Sunday, June 15, 2008

heading home

We are heading out of Siem Reap, Cambodia. It has been more than I could ever have imagined. The temples of Angkor Wat were spectacular. We only saw a small portion because there are so many. The guides we had were able to tell us the best ones to spend our time on. I will not be able to put up pictures until I return to the states. I found out I will be able to move into my apartment on the 17th and have a car on the 18th! Now just the long flight back...about 20 hours and four planes (Siem Reap to Bangkok to Tokyo to Chicago to DC). Its been a wonderful trip and I am so glad I was able to spend it with my mom. More later...

Thursday, June 12, 2008


Taking a break to check out another Temple.


Beer (our awesome guide) and me at a waterfall


Our elephants...Ms. Chandi and Mr. Noon.


On Ms Chandi in Chiang Mai, Thailand


Flying over Bali in the helicopter!
We are heading to Siem Reap, Cambodia tomorrow morning. Chiang Mai has been fabulous. We have done more than imaginable. Some of the highlights.....meeting hill tribes (Mong, Karen, Lisu, and Akah), white water rafting, mountain biking, elephant rides, ox-cart rides, meeting with the witch doctors, meeting wonderful new friends and many other things that escape my mind at this hour of the night. We are exhausted. There are only three more days. Two in Cambodia and then the long trek home. We just mailed a box of stuff we have bought. I will try to upload a picture or two but not sure if it will work. More later of course!

Monday, June 09, 2008

Thailand....

We just finished up our time in Bangkok and Ayathuya. It has been awesome so far. The morning after arriving we took a car up to tour the old capital Ayathuya. It was really beautiful....loads of Buddist and Hindu temples. Some only the remnants due to invaders coming in and destroying them throughout the centuries. The Summer Palace outside of the city looked like something you would find in France. Nothing like what we had been seeing in the rest of our sightseeing in Asia. After that we headed for our long tail boat trip to meet our converted rice barge that would take us down the river from Ayathuya back to Bangkok with a stop overnight on the way. It was just the two of us and another couple from Italy on their honeymoon. The whole trip was one of my favorite parts of our trip thus far. Really awesome. The Thais are so sweet and seem to care deeply for their country. I took tons of pictures of course!
As for the rest of our time in Indonesia, it was nice but not as fabulous as Bali. We were in Yogyakarta after we left Bali, a few hours flight to the west. It was predominantly Muslim and as two women traveling they seemed to think we needed to be "taken care of". Kind of annoying. We had tours of Borobudur the large Buddist Temple and Prambanan the Hindu temple. We were pretty much the only Westerners in the whole place. Everyone was begging for our pictures with them. Both the temples were great but the heat was killer! I never knew you really do need an umbrella in the sunshine! I was actually ready to leave Yogya unlike the other places we had gone. The last straw for me was when the villas we were staying at insisted on waking us up at 4 am with a wake up call when we said we did not want or need one for our 530 am ride to the airport and came back at 430 am to wake us up in person since we didnt' heed the first one. Of course if this is the worst thing that happens the trip is a success. I shouldn't complain. They were trying to help us. Anyhow, I found that my cell phone works here. No idea the roaming charges but it was awesome to call the US so easily! Not sure if it will still work in Chiang Mai where we are heading tomorrow.


View from Borobudur


Me at the Nirvana level of Borobudur


A gold leaf pedicure for the buddha in Ayathuya


Me in Ayathuya


On the long tail boat...


Typical view from our boat


Our Boat


Early morning breakfast pick up for the monks.


Riding in the tuk-tuk in Bangkok

Monday, June 02, 2008

Bali is absolutely beautiful...

We arrived late last night from Kyoto. It was about a 7 hour flight but only one time zone away in the southern hemisphere. The flight felt pretty short relative to the 13 hour flight to Japan. We are staying in the mountains in the north of Bali in Ubud at Ibah Villas. The island reminded me of Grenda a little bit but it is more cared for and established. Everywhere you turn there is a shrine to the gods and incense burning. There are little palm holders with flowers in front of doorways all over the ground. I have accidently stepped on a couple not noticing them. Hope thats not bad karma! The villa we are staying at is breathtaking. We were in total awe at our place. The views of the mountains and rivers are amazing. It is completely secluded. When we arrived we had the hotel clerk guide us on a 5 minute walk by flashlight to our place. The people are very sweet and the merchants are eager to have us purchase their goods. We bought a few things already. The currency is out of control. A millions indonesian rupiah is about a hundred dollars. Hard to keep track of how much your really spending with all the zeros. Tomorrow we take our heliocopter ride around Bali. I can't wait. I hope the weather stays clear! Will try to post pictures later.