Day 14, Siem Reap

Today everyone woke up (or stayed awake for) the sunrise over Angkor Wat. It was very peaceful but unless you've got a really nice camera, your photo's will look awful.





After the sunrise we took an hour and a half tuk-tuk ride(17 bucks) for more waterfalls and hiking. I struck my best swimsuit model pose then we were off for another temple.









I'm told there are over 250 temples in the Siem Reap area, admittedly they all look pretty similar.









We booked new accommodation tonight due to lack of AC and anyone our age at our previous two hostels, so far we've already run into a few traveling companions from Bangkok and we'll probably head for the street food and $.50 draft beers shortly.

Day 13, Siem Reap

Rested, fed, and in good spirits, we boarded tuk-tuk's for Angkor to see the temples.








Until you've seen the temples of Angkor I cannot express the magnitutde of this compound. We toured several Wat's (what temples are called here) and hung around for the sunset, a very good adventure!









On our way back to the hostel we spotted a pack of monkeys accompanied by a dozen cambodian children selling fruit. After intense negotiation we ambled over to the monkeys and taunted them with food for a solid twenty minutes. The young monkeys have no qualms with climbing all over you in search of food, the older and significantly overweight monkeys give you resentful looks when you make them work for the fruit, but what can I say? There's no such thing as a free lunch, even if you're a monkey.








At night everyone dispersed for their choice of food then met back up to watch an Apsara dance, a series of short stories told though dancing and costumes.

As a side note, the Cambodians are offended when you try and pay them in riel, their own currency... The Cambodians expect crisp US dollars and every price list is expressed as such, who knows.

Day 12, Traveling from Bangkok to Siem Reap

After a few days R&R from the train ride, we booked a bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap. Our journey was uneventful, maybe even pleasant until we hit the border (Aranyaprathet on the Thailand side, Poi pet on the Cambodian side). The bus pulled over to a few shacks on the side of the road and we were told to get out and take our bags, we'd be crossing the border on foot. In taking in the surroundings I noticed about 15 other perplexed and annoyed tourists huddled around plastic tables and filling out paperwork. After about an hour sitting in the 97 degree heat, the tourists were ushered towards the border where we were warned to keep all valuables in sight, watch for pickpockets, and stay together; this encouraging speech left everyone on edge as we walked towards the border. After some stamps and lines our guide made us pay off some police men to avoid the lines, $6 later we jumped on a bus headed for the Poipet bus station. At the station we were strongly urged to convert our Thai baht to Cambodian riel, little did we know that the exchange staff stole about $40 from each person, ouch. Hot, bothered, and hungry, the team was ushered into a taxi heading for Siem Reap. After a series of dodgy events we found our way to our hostel and went in search of food.

Day 10, Train to Bangkok

We flew out to Chiang Mai for about $70 which seems pretty reasonable. On our return journey to Bangkok I thought it would be great to take a train and see some scenery and save some money, the only catch was that the train takes 12hrs.

Sleeping on the train was near impossible as it jerked from side to side violently and sounded as if pieces were falling off. After about two hours the train lost its appeal and because we weren't fed, moral quickly dropped.

After fourteen hours (the extra two hours felt like torture) we pulled into Bangkok and started to haggle with the crowd of taxi drivers, Bangkok is beginning to feel like home.

Day 9, Chaing Mai

At the hostel we were able to sign up for an all day trek where we went to an orchid farm






Visted a village of "long neck ladies"








Rode elephants









Cooled off in a waterfall











Then went for some white water rafting that was more work than fun because the river was low. We finished by jumping onto some bamboo rafts and floating peacefully down the river. About five minutes into the bamboo rafts it started to rain, not the pleasant drizzle we get in New Mexico, it felt like someone had a fire hose. It was an awesome day!

Day 8, Chiang Mai Zoo

Today Nina and I took to our scooters and headed for the Chiang Mai zoo.. sort of. The street signs are few and far between and when you see one it's usually in Thai. We wound up speeding down the freeways completely lost but were able to get a few gas station folks to point in the right direction. An hour into what should have been a 15 minute journey we were on the right track, speeding through the mountainous jungles of Chiang Mai.

