Sunrise (Angkor Wat), Sunset (Phnom Bakheng) quickly goes the days

The evening of the 24th we arrived at Siem Reap's airport. The weather was hot and humid but we were able to see a gorgous sunset in our Tuk-Tuk. We were disappointed to learn our hotel was not able to arrange a guide for us the next day, but we did secure a driver willing to take us to Angkor Wat at 4:45am to see the sunrise! There is an excellent system in place that allows you to pay one rate to see all the local temples. We were also impressed with the number and cleanliness of the public bathroom arranged between temples.

We spent the majority of the day being driven around to various temples. Each with it's own style. Angkor Wat is huge and the steps to get to the top level are so steep we went up on all fours. Ta Prohm (where Tomb Raiders II and Two Brothers was filmed) has not been restored and trees and roots are interwined with the ruins. Ta Keo was small and pyramid-like but few crowds and again a steep climb. Preah Khan was a maze and tons of tourists. Neak Pean is a small temple in the middle of a manmade lake with four smaller lakes surrounding it. Ta Som has a great gate with four faces on it.

After all of that, it was only 11:30 and we were tired and hungry so we headed into town. We had a great local lunch topped off with fresh lime sorbet. We spent the middle of the afternoon napping then headed to Phnom Bakheng (4:30pm) for sunset. It was a zoo! People everywhere and only one steep staircase to climb up and down. It was worth fighting the crowds as we saw Angkor Wat from a distance and the sunset was Brilliant!!! We both commented it is not often we watched the sunrise and sunset in the same day. The day was concluded with a few beverages and another fabulous Khmer (Cambodian) meal.

Today we slept in, changed hotels then rented bikes and head to see some additional temples. The major of the day was spent in Angkor Thom. We biked around 15 miles and although exhausted, filthy and famished it was a terrific way to spend a day visiting temples and enjoying the Cambodian countryside. For those of you who saw the pencil stash for the trip, you will be happy to know it brought many smiles to the kids at the temples.

We found Cambodian people to be friendly with a good sense of humor. The food has been very good also. The countryside is amazing and we are definitely interested in seeing more of this mysterious country. Another interesting fact is that the US dollar is the form of currency preferred. When we exchanged traveller's checks we received USD. Shocking!!

Sittin' in Halong Bay watching the tide roll away

Hi All! As we write this, you are probably enjoying your Thanksgiving dinner. Please know we are thinking of you here in Vietnam!

We returned to Hanoi this afternoon from three days in Halong Bay (3 hours drive east). The bay is amazing with thousands of miles of huge limestone formations that create tons of little islands. The water is a light aqua marine color and warmer than the air.

The "cruise" started with a lavish lunch including 9 courses some of which were prawns, crab, stirfry and fruit. Our room was a nice size for a boat: meaning there was room for a bed, sidetable, our two bags and we could still get in and out of it. And the all important question, it HAD a hot, fresh water shower. We spent a little over an hour kayaking to a little island lookout, around some islands and through a cave. You could see the true size and spendor of the rocks while kayaking beside them. At night we had a terrible storm, so violent that we hit the boat anchored to our left three times! Craziness!

The following day was a bit disappointing as we took a walk in a cave in the morning, had to eat at 11:00 AM then sit in dock most of the day while other guests disembarked and new people came onboard. We did spend 1 and 1/2 hours kayaking and swimming in a gorgeous area of the bay later in the afternoon. The water here was so clear we could see the reefs and shell fish living below. Nate decided the only way he wanted to swim was to jump from the second story roof of the boat (see attached picture).

Overall, the surroundings were stunning and the food excellent. But we are glad to be on land again!!

GOOOOD Morning Vietnam

For Vietnam information please scroll down and it is located after the "It's getting Hot in Here" post.

It's Getting Hot in Here

We flew back to Bangkok (1hr) from Chiang Mai and found our hotel, Suk 11, quite easily. It is a nice location a block from the BTS (above ground Metro system) and close to good restaurants and shopping. To get to our room you have to walk down a corrider created to look like a canal with mirrors and wooden walkways. Very Creative!

