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Thailand and Cambodia with AK
  • Jerrin Hill
  • Jerrin Hill

Thailand and Cambodia with AK

Una aventura de 26 días de Jerrin Leer más
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  • Inicio del viaje
    12 de enero de 2019
    Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Airport adventures

    12 de enero de 2019, Estados Unidos ⋅ 🌫 -1 °C

    Starting out from CMH to ORD there was a bit of snow that put us on edge to be at the airport super early in order to not miss anything. This meant that we had extra time to enjoy some drinks and plan more for our upcoming adventure!
    Overall the flights were on time and very smooth. Couldn't have asked for a better start to our trip!    Leer más

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  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Bangkok- the yard hostel

    14 de enero de 2019, Tailandia ⋅ ☀️ 32 °C

    Staying at this hostel was possibly the best decision of the trip. The whole place is a hub of really cool people and the staff is amazing.
    With first adventure (and I mean adventure) being TEMPLES. First stop after navigating the train and boat system being Wat Arun. With lunch at a delightful cafe!
    Next temple- Wat Pho with reclining Buddha ( much too large to photograph)

    Neon Night Market and first tuk tuk ride!    Leer más

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  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Temples 1.0

    20 de enero de 2019, Camboya ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    These posts are probably going to feel a little bit out of order as I decided to make this website well after our trip was underway. so I'm pretty much put some highlights then and now I'm going back through to add more details about each of the locations that we spent so far. Our first day here in Siam Reap was full of checking in to our hostel and figuring out how we wanted to spend the next couple of days. We ended up hiring a tuk tuk driver through TripAdvisor and went to bed early as the first day of tours started early Sunday morning. We opted not to go with the traditional tour with guide as we had read many blogs and websites that suggested possibly a personal driver is the cheapest and best way to see the best sights and avoid the crowds. We didn't really know much about the temples before coming here and found out soon that most of these temples were built by Kings and some words built as early as the ninth century. Our driver is really good at sharing his personal experience with how these temples fit into their every day culture. Apparently this town was the capital city of the Khmer empire that spanned current-day Thailand Laos Cambodia and Vietnam. Not gonna lie it definitely took me back to the connection between the Incan empire of Latin America that spanned Colombia Ecuador and Peru and definitely had a similar feel but all of these temples were for Hindu Hindu gods or sacred places for Buddhists.
    The latest temple being built in the 15th century. This first day was full of super exciting towers, grand staircases, and carvings but all had very independent themes that we saw a kind of carried through over the next couple of days. I don't know if it was just the first day excitement but I will say that the temples that we saw this someday were some of the coolest and most spectacular.
    Day one temples-1/20 - Beng Mela, Preah Ko, Bakong (sunset)    Leer más

  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Day 3 of Siem Reap & Temple exploration

    22 de enero de 2019, Camboya ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    After getting up at 4 this morning we set off to watch the sunrise at the Angkor Wat Temple. I will say it now makes sense why so many people flock to this place every year. I was a bit skeptical before actually seeing... but now I get it- it's a spectacular sight! However, the whole sunrise event turned into quite the adventure as literally thousands of people poured in to this to watch the sunrise over the building.(see photo below) After sitting and watching the moon change into the sun (somewhere just after 6am) we decided to get up and start walking around the massive grounds. the temple itself is massive but then there's also outlying buildings and phenomenal architecture. We even got to climb up to the tallest tower and got some really amazing photos. After that we ventured onto other temples listed below and it made for a very long day. I would say that one day is not nearly enough time to see all of the incredible temples, but 3 days quite a lot to handle. Despite are super cool tuk tuk driver. It feels like every day after we finish at the temples for totally exhausted and barely have enough time to eat before falling asleep. Let alone a whole lot of other time to explore this really cool town. I am happy that we have the rest of the day today after getting up so early and morning tomorrow to explore before heading on to the next town.
    Temples today- Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm, Ta Nei, Angkor Tohm (Victory Gate, Leper King Terrace, Phimeanakas Temple, Baphuon)    Leer más

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  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Krong Preah Sihanouk, Cambodia

    24 de enero de 2019, Camboya ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    This part of the adventure, I admit, I had very little in put and let AK take the helm (I was studying for boards and he really wanted to spend some time on a beach chilling- and boy did he make it happen!!!)
    Leaving Siem Reap we were incredibly tired but ready to be away from the hubub of cities. We took a Giant ibis overnight bus- like an actual sleeper bus that I would recommend for any overnight endeavor. Because upon our 6am arrival to the port town we were coherent enough to find exactly where we needed to go, get there in plenty of time, and have breakfast on the pier while watching the sun rise over the ocean. After 2 boats and a coffee break we make it to our island paradise home for the next 4 days.
    Day one was spent the day swimming in the bay, lounging in hammocks, enjoying the sunshine.
    Evening with woodfired pizza dinner and a fire show by the local staff that was more than impressive.
    And of course late night beach dance party on the bay as we are at one of the most famous party hostels in the world.    Leer más

