Cambodian Adventures Part III

The next day was the absolute highlight of our Cambodia trip and involved an all day trek through Angkor Wat.  "What is Angkor Wat? " some of you might ask.  Trust me that isn't a silly question because up until our move to Asia and our growing interest in Cambodia, my knowledge of it consisted mainly of its brief appearance in the movie Tomb Raider.  However as we discovered it deserves MUCH more notoriety than that.  We were blown away at these structures and the history found there.  I don't understand how this area isn't commonly mentioned in the same breath as the Pyramids or the Colosseum.

 Anyway, Angkor Wat is the common name for the Angkor Archaeological Park Complex located in Seim Reap, Cambodia.  It is a huge area of temples and giant tree forested areas that dates back to the 9th-15th century.  Although there was a lot of damage to the area due to some of Cambodia's recent tumultuous years  the ruins are still absolutely magnificent especially now that much is being done to restore them.  Our pictures simply cannot do it justice but here is a couple to give you an idea.  Don't worry next time we see you we will hold you hostage with a home movie slide show of all 762 pictures we took.  Just kidding!  We will cut it down to at least 400. :)

One of the temples popping out from behind the trees= breathtaking!!  Also, yes that is a wild monkey on the path!

And yes, that is Hubs feeding a wild monkey! 

I don't even know how to begin climbing this thing.

Probably the most widely recognized spot in the whole area thanks to the movie Tomb Raider.  Aren't those tree roots something else?!

Leave a boy unattended for a few minutes and next thing you know he has knocked down a temple wall. . .

 I think all this would be an amazing sight even if it was built in current times with all the modern day construction equipment, materials, and tools available.  It boggles my mind none of that was around when it was built.

The impressive part isn't even how big the temple looks in comparison to Hubs, it is that this is the 2nd or 3rd story up on the huge structure!!  They are so big it is almost impossible to capture them all in one shot.

If you look carefully at the stones above the arch opening there is a Buddha face looking down at the path towards the camera and one one either side as well.  

Little monks roaming around one of the active temples.

This place is awesome.  I wonder if I can just pick it up and take it home. . .. :)

Cambodian Adventures Part II

We spent the majority of the first day of our trip to Cambodian in Phnom Penh, the capital city.  We didn't have much time but we tried to make every minute count!


First stop was the National Museum which was filled with incredible artifacts, many of which were Buddha statues from varying time periods.  While Cambodia is a predominately Buddhist country they have had significant influence from Hinduism throughout the years.  We found we know remarkably little about either religion and it was interesting having a guide walk us through how to recognize some of the different types of Buddhas often distinguished by hand positioning or objects being held in their hands.  We couldn't take pictures inside the museum but here is a shot of it's beautiful architecture and courtyard.  The spiky curves on the roof were a reoccurring theme on many of the buildings and our guide told us they represented a dragon and symbolized protection.

Next step was the Royal Palace (don't you think that "The Kingdom of Cambodia" has such a perfect ring to it?!).  The King was out of town for a holiday so we didn't get go meet him (ha!) but we did tour a few of the public buildings and areas within his grounds. Here are shots of a temple and a former King's crypt in the Royal Palace area.

The pink flower on the Buddha statue's lap is from a special tree that produces beautiful new flower blooms each morning.  The flowers fall from the tree each day around 1 or 2 pm and then fresh ones bloom the next morning.  Our guide said these trees are considered to have religious significance and are usually found near temples and shrines.

And a close up!  So beautiful and fragrant!

Our last stop in Phenom Pen was a visit to the Genocide Museum.  As some of you may know Cambodia has a very tragic history of civil war in the late 1970s.  This museum was originally a children's middle school that was used as a prisoner camp and torture/interrogation area during this time.    

Over the past few months  we  have developed a real heart for the country and interest in it's history.  This time period is particularly heartbreaking and has resulted in many present day needs and ministry opportunities in Cambodia.  If you are interested in learning more about Cambodia's recent history, we recommend checking out the movie:  "The Killing Fields" and/or the book " First They Killed my Father". 

Cambodia Adventures Part I

Several weeks ago we went to Cambodia.  SUCH a beautiful and charming country.  We have tons of pictures and experiences to share.  But it has been a long day/week/month. . .. and we are short on creative energy to give you a full report.  So for now I'll leave you with a few of our favorite "statue imitation" outtakes.. . .