We had a delicious lunch at a Crepe & Co restaurant near the hotel. Nate had a pizza and chocolate, nut and vanilla ice cream crepe for dessert and Kristy devoured a fondue and for dessert a nutella crepe. Great change from three weeks of Asian fare.

The objective for the day was to get our visas back from the Cambodian Embassy after five and buy tickets to the Muay Thai match. We did with first with no problems although we had to fend off some "creepers", literally people who think they are above lines, order or the system. Then we sat in Lumpini Park and had a cocktail while asking trivia questions to each other about our trip. Nate did end up purchasing ring side or Foreigner tickets, but at $60 USD Kristy was out for the count. We had dinner at the night bazaar and discovered Chang (elephant in Thai) was the favorite Thai beer of the group.

The following day after speaking to all four parents, we sweat nearly 2 kilos at the Chatuchak weekend Market. The market is covered (15,000 stalls) but stalls are packed on top of each other, most spilling into the two foot walkway, which is packed shoulder to shoulder with shoppers. The bargaining is hard here and most did not change the price dramically and the walkaway method didn't work as well here. (Observation either not as desparate or not as persistant.) We bought a few items then took a break for some yummy curry and chicken stir-fry washed down with fresh orange juice! We lasted another hour or so before retreating to our a/c room for a nap. That night we painted the town red by visting the lavish Oriental Hotel (beautiful, tons of flowers and friendly concierge) then went to the state tower (64th floor bar). We were turned away much to the dismay of Nate for his open toed shoes although people with jeans and sneakers were allowed in, you try to make sense of it. After a short "timeout" in the lobby we were walking back to the metro when we passed a shoe store. Not sure if it was spite or a real interest in the view, but we bought $6 black dress shoes and returned to the bar where we bought two overpriced drinks, saw a great view and ran inside right before a storm arrived. The evening was capped with a southwestern dinner (Burger and enchiladas). Brilliant!!

We will be back to Thailand to visit the beach at the end of the month, but have enjoyed the Thai people, culture and their hospitality. If only the weather didn't remind us so much of Corpus in the summer.

Gooooooood Morning Vietnam

We arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam the same day President Bush was leaving. We were sorry to miss him!

With only a day and a half in Hanoi before heading to Halong Bay, we headed to Hoa Lo Prison or Hanoi Hilton as it was referred to by the American soldiers who were inprisoned there during the Vietnam War (if from USA) or American War (if from Vietnam). Although only a small portion of the orginal buildings remain (2/3 has been torn down for apartments), it was fascinating to see how it was used by the French to imprison Vietnamese then used by the Vietnamese for the American Pilots shot down in Hanoi. They have many pictures portraying a camp like atmosphere at the prison. They also display the uniform of Senator John McCain that he wore when he arrived at the prison. We were shocked the prison is RIGHT in the middle of Hanoi. We also walked around the Hoan Kiem Lake and tried to take the city living.

Today we were out of luck because most museums etc were closed as it is Monday. So we saw the Ho Chi Minh Museum from the outside, his Mausoleum, the Palace, a few monuments. The most interesting sights were the "carcasses" or remains of B52's that were shot in the Hanoi area. We stumbled upon a bonsai garden/military memorabilia area where they had large pieces from American B52's, artiallary used, missile launch-pad amoung others. We also walked through the alleys to see the remains of a B52 in a tiny lake in the middle of a neighborhood (see picture). They just left it where it landed and it is very eerie and sad to think the war and how many lives it disrupted and ended.

We had a great lunch at, Seasons of Hanoi, then walked to the largest market in Hanoi. A well deserved nap followed during the heat of the day.

Observations-
Hanoi is an excellent walking city (abundant road signs and everything seems close). We were able to walk to almost everything we saw. English has not proven to be a problem. The Dong is about 16,000 to 1 USD which is also fun to convert. There are bikes and motorcycles everywhere (see pictures). We are guessing they outnumber cars 10 to 1. The roads seemed to have no rules with lots of stopping and weaving at intersections. Although the temperatures are around mid 80's the humity is killer. The people seem not to notice you unless they ask if you want a "Moto" ride. A ton of women park themselves on the sidewalk all day selling all sorts of fruits, veggies (see pictures) and prepared foods although the "health standards" on the street seem to be low. Compared to the only other communist country we have visited, China, this country is much more open to capitalism and western influence.








