Can't Forget Cambodia

Some how I've managed to forget to post about my trip to Cambodia! After all the trouble we had in Thailand and not getting to cross the Laos border, it was about time to move on to the next country. Getting from Bangkok to Cambodia wasn't the easiest trip, but it wasn't nearly as bad as trying to get into Laos.

We woke up around 3 a.m. and headed to the train station thinking we would just sleep during the ride. We read about first class seats that reclined and could double as a bed. No biggie. We could take a long nap and be ready to go when we got there. This was not the case. After barely making the train, we came to find that this particular train didn't have any first class seats. Every seat on the train was exactly the same with wooden seats, no air conditioning in the middle of July, and windows that barely opened. Oh, and did I mention, it was jam packed? I attempted to put my feet up and take a nap, but when I woke up I saw a bunch of eyes staring at me. Not what you want to see when you first wake up. On the bright side, there was beautiful scenery. On another downside, it took a few more hours than expected to get there. After we came to our stop, we hopped in a tuk tuk and drove to the border. Luckily, this time we knew about VISA scams and weren't fooled and kept on going. Gabe and I walked around aimlessly looking for the right place to go. This process repeated a few more times so I'm going to skip ahead to the part where we finally crossed the Cambodian border. It was about time! 

We took one bus that took us to another bus that we needed to take to get to Siem Reap. Along the way, we stopped for a bite to eat. I was exhausted and only wanted to grab a drink. They seemed to be out of everything I wanted to order and settled on some random pineapple drink. This turned out to be a big mistake. Being as tired as I was, I drank it without thinking and didn't realize that there was ice in the drink, which is a big No-No there. As a result, I was sick for the next few weeks. But it didn't stop me from having a great time during my trip. So we continued on our crammed bus ride until we reached our final destination. I couldn't have been happier to get to our hostel. It turned out to be a great place. Before they take you to your room, they take you for drinks and you can hang out and play pool. They also give all their guests a complimentary massage, which was needed at this point. Then finally, we settled into our room for the rest of the vacation. 

The rest of the evening we roamed around Siem Reap to see what was there. Turned out to be a fun town. Not at all what you would expect when you think of Cambodia. When we first walked across the border, what we saw was what could be expected for a poorer country. There were dirt roads, people walking around without shoes, and little ways to escape the blistering sun. But after exploring around the main town of Siem Reap, things were different here. The town was booming with foreigners (probably all there to see Angkor Wat too), bars blasting music, people shopping at the night market, lights strung above every alley, restaurants packed with people. It was a happening place to be. We didn't stay out too late since our driver was showing up pretty early the next morning. So we grabbed some pizza and headed home.

The next morning began pretty early. This was the day I was waiting for. Today, we were going to Angkor Wat. This place was on my bucket list and I couldn't believe I was finally on my way. Our tuk tuk driver made a plan for us and we went with it. We definitely lucked out, he was an awesome tour guide and fun person to spend time with on our trip. We bought our tickets and in we went. It was a surreal moment for me. You think of going to these places, but when you're actually there, you can't help but pinch yourself and wonder, is this real? We spent hours touring the many temples around Angkor Wat and the main temple that is widely known. The only downside to exploring the temples wasn't the construction, but all the kids begging for money and trying to bargain with you. It was heartbreaking to see. They would tell people they needed the money or they wouldn't be able to go to school. Needless to say, I bought a lot of bracelets and Gabe bought some sort of flutes. We couldn't say no, especially when they don't stop following you. 

Around sunset, we drove back to the city, cleaned up, and headed out on the town. We were a little more daring this time. We got up enough guts to try the fish pedicures. It didn't hurt that the guy offered us beer to help calm our nerves. He knew what was up! I had a little bit of a hard time putting my feet into a tank of fish that wanted to eat me! I like to think that's a normal reaction.  Eventually I did it and it felt as awkward as I thought it would and I couldn't stop laughing the entire time. The guys working probably couldn't wait for us to leave, but we stayed for about 30-40 mins.. Afterwards we treated ourselves to finishing our pedicures and got our nails painted. The rest of the night we bounced from bar to bar and learned what a beer tower is. I couldn't help but be curious.

