A blog about nothing Sept 2017

The beginning of this school year started way earlier than it normally should.

I have for years joked that working in the summer is against my religion  (I seem to find other things to do! Spoiled? Yes.) but at the end of last year I was asked to be on a Link Crew committee that trains upperclassmen to welcome freshmen to high school. I kicked and screamed and said I'd never have enough time to dedicate to it throughout the year but my principal insisted that I give it a shot. Fast forward to a training in Southern California, countless hours of work in May and I found something I absolutely love. The mission is noteworthy, the tools provided inspiring but above all, I found some incredible people on our campus. We are a team of ten teachers of all different backgrounds (I represent the white girl contingency but am a bit bitter no one remembers I'm an immigrant that didn't speak a word of English 2 decades ago) and teach different subjects. We are full of distinct strengths and are the main cooks in our kitchens, however Link Crew has given us a platform to work together. These great professionals also drop off apple pies (secret: I don't actually like pie but that one was *bomb*), chocolate chip cookies, spinach smoothies, unannounced company, ridiculous bitmoji and inappropriate jokes. 

I loved this team so much that for the first time in my 14 year career I logged in hours (48 of them to be exact!) before school even started.  Noteworthy: these peeps are some serious summer workers and none were impressed with the above statistic. Damn.

In another set of firsts, I'm room sharing.  I didn't think it was going to be a big deal but man oh man, this has been an incredible challenge. Without going into juicy details, it's been interesting to have a "tenant." Because this person is a new teacher I received some responsibility I didn't sign up for. Teaching how to use tech, make copies, check emails etc are just some of the things I have had to squeeze into my schedule unplanned. And if I sound unfriendly it's because it has taken much more of my time than I ever anticipated. I didn't sign up for a student teacher and I'm hoping the growing pains have passed and the rest of the year will be smooth sailing.

Speaking of smooth... that's definitely  not my last class of the day! On average I probably send out one or two kids a year. But not during this round. I sent out 2 today.  I have a super disrespectful loud bunch and it doesn't help that there are 38 of them.  

For the last two years I have recruited kids to join me on a trip to Spain in June 2018. However it's been hard to get excited to recruit when you end each day frustrated. I'm hoping to find a way to reach those kids without losing my mind, wish me luck!

For some additional excitement this school year, I have to drop off Remi at his school at 7, sign him in, drive to my school, park, walk to my classroom and look at 35 students by 7:15. I realized that it is unlikely to happen *ever* and have been lucky to have Remi's friend mom take him to school for me each day. 

I've continued to be involved in Remi's PTA and endlessly work on his school's after school program. While calling it a success would be a stretch, we have gone from zero programs two years ago to 5 last year to the current offering of 11 options from chess, martial arts, Spanish to basketball, story writing and more. 

I've been doing bootcamp twice a week, trying to burn off all that summer travel. Let me tell ya, 25 min work outs won't cut it! As the September 90 degrees pass, I'm hoping to start running again and get back in shape of last spring. Did you know there are only 24 hours in a day?! 

And with that,  I have enjoyed laying on my couch for the last hour. It's a rare occasion and I savored it. Wine included. 

(Almost) Home! July 2017

Back in the land of loud, angry, rushed people. Seriously. I can't decide if it's New York or the US so I'm going to hang on to that statement and see how it holds as I spend the next week traveling around here.

One bonus of being home? I know what cars look like when I call an Uber! Other than 95% of them are Priuses, I have a clue as to what a Toyota Corolla looks like. Or your average Hyundai. Pete and I routinely commented on having zero clue to what we were looking for when expecting a car. Perodua? Proton? Myvi? Axia? I got nothing! Kuala Lumpur can have the title of the rudest Uber drivers, by the way.

Another beautiful thing in the US: When looking at a menu you can reasonably expect the food listed to be available. If not, a waiter generally lets you know ahead of time that tonight chicken is not available. Cool. In Asia I have found that a Plan B is an absolute must,  Plan C goes a long way as well. Or sometimes you just have to walk out of the place a la Heather and I. When A, B and C failed we needed to get grub somewhere where they actually had some.

Food,  oh food, how I love thee. I'm scared to step on a scale when I get home but I haven't ended my eat-everything-in-sight tour yet. NYC with its delicious tacos, sushi, gelato, pastrami and lox did not disappoint. Being home will undoubtedly make my trainer work harder in September and that's just as well. Bring on the cooking, grandma!

Another thing in Michigan that awaits me is am 8 year old fella with whom I had the pleasure to videochat every day for the last 5 weeks. Sometimes Wi-Fi didn't cooperate but most days we got to see each other, no matter how pixilated. 

I'm very lucky that I get to spend almost every waking hour with my kiddo. Having 75% custody means I am "on" most of the time. My life is very unbalanced that way, I'm a single mom 10 days in a row with no family in sight (but amazing friends willing to help!) and 4 days of being an adult with zero kid responsibilities. I am also lucky that he loves his grandparents and great grandma and impatiently awaits his annual visit to speak Russian, go to Goldfish Swim School every day, eat way too much ice cream, do one week of camp (this year it was Harry Potter Lego camp, how cool is that?!) and take a break from me. Absence does make the heart go fonder! And not an ounce less important, I get to take an extended period of time for me. When I started my long trips in 2013 I was being judged left and right. He needs you! Don't you miss him? Wow, I could never do that! My kid would cry ALL. DAY. LONG. 

My kid does need me. I do miss him. But he also has an army of people who adore him and jump at every opportunity to be a part of his life and leave an impact. The pictures and videos I have gotten in the last month have reassured me that the last 5 summers have been perfect. For both of us.

One thing I was thinking about as I get ready to see him is that I haven't missed his horrid eating. I have not missed begging anyone to eat a vegetable or finish their meal. Just thinking about it really stressed me out! But that's the importance of being gone and getting myself out of the every day rut. I was able to step back and see what I need to focus on as we make new memories together in the next 5 weeks. Remi and mama tour starts today and I'm excited! 

We don't need no U.N. we have Justin Bieber! Penang/Langkawi July 2017

Last I wrote I was leaving my solo adventure behind and meeting bf to take over Malaysia and make my way back (towards) home. 

There is a difference between a trip and a vacation. Now I know I am not working hard but hear me out. 

Last year, as I was embarking on a 14 day trip to Ecuador with my students, one excitedly exclaimed "I can't wait till our vacation!!!" It stopped me dead in my tracks. "Vacation? You are not going on vacation! You are going to work so hard and be exhausted once you come back. This is will be a vacation after which you'll require a vacation!" Somehow I was puzzled that a kid thought we were going on vacation. Did they not know they'll be sleeping 4 hours a night? Writing journals? Negotiating shower schedules with their roommates? I noticed I was in some weird way offended by the word "vacation" and now was determined to tell them how hard it was going to be and not. any. fun. at. all. What the hell was wrong with me? 