  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero
    Bus to Phnom Penh

    Island paradise

    26 de enero de 2019, Camboya ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Life on this little corner of the world is..... Wonderfully weird. Everything is tracked through your room, no money is exchanged until you check out, no WiFi, people from all over the world, and scheduled activities in the evenings are some of my favorite parts. This of course excludes the given- incredible sunrises/sunsets, crystal blue water, and gorgeous white sand beaches.
    I can definitely see why travelers and locals flock to the islands.
    But I will say that after 4 days "Roughing it" under mosquito nets and sand everywhere it is good to be headed back to city life today. We are both moderately sunburned and going to have to take 2 boats and a bus to get to our next destination-- here's to hoping it goes relatively smoothly.    Leer más

  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Phnom Penh, capital city, Day 1

    28 de enero de 2019, Camboya ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Moving to bullet style for the sake of efficiency. It was kind of a heavy day so we are going to go play board games at the cafe next door to chill. Before potentially watching the Angelina Jolie movie about the Cambodian Genocide on Netflix. I'll let you know how that goes...

    Genocide museum- S21 a prison torture center to get confessions out of prisoners ( anyone against the Khmer Rouge) and holding space before the captives before being taken to the killing fields to be executed. We opted to split up the museum and killing fields instead of doing them both in the same day for emotional reasons. And I didn't take any photos at s21...(see AKs post for a few) the facility was a school before the regime took over and used the classrooms as holding cells and torture rooms. It was a very sombering experience, but I'm glad we have the chance to at least get a glimpse of what really happened in those three dark years in 1970.

    National museum- beautiful open air museum which flows from early 6th century writings on stone tablets, through modern (20th century) kings clothing and art. Full if statues and pieces from the temples all over the country. I'm glad we were able to see the temples in person first, then see the persevered and extra special pieces on display.

    ***David's Restaurant Homemade Noodles**
    Davids noodle house has been the shining star of the day- we had pineapple shake, dumplings, spring rolls, soup with hand pulled noodles. If you ever find yourself on this side of the planet- make an extra effort to eat noodles at Davids. By far the best food we have had on this trip. Absolutely delicious.    Leer más

  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Phnom Penh, Cambodia day 2

    29 de enero de 2019, Camboya ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Choeung Ek killing fields.... Just the name of the place says enough. We were surprised by how peaceful this place of so many deaths was. The government and non-profits have memorialized the killing fields and made it so others can come to learn about the devastation that happened in the late 1970's. Complete with audio tour, museum, and stupor full of the bones of those tossed into mass graves at this site. It was a very sombering morning and our tuk tuk driver even waited so he could take us back to the city.
    After the last two days of learning about mass killings in brutal murders it was very evident that we needed a break in to do something fun. So naturally that means going to shopping mall.wind up getting coffee and found this adorable French bakery that serves the most delicious pastries before we headed back to our hostel to get ready for the evenings adventure.
    Traditional Dance show. I've seen shows of similar variety in other countries ( Uganda, Ecuador, Peru) and I always find them to be very entertaining and insightful to the history and culture of the countries that we're in. it took a little bit of convincing to get AK on board but I'm glad we did it. Say the spectacular show and unlike anything I had seen before.    Leer más

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  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Almost catastrophic travel day

    30 de enero de 2019, Tailandia ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Flight from Phnom Penh airport delayed an hour on an already very tight connection.

    "1 hour taxi" - very little English speaking driver got us across the city in approximately 30 minutes.

    Had to get our tickets from a security guard across the street because the vendor we bought them from closed early ( good work AK for catching that detail in the fine print a couple of days before)
    Then board the....... Old..... Overnight train to Chiang Mai. Surprise it wasn't a 10 hour ride it was almost 14 hours but I slept better on that train than I have the whole trip.
    Arrived at our gorgeous, luxurious hostel to take warm showers ( first one since Bangkok) and set out to explore the city.
    See next post for dinner 😊    Leer más

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  • Jerrin HillThailand and Cambodia with AKViajero

    Long travels

    5 de febrero de 2019, Emiratos Árabes Unidos ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C

    Uhhg
    Flights home require a mindset of - openness.... going with the flow. In all by the time we get home we will have set foot in 5 airports with over 30 hours of travel time.
    But there is something special about overpriced croissants and coffee that makes you feel at home!Leer más

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  • Fin del viaje
    6 de febrero de 2019