Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

After Melaka, we headed up to Kuala Lumpur as we were scheduled to fly from there to Sydney a few days later. Kuala Lumpur really surprised me…it was very clean and there was so much new construction and new buildings. Everything is kind of over the top…HUGE malls are located just blocks away from each other and you can find every chain store you have ever been to in your life…High end, mid-range, European, American…it was great. Too bad we were too poor to buy anything.

We did hang out at the mall though and ate at Carl’s Junior (so nice to have bad American fast food after nothing but Asian food for 5 weeks), we went and saw Couples Retreat at their gigantic theatre, bought vanilla iced blendeds at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (my favorite thing about KL!), and visited their over the top Christmas display at the mall. This was the first time we saw anything Christmas throughout all of South East Asia and it was really fun…in super hot KL they had a whole section of the mall that was a winter wonderland with real falling snow!They had HUGE Christmas trees, fully decorated, Santa in his sleigh with his reindeer flying through the sky, elves, everything Christmas you could ever imagine…it was better than how Will Ferrell decorated the mall in Elf; it was crazy.

We didn't just hang out at the mall while we were there, although we did go there twice...it was just too cool. Other than that, we visited their huge street markets, went to the night bazaar at Little India, walked through China Town and ate the last of our authentic South East Asian food.

(the famous Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur)

(the night market with the KL towers in the background)

(nathan enjoying an iced blended in the winter wonderland at the mall)

Malaysia: Cameron Highlands and Melaka

After a long day of travel on boats, in vans, and across borders, we finally made it into Malaysia. Our first stop was Penang (because that is the furthest we could get in one day). Unfortunately, we only had one evening there because of issues with buses, so we didn't get to explore it during the day as we would have liked. The next morning we made our way to Tanah Rata in the beautiful Cameron Highlands of Central Malaysia - another LONG day of travelling and crappy buses made better only by the next Twilight novel (#3, the one i had lost)...I bought a counterfeit copy of it in Vietnam.

The main draw of this tiny town is the tea plantations that cover the hillsides. One of our books said that it looks like velvety green corduroy covering the hillsides, and it does. It is stunning. One of the days we were there, we bussed and hiked up into the hillside to go to one of the tea plantations for a tour. It was a beautiful hike and we drank (and bought) some yummy tea. The town is also known for its fresh fruit and vegetables, so we visited a strawberry farm and bought fresh strawberries and homemade strawberry ice cream.

Other than that we just mulled around town, and ate lots of local food (there is an infusion in Malaysia of Indian, Chinese, and South East Asian cuisine). We watched as our hostel owner turned up the tunes and danced to an entire song - like really got down - next to his tiny radio near the computer we were using. At one point, we thought we were going to die when out of nowhere, a fighter jet came screaming over the tiny town...truly thought this was one of my last moments. Don't know what they were doing but it was crazy loud and super close to the ground and we both cowered in the corner of the store we were in, waiting to die. When the jet had passed and we realized we were still alive, we went out and watched it circle around the town a few times, then fly away. We asked the locals if this was normal and they just shrugged like they had no idea what was going on. Hmm...

After the Cameron Highlands, we headed down to Melaka. A relic of European colonialism, Melaka was a primary trade center between the East and West. First settled by the Portuguese, then taken by the Dutch (and then the British), Melaka is now known for its active pirate community and for being a UNESCO World Heritage City. [can you tell this part was written by nathan? love his historical facts] We stayed in a great hostel where the owner cooked us yummy homemade breakfasts each morning. We toured around the town and checked out the beautiful, colorful, old buildings and pagodas, walked through the night markets, and my favorite...went to a huge, modern theater and saw....New Moon (Twilight movie #2). Amazing. And my wonderful husband went with me...love him. :)

(Jonker Walk in Melaka)

(the crazy "taxis" in Melaka...as you can see, they are all very colorfully decorated and they all BLAST music as they drive you around the old town)

Thailand: Beaches

After Hoi An we had a long travel day/night with an overnight train ride up to Hanoi (yes, we opted for the train...MUCH better choice, was comfortable and we actually got some sleep!), then a flight back out to Bangkok. We stayed in Bangkok one more night - at our favorite hostel that makes the best iced coffee ever - and then made our way down to the beaches...

