Cambodia!

Cambodia had been on my bucket list for the past few years because I had seen a lot of great pictures of Angkor Wat and I thought it would be really cool to explore these temples - I was right! It was a great stop on our vacation...we absolutely loved our time in Cambodia!

We arrived in the evening into the Siem Reap airport and were picked up by a driver from our hotel - the hotel** that I booked for us was outside of the main city area within one of the villages. We drove through many back roads to get there and I really got the feel that this was a third world country - there were a lot of small houses/huts and little businesses being run out of the front of their home. We pulled up to our hotel and fell in love with it immediately. It had gorgeous grounds, including a great pool and they hire and train people from the local village which we thought was really cool. The people there were the friendliest people that I have ever met in my life.  The hotel was also very environmentally conscious, which we loved; they used renewable materials, locally sourced food, and solar panels to make the hot water.  We grabbed an absolutely delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant and called it an early night.

We had asked the front desk to have a Tuk-Tuk ready for us first thing in the morning to take us to the main temple areas. This tuk-tuk was great - it was so nice to be out in the open air and he got us everywhere pretty quickly. Before we could go anywhere, we needed to go to the ATM to get some money and we were surprised when US dollar bills came out - this is what they use as their currency...in fact, most places couldn't even give us any of the Cambodian Riels because they didn't have any.

The view on our Tuk-Tuk driving us all around Cambodia

The first stop of the day was Angkor Wat which was awesome! The best part about all of the temples is that you can climb all over all of them - it really makes you feel like Indiana Jones which is so much fun!

We saw quite a few monkeys hanging around...many of them finding left over fruits or soda and chowing down - they're hard to catch in pictures but we got a couple fun shots!

We also grabbed coconuts which are one of the most refreshing and delicious things I've ever had...we had a lot of these in Thailand and they were just as good in Cambodia. They taste much better than the coconuts in North America...something about Southeast Asia really makes them fantastic!  The people selling them literally just cut the top off of the coconut and put a straw in so it is super fresh...and super delicious.

After that, our driver took us to Ta Prohm which is the temple where all of the roots of the trees are growing within the temple walls...it's just awesome! It's also where the movie "Tomb Raider" with Angelina Jolie was filmed so you may recognize it from there.  It's exactly like the "lost temples" you imagine in the middle of the jungle, just not lost.

He then took us to lunch and then over to Bayon Temple which was our favorite of the day. It has a Buddha face on the North, South, East, and West side of each column. It was really great!  We tried to talk to the Buddha faces, but they don't talk back like in "Legends of the Hidden Temple"...shucks.

The temples attract not only tourists but also Buddhist monks. It was really neat to see so many of them in their bright orange robes out walking around.  I love this picture I got of one of them walking out of the temple!

We walked around the Angkor Thom area a little more and decided to call it a day as the storm clouds really started to roll in - it had a busy and fun day full of exploring!

The next day was Thanksgiving and we wanted to do something special to make this a really memorable day! I arranged for a sunrise bike ride to Angkor Wat to watch the sunrise. We met our guide at 4:45 AM (VERY early especially for vacation but somehow we knew it would be worth it) and we began our bike ride. Since our hotel was out in the village area, we started riding through the back roads in the village in the pitch black night with only little flashlights on our bikes providing any light for us to see...very crazy! Ryan rode up next to me and said, "Did you ever think that we would be riding bikes in the dark through rural Cambodia??" and the answer was: "No...I definitely never thought that I would be doing this but I'm so happy to be having this experience together!" As we got onto the main roads, we saw lots of tourists in tuk-tuks and cars - they took the easy route but we were fully enjoying our morning exercise. :) We got there before the sunrise and realized quickly that the word about how cool this was had gotten out because there were quite a few tourists there. We found a spot to enjoy the view for a bit and as the sun started to peak over the temples, we headed down to the edge of the water to get some pictures of the reflection as well - it was absolutely breathtaking!