The next morning we took off a little later. Our driver took us to the floating village. It was a ways from where we were staying, but I'm glad we went. It was good to get to see more of the countryside. It's crazy to see how different one country is from another. It was an eye-opener. On the way there, we passed one of my favorite places. We found a small lotus field. We asked to stop and walk around for a short while. It was adorable. I happen to love lotus flowers and couldn't resist. The only thing you could see for miles was one small broken down hut that someone lived in and a sign that asked for a small donation that was equal to about 25 cents. We dropped some money in the beaten up mailbox and took in the sights of the beautiful flowers. Then back on the road to the next stop. 

As soon as we got on the boat, what's the first thing they ask us? "Do you wanna hop in the water?" I looked down and the water was a dark brown color... Besides that, the floating village was simple but had a big story to tell. Our tour guide on the boat told us about all the orphans that live in this village and how hard life can be for some of these people, especially himself. He began to tell us about how he was going to school kind of far away, but doesn't always have the money to go back and forth and sometimes sleeps on his boat. I couldn't fathom a life like this. It made me appreciate everything my parents did for me so much more. And did I mention that there was an alligator farm not far from the houses and orphanages? But we politely passed on that one.  

The rest of the trip was just walking around and shopping. But this time I did decide to take a plane back to Bangkok and not a train. I had enough run-ins with trains and busses at this point and couldn't take anymore. If only it was that easy. I found out my credit card was frozen because I forgot to tell them I was traveling, my Korean bank account card didn't work outside of Korea, and I didn't transfer any money into my bank account from home. I was stuck. Luckily, my parents were nice enough to let me use their credit card so I could have at least one comfortable ride. The downside to this plan. (You know there's going to be some sort of problem!) I said bye to Gabe and the tuk tuk driver took me to the airport, only to find out I had to show the airline the credit card that was all the way in America. Great! So what did I do? I had to call my parents on Skype and have them show the card and verify that I wasn't lying. But this wasn't the last problem... I fell asleep waiting and almost missed my plane. Thankfully one person came back to wake me. I spent the next day on 3 flights from Siem Reap to Bangkok to Seoul. I spent about 6 hours waiting for my flight in Thailand being sick and unable to sleep on the cold seats in the airport. 

It sounds like there was a lot that went wrong on this trip, but it made for an awesome adventure. (Well minus the getting sick and sun poisoning parts.) I saw amazing things I never thought I would see and I would do everything all over again, even the fish eating my feet! It was completely worth every minute! 

Sorry it took 3 months to post about! Stay tuned...

Peace & Love,
Elissa Rae

Is Anything in Incheon?

What started out as a miserable day was quickly turned around. How, you ask? By doing what I do best, wandering aimlessly around a place I don't know anything about. Oh, and did I mention, I don't speak the language either... (I'm working on that one though!)

My Sunday started around 7:00 a.m. and although I really didn't want to get up, I finally dragged myself out of bed knowing I was going to be running a 5k.  This was going to be my first race since I've been to Korea and I was both nervous and excited at the same time. It's been awhile since I've ran. But you have to start somewhere. I had convinced a group of people to run together, then one by one they started dropping like flies. The day of the race, the number of remaining runners was down to 3. No worries though, 3 was still a good group to run with. It also didn't help that the weather forecast called for a downpour. I kept positive despite the obvious, until about 9:00. After leaving late and a $30 taxi ride, we arrived at Incheon Station, but ended up in the wrong park. By the time we found a map and realized where we were supposed to be, it was 40 mins. too late and the park we needed to be at was nowhere close. Between the bad directions and it being that early on a Sunday morning, I was not a "happy camper" to say the least.  After the realization that this was not happening, we decided to wander around since we were already there. 

