A Hairy Situation

I've noticed while traveling most men choose not to shave.  I like Andy with a bit of facial hair, in fact, I wanted him to have it for our wedding.  However, I'm not a fan of the full grown lumber jack look...and Andy's beard was definitely headed there.  He argued persistently with me to let him grow it out for at least another month while we travel through Vietnam; I simply cannot understand the desire to have a bush growing from your face.  So he explained it to me.  According to Andy, every guy desires to grow out a beard because:

1. Not every guy genetically can grow out a beard.
2. It's not appropriate in many work environments to have facial hair.
3. It's rugged and burly and what guy doesn't want to be rugged and burly?

How could I deny Andy his desire after this explanation?  I begrudgingly agreed to let him grow it out...but I guess it had some sort of reverse psychology effect on him, because he shaved it the next morning.

So I'm just curious...does every guy desire to grow out a beard?  Can you ask your man and get back to me?

A Vacation From Our Honeymoon

Believe it or not, all this traveling can really take a toll on a person.  (I know, I know, I'm a spoiled brat).  All the packing and unpacking and figuring out logistics from one day to the next, plus a bit of a bug that didn't allow me to leave the hotel room for a couple of days lead to some dumb bickering between Andy and I.  We decided we needed a vacation.  Some time to just relax and not have an agenda of things to do.  (I know, you hate me right now).  Kep, Cambodia was just the place.  According to the Lonely Planet travel guide there is nothing to do or see here.  Perfect!  So we found a $10 bungalow with a pool, wifi, and a killer view (my life is so rough).

 So for for 7 days and 7 nights we are chillaxing at Kep Beach, in my opinion, a gem of a place.  

This is a gal going to get the crabs we ordered for dinner the other night.

 Fresh seafood...can't be beat!

 Gorgeous sunsets...yes, this is a good vacation. 

Abnormal Sightings--Phnom Penh

The streets of Phnom Penh are something to be reckoned with.  I thought Mexico and Central America was bad, but I have never seen congestion and crazy driving the way I have here.  The roads don't have lanes, there are NO traffic lights or stop signs, and you're competing for space with cars, motor bikes, tuk tuks, bicycles, people, and you know, the usual, elephants.

Where Should We Live?

The topic of "our future" comes up often on long bus rides, or while lounging at the beach, or during dinner conversation or in bed.  We're not positive, but we're both leaning towards wrapping up our travels in August and getting  J-O-Bs.  As awesome as it is to travel the world, I think we're both getting a little restless and miss our friends and community.  Both of us are completely open to, well, anywhere really.  On a whim Andy has sent out his resume to a few pastoral openings, one in Dallas, another in a tiny, itty bitty town in Arizona, and another in Venezuela. 

If we could choose our ideal location, we'd both pick Capitola, a town outside of Santa Cruz California.  It would be SO awesome if God was not only calling us to that location, but that the means were provided to live there too.

Anyone have any suggestions? 

Angkor Wat--A Top 10 Must See

In all honesty, history was my least favorite subject in school.  Visiting museums and looking at ancient artifacts is not on my list of favorite things to do.  Needless to say, I was less than educated about Angkor Wat, but after visiting this truly spectacular site I wanted to take a history class.  It was nothing less than spectacular and I truly think that this should be on people's bucket list. 

Giveaway!

Check out August and After's blog for a chance to win a gift certificate for some fun home decor items!

On The Road Again--Thailand to Cambodia

If you've been watching the news you've seen the craziness that is Bangkok right now.  Andy and I needed to get to Cambodia and from where we were there were no other options but to switch trains in Bangkok (flying was just too pricey).  I was watching news updates every hour and was nervous, but we finally decided to just do it.  Traveling by bus and train make for LONG days, but with good company, a good book and intermittent naps, it's not too bad.

The trip started with a 3 hour bus ride to the train station, then an overnight 12 hour train ride to Bangkok. We took the air conditioned second class sleeper which was actually not bad at all, and arrived in Bangkok at 4:45AM.  We hopped on another train an hour later for a 6 1/2 hour trip to the Thailand Cambodian border.  This train however, was not air conditioned--it was a hot trip, but staring at the picturesque countryside helped to pass some of the time--that was of course after leaving the city and seeing the Thai army crouched with their guns ready to shoot and seeing plumes of smoke rising from the city.  (Yes, it was scary.)

