Vibrant and Colorful Varanasi

India, oh India…

Before I begin this post, I’ll give you a little background on our decision to go to India. It’s always been a dream of ours to see the Taj Mahal, but other than that, India didn’t rank high on our travel list. In our minds, India wasn’t a vacation destination… It was a cultural experience; and one we weren’t sure we were ready to embrace. We’ve had a handful of friends who have had negative experiences in India, and we had other destinations we wanted to see.

With that in mind, we originally didn’t plan on visiting the country at all. That is, until we met Michael and Julie. Do you remember the Scottish couple we met in Thailand? Yep, they had just traveled to India and convinced us to go.

After hearing the amazing tales of India through Michael and Julie’s experience, we decided we must go. We were definitely excited about going to India, but we entered the country with extremely low expectations (which is probably the best way to approach India; your experience has no where to go but up).

After obtaining our Indian visas in Kathmandu, we caught a bus down to the boarder town, Lumbini (also the birthplace of Buddha). By the time we crossed the boarder, it was nearly 7pm. We knew we needed to get to Gorakhpur, the city where we could catch a train to anywhere else in India. We caught the 8pm bus and arrived in Gorakhpur at 11pm… with nothing pre-booked. Normally, if we knew we would be arriving in a city late in the evening, we would book something in advance. But since we had changed our plans around so much, we hadn’t even thought about it. Oh well, it’s India, right? We should be able to just walk around and grab a room.

We went into the first hotel we saw and were astonished when the owner informed us that they were completely full. What? Okay, so we went to the next place, and the next… all full! Thankfully the fourth place we tried had a room left–yes, one room. We looked at it and then turned around. Surely, we can do better than that. With no internet, and no guidebook, we wandered around the streets for the next thirty minutes before realizing that we only had one option. That dirty hotel room. With a sigh, we welcomed ourselves to India.  Thankfully, we only had to stay there a few hours. We woke up at 3:45am and went outside to try to find a way out of Gorakhpur. With a little stumbling around, we ended up finding the train station. And that is when we realized we had no idea what we were doing.

There were people everywhere… sleeping on the ground, and standing in lines. We finally found the signs that said “Unreserved Tickets.” That was us, and my goodness were the lines long! I spotted a shorter line over on the side and noticed that there were only women in the line. Is that where I get my tickets, and Jared stands in another line for his ticket?

We gave it a shot and thankfully the “women’s only” line went fairly fast. When I went up to the window, the man asked me in broken English how many tickets I wanted. Two? Can I get a ticket for my husband here? I thought to myself. I guess so. “Class?” he asked. I knew the answer–2AC or 3AC. “No” he said. Hmm… it must not be available. “Only 2nd Class or General Class.” Which class was the better or the two? I couldn’t remember. “Umm… General Class, please.”

I didn’t realize that I had made a huge mistake until we found the train cars marked “general.” They were the last two cars on the train and they were absolutely packed. Even the luggage bins were completely full–of people.
 Yes, people were sitting up in the luggage bins, in all of the seats, and all of the floor space was also taken. We found a man who looked like he worked for the station and explained our situation. We asked if we could sit in 2nd class and pay the difference. He seemed to think that was okay. Thankfully, 2nd class was nearly empty. We ended up having a great train ride, but the entire time I was worried we would be kicked off of the train in the middle of India. Let’s just say that we learned the class system of India really fast after that!One interesting thing about the trains in India is their toilets. The hole in the bottom of the squat-toilet leads straight down to the tracks below!We finally arrived at our destination–the holy city Varanasi. In Hinduism, Varanasi is the holiest of the seven sacred cities. For that reason, Hindus from all over the world flock to Varanasi on pilgrimages to become more holy, or in many cases, to die in the holy city. Sacred cremations are held 24 hours a day along the holy Ganges river.

Upon our safe arrival in Varanasi, we hired an auto rickshaw (motor-cart taxi) to take us to a decent hotel that had a/c rooms. We were very disappointed when we booked an a/c room only to discover that is was water-cooled. And if we left the water cooler on too long, it was steam up and turn our room into a sauna. (The temperature outside was around 100-110F.) Anyway, it had a TV and was much better than our previous stay.  That evening, we decided to take a boat out on the Ganges River at night to watch the ceremonies. The river is considered holy and the more river water you are in contact with, the better. So each morning hindus will bathe in the river, brush their teeth with the water, drink it, and wash their laundry in it. Sewage and waste pipes lead and are dumped into the river. And dead people who are already “holy” are dumped into the river without being cremated.  It was a nice peaceful ride on the river.  Under each fire along the river is a body being cremated.  The ceremonies performed each night are blessing ceremonies to bring the people good luck.     We explored the city the following and we were pleasantly surprised with our experience. Varanasi was full of color and life. There was a bakery of sorts down the street from our hotel where we decided to try an Indian breakfast. At first, I was very against trying curry for breakfast. I love my american-style breakfasts, and I didn’t want to give that up. But I decided to give it a try–just once. Not only did I end up liking the breakfast, but I ended up craving Indian curry for breakfast for the rest of our time in India!

