Siem Reap, Cambodia

On Monday morning we woke up, left Bangkok and headed to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We took a mini-van with six other passengers, four from Japan and two from England, to the Thailand-Cambodia border. The drive took about 4 hours, with one short break. Once we reached the border we had to stop and fill out papers, and give up our passports for about 20 minutes as we waited for our visas to get processed. Once we had our visas, we headed to immigration. We had to go through Thai immigration before wandering through this small area between the two countries. The five minute walk was filled with people trying to sell things, busy motorbikes and casinos. When we reached the Cambodian immigration point we again had to fill out papers and get our visas checked. When all of this was finished, we had officially entered Cambodia. From there, we were paired up with the British couple and jumped in a taxi. We took the taxi for two hours, from the border to Siem Reap. We were all worried as we approached the city as we had heard that there might be flooding. We were not prepared for what we saw. Some of the small villages along the way were completely flooded. Grown men walked in water up to their mid-chest. The taxi cruised down the road spraying water in all directions. After reaching the city, our fears were not diminished. The British couple was staying at another guest house and they were dropped off first. People at their guest house kept telling us that we could not reach our guest house. They said that the water was past their waists. I was so nervous and feared that we would be without a guest house. Fred was more calm and he convinced me that we should at least check out our guest house (He had received an email from the owner the night before stating that they were find and to not believe others.) Our taxi driver said that he would not take us due to the water levels. Fred called the guest house and we were soon picked up by their tuk tuk. As we drove, we passed a river that had flooded into a park. You could not see where one began and the other ended. As we turned down bumpy and muddy roads, we reached our guest house. To my surprise, and great relief, it was not flooded. We checked into our room and stayed in for the night.



The road to our guest house



Park or river?

On Tuesday we woke up and were determined to explore the city despite the rain. We jumped into a tuk-tuk and headed for the central market. The driver could not bring us directly to the market because of flooding in the area, so we were dropped off a few blocks away. We wadded through streets with water past our knees while it continued to rain. After a few hours, we stopped for coffee to get out of the downpour. We then walked to a temple and back to the guest house.


Fred going to help push a stalled car

On Wednesday we woke up early and headed to Angkor Wat. We bought a one day pass and hired a tuk-tuk driver for the entire day. The temples were all majestic, massive and impressive. As we walked we passed numerous groups of Korean visitors, all decked out in their brightly colored, mis-matched hiking gear. We tried to listen to their tour guides and Fred translated what he could. We saw five of the main temples before we were exhausted and sweating (it was a sunny and humid day). We headed to a restaurant near our guesthouse for some delicious pizza before heading to bed early.













































Today we slept in late, and walked around the city. Again we were lucky, as the weather was beautiful. We sat and planned out a little more for our next leg of the trip, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

We have loved out time in Cambodia and wish that we had planned out more time to explore this country. Everything is gorgeous, cheap and historical. The people are so friendly, happy and helpful. Here are a few interesting things we learned:
1) US dollars=King. Everything is priced in dollars. No one uses Cambodian Reils.
2) There are a lot of Korean people, supermarkets, restaurants and soju in Siem Reap.
3) Even though the city may be flooded, life goes on as usual.
4) Siem Reap feels like a small US suburb but is one of the biggest cities in Cambodia.

Tomorrow afternoon we are off to Vietnam! Lets keep our fingers crossed that no more typhoons head that way!
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Last Days in Thailand-Bangkok

For the past three days we have been exploring Bangkok. On Friday, we took a short one hour flight from Chaing Mai to Bangkok. We quickly boarded the subway and ventured to our guesthouse. After checking in, we went out to explore the area. We stumbled onto the main backpackers street and enjoyed some delicious curry and chicken-basil-chili rice. After dinner, we walked around for a bit then headed back to our guesthouse for an early night.

On Saturday we woke up, had breakfast at the guesthouse, and set off in search of temples. We soon found a tuk-tuk (a small three-wheel, open-air taxi) driver and negotiated a price for him to take us around the city. For 50 baht (around $1.80) he drove us to numerous temples, markets and to the royal palace. We toured the most important temples at a quick pace and had a lot of time to wander around the royal palace. At the palace we had to adjust our wardrobes. I had to put a t-shirt over my tank-top, knee-length dress. Fred had to put on linen pants because shorts were not allowed to be worn inside. Once we were properly dressed, we were ready to enter. The royal palace is magnificent. It consists of numerous ornate temples, shrines, and statues. After a few hours we were tired, sweaty, thirsty and templed-out. We left the royal palace and headed to the train station. We needed to decide how we are going to get to Cambodia. After much deliberation, we decided that we are going to take a bus, not a train. Once we left the station, we headed out for dinner. We each had delicious sandwiches then sat around playing cards and watching soccer. Around 9pm we ventured back to our guesthouse.



