"Soo-a S-day" (or hello in Khmay!)
Hello!! So, here I am, back in Japan! I decided to take a nap yesterday evening, but it turned into a really long night's sleep. My stomach is still a little wacky (stayed strong til the end...almost made it with nothing!), but I am feeling much better after getting the rest.
Readjusting in J-land
I am at school right now and today is the day that all the teachers are moving to their new desks for the new school year, which starts this week. Remember there is one staff room for all teachers, people sit with the grade they teach in and move locations each year with the grade levels always being in the same locations and teachers staying with the same students for 3 years... so 60 people packing and moving drawers is a bit nuts. Lots of commotion and ruckus this morning, but I am pretty pumped. I really like the new people I sit by and there are two new women my age (one in biology and the other in Japanese), who also sit really close to me. I have been using my limited Japanese with them, so I am not sure how their English is, but they seem really nice.
It has been easy to slide back into life in Japan after vacation. I remember coming back from Thailand (my first big international trip while living here) and being happy to realize I had a place in Japan. That feeling is still present, but it's evolved to the point that I don't think about it anymore; it's just coming back home. The airport, the transportation, greetings upon arrival: everything is familiar. I will admit the weather is a bit of a let-down after 2 weeks in an 80-degree paradise, but I am still being spoiled here compared to the snow and freezing temps back in Minnesota... so I'll keep the complaints to a min. Crazy to think that three days ago Tam was complaining that our room was way hotter than the hallway (really was, had trouble sleeping) and now I'm tempted to escape outside for some sunlight because my teeth are chattering in the cold staff room, though. The sakura (cherry blossoms) are starting to bloom, so it's a good day to get out nonetheless!
I've also gotten some really big, really exciting news since I got back. I can't go into all of it here and now, but I got some good news from my top choice grad school and about a national post I ran for in the organization I have been doing charity work for this past year. Life is amazing.
Anyways, that's enough about Japan for now.... I've been doing a lot of reflecting about the trip since I got back yesterday and want to should share before too much time lapses :)
A Little Behind... Gomen!
As mentioned, I arrived at Kansai Airport at 6am yesterday morning and went straight to work, so I've now been back for about a day. I haven't been able to get on the net for a few days, however, so there is a lot to catch up on. I did find internet when we were in Kratie (small town in northern Cambodia that we spent 3 nights in) and other regions (even though the Lonely Planet said it didn’t exist – aha!), but the keyboards were funny and one post that I spent a long time on wouldn’t copy and then disappeared when I tried to save it... so I gave up.
That being said, I was it was amazing to me that you could walk around the streets of Cambodia (or Laos), down bumpy dirt roads lined with garbage, passing people without shoes and missing limbs from landmines (with an estimated 6,000 still remaining in Cambodia & they kill or injure about 30 people a day), and find your way to an internet cafe were the experience is essentially the same as it would be surfing the web at your desk anywhere in the world. I guess my experiences with not being able to post the blog shows that it's not always perfect-perfect, but is it anywhere? Technology moves fast, but unfortunately, leaving the cafe and seeing how much need there is outside in the real world reminded me of why I was giving my time and money to this cause... and how lucky I was to be there.
Cambodia and Beyond
I'll talk about PEPY and the experience at the school soon (more detail but in another post to spare you the length!), but first I have to tell you about my solo time and Siem Riep. I think Sunday was one of the best days of my life!!
I said my goodbyes to the group from PEPY over dinner (and then some more over beers afterwards) on Saturday night and left Phnom Penh (the capital city) at 6:45am on Saturday morning. When I arrived in Siem Riep about 40 minutes later, I proceeded to the airport Lost and Found office, who I convinced to watch my pack for the day. I couldn't believe they actually agreed to do it (score!), but the staff was really easy to work with, partially because it's such a small place. Best service I've ever experienced, though, from checking in onwards. Both the Siem Riep and Pnom Penh airports are really new and modern, which also helps, but the one thing that did always get to me is the crowd of taxi drivers waiting outside to hound you as soon as you leave the air conditioned safety of the terminal. In Thailand, it was the hotel owners waiting for the boat, in China the hotels. Just a warning if you're going to Asia - brace yourself! They can be persistant! Anyways, I manuevered my way past the taxi crew and found a tuk-tuk driver who agreed to take me to Angkor Wat at a reasonable price ($10 for a day). I really wasn't feeling well in the morning (think the food finally got me on the last day - almost had to use the little paper bag on the plane) and was worried about the bumpy ride with a tuktuk, but with a plain coke to coat the tummy, a little medicine to stop any worries and my ferver and excitement about visiting the temples to keep me going, I was actually fine after not too long.