Kristy's peaceful demonstration at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Born to be Wild Pics

LOOOOOOOOOOK OUT!!!!!

















Rice Patty workers in Thailand.















Our Elephant ride in Chiang Mai

You would Thai too Pics

Our new Thai friends














A 46m Gold Reclining Buddha in Wat Pho




















Nate just fitting in.

Japan Pictures

Sunday dress outside a Temple in Tokyo.
Eikan-ji Temple in Kyoto.

Born to be Wild....

One would think arriving in Chang Mai after 14 hours in a noisy, dirty train with little sleep would be the worst part of your day, but we were misstaken. We quickly settled into the hostel and walked to town. On the way, we saw motorcycles for rent. What a great idea, renting a motorcycle in a foreign country when you have never driven a motorcycle and will be driving on the other side of the road. After one loop in the parking lot we were on our way. The first hour was great, we stopped for lunch, visited a Wat (Buddest temple), then decided to go up a mountain with switchbacks to see another Wat. The scenery is great, the wind blowing on us, great views of the city all is well under Nate popped a wheelie going around asteep uphill curve. Kristy has the rash decision to jumped off into the road to avoid the raveen or falling backwards off the bike! Luckily, Nate stopped the bike from falling with his left thigh (That's going to leave a mark) and the bike was unharmed. Kristy ended up with some road rash on her knee and elbow (just a flesh wound) and Nate has a nice bruise on his thigh. A sweet Thai man saw Kristy walking to find a restroom at the Wat and offered his assistance. The only English spoken was motorcycle but he cleaned and bandaged her wounds free of charge! The Wat was very nice with a great view overlooking Chang Mai. The boyscout he is Nate was prepared with a well stocked 1st aid kit and has been able to practice his wound care even on vacation.

Yesterday we had a day trip. It began with some trekking (4 km) up a mountain to a native village. The trek was more interesting than the village. We then went for an elephant ride, but were unable to enjoy it as much as anticipated after recently seeing the elephants in their natural habitat. The highlight of the day was a bamboo raft down a river. Nate was asked to be a driver which meant standig on the 10 bamboo poles ties together with some rubber and guide with a with the long, skinny bamboo pole.

This morning was the first day that Nate and Kristy have been separated on this trip. Nate awoke at 5:15 to attend his first Muay Thai boxing training session. After a hike in the jungle, jumping rope, learning the basics, hitting the bag and practicing combinations and defenses with the trainer, Nate realized he would not soon be entering the ring. It was a great but very exhausting. Kristy had a full day Thai cooking class. Which began with a trip to the local food market to learn and buy ingredients, followed by demostration and hands-on instruction wihc lead to her making nad eating six typical Thai dishes.

The most difficult decisions the last two days has been where to eat dinner and what type of massage to get! Nate has had 3 massaged in the last 3 days and Kristy has enjoyed 2 treatments. The 1 hr massages cost about $6. Gotta love this country, even if the Baht (thai currency) has just hit it's all time high against the US dollar (36.49 to 1 USD). We have both enjoyed the food tremendously and look forward to more in Southeast Asia.

You would Thai too if it happened to you

We are using the time before we catch the overnight train to Chaing Mai. Last night we arrived arund 11:30 then whipped through customs and immigration only to have a cab driver who could not A) Stay awake (he had the air going, wiping his face, music loud) B) Find the hostel (He was given the address in Thai, called the hotel, got lost & still dropped us off at the wrong hotel. Luckily we could walk there, but we were not impressed.

Today we needed to secure Cambodian visas, get overnight train tickets from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and do some touring. As luck would have it there is a volunteer program here that matches students with tourists to help them get around the city. The skeptical Americans asked how much it would cost, but were told it is volunteer and all we need to do is tell them about USA and they will tell us about Thailand.

What an excellent way to see Bangkok and accomplish what we needed to in one day. Two 20 somethings took us on the bus, BTS (above ground metro), taxi and boat from the Cambodian Embassy, to train station, to lunch and even a few temples and the Grand Palace.
We learned:

• the monarchary- Every Monday people wear Yellow in honor of the King. He has reigned for 61 years (longest in the world).
• Thai food - Flavorful, cheap, wide variety
• language - "Nate don't talk thai, Nate don't talk Thai real good." Although English is on signs, the accent is hard to understand and Thai is very hard to speak.

