pockets inside so they offered to shorten the strap and add in a zipper pocket by tomorrow night. 

We continued down the street and found a dinner spot to grab some red curry. Everything on Long Beach (area in Koh Lanta we're staying at) is walking distance away, probably maximum one kilometer away. 

Afterwards we went back to Irie for some tea and played word games. I'm a fan of the "first word that comes to mind" game. I say a word, cheese for example, and Alex says whatever comes first to her mind, like "Packers". Then I respond by taking that word and saying my first word, like "amazing" (although recently they haven't been amazing at all, quite the opposite...). 

We headed back to the hostel to shower and read before calling it a night. Tomorrow's our last full day in Lanta before traveling back to Bangkok! Ah, what's happening? 

"Traveling-to-a-place energy and living-in-a-place energy are two fundamentally different energies."

- Elizabeth Gilbert

Travel Day To Koh Lanta

From 11/18

We woke up quickly at 8am to get one last swim in before leaving Phuket. The water here was our favorite so far. It was the bluest and most fun to swim in because of the crazy waves. It's amazing how clean the beach and water have stayed because Phuket is a very visited destination.

We swam and reluctantly went back to the condo to pack up. As we were packing Alex discovered about one million ants crawling in her running shoes and all around her bag. It was not a good scene. We took it outside and shook out as many ants as we could. There were lots of signs of a colony inside her bag and we aren't sure where this all started. 

Once everything was cleared out of her bag we packed up and Alex ran to get lunch. I waited for our Airbnb host to show up so I could check out and pay for electricity. Alex grabbed our favorite Pad Thai to go and we got in the shuttle to the ferry. 

This ferry went to Ko Phi Phi before we had to transfer to another ferry. The first ferry wasn't bad, air conditioned and standard western ferry. 

(View from our seats)

They were playing some weird opera on the tv while we ate our take away pad Thai. 

(It didn't last long, but it stayed hot in the banana leaf)

The transfer in Ko Phi Phi was a joke, and we were already a bit late for our ferry to Ko Lanta. Once we got our bags onto the new ferry we enjoyed the views from the top of the boat. 

(Koh Phi Phi from the second ferry)

(Fighting the wind on the top of the boat)

(View of the Thailand coast from the ferry)

(View behind us as we arrived in Lanta)

Once we got to Lanta we showed our prepaid ticket to the hostel to some guys and we hopped in the back of a truck. They literally just say "come with me" and you follow them and trust that they're taking you to the right place. The Galileo Maps app helps me know, but we just hopped into a random guys truck bed and he took us to the hostel. 

(Trucks passing by behind me)

We got to the hostel called "Chill Out House" and checked in. The place is all open air and has a hippie vibe fer sure. It's super chill and is a fun area. It's a basic accommodation but has bug nets and incense to rid the mosquitos. 

We were walking to dinner when we saw this orange/red light coming through the trees. We had to walk to the beach to see the remainders of the sunset. And it was well worth it. 

(The Reds and oranges aren't quite captured in the picture)

Afterwards we got some bug spray and headed to get some massaman curry. It was delicious but nothing crazy special. On the way home we stopped at a shop that caught our eyes (mainly because of the dresses and purses) so we stopped in. It ended up being an awesome shop with a restaurant that had live music. We ended up staying for an hour or so to listen to the music and enjoy some tea. 

I was beat, after not sleeping well thinking about jobs and stupid real life stuff, and having traveled. I'm doing my best to keep that stuff for when I get home, but it's hard not to think about. At any rate, we just set up the bug net and called it a night. We have two full days here and have no serious plans so it will be filled with chillin around the chill out house and eating good Thai food. 

I'm going to miss these beaches and especially not wearing socks or shoes! More tomorrow. 

"We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves. We travel to open our hearts and eyes and learn more about the world than our newspapers will accommodate. We travel to bring what little we can, in our ignorance and knowledge, to those parts of the globe whose riches are differently dispersed. And we travel, in essence, to become young fools again- to slow time down and get taken in, and fall in love once more."

- Pico Iyer

Final Full Phuket Day

We woke up casually today but feeling back to our usual selves. We had a quick breakfast in the condo and headed down to the pool to hang until lunch. We tried to print out ferry tickets for the trip to Koh Lanta but the main office here is weird. Since it's a condo association (or whatever it's called) they aren't as helpful as in a hotel. She tried to explain to me why she couldn't print it for me, but I was standing there looking at their giant copier (it was a Ricoh). 