Angkor, you say?
So pretty much anyone coming to Cambodia visits Siem Riep to see the nearby temples at Angkor Wat. Everyone recommends the 3-day pass, so I was originally really bummed that I only had one day at Angkor Wat. I hate rushing through things like this, but since it was one day or nothing, I was excited to sign up and actually have the opportunity to go at all (more to see next time, right?). For those of you wrinkling your nose right now, wondering what Angkor Wat (or rather, the temples at Angkor) is - and why the heck everyone goes there - I'll slow down for a bit and explain.
Angkor Wat is basically an area of over 100 temples that were slowly constructed by over 19 different kings over the course of over 600 years. It could be said that the "golden age" of the temples ended in the 13th century when the Khmer Kingdom (Khmer is now the word for Cambodians, too) moved the capital to Pnom Penh after the death of King Jayavarmn III and to escape increasing attacks by the Siamese (Thai). The temples lay abandoned for hundreds of years (except for an instance of granduer - about 50 years - in the 16th century) and were almost swallowed by the jungle until they were "rediscovered" by the French colonialists in the 20th century... and along with the archeologists and restoration came a new golden age of tourism to the area. There are records of other explorers stumbling upon the temples before the French, even one Japanese man in the 18th century (who mistakingly reported the site to be in India in hindsight), but being able to visit them again is a relatively new thing. There were some dark years of Cambodia's recent history (the "civil war" and astrocity of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s) when the temples were again off-limits, but the temples survived the war virtually unscathed (ok, with only a few bullet holes and headless statues - far LESS damage than expected) and are truly a treasure with seeing if you ever get the chance. The movie Tomb Rader was filmed here, and it really looks like it does in the movie - a mystical environment where nature (jungle) meets man (man-made structures) and tells a beautiful story of our world history and religion that you are still free to roam at will.
Arriving at Angkor
So I grabbed my driver, we got some gass (previously thought the glass bottles on the side of the road were alcohol - not petrol - about $3 for a tank isn't too bad but makes me wonder what they are burning...) and then drove for about 25 minutes before arriving at the south enterance to the temples. I hopped out to buy a day pass, bought some water for my driver and I and we took out a map to figure out our game plan. My wishlist for the afternoon was to be able to see Angkor Wat (northern reflecting pool, bas reliefs and sanctuary), Ta Prohm (Tomb Rader site with huge trees in the jungle) and Angkor Tomb (including Angkor Thom, the Bayon - stone heads as enigmatic as those on Easter Island! - and the elephant and Leper King Terraces).
Angkor Wat
We arrived around 8:30am, before the crowds, and decided to head straight to Angkor Wat. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the temples over the trees. You stop in sort of an open-market, tuktuk parking area (with hordes of little girls pleading with you to buy something from them) and there is a long stone bridge leading to Angkor Wat. I stopped to watch bridal couples taking pictures and observe a monkey pacing about 5 feet from me, but knowing I didn't have much time, pushed on. I realized soon into the journey that I should have hired a guide (most people have them for the day and you need to book one before you come at a hotel, etc), but I luckily made a friend in a french guy as I was reading a sign outside the libraries who let me walk around Angkor Wat with him and his guide. I learned a lot about the bas reliefs (mostly Hindu designs) and hallways and statues, but the info was a little too much (and the explanation was taking a really long time...I only had a day!), so I gave the guide a tip, said my goodbyes to both men and explored the temple for about another hour (and grabbed a baguette on the run from a snack shop inside the temple) before heading back to meet Yon, my tuktuk driver.
Angkor Thom
The temples span an area of over 400 km (according to a sign I saw), so you take these winding roads through the jungle driving from site to site. Feeling the warm breeze and zooming past ancient, stone temples on the way to and from the ones I wanted to see was nothing less than spectacular. My next stop was Angkor Tomb, the ancient walled, royal city (fyi - Buddhist, 12th century). We passed through the southern gate, lined with elephant statues (me gasping at each one and already exhausting both the words "wow" and "sugoi" from my vocabulary at this point) and drove onwards to Bayon to see the giant faces. We visited several sites in the city, stopped on the road to see the terraces (where the palace once stood), before pushing on to Ta Prhom.