The bakery was just a hole-in-the-wall sort of a place, but we fell in love with the delicious breakfast they served us. I wish I knew the name of the meal, but I never caught it. It was some sort of fried bread that you dipped in a delicious curry. The meal was finished with something that sounded exactly like “jelly bean,” although after looking up the word, it’s actually “Jalebi.” It’s some sort of sweet (honey-flavored) fried batter. 

Our breakfast cost us about $0.20 each, but we would normally get a large bottle of Slice (mango juice) to share which added a hefty $1.50 to the cost of our breakfast. Since we didn’t eat any fresh produce in India, we splurged on bottled juices.Are cows really everywhere in India? Yes, they roam the streets like kings. Everyone pets them, gives them the right of way, and feeds them as much as they can eat. Sunset on the river was beautiful. It was a perfect way to end our time in Varanasi. Both Jared and I agreed that the best way to describe Varanasi was not a tourist destination with “sites” to see, but rather a place to be. The culture and vibrant color of Varanasi cannot be grasped through photos and words, the only way to truly experience the city is by physically walking through the streets, smelling the the smells with your own nose, and seeing the city with your own eyes. Next, we were off to Agra to see what is known at the most beautiful building in the world. 

Exploring Kathmandu

After we returned from our Everest Base Camp trek, we took a few days to explore Nepal’s capital city.  We hired a cycle rickshaw, but as it turns out, I don’t like to ride in the back of a cycle carriage. Especially when the cycler can’t even make it up the slightest of hills and demands that Jared get out to help push the cart. Most of the time he would insist that I stay in the cart unless the hill was rather long and then he would tell me to get out as well. We went to Monkey Temple which was completely crowded. We found out later that it was Buddha’s birthday. What a bad day to pick for temple sight seeing!  We also walked around Durbar Square, a historic area with beautiful old Nepalese architecture.       We had a great month in Nepal, but by the end of our time there, we were extremely excited about moving on to our next adventure — India!

Everest Base Camp Trek

Well, this post might win the award for being the longest post on our blog so far. But, it is a great post, and it’s filled with amazing photos. With that being said, make yourself comfortable, and enjoy visually reliving one of our favorite adventures yet!

When we were planning our trip across Asia, we knew we wanted to visit Nepal. While researching what to do in Nepal, we asked ourselves if it was feasible to do the Everest Base Camp trek. It was one of those things that had been on our bucket list for a long time, but nothing we had planned on checking off any time soon.

The more we researched it, the more we wanted to do it, but we still didn’t know if we could swing it both physically and financially. Our research showed that budget travelers who are already in Nepal can do the EBC trek for about $1,000 per person. That was expensive for us, but something we could swing if we really wanted to. Also, we were not experienced trekkers. Yes, we love hiking and all outdoor activities, but we had never been on a multi-day trek before. And, we had never been above 14,000 feet of elevation. High altitude trekking is a whole different ball game. Basically, no one knows how their body will react to high altitude until they are actually at a high altitude. Another important issue was time. Most people say you need at least 15-17 days to complete the trek.

After we had planned out more of our trip, we decided that we would have enough time to do the trek if we wanted to. We also realized that many people fly to Nepal from across the world to do the EBC trek, and we were already going to be there. The thought of accomplishing such a big trek intrigued us, and we just couldn’t pass up this opportunity. That was it… we were in!

We could have bought a tour package and gone with an organized group, but we wanted to do it as adventurous and budget friendly as possible, which meant doing it solo. Yes, no guides and no porters.

We arrived in Kathmandu with nothing but our hotel booked. We decided to give ourselves a day and a half to gather everything we needed for the trek. Our hotel was located in Thamel, a huge outdoor gear shopping area in Nepal’s capital city. We had no problem finding everything we needed for the trek.

To keep this post from turning into a book, I’ll keep it fairly simple and just give you all an overview of our trek highlighted with our favorite photos.

One of the big decisions we had to make was where to start our trek. We could either buy a flight ($150 one way, per person) to Lukla and start our trek from there, or we could buy a bus ticket ($7 one way, per person) to Jiri, and hike an additional 7 days to Lukla. It’s pretty basic–cheap and 7 additional days of hiking, or expensive and a short 45 minute flight.

We decided to take the first option for a number of reasons. It’s much cheaper, and the additional trekking will help us get in shape and acclimatize better. We had also heard that the Jiri section is a very beautiful part of the trek.

With our rucksacks on our back, trekking poles in hand, and compass/map in Jared’s pocket, we boarded the 6am bus to Jiri. We were relieved when another trekker boarded the bus. His name was Claude; little did we know, we would end up spending the next 20 days with our new friend. Looking back on the whole situation, we are so blessed that we ended up on the same bus as Claude! He is an experienced trekker from France and he taught us so much about being on the trail and in the mountains!

If you want to see our itinerary or budget, read this post. Ready for a visual of our trek? Here are just a few of the thousands of photos we took while on the trek. Enjoy!