Fast forward to this summer and between the epic Lombok bathrooms (you know you saw the evidence) and being stranded in various places and ordering who-knows-what and trying to figure out what holiday is being celebrated today, I was on a trip. Most definitely not a "vacation." Do I expect someone to say this wasn't fun? Feel pity? Oh no, one is by no means better than the other. Just totally different. 

So with that, my blogging stopped/slowed down when my "vacation" started. Who blogs about a nice hotel and blue waters? Everyone has seen them. With that being said, here are some thought on the last few days:

-I really like passion fruit.  Mojito, pie, ice cream, tea, passion fruit is sweet and tangy and perfectly refreshing.  Do we have passion fruit flavored stuff in the US? If yes, I want to eat all of it.  

Passion Fruit Mojito on the left

- I'm going to miss wearing flip flops 24/7. On most days, I didn't even wear those and went barefoot.  I can do beach life. 

-My favorite Pete quote for the week: "I can't think of a more scary thing than to sit on the back of your jetski." The man knows me well and good thing there are single jetskis available though we never ended up on any.

-It's no secret that my planning sucks and when Pete and I started to figure out which part of the trip he wanted to join, his one non negotiable was Penang. Having never heard of it and what it was about I didn't care either way. As we started talking to people everyone raved about the food. Penang is all about the food! The street food! The carts! Food food food! 

Penang has a lot of food, no doubt about that. Cluster of food stalls appear in every neighborhood and are called Hawker Centers. Please don't give me crap but... The food was good. Cheap. Accessible. But the best food I've ever had? Nah. Memorable? Maybe because we followed a blog and had to eat every single thing listed (we came pretty close) but the thing that made Penang special?  Street art.  Around every corner, a surprise awaits you. A mural of kids on a swing (with a real swing you can sit in), a picture of a kid grabbing a cup (real cup, of course), a child pulling his dinosaur closer (dinosaur NOT real). The murals invite you in and tourists are happy to oblige. The images are beautiful and seemingly never ending.  If it weren't for 2720 degrees and about 98% humidity, I could have spent countless hours walking around George Town photographing the images.  

-When I leave Southeast Asia I won't miss smoke. I know I have mentioned it before but the smoke, the fumes, more smoke and more fumes are tiring and I miss free air. I don't mean the beautiful air on the beach  

(even though that's sometimes fume-y too because of all the boats), I just mean regular air for breathing.  The one we take for granted. Thank you, whoever passed the "no smoking inside" law in CA and most of the US, because my goodness, I got used to that luxury at home. I also won't miss the constant bug bites and perpetual canckles but unfortunately no one has taken that on as their political agenda.  One last frustrating thing in these parts of the world is the incessant use of plastic and the ridiculous packaging. Would you like a plastic bag to wrap your plastic bag? Yes, it's that bad! Our breakfast this morning was wrapped in plastic, then a banana leaf, then newspaper then placed in a plastic bag. I made it a bit of a sport in the last month to grab the items and shove them in my bag before the plastic comes out. The waste...

Rice and anchovies and chilli paste wrapped in all the things listed above. Breakfast.

-This trip has been without a doubt the most religiously diverse I've ever had.  All the temples and mosques and even one cathedral.  Malaysia seems to be a hodgepodge of religions living under one roof. "Pork Free" signs are large and signage for "No alcohol" is everywhere. Yes, even on an island where a day without a piña colada seems incomplete. But then you turn the corner and find yourself in a Chinese area where crispy pork is on the menu and you are offered a cold Tiger to wash it down.

These differences can't be more obvious than on the beach. Muslim women in full outfits, several layers of clothing, and others in bikinis and one piece bathing suits.  For me the best thing has been to be in these situations as I am and others being as they are and everyone minding their own business. I don't know what people say under their breath but at no point have I felt judged or received a look I didn't appreciate.

-I already wrote about lack of Americans in Indonesia and that hasn't changed in Malaysia. I heard some Russian on several occasions but the only English here is either British or broken. Lots of tourists from Middle East and Asia. Come on, Americas, join, this place rocks for oh so many reasons!

-"No tipping" takes some getting used to. In Cambodia, tipping $1 was fine and expected, regardless of the amount spent. In Hong Kong, we had to talk the lady into accepting our $2 tip and she wasn't sure if she should keep it or give it to her boss. By the time we got to Malaysia, no one was tipping anyone and it was just fine. We are so conditioned in the US to reward good service and a smile, we can't just enjoy it for what it is. Speaking of money...

-During a cruise on an incredible handbuilt yacht I was lucky enough to draw attention to myself (?) via "Despacito." Let's back up... Pete and I set out on a yacht built by a German Polish Jew refugee from Heidelberg for a sunset cruise. The views were incredible, the history of the yacht just as impressive  (only yacht built old Malay style available for charter) but the people on board were the story. The Indian couple quickly making friends with the Saudi Arabian couple in their 20s. The Australians who help disabled children for a living offering us to use their towel, the gay New York couple currently living in London sharing their travel stories, the Koreans wanting to take a picture with us without even speaking one word beforehand. 

       My fishy taking a dip mid sunset cruise 

Back to the Saudi Arabian couple. When they got on the yacht the girl was wearing full garb, face covered included, with only eye slit for her to see. As we got on the boat, she took off the face cover and spent the majority of her time taking selfies. The guy, dressed in full on Western clothing, ran up to the DJ  (who knew there was one and he was taking requests?!) and asked for the Justin Bieber song.

"Despacito", I ask him?

"Yes!"

His face breaks out in a huge grin. The song plays and the entire boat is now in it. Young and old, bikini and burka, we are all jamming away. I make a quick video on my phone and out of nowhere a 15 yr old Lucy hops over to us. An English student from China is incredibly excited that I *too* know the words. OMG. Later on as the cruise progresses, Lucy and I reconnect and she almost loses her mind that I am from California and CAN GO TO JUSTIN BIEBER concerts. Her English is incredible and she shares the difficulty of learning it in China, no access to Facebook to Twitter or Snapchat. She repeatedly comments on her poor English while using bigger words than Pete and I do on regular basis. As she walks away, I know we made her night and I look forward to keeping in touch with Lucy. Pete comments how he sees the value of what I do. If my students  (maybe one or two a year, let's be honest) can come up to a stranger 2 decades their senior and talk in Spanish to them then holy crap, is my job done.  How does this tie into money? Lucy wants to be an interpreter. 

"That's awesome, interpreters make lots of money" I volunteer.

"It doesn't matter about money" she says, "it's what makes you happy"

BAM. 

Where to Travel? A Few Thoughts. July 2017

Every so often you go on a trip and on the last day you are ready to go home. You've had the tasty food, met the people, enjoyed the lovely weather, got the rest and you are ready to get back to real life. But then on a rare occasion a special place steals your heart. As I leave Ubud (I spent 7 days in Bali and never saw anything outside of it!), I'm feeling sad. I can list all the cool things I did here, which of course are well documented on the blog and Facebook but I can't explain the vibe. In fact, I won't even try.  I hope that through my jibber jabber over the last week something peaked your interest and you've been able to sense why Ubud is what it is. But this blog entry is not about that.