The coast in Thailand is so beautiful...there are huge limestone karsts rising up out of the sea and scattered along the mainland with jungle-y vegetation and gorgeous turquoise water. The only thing that is a bit of a bummer is the hoards of tourists and the jacked-up tourist prices. It was definitely the most expensive part of South East Asia that we experienced. Even still, we really enjoyed our time and soaked up a ton of sun, read lots of books and just did nothing for a week or so...

First, we spent a few days in Krabi, which is gorgeous. We stayed in a lovely place with a huge pool, and swam in the evenings after our days at the beach. We had a few days there and basically all we did was lay out in the sun, tan our bodies, eat yummy Thai food, shop, read and swim in the warm water. It was great. One day we took a long tail boat out to Rai Leh and relaxed there...it was beautiful.

(beautiful Rai Leh beach in Krabi)

(nathan rocking a dirty stache with the reflection of beautiful Rai Leh beach in his lenses - artistic or creepy?)

(long tail boats - main form of transport)

Next we headed down south for a more "deserted island" feel. And getting there definitely made it feel deserted...it was a long bus ride down to the port where they drop you off to find a boat to your selected destination (there are a few islands off the coast here). We chose the one that seemed the cheapest, the most mellow and least known for crazy partying. After waiting most of the day for our "speed" boat ride out to the island, we were finally walked down to the port - with one other traveller, our friend Jim - and put on a tug boat. Honest to God it was just some random local fisherman's boat and we tugged slowly along to our island for about another hour and a half. Once we got to the island, we had to wait for a long tail boat to come out and pick us up to take us ashore. By this time the seas had definitely gotten a bit rough and lets just say we were happy that we made it to the island...we were being tossed over huge waves, swells coming into the boat, we were soaking wet (along with our bags), and we kept checking to make sure our driver was still on the back of the boat and hadn't gotten tossed off! We were glad that at least one other tourist had made the trip with us or we would have been wondering what the heck we had gotten ourselves into. Although, once we made it to shore (after a long day and looking very disheveled), it was actually a beautiful and quite peaceful little island. We ended up getting a little bungalow right on the beach and had a few days to just chill and do nothing on our island paradise...it was wonderful.

Some favorite moments....

1. Pineapple pancakes with honey syrup for breakfast on the beach.

2. Finding our friend Jim on the beach in a tiny black thong a few days later...awkward...we all averted our eyes and pretended not to see each other.

3. Phillipe...Phillipe looked like he was in his 50s or 60s, was dark and leathery tan, had long greyish-blonde hair, wore cut-off short jean shorts and no shirt every day, and looked like he had gone to visit the island sometime in the 70's never to return. He had a hammock that was permanently set up on the tiny beach and a sign that read "Phillipe" over an entrance into the jungle where he apparently took up residence. He knew everyone on the island (i think the population was under 50) and tromped up and down the beach staring at the tourist girls in their bikinis. Creepy, yet entertaining.

4. Amazing Thai food at our resort - the last for us since this was our last stop in Thailand!

5. Our cute little bungalow, complete with mosquito netting over our bed and sea breeze coming through the walls...it was perfect!

(our cute resort)

(our bungalow on the beach)

Vietnam: Hue and Hoi An

Once we finally recovered from our bus ride to Hue, we set out to explore the town. As we were trying to figure out the best way to see everything, since it is a bit spread out, a man on his motorbike stopped to talk to us and tried to convince us to go with him and his friend on their bikes for an all-day tour around town. At first we objected, but we got to talking to him and he pulled out some official-looking brochures and totally charmed us and we thought, what the heck?! So we did it! It was SO much fun. I should also mention that this is not in the least bit uncommon...there are motorbikes in nearly every town in Vietnam that act as taxis or tour operators, so it is relatively safe (don't worry parents...we are not in the habit of taking rides with strangers). Besides, even the "official" tours, taxis and bus rides are not even close to what we would consider official, professional or even safe...it's always an adventure. So all this to say, after talking to him and his friend for a while, we decided to hop on the back of their bikes for a tour of Hue. It was one of our favorite things that we did! We got to see so much more than we would have if we were on foot, and they gave us history lessons and local stories about the places we saw and visited...so fun!


