Cambodia & Phuket

When we first planned our Thailand trip I was going to include Bali. I didn't realize how far South that would take us and the extra travel time just wasn't what we wanted on such a long trip. We were searching for closer options and had some friends that visited Cambodia and really enjoyed it. I remember thinking when they went that Cambodia sounded too exotic for us so of course I have to eat my words when we decide to visit!

We choose to use a company for the trip, they booked everything including transfers from bangkok, hotel, and tours. It was simple in theory. The car shows up to take us from our Bangkok apartment at 6am. It's a tiny car with virtual no trunk space, they are SO lucky I'm a light packer because our three carry-ons took up all the trunk space. Our driver spoke little english and listened to talk radio in Thai for the whole four hour ride to the Cambodian board. When we arrive he stops on the side of the road, takes out our luggage and tells us to wait and the guy will come meet us in about 10 min (at least that's what i got from him gesturing for us to stay and saying 10 mins over and over) then he drives away! When I imagined the cambodian boarder I'm not sure what I pictured but it wasn't this. The smell was awful, their are tons of people, a truck full of backpackers unloads while were standing there, people are pulling carts full of random things on bicycles. And here stands two crazy white folks with their samsonite carry-ons and their 4 year old watching a movie on a iPad! What a zoo! Finally a guy walks up to us and says he's from our tour and asks for our money, no proof he's from the tour except a text on his phone with our last name. He takes our passports to fill out a paper and left us standing on the side of the road, at this point I'm seriously reconsidering this decision thinking maybe this is too exotic for us. Two hours later we finally have made it through all the checkpoints to enter Cambodia and have been sent on this bus filled with a Russian tour group to meet a cabbie that is going to take us to our hotel. It almost feels appropriate to add an inshallah (common phrase in saudi meaning "if allah is willing" but used generally when people don't 100% know if something is going to happen) that's the type of experience it is. Now it is around noon, we still have about two hours drive to our hotel and we haven't eaten since 5:30am, maddy is on pure meltdown mode. We get in the cab and just hope we aren't being taken to the slaughter in some back alley. When we finally arrive at our hotel we all crash emotionally exhausted from the journey. Our guide comes to meet us because we are supposed to go somewhere that afternoon but it's just not in us. Maddy is a great adventurer but she has her limits and we had well beyond reached it.

After some rest and recoup time we decide to venture into town via the hotels tuk-tuk service. As you drive to their downtown you pass all these shacks were people live, it really makes you feel like you're in a third world country (i know that's not the PC word but 'developing' doesn't describe the same picture to me). Then you turn a corner and there is a big neon sign labeled pub street, filled with clubs and bars, restaurants with happy hour and tons of shops taking US dollars. It was such a peculiar mix.

We found a restaurant to have some traditional Cambodian dishes at, the food resembled Thai food but seemed more bland, like it was watered down for tourists. After dinner we wandered the street and found a street vendor selling spiders, crickets and snake-on-a-stick. Maddy and I decided to try it, I don't have any pictures of us trying it because i had to quickly eat it before I lost my nerve! The spider had hairy legs that were disgusting in my mouth so i chewed super quick. Overall it tasted like burnt ends of chicken but hairy. The snake-on-a-stick tasted like beef jerky with bones, both maddy and I liked it and took extra bites. The cricket was the only thing maddy wouldn't try, it was nasty and just tasted like a bug. I'm glad I tried it if just for bragging rights! After our food adventure we both got our first fish pedicure, maddy loved the fish "kissing' her feet and didn't want to leave. A quick tuk-tuk ride to our hotel and we really saved a moderately awful day. That evening before bed we also booked a return flight to Bangkok from the local airport, I don't think we would have survived another 8 hour journey.

Spiders, Snakes and crickets oh my!

What's left after our tastings, I ate all the spiders legs but couldn't bring myself to try the body I was afraid it would squirt like a gusher and I don't think even I could have stomached that!

Video of Maddy's fish pedicure

Our next day we meet our guide in a much better mood. We headed off to Angkor Archeological park which contains dozens of temple ruins of both Buddhist and Hindu temples. The most famous of these temples is Angkor Wat, identified as one of the seven wonders of the world. The first day we visited Angkor Thom, which was in the tomb raider movies, it has large trees growing all in the ruins. Bayon, temple with 216 faces on the towers, with a long causeway flanked with 54 stone figures, gods on left and demons on the right. We also visited the cultural center where they showed how they do the renovations and had examples of tools used to build the temples. 

Banyan trees with roots growing all over!

Angkor Thom

Maddy couldn't resist the Buddha statue 

Where's Maddy?

Photo of one of the entrance gates cars drive through 

the tuk-tuk drivers sleep in hammocks while waiting for customers 

causeway of demons/gods in front of Bayon temple

show some perspective how HUGE these trees are

Maddy hanging out with a lion 

Bayon with the 216 faces 

Back at our hotel we headed to dinner into town again, this time opting for Mexican food (it's been a long time since we've been in the US). They had 1.50 USD happy hour margaritas until midnight and a cool coloring book for maddy. Add all that with a designated driver and you have a wonderful night!