We had a fabulous lunch and Kristy is sure to have a Thai tea EVERYDAY we are here. The Baht is currently 36 to the dollar and temps are around low 90's here. It was a fabulous way to spend our first day in Thailand.

Tonight we are on the overnight train in the 2nd class sleeper with 38 new friends for 14 hours. Should be interesting.

We're halfway there, whoa living on a prayer

Our trip is now half way over and the family keeps on coming...

Japan is GREAT; the people, the systems, everything except the price is fabulous. We met Katie at the airport and had no prblems taking the train right to our hotel. Katie had booked a nice hotel for our 1st night in Japan and we all enjoyed tea and biscotti (Thanks BAM) in our robes while discussing what we wanted to see in Tokyo and finding a place for dinner.

Our first dinner was a short walk from our hotel in a "noodle" restaurant. Nate and Katie tried sake and we learned A) There is a difference in good and bad sake B) Even good sake is bad.
We went to bed early so we could get to the Tsukiji (Fish) Market. It was unbelievable the massive amount (size and number) of fish we saw. The place was hopping with push carts, motorized carts, shoppers and tourists. We also saw the Imperial Palace Gardens; played at the Sony Bldg (Nate got to play Playstation 3 before it was released to the public!); ate at Mitsukosui (a dept. store) where food is art and everything is delicious. It is worth visiting for the free samples on the basement levels!

In the afternoon, we took the bullet train from Tokyo to Kyoto (525 km in 2.5 hrs). We arrived in their modern train station that has a theatre, wonderful restaurants, rooftop garden and everything else you would think a train station would have. Another short walk to the hostel (Tour Club) and we discovered what real Japanese accomadations look like. Our room had enough space for 3 single mats on the floor and the bathroom was about 4X4. We were exhausted so we walked to Lawsons (a mini mart) to purchase noodles for dinner. This is also when we discovered tasty cocktails in the flavors of apple, lemon, grapefruit & grape.

The following day our #1 mission was to find Geisha. We were walking around Gion for about 10 minutes when we saw a crowd and knew we had stumpled upon them. The crowd was very silent execpt for the click, click of cameras. We saw two younger Geisha with viberant Komomos, white skin, adorable sandles and ornate hair decorations. Later the same day we saw two older Geisha crossing the street and at night we saw a few going to work. They are so delicant and fun to watch.

Kyoto is known for temples, gardens and Japanese history, since it was one of a few places not destroyed in WWII. We visited the Nijo Castle, Ryoan-ji Temple (Famous for its Zen Garden), Nanzen-ji Temple, Eikan-do Temple and a Shrine. All very different and beautiful in there own way. The weather in Kyoto was wonderful with sun and temps in the 70's. We could have spent much more than the two days seeing more of Kyoto and the surrounding cities. Katie spent an overnight at a Buddest Temple called Rengoin about two hours from Kyoto.

From Kyoto we went to Hakone to see Mt. Fuji. Unfortunately, it rained and we could not see anything. We did get to experience a natural bath house. Interesting but glad to not have to use it everyday.

Back in Tokyo for our last day and a half. We went window shopping, to Senso-ji temple, out for a nice lunch before we left from the airport. Nate and Kristy on to Bangkok and Katie to Denver.

Japan has been wonderful! It is the top country that we have visited for friendly people and effecient systems. Many people have come up to us when we are looking at a map and ask if they may help, an older man gave us his photos of Geisha because he "gets to see them all the time", a women walked four blocks in the rain out of her way yesterday to show us where our hostel was and the list goes on and on! Systems rule here. There is a proper way to exit the metro, walk on the street (if you do not have the green man no one walks even if there are no cars coming.), throw out trash (different containers for everything), board a train (arrows show which way the line should form). Brilliant!!!! The people are so curious and pleasant! Japan receives two thumbs up from Kristy, Katie and Nate!