If you have ever had to cross borders in your travels than you are probably familiar with all the scamming that goes on.  We've had to deal with it at almost every single crossing.  Make sure to pick up a Lonely Planet Guidebook or Google the latest about crossing borders...and approach each border with a TON of patience--it will save you quite a bit of money that most people just pay because they don't know any better or they just get impatient.  We got impatient at this border crossing and just let ourselves get ripped off (it was only about $6...so we were OK with that.) 

Once we crossed the border, it was another 2 1/2 hour cab ride to Siem Reap--we shared the cab with some other tourists. 

 

But we're finally here!  I can't wait to share the stories of our travels in Cambodia!

Mastering The Squatty Potty

The squatty potty has been the thorn in my side regarding traveling in Asia.  I hate the thing.  And I still can't quite get it right.  The first time I used one I wanted to cry; I walked in and couldn't figure which way to squat--do I face the door or the back wall?  I didn't have a lot of time, the bus had stopped for gas and I started to panic a little.  Should I take my pants all the way off? I was sure I was going to pee all over myself.  I was holding a bottle of water and a satchel and there was nothing to hang the bag on, so I tried to figure out how to hang on to my bag, the water bottle and the wall so I wouldn't tip over.  Apparently I faced the wrong way the first time...I didn't pee all over myself, but there was definitely some backsplash and when it was over I realized there was no toilet paper.  There was a big bucket of water next to me...what the heck was that for?  I drip dried and doused myself in hand sanitizer after the traumatic experience.  What in the world was I going to do if I needed to go number two? 

Andy laughed hysterically and told me it's easiest to just take your pants all the way off.  You're not supposed to, but that's the only way I can figure out how to do it without worrying about peeing on my pants...aiming is much more difficult for girls than guys! 

My recommendation if you're traveling through Asia--carry toilet paper and hand sanitizer at all times.  Oh, and if you want the straight facts on how to use a squatty potty...here is an informative and hilarious post. 

Thai Flavor--Scrumtious and Strange

Before I was writing this blog I was a food blogger.  I'm passionate about everything food...and eating is my favorite thing about being in SE Asia.  Food in Thailand is a flavor explosion. Sweet, sour, salty and Spicy with a capital S all in one mouthful. Andy and I loooooove the food here...but 5 stars of spice in America is equal to about 1 star here. We've both burned our faces off wanting to try new dishes and just pointing at stuff we were clueless about because of the lack of communication. It's all part of the adventure (but I refuse to eat bugs of any sort...I'm not that adventurous!) Our favorite foods come from street vendors and small huts off the side of the road...we rarely go to a "nice" restaurant. You can get an UNBELIEVABLE meal for about $1.

 This was a little stand on the side of the road where we stopped for lunch one afternoon. 

 Some deliciousness we've eaten

A cool fruit called rambutan...tastes kinda like lychee.

And then of course there is the strange....this is a popcicle with corn and green beans...it actually wasn't bad.

And best of all...the snackedy snacks! :) 

Have you discovered some favorite or new foods while traveling?

Spontaneity = Awesomeness

Andy and I were leaving Kata Beach and decided to make the long treck over to Cambodia.  That meant a long bus ride, train ride and another bus ride.  We left our hotel at 6:45 am and by 10:30am we both had to pee incredibly bad.  The bus stopped to drop some passengers off, we looked at our surroundings and Andy said, "Hey, lets get off here!"

"Where are we?"

"I dunno...but you have to pee right?  Lets just do it!"

I hesitated, but my bladder couldn't take it anymore, "Ok!"

The bus driver looked at us trying to tell us this was not the location we needed and was confused when we grabbed our bags and left in a hurry.

The bus left and we found the closest internet cafe, used the bathroom and started looking for a place to stay. We ended up finding a little piece of paradise...Khao Lak is her name and what an incredible discovery.  Perhaps because it's low season and because of all the turmoil going on in Bangkok that there are SO few tourists here...but we couldn't be happier to be away from the tourist scene.  We found a gorgeous beachfront resort for $20 a night.  The beach is unbelievable and there has been only a handful of people on it since we've arrived.  Originally we were going to just stay here overnight...but so far it's been 3 nights and we can't quite convince ourselves to leave yet.

