Footprints Afar

Good Morning, Cambodia

sadayton28 — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 23:43:00 GMT

It was sad saying goodbye to Nanc at the airport on the 17th, but we had had a great trip and I was so excited to go see my family in Cambodia. The flight from Bankok was only one hour and by the time we reached our highest elevation it felt like we just went right back down. Getting my visa at the Cambodia Airport was super easy and before I knew it I was checked in to the hotel and settling in for the night. The gentlemen that picked me up at the airport informed me that we would be going to Angkor Wat for sunrise and that we had to be ready by 5:15 to get on the bus....Welp....good morningggg, Cambodia! I was ready to go at 5:15 a.m. and greeted my family in the hotel lobby. I hadn't seen them for atleast two years and it was so good and special to be seeing them in CAMBODIA, of all places!! We loaded onto the party bus, which would be our mode of transportation for the next four days, and were off to watch the sun rise over Angkor Wat.

They had the whole trip planned out with a guide and all, and it was so nice because he was so informative and was able to give us a "behind the scenes" tour of the temples and the city.

Off to Cambodia

sadayton28 — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 17:23:00 GMT

Wow. So much has happened since the last time I wrote and it would take me hours to write all of the amazing experiences and details down. I am going to try to keep this brief and focus on my favorite moments, although even that is very difficult to do.

First off, Chiang Mai is such a wonderful, fun, and artsy city and we had such a great time here. A big part of our stay there was consumed by the Songkran Festival which was such an amazing experience, even if we did have to prepare to get wet whenever we wanted to leave the hostel. It was so great to see everyone there celebrating and having the time of their lives. Everyone in Chiang Mai, and Thailand in general, was so welcoming and generous and I can't wait to go back there before I head back to HK. Nanc and I made the mistake multiple times of going and changing and then wandering the streets again, getting wet every single time. But I didn;t even care because I was so wrapped up in the joy and happiness of the festivities. The first day we were in Chiang Mai was spent walking the streets celebrating the new year and staying cool under the hott sun by getting drenched in water. We joined in and had a great time sharing laughs with many of the locals, and travelers as well.

We spent our second day just outside of the city at a farm/cooking school learning how to prepare and cook various tradition Thai dishes. Before we left the city, we gartherd around our instructor at a market while she informed us of many of the different ingredients used in Thai cooking. We took a train out to the farm (although it was just part of the ëxperience" because the same driver/bus that dropped us off picked us up at the other end) and it was a beautiful farm and cooking school set in the countryside. We got a tour of the farm and got to pick and eat many of the vegetables while she was giving us a tour. Then we spent the day with our fellow "students" preparing and cooking delicious meals. We cooked spring rolls, papaya salad, pad thai, 3 different types of curry, fried rice, tomyum soup, and finished the meal off with multiple desserts, my favorite being the friend banana and coconut. We somehow managed to eat a six-course meal in about a four hour period and by the end of the day we were all stuffed!

The following day was the grand finale of our Thailand adventures. We spent a magical day with the Elephants and trainers at Patara Elephant Farm just outside of Chiang Mai. At first stop on the farm, we got to meet two mama elephants and their baby girls. It was the first time I had been that close to an Elephant and I was SO excited and speechless because of their size and beauty. It was so amazing to see the interactions between the trainers and the elephants, and I would become even more amazed a bit later on when we got to see ALL of the elephants and their one-on-one trainers interacting with one another. The elephants are so well trained and respond so well to whatever it is the trainer tells them to do. When we were first meeting the elephants, they told them to spray us all with water from the river and sure enough, we were all soaked within seconds. It was amazing!!!

We got a nice shpeal from the owner of the farm about his efforts to restore the health of his elephants and how his farm is run. Some of the facts that he threw at us blew us all away, one of them being that the elephant population in Thailand has been just about divided in half, just in the past 40 years! 40 years ago there were 6000 elephants living in Thailand and now there are only about 3,200. That is a dramatic decrease in such a short amount of time! He gave us each our riding attire, which was a shirt handmade by women in the Carin tribe, which is the only tribe in Thailand that cares for and trains elephants and has for many years. They we were off to meet our elephants!

My elephant's name was Bang and she was 7 years old. She was such a beauty and had such a funny, stubbornly sweet personality. Our guide that assigned us our elephants told nanc, behind my back ofcourse, that he has given me the "crazy elephant that doesn't listen,"and not to tell me. Thanks! I was ready for it though. And she was not crazy and she listend great! That I could tell anyways! Bangs trainer was great and the three of us got along so well. We were a good trio and it made for such an amazing and memorable day!