I decided to do the sunrise over Angkor by myself and let Trey and Maddy sleep in. The driver took me to the site and helped me pick the perfect spot to wait out the sunrise. What a glorious view! I got a bonus because on the way home the driver told me about his two years as a Buddhist monk and showed me where he went to school. Students in high school have to pay for some advance classes, equivalent to 20 USD per class but his family didn't have the money so he made a deal with his teacher to do extra work to be in the class. It really shows how much we take for granted.

When we arrived, 5am. 

We went and picked up Trey and Maddy at the hotel and headed to explore the fishing village we were supposed to visit that first afternoon. I have to give the guide credit he tried to accommodate everything into our trip. This is a village completely on the water living in boats, it was cool to see.

floating Buddhist temple

see the pigs in the cage!

floating boat storage seems unnecessary  

floating school - could imagine "I boat to school daily" 

We headed back to the Angkor archeological park to visit Angkor Wat.

first level on angkor wat 

Bas-reliefs of everyday life and battles

Climb to the second level, we had to work for our view

Climb to the final level of Angkor Wat, no kids allowed because it's such a step climb so I went alone. Maddy stayed with Trey on the second level and wandered around taking pictures of all the Japanese tourists taking pictures of her!

view from the top 

Maddy was angry she couldn't climb to the top with me so we climbed into this library instead, beautiful views through the windows. 

inside angkor war second level, pool 

Maddy's favorite part of Cambodia by far! Feeding the monkeys, they were surprisingly aggressive 

Sunset view 

After the temple our driver took us on a wild goose chase searching for a book about Cambodia. After the museum, cultural center and three random book stores we finally found one! Then headed back to the downtown area for more happy hour margaritas ;-) 

Cambodia wasn't what I expected in quite a few ways but the sights were amazing. 

We changed gears for the final portion of our vacation and headed for some R&R to Phuket. Orginally I had booked a great deal online at what seemed like a wonderful resort on the beach. Well...sometimes you get what you pay for! We only stayed one night and decided to just bite the bullet and move to my original first choice hotel, Katathani. What a night and day difference! Maddy loved the kids club and went everyday. She enjoyed the beach and got to do a baking class. Trey and I got to enjoy couples spa services, a Thai cooking class and many afternoons just laying on the beach. Every night they had a kids disco and frog races! We returned to Saudi well rested and ready to get back to our real life. 

Sunset from the pool bar

View from our steak and lobster dinner

Maddy releasing the frogs for the frog race 

Maddy's cooking class

Thailand: Bangkok, Floating Markets & Ayutthaya

We landed in Bangkok and got to our apartment without much fuss, it was already pretty late and our driver didn't speak any english so we opted for a silent journey to our apartment. Once we got checked in we headed out for some semi-sketchy street food and 7-11 cuisine! Not the welcome meal I would have expected but the microwave ham and cheese sandwich was pretty amazing. It's interesting what being deprived of something can do to a person ;-)

The following morning we meet our guide, Ms. Pary, in the lobby and started our adventure. We headed to the flower market first and explored. We enjoyed some wonderful street food, fresh coffee with cream, coconut pancakes and much more! Then we headed off on our first tuk-tuk ride.

Flower market where locals come and buy flowers for offering at the temples 

Our first tuk-tuk ride - I'm pretty sure this was on my parenting list of "I will nevers" 

You can tell my mini-adventurer loved it! 

Our tuk-tuk took us to the Grand Palace which houses multiple temples along with burial sites and was the official residence of the Kings until 1925. Even now it is used for ceremonial events. It was a different kind of beautiful then I have seen before. It undergoes major renovations every ten years to assure nothing looks worn but the style stays the same. It was an indescribable feeling to walk under the entryway and see the palace structures around you guarded by 30 foot demon statues. It was breathtaking. Ms. Pary was amazing about giving us the history and helping us appreciate the area even more. We even got a treat when Ms. Pary spotted Ms. Thailand and grabbed Maddy for a photo-op!

Entrance to the Grand Palace 

Demon of the demons, Ravana, guarding the temples 

White monkey Hanuman, Ramayana murals - traditional Thai murals telling the ancient story of good over evil.

Emerald Buddha Chapel, Garuda birds holding snakes  

Ms. Thailand and Ms. teen Thailand 

After the grand palace we had a delicious Thai lunch at a little seaside cafe, seriously best meal of the trip! Complete with an amazing dessert of Thai Taro Balls in Sweet Coconut Cream, AMAZING! Then we headed to Wat Pho to see the reclining buddha and birthplace of massage. Here we got to see worshippers bringing offerings to the buddha statues. They bring three incense sticks (one to represent Buddha, Buddhist community and teachings of Buddha), a flower (orchid or lotus, symbol of Buddhism) and a small candle (symbolizes enlightenment). They also cover the Buddha statue with golden leaves. -Which was very troublesome when we first saw it because we thought they were trying to peel the gold off the Buddha statue! It was wonderful to be able to watch such different practices to what we are used to and have someone with us to help explain it.

