Jobs and Applications, Mother's Day!

I hate cover letters.  I really, sincerely do not like cover letters and dont see the need for them.  I also hate asking and re-asking for references, it feels like I am bothering people.  I know linkedin is supposed to be the place where you can put your resume online and then get jobs based on that, but it doesnt quite work for the education field as well as it does for the business field.  I am just so tired of applying to places.  It also doesnt help that the job-getting process is a whole waiting game.  Most schools dont know who they can hire until June so I wont know anything until probably July!  Patience is a virtue that I am not that strong in. :)

However, I did get a permanent substitute position working at my Mom's school.  It has been a lot of fun and re-affirmed that teaching is what I want to do for the foreseeable future. 7- and 8-year olds are ridiculous and tell the most random stories.  They also make very honest and innocent mistakes like abbreviating assistant to ass without realizing what they did.  Or writing "Im doing it in slow motion" as a sentence for their spelling word 'motion.'  You know, completely innocent things like that, where as my adult-twisted mind transforms it into something hilarious.

It has been wonderful to work and back on to a schedule.  I definitely had too much thinking time on my hands when I came back from traveling.  Although, I feel as though I have aged 10 years being back to work in the classroom.  I happily go to bed at 830 or 9 because I am so exhausted from working.  I use my Sundays to lesson plan and prepare for the work week ahead.  I mentally plan out my clothes because I have more than one pair of pants to choose from.  I make leftovers or sandwiches for lunch and make sure to have my bag packed the night before.  I drink coffee in the morning and not for the joy of coffee but because I am not sure how I would function without it.  Yes, I have become that person. I am working now and as hesitant as I was to fall back in to a routine, I am liking the stability.  I am also liking the paycheck and actually making money instead of just spending savings.  But this will only last until the beginning of June and then I need to figure out my next paychecks. 

I am still looking forward to my next adventure and my next step.  I wish I knew when or where that was to but time will tell.  I will find out soon enough.  I have enjoyed living with my parents but I am ready to move on my own again.  The next place I move will be where I start my own home, which is very weird to think about.  Every time I have 'flown' from the nest, I always had a room/storage place at my parents house.  I also knew that I would probably be back home, either as a layover or a place to regroup and go out again.  Leaving for college, I knew I would be back before I went in to Peace Corps.  After Peace Corps, I knew I would use home as a place to regroup before leaving again.  Now, the next time I leave it will be because I have a job, a life to start and if I come home again it will be because something didnt work out.  I wont use home as a base anymore, I will be making my base somewhere else. It is overwhelming, scary and intimidating.  At the same time, it is exciting, challenging and I am ready for it!

I feel like most people do this at the age of 20 or so, but I am doing it at the wonderful age of 27 and I dont feel wrong about it.  I dont feel old or like I am off the path.  This is the way my life has worked out and I am happy to be where I am.  :)

With that, I want to write a little about my amazing mother!  It is Mother's Day after all!  She is probably one of the only people that reads this thing anyways...

I want to thank you, Mom, for helping me, listening to me, comforting me, pushing me, challenging me, cooking with me, and above all consistently loving me for who I am even when I might not have deserved all of it!  You are an inspiring role model and one of the most understanding and accepting people I know.  If more people were like you, this world would be a lot better!  Keep being amazing!  Thanks for being the best friend anyone could ask for!

And to all those Mom-like figures out there, my Aunts, Grandmothers, Friends, and my friend's Moms, you all have done something amazing! You inspire, you support, you teach, and you unconditionally love those in your life.  Thank you!

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day and make sure you send your thanks to your own Mom and to those Moms in your life!

Love.

Home again, home again.

So I am home. And my family has been great, incredibly supportive and patient. Before I get to that, let me finish up my travel adventures. Malaysia was great one last time before heading home.  I was able to see family and spend more time with everyone before I left.  From cousins to grandparents to babies, I had a blast.  I am hoping to find a job that will place me closer to my Malaysian family because I would love to get to know them better!  We shall see how this all works out...

