Em & Tola's Travel Blog

I think it could have been psychological, but as soon as we crossed the border from Thailand to Cambodia, I felt like the temperature raised drastically and everything became incredibly dry. I was hot, but I was also in awe as I noticed that we were definitely in another country. I suddenly realized we were not in Thailand anymore, and Tola and I quickly tried to make the adjustment. Tola's Uncle Chin had offered to take us across the border and set us up with transportation to Siem Reap, and we were happy to accept his offer as tourists often get scammed traveling from Poipet (the border town) to Siem Reap. We ended up only have a small disagreemnt with our driver, but everything worked out quickly, and we arrived in Siem Reap before noon. The drive from Poipet to Siem Reap was beautiful. There were so many new things to look at and as the countryside was very flat, it was quite a contrast to the other countries we have visited so far (especially to the mountains and hilly areas we have visited).Once we arrived in Siem Reap, we quickly checked into a guesthouse and we began to make plans for our three days in the small city that caters to swarms of tourists every day. We decided that the most comfortable way to visit the Angkor Temples would be to hire a tuk tuk for our 3 1/2 day exploration. During our first night in Siem Reap, we ventured in the tuk tuk (with a driver) to Phnom Bakheng as we had heard it was a place to watch the sunset because of its location on top of a hill. We enjoyed watching a beautiful sunset with at least one hundred other tourists, but it was definitely worth the visit.

Throughout our 3 full days of touring Angkor, we ended up visiting around 16 different sights (temples and terraces). Our days felt quite loaded as we woke up between 4-5 AM every day. The whole experience of Angkor begins to feel a bit overwhelming towards the end of sightseeing because there is so much to see and take in.The land that the Temples of Angkor covers is beautiful. We are visiting Cambodia during the dry season, so everything is a bit dried out, but the landscape is something that you can stare at for a long time. Many of the temples are in the midst of lush jungle trees, and the natural life surrounding the sights is something that also needs to be taken in. There are some very old looking trees and this creates a magical atmosphere as one explores the area of the Angkor Temples.


My favorite place that we visited (besides the massive Angkor Wat) was probably Preah Khan. At one time Preah Kahn once housed more than 1,000 teachers. It may also have been a university at one time, and I found the location and history fascinating. As we made our way through Preah Khan's maze, I imagined what it would have been like to live in Preah Khan long long ago. Visiting the various structures around Angkor allowed for a lot of dreaming and imagining; sometimes it was hard to even begin to think of where we were.

We saved Angkor Wat for the last morning. Since we had adjusted our sleeping schedules, we thought it would be best to visit Angkor Wat at sunrise. We arrived at Angkor Wat's complex at about 5:20 AM, and as we walked through the entrance and along the long walkway, we saw the outline (as it was still dark) of one of the most massive structures I have ever seen. Although many people wake up early for the sunrise at Angkor Wat, it is still a very special experience that I will remember for a long time. As the sun rises, everything begins to wake up around Angkor Wat, and it is absolutely breathtaking. Tola and I didn't quite wait until the sun was up because we were getting a bit antsy, so we decided to venture into the temple before others. Exploring the corridors and the artistic designs around every corner took a long time, and we also had beautiful views of the sun shining through the cracks of the gigantic monument. Angkor Wat is definitely a monument that will be remembered, and it is something that really is hard to compare to anything else that I have seen in the past.

Beyond the beauty of the Temples of Angkor lies much more than a thousand year history. As we spent days digging into history from long ago, it was impossible to miss the present situation of Cambodia. People are striving to make ends meet and the competition between the vendors is almost hard to bear. Cambodia does has the amazing gems of Angkor, but I also know that there is so much to this country that I have yet to learn.

After almost a week of traffic jams in Bangkok, it was time to leave for the countryside. A 3 hour drive took us to my dad's house in Klaeng, just outside of Rayong. Em and I had expected a little shack in the jungle, but we were taken to a big and beautiful newly built house in an extremely green area. The house is surrounded by a pretty big yard where my dad grows all kinds of fruit including pineapple, mango, papaya, star fruit, bananas, the fruit where cashew nuts come from and a number of other ones that we do not know the Western names for. It felt like a great place to recharge our batteries after a few exhausting days in the big city.


Aside from resting, we did do some activities in the area. We went to a national park that had several waterfalls we were able to swim in. The waters where filled with different sized fish that started nibbling on you if you stopped moving. Everyone that has tried "doctor fish" knows the feeling except for that it is in the wild and the fish are a lot bigger.


On our way home from the waterfalls we drove by a gorgeous area that had a big natural pond in it. The setting sun made it quite the postcard view. The area that in some parts is basically a swamp made it difficult to drive, and of course my dad (who is not the best driver) got stuck in the mud and had to get help from a dozens of people. In the end the truck was pulled out of the mud.


The next day we went to Rayong and to the extremely long beach they have there. With the view of Koh Samet and the lack of tourists it made it a very nice place to spend the day. My dad's friend Anders also came with us, and he brought his kite and made us try kite surfing. It is much harder than it looks and we never tried to go out on the water. Although after an hour of practice we could fly the kite used for surfing.

After another day of rest we were on our way again. We left Klaeng for Aranya Prathet that is a town right on the border to Cambodia. It is the home of my grandmother and my uncle Chin, who looks so much like Jackie Chan that even his kids think so. I had not been in the city and seen my grandmother for about 12 years, and it was very overwhelming to revisit everyone and the city again. We spent the day with my two cousins, Gataj (Rabbit) and Gatok (the sound a chicken makes). They took us to a huge market right on the border and then to Gataj's workplace, a radio station. Her boyfriend is the DJ there and Emily requested a Jack Johnson song for her brother Nathan who is turning 21. Happy birthday!