Ta Prohm
When I got to Ta Prohm (where Tomb Rader was filmed - carvings and temples subsumed by trees) and discovered there weren't many people around, I realized I was experiencing how the early explorers who re-discovered the place (true exploreres!) a hunred and fifty years ago must have felt.
I left Yon in the parking lot, making agreements to meet at the opposite gate, and wandered around for a while, taking in the ambiance and listening to the soft whisper of the trees. I stopped to chat with the young boys guarding the front enterance (mostly about them seeing Angelina Jolie...haha), and thinking nothing of it, I made a friend in one of the old guards that worked inside the temple when I stopped to say hello as I passed his post. Well, he must have been watching me and noticed I was really interested in the overgrown trees (cradling the stone structures because not long after, he beckoned me to leave the designated tourist path with him and follow him into the restricted areas.
OK, I generally have my guards WAY up when I am traveling alone (especially after reading all the warnings about single women traveling in SE Asia), but since it was a pretty open temple (other tourists or guards would always be close), the old man seemed nice and he didn't move too fast (had a limp), I decided to take him up on the offer and follow him. And I am SOOO glad I did!
Before I knew was happening, the guard (never got his name) had showed me some of his favorite spots around the site, where he has worked for 7 years and visited throughout his life. We’d climb over the rubble that was once the dance hall (carvings still intact, but the walls were less fortunate) and he’d instruct me to stand in one place that would give me a very different view or reveal some hidden carving, scenery or landscape that I might have otherwise missed. I was very lucky! I tried to give him money as I was leaving, but he didn't take it...so we merely said goodbye, but I will always remember that kindness. Check out the pics when I get them up for a photo essay (which I promise will accomplish way more than words can manage, and not because I am a talented photographer).
Tonle Sap Lake
I glanced at my watch once we had finished going through all the sites I had outlined for the day, and was shocked to find it was only around 1:30. Most of the other tourists had cleared out (they go back to their hotels for lunch, resuming their tours at 3pm), so I contemplated heading out to Banteay Srey, another Angkor temple about 25 km away. I took out a map and talked to the driver, who had brought over some other driver friends, about the plan. The friends were really funny and told me Banteay Srey was a "must see" but when I asked them about the floating village (a recommendation from my friend Taj, but which I had accepted that I would have to miss), their tune changed to that being a much better use of time. They told me I could still make it to Tonle Sap Lake and take a boat out before I had to catch my flight, so I decided that was a better route (giving myself more "priority" temples to see if I ever return to Angkor Wat) and headed out with my driver.
The roads were bumpy and it took over 30 min to get to the lake (passing through central Siem Riep), but the trip was well worth it. When I heard floating village, never did I expect to be able to charter a boat ($15 for an hour and a half...all the time I had) and visit the floating suburbs on the murky, vast lake water. It was incredible - a whole village of neighbors living relatively normal lives over the body of water. They used small boats to get around and some had even constructed areas to garden (don't have to worry about the drought before monsoon season). At one point, we stopped at a restaraunt (almost like a roadside reststop on water) and saw about 15 alligators in the water. I played with a batch of puppies inside, grabbed a brochure about the local catholic church (yes, on water!) and then went to a museum to learn about fishing methods on the lake. I was totally blown away.
I would have liked to stay longer, but time was ticking, so we headed back to town. I asked Yon to stop along the way and got one last cheese and veggie sandwich and fruit shake (since I knew it'd be my last) on the way to the airport... smelling of sweat from running around all day... but I c0uldn't have been better.
Why do strange things always happen only when I am alone?
The rest of the trip home went well. It was characterized by a lot of strange events, including a chinese lady that entered my bathroom stall (I swear it was locked!) and dropped her drawers as I was changing clothes (telling me not to worry about it and keep changing) at Siem Riep airport, the middle-aged Cambodian men who teased the guy sitting next to me about sitting by a cute girl (um, and I could hear)and then played a boombox at dinner, almost missing my flight to Japan when we taxi-ied the runway in Bangkok for 30 minutes and then sitting next to a bodyguard on plane with his film crew (had a gov't tag so I think the main man was in first class on business to Japan). Oh, and then there was all the questioning-about-drugs business at the airport in Osaka, but I made it back saftely and am so happy with this trip!
PEPY and the Volunteer TRIP (I'll TRY to keep it short)
As for the volunteer trip, my real reason for going to South East Asia, I had a fantastic time. PEPY (Protect the Environment, Protect Yourself) was definitely a very good program that does turn the idealistic idea of helping local people into a reality... but more to come in the next post.