On the way back to our hotel, the local guide took us a different way home because he wanted to show us his village which was really nice. Everyone was waving at us and at one point, a group of kids started chasing after us yelling, "Hello! Hello!"It was a wonderful morning - probably one of my favorite travel memories of all time. As it was Thanksgiving, we spent the rest of the day relaxing by the pool and enjoying the warm weather (we knew that we would be coming back to cold weather in Korea). We had a great dinner just the two of us and ended our first Thanksgiving abroad. :)

The pool area where we spent the rest of our Thanksgiving day relaxing...

The third day, we decided to take a trek out to some of the temples that were further away. The first one that we went to was Banteay Srei which is a red sandstone temple and the carvings are very well preserved.

We also went to a few other temples in the area which were a lot less crowded.

Banteay Samre

This was one of our favorite pictures - in the distance is a local woman walking to the temple with her dog.

On the ride there, we got a good look at what Cambodian life was really like. Our cab driver also told us a lot of stories about what it was like to grow up here in Cambodia...especially during the terrible times that they went through. It was really impressive how a country who has been through so much can be so kind to everyone and hopeful for a better future - they are so willing and eager to share their stories and anything that they have. It's one of those life lessons that you will never forget because it changes the way you look at your life.

On our final day, we got our last bit of rest and relaxation before we prepared to go back to Korea (which also means back to stressful and crazy work). At the hotel's spa, we had the greatest massage that we have ever had - it was a Khmer massage (Cambodian style...it was very similar to a Thai massage but not quite as intense)...it was awesome!

I also took a cooking class at our hotel which was absolutely awesome! One of the local villagers showed us their home - she showed us where they grow some of their veggies and then her kitchen where she makes  food for her entire family every day.

Then they took us to an open air pavilion where kitchen stations were set up for us to make our own meals. We made fresh spring rolls (which I now make ALL the time and absolutely adore them - so does Ryan!), Cambodian Curry (we even made the curry paste from scratch which was phenomenal) and finally, Nom Tong Noun for dessert (it's kind of like a coconut cookie). All had the freshest ingredients and were absolutely to die for - I had a blast at the cooking class! 

At the end of all, we had an absolutely magnificent trip and made some of the best memories ever! We will certainly never forget this trip and will hopefully be heading back this direction sometime in the future! :)

**If you want to stay at the same hotel as we did, it is called Sojourn Boutique Villa and we loved it!

Bangkok - Sight Seeing!

The next day, we went down to the water ferry to go to see a few of the famous Bangkok sights! The ferry is funny because you are crammed on there with lots of other people and then you travel down the river to various stops in the city. Traveling alongside you in the river are these river taxis that are long, slender boats that have a giant engine in them - very iconic Thailand.

We went out onto the front of the boat to take pictures and saw the Temple of Dawn which was really cool!

As we got off the boat on our way to Wat Pho (the Reclining Buddha), we passed several street vendors selling freshly squeezed juices and fruits. We got some fresh pomegranate juice and some fresh pineapple which were both delicious! We walked to Wat Pho, got our tickets and went to see the world famous Reclining Buddha. I don't even know how to describe what I thought when I was there but something about it felt magical. It was so impressive - the big, gold statue was just so cool.

The feet were engraved with mother of pearl, too which was beautiful.

Afterwards, we walked over to The Grand Palace and the Emerald Buddha. As we were walking in, they told us that we would not be able to go in if we were showing our knees. They had sarongs and pants for rent so Ryan and I rented a pair so we could go into the temples. These snazzy additions to our outfits certainly added to our pictures (see what I mean in the pic below?).

On our way back to the ferry, we passed some stalls selling food. I passed an older woman selling mango and sticky rice which is my absolute favorite! It was 50 Baht (about $1.60) and it was as fresh as it gets. She peeled the mango in front of me, pulled out some sticky rice, covered it coconut sauce and nuts and put it in a to go container. It was hands down the BEST mango and sticky rice I had ever had!

