Food Archives · Page 3 of 4 · Bon Voyage on a Big Adventure!

October 4, 2018

Days 83 – 85: Vang Vieng, the Beautiful

So faithful readers will recall that due to one very nasty jellyfish (or family of jellyfish perhaps), I didn’t love our time in the Halong Bay. Fortunately, the same limestone cliffs found in the Halong Bay surround beautiful Vang Vieng, Laos. Same limestone, different outcome: we loved Vang Vieng.

Day 83: Travel to Vang Vieng, Laos

We thought we were taking a bus from Vientiane to Vang Vieng, but our bus ended up being a pretty regular-sized van. Most notably from the trip, everyone’s luggage was tied down on top of the van with a tarp on top of it, and the terrain was rugged. I’m not sure a bus could have passed over the washed out roads we took.

When we arrived in Vang Vieng, our cell phones couldn’t pick up any internet or regular service which made finding our AirBNB in a town we had never visited before a bit challenging. We decided to walk in the direction that everyone else from our van walked and hauled our belongings, which survived five hours of jostling on the roof of the van, about 10 minutes until we found an Amazon Cafe with free WiFi and could pull up a map.

Originally, we planned to stay in an AirBNB in Vang Vieng, but Rich found an amazing resort at a pretty reasonable price ($76/night) that he kept showing me over and over again (“Look at those views! The mountains! That swimming pool!”) so we changed our plans to stay there instead.

The Riverside Boutique Hotel in Vang Vieng

Staying at the Riverside Boutique Hotel was a great decision. All of the things that Rich saw in the pictures were better in real life. We walked into our room, and a scented candle was burning. We had arrived.

Day 84: Visiting a Limestone Cave and One of Many Blue Lagoons

When we started researching things to do in Vang Vieng, we realized quite a few of the things were pretty far outside of Vang Vieng. Rich suggested using the free hotel bicycles to bike to some far away trails and waterfalls, but all I could think of was the terrible dirt roads we had driven in on. Off-road biking didn’t appeal to me at all.

We decided instead to relax at the pool in the morning and then head to the closest “attraction,” a limestone cave and a blue lagoon in the afternoon.

Visiting the Tham Phu KHam Cave

The Tham Phu Kham cave was an easy 25 minute walk from our hotel. We paid a nominal toll to cross a big orange pedestrian bridge over the river, and then bought a ticket to the cave once across. We climbed a steep staircase to enter the cave, and then once we entered, we were the only ones inside. I had never had a cave to myself before!

The cave was really cool temperature-wise, which was a big relief from the Southeast Asian heat, and beautiful too. It was also a bit creepy, so I’ll go ahead and admit that we didn’t explore it too thoroughly for fear that we would forget our path out! I love my husband, but I can imagine other people who might handle being lost in a cave with more composure than he would.

The view of Vang Vieng from outside the cave.

Inside the cave. We are not the best cave photographers.

Cave in Vang Vieng — The climb up to the entrance of the cave

The Blue Lagoon

By the entrance to the cave, there is a decent sized natural swimming lagoon. During dry season, the water is very blue. We were there during rainy season so it was a little murky.

There were several other tourists there when we got there, and Rich was all about jumping in. Knowing that we had an actual pool back at a resort (and remembering my jellyfish fiasco), I was good to sit this one out and hold our stuff.

As we were walking over the bridge towards where you climbed in, about twelve boys between the ages of nine and thirteen came running towards the water. School had obviously just let out as they were discarding pieces of their school uniforms as they ran.

The first young man climbed up a tree and then out on to a branch over the water, and then he just let himself drop into the lagoon below. The next young man climbed up on top of the bridge and dove in. Each boy performed a feat crazier than the last to enter the water until they were all in the lagoon.

These kids were having the time of their lives.

Rich, meanwhile, slowly eased his way in to the icy waters, while children splashed and jumped around him. It was amazing.

Dinner at the Happy Mango Thai Restaurant

Vang Vieng has a reputation as a fairly wild backpacker town– apparently for years, backpackers would float down the Nam Sung river until they came upon a riverside bar where they would consume a beer or two, then float down the river until they encountered another bar, wash, rinse, repeat.

After a number of backpackers died (eeek!), town officials took some measures to cut down on some of the tomfoolery that resulted from all of this drinking and floating. However, several years later, Vang Vieng still has many more bars than restaurants.

When we saw fabulous Tripadvisor reviews for a place called The Happy Mango Thai Restaurant, we were all in. We went the first night we arrived, then back the second, and then spoiler alert: we also went the third. The prices were incredible; dinner each night averaged $10 total which included two entrees, two beers, and the BEST mango sticky rice for dessert.

Is it wrong to say that I ate my favorite Thai food in Southeast Asia in Laos? If Happy Mango is wrong, I don’t want to be right.