Anyways, I figured it out by messaging to our Airbnb host. After that fiasco we went to lunch for more pad Thai and then down to the beach. It was much calmer today wave wise, but just as blue and beautiful. 

(Beach pics)

(The other side)

We noticed there are a lot of Russians here, or the Slovakian type of people. I guess it's kind of like their Carribean or Mexico or whatever but it's different - we don't see to many Russians in Mexico (or wherever you take your tropical vacations). 

We chilled for awhile and I made some good progress in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. I didn't see myself being big into mystery books but I'm into this one. And will probably read the other ones at this point because why not. 

After beaching we headed back, drank some prosecco while playing a round of cribbage. We stopped keeping track of the score because I started to win more than Alex. Kidding, but I think we stopped to prevent arguments over cribbage because it can definitely get heated (especially when Alex or I are hungry). 

We headed out to dinner and ice cream and wandered the night market. The ice cream was the best we've had so far. Nami'a Homemade ice cream. She literally has you try every flavor. If you stand there for a second to think she'll scoop another taster for you before you can make a decision - it's amazing. I got dark chocolate (I've never had this dark of chocolate ice cream before) and popcorn. I was expecting the popcorn to taste like the jelly bean flavor but it was surprisingly delicious. That's probably why she forces samples upon you so you actually try a bunch of flavors. 

We talked about how weird it is that this trip is coming to a close. It's going to be weird the first couple days of not being with each other every single moment. Literally for the last eight weeks we've been together the entire time. What's going to happen?

The market we went to was average, more of your fake name brand stuff and low quality trinkets. We didn't last long and took a tuk tuk back to the condo. The sun is amazing but it really is tiring. I know, listen to me, "vacation is tiring" it's terrible. I don't know what's going to happen when I have to actually work during the day. 

We head out tomorrow around noon to get on a ferry to Koh Lanta. I expect it to be a little quieter there, and were also staying in a hostel, so not as fancy. But Phuket has been amazing! And I didn't think I wanted to come here - thank God Alex made sure it happened. Sorry the blogs aren't as interesting but we're really just beach hanging for the next couple days. I hope you're still enjoying the trip!

"How you live your life is up to you. You have to go out and grab the world by the horns. Rope it before it ties you down and decides for you."

- Sarah Reijonen

Phuket Hangover

From 11/16

We found out why we haven't gone out that much this trip. It was a rough morning waking up and I don't think we left until around 10:30 or 11. We didn't actually want to move but we knew it was necessary since we're in Phuket. 

We drank a bunch of water and ate some toast before heading to lunch. We needed food. We went to a place called The Pad Thai Shop because it was relatively close and was Lonely Planet recommended. And I now stand behind it. 

We thought we had the best Pad Thai in Bangkok, but this is by far the best. And not just because we were hungover. And to make it better it only costs 50 baht, which is less than $1.50. It's absurd. 

After lunch we went directly to the beach and just laid down. It was a rough day but I'll take being on the beach over being in a super touristy city that we would need to walk into temples and stuff. After a short nap we read as went for a swim. The waves were massive today - I honestly don't know if I've ever seen waves this big. There were actually waves coming from both directions because it would reverberate off the shore and go back out to sea. 

(Screen shot of a video I took - see the lady on the far right for comparison)

These waves would actually completely tackle you and grow you around. It wasn't too deep so it wasn't scary, but if I couldn't touch I would not have been in the water.

After awhile we headed back to the condo and hung out by the pool. The light isn't as direct so it's nice to just read and relax in the shade. One different thing about the pools here is they actually cool the pools, as opposed to heating the pools like we do in the US (sometimes). But it's so nice to jump into a cold pool when it's 90+ and humid out. 

It was one of those days that ordering delivery is key...but they don't do delivery here at all. There was one restaurant we wanted to go to but it was a mile away so we decided to just go to the same place we did for lunch. Everywhere around us had fine reviews, but they were all steakhouses or western food. 

We got there and all they had left was some chicken or beef soup (they're more of a lunch place than dinner). We got the chicken soup and headed back to eat at our place. When we opened the bag there were chicken feet in the soup. Like the actual foot with talons and skin and all that jazz. Not into it, especially since I was still getting over queasiness. 

