It only took six months, but we finally made a video from our trip to Asia. We took all our footage and edited it down to just 1 second per day. Check it out:
Showing posts with label Asia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asia. Show all posts
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Angkor Thom Again
After visiting Angkor Wat this morning for sunrise, knowing this would be our final day in the park, we wanted to do all the things we haven't done yet and take the iconic pictures we hadn't taken yet (basically, the pictures you see on the postcards).
The first thing we hadn't done yet is climb the small hill next to Angkor Wat to Phnom Bakheng (phnom means mountain or hill in Cambodian). The path up to the top is wide and gradual because it's used as an elephant path.
You can easily jog up it in 5 minutes, unless you run into Chinese tour groups taking up the entire width of the path, they slow you down. The ruins were under construction - they're putting it all back together. But you still have access to the viewpoint off to the north of it that gives you sweet views of Angkor.
Eventually I found a staircase that leads up to the top of the wat. The temple itself is nothing spectacular, but it was cool to see all the workers putting everything back together.
On the way down, we spotted the happiest dragonfly we've ever met. Just look at its face!
We continued our bike ride toward Angkor Thom. After passing through the gate, we stopped off to watch the monkeys for a bit (you can see lots of monkey pics here) but then continued up to Baphuon. We felt rushed here last night because it was sunset so we pretty much just sat up top to watch it set and then we bolted fast to get out while we still had some light. So we wanted to come back and explore more.
This temple is fun because it's the only one (we know of) where the main entryway is on pillars and you can walk under it! It makes for a fun game of hide-and-go-seek.
After Baphuon, we rode back to Bayon to take some pictures in front of the temple...
...and of the temple with its reflection. We also stopped in one of the pagodas adjacent to the temple.
We said goodbye to Angkor Thom for the final time and rode down toward Angkor Wat. Just west of Angkor Wat is a giant lily pond. The sun was hitting the flowers just right, so we stopped for a while to take some pictures and play around with aperture on the dSLR.
On our way out of the park, we finally got the last picture we have been wanting to get.
And with that picture, we have done everything we wanted to do within Angkor. We've seen all the temples we wanted to see, we've done lots of exploring, we saw sunrise and sunsets, and took lots of cool pictures. We're ready to go to Phnom Penh now.
The first thing we hadn't done yet is climb the small hill next to Angkor Wat to Phnom Bakheng (phnom means mountain or hill in Cambodian). The path up to the top is wide and gradual because it's used as an elephant path.
You can easily jog up it in 5 minutes, unless you run into Chinese tour groups taking up the entire width of the path, they slow you down. The ruins were under construction - they're putting it all back together. But you still have access to the viewpoint off to the north of it that gives you sweet views of Angkor.
Eventually I found a staircase that leads up to the top of the wat. The temple itself is nothing spectacular, but it was cool to see all the workers putting everything back together.
On the way down, we spotted the happiest dragonfly we've ever met. Just look at its face!
We continued our bike ride toward Angkor Thom. After passing through the gate, we stopped off to watch the monkeys for a bit (you can see lots of monkey pics here) but then continued up to Baphuon. We felt rushed here last night because it was sunset so we pretty much just sat up top to watch it set and then we bolted fast to get out while we still had some light. So we wanted to come back and explore more.
This temple is fun because it's the only one (we know of) where the main entryway is on pillars and you can walk under it! It makes for a fun game of hide-and-go-seek.
After Baphuon, we rode back to Bayon to take some pictures in front of the temple...
...and of the temple with its reflection. We also stopped in one of the pagodas adjacent to the temple.
We said goodbye to Angkor Thom for the final time and rode down toward Angkor Wat. Just west of Angkor Wat is a giant lily pond. The sun was hitting the flowers just right, so we stopped for a while to take some pictures and play around with aperture on the dSLR.
On our way out of the park, we finally got the last picture we have been wanting to get.
And with that picture, we have done everything we wanted to do within Angkor. We've seen all the temples we wanted to see, we've done lots of exploring, we saw sunrise and sunsets, and took lots of cool pictures. We're ready to go to Phnom Penh now.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
Angkor Thom
We spent the entire day today in Angkor Thom. This is a walled city just north of Angkor Wat. ("Angkor" is the name of the ancient Capitol city. "Wat" means temple, so Angkor Wat was the main temple for the city of Angkor. "Thom" is Cambodian for big. Angkor Thom was the actual city where people lived.) There are several gates into the city, mainly in the cardinal directions. Inside the walls are numerous temples and ancient structures, the most famous of which is Bayon.
But before you even get there, you pass by these guys, and they're super fun to watch.