(motorbiking through Hue)

(hiding out in a vietnam war bunker)


(ruins and pagodas around Hue)

(another Hue pagoda)


From Hue we headed via train and taxi to Hoi An, which ended up being probably our favorite stop in Vietnam. Hoi An is a beautiful little town south of Danang, located on a small river...we LOVED it here. The town is a protected world heritage site and is beautifully preserved. The buildings are colorful and bright and there are no cars allowed in the main town center.

We stayed a few days here...one day we rented bikes and rode out to the beach...a beautiful drive along the river and next to rice paddies with water buffalo grazing in them. We soaked up some sun at the beach and ate at a little riverside cafe on the way back into town...it was so peaceful and relaxing.


(riding our bikes to the beach with the locals)

We also spent time wandering the local produce markets (which are huge and have tons of fresh fruits and vegetables...the food in Vietnam, especially Hoi An is amazingly fresh and flavorful, so good).


(bananas at the market)

We did lots of people watching...people biking by with their entire family on board (even infants - no helmets in sight), or with their bikes loaded sky high with bananas or produce or even baskets full of live ducks! We woke up at 5am one morning to check out the early morning fish market which was CRAZY...so fun to be there to observe the scene...people pulling fish off the boats, market and restaurant owners trying to buy up the best catch, people yelling and running around everywhere, fish flopping around in baskets, so much going on in the early morning light.


(early morning at the fish market in Hoi An)

We explored the tiny, colorful streets and gawked at the old eclectic architecture, and we even stayed in a preserved traditional old home one night which was rustic for sure, but a great experience...views over the center of town and so neat to stay in one of their "ancient" homes (as they call them). We stayed in a bigger hotel the other nights that had amazing free breakfast and a huge pool, so we did some swimming and laying out in the sun as well. One night we treated ourselves to a fancy dinner overlooking the river...grilled local fish (amazing!) and fresh banana coladas...heaven!

Hoi An also has some local food specialties, like Cao Lao, which we loved and ate every day...super cheap, super fresh, and amazingly good.


(Local specialty, Cao Lao - the yummiest and cheapest dish in Hoi An)

Hoi An is also known for its clothing...hundreds of shops line each street and make custom clothing for a pretty decent price. You can get custom suits, shoes, shirts, jackets, dress shirts...you basically point to a picture in a magazine, pick out your fabric, they take your measurements, and the next day they have it laid out for you and ready to go. I got some skirts and nathan got a few shirts, all for under $100!


(fabric at the clothing markets)

On our last evening there we took a boat tour down the river and along some of the "residential" areas and farm land surrounding the tiny city...it was at sunset and was such a quiet, peaceful experience. We got to see locals fishing and throwing their nets off their tiny boats, which was super cool, but then we realized it was all a show when our boat went up to theirs and they asked for money for the little show...can't get away from it in Vietnam, but it was still neat to see!



We just loved it here...amazing town, amazingly kind people, we were sad to leave.

Vietnam: Nightmare Bus Ride

So after Hanoi, we decided to head down to central Vietnam. In an effort to save money - as we are trying to be as thrifty as possible – we decided to book an overnight bus to Hue instead of take the train…this turned out to be a very poor decision. We booked our bus through our hotel (everything is based off of commission there) and a taxi driver came to pick us up to take us to catch our bus. Our taxi ride was our first experience being a part of the traffic mayhem of Hanoi. We flew at high speeds through town, got honked at, nearly hit two pedestrians and watched our driver get screamed at through the window...he then proceeded to park us in the middle of the road blocking traffic while he casually got out of the car to grab more passengers and we got honked at and yelled at some more, then we finally made it across town to wait for our bus. Our bus finally showed up an hour to an hour and a half late and the “adventure” began.