Turns out we were in Jayu (Freedom) Park. It was beautiful, but random. The park was up high and overlooked the town. It was breathtaking from the right view. But we also saw some strange things. Why on earth would there be a chicken house in a park? This was definitely a first! The statues were also on the strange side. There seemed to be no theme. There was a giant pipe statue, one of MacArthur, some kind of bright-colored characters that reminded me of Teletubbies, and ride outside of the park was a giant statues of a bowl of noodles. Whatever floats their boat.  

Since we weren't making the race, we figured let's see what's in Incheon. Honestly, none of us knew of anything. When I think of Incheon, I think of the airport and that's about it. I was pleasantly surprised with this place, just not for a Sunday. Right outside of the park, where we saw the giant noodles, was Chinatown. I love the fact that I've been to 3 Chinatowns in Asia and they all seem to be more like China than China actually was. And what I mean by that is when I think of China, I have a certain stereotype that comes to mind. I think bright colors like reds and blues, dragons, and temples. But when I was in China, I didn't see too much of these things. It seemed more subtle and not enough dragons. Well, that is except for China's Chinatown. But Korea's Chinatown seemed to be exactly what I think of. There were beautiful, bright colors everywhere, authentic food, and of course, dragons! This would've been great, except for the fact that it was Sunday before 10 a.m.. In Korea, everything starts later. Before 10 a.m., good luck finding anything open including coffee shops. Strange, I know. So it was too early and on a Sunday. This is the worse time to travel around anywhere in Korea. 

After we left Chinatown, I had one mission in mind. Find coffee! I'm not a morning person and it was still early. We had no idea where we were going, but coffee seemed to be nonexistent here. We ended up walking the 5k just looking for an open cafe. Then finally, something went right. We found Dunkin Donuts. So not only did I get my wakeup coffee, but I got delicious cream-filled goodness to cheer me up. After that, I was ready to explore. 

We continued roaming the streets for several more hours before deciding to head home. And this time by subway, no more taxis that don't know where they're going! It took an 90 mins. to get home, but at least we knew where to go and we got seats, nice cushiony seats! Incheon has a lot going on, just not on Sunday mornings. I'll definitely be going back one afternoon to finish what I've started!

The best part of living in a foreign country and the ability to explore. That's when you get to see what life is really like. It's much more satisfying than tourist attractions that you've probably seen online and you know what to expect. The unexpected is way more fun!

Stay tuned...

Peace & Love,
Elissa Rae

Tora-b Cute & Quaint

So this past weekend I was finally able to catch up with my friend, Riley. Lately it's been hard to find time to meet and catch up on this crazy thing we call life! We met in my favorite place in Seoul, Hongdae. But not before getting on the wrong subway first. You know, I've only been living here for 14 months... On the bright side, since Hongdae is already kind of far and I got on the train in the wrong direction, I was able to take a nice long nap! Now that I was refreshed, I was ready for a day of cafes, shopping, and good conversation. 

After much debate, we settled on Spanish food for dinner at an adorable restaurant that seemed popular. We couldn't have been more wrong! I've never had Spanish food with no taste before, but I guess there's a first time for everything. No worries though, the night was quickly turned around as always. We strolled around and did a little shopping before heading to, one of my now favorite, coffee shops. I've seen this place in passing before, but never stopped by. It's tucked back in the streets of Hongdae, hidden from most. Riley had been there before and said we had to go. From the outside, it looks like an old beat-up basement. But the inside is adorable and has a homey feel. There were drawings on the wall, music I would actually listen to on my own, and awesome coffee. I also loved the fact that they give you chunks of chocolate to dip into your drink. It was genius! We hung out for hours reading magazines and relaxing. 

The only downside, which is a big pet peeve of mine here, was when I asked one of the guys working there about his Phillies hat, he had no idea what I was talking about. Why do people wear these hats when they have no idea what they are. I constantly see guys wearing Pirate and Phillies hats because they're popular, but for all they know they're a band somewhere. But this is an issue needs a post of it's own. 

Stay tuned...

Peace & Love,
Elissa Rae