Rich posed with the lizard, and then said “Get the check.” The waitress laughed at him and shooed the lizard away.

Day 85: Umm, We Went to the Pool

We considered more hiking, visiting waterfalls, etc., but instead, it was raining so we decided to:

Sleep in.
Eat a glorious resort breakfast.
Read at the pool (once I picked up Crazy Rich Asians I couldn’t put it down– “frothy” was the exact right description on the back cover) when it wasn’t raining.
Work a little whenever the rain drove us inside.
Shower.
Go eat dinner at Happy Mango Thai Restaurant

Productive, huh? It doesn’t make much of a blog post, but it was a great day.

Vang Vieng, Laos: Were We Laid Back or What?

If you can’t tell from how relaxed we look in all of our pictures, Vang Vieng was a breeze. We had delicious hotel breakfast each morning, grabbed mango shakes and egg bahn mi once or twice for lunch, and ate Happy Mango Thai for dinner. We wore work out clothes or swimsuits every day, and I’m not sure I wore make up or used a blow dryer once.

The people in Vang Vieng were super friendly, and the rain gave us a bit of cover not to tackle all of the sightseeing we might otherwise feel like we should attempt. We were as relaxed in Vang Vieng as anywhere else we have been on the trip.

If you visit southeast Asia, have the stomach for a bumpy van ride, and are looking for somewhere where you can just be, add Vang Vieng to your list. We would go back in a heartbeat.

October 2, 2018

Our THIRD 30 Days Abroad: By the Numbers

I sit here in shock that we are ALREADY on our third 30 days post– meaning we have been gone for more than 90 days total! We had a lot of fun putting together our first and second thirty day review posts and hope you all will enjoy reading this one as much as we enjoy working together to crank it out.

Here goes!

Dates Included: August 25 – September 23, 2018

Countries Visited: 4 (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand)

Cities/Towns Visited: 10 (Hue, Hoi An, Ho Chi Minh City, Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Vietvianne, Vang Vieng, Luang Prabang, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai)

TRANSPORTATION

Number of Flights Taken: 10

Number of Buses Taken: 12

Number of Taxi/Uber Rides: 3

Number of Vans Taken: 3

Number of Tuk Tuk Rides: 5

LODGING

Number of AirBNB’s Slept In: 5

Number of Hotels Slept In: 5

FOOD

Percentage of Meals Eaten Out: 62% (50)

Percentage of Meals Eaten In: 7% (6)

Percentage of Meals Eaten in Airport Lounges: 5% (4)

Percentage of Meals Provided by Hotels or AirBNB’s: 26% (21)

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

So for the past sixty days, as our faithful readers are aware, despite Rich and Amanda spending countless hours together going to all of the same places, Rich amasses MILES more of steps than Amanda as tracked by their FitBits. BUT this thirty days, we had gyms! Amanda ran MILES on the treadmill while Rich lifted weights. Will it make a difference?

Rich

Total Distance: 329,684 steps (152.3 miles)
Average Daily Distance: 10,989 steps (5.08 miles)
Daily High: 28,060 steps (12.88 miles)
Daily Low: 3,342 steps (1.53 miles)

Amanda

Total Distance: 270,505 steps (121.2 miles)
Average Daily Distance: 9,017 steps (4.04 miles)
Daily High: 22,953 steps (10.03 miles)
Daily Low: 2,511 (1.1 miles)

So, nope, the running did not make a difference. Sorry trainer Meg and Aaptiv.

Our steps are WAY down from our last 30 days where we were averaging over 2,000 more steps a day. Europe is set up for walking as a mode of transportation in a way that Southeast Asia just isn’t. We are hoping to get this activity back up.

INTELLECTUAL ACTIVITY

I should really rename this category. #shade

Our reading was down a bit; we had more trouble finding books in English in Southeast Asia. We also had to pay for all of these except Trevor Noah’s Born A Crime. Rich and I had better luck in Europe with taking books that were left behind in AirBNBs and hotels (and usually leaving a few behind ourselves).

Rich

Books Read: 3 (Little Fires Everywhere, Commonwealth: A Novel, The Inferno)

Amanda

Books Read: 5 (Commonwealth: A Novel, The Inferno, Around the World in 80 Days, Crazy Rich Asians, Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood)

We found a HUGE bookstore in Ho Chi Minh City. It was great EXCEPT the books were not in alpha order by writer or title. Mind blowing. How were you supposed to find anything?!?

OVERALL COSTS AS PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL BUDGET

Flights: 28% (13% increase)

Other Transportation (Buses, Trains, Ferries, Taxis, Funiculars): 5% (3% decrease)

Lodging: 42% (2% decrease)

Food: 16% (3% decrease)

Sightseeing: 3% (2 % decrease)

Other (Books, Haircut, Laundry, Toiletries, Trips to H&M): 6% (4% decrease)

Rich getting his hair cut in Chiang Mai, Thailand

FAVORITES:

How do we choose?!?