We were introduced to our elephants and "made friends"with them by feeding them a basket of sugarcane, tamarind, and bananas. Everyone knows that the best way to make friends with someone is to feed them delicious treats! Well, the elephants very quickly responded and very quickly became friendly with each and every one of us. The trainers taught us how to inspect the health of our elephant and told us the handful off commands that we would need to remember throughout the day. Then, we were ready to mount our friendly giants and ride them off in to the rainforest to a hidden waterfall where we would all swim with one another, bathe our elephants, and eat lunch.

There were three ways to get up on to the elephant and I chose to be lifted up via Bang's trunk. It was very exhilerating and not as hard as I thought it would be. Once we were all on, we started our journey through the jungle. My trainer and I (I feel so bad because I forget his name! He was amazing and so nice!) shared some great conversation and funny stories about our homes, families, and friends. The trainers are such hard workers and they all definitely seem to have so much fun with one another. When we made it down to the waterfall after about an hour and a half ride, the elephants knew exactly where we were and were extremely excited to jump in the water. Bang was very patiend and listened to my trainer so I could get off before she rushed into the water to cool herself off. We got to swim by ourselves and also swim and bathe the elephants. They are such gentle, playful, and easy going animals and it was so special to get to interact with them on such an itimate and close level. We then ate a delicious, traditional Thai picnic in a bungalow overlooking the elephants playing in the water.

Nanc and I were so lucky to not only have such great trainers for company, but to have a great group of people that we were sharing the experience with for the first time as well. There was one family from Germany and one family from Madrid, and Nanc hit it off with the Europeans reaalllll quick!

Nanc and I flew to Bangkok together on Thursday and went our seperate ways. She was off to the U.S. and I was off to Cambodia to meet the family. SO exciting to have a little family reunion on this side of the globe! We have had a busy few days here in Cambodia and I will definitely write about it soon. This post is already way too long to add to and I'm about to fall asleep at the computer, so I think I am going to call it a night. Off to a floating village on a lake early morning so have to get some rest! i will also begin my solo adventure tomorrow which is very exciting! Everyone is headed up to Vietnam and I will stay here one more night and then make my way down through Cambodia in to Vietnam.

I will post again when I can find a computer! Cheers to all, and Happy Easter!

-S

Happy New Year!

sadayton28 — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 20:48:00 GMT

Happy New Year celebrations round two!! We arranged our trip so that we would end up in Chiang Mai for the Songkran Festival which starts on the 13th and ends on the 15th. We were told that Chiang Mai was the place to be to celebrate the Thai New Year and from what I have seen and experienced today, I believe that we have made the right choice and are in the right place.

We flew in to Chiang Mai late last night and even on our way to the airport in Phuket yesterday, we saw truck loads of people with buckets of water soaking other trucks, moterbikes, and pedestrians. Everyone was having so much fun and I knew this was only the beginning of what wuold be a long, fun few days of celebrations for these people, and us ofcourse! We made it to our hostel no problem and got settled so we could rest up for the next few days of craziness.

We spent our morning and afternoon today walking the streets of Chiang Mai getting drenched with buckets of water and joining in on the thousands of water gun fights. Hundreds of trucks packed full of children, teenagers, and elders were cruising the street and tossing/spraying anyone and everyone they possibly could. Street vendors littered the roadsides selling water guns, buckets, delicious (and interesting) food, and much more. Some were even selling huge chunks of ice for people to put into large buckets of water to make it ice cold. I must say that it was quite refreshing to be doused in ice cold water when it was 100* out. We were told that they saved the coldest water for the foriegners and I am totally ok with that. Bring it on. We enjoyed some street food while watching the festivities take place all around us and tried to take as many pictures as we could without getting our cameras soaked. I wish I had brought a waterproof camera because I didn't capture anything that could even give an idea of what we were walking through today.

We came back to the hostel that we are staying at, the Mojito Garden 2, and we washed our clothes and hung them up to dry. Let's just say that the water that we were practically swimming in today was not even remotely clean. I tried my hardest to keep my mouth closed but it was hard because I was smiling the whole time out of the pure joy that seeing everyone so happy was giving me. And because I myself was enjoying everything that was going on around me. I am so happy that we were able to come to Chiang Mai and experience such a special few days with these people!

We changed our clothes (which was a HUGE) mistake, and went out for what we thought would be a nice and dry little stroll in our little area. Wrong. We got drenched all over again. We were doing pretty well in the beginning but our luck wore off and we were soaked again. People were running up to us and making sure they thoroughly drenched us in water. So funny! We had no defense so we just took it and moved on to the next group of people that would dump more water on us.

