Here in South Korea it’s unfortunately just a boring Hyundai 4-door sedan. Sure, the driver drives like a maniac, but that’s no different than the US. It’s not nearly as fun and exciting as Vietnam — weaving in and out of traffic going the wrong way on the back of a motorbike. Or Thailand — going offroading sitting in the back of a truck bed with 8 other tourists. The following is primarily a picture blog showing the different taxi’s we’ve encountered by country.

One quick definiton: A tuk-tuk is the name most commonly given to these modes of transportation for hire and what I use to call a few of the following “Taxis”.

Southern China

The tuk-tuks in southern China make you feel like Robin from the old “Batman and Robin” TV show. “Holy Bill of Rights, Batman!”

Northern China – Beijing

The tuk-tuks in Beijing were slightly different. They were enclosed rather than open-air (most likely due to the cold weather). Unfortunately, I never had the opportunity to ride in one, but I’d imagine there’s no chance they’re actually warm inside.

Vietnam #1

The most ubiquitious form of “taxi” is the motorbike. While walking down the street the most common thing to hear is, “moto?”. Most of the time I believe these “taxis” are simply people with motorbikes looking to make a few extra bucks.

Vietnam #2

Also in Vietnam, particularly Saigon, are the bicycle rickshaws. These are great because they drive into the traffic as if they’re indestructible tanks. But the motorbike’s actually do stop for them, it’s rather impressive.

Cambodia

Cambodia gets the most versatile award for their tuk-tuks. They’ve taken a standard motorbike, added a little hardware on the back and then simply tow a very comfortable 4 to 5 seater compartment behind them. What’s great is that the compartments seem easy to remove and then you’ve got your regular motorbike back again.

Thailand

Thailand’s interesting form of a share taxi is called a “songthaew” – I’m still not certain I know how to pronounce this correctly. Thankfully they’re also referred to as a “baht bus”. They’re simply a pickup truck with two rows of seats.

If you have any other interesting Taxi transportation methods, leave a comment, I always enjoy learning about new ways to get around town!

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Two days ago we flew out of Southeast Asia only to find ourselves back in China, the land of staring.  Jason and I both found that we were sad to leave SE Asia, even more so than I would have thought.  We will never forget our first trip to Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand (yes, we plan on visiting these countries again due to the fact that there were many places that we never got to visit due to timing issues).  The cost of living in SE Asia is plenty of reason alone to make us want to come back, but discovering the other qualities that we were not anticipating were equally as amazing.  For the most part, these three countries could have been fairly interchangeable when it came down to it.  There wasn’t much of a middle class anywhere; there wasn’t much in between the major cities which were very developed to the families living in wooden shacks on farmland.  However, we were able to spend enough time in each country to notice that each country did have their own distinct flavor.

Vietnam

Out of the three SE Asian countries that we visited, Vietnam was our favorite.  Maybe it had to do with the fact that it was our first experience with a heavy tourist population, therefore there was English everywhere (which, coming from China, was a huge breath of fresh Vietnamese air).  Maybe it had to do with the fact that not only was there English everywhere, but the people were so used to tourists that the staring was almost non-existent.  The Vietnamese people seemed more open to helping us when we needed help, whereas some of the Chinese people took some time to warm up to us after we established the initial ‘smile and hello’ (they don’t encounter as many tourists, so it is completely understandable why they would be more curious and inquisitive).  Maybe it had to do with the fact that the food was completely amazing.  Or the fact that we attended two weddings and even stayed at the parents’ home of our new hotel manager friend.  I think it was all of the above.

Cambodia

Speaking of nice people, if I had to create an award for the nicest people on earth, so nice to the point that it was ridiculous, the Cambodian people would win hands down.  No contest.  I had heard from one of my friends’ boyfriends that the Cambodian people were the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and this became apparent immediately.  The Khmer (the Cambodian word for… Cambodian) people are genuinely nice and the children are the most smiley kids you will find anywhere.  Every smile you give will be met with an even bigger Khmer smile, and this goes for grown men as well, something that I found extremely rare in other countries.  If you are sitting outside of your hotel, the owners will light a mosquito coil at your feet just to make sure you don’t get bites.  They will serve you food from their own family’s dinner table and are extremely happy when you eat it.  They will take the day off of work to drive you around the city and buy you dinner just because you’re their guest.