Traditional Buddhist offerings

Reclining Buddha - story is that the buddha got these symbols on his feet as a child

Maddy working on her karma bank, she's is pretty certain buddhism is what she believes in her heart

They were having an event hosted by Chang beer (irony?) and we got to hear the monks chanting

For our final adventure of the afternoon we headed out on a long boat ride through the canals and onto the open water. The pier near Wat Pho had a lot more tremulous water then I thought, it was scary to step down into our tiny boat but luckily the Taksin pier was a lot smoother. The ride was nice and we got to see the gates how the regulate the water level, old houses built on the water that our now banned and ended up in Chao Phraya River with huge freight liners, it was intimidating!

Temple of Dawn in front of us as we start our longboat journey

Random monks getting their first haircuts! 

The Chao Phraya River makes you feel small in a little longboat!

We got off at the Taksin pier and Ms. Pary took us to a Thai bookstore so I could get my book for Maddy about the country. She also guided us to where we could buy some great groceries. We decided after a busy day out we would do dinner in. We found pork chops and Moscato and my evening was complete!

The following morning we headed out for a full day food tour visiting multiple different types of markets including three floating markets where vendors sell food right off their boats, a coconut sugar 'factory' and a market that is on the railroad tracks. We ate some really interesting food and I learned the valuable lesson that if a thai native tells you it's not spicy you probably shouldn't trust them. We tried new fruits: Jackfruit, Durian (which was delicious and tasted like mango although Trey wouldn't try it because of the smell), rose Apple, Rambutan, jujube, star fruit and dragon fruit. My favorite item was some delicious coconut ice cream served over rice!

The first market we visited was the most authentic, the lady made our breakfast right on her boat! We were in a small group of 8 and enjoyed sitting together and sharing breakfast. After our breakfast we got on a longboat and headed through the canals to a local 'factory' that is run by a family that makes coconut palm sugar. We got to tour the coconut farm and learn about the process.

All the locals bringing their goods to the market for the morning 

Our breakfast 

Our long boat journey on the canal 

View of the whole market from a bridge

How they boil down the coconut flower syrup to get the sugar

This family has run this factory by hand for 3 generations 

Maddy with her kazoo the guide made her from a coconut leaf

For lunch we headed to a different floating market that was a little bigger. We also visiting a Buddhist temple that is covered in vines. At this market we got treated to mini-massages and even maddy got in on the action! Of course the ladies loved maddy. 

This market had some vendors selling from their boat but most were selling from shops on the water

Maddy resting after her massage

enjoying my massage

Buddhist temple abandoned and the vines grew around it, now reopened.

Next stop was to the Railroad Market, it's a market that is on the railroad tracks. The train runs up to 8 times a day for over 30 years. The vendors have around 3 min to tear down their tents before the train comes through. All the low items they leave down and the train goes over them. We were lucky and actually got to be there while the train came through. What an awesome experience.

scenes from the market, very busy and narrow area to walk while shopping

most the carts are on wheels so they just pull them back and take down their tarps

once the bell chimes that the train is approaching people start going into rapid mode putting things away

Here comes the train!

never thought I'd be that close to a train let alone in the middle of a market in Thailand

within a minute of the train passing it's back to business as usual as the awnings go back up and carts are pulled out

Our final stop for the food tour was to one of the largest and most famous floating markets, although it was more crowded and touristy. Although this is where I was able to find my 'big size' elephant pants and maddy a couple toys. We enjoyed a family style dinner and some spicy squid soup along with stuffed fish and more ridiculously delicious and spicy foods. Overall it was a wonderful day filled with new experiences.

The fish we enjoyed for dinner

maddys puple orchid juice 

We met up with Ms. Pary again to tour Ayutthaya, which is the previous capital that was attacked and burned. It has beautiful ruins of multiple Buddhist temples. We visited multiple temples and Buddha statues. It was an educational day learning some of the history of the area along with being able to chat with Ms. Pary about Buddhism. She is a very devout buddhist and it was insightful to discuss her faith with her. 

This temple represents the different spiritual plains and Mount Sumeru, the gods mountain in the middle

during the invasion of the capital most the buddha statues were beheaded and the temples were burned 

Maddy and I enjoyed the climb to the top of this temple

Wat Chaiwatthanaram 

Wat Lokayasutharam, large reclining Buddha

Maddy found a random hole to sneak in!

Buddha statue that the trees grew around 

Wat Phra Sri Sanphet, old capital temple 

buddha statue remade from all the broken pieces of multiple buddha images

Buddhist temple commissioned after the King's first visit to Europe, stain glass windows and everything

Maddy getting blessed by the Monk, her little Buddhist self loved it

Family blessing by monk

Our final day in Bangkok we hung around the apartment and recuperated! I headed out that afternoon for a traditional Thai massage and that was quite an experience! The only words the lady knew were "no pain, no good" as she bent me like a pretzel. I was a little nervous that it was two hours long when she was elbowing my inner thigh. But by the end I decided it was worth it and it felt great the next day (albeit a little sore). We headed out for some street food for the evening and got to experience some of the thai nightlife, it was a bit overwhelming. Thailand just isn't like any other place we've ever been to with the masses of people and the feeling of being so lost. It was quite the humbling experience. We ended up finding some good street food and heading back to finish our lazy day in our apartment.