Thanks for reading this far! (to be continued)
Readjusting in J-land
I am at school right now and today is the day that all the teachers are moving to their new desks for the new school year, which starts this week. Remember there is one staff room for all teachers, people sit with the grade they teach in and move locations each year with the grade levels always being in the same locations and teachers staying with the same students for 3 years... so 60 people packing and moving drawers is a bit nuts. Lots of commotion and ruckus this morning, but I am pretty pumped. I really like the new people I sit by and there are two new women my age (one in biology and the other in Japanese), who also sit really close to me. I have been using my limited Japanese with them, so I am not sure how their English is, but they seem really nice.
It has been easy to slide back into life in Japan after vacation. I remember coming back from Thailand (my first big international trip while living here) and being happy to realize I had a place in Japan. That feeling is still present, but it's evolved to the point that I don't think about it anymore; it's just coming back home. The airport, the transportation, greetings upon arrival: everything is familiar. I will admit the weather is a bit of a let-down after 2 weeks in an 80-degree paradise, but I am still being spoiled here compared to the snow and freezing temps back in Minnesota... so I'll keep the complaints to a min. Crazy to think that three days ago Tam was complaining that our room was way hotter than the hallway (really was, had trouble sleeping) and now I'm tempted to escape outside for some sunlight because my teeth are chattering in the cold staff room, though. The sakura (cherry blossoms) are starting to bloom, so it's a good day to get out nonetheless!
I've also gotten some really big, really exciting news since I got back. I can't go into all of it here and now, but I got some good news from my top choice grad school and about a national post I ran for in the organization I have been doing charity work for this past year. Life is amazing.
Anyways, that's enough about Japan for now.... I've been doing a lot of reflecting about the trip since I got back yesterday and want to should share before too much time lapses :)
A Little Behind... Gomen!
As mentioned, I arrived at Kansai Airport at 6am yesterday morning and went straight to work, so I've now been back for about a day. I haven't been able to get on the net for a few days, however, so there is a lot to catch up on. I did find internet when we were in Kratie (small town in northern Cambodia that we spent 3 nights in) and other regions (even though the Lonely Planet said it didn’t exist – aha!), but the keyboards were funny and one post that I spent a long time on wouldn’t copy and then disappeared when I tried to save it... so I gave up.
That being said, I was it was amazing to me that you could walk around the streets of Cambodia (or Laos), down bumpy dirt roads lined with garbage, passing people without shoes and missing limbs from landmines (with an estimated 6,000 still remaining in Cambodia & they kill or injure about 30 people a day), and find your way to an internet cafe were the experience is essentially the same as it would be surfing the web at your desk anywhere in the world. I guess my experiences with not being able to post the blog shows that it's not always perfect-perfect, but is it anywhere? Technology moves fast, but unfortunately, leaving the cafe and seeing how much need there is outside in the real world reminded me of why I was giving my time and money to this cause... and how lucky I was to be there.
Cambodia and Beyond
I'll talk about PEPY and the experience at the school soon (more detail but in another post to spare you the length!), but first I have to tell you about my solo time and Siem Riep. I think Sunday was one of the best days of my life!!
I said my goodbyes to the group from PEPY over dinner (and then some more over beers afterwards) on Saturday night and left Phnom Penh (the capital city) at 6:45am on Saturday morning. When I arrived in Siem Riep about 40 minutes later, I proceeded to the airport Lost and Found office, who I convinced to watch my pack for the day. I couldn't believe they actually agreed to do it (score!), but the staff was really easy to work with, partially because it's such a small place. Best service I've ever experienced, though, from checking in onwards. Both the Siem Riep and Pnom Penh airports are really new and modern, which also helps, but the one thing that did always get to me is the crowd of taxi drivers waiting outside to hound you as soon as you leave the air conditioned safety of the terminal. In Thailand, it was the hotel owners waiting for the boat, in China the hotels. Just a warning if you're going to Asia - brace yourself! They can be persistant! Anyways, I manuevered my way past the taxi crew and found a tuk-tuk driver who agreed to take me to Angkor Wat at a reasonable price ($10 for a day). I really wasn't feeling well in the morning (think the food finally got me on the last day - almost had to use the little paper bag on the plane) and was worried about the bumpy ride with a tuktuk, but with a plain coke to coat the tummy, a little medicine to stop any worries and my ferver and excitement about visiting the temples to keep me going, I was actually fine after not too long.