The last few days have brought back a lot of memories and emotions which our next destination undoubtedly will as well. The second of my "home countries," Cambodia.

We arrived and we left Bangkok safely and calmly .. 5 1/2 nights spent. Our bus strategically dropped us off (along with a full bus of other tourists) far enough from Khao San Road to make us not want to walk the distance in the heat of 4 AM (yes I was very hot, sweaty, and cranky because of the lack of sleep), so we barely haggled with a tuk tuk and hopped in for a short drive to backpacker central. Guesthouses around Khao San seem to be used to having travelers arrive at all hours of the night, and they are very gracious to check in guests numerous hours before check in time. We found a guesthouse that seemed suitable enough to catch a few hours of sleep before the morning approached and the city awoke.

After getting some needed hours of sleep, it was time to step out onto the warm streets of Bangkok, and Tola and I felt at least ready to check out Khao San and its surroundings. For the first time during the past couple of months, I really felt that we were in the middle of backpacker madness (in a good way) as people from all over the world walked the streets shopping, eating, many looking for something new or perhaps for something that they had heard about from other travelers, friends, or guidebooks.

As some of you know, Thailand has been in the news lately because of political demonstrations that have been held for numerous weeks on the account of unhappy citizens. The demonstrators have been protesting against the government, and many of them have been gathering because of a decision that has been made against Thailand's past and favorable (for some) leader Taksin. Bangkok being the capital of Thailand has of course been the hub for all of the recent action that has taken place. As the largest gatherings were being organized, Tola and I arrived in Bangkok. Throughout our week in Bangkok (when we were near the center of the city) we saw trucks loaded with protesters, red shirts warn by most, and Taksin's picture on anything from posters to tea cups. Tola and I both became well aware that we were very close to something that could possibly be historic for Thailand's future. There definitely were devoted demonstrators, and I became curious as I wondered how they managed to take so much time off for this event ...

After spending three weeks on white sandy beaches and spending many hours swimming in beautiful warm ocean water, I wondered how it would feel being back in a large, hot, and crowded city, but the adjustment went just fine. I think I am a city girl after all ... :)Tola and I had planned on getting together with his dad and other members of his dad's family, so we were able to easily stay away from the political events taking place in the center of the city. We settled in for the week at Tola's Uncle Boon's house, and we had a busy week of exploring Bangkok. While we stayed at Uncle Boon's house, we also made a new friend named Beng. Beng is like a grandson to Tola's uncle, and we had fun spending time with him as we explored a new city. Tola and I had a great tour of Bangkok as we were taxied around and taken to many wonderful places. During the week with also met up with Tola's family friend Sune who has lived in Bangkok for over fifteen years. I felt overwhelmed as we were treated to many delicious meals and as we explored many unique places.

Some of the sights we visited during the week were the Crocodile Farm, the Erawan Museum (a magnificent art museum along with botanical gardens), Wat Phra Kew and the Grand Palace, the National Museum, many markets for shopping, and of course many restaurants that allowed us to taste the tastes of Thailand. On one day Tola and I also went to a park known as Lumphini Park. I enjoyed being a spectator of life throughout the park as we sat and chatted about past and future events. This also gave me a moment to think about all that we have seen during the past couple of months and of all that I have to be thankful for in my life.

During the past couple of months I have noticed that my love for small animals occasionally comes out, and I didn't even know that this existed within me, but it has made a short appearance during a couple of memorable times. :) While we were visiting the Crocodile Farm, Tola and I were also given the chance to hold a baby white lion, and this again showed me that sometimes I can have a heart for the little creatures .. they are not so intimidating after all ..

Throughout our trip there have been many moments that I have been able to take in the beauty that has been created before us. I have also found that there is also a kind of beauty that can be seen even in the midst of a big and overcrowded city. Sometimes you have to look a little harder, but I believe that it is always there ..

After the decadent lifestyle on Koh Phangan, we wanted to activate ourselves again in the diving mecca that is the island of Ko Tao.

Right when we landed on the island, we liked the atmosphere better than on Koh Phangan. It is a very hilly island with tons of palm trees. From above it is supposed to resemble a sunbathing turtle resting between two coral reefs. There for the name Ko Tao (Turtle island).


We asked around where the best snorkeling on the island was and we were recommended Tanote bay. So we took a taxi (a van where you sit in the back in the open air grabbing on the the sides not to fall out) on some muddy and extremely bumpy and steep roads that were not very well suited for driving. We got a bungalow 30 seconds from the water and got ready for a few intense days.

Instead, the bad weather hit. We have been incredibly fortunate weather wise so far on the trip, but now our luck changed. Thunderstorms created high waves which is not exactly optimal for snorkeling or sunbathing for that matter.


Instead we just relaxed in our hammock reading and waiting for the bad weather to pass. Luckily it did, and we finally got to go on a snorkeling trip.



The waves where still high in some places, so the sharks and the dolphins(!) in the area had moved away, so we had to snorkel at some smaller bays around the island instead of around a smaller island off the island called "Shark Island". Well in the water, we realized what all the fuss surrounding Ko Tao is coming from. The waters are by far the clearest we have seen, and you could see all the fish and coral in high detail. Most of the things we saw under water, we had seen before though, huge schools of fish, sea stars, big white clams, etc.


But on the last stop (a place called the Japanese Gardens), we bumped into a sting ray. It was quite the experience. It was brown with white dots, and it was swimming right next to us. It looked like a huge butterfly in slow motion under water. It is one of the most beautiful sights I have seen so far on the trip.

We were very happy that we got to experience a tiny sliver of the underwater world surrounding Ko Tao before we left, and now after almost 3 weeks on paradise islands, we are ready to head back in to the big city again. This time, the big city will be Bangkok.

We don't have that much to write about this place, so we are just putting up a few pictures from it.