Now I have been home for a little less than a month.  The weirdest feeling happened when I got on the plane to start my 30+ hours adventure home... it was like the last two years and eight months had been a dream.  Gone... poof... out of the window. It was like it vanished.  Yet, all I can do is think to how things in Armenia were or how cheap the food in Laos was.  Its like my brain got stuck in this one specific area of my life and I cant think of anything else.

I went in to Peace Corps when I was 24, almost 25. I left when I was 27.  There were a solid 24 years of life before Peace Corps, yet the only ones I can think of are the last two.  The only things I can compare things to are the last two.  I compare prices of food to how much meals were in Thailand.  I compare clothes prices to how much they were in India.  I compare public transportation to that found in Armenia.  I talk about how I was certified in diving while in Turkey. I am kind of a jerk.  Who else talks like this? Yet, this is all I can seem to talk about.

For a coming home/ welcome home thing, my family had a little get together.  I invited two friends, one is another Returned Peace Corps volunteer from Cape Verde and also did a 3 month trip after service through Africa and the other is a teacher who worked in Spain for two years and took weekend trips to cities in Europe people would kill to visit.  While at this dinner party, we kept stopping ourselves and checking what we said or how much we would say. Thank goodness they were there so they could take some of the attention off of me and they could also talk about their experiences. 

Before leaving PC, we had a Close of Service conference where we talked about how to talk to people when you get back from PC.  While that may sound stupid or redundant, it was pretty interesting. People on the whole cant relate to what we, as returned volunteers, have been through.  We talk casually about things that people drop their jaws about.  The culture shock that surprised me when I went to Armenia became common place and I am having more culture shock about people not understanding it than the shock I had when I experienced it.  For example, outhouses.  Using the bathroom outside.  For me, it became normal.  When I was first in Armenia, I was skittish about using it and wasnt comfortable with it but it became normal and not a big deal.  Now when I talk about it to people who arent volunteers or dont have that experience, I am almost more shocked by their reaction to such things.

Another example that isnt PC related is the backpacking world.  Oh my gosh, the backpacking world.  I miss it sooo much!!!!  In this world, you are surrounded by like minded people doing similar things.  Especially in SE Asia, and I mentioned this before, but you are meeting the same people on a similar route.  The vibes with everyone is so relaxed and adventurous that you get caught up in it and you think that everyone in the world is like this and that everyone in the world wants to be like this... and then you come home and talk about how you carried 15 kilos (about 40 lbs) of all of your belongings and felt like you had too much stuff.  Then they look at you like you have a third eye because you wore the same shirt for a week and scoff at you for only owning flip flops and chacos!  It is such a difference!

I think I am experiencing reverse culture shock and the most frustrating thing is I dont know what it is that I am being shocked from.  When in Armenia, I could point to something and say, wow, that is different.  And I would know what it was, even if it was a cultural thing, I could still pick it out.  Here, I am familiar and unfamiliar to things in my own culture that I cant pick out what it is that surprises me or what it is that I am frustrated by...  who knows, maybe I will figure it out, maybe I wont.

It also doesnt help that I dont have a job yet.  I will begin substitute teaching once I take the sub class and that will be after March 6th.  Being back in a routine and doing something will be helpful.  I am also applying to quite a few places and now I get to play the waiting game... we will see.  I am sure other volunteers can empathize with how I am feeling. And for my family that reads this, maybe it will explain some of my mood swings. :) 

I am happy to be home. I am happy where I am in life, I am just trying to figure out how to blend what I have experienced with where I am at now.  Not always the easiest.

Thailand to Malaysia... Same Same but ending not beginning.

I have to hurry up and post about the rest of my trip before I get home, otherwise I will be really behind...

So from Laos, after the worst bus ride of the trip, we made it to Chiang Mai, Northern Thailand. It is a beautiful city, beautiful people, and really good food!  It is way different than southern Thailand because northern Thailand is all hilly and lusher.  Southern Thailand, at least the part that I saw, was beach and tropical. Both are beautiful and have so much to offer.  I loved Chiang Mai and would go back in a heart beat!