We pushed and shoved our way to the door of the bus to get in and get our seats and the second we got on were literally slapped across the face with the most rancid, thick smell of stinky putrid feet. It was unlike anything I have ever smelled (in smell and in strength) and it didn’t ever dissipate. The reason for the terrible smell was because everyone was required to take their shoes off and put them in plastic bags when entering the bus. The bus was a “sleeper” bus, which basically meant there were three rows of bunk beds that stretched down the entire length of the bus…very small metal bunk beds.

(inside of the sleeper bus)

We grabbed our beds and realized that these were not beds made for people over 5’5”…poor Nathan smushed himself into the bed and proceeded to get bruises on his shins every time he switched positions because of the low metal shelf you had to squish your legs under. It was terribly uncomfortable and on top of the awful feet smell, the people next to us had bad gas, there was strong food smells and the toilet on the bus wasn’t flushing and the bathroom door kept swinging open…unbelievable. Oh yeah...and they blasted weird music videos on the tiny TVs throughout the bus which were just awful. I felt bad for the people who had to sleep right under the TVs...we were definitely thankful for our spots in the bus.

Well, we tried to get some shuteye despite the smell, the discomfort, the noise and the incessant honking, but about an hour into the trip, right as we were drifting off, the bus stopped at a rest stop and everyone got off to load up with more food. These rest stops are common and can last anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. After who-knows-how-long we finally got back on the road and about 30 minutes later came to a screeching, skidding halt. We had no idea what had happened, but saw that there had been some sort of accident with a motorcycle. After more than TWO HOURS stopped on the side of the road, not really sure what had happened or why we had been stopped that long, we took off again…then turned around about 10 minutes down the road and went ALL the way back to the rest stop we had been at earlier that evening. It was so frustrating…we had barely gotten out of Hanoi and it had been at least 5 hours by this point. Once we got back to the rest stop, they started shuffling everyone off the bus, with no explanation, and had us all load onto a different bus that was not a sleeper bus (even though we had paid extra for one). We found out later it was because it was OUR bus who hit the motorcyclist and it had damaged our headlights!
(we are pretty sure the motorcyclist was okay)

So they loaded us all onto a new bus, along with all of the shipments and cargo the other bus had been carrying, so we had rice sacks and huge boxes piled up in the center aisle. At around 1am (6 hours after we left Hanoi) we finally took off for Hue. The bus was definitely less stinky and even a bit more comfortable, but our seats were broken and didn’t recline so the people in front of us were basically in our laps. The drive was terrible…one of those things where you watch the clock pass 2am, then 3am, then 4am and you're not even close to falling asleep and it just is so ridiculous you kind of have to laugh. It was so uncomfortable...we couldn’t sleep, it was loud and our driver honked all through the night, and to top it all off, the kid in the seat in front of us was puking into a plastic bag ALL night long…a lovely smell as well as a lovely sound. It was AWFUL.

We also discovered that one couple had been left behind at one of the rest stops during the middle of the night! Their bags were still on the bus but they were nowhere to be found…so terrible, I can’t imagine. Although…they might have had it better off than us in the end. We were originally supposed to be in Hue by 8am, but due to our accident, we figured it would probably be closer to 11am or even maybe noon. We were so wrong…our bus driver drove so incredibly slow it was laughable compared to how the rest of Vietnam drives, and we also stopped at rest stops, for over an hour each time, WAY too many times. We finally got to Hue at 3PM!! Seven hours late, it was ridiculous! I felt so bad for the people that were supposed to take the bus further into Hoi An (another 4 hours away). They all refused to go further because they just couldn’t stand to be in a bus any longer.