 Jared studies the map in our hotel room before heading out. We wanted to make sure we didn’t have another “Great Wall” experience! The 8 hour bus ride from Kathmandu to Jiri was absolutely terrible. Just imagine being stuck in a dusty, dirty, cramped washing machine… for eight hours… not fun, not fun!Claude, you’re the best! Thanks for all you’ve taught us about trekking and for sharing your love for the mountains with us.A local in Jiri showed us where the trail started, and for the most part, we were able to following the orange spray painted circles that marked the trail. After the bus ride, we hiked for three hours until we reached Shivalaya.  Most of the rooms we stayed in looked like this. Just a basic room with two single beds. No heating, but they usually only cost about a dollar a night, so you really can’t complain. The first section of our trek was down in lower elevation where most of the land was used for agricultural purposes. Can you see the monkey in the tree?Porters carry in all supplies. Food, building equipment, furniture, etc. The donkeys do a great job of carrying the less bulky items. Our meals were simple, delicious, and fresh. For this bowel of rice pudding, the lodge owners informed that it would take a little bit longer because they needed to go milk the Nak (female Yak). Talk about fresh!Kids would gather around us in the evenings. We would let them play games on our iPod Touch, but these two guys were more interested in playing with my red hair!The lead donkey in a pack wears a special decoration as a token of good luck and protection for the journey.Stupas (Buddhist shrines) can be found in nearly every village.Washing my hair while the sun is out!Our first glimpse of the mountains… so beautiful.The two swinging bridges on the way to Namche!Namche was the first (and only) large village/city we came across on our trek. It sits at 11,286 feet above sea level.Mountain man!This is a Himalayan Monal, Nepal’s national bird.Isn’t she a cutie?It’s official, yaks are awesome!We met up with this awesome group on the trail and had a blast trekking with them!First time at 5,000 meters!!! (16,404ft.)Look at the hanging glacier!The town of Gokyo…Where they serve the most delicious Yak Sizzlers… mmm yum!The climb up Gokyo Ri…This is our first glimpse of Mt. Everest. How amazing it was to see the tallest mountain in the world with our own eyes.Frosted prayer flags at the top of Gokyo Ri.Who knew that yak poop make great fuel?!Look at the sea of clouds… just breath-taking.Another impressive glacier.You see the little black hill below that large white mountain? That’s Kala Patther… it sits at 18,519 feet. From the top of it we got a great view of Mt. Everest and what was left of the Everest Base Camp. Mt. Everest.We made it to base camp! Can you believe that this is just the beginning for the expeditions that take place on the mountain each year?Fresh hot coffee at base camp? Yes please!We saw the occasional chopper come to and from base camp picking up supplies and giving tours to tourists. Porters definitely don’t have it easy.After 20 days of trekking, we decided to take the easy route back to Kathmandu. We opted for the 40 minute flight instead of an additional 6 days of trekking plus another terrible bus ride. What’s wrong with that runway? It’s on a hill and very short! Welcome to what is known at the most dangerous airport–Lukla Airport. We had a great flight back to Nepal’s capital city. While we were very excited about being back in civilization, we were at the end of our greatest adventure yet, and that was a bit sad. Nonetheless, we were getting ready to head to India where we definitely experienced an extreme and vibrant culture! Stay tuned for more adventures!

 

EBC Trek Itinerary and Budget

This is an informative post I’ve complied of our 20-day trek in the Everest region in Nepal. We started in Kathmandu and took a bus to Jiri. After six days of trekking, we made it to Namche. From Namche, we trekked over the three passes, explored base camp, and made it back to Lukla where we bought a flight out for the next day.Our Itinerary

Day 1: Kathmandu to Jiri via a horrendously bumpy 8-hour bus ride. Upon arriving in Jiri, we ate a late lunch and immediately hit the trail to make it to Shivalaya before dusk (a three hour trek).

Day 2: Shivalaya to Kinja (7:30am – 3:00pm).

Day 3: Kinja to Himalayan Lodge (8:00am – 4:00pm with a 2 hour lunch break).

Day 4: Himalayan Lodge to Ringmu (8:00am – 4:00pm with a 1.5 hour lunch stop).

Day 5: Ringmu to Bupsa (7:15am – 4:30pm with a 2 hour stop for lunch).

Day 6: Bupsa to Cheaplung (7:30am – 3:30pm with a 1.5 hour stop).

Day 7: Cheaplung to Namche (7:30am -1:40pm).

Day 8: Acclimatization day in Namche.

Day 9: Namche to Thame (3.5 hours).

Day 10: Acclimatization day in Thame where we attempted to climb Sunder Peak.

Day 11: Thame to Lungden (6:15am – 12:30pm).

Day 12: Lungden to Gokyo (8:20am – 1:00pm).

Day 13: Gokyo to Dragnag (we climbed Gokyo Ri before leaving Gokyo. 11:30am – 1:00pm).

Day 14: Dragnag to Dhukla (6:20am – 1:00pm).