 The view from our balcony.

The view from our front door.

Spontaneity could have gotten us concrete and a crappy hostel...I'm counting my blessings for this nice surprise!

 Have you done anything spontaneous that turned out to be so amazingly awesome?

Are You For Scuba?

I couldn't resist the "Along Came Polly" line.

I can't believe I didn't post about my scuba experience on Utila.  I was reminded of it because Andy and I just went scuba diving in Thailand (which was totally awesome)!

Initially I was getting the certification because Andy was so passionate about scuba and I knew it was something he wanted to do together.  I had some fears and reservations, but I'm so glad I got certified...it is truly amazing what lies in the ocean depths!  

Ugh!

At first my husband and I joked around about 'Thai girlfriends,' but being here in Thailand and seeing how common it is really, really makes me sick.  Men that could be your brother, father, professor, or co-worker, walking hand in hand with women they hired for the week or day is the norm here.  I knew the sex industry was huge here and there are lots of organizations to help women and children escape it...it takes every ounce of self control not lash out at these men.  And now I notice men looking at me like I'm for sale.  Now I'm speaking English not for Andy's sake, but for my own!

My husband met a young man while he was in the hotel lobby using the internet who started to chat with him.  He openly said he was waiting for his Thai girlfriend.  He asked my husband if he was traveling alone...Andy said, 'No, I am here with my wife.'  The perv said, 'Why would you travel here with your wife?  You must not know what I know about Thailand.'

Ugh!  It truly sickens me how nonchalantly these men exploit the women here.  It is so, so sad.

Kata Beach, Southern Thailand

In Phuket Thailand there are a string of absolutely gorgeous beaches.  We have been staying at a brand new hotel for about $21 a night and we are a 5 minute walk to one of the most gorgeous beaches I've seen...Kata Beach.  It's pretty touristy, but most of the tourists are families and couples, unlike Patong Beach which is about 6 miles North and a huge party spot.

It's low season and mostly everything is negotiable...but it's hot...I mean it...it kinda feels like you're walking through a sauna, even at 7am.  This is Andy after a 5 minute walk at 7:30am.

The GORGEOUS beaches

Seriously...I can't get over how amazing the water is!

Bangkok

 It is supposedly a bad time to travel to Thailand because of the civil riots going on.  Besides seeing more police on the streets, I have felt perfectly safe and it seems like business as usual the city.  Not too mention its low season and it is incredibly CHEAP to find amazing deals on hotels.  If you are thinking about Thailand for a Honeymoon, come in the beginning of slow season...seriously you cant beat the prices!

It's strange, both Andy and I have been to Bangkok before, but we felt obligated to go see the Buddhist temples even though we've seen them previously.  Is it strange we're visiting a ton of exotic places and we're totally content to stay in bed, crawl out to eat some yummy food from street vendors and then jump back into bed?

Well...here are our obligatory pics.

Travel Funnies 2

Remember how Andy wanted to make sure people heard me speaking English in Central America?  Well you can imagine how much more he wants me to now that we're in Thailand.  Just for fun sometimes I'll slow down and walk a few steps behind him with my head bowed.  He does not see the humor in this.  Hehe. 

Something interesting is that everywhere we've traveled so far...locals have assumed I was a local also.  I'm half Korean and half Caucasion and I guess my features somehow blend into the local look.  I think it's obvious that I'm a halfie...but Andy disagrees.  We were discussing this at breakfast yesterday when these two Chinese tourists sat next to us.  Andy asks them, "Excuse me, what country does it look like my wife is from?"  They stared at me for a bit, and one of the gals says, "England, it looks like she is from England." 
Well, there you have it...I look Latin, Asian...and now English.

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They have bridal cuffs also.

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Livin' Large

There would be no way Andy and I could be traveling the world if we weren't backpacking it, utilizing airline miles, taking advantage of our Honeyfund,  and working along the way.  So you can imagine my surprise when we landed in Bangkok and the taxi pulled up to the 5 Star hotel, Le Meridien. 

Oooooohhhh....I just love these kind of surprises!  For at least a couple of days we're living in the lap of luxury.

Oh yeah...that's a big ol' round bed. 

I couldn't wait and took a bite...hehe.

I could get used to this...