We didnt have a lot of time there because we were chasing the moon to make it to Koh Pah-Ngan for the Full Moon Party.  It wasnt something I was particularly interested in going but my travel partners were.  So with only a few days in Chiang Mai, we spent one day walking around at night, one day walking around during the day and taking a taxi out to see the temple on a hill for sunset.  Then the last day before our evening train ride, I took a cooking class and the others went ziplining.  I would have liked to do zip lining but I needed to learn Thai cooking and this was about the last time I would have the chance.

It was delicious and a lot of fun! Learned 6 dishes but got the recipes for about 18.  Full day course, including a tour through the market, and a grand total of 20 dollars!  Ridiculously cheap for the amount of food we had! It was a lot of fun and I made a few friends.  Some of them were at the beginning of their trip and were asking me questions about what I have done and seen.  It surprised myself how much I knew and how much I have done! Whew, I have seen a lot in this short time!

After the cooking and zipping, we met at the hostel, packed up and took the train to Bangkok.  Once there we figured out how to get a bus to the harbor, spent the night in the harbor, took the morning ferry to the island and took a truck to Haad Rin.  We jumped out of there, found a wonderful guesthouse behind a delicious restaurant and dropped our stuff off.  It was about 24 hours of traveling for a party... the most I have ever done!  But it was fun, a bit ridiculous but pretty fun.  I am not sure it was worth the 24 hours and maybe we hyped it up too much, but it was good.  I also went to bed too soon and apparently missed a lot but oh well.

The island of Koh Pah-Ngan gets a lot of crap because of the full moon party but it actually is a beautiful island if you go away from Haad Rin.  ze German convinced us to go on a death defying day of scootering around the island.  I was terrified but after about the first three mountains I went up and down over, it actually was fun.  We went around to the waterfalls and a few other beaches on the island.  It was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed myself.  I didnt die, didnt crash, and enjoyed the mountains on the way back. I am glad I did it and glad that ze German talked me into it.

From there, we went to Krabi town to get a ferry to Ton Sai, little sister to Hat Rai Lea.  Beautiful, beautiful! It is a place for rock climbers so it wasnt completely my scene, but we went kayaking and swimming and got really really tan! Hehe.  Its already fading, so dont get too mad at me.  We had some delicious food and ate at Mama's Fried Chicken more times than I want to say.  But the green curry for breakfast canceled out the chicken burgers we were eating at night.  It was such a laid back time and a really nice way to part ways with all of our friends.  ze German and Tobye left us to fly out of Bangkok and Parksie and I went south to Malaysia.  We took our last ferry/van/train to arrive in Kuala Lumpur at 6 in the morning!  Taking the train, I realized this was my last one for a while.  Whereas Parksie will continually galavanting the world for a while, I will be flying home in 5 days to America land. Wow!

About 161 days we have spent together and it all comes to an end tonight.

I am not so sure how much I will blog after this or until maybe my next adventure.  I still have some earlier adventures through Europe and Central America that I want to blog about so we will see...

See you when you see me! :)

Final Countdown!

So it is ending. About 20 days left on this wonderful adventure of mine and then it will be on to America to start a new adventure.  Getting settled back home, moving in with the parents, adjusting to America, living out of a house instead of a suitcase, options on menus, driving, everyone understanding what I am saying, using English all the time… all the small things that I will have to readjust to while getting a job and starting to make some of that money! Whew. As overwhelming as that seems and will be, I am ready for it.  Well, half of me is ready, the other half is really, REALLY sad that I have to leave this lifestyle.  And yes, traveling is a lifestyle.  Wearing the same three shirts over and over, smelling, sharing bathrooms with 20 other strangers, learning to try and sleep on buses, planning your next few days, crossing borders, meeting new people constantly, being in situations where you don’t know what is going on but you need to understand.  It is a lifestyle.  It is a crazy and wonderful lifestyle that I will miss sincerely. 

