Brian at Ta Prohm

Ashlei at Bayon

Brian at Angkor Wat

Brain at Banteay Srei

A traditional dance performance

in Siem Reap

What a change of pace from Phnom Penh. This is still a city of 200,000 people but after the likes of Bangkok and Phnom Penh crossing these streets is a piece of cake. We've spent most of our time here doing what most people come here to do, and for good reason - visit and walk through the amazing Angkor Wat and the multitude of surrounding temples. We could have spent a week here and still not seen them all. Amazing. We've seen some of the incredible buildings in Europe and these give them a run for their money. No photo or description could ever truly do them justice but suffice it to say that as we rode our rental bicycles away I didn't want to stop staring, knowing that it would be a long time before I saw anything like it again.

We've been here in Siem Reap for five days and it's our farewell to Cambodia. It all went by too quick here. We want another week, or two to see more of this beautiful country and to spend more time with its wonderful people. I suppose there's only one solution - we'll have to come back someday. But for now we leave early in the morning to catch another flight this time to the northern neighbor Laos. As usual, we have no idea what to expect and will spend the flight memorizing polite phrases in yet another language.

We hope you are all well.

Until next time...

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Ashlei on the steps of one of the many stupas

at the grand palace.

some choice eats on the streets of

Phnom Penh

a cell at S-21

a famous prisoner whose last days
were at S-21




us in a tuk-tuk in the city

ah, Cambodia. first stop is the capital city, Phnom Penh. Busy, hot, dusty and full of life we spent three nights here. We were awed by the buildings of the Royal Palace and it's enormous grounds. we spent the better part of the first day on a "walking tour" of the city to orient ourselves a little bit. we watched some children breakdance on the waterfront, ate at a restaurant that trains former street youth as servers and cooks and drank beers on the topfloor, open air cafe at our guesthouse.

The following day we hired a tuk-tuk (explanation in photo form above) to take us to some of the sobering relics of Cambodia's recent and terrible past. In the late 1970's an extremist political party calling itself Khmer Rouge came to power. In its radical extremism was set up "prisons" like the above S-21. Much like the Third Reich these camps/prisons were ultimately death camps. The Khmer Rouge was responsible fro over two millions deaths by direct means as well as by starving the populace. We later visited the "killing fields" where many executions took place and is the site of many mass graves.

In spite of this recent and tragic past the Cambodian people are quicker to smile than any we've met.

We loved this city but were definately excited to see some of the ancient history at our next stop - the city of Siem Reap and the famous Angkor Wat.

Koh Samui

after lunch on koh nangyuan during our snorkeling tour

snorkeling

the big buddha temple on koh samui

our digs

double fisting the finest thai ice teas EVER!!!

Today is our last day in Thailand we have very mixed emotions about leaving but after our great experience we know we will be back. Tomorrow we leave for Phnom Penh, Cambodia. We will post on that soon. Hope you are all happy and healthy thanks for all the great comments!

Krabi

Our first view of Krabi...amazing

Sunset across the road from where we stayed

Poda island a longtail boat trip from Krabi

Swimming at Poda island

Beach love

Koh Phi Phi

on the boat to Phi Phi

Koh Phi Phi

el guapo!

look closely for the kitty cooling off in the cooler

Phi Phi at night

the island of koh phi phi is a tiny little island, amongst a few others in the andaman sea west of mainland thailand. most of it is steep cliffs covered in jungle sweeping down it's faces and topping them off with high altittude, and mostly inaccessible forests. the waters were in places aqua and others clear and all warm and shallow. we were in and out in two nights not because we wanted to escape from paradise but because more awaited us on the mainland, specifically the beach of ao nang near the town of krabi.

phuket (pooh-ket)

ok, so the sunsets were pretty awesome and the water was crystal clear...

the sand was as soft as talcum powder.


ronald is respectful of local customs here in thailand, though still a bit menacing


we looked at (like) some amazing seafood

then we picked out what looked best from the ice and it was cooked for us and then we ate it.