Isa was in love with the little baby monkeys. And honestly, can you blame her?
We were on our bikes again today, so we stopped several times when we saw animals on the side of the road. Eventually, we made it up to the first temple: Bayon.
Bayon is famous for two reasons. Probably the most obvious one is all the faces on the towers. Each tower has four faces, all totaled there are more than 200 faces on the temple towers. It's supposedly the face of the king, Jayavarman VII. Kind of like an all seeing big brother is watching you always feeling.
The second reason it's famous is for it's bas reliefs that tell important stories of ancient Khmer history and Hindu mythology.
Next, we rode up to the center of Angkor Thom and had lunch at one of the restaurant stalls. I worked my language skills and the lady gave us the local discount on our meals and our pineapple shake. Yum.
Straight over from the restaurants, we wandered into the Terrace of the Leper King.
I don't know anything about this. If you want to know more, google it. It's an ancient wall with lots of carvings along its zigzagging path.
From here, we entered the inner wall and checked out Phimeanakas ("PEE-mian-aa-KAH"). This is a decent sized mountain temple. I'm not sure why they put new stairs on this on at all. They're almost more difficult to climb than the original stone stairs.
We played around at the top for a while, I talked to the lady at the very top, who prayed for me and Isa to have a long life of prosperity and happiness and good health. I gave her 500 riel, which is about 12.5 cents, and she was very happy.
We left Phimeanakas and wandered north toward Preah Palilay. We came to a river with this awesome bridge we had to cross.
Preah Palilay was almost completely in ruins...
...so we explored for a bit and then went back to the bikes...
...and rode down to the Elephant Terrace.
We walked along the Elephant Terrace for a while until we came upon Baphuon ("Ba-poo-in"). It was getting close to sunset at this point, so most people were heading back to Angkor Wat or Phnom Bakeng (another popular sunset point that we'll go to tomorrow), so they left Baphuon pretty much to us alone.
We sat up top and waited for sunset from there.
When the sun set, we made our way back to the bikes, but it was already dark before we got to Bayon, let alone out of Angkor Thom or the park. It was extremely dark in the park, since there are no street lights or anything. Isa turned on her flashlight on the iPhone and put it in her front basket so she could see/people could see us. We rode back on Charles de Gaulle because there are some lights along that road. It was a nice, pleasant, cool ride back into town.
When we got back to Siem Reap, we stopped by the corner market for some ice cream. It's become almost a nightly tradition to get some ice cream to cap the night. Different countries have had very different options. Here in Cambodia, this is our new favorite.
They're like Bonbons. Vanilla ice cream in delicious chocolate. Very yummy.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Hua Hin to Phuket
Travel day today. We started this morning in Hua Hin, at sunrise. We had heard sunrises are special in Hua Hin because the monks walk along the beach. Since this was our last day in Hua Hin (ever - we're definitely not coming back), we decided to wake up and run over to the beach. Except when the time came, Isa opted to stay in bed and just look at my pictures later.
Although I did see a monk, it didn't look like much of a tradition. It seemed more like a monk happened to be walking on the beach. Most of the beach was completely deserted.
After that, we ate breakfast, bought some snacks for our flight, packed our bags, and walked up the road to where we had seen a minibus stop yesterday. We booked a trip back to Bangkok for 180B each. That took us to Victory Monument.
Then we felt like locals at this point, since we're so familiar with this area. We took a local bus up to Mo Chit, ate some skewer meat from a street cart, and caught the A1 bus to Don Mueang Airport. It's the same bus we took when we first flew in from Xi'an, so we knew which one to catch without even looking it up.
Then we caught a 3:30 flight from DMK down to Phuket, just about 90 minutes. We were so excited to fly in and see a proper tropical island.
From the airport, we caught a shared minibus into Patong for 180B each - crazy that it cost the same to go 2.5 hours from Hua Hin to Bangkok as it did the 45 minutes from the airport to our hotel. We had heard that things are more expensive down here in the islands, and that appears to be true so far.
After dropping our stuff off at the hotel and resting for a bit, we ventured back out after dark and walked over to Bangla Road just to check it out. I forgot my camera back at the hotel, but we'll be back tomorrow night for sure. It's a crazy couple blocks of nightclubs and ladyboys.
Then we walked on the beach for a bit and found a nice restaurant with tables on the sand. I can't tell you how much we enjoy eating on the beach. Something about yummy food in your belly, sand in between your toes, the sounds and smell of the ocean, the feel of the light breeze. It's the best.
And the food was fantastic for 100B each.
Although I did see a monk, it didn't look like much of a tradition. It seemed more like a monk happened to be walking on the beach. Most of the beach was completely deserted.