But enough of that, more of what I have planned and what I have seen and done.  That is what this blog is all about: updating on my adventures.  Last I left you, I finished touring Siam Reap and the Angkor Wat temples, which are still amazing and one of the coolest things I have seen.  We headed from there to Battambang, Cambodia.  It is supposed to be the second largest city in Cambodia and I am not sure how. It was completely dead at night, not to say it wasn’t interesting or worthwhile, just not what you expect the second largest city in a country to be like.  We arrived fairly early in the day, dropped our stuff off, and walked around the city.  We basically saw everything there was to see within the city that afternoon.  The next day we booked a tuk tuk to take us around the city to the temples that were about 40 or so kilometers outside.  They were really interesting.  We went to the Killing Caves, which has a horrible background story from the Khmer Rouge.  It is such juxtaposition because the cave itself is beautiful but the history of what happened there is brutal.  We also saw a few temples around the area which were really pretty and one of them is supposedly what the main temple at Angkor Wat is modeled after.  We also drove through some rice fields and got to see a little of village life.  The kids are so friendly and they always smile and wave at you.  It is a lot of fun and really shows the happiness and simplicity in children all over the world.  Children are children no matter where you are and they all want the same things in life: to play and laugh. 

The next stop on our trip was supposed to be a fishing village outside of Phnom Penh and on the way to the border with Laos but our bus just kind of flew right by our stop and we ended up in Phnom Penh AGAIN! Ah.  While the city is great and I really do enjoy it, we have been there three times and only have planned to go there once! But it turned out for the better because we were able to book bus tickets to Don Det and the 4000 Islands in southern Laos and also arranged our visas ahead of time.  We probably should have just gotten our visas at the border but with so much conflicting information about the border crossing and visa on arrival availability, we just got it in advance.  The first night in Phnom Penh, I checked out couchsurfing.org and saw that they had a CS weekly meet up so we headed to there to meet some fellow travelers and also some people who live in Phnom Penh.  It was pretty cool and we met some interesting people who were doing short volunteer stints in Cambodia through various programs and organizations. They had some interesting view points about the city and I think it is wonderful to meet ‘expats’ because you are able to get an outsiders view of the inside. 

The next day we walked around Phnom Penh and saw more of the temples and museums in the area.  Southeast Asia is such a small area and there is such a backpackers trail that people we saw in Battambang, we met randomly again in a museum that afternoon.  This has happened repeatedly and is always fun because we are able to give and receive pointers and tips about the places we are traveling to.  It’s a great community (and another reason why I will be sad to leave). 

With our last night in Cambodia, we went out and ate dinner along the river and enjoyed the people watching that came along with it.  There really is a strange mix within Phnom Penh of locals, expats, wealthy, poor, ladyboy, and tourists culture that all works together to create a really good mix and vibe.  I did really enjoy the city, even if we only planned to go there once.

The next morning at the ungodly hour of 7, we were up and ready for our bus ride.  We were told the bus would leave at 7:30 but didn’t actually end up leaving until 9.  But it wasn’t too bad of a bus ride and we were stopping a little on the way to pick up more people.  Our first stop in Laos was Don Det which is a part of the 4000 Islands (Si Pan Don) in the very southern part.  It is part of the Mekong River and there are all of these little islands throughout.  A few of them are inhabited and some are too small to really be considered an island.  We went in low season so there were plenty of rooms available and we found a pretty affordable bungalow close to the main street.  We had to take a small boat over to the island and arrived pretty late at night.  One of the things we didn’t really take in to consideration was that Laos has an 11:00 curfew for business, including bars and restaurants.  We arrived at 9 and figured we would have time to organize ourselves.  But we ended up rushing through and found an Indian restaurant along the river that was pretty decent.

The next day we rented bikes and rode around the island, through the local area of the island and to the bridge that connected to another island.  It was a pretty decent ride.  We made plans to meet up with one of ze Germans in central Laos so we weren’t able to stay long on the island.  The next day we were on a bus up to Tha Kheak for two evenings before we met the German at the border.  The whole time the plan was to meet at the border and then go to Kong Lor Cave, which has been described as the creepiest cave you have ever seen.  German was coming from Vietnam and so we met up earlier than planned and headed to Ban Na Hin, the small city that you can base your cave adventure out of.  We spent the night there and the next morning woke up to head out to the cave.  Well our timing was HORRIBLE and we showed up in the middle of a village celebration that essentially shut down the cave.  It was really our only chance to go there and we had booked our tickets and trip for the next town already! So after all of that planning and traveling, we didn’t end up seeing the cave.  We explored the outside of it but never made it in!  Ah! So this just means that I will need to come back to Laos in the future, which I fully intend on doing because it is a wonderful country!