A few days ago I met a girl from Barcelona traveling solo. It's always amazing how much people open up to each other when they meet traveling. One night, we saw traditional Balinese dance (I wasn't a huge fan) and ate questionable gluten-free, dairy-free, taste-free crepes. Last night,  we had a phenomenal 3.5 hour dinner (as one does with a Spaniard!) over French food and cosmos. Of course, I got my Spanish practice so double bonus there. Tonight we had some gyros and made plans to hang out next time I'm in Barca. Done. 

On my sunrise trekking adventure, there were many couples and I. The French and Argentinians were super unfriendly but the Australians and Brits took me in. And the French smoked non-stop  (yes, while hiking a volcano) so the stereotype was well and alive there.  Some days you meet cool people, others not. All part of travel. 

Yestersay during my Balinese cooking lesson, there were people from Iceland, Canada, Philippines,  yours truly and a mother/son duo from Sacramento.  First of all, wow, Americans! Rarity here. Second of all, that mom is truly my goals. She doesn't do any organized tours, loves the planning aspect, her son who is going into his senior year was such a polite, well spoken guy who wanted to come to Bali because he saw a cooking show with Indonesian food. Mom is planning a trip to Uganda and the kid was trying to get permission to go solo to Eastern Europe. Seriously?! Who are these people?!?!?!? If Remi turns out quarter as cool as that kid, I am all in. 

Over the last few days there were people of different ages and backgrounds but we all had one thing in common. Choices of travel locations. Warning: Do not read further if you love Europe and are easily offended. I'm about to go to town. Also, I love Europe. But it's easy. So easy. So perfect.  So approachable.  There is something about traveling to more difficult places that pulls you in and facilitates the desire to do more. 

A driver left Heather and I in the middle of the night in the rain? We got a different ride and a great story from it. I ordered a mango and a coffee in Hanoi last year, they brought me a mango smoothie. Awesome, it was tasty. A driver dropped us off in the wrong city? Met some lovely people, made more memories and got home safely. Got the wrong sarong? Sweet, now I have a dress made from the material. I'm full of random anecdotes, the highlights never start out as planned.

I noticed something funny this past week. My most liked and discussed pictures have been of a nasty bathroom in Lombok, monkey porn in Ubud and bloody knees from Mt. Batur. It's curious how we tend to chase the beautiful rainforest or the turquoise water but at the end of the day, those are postcards.  They are rarely real life.  There is nothing to talk about when you see a pretty sunrise.  Sure it's beautiful but that's rarely *the* story. Biting it hard and walking around town trying to find Indonesian Neosporin for two days *that's* the adventure. 

Europe is a great starting point.  It's where you start to see new things in a safe travel environment. Very little can go wrong, the bathrooms will be clean (you may have to pay to use them), the food often familiar. Water is drinkable and you will probably not get run over by a car. The showers will be hot and you'll enjoy every second!  I am, of course, generalizing but the idea is there. Once you are a comfortable traveler there are so many places off most people's radar dying to be explored.

It's pretty neat to sit around the table with people listening to their stories of places I haven't even considered. Nobody talked about all inclusive resorts in Mexico or Hawaii nor Paris or London. Maybe some of us are misogynistic by nature and want the torture travel? My guess is that it's not it. You can have a cheap or a million dollar trip to Ubud. To Cape Town. To Siem Reap.  It's just that sometimes we lack creativity and tend to go places most traveled. I'm as guilty as the next guy and have made it a point in the last four years to get to those places before I die. My current wish list consists of regular easy locations and some creative ones but where will I go next? Not a clue. So next time you are traveling, I hope you too will look for an adventure off the beaten path. There are so many places that will take your breath away. 

Singapore July 2017

I had read that Singapore was a lovely Western-like reprieve after busy, unorganized and dusty Southeast Asia.  I had also read that it's really expensive. Neither of those things bode well for my travel destination choices and I carefully crafted my layovers to avoid Singapore.  Even though *I* made sure to avoid it someone has a layover in Singapore and I thought it would be nice to meet him before we headed off to Malaysia. Oh man, I was worried if he was cute enough to justify Singapore but he got lucky, this place is gorgeous.  Ok ok, he is definitely worth it regardless :)

I was in the country for mere minutes and a stranger paid my bus fare since the driver didn't have change. Very sweet! I even threw a xie xie her way.

Other highlights include:

The incredible not warm croissant at VXX Cooperative. 

Amazing classical music concert at the Singapore Botanical Gardens last night.  

Getting lost in the architecture of Duxton area, pics to come. Mix of old and new is quite impressive here.

Speaking of getting lost: Walking. I walked miles today from Chinatown to Telok Ayer to Downtown to Marina to you name it. The buildings are unique and the only way to take it all in is to be cheap, I mean walk.  

My delicious $3.40 lunch of masala dosa, methu vadai and chai at Tekka Food Center in the famous Little India. I haven't been to India but I imagine it just like that. It's probably louder and busier and that's a scary thought.

River Boat Cruise opened up my eyes to the beauty of this place and threw in tid bits of history. The waterfront is quite a sight and I took over 200 pictures during a 40 minute ride. Shocker.

Gardens by the Bay is an expansive area of vertical gardens made look like trees, Heritage Gardens representing the history of Singapore and anything you ever wanted to know about plants and flowers. It is free for the outside gardens and after spending three hours there I didn't touch on a quarter of the space. The inside gardens are a cloud forest and the world's biggest glass greenhouse. Since there was an extra charge for those, I stayed outside enjoying what I could before the dark settled in and the light show started.

The light show was set to Broadway music with the lights playing along accordingly.  It was really cool but my video can't do it justice. I'll be Googling one to share. 

After one light show on to another? I ended the eve a light and music show over the water, with the dramatic skyline in the background.  Beautiful way to end the day.

To be honest,  I started this blog in the morning and it was quite a negative piece of writing.  As the day went on, I started to enjoy Singapore more and more and by the eve I was loving it.

I won't ignore my original worries of this place and some of the things I was concerned about (cost!) were indeed true but I made the absolutely best of it and still have money to eat tomorrow.  
Bonus, right?

A 20ish year old guy came up to me and asked if I  spoke Spanish, Portuguese, English or Polish. Odd selection of languages and I told him what I speak. He proceeded to tell me how he and his friends are traveling from somewhere to Nepal and it's been an amazing adventure. Last year they traveled from Mexico to Brazil.

-Can I take a picture of you?

--Why?

-It's a Polaroid so I'll give you the image. It's how my friends and I fund our travels. Only $10.

 

Crap y'all, *that* is an entrepreneurial skill! I hope he found someone today because señora doesn't drop tens like that.  Maybe I should have? I almost instantly regretted denying him. Would you?