So now we have changed our clothes AGAIN and are hanging out back at the hostel, waiting for the night bazarre to start. We aren't really sure if the water throwing continues after dark, but if so, we will definitely be changing our clothes for the third time when we get home! And definitely taking a shower to wash all of this who knows what is all over us. It is quite the experience and I would not want it any other way! Even if we do get covered in water again later!

Tomorrow we have signed up for a day of Thai cooking. We will be getting a market tour of local vegetables and ingredients and then will take a train to to a farm just outside of the city to pick some of the ingredients we will be cooking with. We will get to choose six dishes to prepare while we are there and the best part is that we will get to eat it all after! YUM! For all of those who love thai food, maybe I will host a Thai dinner party when I come home. I am going to try to perfect that Pad Thai so I can get it right for once! After the farm I'm sure we will venture out for some more Songkran action to cool off!

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

-S

Photos: Island Hopping

sadayton28 — Sun, 13 Apr 2014 01:10:00 GMT

Island Life

sadayton28 — Sat, 12 Apr 2014 18:21:00 GMT

I have snuck in to use a computer in a room that is getting renovated at the place we are staying, so I may have to make this quick! Nanc and I got to Ao Nang on the 7th and were there for two nights. It is a great little town with a ton of bars, restaurants, shops, and fellow travellers. The first night we stayed at this interesting little hostel set out of the town a bit. We walked down to the beach, got a couple of beers and got our first view of the Indian Ocean. The view from Ao Nang beach was amazing with all of the rock formations and far off Islands. There were so many longboats along the shore taking people to and from Islands close by. We watched the sun set and then made our way up to a nice little Indian restaurant for dinner. So many of the restaurants here cook food from multiple nationalities, catering to travelers from all over the world. This restauarant had all sorts of food from all over the world, but we decided to stick to Indian and it was delicious.

The owner of the hostel that we stayed at the first night was really nice, but it was kind of a boring, blah type place and far away from the beach/downtown, so we decided to move closer to the center of town the next night. We went to the beach and were in the sun for not even two hours the next day and we got FRIED! We both knew it was going to happen but we were so sure that we had loaded on the sunscreen that we thought maybe, just MAYBE we would be safe. Nope. We loaded on the aloe and hoped for the best. I really wanted to go to Ton Sai Beach, a beach reccomended by locals and friends, but we didn't end up getting the chance. We were fried and only had a limited time in this part of Thailand, so we chose to put it off...until next time anyways!

That night, we ran in to a few people that Nanc had gone to school with at suffolk. Of course we ran in to people that she knows accross the world. We grabbed a drink with them and then they all went home to go to bed. Party poopers. I was ready to go out for the night because I was finally over the jet lag and wanted to get a taste of what a night out in Thailand was like. I met two girls from Sweden who were traveling SE Asia for six months and then met a few guys from Germany. We played pool, drank Thai beer, danced to live music, and had a grand ol' time. We even took a late night dip in the Indian Ocean. Nanc reluctantly got out of bed when I came home latenight to let me in and then I was down for the count.

We had a great couple of days in Ao Nang, but I was ready to go to Kao Yao Noi, an Island about a 30 min via speedboat from Ao Nang. We loaded on to the speedboat with a bunch of people going to various Islands along the way, and enjoyed the breezy ride to Yao Noi. Traveling from one place to another over here is so easy because your hostels/hotels and local travel agencies set everything up for you, including pick up/drop off at hotels/hostels. We got off the boat at the pier on the Island and there was a bus waiting to take us to Sabai Corner Bungalows, our cozy, relaxing home for two nights.

The Island and the Bungalows were my favorite part of the trip so far. The people on the Island were SO nice and inviting and the pace of life was so slow and relaxed. The hospitality at Sabai Corner Bulgalows was fantastic and they all made sure that we were comfortable and enjoying our time there. The food was amazing and the views were spectacular. There were hammocks everywhere and the hardest part of my day was deciding which hammock I was going to hang out in next. The second day we were there we rented motorbikes and explored the Island, getting lost multiple times and eating delicious food from small local markets. We stumbled upon a seculded beach down a long and bumpy dirt path. It was a nice surprise and I was glad and a little surprised that my motorbike made it down there! Nanc was on a four wheeler so it was no problem for her! I was a little nervous about getting back up to the main road, but the bike did fine and we continued our adventure. Nanc almost hit a water buffalo and I lost is laughing so hard. She also thought she ran out of gas at one point because the quad wouldn't start. I went to get her gat in a waterbottle and turned around at one point to see/hear her beeping her horn, waving her arms, and yelling for me to stop. She forgot to push in the break when she was going to start it. Whooooops!

