Siem Reap was great. The town was a lot bigger and more happening than I expected. I kind of just thought it would have Angkor Wat and thats about it, but it had a night market, tons of restaurants and a huge amount of fancy hotels. I got sick two different times in the five days we were there, so not a ton of luck with the food. The temples were fantastic. Definitely everything they are talked up to be. I will post some more pictures soon of my adventures in Cambodia.
But for now, I'm back in Chiang Mai! I love this city even more than I remember. I got here yesterday morning and I've already done some of my favorite things from last time I was here. Its so nice to be somewhere and know your way around a bit. My dad gets here in a few hours and I'm excited to show him around. We will stay for a few nights and then head to Laos. I'll be sad to leave Thailand, but excited for Laos as well.
not much to write for now. check back on facebook for my photos
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Cambodia, the land of a thousand motorbikes
I know its been a while since I wrote. Everywhere in Cambodia has free wi-fi, but not a ton of internet shops with computers.
First stop was Phnom Penh. I was there for 2 days and saw the grand palace, silver pagoda, and the killing fields. It's not really a place you want to be out alone at night so I mostly stayed in my guesthouse those two nights. The city is so busy, there are more motorbikes than anything else. I had my first experience riding one and its a little scary at first, but really fun. The Cambodians have been riding them for their whole lives so they know what they are doing.
Next I took the bus down to Sihanoukville (beach town in the south) and met up with Kelly who I met in Thailand. I was lucky enough that Rob and Elie were still there so I got to see them for a night as well. The beach is pretty intense. Hundreds of kids and women trying to sell you everything....massages, jewelry, food, and then their are a ton of beggers as well. It's really sad b/c here if you are caught stealing, they cut off your hands, so there are a ton of men that come begging with no hands. It's hard to turn a blind eye, but there's not much else to do. We stayed there for 6 nights. There was an English couple that Kelly met in Vietnam that met up with us there as well. I really like them and the three of us have come back to Phnom Penh for two days. It's so much different being here with them b/c i can explore the night life!
We are headed to Siem Reap tomorrow to spend a few days seeing Angkor Wat which is a massive temple built in the 12th century for a king. It's supposed to be AMAZING so i'm really excited.. after that we are taking the oh so fun night bus to Bangkok so I can head back to Chiang Mai to meet my dad and James and Nicole can do the islands in Thailand. I'm excited b/c they are headed to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji in March-April and I might try to meet up with them and Anna at some point after Bali.
I haven't been able to upload any pictures here, the internet is too slow. Should be able to when I'm back in Thailand next week.
Miss you all!!
First stop was Phnom Penh. I was there for 2 days and saw the grand palace, silver pagoda, and the killing fields. It's not really a place you want to be out alone at night so I mostly stayed in my guesthouse those two nights. The city is so busy, there are more motorbikes than anything else. I had my first experience riding one and its a little scary at first, but really fun. The Cambodians have been riding them for their whole lives so they know what they are doing.
Next I took the bus down to Sihanoukville (beach town in the south) and met up with Kelly who I met in Thailand. I was lucky enough that Rob and Elie were still there so I got to see them for a night as well. The beach is pretty intense. Hundreds of kids and women trying to sell you everything....massages, jewelry, food, and then their are a ton of beggers as well. It's really sad b/c here if you are caught stealing, they cut off your hands, so there are a ton of men that come begging with no hands. It's hard to turn a blind eye, but there's not much else to do. We stayed there for 6 nights. There was an English couple that Kelly met in Vietnam that met up with us there as well. I really like them and the three of us have come back to Phnom Penh for two days. It's so much different being here with them b/c i can explore the night life!
We are headed to Siem Reap tomorrow to spend a few days seeing Angkor Wat which is a massive temple built in the 12th century for a king. It's supposed to be AMAZING so i'm really excited.. after that we are taking the oh so fun night bus to Bangkok so I can head back to Chiang Mai to meet my dad and James and Nicole can do the islands in Thailand. I'm excited b/c they are headed to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji in March-April and I might try to meet up with them and Anna at some point after Bali.
I haven't been able to upload any pictures here, the internet is too slow. Should be able to when I'm back in Thailand next week.
Miss you all!!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
And then there was one
I left the girls this morning. they are headed to Kuala Lumpur tomorrow morning to catch their respective flights to Chicago and Melbourne. it was sad saying good-bye. we've spent a month sleeping in the same room (minus the last week in penang when we had the entire Kordesch house to ourselves). its going to take a while to get used to communicating with others again. we are functioning with similar brain cells at this point in our journey. i'm in georgetown right now waiting the 10 long hours until my overnight train leaves for KL. we didnt quite realize that because of the chinese new year, everyone would be trying to head back to KL for work tomorrow, so getting a bus down there was impossible today. I came into town hoping to find something and got a 3rd class (sitting-up) seat on a 8 hour train ride to KL tonight. not thrilled...
I'm headed to Cambodia tomorrow afternoon to go to Phnom Penh to explore for a day or two and then I'm meeting Kelly, one of the friends we made in Phangan to head to Sihanoukville. its supposed to be beautiful there, and a lot like Thailand before it became a tourist spot. Its also supposed to be really cheap! I'm excited to be somewhere with a little more excitement, Penang was pretty low-key and I think I read 3 books in the week we were there. Penang is a really nice place, surprisingly a lot of westerners go there for their vacations (kind of similar to Florida), there are tons of resorts and retiree's. We found a great food court that had a mix of Malay, Indian, and Chinese food for really cheap. We ate dinner there almost every night.
So in about three weeks my dad is joining me on the trip. We are going to go to Chiang Mai and then do the slow boat through Laos, go to Angkor Wat and then down to Bali. I'm not sure what I have planned after that. I'm trying to convince Lindsay Beigle to come join me over here. I would definitely do Thailand all over again, or maybe try somewhere else.
I'm headed to Cambodia tomorrow afternoon to go to Phnom Penh to explore for a day or two and then I'm meeting Kelly, one of the friends we made in Phangan to head to Sihanoukville. its supposed to be beautiful there, and a lot like Thailand before it became a tourist spot. Its also supposed to be really cheap! I'm excited to be somewhere with a little more excitement, Penang was pretty low-key and I think I read 3 books in the week we were there. Penang is a really nice place, surprisingly a lot of westerners go there for their vacations (kind of similar to Florida), there are tons of resorts and retiree's. We found a great food court that had a mix of Malay, Indian, and Chinese food for really cheap. We ate dinner there almost every night.
So in about three weeks my dad is joining me on the trip. We are going to go to Chiang Mai and then do the slow boat through Laos, go to Angkor Wat and then down to Bali. I'm not sure what I have planned after that. I'm trying to convince Lindsay Beigle to come join me over here. I would definitely do Thailand all over again, or maybe try somewhere else.
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