Hong Kong Adventures

This year was relativity big in regards to my birthday.  I hit the big "3" "0" this November!  Hubs went totally above and beyond with a trip to Hong Kong to celebrate!!  Not only that,  he surprised me with a cake ordered ahead waiting for me in the hotel room!

We spent a wonderful weekend in Hong Kong and I really wish I had more pictures to show you but alas our hands were so full of shopping bags the whole time we didn't get many photo ops!!  We did get a number of great bargains at the markets though so if you got a Christmas present from us this year there is a good chance it came from a Hong Kong market (we have a stash too so that goes for the next few years as well :)).


The food was great and the city was bustling and impressive.  We were very surprised at how familiar everything seemed.  We barely felt like we were in a foreign country at all with all the fluent English speakers and English signs posted everywhere!  The money exchange did take a little getting used to though since they also use the dollar but one of their dollars is worth almost 8 US dollars.  At first glance that can make price tags seem very shocking (" $17 for a cup of coffee?!?!?!!?  ARE YOU NUTS?!?!?!?! Oh. . wait. . never mind.  Sure, I'll take two").


One thing that did make a lasting impression was our ride across the island on one of the many double decker buses.  Can you say CRAZY!?!?!

Here is shot from the vantage point of the first row on the top level.  Some of the turns were downright terrifying.  . .and the whole left side of the road thing certainly didn't help!

Since a picture really can't give it a worthy description I thought this video clip borrowed from one of the Harry Potter movies might give you a better idea of the experience.  Granted their bus had three levels, but other than that it is pretty much right one.  I think our driver may have even used magic a few times to keep us from crashing.

More Engrish Adventures

Just thought you might like to check out some more "Engrish" we come across on a daily basis here in South Korea.


On store signs:

On pencil boxes (no I don't have any idea what otters have to do with Audrey Hepburn either):

On clothes:

On tour buses: (this one was so hysterical I was going to offer proofreading services for free but by the time we had stopped laughing the bus was already gone. . I mean of ALL the available acronyms to describe their tour why would they choose that one?  )

Japan Adventures Part III

What do we recommend after two days of non stop walking and exploring Japan (not to mention sleeping on the floor the night before?).
Definitely get a hotel on the top (33rd) floor of an amazing hotel in downtown Tokyo, complete with a high tech massage chair, and enjoy the view!

And then on the way to the airport the next day swing by a sushi counter to get a fresh lunch prepared right in front of you.  Yum!

Japan Adventures Part II

By far the coolest part of our Japan trip (and definitely near the top of all our Asian experiences so far!) was spending the night in a Ryokan (traditional Japanese Inn).  It was so quaint and with such an "off the beaten path" location we almost missed it from the outside!

When we arrived we were greeted with a great deal of bowing while they whisked our bags away to our room, took our shoes at the door and gave us slippers to wear throughout the house.  They didn't speak much English but managed to give us a very welcoming tour of the house (which included communal bath rooms and shared sink/mirror areas in the hallway rather than facilities in each room) before showing us to our very large but sparsly furnished suite complete with ratton floor mats, wooden screens and walls, and hot tea and fresh fruit to welcome us!

 Next they brought us some yukatas (traditional Japanese robes, like a Kimono but in more light, summer weight cotton material) to change into while we waited for our room service of a multiple course traditional Japanese meal!  These robes were incredibly comfortable. . even Hubs thought so!  Turns out he might be half Samurai. :)

Our meal was amazingly yummy. . and confusing!  The lady who brought it to us kept referring to this bilingual menu to show us what course she was bringing in,  It wasn't as helpful as she thought it was. . I mean yeah. . .I could have picked up that it was "hot food". . and "fried food".  But the thought was nice! :)

Here is a few pictures of various courses to show some of the "amazing yumminess"!

And here is a picture to show some of the "confusion"...


"Are you telling me I'm supposed to cook this over this open flame on this giant leaf thing?  For how long?  Am I supposed to eat the leaf thing or just the stuff inside?  Oh that's right. .we don't speak the same language. .. ..hmmm. . ."

After our meal they had reserved one of the communal bath house rooms for us! We got 30 luxurious minutes in the hot steam room and sauna all to ourselves.  When we returned to our room they had put out our futon type floor beds complete with origami paper cranes on the pillows and a resupply of hot tea.  Awesome!


As you can see the overhead clearance wasn't always exactly "Hubs- sized". . .but we made it work. :)

Overall, this was one of the most out of our comfort zone. . but FUN experiences of all of our travels.  If you ever have a chance to stay in a Ryokan, do it! :)