View of Bangkok



The Golden Mountain










The Royal Palace



Royal Palace
















This morning we woke up with a short list of must see sites. We headed directly to the river. We walked along the waterfront and came upon a pier that had a ferry to Wat (Temple) Arun. Wat Arun is one of the oldest and most important temples in Bangkok. It is breathtaking. It is made out of porcelain and is painted with beautiful designs. After climbing the steepest stairs in Thailand (this is quite possibly true) we were walking around the temple and overlooking the river. We could even see the royal palace directly across the river. Once we ferried back across the river, we stopped for some Pad Thai and enjoyed the river view. We then headed to a market and enjoyed pineapple, fruit smoothies and tons of new sites. We are now back at the guesthouse, preparing for our long 12 hour journey to Siem Reap, Cambodia. We have had a wonderful time in Thailand for the past 2 weeks. We are not ready to leave this unique place however we are excited for our next adventure!



Wat Arun

















View of the Royal Palace from Wat Arun








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Location:Soi Samsen 3,Bangkok,Thailand

Thai Cooking and Fighting

Yesterday morning we attended one of the many Thai cooking schools in Chiang Mai. We were picked up around nine and started our day at a local market. Our teacher taught us about all kinds of Thai herbs, vegetables, and proteins. We sampled some tropical fruit and traditional snacks, some of which were great while others were unappetizing. When our visit was over we headed back to the kitchen to prepare six different courses.



The local market



Our snacks

Our first course was Phad Thai. Our instructor quickly explained how to prepare all of the produce and other components, but other workers had already done most of the work for us. After a few of our own chops and cuts we headed out to the woks to cook. We watched the instructor cook his own meal, then we followed right after. The woks were a bit hot so the Phad Thai turned out well, but was a little crispy.


Yum! Phad Thai

The same process followed for our next five dishes. We learned out to make and wrap spring rolls, then made chicken coconut soup, green curry with chicken, fried bananas, and green curry paste. It was great to eat each course that we prepared and we had a lot of fun making them. Overall, our experience was a success. Maybe we can show you what we learned when get back.






Chicken coconut soup



Grinding some curry paste



Green curry with chicken

After the cooking course we relaxed for a few hours before heading to Muay Thai event in town. We met up with our travel buddies Aldo and Gabriela at the stadium and watched the night's fights. It was interesting to see how dedicated the fighters were and how the event is more than just a fight to those involved. We saw action-packed fights before we said goodbye to our friends and headed back to the guest house.







Today we woke up for, sadly, our last day in Chiang Mai. We had a massive breakfast of banana pancakes, fruit and yogurt, and homemade peanut butter toast. After gorging ourselves we explored the city before relaxing with massages, shakes and cards. This evening we picked up a couple of suits that I ordered and had a couple beers at a local pub. Tomorrow we have an early afternoon flight to Bangkok where we will enter chaos and excitement.

Location:Moon Mueang Soi 1,Mueang Chiang Mai,Thailand

Leaving Phuket, Arriving in Chiang Mai

Our last few days in Phuket were spent laying by the pool, eating delicious dinners and relaxing. We woke up each morning and had breakfast at the hotel while we planned out the day. However, on Sunday morning, our second to last day, we both got food poisoning. We think we got it from the cream we put in our coffee as it was sitting out warm. We spent all of Sunday in the room, trying to heal before our flight at 10am on Monday. On Monday was woke up and felt about 60%. After a long hour drive we arrived at the airport for our two hour flight to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. Once we arrived, we jumped into a taxi and went to our guesthouse. Our guesthouse is inside the old wall of the city and is very near to many of Chiang Mai's temples, restaurants and other sites. We were still not feeling well, so we went for a quick late lunch before relaxing all night.



Dinner in Phuket



Delicious Pad Thai

Today we felt much better and decided to explore the city. We stopped at a nice restaurant for some breakfast and then set off in search of Thai temples. As we explored, we found three gorgeous temples. All were similar in design, however they each had their own unique features such as a crystal Buddha. After our adventure in the city, we stopped for an hour long massage. Being relaxed and calmed, we then headed for a tailor that was recommended to us by two different people. We have learned that Thai people, especially in non-tourist areas, are very warm and friendly. Numerous people have pointed out things on our map, helped us plan our routes, and offered us their advice. After the tailor, we headed to Chiang Mai's Night Bazaar. We walked around and browsed the shops before having some dinner. Now we are relaxing in our room as it is pouring rain. Tomorrow we are taking a Thai cooking course. We are excited to learn how to make these delicious foods and cook them once we return to Minnesota!



Watchediluang Varavharn


















Bhuridatto Viharn


The crystal Buddha


Our first Tuk-Tuk ride




The old wall




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