Favorite Meal:

Rich: Crispy Pad Thai (from the MAYA shopping mall food court) in Chiang Mai, Thailand; Runner Up– Philly Cheesesteak at Vibe Cafe in Siem Reap, Cambodia
Amanda: The Spicy Pork Ragu Noodles at Nu Eatery in Hoi An, Vietnam; Runner Up–Red Curry with Tofu + Mango Sticky Rice at Happy Mango Thai Restaurant in Vang Vieng, Laos (We ate twice at both restaurants!)

Food court crispy pad thai– It cost less than $2! Imagine pad thai meets nachos.

Favorite AirBNB:

Rich: Cozy Stay in Nimman in Chiang Mai, Thailand ($33/night)
Amanda: Vuong’s Riverside Room with a View in Hoi An, Vietnam ($34/night)

Favorite Hotel:

Rich: Riverside Boutique Resort in Vang Vieng, Laos ($64/night)
Amanda: Riverside Boutique Resort in Vang Vieng, Laos ($64/night)

The view from our room at the beautiful Riverside Boutique Hotel

Favorite City/Town:

Rich: Chiang Mai, Thailand
Amanda: Chiang Mai, Thailand

Favorite Mode of Transportation:

Rich: Flying for $15 one way in Southeast Asian cities
Amanda: The van ride from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang. We started with one driver, and then midway through the ride, we got a new driver. We drove over the most treacherous roads. The second driver got out to pee on the side of the road three times. But the land was BEAUTIFUL. It reminded me of the rolling hills of North Georgia where my family is from, and for about four hours, I could just sit, stare out the window, and take it all in.

Favorite Beach/Pool:

Rich: The hotel pool at the Riverside Boutique Hotel in Vang Vieng, Laos
Amanda: Our hotel pool in Vietianne. While it wasn’t the most glamorous pool, inexplicably, for one day at the pool, there was a giant unicorn float when we arrived. Read more here about how that went for Rich.

unicorn float in Vientiane — So much love for the unicorn float

Favorite Book Read:

Rich: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
Amanda: Either Commonwealth: A Novel by Ann Patchett OR Born A Crime by Trevor Noah. Although Crazy Rich Asians was really fun too…#nerd

Least Favorite Moment:

Rich: We had a great night out in Siem Reap enjoying a delicious dinner and two amazing cocktails at Miss Wong Cocktail Bar. We had a nice walk home and then…tragedy struck. OK, not tragedy just an unfortunate accident. Our Airbnb in Siem Reap was a really cute little place that had big glass doors opening to a small lobby. First, let me start of by saying the large glass double doors had been open the entire two days we were staying there. Second, they were really really clean. I am starting to tell this story like Amanda. I will get to the point: I walked face first into the glass doors as if I were walking through an open door. My nose and mouth started gushing blood, followed by lots of cursing and a call home to my dad to ask if my nose was broken (it wasn’t). This “clean glass door” incident led to lots of ice, Neosporin, and Bio Oil to help my face heal. I am happy to report that two weeks later I am 90% of the way to being scar free.
Amanda: That’s a lot to follow. We took a van from Vang Vieng to Luang Prabang, and in a strange turn of events, the driver dropped us off at a location that was NOT the bus station because “of the police.” We had a tuk tuk scheduled to pick us up at the bus stop, and since we had no idea how to communicate our new location, we decided to walk to the AirBNB. Little did we know, this walk, in the dark, involved crossing a VERY rickety pedestrian bridge over a river carrying all of our belongings. I’ll probably write more about this in my post on Luang Prabang, so for now, I will just admit to having a complete and total meltdown, just short of tears, in the middle of said bridge of death.

Did we mention that the day after the glass door incident was our visit to Angkor Wat?

Most Favorite Moments:

Rich: The four days exploring the Nimman neighborhood in Chiang Mai, Thailand, lounging by the pool in Vang Vieng overlooking the limestone mountains, and our day working at The Workshop Coffee in Ho Chi Minh City. Oh, also hiking a waterfall in Luang Prabang. We will blog about these soon!
Amanda: Visiting Angkor Wat . It was like being on another planet. I cannot believe such an incredible place exists. When we first entered Angkor Wat shortly after sunrise, most of the visitors were going straight, and we took a left. About 100 steps in, and we were all alone, in this huge section of the temple. It was amazing. I also loved bicycling to see temples in Chiang Rai and then coming “home” to the hotel to read at the pool. oh, AND I loved being at a lagoon in Vang Vieng when all of these middle school aged boys got out of school. Watching them jump out of trees and off bridges into the water was incredible. I ALMOST FORGOT THE CAT CAFE. OF COURSE, THE CAT CAFE.