but sadly we give phuket two thumbs down. why, you ask? it was filled with gross people doing gross things and it stank. it was a beach tourist hell for us. everyone comes for the immaculate beaches, and they are amazing but that has created a debaucherous and wasted lifestyle there for travelers to come and and become fools. also the beer was way too expensive for us to want to stay for long.

that said we had an amazing meal from an open air seafood market (see crab above). we swan in the beautiful waters that helped make famous this small island off of the western coast of thailand and saw the best sunsets so far on our little trip. but a couple of days was enough and we carried on to the majestic isalnd of koh phi phi.

chiang mai...

eating delicious food at an open air street market





taking a picture of a monk taking a picture of a monk...


local terra cotta arts

at an orchid farm

riding on an ox cart

taming wild beasts

navigating the jungle

what the...

it felt like a wet vacuum!

ok, so after bangkok we got on the train that we showed you in the last post- a fun eighteen hour ride through the thai countryside : fun, beautiful, bumpy, squeaky...

then we arrived in chiang mai. what a relief after bangkok. though had we not been to bangkok first we might have been intimidated by chiang mai, or thought that it was a crazy city. instead we arrived well seasoned for the slower pace. we were just in time for their annnual flower festival and sunday market. street after street was closed off to cars and taken over by street vendors selling crafts, clothes, wares and fresh foods cooked to order. some of the best eating we've done has been at the street vendors here in thailand.

the people have been some of the kindest i've ever encountered. so many people unsolicited have offered help (and not trying to sell us something in the process!). frankly it's taken a little getting used to ( for brian at least, as he is prone to trusting no one).

oh, and as you see by the pictures we spent a little time with some elephants!

and i found a fiend.

then we got on an eighteen hour train ride headed north to chiang mai. it was a fun ride with seats that folded into beds and beds that folded down from the ceiling, overpriced beer and fat welsh neighbors.

ashlei's inner card shark seems to emerge after a couple of beers and many hours of a squeaky and bumpy environment. she swept me at rummy. look at that face. she wasn't playing for fun.

we are leaving chiang mai in a couple of minutes so the next time we are on a computer we will show you some of what we have seen here. for now i'll just say that it was a sigh of relief after the madness that is bangkok. we hope you are all well. bye for now. we are off to the sunny beaches in the south.

Bangkok, continued...

so, on through bangkok by boat down the chao phraya river that runs through the city. a slightly less insane way to get around bangkok.

after getting lost in a mega-shopping complex we came upon an oasis - the bankok cultural arts center. part museum, part art student galleries. the inside was remenicent of the guggenheim in new york.

here we are inside feeling cultural and arty.

ashlei was excited by a large exhibit of architectural models as well as many beautifully hand drafted architectural drawings.

then she danced!

and she made a friend.

bangkok

Brian looking like brother Andrew at the marble temple

Ashlei and Brian sitting at a park on the chao phraya river

The Grand palace temple.check those pants!

Inside the marble temple

ok, here we are, bangkok, thailand. it's our third full day and we 're beginning to get the hang of it. a little. the first day was rough. this city is beyond ovewhelming. chaotic doesn't even begin to describe the feelings a westerner experiences upon waking up here for the first time having no idea where he is on the map, no more than a vague notion of where she wants to get to and feeling like it might be a good idea to stay inside the room a little bit longer...

we've been really lucky so far. or maybe thailand is this embracing to everyone who visits with an open heart and mind, and a fair ammount of humility to boot. people unsolicited have been seeing a pale couple confounded by this maze-like metropolis and offered, in general, good advice, warm smiles and a friendly welcome to their country. the food is delicious, the air is hot and sticky and the temples are awe inspiring.

today we are going to attempt to brave the final frontier of a new city - the public transit system. even in a country where i do speak the language i get intimidated by them. and here, where i know about five or six phrases ( none of which have to do with riding a bus ) it will be another adventure. ashlei seems less afraid of it than me so we ought to be o.k.

here are some photos of our first few days. we head north to chiang mai tomorrow on an overnight train where we'll ride some elephants, explore a new city and if we manage to have any new experiences we'll let you know.