After that, we ate breakfast, bought some snacks for our flight, packed our bags, and walked up the road to where we had seen a minibus stop yesterday. We booked a trip back to Bangkok for 180B each. That took us to Victory Monument.
Then we felt like locals at this point, since we're so familiar with this area. We took a local bus up to Mo Chit, ate some skewer meat from a street cart, and caught the A1 bus to Don Mueang Airport. It's the same bus we took when we first flew in from Xi'an, so we knew which one to catch without even looking it up.
Then we caught a 3:30 flight from DMK down to Phuket, just about 90 minutes. We were so excited to fly in and see a proper tropical island.
From the airport, we caught a shared minibus into Patong for 180B each - crazy that it cost the same to go 2.5 hours from Hua Hin to Bangkok as it did the 45 minutes from the airport to our hotel. We had heard that things are more expensive down here in the islands, and that appears to be true so far.
After dropping our stuff off at the hotel and resting for a bit, we ventured back out after dark and walked over to Bangla Road just to check it out. I forgot my camera back at the hotel, but we'll be back tomorrow night for sure. It's a crazy couple blocks of nightclubs and ladyboys.
Then we walked on the beach for a bit and found a nice restaurant with tables on the sand. I can't tell you how much we enjoy eating on the beach. Something about yummy food in your belly, sand in between your toes, the sounds and smell of the ocean, the feel of the light breeze. It's the best.
And the food was fantastic for 100B each.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Exploring Hua Hin
So first things first we rented a scooter at the place right next to our hotel. One day, 200 baht (about $6.50 US). Good deal. What we didn't realize is the gas gauge was not broken - it was empty when we got it. :( That will come into play in a minute.
We drove directly out to Wat Huay Mongkol.
This is a giant statue of a famous Thai monk (Luang Phor Thuad) that sits on a hill about 20 minutes inland from Hua Hin. Apparently this monk is well known for his enlightenment and for performing miracles and his mere presence (even as a statue) guarantees your safety. Which may come into play in a minute. :(
The whole thing is free - free parking too. I'm not sure if we would pay to see this, but it's definitely worth seeing for free.
As you walk around the statue, you find other images and statues covered in gold. We found out that you could purchase these little stickers and pay your respects by sticking them on the statue of your choosing.
At the base of the hill, on both sides, sit exquisitely carved elephants with three trunks.
We left just as seven coach buses arrived together, so it was a good time to take off for sure. We drove for about two or three minutes and then stalled. Weird, right? I got it going again, only to stall a few seconds later again. :( I thought it had died, but when I opened the gas tank, it was dry as a bone.
Out of Gas. Middle of Nowhere.
So here we are, 20 minutes outside Hua Hin, with no idea where to go or what to do. No phone. No ability to communicate. Stuck.
So we said a prayer. Because that's pretty much all we could do.
So I start pushing the moto down the road in the direction of town, and barely a minute later, a kid on a moto stopped to help us. He had zero english ability, but using hand gestures and foot gestures, he got Isa on the back of his moto and me on ours. We're so grateful he was patient with us because we had NO idea what he was trying to accomplish. We knew he wanted to help us, but we couldn't figure out what he could do without a rope or a truck. Then he managed to get behind me just to one side, he put his foot on my back foot rest and he started to move, pushing me along. We started slowly, then quicker and quicker. We drove for about a mile or so, crossing a large intersection that we just prayed wouldn't have any cars coming so we wouldn't have to stop - we didn't, whew! - and he pushed us into a gas station.
If you were ever wondering if God answers prayers, now you know. My goodness were we grateful for that kid. And it looks like Luang Phor Thuad's statue indeed helped guarantee our safety. :)
With a full tank of gas, we took off toward the beach.
Khao Takiab
We parked in the dirt parking lot leading into the beach on the far side of the hill and wandered out onto the sand.
We decided not to hang out here because we wanted to go up monkey mountain (that's the other side of the hill in the picture above - it's actually called Chopstick Mountain, but everyone calls it monkey mountain because, well, you'll see).
You can drive most of the way up the hill and park in the lot just below the temple, right next to this sign.
Which is serious, because if you do decide to feed them, they swarm and it's crazy.
But if you keep your food in your bag, they just hang out with you.
We hiked up the stairs to the temple on top (well, it's actually about half the way up - I couldn't find a way to get to the peak).
But even if it's not the very top, the temple still gives you a pretty good view of the coastline.
We returned to our moto and drove around to the backside of the mountain and found a vacant platform with a few pagodas and statues. It was interesting and photogenic, especially on a nice day like today.