It was mayhem when we got to the tourist company in Hue. There were about 15-20 tourists who were livid about the whole experience and confronted the company to see if they could get a refund (yeah, right) since they paid for a sleeper bus and were put on a regular bus. They pretty much laughed in their faces and said it wasn’t their fault. When people yelled saying that it WAS their driver’s fault since he had apparently been driving extremely recklessly, she blamed it on the motorcyclist saying he had been drinking and that the accident “wasn’t her idea” so she couldn’t be held responsible. It was pretty funny to watch…we just sneaked away happy that we had a nice place to stay and then ordered room service and watched movies the rest of the day. It was great and although the bus ride was terrible, it was pretty laughable too…you just can’t have a trip like this without a crazy bus ride like that! And we made it, so that was good. ☺

we lag

Once again, we are very behind in blogging...we are already in New Zealand but still want to share our South East Asia experience with you because it was AMAZING!!! See below for some updates and there will be more coming soon!

Vietnam: Hanoi

Oh my gosh...we thought Bangkok was crazy, but it is nothing compared to Hanoi! Hanoi is loud and crazy, busy and wild. Trying to cross the street here can be a matter of life and death...well, not really, but it feels like it! The traffic is insane! At a four-way intersection, everyone goes for it at the same time...buses, cars, trucks, people, bicycles, motorcycles - you have never seen so much mayhem - and miraculously, no one crashes! Trying to navigate the streets is pretty crazy. The sidewalks are all used up as either parking lots for motorcycles and mopeds or for people sitting on stools eating food, so the only way to get down the road is to walk in the street and try with all of your might not to get run over. People are honking incessantly to let you know they are coming and no one stops for you if you are crossing the street...you have to just make a frantic run for it! Red lights seem to be merely "suggestions" and the person with the right-of-way seems to be whoever is bigger - if you are a bus, you have it made. Everyone here is trying to get you to buy pirated books (but no one seems to have Eclipse, the third Twilight book...depressing), fruit, a ride on their bike, and even drugs! Nathan and I got offered marijuana twice in about two minutes one night when we were walking down the street. You are so used to cheerily saying "no thank you" every time someone tries to sell you something, that we politely responded, "no thanks" with a smile before we realized that they were offering us drugs and not fruit or something more benign! It was pretty funny. They just smile politely and go on their way. One thing about Vietnamese people is that they are the sweetest, friendliest, smiliest, most genuine people. People will strike up conversations with you when walking down the street to practice their English and find out where you are from. They are so helpful and kind and we are having so much fun meeting people along the way!

(typical intersection in Hanoi)

(the powerlines are just as insane as the traffic - so much going on at once)

(it is amazing the amount of stuff people fit onto their motorcycles)

(street food in Hanoi)

From Hanoi, we booked a trip to go out on a cruise to Halong Bay. We spent two days and one night cruising along the bay in an old junk boat - which was actually pretty nice and had great food! The bay has these huge limestone karsts rising out of the water and it is pretty stunning.

Northern Thailand

After Cambodia, we headed back over the border into Bangkok, then hopped on a night train up to Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is in Northern Thailand and is an absolutely beautiful city, rich with culture, kind people and amazing food. We loved this city and wish we had more time here!

While we were there we decided to take a cooking class to learn the basics of Thai cooking; and not to brag, but we made some of the best Thai food I have ever tasted. We were pretty impressed with our skills, I’ll be honest. We were given cookbooks to take home, so the real test will be trying to replicate what we made once we are back in SC. Can’t wait to have our friends and family over for dinner!

Chiang Mai had a great night market and we bought some souvenirs and ate amazing street food. We also found an "authentic" Mexican food restaurant while we were here and it was actually pretty good! Actually, our standards are probably pretty low because we crave it so badly, but it definitely hit the spot...burritos and margaritas, yum!