In the afternoon, we headed to the Chatauchack Weekend Market; it was about an hour away on the Sky Train which was a pretty awesome public transport system - complete with air conditioning which was very refreshing as Thailand is super hot and humid! The market is absolutely gigantic - it's over 35 acres and it has anything you could possibly want. We spent quite a bit of time wandering around and found a few souvenirs that we liked. The best part of our afternoon was meeting up with Ryan's friend, May. She is from Thailand and had worked with Ryan in Houston. We had the best luck because she was going home to see her family during the same time that we were there, so she met us at the market and then took us to her favorite restaurant. It was great to see her and to eat such delicious, authentic Thai food!! :)

The next day, we took it easy and walked around the city a bit and went to a great restaurant for dinner. It was called the Blue Elephant and the food was delicious!

Early the next morning, we headed up to Chiang Mai in Northern Thailand...

Japan: Tokyo & Day Trips from Tokyo

The train ride was really nice because we were able to pass Mt. Fuji - it's an elusive mountain because it is very easily covered in clouds and you can't really see it. We were lucky enough to see the top of it while our train sped by.

View of Mt. Fuji from the train

When our train pulled into the Tokyo station, we made our way via the subway to our hotel. As usual, it was a very small hotel with a hard bed and a small bathroom, haha. I haven't spoken too much about the hotels but they are very minimalist in Japan - at one of them, Ryan could touch both walls of the room if he stood in the middle and stretched out his arms. They also didn't have wifi which surprised both of us - we always thought Japan was super wired, but we learned that Korea is actually much more connected than Japan.

Tokyo Train Station

Anyway...on with our fun adventures - it was really rainy that day, but we decided to go check out the local area to get a feel for the city and then head to Shibuya because we always seem to see that part of Tokyo in movies. We crossed the street and went up to the Starbucks to see the crossing full of people at rush hour. We grabbed a coffee and staked out a spot near the window (this was tough because all tourists head here during rush hour so it was a busy, busy Starbucks - luckily, Ryan and I are good at dividing and conquering...he went to get coffee and I pounced at the first vacant seats. It worked out well).

Shibuya Crossing - lots of umbrellas because it was a rainy day

After that, it was time to head back and then grab dinner. I know that many of you will be disappointed that our first meal in Japan's capital was not Japanese food...nope, it was the classy establishment: Hooters. If you've ever been an expat, you'll understand that simple reminders of home are incredibly exciting, so we stood in line for 35 minutes waiting for a table. We were not disappointed - the wings tasted just like they did in the US!

To make sure that we made the most of our Japan Rail Pass (and we because we loved train rides), one of Ryan's friends who lives in Tokyo gave us some recommendations on day trips that we could do. We hopped on the train and got off at the Shin Yokohama station to visit the Ramen Museum. We had the same reaction - there is a ramen museum?! Yes and it's the most bizarre museum I have ever visited because it has a small exhibit talking about ramen (all in Japanese so I can't tell you what it was about) and then you go into the basement and it is set up as if it is late 1950's gangster style Japan. There are several different mini-restaurants where you can get a bowl of their ramen. They were picked as being the best ramen restaurants all over Japan. We tried a couple different dishes and our favorite was one that was miso based with lots of garlic and ginger - simply to die for!

1958 Style Japan - Ramen Style

Ramen with a Miso Base and plenty of ginger - SO good! 

Round 2 of our ramen tasting - this was really good as well! 

Then, we got back on the train to go to a zen temple where it was said that one of Buddha's teeth is stored. As we have told you before, the train is incredibly relaxing - unfortunately this meant that both Ryan and I fell asleep and completely missed our train stop. No worries, though - we got off and then quickly back on the train very well rested and headed back in the right direction. :) We got there and walked around the temple grounds which was an incredibly peaceful place. We saw the building where the tooth was stored, but of course, you're not able to go in that building. Then we hiked up to the big bell and that wrapped up our visit to the temple.