We tossed that part out and the rest of the soup was good. The rest of the night we just read and downloaded some movies for the flight home (it's so close). It was a rough day, but I'm so glad we did the trip how we did it. I can do all the nightlife stuff I want in Seattle, but I can't see pagodas and other cool stuff. 

Tomorrow osmium last full day in Phuket and were determined to make the most of it by leaving the house before lunchtime. 

"I had a desire to see something besides my own shores, if only to be content to return to them someday. If I wish to live in my native land and love her, it should not be out of ignorance."

- Margaret George

Phuket day one

From 11/15

We woke up to an amazing sunrise! It was really early but who cares when you get to see this:

It turned out that it was just the reflection of the sun from the east but I couldn't tell in my half sleep state. I fell back asleep and then woke up around 9. We had yogurt and cereal for breakfast before heading out to explore the condo and the beaches. 

Our condo has a couple pools between the three buildings. One of the pools actually wraps all the way around the building and it's shaped like an arch (like Noah's Arch). We found a gym that we may pretend to use at some point, but also the bar. Once we got our barrings we headed into the town of Karon to check out the beach. 

(One of the pools)

Karon is the section on Phuket island we chose because it's the middle ground, both geographically but also party-wise. Patong is just north of us (the busiest of the three) and Kata is just south of us (quieter and smaller area). 

We got to the beach and found a spot to call our own. This beach is the best beach we've been to so far. It's the largest public beach and also the cleanest. The water is the bluest and coldest as well (this is the actual ocean, not just a bay). And by coldest it's actually warm but not bath water temperature. 

We hung out, read, and swam a lot. The waves here are a lot bigger too. The water is amazing. I'm really going to miss this water when all I have to swim in is Lake Washington or the Puget Sound.

We got a bit hungry after a small breakfast so we walked along the beach road until we found a spot that looked good. I had another curry (I'm turning into a curry person) and pineapple shake. It was kind of late in the day and we were planning on going out at night so we headed back to the condo and hung out by the pool. 

Alex wanted to workout (hardooooo) so I was peer pressured into exercising. They had a treadmill, a bike, some free weights and some machines so I just messed around with some weighs to move my body and get the heart rate up a bit. So out of shape it's not funny. 

We headed back to our room and relaxed. We made some gon and tonics, played some cribbage, and watched the sun set. 

(#nofilter)

The colors in the sky were like nothing I've ever seen. It was like an entire rainbow of colors. We enjoyed a couple more drinks and then headed down to find a tuk tuk. 

The tuk tuks here are crazy - it was like a party tuk tuk. They had huge speakers, subwoofers (probably not how you spell that), and lights in the back. It was the most unique tuk tuk ride I've taken, and it really got me pumped up to go out!

We walked around the tourist street until we found a small alley to walk down. We saw locals so we knew our dinner place wasn't far. We sat down and ordered - I didn't know what to get so I just said I'll have what she's having. 

(The lady that helped me pick my meal)

It ended up being a beef soup of some sort and was really good. She helped me pick the right condiments and told me how much of each to put in - this was all done by pointing and nodding of course because she didn't know English. 

After dinner we headed across the street to a bar with live music. It was a small band of four guys and they were playing all cover songs from the US. We had a beer or two and decided it was a good time to call it a night. 

I think it was around midnight when we got back to our place. We're glad we didn't go out like this everywhere, but we figured one night out of the trip we could get a little extra goofy and Phuket seemed like the right place. 

The tuk tuk back was just as fun and loud. We got back, chugged some water and went to bed. We're excited to have another two and a half days in Phuket to enjoy the beach and the condo. Tomorrow were planning on doing more of the same but finding somewhere more unique to eat lunch - the touristy areas are always more expensive and less tasty. 

"Traveling outgrows its motives. It soon proves sufficient in itself. You think you are making a trip, but soon it is making you - or unmaking you."

- Nicolas Bouvier

Siem Reap to Phuket

From 11/14

Today was another traveling day. We decided to do everything in our power to just make sure we had food and avoid being hungry for an entire travel day. We woke up and headed into town to a place called Joe To Go. It was a nice little cafe with AC so we hung out there for a bit after and played some cribbage. They had cool sayings all over and of course had a good cause behind their business. 

(Example of the cool sayings they have)

We weren't leaving until 1:30 to catch our flight so we had the morning to relax. We had a later start which was nice to sleep in a bit, and after breakfast we just went back to our hostel, packed up and checked out, and played cribbage for an hour or so. 