There were a few rogue monkeys down here, one of which tried to run off with my water bottle after he stole it from my backpack. I chased him down and he dropped it and ran off. I need my water when it's this hot!
At the base of the hill, we stopped by a cute little fishing village. We were going to grab some fresh food because a friend of ours said it was delicious, but none of it looked quite right and so we chickened out.
From here, we drove north of Hua Hin toward Cha-Am in search of a better beach. We failed. So we returned to Hua Hin and set up camp near the town center.
Hua Hin Beach
We watched people playing games, horses strutting by, and the sun setting. (Well, kinda. It set behind us, but the sky was still cool.)
For a pre-dinner snack, we stopped and got Rotee, a Thai favorite. It's like a crepe with bananas or nutella and fried crispy. It was yummy.
Then we headed over to the night market. Full day. Good day.
We drove directly out to Wat Huay Mongkol.
This is a giant statue of a famous Thai monk (Luang Phor Thuad) that sits on a hill about 20 minutes inland from Hua Hin. Apparently this monk is well known for his enlightenment and for performing miracles and his mere presence (even as a statue) guarantees your safety. Which may come into play in a minute. :(
The whole thing is free - free parking too. I'm not sure if we would pay to see this, but it's definitely worth seeing for free.
As you walk around the statue, you find other images and statues covered in gold. We found out that you could purchase these little stickers and pay your respects by sticking them on the statue of your choosing.
 |
| They're like little gold post-it notes. |
We left just as seven coach buses arrived together, so it was a good time to take off for sure. We drove for about two or three minutes and then stalled. Weird, right? I got it going again, only to stall a few seconds later again. :( I thought it had died, but when I opened the gas tank, it was dry as a bone.
Out of Gas. Middle of Nowhere.
So here we are, 20 minutes outside Hua Hin, with no idea where to go or what to do. No phone. No ability to communicate. Stuck.
So we said a prayer. Because that's pretty much all we could do.
So I start pushing the moto down the road in the direction of town, and barely a minute later, a kid on a moto stopped to help us. He had zero english ability, but using hand gestures and foot gestures, he got Isa on the back of his moto and me on ours. We're so grateful he was patient with us because we had NO idea what he was trying to accomplish. We knew he wanted to help us, but we couldn't figure out what he could do without a rope or a truck. Then he managed to get behind me just to one side, he put his foot on my back foot rest and he started to move, pushing me along. We started slowly, then quicker and quicker. We drove for about a mile or so, crossing a large intersection that we just prayed wouldn't have any cars coming so we wouldn't have to stop - we didn't, whew! - and he pushed us into a gas station.
If you were ever wondering if God answers prayers, now you know. My goodness were we grateful for that kid. And it looks like Luang Phor Thuad's statue indeed helped guarantee our safety. :)
With a full tank of gas, we took off toward the beach.
Khao Takiab
We parked in the dirt parking lot leading into the beach on the far side of the hill and wandered out onto the sand.
We decided not to hang out here because we wanted to go up monkey mountain (that's the other side of the hill in the picture above - it's actually called Chopstick Mountain, but everyone calls it monkey mountain because, well, you'll see).
You can drive most of the way up the hill and park in the lot just below the temple, right next to this sign.
Which is serious, because if you do decide to feed them, they swarm and it's crazy.
But if you keep your food in your bag, they just hang out with you.
We hiked up the stairs to the temple on top (well, it's actually about half the way up - I couldn't find a way to get to the peak).
But even if it's not the very top, the temple still gives you a pretty good view of the coastline.
We returned to our moto and drove around to the backside of the mountain and found a vacant platform with a few pagodas and statues. It was interesting and photogenic, especially on a nice day like today.
There were a few rogue monkeys down here, one of which tried to run off with my water bottle after he stole it from my backpack. I chased him down and he dropped it and ran off. I need my water when it's this hot!
At the base of the hill, we stopped by a cute little fishing village. We were going to grab some fresh food because a friend of ours said it was delicious, but none of it looked quite right and so we chickened out.
From here, we drove north of Hua Hin toward Cha-Am in search of a better beach. We failed. So we returned to Hua Hin and set up camp near the town center.
Hua Hin Beach
We watched people playing games, horses strutting by, and the sun setting. (Well, kinda. It set behind us, but the sky was still cool.)
 |
| That's monkey mountain and the temple in the distance. |
For a pre-dinner snack, we stopped and got Rotee, a Thai favorite. It's like a crepe with bananas or nutella and fried crispy. It was yummy.
Then we headed over to the night market. Full day. Good day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
LinkWithin