So night bus up to the capital, Vientiane, spent a few days sight-seeing around there, before heading to Vang Vieng, our Christmas destination! And oh my, what a Christmas it was! Vang Vieng is an interesting area.  It is basically a co-op of families that have decided by making money off of tourists and really boosting their economy and education system.  Pretty damn cool if you ask me.  We went to the tubing area for Christmas and mainly just hung around the first bar area and had a wonderful time and met lots of super cool people.  The area is a great place to meet others and just hang out and dance a bit.  We spent the next few days relaxing, tubing, people watching, and meeting people.  It was also Mr. Lee’s birthday during that time and we had a good time just tubing and relaxing.  Relaxing from what, I don’t know, but it was fun nonetheless. 

From Vang Vieng, we headed up to Luang Prabang where we would spend New Year.  We stayed at Spicy Laos Backpackers which is another hostel we have been recommended throughout our travels.  And I completely understand why, it was a great place to meet others.  We went to a waterfall on the day of New Years Eve and it was beautiful. I was a little skeptical of it at first but it turned out to be totally worth it.  So beautiful and a little bit of a hike up to the top but great view of the area. Laos is a beautiful country and I would love to come back and explore a lot more. It just looks like a place that is authentic and true to itself.  The people are so incredibly friendly and welcoming.  Beautiful people, beautiful country. 

We have been hearing about how amazing Laos is since Armenia.  We met a few backpackers that have done our trip in the opposite direction and all of them talk about the amazingness of Laos and I see why.  It’s not so much what you see or what you do but it is about the atmosphere and the people firstly and then secondly what you do and see.  I don’t know how else to describe it besides the fact that it is more of a feeling than an experience.  Hopefully that makes a little sense?

Well that is all from Laos.  Except the bus ride from Luang Prabang to the border of Thailand was by far the WORST bus I have ever taken in my entire life. It was about 17 hours of pure hell and NEVER again will I take that bus route.  And yes, I do plan on visiting Laos again. It was amazing!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! I hope that you all have a wonderful holiday! I hope that no matter where you are, who you are with, or what you are doing, that you have an amazing time! Much love! :)

Koh Chang to Cambodia: Same same but different

"Same same but different" is a saying that both Thai and Khmer (Cambodian) people say.  Not sure why but it is interesting and expresses exactly what it means, this is similar but different. Thailand and Cambodia are not same same though. 

We spent our last few days in Koh Chang and had a beautiful time! I love that little island and could see myself going there many, many more times. Lonely Beach is where we stayed and it was just so relaxing with a nice mix of culture.  Although I didnt end up diving or taking a cooking class, I still really enjoyed my time there.  We met a LOT of people that we have planned to meet up with along the way.

When the day came to say goodbye to Koh Chang and Thailand, we woke up and took a taxi bus to the ferry, the ferry across to the mainland, another taxi to the bus station, and then a mini bus to the border.

*Here it is important to mention that I forgot my Lonely Planet on Ko Samui.  Southeast Asia on a Shoestring has been like my Bible on this trip.  I have taken notes, highlighted passages, drawn maps, wrote cross references, post-it noted the heck out of it, basically anything you can do to make your trip easier, I had in that book.  And I forgot it. But the Germans were there to save the day and they saw it and saved it to return to me at a later date.*

So we are at the border and without the book, we have been relying on other travelers and the internet for advice.  We saw online that crossing the border is kind of a hassle and on the Cambodian side, people will try and scam you.  So we were semi-prepared for it.  But we assumed it just meant for the visa, we didnt realize it was the entire process and everything after that.  Through being rushed through, being told that the last bus leaves in 15 minutes, exchanging money at a really bad rate, and a taxi driver driving off with some of our money, we were scammed and scammed a LOT! Very not cool and not a good way to say goodbye to Thailand and hello to Cambodia.