Some other random things during the day: 

Walked into a tea house. Chose a seat. They told me it's  $5 "room charge" for that area. I moved to a different area. Sat down. Tea $30. Walked out.

Salon wanted to charge $15 to remove nail polish before applying new one. That's a no. 

Ordered the aforementioned croissant at a super hipster place and the lady questioned why I would ever want it not warm. He entire exchange was odd and I think the encounter changed her life. 

I was excited to visit Baba House, a heritage house museum to get some historical info. I emailed ahead to make reservations. I took the bus there and the lady said they only take reservations that were booked two weeks ago. TWO WEEKS?! 

On my first eve I needed something to do since going to bed at 8 seemed like a bad use of time. The highly recommended Night Safari was fun but not spectacular. I forgot how loud children are, especially if you keep them up at 10:30 pm. I had this romantic idea of a quiet ride through the jungle but got an Oakland Zoo train ride for $45. The set up was beautiful but the children annoying (yes, I know I have one!) and I wonder how much the animals love having lights illuminating them late at night. 

But let's not end on a negative note. Singapore is beautiful and I'm glad I came. My mood throughout the day reminded me one more time to do as much as I can and not get discouraged by first impressions. If Heather and I conducted our week in Indonesia based on the first few minutes of scary men swarming us at the Lombok airport we would have had one crap of a time. Every single place (even Panama ;)) has something to see, do and eat, you just have to find something that is up your alley. Singapore has all those things and even though it's way too expensive for a long trip, I'd be happy to have it for my layover next time I'm Asia. Ya know, on my way going to places I actually love ;)

In a couple of hours my solo adventure comes to an end and my favorite package arrives. We are off to Malaysia tomorrow! 

Sounds of Ubud June 2017

There is something incredible about the sounds of Ubud I have yet to encounter anywhere else in the world.  The streets are loud, motorbikes revving up their engines, tour buses full of tourists making their way on narrow streets, fumes of exhaust and cigarette smoke filling the air. And then you make a turn.

As much as I didn't enjoy the throngs of people, The Sacred Monkey Forest was a quiet place in a middle of city chaos. Vines and banyon trees dripping from top to roots created a green oasis even as girls squirmed and delivered unreasonably high pitched squeals. 

Walking into a local Balinese neighborhood instantly deafens the noise. One turn, one meter, one corner, it doesn't need much and just like a snap of fingers, there is a change in atmosphere. It's immediate and surreal.

My neighborhood in central Ubud 

 After Heather left this afternoon, I made my way to Agung Rai Museum of Art. It's indescribable how I had to dodge traffic to cross streets and breathe in nasty exhaust to get there.  And then in an instant I turned left to the entrance. Calming sounds of water flowing through the fountains, gentle music playing in the background, quiet square with a bench and a local greeting me with a smile.

      View from the aforementioned bench

I find that the noise and quiet change me. I generally have a very fast walking pace. As a rule, most students who have traveled abroad with me absolutely hate it. Few can keep up and I can take over slow walkers like nobody's business. I will walk as fast as possible to avoid the next person who offers me a taxi, bracelet, a dress or 5 more taxis. I always look like I know where I am going (Maury says "THAT was a lie!") I enjoy walking briskly but it is certainly a solo traveler safety tactic. No one messes with a girl on a mission. However, I noticed, when 

I enter these oasis of calm my walk completely changes. Subconsciously, I come to an almost stand still soaking up the energy and sounds of these unique places. Body knows before the mind, I suppose. 

Ubud is special and it transcends calmness into something I have never experienced. You just need to know where to make that turn.

Ubud Adventures Continue June 2017

Staying in the village outside the hustle and bustle of Ubud was an awesome idea. "Idea" sounds like we did it on purpose, but no, we just happened to be 5.5 km out of town. The walk into Ubud and the locals in the villages as we headed down the hill created some of the most wonderful interactions.  Locals smiled at us, started up conversations in English and we found a coffee shop overlooking rice paddies.  All this makes you soak up the surroundings and slow down. Even though we thought we'd be in town at a certain point in time we arrived there about 3 hours later. A few stops and many pictures along the way made the 5 km walk a wonderful part of experience. 

Speaking of locals and their hospitality... due to terrible traffic from the airport, the first night we got to the restaurant late in the eve. We enjoyed a delicious meal until we walked out and realized our driver left us there. This seems to be a pattern in Indonesia... It was 11:15 pm and raining. We messaged him and he said "just walk, it's close" Fair enough, 1.5 km is not a lot but it's eve and raining. WTH? We stood outside for a minute, trying to figure out how to walk and if there was uber in Ubud  (the answer is no). By the time we were getting ready to brave the rain, the owner walked out and without a second of hesitation told us she'd give us a ride. "You ride with me and you ride with my staff." And just like that, we got on the back of two scooters and were whisked back home. That is the second time in less than a week that a local gives us a ride without us asking and wanting nothing in return. Amazing.

Today we did doing the touristy thing. We got picked up in a shiny van and were taken to various locations around Eastern Bali.  First stop was the Elephant Cave Temple though we are not quite sure we found the elephant. The tour driver is a just that: a driver so information was limited but Google post fact is not. 

Elephant Cave Temple 

Next stop was Holy Spring Temple where oodles of locals and tourists alike bathed themselves in water. The grounds were beautifully manicured and we wondered where Obama bathed when he visited here 3 days ago. This is also the place where the best bargain award goes to Heather. From 80,000 rupiah she got the shirt down to 20,000 rupiah. Bargaining and haggling is a sport here and you don't do it because you want to bring down the price, you do it because it's a game you are expected to play. So with that, the $6 shirt got to be $1.50 and everyone was happy. 

                       Holy Spring Temple 

Speaking of shopping, I need shoes. Every since I left behind my slip on flip flops/whatever they were, it's been a pain to walk into places. I know, I know first world problems BUT... you take your shoes off any time you walk into a cafe or a nice shop even some hotel entrances. Floors are squeaky clean tiles and you wouldn't dare step in with a shoe. No one here wears anything but flip flops. We spotted a few tennis shoes and those were the "well" prepared foreigners seizing the day at the temple. We have hiked the rainforest, visited waterfalls in a torrential downpour, gone to nice restaurants all in the name of a flip flop. Love it all. Need to invest in a pair.

Back to visiting Eastern Bali on the tour. One grand stop was Sant Coffee Plantation.  I have seen several coffee plantations in Costa Rica and Puerto Rico so I wasn't expecting anything special. False. This was cool! We met Luwak, the jungle cat from yesterday's blog and tasted a long list of Balinese coffees, teas and chocolates.  It was neat to have a side by side tasting and see how others tasted as well. While Heather and I went to town on everything but the Ginger tea our European friends from the van didn't indulge in more than a sip. Our personal favorite was Bali coconut coffee with the delicious local coconut sugar. Goodness galore. 