Our tuk tuk driver arrived and we hopped in. We were about halfway to the airport when we noticed a ton of HUGE puddles, but it wasn't raining. Yet. It started to monsoon (I remember my first monsoon) and the guy had to pull over to pull down the flaps. He didn't even put on a pancho or anything as he was soaked. We got fairly wet even with the flaps/walls pulled down. 

We got to the airport and it had stopped raining. We checked in and were surprised by AirAsia's terrible baggage policy. When you buy your ticket you have to say how many bags you're checking and what they will weigh. They don't give you another chance to pay for bags either - even when you check in. You have to know all this like 4 months before you even fly. Wtf? And they charged us $72 per bag. Per bag! That should be illegal. Never fly AirAsia.

At any rate, the flights were what you would expect. They don't let you bring your own food on the plane either. We got into Bangkok, ate, and then got on our other plane to Phuket. 

We got into Phuket around 9-9:30 and found our cab driver. We were able to stop at a store to get food for breakfasts. We're staying in a condo here so we have a kitchen we can use. We got some essentials and then continued on to our place. Our guy took us all the way do our door and let us in (he knows the owner of the place so it's not creepy). 

After the long day we wanted to make a toast to the trip. We got gin in the duty free store and tonic and limes at the grocery store. We had one drink and called it a night. The place were staying at is beautiful and has a view of the ocean for sunsets. I'll put some pictures in the next couple posts so you can see what it looks like. 

Looking forward to a couple days of relaxing and beaching while the trip comes to a close. 

"Travellers understand, instinctively and by experience, that travel and adventure change and elongate time, even while navigating the deadlines of airline and train departures."

- Paul Sheehan

Ankor Wat and Other Temples

From 11/13

We woke up right at 6:45 and ate breakfast at our Homestay. We hired a guy named Heng Happy Tuk tuk as he was recommended by some people that we met in Chiang Mai. They had all good things to say about him so we signed up for an 8am pick up. 

He showed up right on time and we were off. He was extremely friendly and helpful throughout the entire trip and even provided free water. We started with the main temple of Angkor Wat. This is one of the most recognized temple. 

(The main temple in Ankor Wat)

(The Kings Swimming pool)

We wandered around the site and up and up all of the stairs and meandered through all of the crazy tourists. Walking through these temples and the plots of land they're on is such a cool feeling. These structures are so old and so many people have been in them before us. I always try to picture myself there a thousand years before - what would be going on?

The stone work was incredible as well, considering it was done in the twelfth century. So many details to the characters and also to the story line. 

(Example of a story carved into the walls. These carvings are throughout the entire temple.)

This was the largest temple so we spent a good amount of time exploring it. We also never realized how many steps there are in temples and how long it takes to get around. 

We took some pictures, wandered around, and then headed back to Heng. We also saw a monkey getting turnt on the way to our tuk tuk. 

(Monkey getting turnt on a Friday)

We hopped back in and were taken to another group of temples. He dropped us off, gave us a brief explanation of what we should see, and then said to meet over there after you go through all the temples.

This place was packed too, and it was starting to get hot. We started with Ankor Thom, and moved into Bayon Temple. They were both a bit different in the way they looked and had significantly different histories as to why they were built. 

(Banyan Temple - you will notice a small face in the pillar) 

(Another one of Banyan Temple)

(Walkway up to Ankor Thom)

(Ankor Thom)

Phimeanakas Temple was the last in the group and we literally just walked passed it, said hey to it, and walked to our tuk tuk. We feel kind of bad about it, but you can only do so many temples. They have different stories behind them, I get that, but when it's 90 degrees they start to look like piles of rocks. 

Then we reluctantly but thankfully got into the tuk tuk to head over to the Preah Khan Temple. This is also the temple that Angelina Jolie used for The Thomb Raider. We knew this one was going to be cool because we already knew what it will look like. That being said, it was packed with Chinese group tourists)

I have absolutely nothing against Chinese people at all. I have a Chinese friend that I really like, but when they go on tour groups together it's like they think no one else exists. So we're stuck in this maze of a temple and are getting pushed by old Chinese men and women. I don't even think they know they're doing it. I had enough. I was walking straight for a small doorway and there were two elder Chinese women (one had gray hair). They were standing off to the side and had no intention of moving. 