DELTAS:

Looking back on the last thirty days, here are a few things we want to commit to doing moving forward.

Use the 7-11. Hear me out. In Europe, we stayed almost exclusively in AirBNB’s with kitchens, and going grocery shopping was a must-do in every new place. Here in Southeast Asia, it is actually cheaper to buy food out, especially from street vendors or mall food courts, than to cook. Still, there were many times that we were one or two snacks away from being a little less hangry if we planned ahead better. We did a good job with this in Chiang Mai, where the “Sev” (as Rich calls it) was on our street, and it made a big difference.
Do more research on the places we are visiting before we get there. I am going to admit that often I learn a ton about a historical place like Siem Reap when I blog about it after we have already visited. Several times, people who have vacationed in a place we are visiting have told us that we “HAVE” to get a guide to explore an area, but honestly, that’s just not financially practical on a trip as long as ours. Still, I want to commit to doing a better job at researching historical sites before rolling out the door so that we don’t miss anything while it is happening.
Schedule our time on a calendar. At our jobs, Rich and I were both super type-A schedulers with serious calendars. For better or worse, we have relaxed those tendencies. There are ways that not being so scheduled allows us to enjoy the moments we are in, but we also can see a pattern of not getting all of the things done that we wanted to do (i.e. blogging, planning, working out) because our “plan” for the day evolves the day of, often after an hour or two in the morning lost to playing on Insta or Twitter. We both love feeling productive so we want to try to start scheduling out the four or five days we will spend at a place on our calendars on the travel day when we arrive. We can let you know how it goes.

LOVES:

The confidence gained knowing that we are doing this. Rich and I have been gone for more than 90 days. We are traveling the world. We are not by any means perfect at it, but when we run into challenges, like glass doors (too soon?), we are able to keep on keeping on. Neither had us had ever been to Asia before and now we have both spent more than thirty days in Southeast Asia. When we first discussed traveling the world for a year, we weren’t quite sure it was possible. But we are doing it! That feels great.
All of the support from our friends and family at home. There are sweet friends who I had fallen out of touch with who because of this trip I am back in touch with as they reach out with kind messages, emails, and likes on pictures. We both feel like we have a whole big team of cheerleaders, rooting for and encouraging us on our way. And we have made new friends with other traveling couples through Instagram who provide us tips on places we are going next or even feature us on their blogs. THANK YOU for all of the support. It is awesome.
Spending time together. Still. Even when we melt down on bridges and are hangry. Having this time to travel, explore, learn, love, and process is an unbelievable gift, and we are having a blast.

September 26, 2018

Days 76 – 79: Visit. Siem. Reap.

Visit. Siem. Reap. Like, now. Whatever you are doing, just stop, and get yourself to Cambodia.

Alright, so getting to Cambodia may involve a bit of planning, but I would seriously highly encourage you to start at least considering it.

Visiting Angkor Wat was an unbelievable, other worldly experience, and then the town of Siem Reap takes laid back to the next level. It totally exceeded our expectations with about a million cool coffee shops and cafes that all seem to be giving back to some worthwhile cause.

Day 76: Travel from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap

Buses run from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap multiple times a day, and despite the ride taking six hours, we had WiFi and the trip was pretty straightforward. We were picked up at our hotel at about 8:30 AM. We arrived in Siem Reap in the middle of the afternoon.

As I shared in our post on Phnom Penh, while we were there we ate at this incredible little hip place called Backyard Cafe. Well, Backyard Cafe has a sister restaurant, Vibe, in Siem Reap that was just as fabulous, so natch we went straight there to detox a bit from the long ride.

Siem Reap Vibe Cafe — A delicious veggie burger and nut milk smoothie at Vibe

We both got veggie burgers (my meat-loving husband wanted a veggie burger!) which were divine. We went back to our great little AirBNB and watched Angelina Jolie’s film First They Killed My Father about the Cambodian genocide. It was understandably tough to watch but definitely instructive for our time in Cambodia.

Day 77: Enjoying Siem Reap

We had originally planned to go to Angkor Wat our first full day in Cambodia, but our AirBNB host gave us good advice to take a day to settle in to enjoy Siem Reap first. Our AirBNB was in an incredible location in the Kandal Village neighborhood, so we walked around the corner to Common Grounds, another adorable coffee shop to work for the day.

Common Grounds for Breakfast…And Lunch

We had muffins and coffee for breakfast, and then worked right through to lunch where Rich enjoyed A PHILLY CHEESESTEAK. Rich, Southwest Philadelphia born and raised, offered the following assessment: “It’s not as good as Philly, obviously, but it is done better than some places in the United States.” High praise.

cheesesteak in siem reap — Not sure who is cheesing harder– Rich or the cheesesteak

Siem Reap has a major ex-pat culture, most notably ex-pats from Australia. While we were in the cafe, we witnessed a nonprofit meeting taking place at one table while a mom worked on her laptop and her son did what looked like homeschool math homework beside her. It was cool.