It must have been a school appreciation day as there were easily 2,000 miniture Thai's running and yelling, all dressed in their color specific school jumpsuits. The children in combination with the heat and cheap red bulls resulted poor decision making. I found myself throwing a banana at a rhino (which he happily ate) and spitting on an alligator to see if it was real (it was). The heat got the best of us and we got back on our bikes and headed back into the city.

Day 6, Chiang Mai

After a good nights rest we went out and rented scooters ($6 bucks a day) to cruise the town. With absolutely zero instruction we were set loose on the streets to fend for ourselves. Unless you've been to Thailand I'm not sure I can explain the driving style, there are no rules, only suggestions. Some people stop at red lights, few people stay in their lane, and everyone drives as fast as possible.



After our terrifying flee from the city streets, we headed for the mountains and found a cool hike of 8 waterfalls spanning a 1700m ascent, completely gorgeous but dicey in flip flops.

Day 4, Bangkok

Its 7:48 in Bangkok and I've just gotten back to the hostel. Initial plans were to leave for Cambodia at 4:30AM and as such I thought it would be easier to stay up all night. Later in the night the team thought it might be in our best interest to go to Chiang Mai first, unfortunately the airline doesn't open until 8AM. If there are tickets we'll grab the flight to Chiang Mai, if not we'll get on a bus to Cambodia, either way we win.
Around midnight I asked a few hostel folk if they wanted to get some food, this lead to a trip to koh san road (spelt wrong?). Koh San is about a mile long stretch of street vendors, bars, and night clubs. This street is popular among backpackers as a place to get a drink and buy souvenirs. What was intended to be a short trip was extended due to lady boy fights, meeting new travelers and $.25 redbulls. The unexpected all-nighter turned out to be a great time and I made friends with a few other students who will be studying in Australia, who knew foreigners were so friendly?

Day 3, Bangkok

The team woke up late today after a late night (4 or 5 in the AM) meandering the streets, singing national anthems, debating the best country in the world, and singing 90's songs off key and way too loud.
After some fantastic street food we made our way to the Grand Palace.







That night about 10 people from the hostel decided to see the Muay Thai fights, we packed 5-6 tourists per cab and split our $1 fare accordingly. The fights start at 6 and end at 12, the fighters are 60- 100lb men absolutely destroying each other. We thought it was important to sit with the locals to get the most out of the experience. The locals wouldn't let us bet (probably because we couldnt understand the hand signals, a mixture of sign language and shaking your hands like mad) so the Canadians started betting beers.

Day 2, Bangkok

Today we went to Wat Pho, home of the 50m laying Buddha. After some culture we went to one of Bangkok's largest malls, MBK. MBK is a five floor shopping monstrosity of knock off iPhone's, purses, and food carts.
This city is awesome!

Bangkok

After a terrifying cab ride from an aspiring nascar driver, we arrived to our hostel in Bangkok. I made friends with a few europeans (or maybe they made friends with me because of my lady travel companions) and we left the hostel in search of food.

Exodus

I'm about to board a plane that takes me to LAX, then I'll get on a plane to Bangkok. It's hard to believe I'll be gone for a year, I've done my best to say goodbye to friends and family. I was dropped off at the airport by my brother and his lovely wife Margot. We first visited Zinc where I said goodbye from my Sister Jessica and had a drink or five, then stopped by Golden Pride where I had my last Chile fix. It's hard to believe I'll be away from all of those I love for the next year, but I'm definitely excited for the new adventure!
I love you guys

-Gavin

Three days until departure!!!

The last two weeks have been a blur as I try and get everything together for the trip and bid friends and family farewell. In a conversation the other night I realized I've never spent more than two weeks away from family, I guess I'm finally "leaving the nest".

I'm excited, nervous, ready, and in complete disbelief that this is actually happening.

In five days I'll be in Bangkok