Day 15: Dhukla to Gorakshep (7:15am – 10:45am).

Day 16: Gorakshep to EBC to Lobuche.

Day 17: Lobuche to Dingboche (6:45am – 2:45pm with a 1.5 hour break).

Day 18: Dingboche to Namche (8:15am – 12:45pm).

Day 19: Namche to Lukla (10:15am – 3:45pm).

Day 20: Namche flight to Kathmandu.

We wanted to do the trek as inexpensively as possible. We didn’t hire a guide and we carried our own packs. Below is a breakdown of our expenses.

Our Budget (figures include the cost for two people)

• Park Passes and TIMS Card $148.00
• Gear (sleeping bag rental, trekking poles, JetBoil, etc.) $202.38
• Warm weather clothes $106.93
• Snacks and treats $46.97
• Bus to Jiri $13.65
• Day 1 food and lodging: $11.81
• Day 2 food and lodging: $12.55
• Day 3 food and lodging: $13.51
• Day 4 food and lodging: $16.28
• Day 5 food and lodging: $14.15
• Day 6 food and lodging: $16.81
• Day 7 food and lodging: $19.05
• Day 8 food and lodging: $28.30
• Day 9 food and lodging: $24.58
• Day 10  food and lodging: $15.96
• Day 11 food and lodging: $24.37
• Day 12 food and lodging: $39.26
• Day 13 food and lodging: $28.94
• Day 14 food and lodging: $38.30
• Day 15 food and lodging: $37.88
• Day 16 food and lodging: $42.98
• Day 17 food and lodging: $31.42
• Day 18 food and lodging: $53.41
• Day 19 food and lodging: $42.24
• Day 20 breakfast: $8.08
• Plane tickets and taxi to hotel: $307.49

We ended up doing the whole trek for $1,345.80 for both of us. We were quite pleased with that since the lowest we had heard of was about $1,000 per person. I hope this has helped if you are planning a trip to Nepal. If you have more specific questions, just shoot me an email.

 

 

Ancient Ayutthaya

The day before we left Thailand, we took a day-trip from Bangkok to visit Ayutthaya. Little did we know that we had saved the best for last. Ayutthaya is the ancient capital city of Thailand and it’s located about 90km north of Bangkok. The city was founded in the mid 1300’s and remained Thailand’s capital city for over 400 years. In the 1600’s, it was one of the largest and most prosperous cities in Asia. However, in the late 1700’s, the city was overthrown and destroyed by the Burmese. The bits and pieces that are left are quite a site and definitely worth the trip. There are many trains going to Ayutthaya (it’s on the Chiang Mai route) everyday and no reservation is required. Simply show up at the station and get a ticket for the next train. Tickets cost less than a dollar, and it’s about a 1.5 hour trip. Click here for Seat 61’s information on trains in Thailand.   I would highly suggest that you rent a motorbike or bicycle upon arrival. We didn’t but later regretted it. We chose to walk, but we would have seen more if we’d had a faster form of transportation. A tour bus full of young monks arrived about the same time we did.     I’ll be quiet now and let you experience ancient Ayutthaya through Jared’s photos.                We had an overall fantastic time exploring ancient Ayutthaya. It’s one of Thailand’s hidden gems and a must-see destination. What a great way to wrap up our adventures in Thailand! Next up was Nepal. Keep in touch to hear about our trek to the Everest Base Camp!

The Best of Bangkok

We had heard that Thailand’s capital city can be quite hectic, so our aim while there was to make the best of Bangkok. As most backpackers do, we stayed on Khaosan Road. While researching Bangkok, we had read that it is absolutely a terrible place to stay. However, it offers great budget accommodations and we found it to be quite alright. It is a great place for souvenir shopping, and it has the best street pad thai.

We found a pad thai vendor that we especially liked and returned there for nearly every lunch and dinner. Some of our best memories in Bangkok include getting pad thai and enjoying it in our air-conditioned room while watching TV. It’s the little things while traveling that turn out to make some of the best moments. The shopping on Khaosan Road is really somethings else. You can find clothing, souvenirs, art, and even purchase a falsified diploma from Harvard. One of the first sites we went to see in Bangkok was Wat Pho. This is where the large reclining golden buddha is located, and it’s right next to the Grand Palace. We really enjoyed architecture of the Thai temples. We also walked over to check out the Golden Mountain (Wat Saket), and on the way we passed a few nice areas.    The Golden Mountain offered a very nice view of Bangkok.    One of the markets I especially enjoyed was the flower market. It was a bit tricky finding it, but after we did it was quite nice.  We found that Bangkok is also beautiful at night. Overall, we had a great time in Bangkok. Little did we know, we were saving the best for last! The day before we left Thailand, we took a day-trip from Bangkok to the ancient city Ayutthaya. Stay tuned!

A Few Days on Koh Phi Phi

After Phuket, we got on a ferry and headed to what some consider the most beautiful island in the world. Koh Phi Phi is absolutely beautiful, but it is also expensive (for Thailand) and crawling with tourists.