Thailand

Unfortunately we were only in Thailand for 13 days due to stomach and Visa issues (clearly those two problems are meant to be experienced together) but it was clear from the second we got off our minibus to Koh Chang that this would be the most populated country of tourism we may ever visit.  I mean it wasn’t a big newsflash for us- everyone wants to visit or has visited Thailand, it’s the ultimate exotic beach getaway equipped with western food at every restaurant and “lady bars” to suit every hairy Caucasian male above the age of 50.  It seemed like there were more tourists than locals and there was virtually no need to learn any of the Thai language.  It was like being in a country that was built for tourists.  Don’t get me wrong, I don’t have anything against this unlike many other tourists.  I’m not one of those “get away from all the tourists” types and I enjoy being around other people who are doing the same thing.  The people of Thailand were also extremely friendly and welcoming, although I didn’t see as many kids as I did in Cambodia which made me sad, but if I had I’m sure they would have been just as smiley.

Random Quote of the Day: In Bangkok we met up with a friend (Jason, the cyclist traveling throughout Asia- What’s up, Jason?!) for 7-Eleven beers on the side of the road (classy) when a Thai prostitute who must have won the “Most Desperate Hooker” award grabbed every man in her sight in attempts to make some cash.  She then came up to Jason (my Jason) and attempted to seduce him.  After about thirty seconds of obvious rejection, Jason (the cyclist) saved the day by telling the woman, “Sweetie, we’ve only been together for 6 months, I don’t think I can handle the competition.”

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Sharon and I have now wrapped up our 2+ week tour through Cambodia. The last few days were spent in Siem Reap touring the various Angkor temples. There was quite a buildup for the temples. We saw models and pictures of them in Phnom Penh, Angkor Wat is pictured on Cambodia’s money as well as their flag, and we heard great things from numerous other travelers. Once there, we were not in the least bit disappointed. The temple’s size, intricate details and uniqueness do not fail to amaze. In this post, I’ll give a quick background on the Angkor temples, offer advice on seeing the temples and also provide a 2 or 3 day Angkor itinerary.

Brief Angkor Temple Background

The temples of Angkor were built between 802AD and 1220AD by the Khmer civilization and “represent one of humankind’s most astonishing and enduring architectural achievements”¹. There are over one thousand temples, with the most magnificent one being Angkor Wat, literally meaning “city temple”. Many of the temples are still used today as Buddhist temples. The Angkor area is believed to have been populated by potentially one million people and is considered to be the largest preindustrial city in the world.²

General Angkor Advice

The temples should not be seen in one day. There are too many and too many great ones to pack into a few hours. While you might think you would get “templed” out, the uniqueness of each temple allows you to hold great interest in each new site. As you see more, it’s also enjoyable to contrast them as well as notice similar structures, stones, characters and faces.

Itinerary Advice

Our itinerary ended up being a really enjoyable experience. We purchased a 3-day pass. Our general plan was to take a tuk-tuk the first day and hit the main temples surrounding Angkor Wat and then the second day essentially bike around the “short route” and see the major temples of Angkor Wat, Thom and Prohm. Our third day was going to be used to see temples lying much further outside of the primary Angkor area.

Tip: They offer a 3-day pass which can be used on non-consecutive days. The Lonely Planet version that I read did not mention the non-consecutive 3-day pass , so it might be a new addition, and is great if you want to take a break between days of “templing”.

Recommended 2 or 3 day itinerary:

Day 1 – Hire a tuk-tuk to drive around the various sites – it’s a good way to familiarize yourself with Siem Reap and the temple area. Temples to see:

1. Preah Khan
2. Neak Pean
3. Ta Som
4. East Mebon
5. Banteay Samre (Recommend eating lunch on the longer drive either to or from this temple.)
6. Pre Rup
7. Banteay Kdei
8. Sras Srang

Notes on Day 1: This day could have been done on a bike, but it would be a long and rather exhausting day. With a tuk-tuk we had plenty of time to see each sight and we left the hotel at 10 and we were back by 4. Shorter days are typically our preference. We like to have relaxation and computer time built into our days.