Dinner at Miss Wong Cocktail Bar

Siem Reap has a total party themed area known as Pub Street because, well, there are about a million bars and pubs where beers cost about a quarter each. Seriously.

Pub Street, Siem Reap. It’s early; this is chill.

While walking down pub street, a ten year old boy asked Rich if he wanted to pay roughly $1 to eat a tarantula. As most of us would have, Rich quickly declined. The boy said, “Come on. Be a man.” Hilarious.

That scene was a bit rowdy for us, so we ducked down an ally to grab dinner and a drink at Miss Wong Cocktail Bar, named for the famous painting by Vladimir Tretchikoff. The decor was super posh. The drinks were sophisticated. Rich and I felt a little more like the professionals we once were and a little less like the backpackers we have become. We had a great time.

Miss Wong in Siem Reap — At Miss Wong’s Cocktail Bar

Day 78: Angkor Wat

Visiting Angkor Wat was the type of experience that affirms that for every long travel day, every time we have gotten really lost, and every wrinkled outfit pulled out of the same dirty backpack taking this trip was one of the best decisions we have ever made.

About Angkor

Angkor was the capital city of the Khmer empire. Between the 9th to 15th centuries, historians believe that Angkor was a megacity, housing nearly 1 million people. At the time, that would have been 0.1% of the global population.

Today, in the Angkor complex, over 1,000 temples remain. Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom are the most famous temples, but there are many small and beautiful lesser known temples as well.

All of Angkor stands as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These temples are incredibly well-preserved; there are hardly any areas that you cannot enter today. It is like a giant, historical playground.

Sunrise at AngKOR Wat

Our AirBNB contracts with a team of tuk tuk drivers, and they are pros at planning out the day. We received a printed menu of prices and locations, picked what we wanted to see, and arranged everything through our AirBNB.

We knew we wanted to see Angkor Wat at sunrise so our tuk tuk driver arrived to pick us up at 4:30 AM (!!!). He drove us about 30 minutes outside of town to be at the front of the line to buy tickets, and then we drove another 15 minutes or so to Angkor Wat. Using our iPhone flashlight, we followed the crowds– yes, crowds at 5:15 AM– to a prime view of the sunrise over Angkor Wat.

What is impossible to capture in words is the sheer scope and magnitude of Angkor Wat. How something so old can still tower so magnificently over the landscape is unreal. Watching the sun come up over Angkor Wat was amazing.

sunrise in siem reap at angkor wat — Waiting for the sun to come up at Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat in Siem Reap — At Sunrise at Angkor Wat

Sun’s Up– Let’s Explore

So once the sun is up, the couple of thousand people who had stood back to watch it come over the water head towards the entrance of the structure. The thing is, Angkor Wat is so large with so many halls and turns and stairs, that you can take a turn away from the crowd and find yourself alone in the temple. This has not been a common experience at most major tourist locations for us.

We wandered around, said whoa every other word, took pictures, and tried to take it all in.

We then got in line to climb to the top of the temple. After being in line for about 20 minutes, the worker informed me that having my scarf covering my shoulders was not sufficient coverage to enter the highest part of the temple because my straps under the scarf were small. I told Rich to go up anyway and got out of line.

Immediately, a t-shirt vendor arrived. We negotiated him down to paying about $3 for a cool Cambodia t-shirt, I put the t-shirt on over my dress, and we were back in business.

The climb to the top was terrifying. You climb the uneven stone steps straight up the equivalent of 4-5 stories. Rich was okay; I got to the top and was ready to kiss the ground and cry! In Europe and America, there would have been about a million warnings and signs removing all liability. Here, they figure you have enough sense to know if you can make it up or not.

The views of course were stunning. We were on top of an ancient world.

How I climbed all stairs all day. These stairs, at Angkor Thom, were a serious modern upgrade from the stairs at Angkor Wat.

To Angkor Thom and Beyond

You hire the skilled tuk tuk drivers for the day so when we finished at Angkor Wat, our driver was waiting for us. He took us to Angkor Thom, we explored, then we got back in the tuk tuk to travel to the next temple.

By the end of the tour, we had seen five of the largest temples. It was about 11:30 AM (remember, our day started at 4:30 AM). Rich and I were so sweaty, so dirty, so wiped, and so content. It had been an amazing day. Nap time!

Another temple. Remember, there are roughly ONE THOUSAND temples total.

Day 79: Rainy Season in Cambodia

The next day it rained. We slept in and then wandered to a late breakfast at New Leaf Eatery, another amazing cafe that donates a large chunk of its proceeds to local education.

We spent the rest of the rainy day inside, working on blogging and planning and just generally getting caught up.