Before we embarked on this 4 month adventure, there were a lot of uncertainties. Jared and I had never been on the road for such a long period of time, and we were traveling to places we had never been before. However, the longer we were on the road, the more we learned about budget traveling, backpacking, how to get around in third world countries, and what we enjoyed most about traveling.

We also learned how important it is to not have expectations while traveling. Expectations just create room for disappointment, and the worst thing about visiting a place is being disappointed when you get there… This may have been why we weren’t overly fond of Thailand.

Nonetheless, Thailand full of natural beauty, and we began to see some of that beauty on the ferry to Koh Phi Phi      When we arrived on the island, we were met by a staff member of the Phutawan Bamboo Resort who loaded our luggage up on a rack and carried it out to where we were staying. We stayed in the Phutawan Bamboo Resort because it was the best budget deal we could find on the island. The bungalow was very basic; it had a mosquito net around our bed and a decent bathroom. My only complaint was dealing with the heat. There was a small fan at the top of the bungalow, but it just wasn’t enough. However, it was only $17 per night, and with the average rate being much higher, we couldn’t expect much more.We were on the island for three days and two nights. On one of the days we decided to take a boat tour to the attractions surrounding the area. This included monkey island, the viking cave, snorkeling for an hour, and sunset on Maya Beach. It was only $12 each for the tour, but the attractions weren’t all they were made up to be.

Monkey Beach is literally a beach with a bunch of monkeys on it. Our boat was only there for about 15 minutes, which was plenty of time to snap a few photos and then spend a few minutes swimming in the water. On the way to the cove were we went snorkeling, we stopped at the viking cave to take a few photos from the boat.We did enjoy snorkeling, but it wasn’t especially spectacular.  Maya beach was beautiful but it also was crowded…    Koh Phi Phi did however have a few unexpected highlights to offer us. As we were exploring the town, we saw that Reggae Bar had live kick boxing matches every night. Being a former boxer, I was very excited about seeing a live maui thai kickboxing match. We arrived at the bar in plenty of time to get good ringside seats. Little did we know, the majority of the matches held each night are fought by volunteers from the crowd hoping to win some free drinks. Apparently they didn’t have enough fights lined up because they went around asking customers to volunteer to fight. I was tempted at first, but repeatedly turned it down until Jared started encouraging me to participate. It didn’t take long before I was up in the ring with another volunteer to put on a show. It was definitely an unplanned adventure, but it was great fun and an unforgettable experience.

The next night we headed down to the beach to watch the famous Koh Phi Phi fire shows. They were very impressive, and we spent about an hour or so watching all of the crazy things the performers could do with fire. We’ve seen a few fire shows since then, but none of them have compared with Koh Phi Phi.Our last morning on Koh Phi Phi, we woke up at sunrise to hike up to the Koh Phi Phi viewpoint.VIewpiont #1 was nice, but the first one we went to (viewpoint #2) was higher up the mountain and quite a bit better. I know this wasn’t the most positive post, but it was honest, and hopefully it will help those of you who are planning a trip to Thailand. Koh Phi Phi is beautiful and worth the visit, but we think it is doable in a day.After Koh Phi Phi, we decided to try mainland Thailand again and headed over to Krabi and then made our way to Koh Tao where Jared got his scuba diving certificate. Stay tuned to hear more!

 

Riding Elephants in Phuket

After our short layover in Singapore, we flew to Phuket, Thailand. We spent a few days relaxing on the beach, but to be honest, we weren’t immediately impressed with Thailand. Up to this point on our trip, we had really felt a sense of unique culture in each country we had been to. However, we didn’t feel that in Thailand, and we were very disappointed. It felt like the country was consumed with tourism, and we didn’t feel like we got to experience genuine Thai culture.

Nonetheless, the food was great! We throughly enjoyed the pad thai from the local street vendors, and the banana pancakes (roti) were to die for! One of the highlights of Phuket was our elephant trek. We were on our way back from seeing the big Buddha on the hilltop overlooking Phuket when we passed all of the signs for the elephant treks. The trek itself wasn’t all that great, but it was pretty cool to be on top of an elephant.  Isn’t she a cutie? After Phuket, we hopped on a ferry and headed to the beautiful island of Koh Phi Phi. Stay tuned to hear more about the rest of our travels in Thailand!

A Night Out in Singapore

After a fantastic month in Cambodia, we headed off to Thailand. Since we were traveling during the Thailand Songkran festival, we went ahead and booked cheap flights to Phuket rather than risking the buses being sold out. It turned out that the cheapest option had a layover in Singapore.

We arrived around 6pm in the Singapore airport (considered the nicest airport in the world). We could have spent our entire evening in the airport since they offer a variety of free attractions and things to do, but we really wanted to get out and see the town. After dropping our luggage off in a storage room, we hopped on the metro and headed to check out the evening skyline.

