Cambodia

Unfortunately, I have the bad luck of leaving my memory card and usb adapter everywhere I plug it into an internet cafe (like last year in Rome.) So, right now I can't upload any photos.

Spent one day in Kuala Lumpor, Malaysia. Very clean. Saw the Petronas towers (were the tallest in the world until a few years ago.) Also saw the nicest mall I've ever seen and visited the banana republic.

CAMBODIA---was amazing. Very expensive. Had to buy a visa to come in and pay a $25 tax to leave the country. We had no concrete plans when we got there and just relied on everyone to take us around. They use the US dollar. Spent two days trekking around the temples of Angkor. Amazing. It was terribly hot. We met a driver (he rides a scooter and pulls us in a cart) named Aun. Very nice man. He was with us for two full days, drove us everywhere and waited for us at every stop. Cost $37 for both days, inluding a big tip and taking us to the aiport. It was a steal of a deal.

Woke up at 4:30, saw the sun rise over AngkorWatt. Had a terrible breakfast.

AUn drove us (max about 30 mph) out to a small village over bumping dirt roads. Took us an hour to get to the village. Then Rob and I got on the back of scooters driven by young guys that looked about 14. They drove us over bumpier and mudder dirt roads where cars could never have made it. We bounced for 30 min (i've got blisters in seven places on both hands from gripping the bike so hard as to not be bucked off.) Arrived at a small canal, got in a boat and went 30 more minutes until we arrived at a floating village. Would have been floating at any other time of the year, but we came when it was dry. Looked exactly like a set from Water World. Houses all up 20-30 feet on stilts. Walked through the village, bombarded with children with no shoes and shirts, asking us to buy notebooks and pencils for their school. I think we were getting scammed, but we couldn't resist.

Everyone in Cambodia lives in bamboo huts, kids have no shoes, no shirts, lots of bicycles, some scooters with atleast a family of 3-4 on each one. dirt roads, even in the big city. No seven elvens (they are everywhere in thailand). Children selling things everywhere.

We were at an outdoor market and a VERY small boy with no shirt and shoes came and held my hand. Drug me to the store and pointed at bottles of formula. I don't believe in supporting parents who force their children to peddle and work the streets, but I could not resist these kids. I had to leave Cambodia because I literally was buying everything they sold and giving away my money. Kids were everywhere.

Flew back to Malaysia for a day.

THen to Southern Thailand. For the first time we are staying in nice places. Staying tonight on a n island 30 km off the coast of Thailand called Ko Phi Phi. Bungalow with glass walls that has a full panoramic view of the bay and ocean. Pool that looks like it falls off a cliff into the sea. Amazing. Breathtaking. $45 a night. That is way up from the usual $8-20 we've been paying.

Coca light is NOT the same as diet coke, by the way.

Meeting tons of tourists, mostly European. Lots of people backpacking for 6 months to a year. Yikes!

Trekking to a Hill Tribe in Northern Thailand

Well, I am sore all over, but I had a fabulous time on my first trekking adventure. We flew from Bangkok to a small town in Northern Thailand called Chiang Rai (Our 1.5 hour flight, with taxes and fees, was only $9.75 US dollars . . . and it was actually really nice.) We landed and took a taxi into the town to a hostel to set up a trekking trip.

Our guide, Jong, met us at the hostel and we started on our adventure. We took an hour long tail boat ride up the Mae Kok river (spectacular views) to an elephant camp. Here we rode elephants around the small village and through the river. Afterwards they fed us a great Thai lunch while all of the men watched Moi Thai boxing on a small TV in the corner.

After lunch we crossed the river and the three of us began our trek. I have never been backpacking at all, so this was a new experience for me. We walked for about three hours through the mountain hills. Most of the first two hours we were walking through rice fields. After that we started into the jungle and up the mountains. We followed a stream for a couple of hours to a small waterfall. Mostquitos were everywhere, but it was totally worth it. Tall, tall trees and huge arches of bamboo surrounded us. Jong had his machete out the whole time, hacking our way through the jungle. He took good care of us. Warned us not to touch the big green leaves, because that is where the poisonous green snakes wait to bite you.

After resting at the waterfall we climbed for another hour until we arrived at the Lahoo hill tribe village. It sat on the top of one of the mountains. We came to a hut and rested on the porch. The tribe has about 20 families and 100 people total living there. Jong made us dinner (three Thai dishes) and then two small tribeswomen pounded on my body to get the knots out.

We slept in huts on mattresses on the floor, but we had big mosquito nets, so that wasn't a problem.

The next morning we left the village and continued on our trek. We trekked for a few hours, occassionally passing other villages. We stopped at one for lunch and all three of us took an hour nap on a open porch on bamboo mats. Then we continued on.

An hour later we came to a beautiful waterfall. I have never sweat so much in my entire life, so It was better than christmas morning to jump in the water. We were the only people around, and it was fantastic. perfect temperature.

After the waterfall we continued trekking, passing a few more villages and then headed down the mountain. In all we trekked about 20 km and had not major injuries or scares. Jong was a great guide, hacked us through in safety and even made us each cups out of bamboo.

Now my body is sooooooooooooooooo tired, but I feel great.

Around Town . . .

We stumbled upon a group of monks praying in a temple. They let us go into the large room and kneel next to them while they chanted. It was very cool, and there were no other tourists around.


Lots and lots of dried fish for sale. Yuck.















To enter into the main temple they made Rob (and all other guys in shorts) borrow pants to show respect. Very cool pants.

Bangkok

Beautiful Thailand! We spent all day yesterday walking around the old city, seeing the grand palace as well as numerous temples.

We also took a boat ride through the canals of the city where we saw locals paddling along.

















The bathrooms are super small with no separate shower, just a shower head. So, if you are in a hurry, you could actually use the bathroom and shower at the same time.

It is very hot and humid. But, usually all indoor places have good AC.

To Thailand

Last month I planned a cruise for 80 friends and friends of friends. One of those friends of friends was Rob Clarke. Pretty much the first time we met we decided that we needed to backpack together. One day while sitting on the deck of the ship I turned to him and said, "Rob, I really think we should go to Thailand." A little over a month later, here we are!

2 hour flight SLC--LAX
14.5 hour flight LAX--Taipei
4 hour flight Taipei to Bangkok, arriving 1:10 am