Farewell SE Asia...Hello Shocking India!

My final days in southeast Asia were absolutely perfect. We were spoiled with our complimentary accommodation at the beautiful Viengtai Hotel thanks to our honorary Thai family. Additionally, I managed to see some sites I missed along the way! To make it brief, my three days in Bangkok were spent attempting to relax and brace myself for India! I saw the Grand Palace, which I missed the first time around due to food poisoning and it was definitely a must see for Bangkok! Additionally, I saw the reclining Buddha, which is basically the most massive Buddha to hit this earth, stretching roughly 46 meters long! Despite being completely "templed out", these were some essential sites for Bangkok! And, tomake it more interesting, I saw these Buddhist temples on the Chinese New Year so the places were a complete zoo!

But, for the most part, I found myself wanting to stay in our hotel as much as possible, indulging in the luxuries of bathtubs, AC, and satellite tv that I had been missing out on throughout my travels in SE Asia! As all good things must end, so did my time in SE Asia, but it was such an amazing experience! Although you probably won't be able to see the details, I pride myself on my route map that I drew along the way, which includes the 22 spots that we spent at least a day in throughout the journey:

So, many of our friends that we met along the way warned us to be prepared for the chaos and madness of India. Let me just put it out there that nothing can prepare you for India! Especially being plunged straight into New Dehli! We arrived late at night and I thought I was going to die on the way to our hotel...the taxi driver was completely manic, swerving out of control between the traffic! Although getting to bed late, we woke up early, eager to explore the city. To say the least, we got many "welcome to India's!" our first morning. Our morning was spent among all locals, getting the full on experience of dodging scammers, cow shit, and cheeky young men (one teenager nearly gave me a heart attack when he came out of nowhere and pinched me on the cheek). At first we were enjoying the chaos of New Dehli but then it got so exhausting. It seemed as though everyone was trying to scam us...it is a hard feeling to not be able to trust anyone!

I needed a mental rest after a few hours of being in the city!  Once I recovered, we went to one of the city's main sights, Humayuns Tomb, which was very beautiful. Overall, my first day in India was great, especially because of the delicious street naan, samosas, and chai!

Day 2 in India was spent seeing the National Museum in the morning and then heading back to New Dehli train station to catch a train to Agra, for the famous Taj Mahal! To our luck, the trainwas delayed six hours and the last thing I wanted to do was be endlessly hassled by everyone, so I escaped to the rooftop of our guesthouse, turned on my ipod, and just took a deep breath! There ended up being a beautiful flock of birds flying above the guesthouse, which was very soothing!

In India, I have learned that daily mental rest times are an essential! Eventually, we made it onto our very first train in India. Not as exciting as I imagined...I was freezing cold and we were dumped into Agra at 1am! Eventually, we found a guesthouse that actually had rooms available, settled in, and got about four hours of sleep before waking up to venture towards the Taj Mahal for sunrise.
We were under the impression that the Taj Mahal opened at 6am, but ended up standing in the freezing cold until 7 when we were let in. Despite all of the photos I have seen of the Taj, nothing can compare to that feeling I got upon stepping onto the grounds of this magnificent site. Additionally, since we got there way too early, we didn't have to share the palace with a zoo of tourists! Everything about the Taj Mahal is so majestic...from the perfect pool reflection to the intricate details on every inch of the temples. It was such a stunning site.

A token Taj Mahal photo

Afterwards, I enjoyed some hot chai and porridge on the rooftop of a guesthouse with a great view of the Taj from the distance. We had a much needed nap after breakfast and then continued on our day by going to the famous fort in Agra. This was another wonderful sight. Once again, the immaculate detail involved in every aspect of this fort made it so cool. To top off our day, we went to a spot across the (empty) river and watched the sunset while enjoying one final view of the Taj Mahal.

Entrance to Agra Fort

   

After one full on day in Agra we were Pushkar- bound. Now, Pushkar was a much needed stop.  Our guesthouse, Hotel Everest, was beautiful, with a wonderful rooftop view, clean rooms, and vibrant colors.

Pushkar was such a mellow, laid back Brahma village with a famous holy ghat (which we found out was bone dry!).  I found it particularly hilarious to watch Julie suffer in this strictly vegetarian town!  My two days in Pushkar were wonderful, filled with yoga, an astrology life report from a famous Naturopath, and a hassle free environmnet! The people in the town were very friendly and the kids were adorable! The alleyways were probably my favorite part of this town, as each building was painted with its own unique colors. If it hadn't been for Pushkar, I may have lost my sanity in India!



Next, we continued westward to Jaisalmer in a prison-like sleeper cell bus!

We arrived to Jaisalmer early, found lovely accommodation (Hotel Renuka), and booked a camel safari through the hotel.  Later in the day we went to Jaisalmer's famous fort, where people actually live.  It was a remarkable site, with really cool fort walls and interesting people! At the fort though, there is the ongoing issue of deterioration, so hopefully it will be preserved for the future! Otherwise, I enjoyed just walking around this desert town, eating some local cuisine, and getting all geared up for my camel safari!

The next morning, I was desert bound, ready to get a taste of desert life. I definitely got all hippied out and I know my mom will be proud of our "hippy" photo to the left. After making a couple of sight seeing stops, we saw our camels, patiently waiting for us! I was introduced to my camel , Raj, and then we were off! After the novelty of riding a bumpy camel wore off, I realized how particularly uncomfortable it is! Nonetheless, it was a beautiful 2.5 hour journey before we stopped in the middle of the desert for a lunch prepared by our camel drivers. After refueling, I was back on Raj, cruising through the desert , enjoying the tranquility and endless landscape ahead of me. We made it to the dunes, where we would be sleeping, before sunset and enjoyed playing around in the dunes and relaxing.

