Jan 3, 2008 - Siem Reap, Cambodia

Well, here we are in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This is the first stop of many during our trip through Asia. Siem Reap is our base location to tour the Temples of Angkor Wat. The city itself is very small, but lots of markets, bars, and restaurants. We are staying in a nice hotel outside of town... Little bunglaows. Cute, but lots of bugs!! Good thing we are taking our malaria pills! We are with Michelle's family for this part of our trip.. Spending time eating, getting cheap massages, and sightseeing. So far, we spent the day shopping in the...

Dec 29, 2007 - Angkor What??

We finally left the beach!! After two weeks of living like sloths on the beach something had to be done!! So, we headed north to the town of Siem Reap. There is not much to be seen in Siem. It is a cool enough town, but it is a little more touristy than the rest of Cambodia. It is actually even more touristy than Phnom Phen. The main reason anyone comes to Siem Reap is to go to the infamous temples of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the world's largest religious building ever built. The Temples were built 2000 years ago, and they look like they...

Dec 26, 2007 - Cambodia - Angkor Wat

We spent two long and hot days trekking our way through Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom in Cambodia. The first is an extensive temple and the second the town surrounding the temple. These ruins are from the early 1400's, so only the stone survived...the rest which was made of wood or any valuable materials has deteriorated or been stolen over the years. It's hard to tell just how huge this place is when you see the pictures, but it truly did take us two days to explore and we were just scratching the surface! Not to mention, we had a driver...

Dec 16, 2007 - Siem Reap - My B-day

HI! I found the caption option for photos, so hopefully they'll make some sense. On Dec. 14, we went for a day trip to Damnoen Sadwak to see the floating market. It was a WHOLE lot more touristy than I had anticipated, but it was fun - there's one more thing to check off as "Done". And it was great to get away from the stiffling heat of Bangkok for the day. As of Dec. 14th we've successfully "been there - done that" for all the things we wanted to accomplish in Bangkok and it was time to leave. So, as smart people we planned for an early...

Dec 13, 2007 - Siem Reap

We arrived in Siem Reap about 6pm and could immediately feel the heat and smell the aroma of a warm country. The glowing sunset and the decoration of the airport grounds, which was suggestive of the style of the Angkorian temples, gave us a great first impression of Cambodia as our tuk-tuk driver took us to our guesthouse. Apparently, only a few years ago Siem Reap was just a small town but as Cambodia has become increasingly safe to visit, the town has rapidly developed as tourists flock to see the temples of Angkor. Siem Reap town itself...

Dec 8, 2007 - Siem Reap, Cambodia

We took a morning flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia on the 7th. The day was spent visiting part of the vast complex of temples that are Angkor Wat. The temple complex covers 37 square miles and requires several days to thoroughly explore. It's a treasure trove of Buddhism, Hinduism, architecture, and Khmer history. Our local guide is encyclopedic, if a bit officious. He was one of the first guides to take the UN envoys around after Pol Pot and the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge. Much of the temple complex was built in the 12th century under...

Nov 24, 2007 - Siem Reap back to Bangkok, Thailand

I was supposed to be on an early morning flight so I could spend 14 hours in Bangkok before my flight home, but I'm a little tired and hadn't gotten to see much of Siem Reap itself. Plus there is a festival going on tonight in Bangkok that will make it wall to wall people, so I decided to change my flight to tonight, and kill some time in the BKK airport rather than fighting the traffic and crowds in Bangkok. I wandered down to the markets with Pam, Terry, Lorraine & Phil, and met up with them for a nice lunch at the Red Piano. We managed...

Nov 24, 2007 - The journey so far

Hey everyone. So it has all begun. We're currently sitting in our hostel in Siem Reap Cambodia having just spent 8 hours doing 'the cultural thing' and exploring the ancient temples of Angkor Wat. All is well with us both despite some crazy local tuk-tuk driving. Bangkok was as crowded and bustling as we thought it would be but really enjoyed the 2 days we spent there. Visited the zoo, Jim Thompson's Silk house and of course drunk ate and shopped our way across the city using every imaginable method of transport. Highlight was definately...

Nov 23, 2007 - Siem Reap, Cambodia - Day 2

OMG 4am is REALLY early!! I was terrified of oversleeping, but we managed to get ourselves up, showered and ready by 4:45 as required. We marched in the dark through Angkor Wat (only a few people had the sense to bring flashlights), to sit on the library steps and have coffee/tea while waiting for the sunrise. Unfortunately this proved to be much like the morning in Halong Bay, where the sky brightened but there was no actual sun to be seen. Terry and A-Lann did have us positioned in a choice photo spot so that we could catch the reflection...

Nov 22, 2007 - Siem Reap (Cambodia)

On the 20th mom and I took off for Cambodia. Cambodia is a beautiful country, similar to Vietnam, however the people are much different. Even thought Vietnam is known as a communistic country, it is really only communist in the North. The South is pretty much run in a capitalist way and the government allows it because it is mainly because of tourist accommodations, therefore bringing in money to the country. The people were happy, friendly, excited to see foreigners (especially english speaking), and never really begged for money....

Nov 17, 2007 - Siem Reap

As you can imagine, I was not up particularly early this morning, which was OK, as my tour guide was not due to pick me up til 2pm. Spent the morning doing the rest of my unpacking, changing money, and generally recovering from the journey, before a gorgeous meal in the restaurant. Then, the first tour. I was picked up by my guide, Som Ra, and the same driver who picked me up from the airport last night, whose name I didn't quite catch, and taken off in air-conditioned comfort to the World Heritage site of Angkor Wat. (By the way, the road...

Nov 9, 2007 - More From Angkor Wat

Hello Again! Sorry to drop and run on the last entry but our group was gathering in the lobby for our next tour and I had to join them. To continue from where I left off...Upon arrival in Seim Reap, we were taken to our hotel and were given an update about what we would be doing while visiting Angkor Wat. We had about one hour in our room to rest and then met back in the lobby to go on a bus ride to a shrine and to get oriented in the city of Seim Reap. Back to the room to rest for about 1 1/2 hours and then off to dinner and a Cultural...