For dinner, we walked three doors down– did we mention our location was amazing– to Crane, one more bar/cafe, this time focused on supporting local artists, where we enjoyed delicious curry for dinner. Siem Reap was the hippest.

If you want to have your mind blown by a wonder of the world, and then you want to eat lots of delicious, healthy food at places that support the community, Siem Reap is your spot. We could not have been more impressed by this laid back and lovely little Cambodian town.

September 22, 2018

Random Reflections and (Sort of) Deep Thoughts from the Road

Over dinner or while we are walking somewhere, Rich and I do a lot of back and forth about what we love about traveling, what we miss about home, what we are glad we did, what we might change, etc. In other words, we take some time for reflection.

We thought it might be fun to share some of these reflections with you! We will still do our next 30 days post– think of this more as eavesdropping on some of the conversations we have back and forth as we hang out all day, every day.

And in terms of process, we answered the questions in the order our names are listed (i.e. the first person writes his or her response blind, and then the second person can respond).

What it is the one physical thing from home you miss the most?

Rich: Our large, grey, comfortable sectional couch. From watching the Eagles and Georgia football games to Homeland, Handmaid’s Tale, and Game of Thrones, it is where we unwind. It can be difficult to relax fully when you are switching destinations every 3 to 5 days.

Amanda: HAIR CONDITIONER. Hear me out. None of the hotels and AirBNB’s have it, and we fly so frequently that I can only buy it in travel sized amounts. Also, everything we do is terrible on my hair– being in the sun and the heat, swimming in pools, oceans, and waterfalls, using the random shampoos provided by the hotels and AirBNB’s.

I think about a huge bottle of great conditioner every day. I read articles about conditioning treatments (here, here, and here) which is just torture because there is no CVS or Sephora in Laos. And if there were, I could only buy the best products in travel sized amounts! Seriously, #1 fantasy: a huge, budget busting bottle of Moroccan Oil conditioner. The end.

What is one experience from home that you miss that you expected to miss and one experience from home that you miss that surprises you?

Amanda: I expected that we would miss family and friends, and we do. Events that would seem super regular at home- kids’ birthday parties, friends going out to dinner- seem the coolest from this far away (“Oh my gosh, look at all those people we know in the same room!”). Abbey starting high school has definitely been the most expected, hardest thing to be away for.

I realized yesterday that I unexpectedly miss folding clothes. We are at the mercy of our situation on how we will get our clothes clean, but yesterday our AirBNB provided laundry service for a small fee. I had to fight the urge to ask if I could fold the clothes myself when they came out of the dryer– the allure of clean clothes, DRIED IN A DRYER (not a given in most of the world), and then the sense of task completion when they are all folded neatly…sigh.

Rich: I expected to miss the fall, the start of school, and football, and I have. I especially miss the start of school this year as it is Abbey’s first year in high school. Fall is our favorite season: the cool temperatures, La Colombe coffee on our couch on Saturday morning, and watching football. Our travel route has us in summer in almost every country we visit, and fall seems so far away. Also, halfway across the world “American” football is non-existent. This is unimaginable back home.

The unexpected experience I miss most is food shopping and having a well stocked refrigerator. I am a creature of habit and love my Saturday mornings at Whole Foods. I miss selecting the meat, fish, and produce that Amanda turns into delicious meals. I also miss the convenience of going into my fridge and grabbing a drink or something to eat whenever the urge arises. When traveling you have to plan out how to get every meal.

What is something that another country does way better than the United States? Like, why don’t we do that at home?

Rich: Bus safety. All buses in SE Asia and some in Europe have two employees on each bus. Makes total sense. We have all heard stories of SEPTA or Metro violence, passengers not paying fares, etc. It is illogical to think one person (the bus driver) can collect fares, enforce collection of fares, ensure bus etiquette, prevent bus violence, and DRIVE THE BUS!

In other countries, the bus driver does just that, drives the bus. Another employee collects the fare, and keeps an eye on the bus and its passengers. Makes total sense. Part of me can’t help think that transportation companies in the U.S. are more concerned about their bottom line.

Amanda: I basically wrote this question because Rich is so fired up about the buses!

Something that we have seen in Asia that makes so much sense to me is that all of the escalators have motion sensors so they only start up when someone steps on them. Genius! Why does the escalator need to run continuously and waste energy? It should just come on when you step on the platform right before you step on the escalator stairs. An elevator doesn’t go up and down when there aren’t any passengers on it. America, you’re welcome.

Let’s talk about time. Does it feel like it is moving more quickly or more slowly than you would have expected?

Amanda: That’s tough. I cannot believe that we have been out of the country for 89 days, and I also cannot believe that we have seen everything that we have seen in only 89 days. Like, oh remember when we were at that waterfall in Iceland, and then we were in Sicily for a long time, and now we are at a waterfall in Laos. So in that sense, it is moving really fast.