*The reason the book is important to this part of the story is because in the Lonely Planet, there is an ENTIRE section on border crossing scams and just about every one they list in the book happened to us... if I had my book, maybe we would still have all of our money. Grr.... *

We finally arrive at our destination of Phnom Penh at the Mad Monkey hostel after hearing a lot of recommendations for it.  It was a really nice hostel, quieter than expected but their neighbors arent too understanding of the 'party' hostel atmosphere. Understandable too because of the neighborhood the hostel is in... very close to embassy houses and extravagantly rich complexes.  I cant imagine they want to hear backpackers on a rooftop bar.  Anyhow, we arrived at the hostel tired and ready to sleep and forget about our day of scams.  We went to a restaurant very close to the hostel and ate some good noodle soup.  That was about all we could do and headed up to bed.

The next day we were meeting Parksie's friend, Mr. Lee, at the hostel and so we took a day to kind of get our bearings and look up where we would head to next. During the day we met a few people who were also hanging around the hostel.  When Mr. Lee arrived, he met three other guys that were staying at the hostel as well, so we all decided to go to dinner.  We met some other randoms in the hostel as we were rounding up all of our new friends and had 11 people in total: 6 Americans, 2 Swedes, 1 Swiss, and 2 Kiwis. Oh and myself and another American were the only girls in this group.  Weird ratios. :)  This was the most Americans I have seen in a while.  While traveling through, we have met more Germans and Aussies than anyone else. 

We all went to this street stall where we overwhelmed this woman who was stir frying noodles.  But she loved us and told us to sit.  Her grand-daughter was translating for her and making sure that everyone was happy and had enough food.  It was a simple noodle dish but really, really good!  I LOVE the noodle dishes from this area!  From there we went to a few bars and had a generally wonderful night! This is what I mean about meeting people in hostels.  One of the people that we met that night, we ended up following to the beach.  Two others, we keep in contact and might meet up in Laos with.  I love this kind of traveling.

The next day, we had a sobering day at the Killing Fields. Cambodia's past is one of turmoil and war and their history is pretty intense.  The current state of the country though is interesting in a weird way.  They have borrowed money and help from their neighbors and to pay the debts back they have sold a lot of their temples, land, and important historical sites. This website has an interesting debate about what this implies for the sites.  It is an adaption from an article but I think it is a good short summary of a memorial vs. profit.  The money from visiting Choeung Ek goes to Vietnam and not to the victims of the genocide.  That to me, is unacceptable and I didnt realize this before I went there.  However, the money from the National Museum goes to Cambodia.

Nevertheless, the memorial was done in a way of respect and memory.  The site had an audio guide that was really good and informative.  I must admit I did not know a lot about the history of Cambodia but after going there, I have gotten a few books that I have started reading along the way.  I dont like being ignorant about the place I am in.

From the fields we headed to the prison that has been turned into a museum of sorts. This was hard to see because it had so many pictures of the prisoners on display and gave some more of the history of the site.  This was a really hard day emotionally because it was so recent.  I have been to some concentration camps in Germany but this seemed harder because it isnt well known.  I would say most Americans do not know a lot about the genocide that happened between 1975 and 1979 where 20 percent of the population was killed.  It was so recent and anyone we meet that is over 30 was affected. Walking around the cities and meeting people, you always wonder how they were effected, how they are coping, and how they survived.  It is hard.

To kind of move away from that topic and in to what else I have been doing in Cambodia, I will continue with after Phnom Penh.  As I mentioned, we met an American girl that was heading south to the beach.  We had some more time to burn through before we met up with ze Germans to get my book back.  We planned on meeting them in Siem Reap and had a few days.  So of course, being us, we headed to the beach! We went to Otres Beach which is this incredibly relaxing, relatively quiet, and undisturbed beach.  It was really nice to get some reading done.  We spent a few nights there and then decided to head up to Siem Reap to meet up with our Germans. Not only were we meeting ze Germans, but we also met my new best friend who is also a German.  Suzie Q! We met her in Koh Chang on the infamous Thanksgiving night and convinced her to come to Cambodia.