After Chiang Mai, we hopped on a dilapidated local bus for a four hour ride up the windiest road to a little hippie town called Pai. After our stomachs settled, we set out on the town to explore. Pai is a cute, small, artsy town with lots of hippies and handicrafts. We ate more yummy cheap food here and then came back to relax on our hammocks on our balcony overlooking the valley. It was really beautiful here...very jungle-y and green with a river snaking through the town. A big tourist attraction here is elephant rides, so on our second day in Pai, we signed up for an elephant excursion through our guesthouse. They didn't tell us what company it was through, and everyone in South East Asia works off commission...friends refer tourists to other friends and everyone is in it to make a buck. Unfortunately, we didn't ask too many questions since the price was right, and when we were picked up in the morning and driven to the site, we passed all of the more "official" looking elephant camps and arrived at a tiny place on the side of the road that had two elephants chained up under a rickety structure. The elephants were excited to greet us and we fed them bananas, which they loved...but they were not excited to take us around the jungle on their backs. Our elephant was more interested in eating and we stopped frequently throughout our trek so that it could rip huge branches off of the jungle floor to munch on...it was actually pretty fascinating. However, when she was actually moving, she was extremely resistant...she went very slowly and stopped a lot; she did not want to be giving us a ride which started to make us feel bad. I love elephants and was SO excited to ride one through the jungle, but after it all, I felt so guilty! They are not treated great, and we saw later that our poor elephant had a foot that was all deformed and looked like she had lost some of her toes, which was why she was so resistant the whole time! It probably really hurt her to be carrying us on her backs. Afterward, she kept lifting her leg and resting her foot...it was so sad! We should've gone to the elephant conservation camp instead! The ride itself was still fun - an hour through the jungle and an hour up the river where the elephant does tricks and throws you off her back (which was actually a bit frightening) - but it was hard to enjoy knowing that the elephant did not want to be involved in any part of it. After our ride, we gave her more bananas to say sorry and then headed out for the hot springs which our guesthouse made sound so amazing. We arrived to find super hot, shallow sespools of dirty water that had dead boiled animals (frogs, insects, etc) floating in it. We tentatively dipped our feet in for a few minutes, then left. After our day we felt that we deserved some true R&R, so when we got back into town, we decided to get another massage. An hour and a few bucks later we were feeling well rested and relaxed!

(relaxing on our balcony over beautiful Pai)

(our sweet mangled-foot elephant)

That night we went out to look for a restaurant and were seduced by a big chalkboard sign that said the night's special was a big juicy hamburger and fries...we were sold. We picked out what else we wanted on the menu and went to order...fresh out of hamburgers and everything else on the menu that looked good. Sweet. We had already ordered drinks so we ended up having to stay there and ordered what they did have in stock and tried not to stare at the middle-aged white men canoodling young Thai girls behind us. On that note, it is crazy and sad how many middle-aged men are here for that kind of tourism. We were at a restaurant in the airport and nearly every table there was taken up by a young Thai girl and middle-aged man...it's really disturbing. On a lighter note, but still upsetting, is the fact that this was not the first time we encountered the hamburger incident. We have been seduced twice...maybe three times by signs with pictures of juicy, mouthwatering hamburgers, only to be told "hamburger finished"! Even at the beginning of the lunch rush! I think it is just their way to get desperate tourists into their restaurant...really! This has also happened three times with spring rolls...spring roll always "finished"! Not cool.

After two days in Pai, we headed back down to Chiang Mai to catch a flight to Bangkok and then Hanoi. We decided to take a mini-bus back down to Chiang Mai rather than the bus because it took half the time and we wanted to make sure there was no issue catching our flight. I wanted to take a video on our way down the mountain so that people could see what we experienced, but I couldn't bring myself to look away from the road for more than a few seconds without getting sick. It was insane! Remember the four hour bus ride on the windiest road ever that brought us to Pai? Well, this driver got us back to CM on that same road in about two hours - we flew around corners, passed on blind curves, screeched to a halt whenever we were about to collide with someone else, and on top of this, the buses don't have seatbelts here which made it all the more "exciting"...South America bus rides are nothing compared to South East Asia! How we managed to keep what was in our stomachs down, I do not know. We made it safely though and also survived our flights...after 15+ hours of travel, we finally arrived at our guesthouse in Hanoi, Vietnam. Thank God!