Sunset in the dunes was breathtaking, not only because of the vibrant colors, but also becauseof the pure simplicity of our surroundings!

             

After sunset, we had another delicious meal prepared for us by our camel drivers and soon after made our "beds". Our guides pushed the sand to make a pillow, and we had a couple of blankets laid on the sand for us! At first it was comfortable, but then it became a bit painful! But, the plus side of me waking up every hour was that I got to see the incredible sky, full of stars and the shining moon. Everyone was up bright and early and I was more than thankfulfor a hot cup of chai that was delivered to me upon waking up! Bright and early, Raj and I were off again! It was a bit more painful riding today as I was shockingly sore from the five hours of camel riding the previous day! Eventually, we were back at our pickup site, with the jeep waiting for us! All of the girls in our group took a classic tourist shot before leaving the desert! So, all in all, my little camel safari was awesome, and I highly recommend anyone to do only a 1-2 camel safari, as it can get a bit painful!

Our final day in Jaisalmer was pretty laid back. We visited a famous haveli, which is basically just an extravagant mansion and took it easy! From Jaisalmer, we took our very first night train to Jodphur, known to be the "blue city". As this blog is quite lengthy, I am going to stop here and continue talking about my crazy Indian adventure soon! I am approaching five months away from home and still going strong, but I miss you all!

The Beauty and Intensity of Cambodia

To try to sum up Cambodia in words is quite difficult. It is one of those places where you feel at loss for words due to the constant mix of emotions. On one end, I was so captivated by the beauty and infinite landscapes of the Angkor Wat area, feeling wonderfully lost in the intricate details of each ancient site. Then I felt this deep sadness, reminded of poverty due to the shocking history of the nation by the ongoing begging of children. Although I only had 10 days in Cambodia, it was enough time for the country to easily capture my heart. The resilience and kindness of the people, along with the incredible sites and experiences made this country unbelievable.

Our Cambodian journey began in Siem Riep, close to one of the worlds largest attractions, Angkor Wat. We bought a 3 day pass to visit this massive ancient site, but knew we would only have energy to explore it for 2 days. For $4 each a day, we had a driver take us to all of the most famous sites, each presenting itself with its own character. I was so fascinated by every ancient temple, each with its own unique design. This is a place that is hard to describe in words so here are some photos from different famous sites:

After 2 full days of temples, temples, and more temples, I was exhausted and looking forward to a relaxing night. We ended getting a fish massage that was advertised everywhere and it was such a weird feeling.  And no, it was not because my feet are so beautiful that all the fish flocked to me...I think it was because my feet were so dirty!

Before arriving in the nations capital, Phnom Penh, I hadn't heard many things about it so therewere no expectations. I absolutely loved everything about the city. With its nice, wide streets, active parks, beautiful riverside, and endless shopping and street foods, it was definitely the place for me! But as I said in the beginning, there was still a huge mix of emotions. After a day of strolling through this lovely city (including getting my groove on in a public asian aerobics class), I found myself in pure shock and sadness the following day. On our trip to the Genocide Museum, which was an ex prison site during the Khmer Rouge in the 70s, I was shocked by the facts and figures of this terrible time. It was so eery being on the grounds where over 20,000 people died. There were just endless portraits taken of each prison, each having this hopeless look in their eyes. It was also really creepy because with the reflection on each portrait, you could capture a photo that made it look as if they were ghosts still in the prison.

After the intensity of the museum, we heading to the killing fields nearby, where all of the bodies from the prison were dumped. We were all silent as we passed through the area, and I just couldn't believe that two months ago I had no clue that two million people were executed in this country 30 years ago.



After the intensity of what I just saw, it was so weird to once again have conflicting emotions, as I witnessed a stunning sunset over Phnom Penh and then a water show at the central park area.

     

Our last two days in Phnom Penh were spent at an incredible orphanage called SCAO (http://www.savechildreninasia.org/index.htm). 

We came with their request of basic items, such as rice and water, but couldn't help bringing some fun toys for the kids the following day. I had the most amazing time with these children, as they had so much hope for their future despite so many hardships. They were all so loving, and immediately captured my heart. Our first day there was spent just playing with them, as it was their day off from school.

They took us around their small rural town just outside of the city and were very talkative! The next day, we went to help teach at the school run by the orphanage for those that cannot afford an education at the proper school in the area. The kids were all so eager to learn, but possibly more eager to play around with us and take photos on my camera!

                                  

As they said "see you tomorrow", I wish we could have stayed for longer but the journey must go on!

Next stop: Battambong, the 2nd largest city in Cambodia. For the city itself, there was not much going on! While there were several temples to visit, I could not bear the thought of seeing another temple! But, there were some very interesting activities outside the city. On one of our days, we went out to the rural area, first to the killing caves, another important site during the genocide. We had this adorable 13 year old boy that wanted to be our tour guide, so he came along, and was great entertainment and surprisingly shared a lot of solid information with us. The killing caves were intense, but there was a beautiful shrine inside the cave to honor all of those killed there. Further up from the caves was a beautiful view from a temple at the top of the mountain.

      

Later on, we were excited to go to the bamboo trains, which are a very old fashioned way of transportation, but so fun! We took the bamboo train with a badass driver for sunrise and got to see more of Cambodia's beautiful countryside!

       

Our final day in Cambodia was spent taking a cooking class, so be prepared, by the time I come home I shall be a master of southeast Asian cuisine! As my 10 days in Cambodia came to an end, I was sad to leave, but I know I will be back there again!