Japan Pictures

Nate and Kristy at a Shrine in Kyoto
Geisha spotting in Kyoto


Katie, Kristy and Nate in Japanese garb.
Fish Market in Tokyo.

Goodness, Gracious, Great Wall of China

You could not wipe the smiles off our faces as we arrived in Shanghai, China. We were so glad to be out of India. That was short lived though after an hour bus ride into the city we were turned down by 4 taxi drivers b/c we lacked the chinese address to our hostel. Everything is written in Chinese characters and English Alphabet. Finally, 80 minutes of walking around with our packs on we found the Captain's Hostel. It was a great location close to the Bund and had a rooftop bar which is where we recouped from the walk.

We were so pleased with the sights, smells and systems in place in Shanghai. The city is so modern. One aspect that surprised us was TV's everywhere (Buses, cabs, metro and boats floating down the Yangtse river) all with advertisements. We can expect to see that in the US's future.

We visited a fabulous Urban Development Museum which had models of the entire city, a 360 degree movie screen and plans for an entire pollution-free suburb! We also experienced our first Buddest Temple, the Yuyuan Gardens (where we saw the Pres. of Ghana), a Bazaar and saw Shanghai Acrobats perform. The acrobats were amazing with their strength and flexiblity!

We took two overnight trains in China. The first to Xi'an (which we finally learned how to pronounce Chian) which took 16 hours and the second from Xi'an to Beijing (12hours). Because we only had 10 hours in Xi'an we broke down and took a tour so that we would be able to see everything we wanted to see. As it turns out, they took us to a random "store" where Nate and I were laughing outloud as a chinese lady gave us the fastest tour ever in broken English. Then to some museum and an ancient bath house then FINALLY to the Terra Cotta Warriors. The Warriors were unbelievable over 6,000 individuals & horses in one of the four areas. They all have different expressions and positions. Each was painted but they has faded now and had weapons, horses and even chariots. The oddest part is that it was buried on purpose.

We arrived into Beijing at 6:00 in the morning and proceeded to take the same course to the hostel in Beijing as we took in Shanghai (another hour walking around with our packs on). Beijing was having a huge African-China summit which was interesting because that is the only thing mentioned on the news. It was wild to have no outside influence for media. We were not able to check our blog, the US state gov. travel advisory website or get any other news besides what is happening in China. Beijing is also gearing up for the Olypimcs and there is construction and renovations everywhere. The mascots for the Olymics are adorable and they were everywhere. We visited Tiananmen Square (soldiers everywhere and not much to see), Forbidden City (Huge, crowded, nice gardens), Summer Palace (over-rated) and the highlight for us was the Great Wall.

We took a day tour to Jinshanling (3 hours by bus) to hike for 10 kilometers (2 hours 45 minutes) to Simatai all along the great wall. It was breath-taking in more than one way! The wall is all up and down on ancient uneven rocks. No one was injuried but Kristy fell and both were quite sore for days after the hike. It was so peaceful and beautiful along the wall. I cannot imagine how anyone could appreciate the wall without walking part of it!

The food was excellent. We have loved all the noddle dishes and chicken/veggie options. The teas are wonderful and necessary as the Temp. in Beijing hovered in the low 50's. The Chinese Yen was 7.77 to the dollar.

Few observations of China:
- Barter - You can barter for everything. Nate got our laundry bill cut in half by bartering.
- Spitting - We believe spitting is not only encouraged it is taught in schools. I have never seen/heard so many people spit.
- Toliets - Hold your nose and bring your own paper.
- Travel Note - Always, Always have the address of your hotel written in Chinese for the taxi drivers to understand.
- Pushing - Accepted form of getting from point A to point B.
- English - Gets you no where in China
- Eating - Chop sticks are the ONLY utensil here

China is a great place to visit and 7 days in definitely not enough to see all it has to offer. We would love to return some day to see more of the countryside.

We are writing from Japan as we were unable to open this website while in China. Thanks to everyone who is posted on the blog. We love hearing from everyone and think of you often!

China pictures

The Bund in Shanghai, day and night
Walking on the Great Wall


The Forbidden City near Tianamen Square at night.


Kristy meditating in a rock garden.
The Terracotta Soldiers

Hakuna Matata Pictures Cont.