                             Sant Tasting 

Listening to a few Europeans discuss geography makes me feel just a teeny bit better about (lack of) American map education. Firstly, an Italian, Swiss and a Dutchman took turns making fun of how German is spoken in various countries. From yelling out random words to just mimicking accents they went to town. But then the highlight happened. The Dutch to the Swiss:

--Where in Vienna are you from?

-I'm from Switzerland.

--So where in Vienna are you from?

-Vienna is in Austria. 

--Oh that's right, Zurich is the capital.

-No, that's Bern. 

And just like that, we the Americans feel good about ourselves.  

Our next visit was Besakih, the biggest temple compound consisting of 80 separate temples. Earliest was built in 8th century, biggest in 11th and another in 1965. This is the place of pilgrimage for Balinese Hindu and there is something disturbing about taking pictures of those praying. So you sneak in a shot of the architecture and keep going. I'll be posting many pics in the next few days, words won't do this justice.

We spent Heather's last eve eating  delicious Mexican food  (we have gone totally global on this trip: burgers, Italian, Spanish, Balinese, Sushi, Indonesian, Thai and Indian, phew!) and listened to live music on Jalan Suweta, Ubud's main artery of activity.

As Heather heads home tomorrow, I'll be staying here for three more nights before I bid farewell to Indonesia. I'm getting sad already but I still have stuff to do and things to see. And if I haven't convinced you to plan a trip here then I'm doing this all wrong, this place is amazing.

Ubud June 2017

What did you start your day with? Coffee? Me too!

Luwak coffee, one that has gone through the fermentation process in the intestines of a jungle cat.  The result is that I can't tell the difference, it's a delicious coffee regardless but Heather remarked on its lovely flavor.  I had the pleasure of meeting Luwak, the appropriately named 5 month old jungle cat whose poop treated my morning's coffee.

Luwak

Ubud's architecture and vibe is exactly what I had pictured in my mind (not Google Images for once). Ornate sculptures, colorful tapestries, the smell of incense permeating the air. This place is magical. The tourists are overrunning the place and in my head I have to dream of empty streets and quiet roads to fully enjoy this. But even with the chaos of high season, this place is something else. 

I've gone 15 days without hearing Russian but I knew I was running out of time. Russians are everywhere and they are here in Ubud too. Probably because Obama is as well. 

There is a first for everything and today I got side swiped by a car. Light enough that I didn't fall, hard enough to make their side mirror collapse. A bit of pretty red on the right side of my face for a souvenir. Explanation: 2 way streets here are really one lane for driving in both directions *and* walking. Other lane is for 4 scooter deep parking. 

Any Ubud Top Ten List suggests a visit to the Sacred Monkey Forest. The nature is beautiful but the monkeys are fierce.  Tourists are encouraged to buy bundles of bananas and most oblige.  Then they proceed to scream when a monkey attacks them. Shocker that happens, huh? It felt a mix of a zoo and a tourist trap and I will most definitely think back on my Wildlife Alliance experience outside of Phnom Penh as a proper monkey adventure. 

As in all things stereotypes, Bali and yoga go hand in hand. There are many studios throughout town, holding drop in classes, weekly seminars and workshops on a variety of topics. Heather and I bought a pass to the biggest of them all, Yoga Barn.  With over 15 classes to choose from per day, we were able to find something for our schedule and the views of the lush gardens were a lovely bonus. A Canadian from Ottawa taught the class and it marked the first time we dealt with someone English speaking and not from Australia. 

Yoga Views 

We finished the day at a traditional Balinese restaurant, Batan Waru  where I ordered having zero clue what I was actually getting. Fish baked in banana leaves, a coconut drink with something that doesn't exist in English and crepes filled with coconut and pineapple. Delicious! 

Tomorrow is Heather's last full day and we are off to see some temples on the East side of Bali. The ones Obama visited yesterday (yes, still hoping!) 

Observations From The Last Few Days: Living and Learning June 2017

-While getting  a foot massage:
--Did you go jungle trekking? 
---Umm no, just walking around Kuala Lumpur
(Testament to how clumsy I am and the amount of bug bites and bruises I've obtained!)

- There so many Australians in Indonesia. Considering this is a 3 hr flight from Northern Australia this is like Mexico for Californians. 

- How many mosques are there in Lombok?! There seems to be one per family, one every block.

-Another morning of being wakened by cannons and firecrackers.  The Imam hasn't taken a taken a breath in 4 hours of prayer.  Amazing to be here and even as a complete outlier feel the energy of the Ramadan celebrations and the days after 

-How was your day? 
--Great, finally done fasting!
-Did you eat lots today?
--Oh man, got some KFC, smoked some weed and had a few beers. 
Ramadan is clearly over ;)

-Got attacked by a little boy with a bamboo stick.

-Family of 4 on a scooter? Not a problem, plenty of space! Zero helmets are also apparently not a problem here. Driving age is 15 for motorcycles, 20 for cars. We have definitely seen some 10 year olds operating scooters. 

- Our 28 yr old driver Zul told us he wanted a Western girl and that he is not interested in locals. First cousins marriages are OK and arranged marriages are common. He was curious if cousin marriages happen in the US. Good thing he was seated when we told him our ages too, pretty sure he gulped! 

-Traffic alert! Can't drive through here,  gigantic lizard in the way so we just wait.

-There is a scream on the road as I try to negotiate a boat to take us to an island. Lots of people run to see who got hurt.
--"Is everything OK?" I ask.
---"Just a local."
Guy continues to negotiate, some people are assholes, regardless of what happens around them. 

- It's hard to tell which side of the road you (are supposed to) drive on in Indonesia but I assure you that there are more than 2 lanes at play here.  One lane, the other lane and whatever needs to happen in the middle to split the traffic and go around.

- Heather saw her first wild monkey! 

- "Are you an artist?" Heather and I agreed that's a pretty awesome compliment of a question. We wish?

- Wahid, our tour guide was so smitten with "the teacher" and wasn't afraid to show it. My name went out the window and he continued to refer to me as "the teacher" the entire time. It was a good reminder for me that it's a sign of respect since I'm known to get annoyed when some of my students call me that instead of my name.

- Our local driver readily volunteered that he doesn't understand any Arabic that has been chanted over the loud speaker for days as Ramadan has been wrapping up, just like majority of people residing in Lombok.

-Keluar, hati hati, teremakasu, sama sama. The only words we learned here. Exit, be careful, thank you, please. 

-A regular menu has food, drinks and cigarettes on it. Smoking is everywhere. Inside and outside and everywhere in between. Upon further research, it is no surprise that lung cancer is the leading cause for death in this region.

- In the last two days I've lost a hair clip (while snorkeling), sunglasses (climbing rocks, went back and retrieved!) and shoes outside of the car.  I guess my luggage lighter!

- Local children smile and let out hearty helloooooos every time they see us. It's so sweet and of course we smile right back. It's  a great memory to take away.

Lombok June 2017

Where am I and how did I get here?