 After arriving in downtown, we asked around to see where we could capture a few shots of the skyline. Someone recommended we head up to one of the roof top bars. After searching around a little bit more, we found a hotel with a top floor bar. The view was fantastic.  Seeing the skyline from afar was not enough. We decided to head down to the bay to catch the nightly Marina Bay Sands light show. It was one of the most romantic and peaceful places we’ve ever been to. By the way, ddn’t Jared do a fantastic job of capturing the view?!  After soaking in the romance, we headed back to the airport. Not only does the Singapore airport had a swimming pool, movie theater, hanging gardens, and a giant children’s play place, but they have little attractions scattered all through the airport. Such as the world’s largest kinetic art sculpture, Kinetic Rain.

I could have watched it for a long time, but our eyes were getting heavy, and we had an early morning flight to catch.

We headed to one of the free sleeping areas to catch a short night of sleep. We woke up bright and early the next morning and boarded our Thailand-bound plane! Stay tuned to hear about our beach adventures in southern Thailand.

Exploring Phnom Penh

Jared and I have had a wonderful time in Cambodia. We’ve loved working with the children at Bykota House, and taking time to explore this big city.

To better understand Cambodia’s history, we took a day to visit the killing fields and S21. If you want to read about that post, click here.

In Cambodia, motorbikes pulling a small carriage are called tuk-tuks, and they are the main form of transportation in Phnom Penh. It’s quite fun to have an open-carriage ride everywhere you go. If you are a little more adventurous, you can also take taxi-motorbikes. Jared and I did this several times. The taxi-motorbikes are men on motorbikes giving rides to others. They have no problem fitting themselves and two passengers on their little bike!
Phnom Penh is definitely a diverse city. You have the nice, well-kept areas that are absulutely beautiful, and you have the back streets that are covered with trash.
But regardless, all of the major sight-seeing areas are well kept and beautiful.

One very popular area in Phnom Pehn is known as the River Side. The walkway lining the Mekong River is dotted with flags from countries around the world. Also, on the weekends, there is a night-market. We went to the night market with some friends and learned that they have a large food-stand area in the back with very tasty food.  The Royal Palace is located near the river side, and it’s quite a sight to see. It’s been the home of the Kings of Cambodia since the late 1800’s (except during the Khmer Rouge reign). Markets, markets, markets. There are lots of great markets in Phnom Pehn. Russian was closest to us, we went there the most. You can find anything from fresh produce to souvenirs.
Located near the Russian market is a fabulous coffee shop called Jars of Clay. This is a must-visit stop during your stay in Phnom Penh. 
Take a few seconds to read their story and you’ll understand why I fell in love with this place. 
Not only do they have a great mission, but everything we’ve ordered there has been great. Also, for you french-press fans, they sell it by the pot and bring the whole press to your table.

All in all, we had a great time sight-seeing in Phnom Pehn, but nothing could compare with our time spent volunteering with International Orphan Aid.

Cambodia’s Gruesome Past

Over the three weeks that we stayed in Phnom Penh, Jared and I got out several times to explore the city. If you know anything about Cambodia, you know that it’s had a gruesome past. In effort to understand the culture, Jared and I made a trip to visit Toul Sleng Genocide Museum, and the Killing Fields.

Toul Sleng, also known as S-21, was a school-turned-prison by the Khmer Rouge regime in the late 1970’s. Seeing all of pictures and reading the stories put us both in a very somber mood. 
We also visited some of the Killing Fields located near the city of Phnom Pehn. Civilian prisoners were taking from S-21 in truck loads and dropped off at these fields. The Khmer Rouge would then execute them and place their bodies in mass graves.

As we walked through the fields, we noticed that bones were still surfacing from the ground. 
Here you can see pictures of bones which have surfaced from one of the mass graves. In the above picture, it is easy to make out three bones which have surfaced since the grounds keepers last collected them.
After doing some forensic investigation to find out the approximate age and gender of the owners, these skulls were all stored in glass cases for people to see. Many of them have distinct marks from machetes, are cracked in half, or have bullet holes through them.

It is still hard to believe that approximately 2 million of the 7 million people in this country were ruthlessly murdered under the reign of Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge… and that this all happened from 1975-1979!

Walking through Cambodia’s recent history was difficult, but it helped us better understand why Cambodia is where it’s at today.

Ancient Remains of a Great Kingdom

Visiting Cambodia has been top on my list for over a decade due to the ruins of Siem Reap. I absolutely love visiting ancient ruins of great kingdoms, and ever since Tomb Raider came out, I’ve been dying to see this place with my own eyes. Thankfully, all of my expectations were met, and I left feeling satisfied.

We arrived late in Siem Reap and after checking into our hotel, we headed out to explore for a bit. 

Not wanting to waste any precious time, we woke up at 4:30 the following morning to get an early start on our temple exploring. Even at 5am, we were able to find a tuk-tuk driver, and the ticket gates were open selling passes. 
Wanting to avoid the crowds, we did things backwards. Most people head to Angkor Wat to see the sunrise, and then continue on to see the rest of the temple. We strted at Ta Prohm, and worked our way backwards until we got to Angkor Wat.