For lunch on Day 1, I would recommend a restaurant along the road towards Banteay Samre. There looked to be a few places, and since Banteay Samre is slightly off the beaten path, I imagine the prices would have been far more reasonable.  (We did not do this and instead ate at a place right outside East Mebon — it was a relatively expensive and overall a very mediocre lunch. Plus, it would have been nice not to have four locals sitting with us in attempts to sell you a t-shirt or oversized pants.)

Day 2 – Rent bikes near your hotel–the earlier start, the better. Temples to see:

1. Angkor Wat
2. Angkor Thom
   1. Bayon
   2. Baphuon
   3. Phimeanakas
   4. Terrace of the Leper King
   5. Ta Prohm

Notes on Day 2: This was a longer day that had us biking back in the dark (thankfully, on a well lit rode). We left the hotel at 10, which was a little too late. It would have been nice to start this day earlier to have a choice of where to watch the sunset (I wouldn’t recommend Ta Prohm). Other than that, this was an excellent way to see the Temples.

Day 3 – Hire a tuk-tuk or motorbike driver. These temples are further, so a tuk-tuk is going to be more expensive.

1. Kbal Spean (River of a Thousand Lingas)
2. Banteay Srei
3. Beng Melea

Notes on Day 3: As mentioned, we did not get a chance to do our planned day 3. If we had more time in Siem Reap, ideally we would have taken a day off and then seen the outlying temples.

Regardless of being able to see the outlying temples, we had an amazing couple of days. If you’re ever in Thailand, Siem Reap is not far and well worth the bus ride over the border.

1 – http://www.sacredsites.com/asia/cambodia/angkor_wat.html
2 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor

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We have finally made it to Thailand!  After spending over a month in Vietnam and then three weeks in Cambodia, we have finally crossed the border into the most heavily touristed country in Southeast Asia.  Unfortunately, we only have 13 days to spend here since a tourist Visa is only 15 days and we experienced an unexpected 2-day delay in Siem Reap.  We both contracted some strange flu-like sickness that caused our stomachs to be pissed at us for days (they’re still a bit testy).

Just to let everyone know, the three weeks we just spent in Cambodia proved to be the hardest three weeks of our trip to find a decent WiFi connection, let alone have internet in our own room.  The things that we do, the great lengths that we take for a decent WiFi connection are now typical.  I know I have not been responding to emails as quick as I usually do, nor have I been on Skype recently.  Not to worry, Cambodia is to blame!  For real, though, finding internet has been a difficult task for us the past few weeks.

On the bright side, we are currently on a charming island located on the Eastern side of the Gulf of Thailand called Koh Chang.  We recently had gone on a snorkeling boat tour in Cambodia where we met a nice American fellow, who happened to be the scuba dive instructor, who referred us to this island if we wanted to scuba dive.  Like the carefree youngsters that we are, we thought “sure, what the heck?” and decided to become PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) certified scuba divers!  To those of you who are now thinking, “but they’ve never been scuba diving in their life, nor have they ever expressed any interest in diving, in fact Sharon is scared of the ocean, and Jason is afraid of seaweed”, your thoughts are correct (except for Jason being afraid of seaweed).  However, we have met divers along our travels that all tell us the same thing: it’s nothing like anything you will ever experience in your life.  We took their advice and decided to utilize our beautiful surroundings for a purpose.  Plus, it’s  cheaper to become certified here in Thailand than it is in the States, so that’s nice.

More to come on our scuba adventures, but we have already gone through a day of scuba diving theory in an Olympic sized swimming pool today.  Let me just say that breathing underwater, even through a scuba diving regulator, is NOT as easy as it seems!  Tomorrow we dive in the ocean for the first time in our lives… EVER!  This day will be documented forever in our minds.

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