Yesterday, the 11th, we took a longboat from Yao Noi to Phuket, a much larger and more populated Island in Sothern Thailand. The crew of the boat invited us to sit on the top of the boat with them and it was so much fun. They were so nice and gave us a mini tour of the route that we were taking and the Islands surrounding us. They were even trying to get me to come on to the side of the boat while we were way out in the ocean speeding along, but I was a little reluctant....I told them I would later but I think they forgot and may have even been joking the first time...

We are now staying at a fancy resort that we were treated to in Cape Panwa in Phuket. Now, the hardest decision that we have to make is which pool to swim in and which restaurant to eat at. The food is a bit pricy though and I have been sneaking over to the authentic thai restaurant and the little convenient store across the street to get by for a couple of days. I'm sure the people both here and there have caught on to what I am to.... :) We went paddleboarding in the bay this morning and lounged by the infinity pool (that is the one we have chosen) all day until a storm rolled in around 2. Then I snuck up here to update you all before happy hour at four. It is one minute past four and nanc is getting antsy to go down to the bar, so gotta go!

Cheers!

xoxox

Photos: Island Life

sadayton28 — Wed, 9 Apr 2014 21:51:00 GMT

Kao Yao Noi Island

Photos: Kop khoun kha

sadayton28 — Tue, 8 Apr 2014 23:07:00 GMT

Thailand

Welcome to Thailand

sadayton28 — Mon, 7 Apr 2014 17:55:00 GMT

Hello everyone. Sorry for cutting the last entry short. Jet lag got the best of me and I could barely keep my eyes open! The good news is that Nanc and I have fully recovered and are ready for the many adventures to come.

Jeannette and Michael were wonderful hosts in Honk Kong and they made sure we got a good taste of the city. A HUGE shout out to them for letting us stay there and for making us feel at home. Also, for giving us a comfortable place to adjust to the time change and ease in to the pace of life over here. Thanks guys!

HK is a beautiful city and not so much like what I had expected. There is so much water in and surrounding the city and the mountains and greenery within/surrounding the city is amazing. Depending on where you are, you would not think that you were in a city of 7 million or more people. Jeannette took us around the city to a few markets and delicious eateries the first day we were there. There architechture and the culture is beautiful and so intriguing to me. I have acquired a few books so I can become more informed on certain aspects of the culture and gain a better understanding of what I am seeing and experiencing. The second day we were there we went to a secluded monestary hidden in the mountains and home to the "Big Buddha." Tian Tan (the Buddha) at Po Lin Monestary is 34 metres hight and sits north to overlook the chinese people. It took 12 years to complete and is HUGE!

It was so great to see my cousins. Sam and Madeline, and to see them all grown up and loving life in the new home. We even got to see Sam in action and cheer him on at one of his baseball games against a Japanese team. He is a great pitcher and brought in a few runs batting as well. Go Sam and the Hawks!

Nanc and I spent our last morning in HK cooling off in the South China Sea and exploring a beautiful sea side temple, both of which are about a 5 minute walk from the house. We both gained atleast six days walking over the bridge of life (can't remember the formal name) at the temple. We were tempted to keep lapping the bridge but weren't sure if that was appropriate and if it would be effective. I will have to pay another visit to the bridge when I am back in HK!

We landed in Bangkok late on the 5th and checked into our hotel around 1am our time(11 hour time diff in Thailand). We got settled and planned out our one full day in Bangkok. We got a late start in the morning but we were still able to have a full day of exploring. Our first stop was our first authentic Thai Restaurant. After all of my pad thai attempts and failures back home, I was so excited for finally be ordering the real thing! And let me tell you, it was DELICIOUS! Way better than any of my creations. Oh ya, and we had to get thai beer with our meal as well, and that was also delicious :)

Next, we explored the Golden Palace for a few hours. WOW. I was in awe the entire time, taking in the amazing detailed structres and statues and watching/listening to the different religious ceremonies taking place. After a few hours of taking in what we could (there was SO much to take in it could take days), we took our first tuk tuk ride to the famous Kao San Road. We lapped the street, popping in to the numerous shops, tempted by all of the fun clothing, jewlery, and anything you can think of really. I was extremely proud of myself because I only ended up buying one shirt. I had to constantly remind myself of the length of my trip and the many markets to come. Nanc was a different story. I just bit my tongue and reminded her that whatever she bought she would have to carry around on her back for the next two weeks :) I will have to say that I am impressed with how little she bought knowing her previous shopping history and habits! On our way to get a taxi, we stopped for a famous Thai foot massage at this family run market. A brother and sister gave us amazing foot massages and were giving each other a hard time and joking around the whole time . They were super fun and it was a great way to end our day out! It was a fun, HOTT day of site seeing/shopping but we were glad to make it back to the hotel and jump in the pool to cool off. We bought our plane tickets for Krabi, booked a hostel for a night, and went to bed.