Ta Prohm was breath-taking. All of the trees growing around the ruins really made it feel like you stepped back in time as you walked through the temple grounds. 

We explored other temples and ruins as we made our way to Bayon Temple.

As the day wore on, we finally made it to Angkor Wat, the largest of all the temples, and the largest religious structure in the world. Don’t ask me to pick a favorite because I can’t. Jared and I were awe-struck all day as we soaked in the ancient history surrounding us.  Without doubt, our short visit to Siem Reap turned out to be one of my favorite days so far on trip. It is definitely a must to put it on and check it off of your bucket list someday!

Our fun in Siem Reap wasn’t quite over yet. After a day of exploring the temples, we wanted to check out the town some more. We ended up at the night market. Jared lead me to a street vendor selling… food?

After a crowd gathered around us, Jared informed everyone that I’d be eating tarantula and snake. I only ate a leg, and it honestly tasted fine… just like something fried. But, it was the thought of eating such a thing that made my stomach turn. I gladly gave the rest to my hungry husband who chowed it down like chicken.  Yep, we ate snake as well. It didn’t taste as good as the tarantula, but it also didn’t taste bad, just something very hard that’s been fried. 

 

Volunteering in Cambodia

Where do I begin with describing our time in Cambodia? We decided several months ago that we wanted to volunteer somewhere in Asia. However, after researching volunteer options, I became very worried about choosing an organization to work at due to the high amount of corruption that goes on in organizations recruiting volunteers in Asia.

You see, volunteering has become a big money scam in Asia. Many organizations use their facilities as a business to make money, instead of bettering the people and children. I’ve read countless volunteer-scam stories online, and it really made me worried about choosing an organization that I didn’t personally know.

I posted on Facebook to see if any of my friends had personal connections with an organization in Asia who might need some volunteers for a month in the spring. Our friend Kati reminded us that her parents operate a non-profit Children’s Home in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Over the course of the the next few days, arrangements were made for us to stay with the Benz Family and help in anyway they could use us. Jared and I were very excited about this opportunity, but we didn’t know what to expect. 
We lived with the Benz Family at Bykota House for a short 3 weeks, and we loved every minute of it!

The first two weeks, we focused on spending time with the special needs kids. They all won our hearts over, and we will always cherish the precious time we spent with them. The last week we focused more on teaching the rest of the Children in school.

P.S. Yes, I’ll come out and say it–I’m really hoping that some of you fall in love with these children and come over to love on them!

This is Sammy. He is so sweet and full of love. We called him our little koala bear because he loves to climb up on you and cling to you like a koala.


This is Tina. She is the most joyful little girl you’ll ever meet! She loved watching us play with the other kids, and she can laugh for hours on end.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVF4_ajmVwA

Sokchia also won our hearts over with his eagerness to learn and read. He can sit for hours with his pile of books.

At five years old, Theda is the youngest of the special needs kids. She is such a joy! She loves rolling around on the ground, but more than that, she loves being held in your arms. 

This is Hope; the most precious little girl you’ll ever meet. We had such a great time our first week playing games with her, but she got very ill and was hospitalized for several weeks. Thankfully, she came home the day before we left and we got to say goodbye to this amazing little girl.

http://instagram.com/p/lpU24xMJLg/

Our entire time at Bykota House was filled with fun and laughter. We loved attending Small Group every Tuesday! Celebrating at the March Birthday party was a blast as well!
We were also able to lead a Safety and Protection seminar. It was fun to play round with the kids while teaching them valuable material.

Little did we know, Bykota House is home to the best pretzels in the world! Mark’s speciality? The Half Kilo Pretzel!


Interested in being a part of the work God is doing in Cambodia? Contact Mark and Rhonda Benz to see what you can do to help out. They are always on the lookout for extra help and support! And trust us, it’ll be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made. 

One Day in Ho Chi Minh City

Since we only had one day in Ho Chi Minh City (also known as Saigon to those who are from the south), we decided to book a hotel in District 1 so that we would be closer to the sights we wanted to see. Hotels in District 1 are a little bit more expensive ($14/night for a spacious private room/private bath), but for us it was worth the extra so that we could save travel time and transportation expenses. Jared and I love trying street food, but we are very cautious because we know the risk we are taking. We usually only eat at street vendors if the food looks fresh, the stand looks clean, and they cook it in front of us. I always stay clear of street food that is precooked… who knows how long that dish has been sitting in the hot sun.

We found a vendor that met our expectations, so we sat down a grabbed an $0.85 lunch before heading to the Ho Chi Minh War Museum. 

I guess I didn’t really know what to expect at the war museum, but I hadn’t prepared myself for the strong anti-USA propaganda. After only a few minutes of being in the museum, I felt like claiming I was Canadian if anyone were to ask.  After the museum, we headed out on foot to explore more of the city. Our next few stops included the beautiful Saigon Notre-Dame Basilica, the Saigon Central Post Office, and a walk through a neardby park.  