Angkor, you say?
So pretty much anyone coming to Cambodia visits Siem Riep to see the nearby temples at Angkor Wat. Everyone recommends the 3-day pass, so I was originally really bummed that I only had one day at Angkor Wat. I hate rushing through things like this, but since it was one day or nothing, I was excited to sign up and actually have the opportunity to go at all (more to see next time, right?). For those of you wrinkling your nose right now, wondering what Angkor Wat (or rather, the temples at Angkor) is - and why the heck everyone goes there - I'll slow down for a bit and explain.
Angkor Wat is basically an area of over 100 temples that were slowly constructed by over 19 different kings over the course of over 600 years. It could be said that the "golden age" of the temples ended in the 13th century when the Khmer Kingdom (Khmer is now the word for Cambodians, too) moved the capital to Pnom Penh after the death of King Jayavarmn III and to escape increasing attacks by the Siamese (Thai). The temples lay abandoned for hundreds of years (except for an instance of granduer - about 50 years - in the 16th century) and were almost swallowed by the jungle until they were "rediscovered" by the French colonialists in the 20th century... and along with the archeologists and restoration came a new golden age of tourism to the area. There are records of other explorers stumbling upon the temples before the French, even one Japanese man in the 18th century (who mistakingly reported the site to be in India in hindsight), but being able to visit them again is a relatively new thing. There were some dark years of Cambodia's recent history (the "civil war" and astrocity of the Khmer Rouge in the 1970s) when the temples were again off-limits, but the temples survived the war virtually unscathed (ok, with only a few bullet holes and headless statues - far LESS damage than expected) and are truly a treasure with seeing if you ever get the chance. The movie Tomb Rader was filmed here, and it really looks like it does in the movie - a mystical environment where nature (jungle) meets man (man-made structures) and tells a beautiful story of our world history and religion that you are still free to roam at will.
Arriving at Angkor
So I grabbed my driver, we got some gass (previously thought the glass bottles on the side of the road were alcohol - not petrol - about $3 for a tank isn't too bad but makes me wonder what they are burning...) and then drove for about 25 minutes before arriving at the south enterance to the temples. I hopped out to buy a day pass, bought some water for my driver and I and we took out a map to figure out our game plan. My wishlist for the afternoon was to be able to see Angkor Wat (northern reflecting pool, bas reliefs and sanctuary), Ta Prohm (Tomb Rader site with huge trees in the jungle) and Angkor Tomb (including Angkor Thom, the Bayon - stone heads as enigmatic as those on Easter Island! - and the elephant and Leper King Terraces).
Angkor Wat
We arrived around 8:30am, before the crowds, and decided to head straight to Angkor Wat. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the temples over the trees. You stop in sort of an open-market, tuktuk parking area (with hordes of little girls pleading with you to buy something from them) and there is a long stone bridge leading to Angkor Wat. I stopped to watch bridal couples taking pictures and observe a monkey pacing about 5 feet from me, but knowing I didn't have much time, pushed on. I realized soon into the journey that I should have hired a guide (most people have them for the day and you need to book one before you come at a hotel, etc), but I luckily made a friend in a french guy as I was reading a sign outside the libraries who let me walk around Angkor Wat with him and his guide. I learned a lot about the bas reliefs (mostly Hindu designs) and hallways and statues, but the info was a little too much (and the explanation was taking a really long time...I only had a day!), so I gave the guide a tip, said my goodbyes to both men and explored the temple for about another hour (and grabbed a baguette on the run from a snack shop inside the temple) before heading back to meet Yon, my tuktuk driver.
Angkor Thom
The temples span an area of over 400 km (according to a sign I saw), so you take these winding roads through the jungle driving from site to site. Feeling the warm breeze and zooming past ancient, stone temples on the way to and from the ones I wanted to see was nothing less than spectacular. My next stop was Angkor Tomb, the ancient walled, royal city (fyi - Buddhist, 12th century). We passed through the southern gate, lined with elephant statues (me gasping at each one and already exhausting both the words "wow" and "sugoi" from my vocabulary at this point) and drove onwards to Bayon to see the giant faces. We visited several sites in the city, stopped on the road to see the terraces (where the palace once stood), before pushing on to Ta Prhom.
Ta Prohm
When I got to Ta Prohm (where Tomb Rader was filmed - carvings and temples subsumed by trees) and discovered there weren't many people around, I realized I was experiencing how the early explorers who re-discovered the place (true exploreres!) a hunred and fifty years ago must have felt.