Well, first of all Obama is here too, so yay Indonesia! I do, however, hope that he had an easier time getting to his hotel than we did.

We were told there was going to be a driver awaiting us at the airport. We came out and we couldn't find "Heather" on a sign anywhere.  It was also dark so as we squinted at tiny signs we quickly determined that in fact nothing said "Heather" on it. Ya know, just to make sure. 

Many men swarmed us trying to get our bags and get us into a taxi. Not scary at all. Did I mention it was dark out? Yeah, slightly uncomfortable and stressful. In order to recoup, we went back inside the airport to find a "legit" taxi who could take us to a hotel instead of killing us. Jaber was called and even though he quickly proclaimed he didn't speak any English he knew where to take us. Fast forward 20 minutes and we are dropped off in the middle of Kuta downtown and him telling us he has no clue where to go. Awesome.  Did I say it was dark and now getting quite late? Oh, right. 

Out of nowhere comes Rudy wearing a t-shirt that said "rockstar attitude". He is a local with his own restaurant appropriately titled "Rudy's", knows where our hotel is, speaks English and offers us a beer. Did we look that frazzled?! We ate delicious nasi goreng, a traditional Indonesian fried rice dish with green beans, carrots, cabbage and an egg on top and washed it down with a large Bintang pilsner. We met Rudy's brother Harris who ran the restaurant next door and all of the sudden everything was going to be ok. Once fed, Rudy Marley (yes, he used to have dreadlocks) took us to our hotel where no one was waiting for us and there was/is no functional Wi-Fi to tell our people we arrived.  Oh, Indonesia, you better shape up because this is not cutting it. 

After one hell of an evening we passed out and hoped for a better day. 

                    

Waking up to the sunrise over the mountain with an infinity pool at our feet made our morning a bit better. But not quite. The manager came over and explained everything in one word: Ramadan. 

No drivers to pick us up because... Ramadan

NO Wi-Fi getting fixed because... Ramadan

Random fire crackers going off at all hours... Ramadan

You have to eat dinner before 6 or after 6:30 because... you guessed it. 

When we asked if we could get coffee at 7:12 am the manager told us they don't open till 7. But it's 7:12. He shows us his watch which displays 7:12 and declares:  "No, it's 6:58 local time"

After carefully reaching the local time of 7 am and getting our breakfast over a ridiculous view all the stresses washed away. A nice 2 hour conversation followed and we were back to normal. 

We hiked 2 miles over the mountain to get to the gorgeous Mawun beach where we spent $5 to rent lounge chairs, have drinks and a delicious lunch while admiring some of the most crystal blue waters one can find. Microsoft wallpaper style. 

Our hotel sits on a hill over a village of 60 people. Nearby village is population 30 (ie smaller than my 1st period class) and the large metropolis is hovering at 200. It's another world. 

Thinking of our arrival, one of my travel rules is to always get into a new place during daylight. I'm not sure why I loosened up on that rule (maybe because it is two of us traveling?) but I won't do that again. Yeek.

I have no clue what tomorrow will bring but today was a beautiful day with a wonderful friend in the middle of absolutely nowhere Lombok, Indonesia.

Kuala Lumpur June 2017

At the police station talking to a guy with a big gun? Done.

Trip to the pharmacy to get band aids for a bloody toe? Duh.

Just all in a day's work in Malaysia. 

But before...

My last day in Cambodia I spent  at the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary. I had read about it on Trip Advisor and felt like I have had my fill of the city and wait, did you say I could feed elephants?! The scantuary is sponsored by various NGOs from the US and the UK and my donation went to Wildlife Alliance which sponsors rescued elephants, tigers, leopards, monkeys, birds, river otters and more.

We met Lucky, and elephant who has been sick on and off and currently has a 24 hour /day guide that walks with her. Lucky is one of 150 elephants kept in captivity in Cambodia today, and there are about 300 in the wild.  She was mild mannered, enjoyed all the pineapples and mangos we gave her and loved the pets and hugs. She was 200 kg underweight yet still much bigger than our van. Another cool story is Chhouk, an elephant with a prosthetic leg.

We got to watch the process of putting it on and off and it is one big foot!

Throughout the day we heard various stories about animal laws in Southeast Asia, various NGOs on the ground, how the locals feel about the elephants etc. I also got to learn a ton from Dan, a guy on tour who is from Chicago,  lived in SF and has spent the last 4 years teaching in Vietnam and Cambodia.  Always great to talk to teachers from abroad especially when they are cool!

That eve, I did yoga near the house and that marks the first time I did some form of exercise during this trip. Notice that  it is not the first time I mentioned eating!

One of the most interesting things about Phnom Penh are the foreigners that live there. While few tourists (it's low season) there are many many expats making Cambodia their home.  I met Australians, Brits,  Canadians, Americans, Dutch and everyone wants to call it home. Some permanently, some for several years. I have never noticed that in places before, usually where there are tourists there are those that stay but not really the other way around. Cambodia is special! 

I ended my trip with a dinner at a Russian restaurant and off I went to meet Heather in Kuala Lumpur.  New country, new adventures!

Facebook recommendations provided some excellent tips for Siem Reap and Hong Kong but failed miserably at Phnom Penh  (that's right, no one really goes there, read the lack of tourists part!) I had high hopes for Kuala Lumpur recs as I have several people who have lived and traveled in the area. It became painfully obvious that this concrete jungle didn't have much to do other than shop and eat. I thoroughly enjoy one of the these two. 

Heather and I had booked an AirBnB in a hotel in a central area. There is only so much you know when you look quickly at a map and make a decision, we really didn't know where or why we booked this area.  Until we got here. The famous Jalan Alor "food heaven" street is here, the fancy restaurants are too. One street of massage places we dubbed "Massage Row" has people attacking you trying to make a deal for various types of massages. Let's just say in Southeast Asia you can include many add ons to your massage but really all we wanted was foot and/or traditional Thai.  None of that funny business,  thanks. 

Coffee in a bag (yes, plastic baggy, not a cup) bbq bacon on a stick, deep fried pineapple, pork bun dim sum, masala dosa, liquid nitrogen meringue cookies and sesame balls later we decided we should probably get some drinks. All that prior food cost about $2 each so we sprung for a delicious jug of sangria and some tapas at an amazing Spanish restaurant Pinchoa.  The street food amazingness and ridiculously priced tourist trap restaurants are a block away from each other and the clientele so so different.  With Achy Breaky Heart and Britney Spears coming from the fancy restaurants, the Spanish choice seemed like a good one  and it didn't disappoint.  It was some of the best Spanish food I've ever had  (that's right Teleferic in Walnut Creek, take notes).