As soon as I got to the door frame they decided it was a good time to start walking. So three of us trying to fit into one small doorway. Remember, at this point I was over it. So I pushed

My way trough and squished two elder Chinese women into the door frame. I only kind of feel bad, but maybe next time they'll wait for the moving object to get through the door instead of trying to smoosh with me. 

Aside from the business of temple is was pretty cool. It was hard to navigate and the trees grew all over the temple which gave it a cool thing to look at. Take a look yourself. 

(A white tree taking over a rock wall)

 

(A tree standing strong on top of a rock wall)

(Tree roots forced their way trough the door and brough some rock with them)

Such a cool sight when you see building being taken over by nature...unless it's your own house I guess. Now that I've been to the Thomb that Angelina Jolie raided I have to watch the movie. 

We were getting hungry after the last temple and were happy to hear Heng offer lunch at a place nearby. He said one more temple, then lunch, then one last temple. 

He took us to another temple, told us about it and let us go. Our legs were exhausted at this point from climbing. Up and down all these stairs so we mutually agreed to just sit on a rock for 15-20 minutes then head out. We wanted Heng to think we went in and saw it, but didn't actually want to keep waking up temple steps. 

We limped to the tuk tuk and headed off to lunch. We had Amok chicken and beef Lok Lak. These are two main dishes they make in Cambodia and they are the BEST! They make good curries here too. Anyways, we fueled up and were ready for the last and finally temple. 

Heng pulled up and explained the temple and let us go after it. We were happy to see it was a smaller temple with like three total steps. Thank god. Alex's quad had a cramp from before so we were trying to take it easy. Not to mention I was exhausted too. We took some obligatory pictures and headed back to the tuk tuk. 

(The final, more doable temple - zero steps required)

The best part of this deal with Heng is you get an amazing breeze under shade. It allows me to relax and cool down and rest. He drove us through town and then back to our hostel. We thanked him and then he was off. It was sad, he was like our local friend that was super friendly and happy. I would totally hang out with him if he wanted to hang out with me. 

(Heng hanging out with us)

After being exhausted from all the temples, steps, and heat, we took a quick break and did nothing at the hostel for a bit. Eventually we left and went into the town again to explore. We wandered some stores near Alley West and ended up in a nice cafe to relax at. Doing things is surprisingly tiring especially when it's hot out. 

We took the afternoon to drink coconuts and coffee and eat cookies and RWC. There was a nice breeze on the second floor and the chairs were almost comfortable enough to sleep in. Alex also made a little friend while she was reading. 

(Her tiny friend)

(How bout a close up?)

After a bit of relaxing we decided to head downstairs for some Khmer Kitchen eats. The main dishes here are the amok (typically served with fish), and beef Lok luk. They also have amazing curries so I got a chicken curry dish. The Lok luk and Anok you will not find anywhere except in Cambodia so we had to end the visit with that. 

After dinner we wandered the markets but then headed back to the hostel to pack. We had a ton of laundry done for us and we had to reorganize all of our bags for the flight tomorrow. We bought a bunch of stuff and finding a place to put it has become difficult. 

At any rate we finished packing, did some reading and called it a night. I feel like an old man saying this day tired me out but the heat and walking and slow people and repetitive temples got tiring. We've also been getting up at ungodly hours for a week now. Hopefully we'll sleep in a bit tomorrow before we hang and then get on the plane to Phuket.

Our last two destinations (tears) are Phuket and Koh Lanta. Both are beachy town, with Patong (in Phuket) being more of a large city with craziness and last boys. 

It'll be a great way to end the trip. Beaches and relaxation. And time to contemplate what we've learned on this trip. About myself, about Alex, about anything and everything. 

"There are as many worlds as there are kinds of days, and as an opal changes its colors and its fire to match the nature of a day, so do I."

- John Steinbeck

Travel Day to Siem Reap

From 11/12

We woke up at the crack of dawn again at 5:45am. We checked out, got some breakfast to go, and were picked up by the bus. We transferred into a bigger bus and then were off. This bus company was the best we've had so far. They provide you with water and a chocolate filled croissant. We also stopped a number of times to go to the bathroom and for lunch. That never happens. 

(A much more spacious bus)

We got into Siem Reap and met with the tuk tuk driver our hostel set up for us free of charge. We checked into this huge home stay and got the lay of the land. 

We walked around Alley West and Pub Street which have cool shops and restaurants. We finalized most of our little trinkets for ourselves and for others. There's so much cool stuff here it's hard not to buy things. Especially because it's all so cheap. 