I left Yon in the parking lot, making agreements to meet at the opposite gate, and wandered around for a while, taking in the ambiance and listening to the soft whisper of the trees. I stopped to chat with the young boys guarding the front enterance (mostly about them seeing Angelina Jolie...haha), and thinking nothing of it, I made a friend in one of the old guards that worked inside the temple when I stopped to say hello as I passed his post. Well, he must have been watching me and noticed I was really interested in the overgrown trees (cradling the stone structures because not long after, he beckoned me to leave the designated tourist path with him and follow him into the restricted areas.
OK, I generally have my guards WAY up when I am traveling alone (especially after reading all the warnings about single women traveling in SE Asia), but since it was a pretty open temple (other tourists or guards would always be close), the old man seemed nice and he didn't move too fast (had a limp), I decided to take him up on the offer and follow him. And I am SOOO glad I did!
Before I knew was happening, the guard (never got his name) had showed me some of his favorite spots around the site, where he has worked for 7 years and visited throughout his life. We’d climb over the rubble that was once the dance hall (carvings still intact, but the walls were less fortunate) and he’d instruct me to stand in one place that would give me a very different view or reveal some hidden carving, scenery or landscape that I might have otherwise missed. I was very lucky! I tried to give him money as I was leaving, but he didn't take it...so we merely said goodbye, but I will always remember that kindness. Check out the pics when I get them up for a photo essay (which I promise will accomplish way more than words can manage, and not because I am a talented photographer).
Tonle Sap Lake
I glanced at my watch once we had finished going through all the sites I had outlined for the day, and was shocked to find it was only around 1:30. Most of the other tourists had cleared out (they go back to their hotels for lunch, resuming their tours at 3pm), so I contemplated heading out to Banteay Srey, another Angkor temple about 25 km away. I took out a map and talked to the driver, who had brought over some other driver friends, about the plan. The friends were really funny and told me Banteay Srey was a "must see" but when I asked them about the floating village (a recommendation from my friend Taj, but which I had accepted that I would have to miss), their tune changed to that being a much better use of time. They told me I could still make it to Tonle Sap Lake and take a boat out before I had to catch my flight, so I decided that was a better route (giving myself more "priority" temples to see if I ever return to Angkor Wat) and headed out with my driver.
The roads were bumpy and it took over 30 min to get to the lake (passing through central Siem Riep), but the trip was well worth it. When I heard floating village, never did I expect to be able to charter a boat ($15 for an hour and a half...all the time I had) and visit the floating suburbs on the murky, vast lake water. It was incredible - a whole village of neighbors living relatively normal lives over the body of water. They used small boats to get around and some had even constructed areas to garden (don't have to worry about the drought before monsoon season). At one point, we stopped at a restaraunt (almost like a roadside reststop on water) and saw about 15 alligators in the water. I played with a batch of puppies inside, grabbed a brochure about the local catholic church (yes, on water!) and then went to a museum to learn about fishing methods on the lake. I was totally blown away.
I would have liked to stay longer, but time was ticking, so we headed back to town. I asked Yon to stop along the way and got one last cheese and veggie sandwich and fruit shake (since I knew it'd be my last) on the way to the airport... smelling of sweat from running around all day... but I c0uldn't have been better.
Why do strange things always happen only when I am alone?
The rest of the trip home went well. It was characterized by a lot of strange events, including a chinese lady that entered my bathroom stall (I swear it was locked!) and dropped her drawers as I was changing clothes (telling me not to worry about it and keep changing) at Siem Riep airport, the middle-aged Cambodian men who teased the guy sitting next to me about sitting by a cute girl (um, and I could hear)and then played a boombox at dinner, almost missing my flight to Japan when we taxi-ied the runway in Bangkok for 30 minutes and then sitting next to a bodyguard on plane with his film crew (had a gov't tag so I think the main man was in first class on business to Japan). Oh, and then there was all the questioning-about-drugs business at the airport in Osaka, but I made it back saftely and am so happy with this trip!
PEPY and the Volunteer TRIP (I'll TRY to keep it short)
As for the volunteer trip, my real reason for going to South East Asia, I had a fantastic time. PEPY (Protect the Environment, Protect Yourself) was definitely a very good program that does turn the idealistic idea of helping local people into a reality... but more to come in the next post.
Thanks for reading this far! (to be continued)
posted by Brenda Ann Elizabeth McKinney @ 11:18 PM
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