A great rec I got from Tom and Rachell who lived in Kuala Lumpur (and I *almost* visited years ago), was to check out the Forest Research Institute Malaysia. I'm noticing a trend in all the big cities, I've left every single one of them to go to a rainforest! FRIM is the largest manmade forest in the world and has a neat canopy walk. That part became so popular in the last 25 years that the FRIM was closing all tours on June 30th and taking the canopy walk apart to preserve the trees.  We were our guide's last tour and after 8 years he was teary eyed telling us about it. We learned about all kinds of neat trees, uses for medicinal purposes and cooking and hiked 2 miles with some great elevation. I'm glad we got to do this before it closed forever and our guide Wahid made it extra special. Oh and his birthday is July 13th too! 

Food? Ok! A three hour dinner took us back to coffee in a bag and some yummy Thai food. I love traveling solo but it's also lovely to have a real conversation with someone who knows me. Heather and I don't talk about where we are from or what we do! Second massage and a trip to the Sky Bar at the top of the Traders Hotel made me stay up till 1 am, I rarely do that. The views were beautiful, there was a pool in the middle of the bar (don't ask), Petronas Towers lit up the sky and our time in Kuala Lumpur came to an end. Today we are off to Indonesia!

Petronas from the 33rd floor

These trees will never touch each other 

Coffee bags!

Phnom Penh June 2017

I knew ahead of time that my lack of planning in Phnom Penh will bite me in the ass. Sometimes it pays off and friends on Facebook and random strangers pass along their knowledge and other times you end up in Panama (read last summer's blog ;)). The lack of word on the ground immediately let me know I had to get creative or just enjoy my surroundings.

I got to my Khmer style (art deco?) house where I am renting a bedroom from a British guy. These bastards are everywhere ;)  He wasn't gonna spend a minute more than he had to so after telling me how to work the key and the AC he went upstairs and turned on Trump on TV. After I spent a few minutes staring at a map, I ventured out into the big and wild Phnom Penh. It doesn't mean it has traffic lights and if you've been to Asia  (Vietnam and Cambodia specifically) and have gotten *any*where you know that you have to be 100% comfortable walking into oncoming traffic and just trust that you won't die. I haven't. Yet.

I made my way to Wat Phnom, a pretty unexciting and shabby temple. Not to sound ungrateful but once you've been to Bangkok the bar for temples is pretty damn high. Entrance  $1 for foreigners and free for locals.

Speaking of... can I stand out anymore?! Besides the obvious look and complexion, I'm tall, wear colorful clothing and show skin. It doesn't matter how much I try not to, unless I'm wearing jeans and a jacket I will stand out. See my commentary on heat and humidity for how I feel about all that.

There was a sunset cruise I had read about in Lonely Planet and thought I should investigate that. Because me and boats are pretty tight, ya know .  The "cruise" came with a free Coke and when I said I don't drink such a thing they shrugged. Water, please? No, just Coke. Damn it.  The whole thing was a bit of a joke and reminded me of the most pointless ride I've ever had on any body of water, the Moscow River.

The dock is about 3 km away from the apartment. There is a pretty promenade that I could take home or at any point about a million tuk tuks ready for me. I figured I'd walk towards the house and when I'm hot and dying I could hop on some mode of transportation.  Best decision of the night.

As I walked through the streets (no real pictures,  I was warned too many times about purse and camera snatchings in this city) I got to see locals enjoy their capital. People were everywhere and I was startled to see a beautiful fireworks display over the river. Today is the Queen' s birthday  (Cambodian one!) and a national holiday.  Couples watching the sunset along the river, many a group of teenagers playing soccer, light show at Wat Botum and most memorable this:

https://youtu.be/TJrS8w7TFCs

Dancing in formation is a thing I've noticed and if I am ever brave enough I'll join. Obviously not the pros but the Zumba - like classes happening on every corner it's only a matter of time before I jump in. (Still regretting not doing so in Hanoi to Ricky Martin last year #yolo).

It's been about a paragraph since I've mentioned heat so let's get to it. I want food/coffee off the cart but what I really need is AC. At all times. While I had breakfast at an Indian joint this morning, I took the fan and pointed to me and me only, none of that fan-turns-in-all-directions-thing (there was no one else there). So when the time to eat comes there is only one decision to make. Cooling or melting. I suppose I could take tuk tuks everywhere to not sweat so much but the walking is fun albeit tiring.

Which brings me to this morning's trip.

Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum. Phnom Penh is full of sadness and history of what transpired here in the 70s (yes, 1970s) and no trip would be complete without learning about it. One of the most common things to do is take a day trip to the Khmer Rouge's killing fields but I decided not to. It is not for lack of desire but because un/fortunately I've already had the chance to see Dachau, a German concentration camp I visited when I was 17. The images stayed with me forever and when I visited another concentration camp in my mid 20s, Dachau was in my mind like I saw it yesterday. Instead of going to the place of killings, I spent my morning at a detention center S-21 which was the first stop for the 12000-20000 people interrogated,  bludgeoned, tortured and then sent to get killed.  Images of skulls, blood soaked clothing and pictures of young people who would still be alive today are chilling. S-21 was a high school and because the Khmer Rouge believed education was the devil they made this location the site of horrid events of 1975-1979. A handful of people survived S-21, all due to their skills. A mechanic, artist (to keep records) and various other trades that the torturers wanted to use.

Please read more here.

After 2 hours of listening to a poignant audio tour I spotted one of the survivors, Bou Meng by the exit. What the hell do you say? I nodded and wished I had something clever to contribute.

I spent the rest of the day walking around town, enjoying the hustle and bustle and the insane buzz of traffic in this city. Tomorrow will be very different and I can't wait to share it with you.

Some things to note:

-Monks here seem less religious? Intense? Dedicated? I don't know what the word is but I feel like if I offered one  a beer he'd go for it  (don't worry,  I won't try)

-A.C. is the strongest at Stabucks. I didn't buy anything but walked in solely to cool off. Also walked into a massage parlor and a bakery just to use them for their air

-Monks on smartphones taking selfies is a weird sight

-It's cool to see the same place at night and daylight. Things you don't notice during one time pop out at another

-Follow the Maps.me app directions. When feeling adventurous, expect to get lost in a monastery complex

-A 2yo girl just started singing "Despacito"

Siem Reap 2.0 June 2017

Not sure I've ever been up at 4 am to start my touristic ways. Maybe when some roosters (Mexico) and dogs (Vietnam) were doing their thing but never on purpose. 

My 4:40 pick up meant I was going to see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. As I was one of the first ones to arrive, I had the front row view to the reflections of Angkor Wat in the water and I was not disappointed.  Pro tip for future Cambodian travel: Angkor Wat is just one temple, there are bazillion, located kilometers from each other. Next time buy a 3 day pass and go a couple of hours each morning, don't plan on having a "temple day." 

By 9 am, I was overheated and exhausted and after 4 hours of being in awe I had to go home and spend time with my bff, the A.C. I'm going to pretend the chef didn't call me uptight yesterday when I mentioned the heat but that's ok. I know my body's limits and tolerance for heat and humidity is not a strength I possess.