We got dinner on a rooftop and enjoyed some lemongrass mojitos while playing cribbage. After dinner we stopped at one of those fish foot massages. I've always seen them around but never tried it, so for $2.50 we decided to give it a go. 

It was hilarious! The first ten minutes we couldn't stop laughing and pulling our feet in and out of the water. Their little mouths supposedly nibble the dead skin off your feet but it's such a weird feeling. It's like someone is delicately pinching your feet all over. They don't have teeth but their lips have rough edges with make it a little more ticklish. 

(Hungry fish)

We stayed for a good 15-20 minutes before we decided it was time to keep moving. I could have easily stayed there for an hour - such an interesting feeling. We headed off to the night market to kill some time and see what they have to offer. 

The vendors here have a weird combination of fabrics and Buddhas, but also electronics. You can buy a nice silk scarf or an iPhone charger in the same spot. This market wasn't the best we've seen, but it was an improvement from some of the markets in Vietnam. Not that the markets in Vietnam were bad, they just were focused on more or "name brand" products. We wanted local trinket stuff not The North Face stuff. 

Anyways, after the market we wandered around the area a bit and then headed back to the hostel. It was a long day with travel and we have a full day tomorrow starting by 8am. We're getting picked up and shown around the entire city an temple area (Ankor) by a Instagram famous tuk tuk driver. It's awesome because we don't have to worry about anything, he just takes us to the good spots and knows we only have one day. 

We blogged and read and called it a night. Aside from a low key travel day, two amazing things happened. First, my ear is finally open and I can hear things on my left. Second, the pictures I thought I lost I was able to recover today!

I was embarrassed and sad so I don't write about it, but a couple weeks ago I deleted almost a months worth of pictures. Literally from the beginning of the trip through Laos. I'm backing pictures up through google pictures and thought that automatically backed up when I connected to wifi. Well they didn't. You actually have to open the app and make sure all of them get backed up. 

My iPhone was full and had no more space so I deleted a bunch of pictures, expecting them to be backed up. It was in Saigon I realized they weren't. Luckily, I was looking trough my storage space I day and it looked oddly full. Well iPhones have a space called "recently deleted"! They hold the pictures there for 30 days or so before completely deleting them! I recovered all 1,200 pictures and am backing them up an triple checking them this time. 

Thank God for technology, saved the trip! Anyways, two amazing things happening on a low key day rocks. Anyways, I'm off to bed but be in the lookout tomorrow for cool temples and a lot of content!

"Travelling, one accepts everything; indignation stays at home. One looks, one listens, one is roused to enthusiasm by the most dreadful things because they are new. Good travellers are heartless."

- Elias Canetti 

Killing Fields and Shops

From 11/11

Quick note before you read is that some of the stuff about the Killing Fields is sad and terrible. I don't go into it that much but just the ideas of what happened during this time are distressing. I just want to give the heads up before I scare someone off. 

We started the morning bright and early at 6am and went downstairs to grab a quick bite before getting picked up from our tuk tuk friend. We got downstairs and the kitchen doesn't open until 7am. We asked for a recommendation on where to eat and he just said to go out and look because he doesn't know anywhere that opens before 7. Wonderful, another day without food. 

Luckily we found a UK chain coffee place that had some muffins to hold us over for awhile. We ate the muffins and hopped into the tuk tuk and were off. The guy was helpful and told us to keep our belongings (Alex's purse and my backpack) in between the two of us so people that drove by couldn't grab it from us. It's funny, we don't usually have that problem at home since everyone is in cars instead of mopeds. 

Getting driven around is soooooo nice. It's much better, in different ways, than driving our own moped because we don't have to navigate or fight traffic. Since we left right in the morning we seemed to hit the work rush hour. It was fun to people watch while going for a relaxing ride. 

(Fun rides on the tuk tuk)

The Killing Fields are outside of Phnom Penh so it took awhile to get there but it was fun to see the change in landscape from city to more rural. We got there and were the first people there of course. We paid the $6 and got the audio tour while we walked around. 

(Where some of the buildings used to be: the office, the building people waited in before getting killed, supply building)

It was an extremely eerie and saddening place. It's just a mind blowing thing to know that this genocide happened right here. And what's even crazier to me, is that I didn't even know it happened until I planned this trip. Everyone knows about the Nazis and the terrible things they did, but there are so many other tragedies like this that go unnoticed to so many people. 

