Thailand Island Tour

Our entire Chinese New Year vacation was immaculately planned! We started in Phnom Penh, Cambodia were are hearts were broken for the victims and families of the Khmer Rouge. In Siem Reap, Cambodia we experienced the wonders of Angkor Wat at sunrise, and ate the most delicious food the world has to offer. Upon arriving in Chiang Mai, Thailand our spirits were lifted touring Zoe Children's Home and hearing about the amazing work they do to rescue innocent children from being sold into sex slavery. We got a solid dose of fresh air and wilderness while riding Elephants, playing with baby tigers, swimming in a waterfall, hiking, and white-water rafting! We learned the secrets of Thai cooking and made lots of wonderful dishes. We saw Palaces and Buddhas galore, and took tons of excellent photos along the way. We flew, cabbed, bused, (church)vanned, tuk-tuked, and even took a sleeper train! So now what? Well this leads me to our last full week of vacation - ISLAND TIME!!!

Our first full day after flying into Phuket was spent touring a few of the islands Thailand has to offer. We visited Koh Pi Pi (most known for the filming of "The Beach") as well as Monkey Island and 2 others whose names I don't remember. During our tour we even went snorkeling, which was AWESOME! After 2 days in Phuket we were off to Koh Penang ready to hit the beach all day and Black Moon Party all night!

Surrounded by techno music and neon lights we did what any Black Moon Culture crazed party animal would do - got neon paint tattoos of course! Mine was pink and green flowers (surprise, surprise) that went totally down my arm! Rebecca's and Blair's arms were also streaming down with flowers while Camden decided to get real crazy and have a gecko put on her arm! The party was crazy, and an experience to say the least, but a lot of fun as well!

It was definitely a vacation that will last a lifetime with wonderful new friends!

Oh, you are so gorgeous everyday!

living the dream in Thailand!

We booked an Elephant Trek through out hostel which included a full day of outdoor adventures! It began with a visit to a beautiful orchid and butterfly farm. We walked around and took an embarrassing photo shoot (these pictures will likely never be relieved so I would suggest using your imagination.....) Following our photo shoot we went on a short hike through soybean fields, and pineapple, melon, and coconut trees. The end of our hike lead us to my favorite part of the day - ELEPHANTS!!! They were so cute and we were all excited to feed them bananas and have them take us around the mountains. Later on in the day we enjoyed a delicious lunch, walked though a few mountain villages, swam in a waterfall, and even went white-water rafting! Our day ended with a relaxing bamboo raft across the river.

The next day Camden, and I took a Thai cooking class where we learned to make Spring Rolls, Green Curry with Chicken, Spicy Thai Soup, and Chicken with Cashews. It was all very yummy and surprising SO easy! At the end of our class we were given a cookbook with all of the recipes as well as about 20 others to try on our own!

Thailand - The Land of Smiles

Their tag line says it all! From Cambodia, we took a bus (that resembled more of a church van than anything) into Bangkok, Thailand. As suggested by numerous friends, we arranged to spend as little time in Bangkok as possible, which is exactly what we did! After visiting the Grand Palace, Wat Pho (biggest reclining Buddha in the world), and getting an excellent massage on Koh San Road, we were ready to head off to Chiang Mai.

I took my first overnight train, which I must say was pretty awesome! Minus the occasional creepy crawlers, and the fact that the lights stayed on ALL night, it's was a great way to travel - comfortable, affordable, easy, and fun (especially if you bring along cocktails and a great sense of humor!) It's like paying for transportation AND a hostel in one quick CHEAP ticket (about $10.)

Once we arrived in Chiang Mai, we were greeted by some family friends of Camden who have been living in Thailand for 2 years now working at Zoe Children's Home. It is a truly wonderful organization, with the mission to combat human trafficking for children world-wide, especially in regard to the sex-trade. Zoe provides a loving home to orphans and children who have been abused or are at-risk in any crime against them. At Zoe, the children are raised with a strong Christian background and given the highest education, love, and support possible! I thoroughly enjoyed our tour of Zoe and was excited to see their plans for the future! (click ZoeChildren for more information)

After our wonderful tour of Zoe and meeting some of the adorable children, we checked into our hostel and went to Tiger Kingdom where we played and took pictures with baby tigers. We had a great first day in Chiang Mai!

Cambodia continued - Raiding Tombs

Our next stop of our tour of Cambodia was Siem Reap. The first day began quite early, 4:30am to be exact, arranging Tuk-Tuks for the day to take us around the city. We arrived at Angkor Wat in time to watch the sunrise, had breakfast with Rambo, then spent the rest of the day touring other wats (temples) in the Angkor Wat region. The temples were beautiful and truly amazing. We climbed, hiked, and took pictures galore!

After touring and seeing enough wats to last a lifetime, we took a boat tour of a water village. The poverty and hardships the people of this village face are astonishing and the desperation was even worse. Families would do anything and everything to earn a few extra dollars, from selling sodas and fruit, to putting young children in cooking pots filled with snakes as a way for tourists to take pictures and give money. Although many of the "houses" were government subsidized, it was nothing like I'd ever seen. The "houses" consisted of bamboo pieces nailed together and leaves to act as roves. Wishing we came better prepared with books, and school supplies to donate, we ended our tour with a hope to return, and desire to make a change!

Cambodia - good, clean, fun!

There's so much I want to say about this amazing country I don't know where to begin! I love love love Cambodia! It's a country with an amazingly rich history, the best food I've ever tasted, and the friendliest people I've ever met!

Our first full day was spent in Phnom Phen, the capital of Cambodia, where we were astonished by the beauty of the Royal Palace and heart broken at the sight of The Killing Fields and Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. During the Khmer Rouge Regime in the 1970s Tuol Sleng, a local high school at the time, was transformed from a place of education and enlightenment to the notorious Security Prison (S-21) where out of an estimated 17,000 people imprisoned only 7 survived. During the first year of S-21's existence, corpses were buried on site, but with the rapidly growing death tole, burial space ran out quickly. The prisoners and their family were taken to the Killing Fields, Choeung Ek, 15Kilometers outside Phnom Phen. Once at the killing fields, the prisoners were battered with iron bars, axes, machetes, and other weapons, then thrown into a grave which held up to 100 other people. Seeing and learning about the Khmer Rouge for the first time was not only devastating but also eye opening. In American schools, the Khmer Rouge is not taught or even so much as brushed over in history class. For such an important aspect to the history of Cambodia, it's as if we are trying to hide and act like it never happened. Why, one may ask? Because not only was America supporting Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge, we were also aiding by giving money, and making secret alliances to assist in the genocide. It's gross and disheartening in ever aspect possible, but as to not go off in too long of a tangent, I will focus my attention back to why and how I fell in love with Cambodia.

What was truly amazing was how Cambodia, as a nation, has risen up and channeled efforts to restore their country. One of the first things I noticed upon arrival in Phnom Phen, was the parks and congregation of people gathering for picnics, dancing, family time, and "good, clean, fun!" It was wonderful to see so many friends and family get together to hang out and relax together. Adults, teens, and children alike were gathered dancing and playing outdoor games such as yo-yo and hacky sack. I loved the atmosphere and feeling I got when walking around!

Now on to the food.... 3 words - BEST. FOOD. EVER!!!!! I still can't get over how everything was just soooooo good! From our daily banana milk shakes, to the delicious curries, noodle dishes, rice dishes, and fresh fruit everything was AMAZING and the best part - it's healthy too!!! I can only dream of one day being able to cook 1/2 as well!