Welcome to Cambodia

I apologize for the brief hiatus of my tales from Asia. September has been an insane month and worst of all, my laptop got stolen :( .....no worries, the thief paid the price and I now have a brand new Macbook Air. So back to my Asia adventure....

After a two hour drive from Bangkok we reached the Cambodian border. This was the first sign of the poverty to come. I had never seen anything like it. We were really in a different world, existing so far beyond the civilization we were accustomed to.

Walking across the border

Not long after crossing the border we arrived in Siem Reap. We had a quick shower and were off to New Hope Cambodia, a Planeterra foundation that provides education, vocational training and medical assistance to local Cambodians in need. We were given a tour of the facilities and then visited a classroom where we helped teach an English class to Cambodian children. This experience truly touched my heart and I will never forget that day. These exact experiences are what G Adventures is all about. If you want to travel with a tour group and party until late into the night then I can recommend a handful of companies to you. BUT, if you want a life changing adventure where you spend your time giving back to the community and coming face to face with the local societal issues then travel with G Adventures. After teaching in the classroom we headed to the New Hope training restaurant where young adults are trained as servers, chefs and bartenders with the intention that these skills will allow them to find jobs. Dinner was delicious and I even tried my first cricket!

Music class at New Hope

After dinner we jumped in a few Tuk Tuks and headed out to the YOLO (you only live once) bar in town. Side note- Tuk Tuks are the mode of transportation in Cambodia and they are so much fun! The driver is on a motorcycle and in tow is carriage type vehicle with four seats. Picture one of those horse and carriages you see in Central Park but rather than being pulled by a poor horse, the driver is on a motorcycle! So it was my first night out with my new friends and me being me, did not want the night to end. We stayed out until 3am, exploring pub street, meeting new people, dancing to Avicii along the dirt roads, and riding around on Tuk Tuks. The evening was complete with masks, a cake fight, and lots of laughs. It was only night one and I had fallen in love with Siem Reap, Cambodia, and my new group fellow adventurers.

Josh, Annabel and I at YOLO 

The next morning- not so fun. We left the hotel at 4:30am to watch the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Although we were overwhelmingly exhausted from the night before, we took in the sunrise-it was beautiful beyond words. There we sat, existing only in that moment. People gathered from all around the world to sit there in that very moment and watch the most incredible sunrise. To read about it in travel books is one thing, but to witness it is another….the pictures don’t even do it justice.

Side Note- This is my new friend Annabel. She is from England, and we met and instantly clicked. You don’t come along people you immediately bond with very often, so when you do it’s a truly amazing friendship that forms so quickly it feels like you’ve known that person your whole life. That is exactly what happened with Annabel and I, she inspired me in so many ways and our adventures and memories from Asia are priceless. This morning in particular was filled with Sara/Annabel moments. We were exhausted and it was over 100 degrees. We sat there laughing at the situation every time we had to climb more stairs. We were having an idiot abroad moments and all we could do was laugh hysterically at our lives. I guess that will teach you not to go out all night before going on a tour of the temples.

About to climb more stairs....our expressions are priceless

For the remainder of the day, and I mean the ENTIRE day, we were off to explore several of the ancient temples. Some of the photos below you might recognize from Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider film.

Classic Angkor Wat Picture

Angkor Wat from the back entrance

Angkor Thom

Quick pit stop for coconut water, fresh out of a coconut!

By the end of the temple and ruins tour we all needed a cold pool, so it was time for a quick swim then off to dinner. I had decided early in the trip that while in Asia I wanted to experience everything to its fullest, and I mean EVERYTHING. I had stuck to the basics in terms of food so it was time to move away from my usual vegetables and noodles and try a traditional Khmer meal. In my opinion, Khmer food is a mix between Thai and Vietnamese, and rice is literally eaten with everything. The sample tray came with specialty Khmer dishes including Fish Amok, Lok Lak, and a few traditional Khmer curry dishes.

My traditional Khmer meal

Our final night in Siem Reap concluded with some $1.00 beers on pub street and lots of dancing. The next morning we were up early and off to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia....stay tuned for the stories of cyclo tours, the Russian markets, and a very scary Tuk Tuk ride!