(Part of the mass graves)

The audio tour was well worth it because it talked about the site, but also gave actual accounts from people that were affected by this and were willing to share their stories. Pretty much everyone in the country was affected in one way or another. 

There's so much to say about it but it's depressing and if you want to know more about Pol Pot and the disgusting things he did I'm sure google will give you a detailed account. 

Once we made our way through we met back up with our tuk tuk driver and headed back into Phnom Penh to check out the S-21 Prison.

The S-21 prison was one of the larger places that people were jailed. These were very similar to the concentration camps of the Nazi time. The museum was very informative and showed us all of the different things that happened there. There were lots of pictures of the people that were imprisoned there, all of which were very sad. 

(The hallways of the prisons)

One quick fact about who they decided were the "bad people" that should die is that it was all the city people. Anyone that was educated or used any form of technology (including eye glasses...). This was run by rural villagers who forced their way into power. 

(A jail cell of one of the seven survivors)

(Some of the beds in another section of the prison)

This caused many people that were doctors, lawyers, professors, etc. to be killed. For no reason. It's a messed up thing. There were seven people from the S-21 prison that were found when the raid happened - everyone else was dead. This place was huge and only seven people were found. Crazy stuff. 

So after a terribly depressing morning, we had a wonderful afternoon planned. We grabbed a quick bite for lunch and then headed to a couple shops. All of the shops around here were fair trade and focused on a couple main causes. 

(Description of one of the stores: CHA)

Almost all of them have some form of craft that they provide training for, or some other sort of skill like cooking. The shops we went to helped women handicapped by land mines or polio, another was focused on rural women - the list goes on and on. 

Not only are they good businesses, but the stuff they made is incredible! It's a little more expensive than some of the other countries, but it's worth it because you know it was made with happy hands. 

After shop hopping we stopped into the hostel to buy bus tickets for tomorrow. Keeping our usual schedule and not wanting to waste daylight, we scheduled the 7:45am bus. This will give us a little extra time in Siem Reap which is good since we've see most of what we wanted to in Phnom Penh. 

We hopped into a tuk tuk and headed up to the Central Market. This place was HUGE! Like the Mall of America of markets. We wandered around, got hassled by the vendors, but also learned to barter a lot. We saved $10 on one thing - brought them down from $18 to $8. I know I'm not actually cool but it made me feel pretty badass. 

I find bartering annoying, but I find being taken advantage of more annoying so it's worth it. As long as you're willing to walk away they are always willing to take your offer. 

After the market we walked to the rooftop bar called Foreign Correspondence Club. It was a beautiful view on the mighty Mekong River. We played some cribbage, got some skewers for an appetizer, and had some delicious passion fruit drinks. The breeze from the top felt good after walking around in the heavy heat all day.  

Our dinner was just down the street at a place called Friends. The tapas were unreal and it was all for another good cause! Their cause was focused on education for children in rural areas. They also bring students in from their villages and train them at their restaurant. 

They also had a store right down the street that had cool crafts made by the parents of the students. The crafts were amazing! It's so hard not to spend money on cool things, especially when it's for a good cause (also we won't be over here much longer so why not?).

As we walked back to our hostel we heard a bunch of loud !bangs! and we weren't sure what was going on. No one was scared or acting weird so we knew everything was alright. We ended up talking to a store worker and they told us it was their Independence Day! There wasn't as much going on as what we see in the States (at least what we saw), but it seemed like some people were having a good time. 

We got back to the hostel and packed up to prepare for our 6:45 departure tomorrow morning. Luckily we found a place that opens at 6am for breakfast because it's a long bus trip (6-7 hours) and not having a meal would be a serious problem. We were all ready to go and I finally got caught up on the blog and we planned a little bit for Siem Reap. 

That's all for today Phnom Penh is a very busy city ad was bigger than I expected. It's crazy how much recent history there is in Camobida that I've never known about. I wish I learned a little bit about it in school or somewhere, but it seems they keep a lot of non-Western genocides and tragedies out of World History classes. It's important stuff to know so we can do something about it. 

At any rate, off to Siem Reap tomorrow morning!

"It’s hard to go. It’s scary and lonely…and half the time you’ll be wondering why the hell you’re in Cincinnati or Austin or North Dakota or Mongolia or wherever your melodious little finger-plucking heinie takes you. There will be boondoggles and discombobulated days, freaked-out nights and metaphorical flat tires.