After my rest (read: sleep), I headed off to the Old Market and played a really good tourist for a minute.  Magnet and a fantastic t-shirt  (pics to come!) were purchased and Tom's req of 4 hands massage fulfilled. 

David and Nak earlier told me that I need to have water blessing. A what?! 

A monk met me at a Wat Arthea temple and waited until I changed into a wrap I had purchased earlier. I thought "water blessing" was a few drops on my head a la church style. Is that what happens? I don't even know! 

The monk however did know as he proceeded to dump buckets and buckets of water on me, blessing me with good fortune, luck and all the wishes I have for myself while the water washed away all the bad in my life. Once done, I changed back into my regular clothes, was given a red Buddhist bracelet and had a moment to walk around the temple. Alone, I had a "pinch me" feeling I get every once in a while when I travel.  I often talk about the power of Internet and how with it the world is that much smaller. How does one end up on a tiny off road temple in Cambodia being blessed by a monk? Oh that's right, the dude from Calgary organized it.  I never finished the "Eat, Pray, Love" book but maybe now I should?

I have been asking Nak to take me to get street food and we have done so with various levels of success. The beauty of having a tuk tuk for personal transport is obvious, the downer is you are constantly on the move. Meat on a stiiiiick, oh wait, just drove by that.  I had told him tonight I'm getting food from the street and I meant it. I saw some meat on a stick and Nak said "I'll take you to a better place." A minute later we pulled up to a restaurant. Nooooo. It was a local one but damn it,  I was determined to eat off a cart. He took me 5 steps closer and let me off where all the carts were. I think he was  mildly amused that I was gonna eat who-the-hell-knows-what and determined to negotiate without any vendors speaking English. Dinner: olives, egg sandwich and meat on a stick. I won!!!

After being disgusted with my low bar for food, Nak took me to a local fair and basically said knock yourself out. All of the sudden I had the trust to be let out in the wild! Various dried fruits later (I still don't know what one of them is!),  nutella filled waffle on a stick and yet another coffee, I finally had my fill of local delicacies.

To finish of the eve: Phare, Cambodian Trip Advisor famous circus. The story line was a bit sad (based on a true story and reality sucks sometimes), the acrobats amazing. At the end of the eve, Nak showed up on a motorcycle, not a tuk tuk. I'll go ahead and check that off the list of my modes of transportation for the week.

It was a great way to end my time in SR and even though I'm moving on to Phnom Penh tomorrow, I don't think this is good bye. 

Siem Reap June 2017

You guys! I love blogging when I travel but this time I decided to bring an actual journal. I got four days in before I realized I need to share Siem Reap with the world. No one is going to read my journal but two of you will read my blog.

This was my last "planned/not at all planned" part of the trip. Rachell has said it was a place to see and of course, Angor Wat is just a weeny bit famous. I got my tickets and place to stay with zero knowledge about anything just last week. Now, I'd be shocked if this place won't be my highlight of the summer!

"Why?" you may ask. Let me tell ya.

It's a huge city with a population of just under a million yet it feels reachable.  It's perfect. In a messy, dusty, authentic, friendly, delicious kind of way. It's everything I love about a new place. It has some rough parts, some nice parts, people from all over the world and locals eager to share a part of their life.

David, my airbnb host and a Canadian from another life, had my tuk tuk driver and personal tour guide Nak pick me up from the airport.

I lost an entire day due to my delayed flight but I enjoyed the local dinner at Khmer Grill and the beer at the roof top bar of my house. Did I mention that I have the entire house to myself? Yes, somehow I managed to rent the fanciest house in town. For $36 per night. Hostels nearby are anywhere between $3 and $13 so yes, in comparison I went a little nuts (the air conditioning is always worth it).

This morning Nak took me to a side of the road restaurant where my pork and rice and soup and coffee was an incredible breakfast. Even if that sounds like a lot of food it wasn't and if it was who cares, it was delicious! 

We went to a local market where the fish is still bopping around, crickets are marinated and ready for consumption and you get to decide how you want your frog legs. 

For my morning exploration, off I went to a cooking class by Jean Luc,  a French man who seemingly owns half of the restaurants in  the touristy part of town. Alongside, there was a lawyer from Munich who is quitting his everything as of January 1st and will travel the world for the next three years. A Thai girl who grew up in Toronto and her Australian boyfriend shooting the cooking lesson for her TV show.  And then there was me, just trying to figure out how the &#%@ does someone cut a chilly pepper so small! (Pic of the spicy shrimp salad I made is attached)

The food was tasty and the company great but the heat, OMG, Siem Reap, get it together,  I can't handle 95 degree heat and the same percentile of humidity. 

I had a couple of hours to rest (read above about the AC!) and then it was time to get my 5:30 am ticket to Angor Wat ticket for tomorrow. That ticket also included a sunset entrance for tonight which naturally needed to happen. 

As I approached the temple I asked two guys (one German and one Portuguese) to take a picture of me. I try so hard to not just come home with selfies and that requires some communication! One guy laughingly obliged and we started talking. Rather soon we were told that the sunset is not this way, it's that a-way. 2.5 kilometers to be exact. And this is where meeting people pays off. If I were with a friend I would have whined that it was too far and too late. If I were solo I would have gone home. But here I had two people determined to find this "high mountain" to catch the sunset regardless of my plans. I couldn't miss out! 

Once we found the hill, I was told I couldn't go up since I wasn't covered up. Bad planning! I have my temple wear for tomorrow but didn't think about it for today. No worries, the German guy whips out his sweat handkerchief and up we continue. 

After the 3 mile hike, I no longer felt guilty about my cooking class and the second, third and fourth helping of dessert at lunch. This trek was going to be worth it! And oh man, it didn't disappoint!!!

Pics to come, of course, but in the meantime here are some thoughts in no particular order:

-Breakfast $2, dinner $5, beer $.50. I can do this. 

-Was that a water buffalo that just ran by? 

-Any city that has Gloria Jeans automatically becomes awesome. 

- I should make it a rule to only travel to places where monkeys randomly pop out of nowhere  

-Driving here makes Hanoi look like a relaxing stroll in the park.

Almost a million people here? Zero traffic lights. (Edit: I have since discovered 2 in the 30 km radius)

Traffic in front? Go in the left lane.

Lanes? What? That's just silly. No such thing, even when it comes to which side of the road you drive on.

-Girls, travel alone! Yes, do some homework and make sure to pick safe places but man, there are so many more male solo travelers than female. 

-A student I've had for the last two years wanted to know how she can help with my school supplies fundraisers for abroad in the near future. She is an incredible artist and was hoping we could collect art supplies. I told her I'd think about it and get back to her. Forward to today: walk into a gallery that helps children in poverty create art.  All ages, many villages in the area and the art just beautiful. Read more at http://www.colorsofcambodia.org/m/index.php I can't wait to get back to Logan and make a difference in Siem Reap! 

In the meantime, I need to start planning my next trip here. Yes, it's one of "those" places.