However, it feels like FOREVER since we were in the United States grabbing a cheeseburger and going to CVS. And I had a job? Feels like a lifetime ago.

Rich: I agree with Amanda here. Iceland seems like so long ago; however, I can not believe how much of the world we have already seen so far. We have learned how big the world really is and how small we really are in it.

What is your very favorite part of traveling the world?

Rich: For me, it is seeing how different cultures live and learn from each other across the world. I love the world fusion. I love it in food (Think: Bing Bing Dim Sung in Philly- Asian/Jewish food). I love it in music (Think: Hip Hop collaborating with Rock). Also, spending time with Amanda, the learning and growing we are doing together is amazing!

Amanda: Oh, that was sweet– thanks! Besides being with Rich, I really enjoy the unknown unknowns. I might have a vague notion of what a town or a country will be like, but then all of these surprises unfold along the way.

Some of the surprises are amazing- trying a new delicious food or seeing something in nature that looks like nothing I have ever seen before- and sometimes they are a little quirky or even frustrating (oh, our “bus” is actually a minivan and the driver changes twice in five hours and the second driver gets out of the bus to pee on the side of the road once an hour and then drops us at a location in the next town that is not the bus station).

For better or worse, I almost always kind of love all of the surprise. Things are never boring, and there are lots of good lessons about accepting things as they are.

Was taking this trip the right decision?

Amanda: Oh, absolutely. There are so many things about having the opportunity to do this and seeing all we are seeing as well as being back home when we are finished that I hope I will appreciate forever. There is psychological research that gratitude is the key to happiness, and I feel like we are making a yearlong investment in a lifetime of happiness.

Rich: Yes! We talk all the time about how lucky we are to be able to do this. I want to live a big, full life. I want to see the Big 5 in Africa, swim in the Mediterranean, dive the Great Barrier Reef, do Yoga in Bali, hike Machu Picchu, visit all of the great U.S. National Parks, and try great food, beer, and wine from all over the world. And we get to do it all now!

Feel free to send more deep (ha!), higher level thinking and reflection questions our way! Sending our love back across the world to you.

September 21, 2018September 26, 2018

Day 74-75: Hello, Cambodia! Getting Started in Phnom Penh

After finishing off an amazing time in Chiang Rai, Thailand with a visit to a cat cafe, Rich and I jumped on a plane and landed pretty late in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

A unique, and totally endearing, Southeast Asia custom we have picked up on at almost every airport we have visited here is the friend and family welcome committee . For every passenger returning home, it seems there are at least three smiling faces eager to welcome the weary traveller.

Although come to think of it, maybe that is a southeastern U.S. tradition too. The husband of one of my dearest friends proposed to her when she landed in the Atlanta airport, and I know my sweet mother has met me in Nashville with a “Welcome home, Amanda” banner on at least one occasion (when I was 20+ years old).

But I digress. We were happy to land in Phnom Penh and even happier to see our names written on the sign held by our hotel’s driver!

Day 74: Exploring Phnom Penh…But First, Football

If you know us, you know Rich and I are pretty committed to football in general and the Georgia Bulldogs and Philadelphia Eagles in particular. We, of course, miss our family and friends back in the states. AND we also miss turning on the TV on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, plopping onto our huge grey couch, and watching football rabidly for hours.

I’m not going to give too much of our tradecraft away on how we have managed to do this, but so far, we have been able to watch two of the three Georgia games and one of the two Eagles games on our laptops. Because the Eagles played the Falcons in the NFL opener at 8:00 PM on a Thursday night, we saw the game live in Cambodia at 7:00 AM Friday morning.

Weird, huh?

When Thursday Night Football in America is Friday Morning Football in Cambodia

The Eagles, who happened to win the Super Bowl last year (#importantdetail), also won against the Falcons! While we were in high spirits, we got a particularly late start to our day in Phnom Penh.

We decided we would take it slow and walk to the Wat Phnom Temple. While only about a mile and a half in distance, this stroll took us a good hour because, much like Hanoi, sidewalks are not primarily used for walking. While no other city could be as frenetic as Hanoi, Phnom Penh was active. It had its share of motorbikes and tuk tuks, as well as street food being prepared on sidewalks. Interestingly, almost every car and SUV was either a Toyota or a Lexus– apparently there is a large grey market for luxury vehicles in Phnom Penh.

The Wat Phnom complex was a beautiful park with a temple sitting at the top of a hill, a larger-than-life working clock, children riding bikes, and pretty gardens. We even saw a monkey!

Wat Phnom in Phnom Penh — Outside the Wat Phnom complex.

Clock in Phnom Penh — I mean, this clock is awesome. And it’s 5 o’clock somewhere.