But it will be soul-smashingly beautiful… It will open up your life."

- Cheryl Stayed

Travel Day to Phnom Penh

From 11/10

It was another night full of lightening and stormy winds until the sun shined bright into the window. Unfortunately in the middle of the night I woke up with a Terrible ear ache that resembled an ear infection. I took some ibuprofen and tried to sleep it off still hoping it would just be water in my ear. 

In the morning the pain had subsided but I knew it was an ear infection. I'm guessing it came from jumping into the water and it getting into the wrong area of my ear. Shoot! Knowing that there was one doctor on the island, and two pharmacies, we got up early to get some medication before a long day of traveling to Phnom Penh. 

It was a shit show trying to find the doctor. Everyone just pointed and said "pharmacy over there" and it was closed. We had to make a 10am ferry so I went into the other pharmacy that was open, and told him I had an ear infection. He understood me (thank God) and gave me some ear drops for $5. He showed me the instructions and all the details of the medication so I bought it. 

I got some wifi at a restaurant but wasn't quite able to look up what it was because of bad connection. All I know is it's made in France and seems legitimate (shoutout to my mom for double checking at her work when I texted her that it actually would work if it's an external ear infection). I put the dropper together and put some drops in. The only real warnings were if my ear drum was punctured that it may cause permanent damage (which is somewhat concerning), but I didn't have so much pain to the point that it would be torn at all. 

My only thought is, what if it's an internal ear infection? I guess if the drops don't help or it gets worse I'll be able to go to a real doctor and have them check it out in the next couple days. 

At any rate, we got onto the ferry and headed back to the mainland. We made it back with thirty minutes to spare before getting on the bus. We dropped our bags at the resort we were getting picked up from, Alex ordered us some food, and I ran to get my passport back from our cash advance on the island. All went well with the passport and finding an ATM to get cash from. 

What was super lame was when the bus came to pick us up, we hadn't received our food yet. We ordered chicken fried rice and some chicken kabobs...how does it take more than 10-15 minutes? The guy said he would make the bus driver wait. So we got in the bus and waited...until the driver decided it was time to leave. We paid for overpriced food and didn't even get to eat it. At least they could have just given us what they had made by the time we left. Just some rice would have been nice. 

So we were taken to a bus station and switched into a bigger bus, which was nice, but it didn't help our hunger. We grabbed a couple snacks quickly at the station before it took off. Our lunch consisted of pizza Pringles, some cashews, crackers, and some dried fruit. All of average food quality. We're failing at eating well on travel days. 

The bus ride was better than the usual van, but still very warm. The AC barely came out so it was super stuffy. We slept and read for most of the 6-7 hour trip until we arrived in Phnom Penh. However, the bathroom said on it "Urinate Only". Someone definitely didn't follow the rules and it smelled like we were in the bathroom with her. Why would you do that? Her stop was in the next 30 minutes too. Come on sister, do us all a favor. 

 (The culprit)

We got into Phnom Penh later than we originally thought, so we didn't get to our hostel until around 8pm. Our tuk tuk driver was a nice guy so we set up a couple rides with him tomorrow. We knew we wanted to see the Killing Fields, which are about an hour outside of the city, so we just set up a pick up time for 7am the next morning. 

We checked into our hostel and ate right away. We had not eaten a real meal since 7:30 that morning. The food was pretty good at the hostel and the employees here are awesome. The company is both fair to their employees but also do a lot to give back to the community. For example they have an effort to help fund and build clean water wells for rural families. This is extremely important because a lot of children are dying before the age of five due to poor water conditions.

After dinner we called it a night. We just hung out and planned our next day. We only have tomorrow to see Phnom Penh  so we want to make sure we see all the best stuff - this is why we're getting up at fricken 6am. The Killing Fields and the prison are a must, despite the evil done at these locations, but we also want to check out some of the shops here. There seem to be a lot of shops and restaurants that do a lot to try developing the country and it's people. 

A lot to see and a lot of traveling in the next couple days but the end is near so we're trying to do as much as possible!

"Yet all experience is an arch wherethrough

Gleams that untraveled world whose margin fades

Forever and forever when I move.

How dull it is to pause, to make an end,

To rust unburnished, not to shine in use!

As though to breathe were life!"

- Alfred Lord Tennyson