The Post Office in downtown Ho Chi Minh was constructed by the French in the early 20th century, and it’s beautiful architecture has turned it into a tourist attraction.  We spent the rest of the day walking around the downtown area of Saigon. It was a beautiful city, and we really wished we had more time there. 
The thick power lines in Vietnam were literally thick enough to provide you with shade while standing under them. Jared got to experience the life of a coconut salesman.We ate more street food for dinner and we have remained in good health since then. We hopped on a bus ($10.50) early the next morning to head to Phnom Pehn! Stay tuned to hear about our adventures in Cambodia.

Trekking with Susu in Sapa

After our cruise on Halong Bay, we headed back to Hanoi to catch our overnight bus to Sapa.

Some people prefer to travel with everything pre-booked, and others book everything as they go. Jared and I usually end up doing a combination of both. If we have a late night flight, and we know we are going to arrive at our destination after dark, we usually try to book in advance using Agoda. In our experience, they tend to have the best prices on private room accomodations. If we know that there is a large holiday in the country we are visiting, we try to book plane tickets or bus tickets in advance so that they don’t sell out or become overly expensive. However, Sapa is something we didn’t pre-book at all, and it worked perfectly that way.

We bought our overnight bus tickets ($30 round trip/per person) at our hotel in Hanoi just a few days before we were planning on going to Sapa. And we didn’t book anything else until we were actually in Sapa. We were unsure of this at first, but we soon realized it is completely unnecessary to book anything in advance in northern Vietnam.This was our first time on an overnight bus, and both of us were impressed with how well we slept. The “beds” were not spacious, but at least they were comfortable.When we arrived in Sapa the next day, we were greeted by a crowd of people trying to get us to stay in their hotel, or to go trekking with them. All of them claimed they had the cheapest prices, and nicest place.Well, low and behold, this is how we met Susu. She was so spunky that we immediately fell in love with her even though we were skeptical at first. We learned later that day that we were very lucky to have met her. She is a very popular guide because she is honest, hilarious, and good with foreigners. She speaks English and French. She is so popular that other guides try to claim to be her! This is the real Susu, memorize her face if you are going to Sapa. After walking around and looking at several hotels, Susu insisted that we should come with her and she will show us a good, cheap hotel. The first hotel she brought us to was $3/night/person. But we prefer to have our own space instead of sharing a bunk room with other people. We said no to that hotel and then she brought us to another one. We liked this hotel and decided to stay. It was $8/night for a private room and bathroom, and free wifi. They also let us check in upon our arrival at 10am, and they offer motorcycle rentals for $4/day (yes, we took advantage of this!).The room was spacious, and it had a great view. After dropping our backpacks off in our room, we headed out to explore the quaint town of Sapa. One of the things you have to get used to in Sapa is all of the women trying to sell you things, or attempting to make you “pinkie promise” that you will hire them as your guide to their village. And this is where knowing Susu comes in very handy. All you have to say is “Sorry, I already promised Susu that I would go with her.” They will unhappily walk away and not bother you anymore. It works great. If the men try to hassle you into renting their motorbike? Sorry, we already rented one at our hotel. 

After rounding up a few maps of the Sapa area, we jumped on our bike and headed off to explore. We headed to the gas station to fill up ($0.62/liter)!  We had a great time riding through the curvy roads up the mountain to the waterfall, and then back down and through the villages. 
We bumped into these guys a few times, and when we saw them drinking coffee near a raod we were riding on, we decided to join them . Both Jared and I agree that one of the coolest aspects of traveling is the people we get to meet.  We promised Susu that we would go trekking with her the next day. She had a few other people joining along, and it made it even better.

We woke up nice and early the next morning to grab some breakfast and coffee before trekking 8 kilometers through the mountains to Susu’s village. We were so thankful that the sun came out, but since we hadn’t seen much of the sun prior to this day, we completely forgot to wear sunscreen.
We walked through dirt roads, and winding trails behind Susu. She was very informative about her culture, the surroundings, and any other questions. And if she didn’t know the answer, she wouldn’t bluff, she’d promptly state “I donno.” 
We passed some children along the road. Why they weren’t in school, and what they were doing is still a mystery. This pig’s belly was literally dragging the ground.        After trekking for 3.5 hours, we finally made it to Susu’s village!  We went inside Susu’s daughter-in-law’s home and met her family.
Lunch was prepared for us and when it was finished, we dug in. We had fried tofu, stir-fried chicken, and rice. It was delicious.  After our meal, they brought out “happy water.”Jared got to borrow Susu’s traditional pipe for one puff of tobacco. 
Since our time in Sapa was limited, we didn’t stay the night with Susu’s family. Instead, we said our goodbyes, and snapped a few more pictures of Susu’s village before heading out via motorbike taxi.    
We explored the local side of Sapa the following day before catching our overnight bus back to Hanoi.
The bus on the way home was very specious, and other than getting caught in a 4-hour long traffic jam, we made it safely back in Hanoi where we were going to catch a flight down to Ho Chi Minh City. Stay tuned to hear about our time in Ho Chi Minh!