Wat Phhom interior in Phnom Penh — The beautiful inside of Wat Phnom

With our monkey friend (who rudely refused to turn around for the selfie)

From Wat Phnom, we went to dinner at Eleven One Kitchen. I enjoyed a delicious vegetable amok, a traditional curry dish cooked in banana leaves. Yum!

Our first full day: Birds win, and we settle into life in Cambodia. Not bad.

Day 75: Downtown Phnom Penh, Health Food, and Tragic History

Fortunately/unfortunately, there was no more morning football so we were able to head out to explore more sites in Phnom Penh much earlier than the day before.

The Royal Palace, Wat Langka, and Wat Botum Park

We knew we had a longer tour scheduled in the afternoon so we did a quick “walk by” tour of the Royal Palace, Wat Langka, and Wat Botum Park. It is clear that Phnom Penh is a city on the rise. There were many beautiful structures and monuments scattered about.

Additionally, while our walk the day before had been across cluttered, broken, and missing sidewalks, on our walk by more of the monuments, we found wider, cleaner sidewalks more like what we are accustomed to in the West. This part of town felt much more Ho Chi Minh City than Hanoi. It was pretty interesting to get a feel for both traditional and modern in the same city.

Royal Palace Phnom Penh — The Royal Palace in Phnom Penh

Rich with a war memorial in Wat Bokum Park

Rich with one of the major monuments. You can view the high rises in downtown Phnom Penh beyond the monument.

Rich with the Independence monument, signifying independence from France, and the Cambodian flag

Health Food at Backyard Cafe

For lunch, we stopped at Backyard Cafe, a vegan and plant-based cafe that supports a foundation providing healthy food and nutrition for school children in Cambodia.

Umm, this cafe was straight out of an Anthropologie + Goop collaborative Instagram spread. The decor was amazing and unbelievably on trend. Our vegan sandwiches (pumpkin, humus red peppers, etc.) were not bad either.

Yummy Backyard Cafe lunch with passion fruit juice

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum

Visiting the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum was incredibly powerful and also really heavy too. I will do my best to share what I learned in the spirit of bearing witness.

Some Background on the Khmer Rouge

I am not a historian, but my (very) basic understanding is that Cambodia had been a part of French Indochina from 1867 until 1953. Cambodia became a constitutional monarchy. However, quickly the country became conflicted over what their involvement in the Vietnam War should be. While Cambodia wanted to claim neutrality, the leadership allowed Vietnam to transport supplies through Cambodia. Then they also allowed Americans to bomb Vietnamese troops in Cambodia as long as no Cambodians were killed.

This strategy did not exactly win over the Cambodian people, and following the war, there was a coup, and then confusion and a vacuum of power. Enter: Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge.

Pol Pot believed there was a fundamental difference between “old” people (farmers, laborers, etc.) and “new” people who were educated, lived in cities, and had new ideas. He wanted to return Cambodia to an agrarian society, and as soon as the Khmer Rouge came to power in 1975, they entered and evacuated Phnom Penh. The Khmer Rouge told people that the Americans were going to bomb the city and that everyone could return in three days. Instead, the city dwellers were forced into farm labor, the military, or killed.

The Tuol Sleng Prison

The Tuol Sleng prison had originally been a secondary school located in the center of town. When the Khmer Rouge invaded, they installed high fences of barbed wire around the walls of the school and turned classrooms into cells and interrogation rooms. It became a secret facility known as S-21.

Over the next four years, more than 20,000 Cambodians, as well as some foreigners, were imprisoned there. The Khmer Rouge tortured inmates to extract confessions, and they executed more than 12,000 of these prisoners. Many of those imprisoned were teachers; some were there for wearing glasses, seen as a sign of “intellectualism.”

The tour of the prison is grisly. You see the cells where the last prisoners were discovered. The Khmer Rouge took pictures of all of the inmates upon entry, and thousands of these black and white pictures line the walls. It started pouring down rain while we were there. It was just so grim.

There are two former prisoners who survived who return every day to tell their story, and the chief of the prison has received a life sentence for crimes against humanity.

Reflection

So I like to keep the blog light and fun, but we visited a genocide museum. It is terribly sad. We visited Dachau several years ago. Like Dachau, at Tuol Sleng, evil feels close and palpable. As it should be, it in unsettling, but I think that immediacy is intentional. May every person who visits learn enough not to be a bystander should he or she ever come into contact with such evil.

A takeaway for me was how quickly divisions within a country can become terribly dangerous as well as how problematic it is to despise education and ideas.

The Khmer Rouge killed roughly 25% of Cambodia’s population, and most who were killed were the educated. Once the genocide ends, how do you educate your population when all of the teachers were killed and all of the students missed four years of school? How do you build buildings without architects or heal bodies without doctors? How long will it take Cambodia to truly recover?

We walked home from the museum in the rain, took long naps, and stayed in for dinner because we were so beat.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Cambodia as they continue to rebuild, restore, and heal their beautiful country.