Temple Grounds

Temple Cat

Monk walking around the Temple

Posing with the bell

Ryan killed this Asian wasp with his bare hands! 

We headed right back on the train and went to see the Great Buddha in Kamakura. It's about a 20 minute walk from the train station and you walk through the cutest neighborhood of Japanese houses. Finally, we got there and we walked up and we couldn't believe how big it was! We had definitely seen this in our history books growing up and it was unbelievable to see it in person! It is a giant, broze, sitting Buddha statue that is over 13 meters high! It used to be inside a temple but a big tsunami washed away the building and so it's been outside ever since. After taking enough pictures, we headed back on the train to Tokyo to get a good night sleep before our next day trip.

In the morning, we woke up early and got on the train to Matsumoto to visit the famous castle there. It was a longer train ride and it went through some beautiful mountainous areas - it was a really beautiful train ride. We got to Matsumotto and walked directly to the castle - it was gorgeous! We walked in and around the castle and really enjoyed it. We were blessed with an extremely beautiful day, too, so we were very lucky! We stopped and tried one of the speciality foods there - oyaki. It was essentially a roll filled with yummy ingredients - Ryan had red beans in his and I had pumpkin in mine...very tasty.

Samurai Suit 

 Then, we got back on the train again and headed to Nagano. You will recognize this name because the winter olympics were here in 1998...we only walked around the city but there are a lot of ski mountains a little ways out from the city - hopefully we will be able to visit these sometime in the future to go skiing. Beyond winter sports, the primary tourist attraction in Nagano is the Zenko-ji Temple. It was built in the 7th century and then Nagano City was built around it. It is also one of the last pilgrimage sites in Japan so there were many people around the temple.

                                                     

They put the hats and caps on because it was starting to get cold... 

Fire breathing statue - smoke came out of his mouth - pretty cool! 

Something about this scene just made me think of Japan...

Lanterns out around the temple area

After a nice exploration of the temple, we grabbed some soba noodles (Nagano is said to have some of the best soba noodles in Japan) which were very tasty and then headed back on the train to Tokyo. It was our last night in the city and our friend had graciously promised to take us to the top of one of the buildings (Mori Tower at Roppongi Hills) to see the city view at night. Before we embarked on that journey, he took us to an unbelievable burger restaurant - it was small but it was easily one of the best hamburgers I have ever had...he said that they use some kobe beef in there which makes it extra delicious.

Soba Noodles, Tempura, and Rice - so Japan! 

At the top of Mori Tower, there is a special exhibit going on for Disney's 110th Anniversary. Basically, they turned their helicopter pad on top of the roof into a crazy Disney tribute - there are mirror covered Disney characters that spin around while bright colored lights shine on them and music plays - the first song is always "It's a Small World" - it was an interesting scene up at the top dedicated to Disney, but the cooler part is that you get to be up on the roof, looking at the panoramic view outside without any windows in your way (the usual look out point is in the building and is indoors). The views were awesome!!

Tokyo Tower 

Tokyo City View - we're purple because of the Disney Lights

It's hard to make out but these are the spinning mirror Disney characters with colorful lights flashing on them...one of the funniest things I've ever experienced...

 Afterwards, we met up with one of our friends who has recently moved to Tokyo. He took us to show us the "real" Japan which consisted of walking through a lot of alleyways looking for small restaurants/bars where businessmen come at all hours to have some yakitori and some beer/saki after work. We found quite a few and had a lot of fun! It was a great night!

The menu was up on the wall in one of the spots we stopped at (those wood panels are all menu items)

On our last day, we headed to the airport on the Sky Train which was a very fitting last activity (seeing as we loved the Japanese train rides so much). A great end to a wonderful week in Japan! :)

Last picture of us in Japan while on the Sky Train :)