Leaving Otres Beach, we were supposed to make it all the way to Siem Reap but that didnt end up happening.  Between the night bus being sold out, the bus breaking down, waiting for a new bus for two hours, and a bunch of other stuff, we ended up having to stay in Phnom Penh for a night before taking the earliest bus up to Siem Reap.  Even that bus was late and drove really slow while honking at people the entire time.  The transportation in this country leaves a LOT to be desired and we have been constantly having to add two hours to our journeys.  Frustrating.

FINALLY, we made it to Siem Reap and to the Garden Village Guesthouse where we have 1 dollar dorm beds.  They are actually pretty good, albeit noisy at night.  The Sunset bar is a great place to come up and relax (actually where I am writing this now).  Walking up the stairs to the bar area where we had planned to meet everyone, Suzie comes running down the stairs! It was so good to see her and sad that it was only for a few nights! 

That night we were also meeting up with the other Germans.  So we were catching up with Suzie while we waited for them to show up.  They stupidly bought tickets for 12 that night but I was able to persuade them to stay the night and leave the next morning.  It wasnt hard to convince them, I basically just changed their ticket for them. They very nicely brought my book and handed it over. It was beautiful and just as I remembered it. It was like I felt complete again! We went out and had a great night dancing and checking out the night scene in Siem Reap.  Ze German's bus was leaving at 7 and they had to be at the station around 6, so we all decided just to stay up to see them off and also go see the sunrise at the main temple of Angkor Wat. 

It was beautiful and a wonderful way to welcome ourselves to Siem Reap.  After sunrise we went back to the dorms and slept.  Then later that night we went to watch the sunset on a different temple and that was beautiful as well.  Cambodia has a beautiful country and a beautiful country side.  We took a lot of great pictures.  Then we had a pretty relaxing night, went to a good dinner and walked around the night market.

The next day we toured some of the farther temples and also met up with two other Americans (one from the beach and her friend that came out to visit).  We took a van and spent the day touring the temples.  On the way back we went to Angkor Thom and checked out the temple with all of the faces on it.  That was a really cool temple and I wish that we had a guide to explain all of the carvings on it.

Angkor Wat and all of the temples are relatively young, if you compare them to other temples.  They are about the same age as Notre Dame.  Most of the temples were built between the 9th and 11th century.  I had it in my head that they were a lot older, like Mayan aged temples, but they are a lot newer.  Dont let that diminish how awesome they are though.  They were structurally fantastic and their history is pretty great. Changing from Hindu to Buddhist temples and then the unification of the two from the 7th Angkorian king where he wanted an acceptance of both religions.  It was really interesting.  The day when we went to a majority of the temples, we had a guide with us so we were able to learn a lot more about the temples and its history.

Our guide, Brother Sava, was great and I highly recommend him if you come to Angkor Wat and need a guide for the day.  He was great and really friendly.  His email address is: sunsava2007@yahoo.com.

Also, in Siem Reap, I took a cooking class that I highly recommend!  It is through the Le Tigre de Papier and is amazing!  We had Savoeun and she was amazing!  If you are in Siem Reap and interested in cooking at all, take this course.  You get to go to the market, pick the dishes you want to prepare, have someone explain the recipes while you cook them... all for 12 dollars.  That is it, just 12 dollars.  By far the cheapest cooking class I have seen.  And quite possibly, the best.

Before the day of the cooking class, we had another German send off.  Suzie was leaving us to go back to Bangkok.  We had to send her off in a fancy way so we kind of did the same stuff, went out and danced the night away until almost the morning.  Her bus left a little later so she was able to get a bit of sleep before her 10 hour bus to Bangkok. It was still sad to say goodbye but we have plans to meet up again in Berlin, her hometown.  And we all know, I love Germany so I am excited for that.  Berlin is a place I havent been yet and have heard a lot of great things about it.

That is about it for Siem Reap.  The temples were amazing! The people that we have met along the way have been fantastic and now it is time to say goodbye to Siem Reap and head out.  Not too sure where or for how long, but its back on the road again!