Cambodia

From Bangkok, we decided to make our way out to Cambodia to see the Angkor ruins. We read horror stories online about getting over the border...it is super corrupt and everyone is trying to scam you and, apparently, an unnamed airline is paying them to keep it that way so that people will be too scared to cross by land and will purchase flights instead. We just decided to read up on the scams and felt prepared enough to do it ourselves. We hopped into a cab at 6:30am and headed out to the bus station. It was about 7am when we got there and there was a bus taking off for the border at that time, but we realized that we still needed to exchange our money into US Dollars because this is all they will accept at the border. We bought tickets for 8am, then went to find the exchange office. Closed until 10am...sweet. We just crossed our fingers and got on the bus hoping that there would be an exchange office at the border. After a four and a half hour bus ride we arrived at the border. We expected to be attacked by tuk tuk drivers trying to scam you into an expensive ride to fake border crossings like we had read and heard about, but there was no one there...apparently, our bus dropped us off at the actual border crossing so we were able to skip a lot of the hassle which was great. We found an exchange office, made our way through the Thai border and talked our way out of paying the "extra fees" they tried to make us pay at the Cambodian border. They threatened not to let us in but we insisted we would only pay the amount posted and 5 minutes later we had our visas and could pass through the border. We were so confused and felt so disoriented as we walked easily through since we had expected to put up such a fight. Everything was going so great, and then...something tragic happened. I realized after we were already on the road to Siem Reap that I had left my book on the bus! Not just any book, but my Twilight book number three that had miraculously appeared on the shelf in Lucerne...lost on a bus somewhere in Thailand. Such a exciting and wonderful moment - finding the book - only to have it ripped from my fingers a few weeks later. Well, okay, I left it on the bus, but still...saddest moment of my trip. :( At least we are in South East Asia where cheap, counterfeit (photocopied) books abound, so hopefully I will be able to replace it soon. After three and a half more hours in a taxi, and then another 30 minutes or so on a tuk tuk, we finally arrived at our hostel in Siem Riep...$5 each per night with $6 in-room massages...we love South East Asia!

The next morning we woke up at 4am to get breakfast at our hostel before heading out on a tuk tuk to watch the sun rise at Angkor Wat. We zoomed past other tuk tuks carrying people to the ruins in the dark and made it there just in time to see the sky begin turning from gray to pink and gold behind the dark silhouette of the temple. It was pretty phenomenal. We watched until the sun had risen over the temple and then began to explore while the air was still cool. We spent about 6 or 7 hours walking through the amazingly well preserved temples and ruins. The carvings and construction were spectacular, and in some places the jungle has taken over the ruins and huge roots and trees engulf the abandoned stone buildings. It was pretty cool. After a long day hiking around, our tuk tuk driver took us back to our hostel and we enjoyed our in-room, $6, one-hour massages...one of the best massages I have ever had. Because of our limited time in S.E. Asia, we made Siem Reap our only stop in Cambodia - we hear there are some amazing towns in the South, but we will have to come back another time!

sunrise at ankor:

Bangkok

tuk tuk

khao san road

chinatown

So much fun! First of all, it is so nice to be out of Europe and actually be able to afford things, like food, internet, your hostel, etc. We skimped so much on food in Europe that it is starting to show...poor Nathan has lost weight! Now, in South East Asia...we will eat. We liked Bangkok. We stayed at a great little hostel in a less touristy part of town and it was perfect - and they made fabulous iced vanilla lattes in their little cafe! The "best pad thai" in Bangkok was served at a restaurant across the street from our hostel and it was packed out every night; very good and very cheap! We explored the old town, walked through the crazy, loud markets (that have everything you could ever imagine or want to buy, including "Kitchen Aid" mixers that we watched them making out on the streets), we explored China Town and Kao San Road, ate noodle soup from sidewalk vendors, rode tuk tuks, took a boat up the river, ran desperately across streets trying to dodge the crazy traffic, hid in our hotel during torrential downpour and deafening thunder and lightening...it was great.