Tail end of Thailand and beginning of Cambodia

I'm pretty exhausted from all of our fast and furious travel, but here goes blog #2...sorry for any errors, my brain is not functioning at high speed right now (and neither is the damn internet).

After a swift flight from Northern Thailand to Phuket Island in the South, we checked into a $10-per-night guesthouse on the beach in Hat Kamala - balcony overlooking the ocean and everything! I have to say (something I already knew about myself) that island life strongly agrees with me! The first day in Phuket we experienced a bit of bad weather so we bravely rented a car and set out on the busy streets, valiantly tackling the left side of the road! Ok, that's a lie. There was nothing valiant about it...we may have let out a few shrieks as mopeds whizzed past us in all different directions...but nothing was harmed, no injuries sustained, so all in all it was a success! We explored the island, driving the perimeter and making stops here and there to wander along stretches of sandy beach and explore the bustling streets with vendors trying to entice you to purchase made-to-order suits, bikinis and ceramics. We even tackled the busy city of Phuket Town - dubbed "Bangkok on the beach"by lonely planet - which we surprisingly navigated quite efficiently, finding our way to the bus stop to purchase a ticket for our return to Bangkok, then triumphantly getting the hell out of there.

Our next day in the South, we took a boat to Phang Nga National Park (for those of you Bond fans this is where the movie Man With the Golden Gun was filmed - which I've actually never seen). Phang Nga is an unspoiled bay northeast of Phuket where limestone cliffs covered in vegetation jut dramatically from the turquoise sea. We kayaked, did some swimming and had lunch at a village on the water before returning back to Phuket.

Our last day, we headed further south to Kata and spent the day basking in the sun and swimming in the sea. It was nice to relax after all the crazy traveling we've been doing. People in the south are extremely friendly and most of the tsunami damage has been repaired. If you haven't explored southern Thailand, I would highly recommend adding this to your vacation destination list. There's cheap accommodation for backpackers or luxurious resorts for anyone who still has money after this past recession (or current, whatever).

We sadly left Phuket and headed back to Bangkok on what I will remember as the worst bus ride of our lives. It was overnight and took about 12 hours. We were told when we booked the ticket that there would be a buffet stop where we could grab dinner so we (regretfully) did not eat before hoping aboard. Around 8:30 pm the bus lights were shut off so we were forced to close our books and take a sleeping pill in order to get some shut eye. By midnight, as my tummy growled, I had given up on the buffet as we had not stopped yet, but low and behold around 3 am the lights were flicked back on and we were required to get off the bus to have something to eat - which was of course a bunch of sauteed meat dishes - nothing for us measly vegetarians. I stuck to Pringles and a 7up. And while the sleeping pills did knock me out, I'm still recovering from a terrible kink in my neck :(.

We spent our 1 day in Bangkok meandering around the markets of Khao Son Road and catching up with Rachel's hometown friend who has lived in Thailand for about 3 years. I also got a $4 massage to try to work through that damn kink...helped a little but still doesn't feel quite right. The next morning we took the 2nd to worst miserable ride - a train from Bangkok to the border of Cambodia. While we did get to gaze out at the countryside flying by, the train was quite crowded and definitely not air-conditioned. It only cost us $1.50 though so beggars can't be choosers I suppose.

We heard horror stories about the Thailand/Cambodian border crossing, but it was in fact quite simple with very little scams or hassles, so don't believe the hype. Most scams were on the Thailand side and once we were in Cambodia, government officials were eager to help us sort our visas and arrange for transfer to Siem Reap.

We checked into a guesthouse and spent the next day exploring the temples from dawn to dusk. We awoke for sunrise at majestic Angkor Wat, which cleared out immediately after the sun came up so we were left with it all to ourselves - quite a meditative and soothing place. I can't say I've felt more at peace than I did wandering the ancient initially-Hindu-but-now-Buddhist temple. Built in the 12th century for King Suryavarman II, Angkor Wat is now undergoing restoration work but still looks extremely intact and grandiose as ever. After our long day wandering through the surrounding temples of Angkor, we went out for a traditional Khmer dinner and dance performance.

The next day in Siem Reap we set out for Tonle Sap Lake, taking a boat ride through the floating villages and traversing through the forests that rise straight out of the green waters. That evening we went to our tuk tuk drivers house for dinner...thanks Denise for hooking us up with Synon and his younger brother Eang, who drove us around during our entire visit in Siem Reap!!! Synon's wife cooked us a traditional Khmer dinner; however, we unfortunately forgot to mention we were vegetarian. We couldn't both deny the meal so I took one for the team and ate some duck, which merely reinforced my vegetarianism. Rachel braved the beef broth soup which she regretted later when it came back up :(. Poor girl has vomited more times on this trip than I'd like to say. The meal was truly appreciated though and the experience unforgettable.

We dismally departed Siem Reap the next afternoon and took a bus to Phnom Penh for 1 evening. We were originally headed for Vietnam, but we love Cambodia so much (extremely friendly people, beautiful energy) so we decided to alter our plans and head south for the coast instead. We're now in Sihanoukville which peers out over the Gulf of Thailand. Upon arrival yesterday we relaxed on the beach. Today we took a boat to several different islands, snorkling and jungle trekking along the way. We met lots of other backpackers and are headed out tonight for what we were promised would be a bar with dubstep and other dance music! (If I hear one more Shakira song or "Empire State" by Jay-Z I swear I will pull out my ear drums! Southeast Asians love their American pop music! I miss my ipod!).

Anyways, I'm curious as to what went on with the Nov. 2 elections as the internet connection in this entire country basically sucks and I haven't been able to do much Googling without crashing the entire system!!! Someone please clue me in! Hope all is well back in the states. We are headed to Vietnam on Saturday - for real this time! Saigon for one night then flying to Hanoi where we will finish out our adventure. I will be sad to leave but I miss Ted so much my heart hurts thinking about him!!! Peace and much love to you all.