We found our way back to the Bangkok airport this morning and are waiting for our flight down to Krabi. In about an hour, we will be making our way to Ao Nang where we will be setting for two nights. We are hoping for good weather so we can soak in the sun and explore a new part of Thailand. I have 99% aloe vera for the terrible sun burn that is inevitable after these past five months of winter.

I hope all friends and family are doing well and I hope it is warming up for all of those in the North East! Sending love to all of you!! Cheers until next time!

-S

xoxox

Photos: Hong Kong Adventures

sadayton28 — Sun, 6 Apr 2014 00:09:00 GMT

Ni Hao

sadayton28 — Fri, 4 Apr 2014 00:28:00 GMT

Ni Hao (hello) from Hong Kong! We made it! Nanc and I had the smoothest travel experience EVER from New York to Hong Kong. All of our flights were on time and security/immigration was super easy. Everyone at the airports were extremely friendly and helpful and we didn't even have to embarrass ourselvces or insult anyone attempting to speak Chinese in Beijing or HK. Also, a huge shout-out to our amazing families for arranging transportation to and from airports on both ends of the trip. That elimitated a huge amount of what could have been stress from out trip. THANKS!

The ride from the airport to Jeannette's house (my Aunt) was super bright and beautiful, and a bit backwards. That was my first time ever riding on the opposite side of the road in a car where the driver sits on the opposite side. It didn't really phase me until we got to the tight two lane road in to Repulse Bay and were making lots of sharp right and left hand turns...We got to her house around 11pm and it is beautiiful, cozy, AND overlooks the ocean. We obviously cound't see the view last night but could only imagine what it would look like when we woke up in the morning.

We stayed up chatting until about 1:30 when Nanc and I were finally ready to get a good nights sleep....or so we thought. We both woke up around 5 a.m. wide awake, tossing and turning and finding it impossible to go back to bed. Also my first time experiencing true jet-lag and I am still hating it to this moment because I am so mentally exhausted but physically wacked out from this time change. A thunderstorm rolled in around the time we woke up so we watched out the bay-view windows and saw some pretty crazy lightning strikes.

We finally got up and decided to take showers before Jeannette woke up so we would be ready for the day. We couldn't sleep so why not. I took the first shower and could not for the life of me figure out how to get the hot water running. I didn't care because I so desperately needed a shower so I just sucked up and endured the cold. Nanc tried to figure it out too but couldn't so she faced the cold as well. WELL....China IS thinking one-step ahead then other places in some envirionmental aspects. Surprisingly. Each bathroom has a hot water switch to heat only a small amount of water rather than heating an entire tank all the time. Genius. We now we know where that magical switch is for tomorrow morning! Although who knows...if the jetlag continues I may need another cold shower to wake me up!

Have reached my limit for tonight...neeeeed sleep! Will continue tomorrow! I will just say that Hong Kong is a Beautiful city with so much to do and see! So excited and feel so blessed to be here!

Preparing for Take-Off

sadayton28 — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:17:00 GMT

So my bags have been packed for about three weeks now and it is hard to believe that Nanc and I are leaving in two days. Craziness! I think I have everything that I need for the 10 weeks that I am going to be gone. I've got the important things such as a fun sunhat and my bathing suit/sunscreen so I should be all set!

No, but really...I got my vaccinations a couple of weeks ago and have 10 weeks worth of Malaria pills (the kind that WON'T give me nightmares, or so they say). They gave me perscription antibiotics just incase I accidentally eat/drink something that doesn't agree with my stomach right before that 10 hour bus ride to Ho Chi Mihn, Vietnam. I've got the basic for clothes, not that I will need much anyways because it is going to be 100* every day. (Sorry to rub it in!) AND I even have room in my 50 litre pack to acquire fun souvenirs for everyone back home!

For those of you that are reading this and are unsure of what I am doing, I will quickly fill you in...I have been planning a trip to Hong Kong/SE Asia for a few months now. My Aunt, Uncle, and two cousins are living over there for two years and right when I found out, I knew I would find a way to visit them. Welp folks, here I go. The plan is to stay with them for a few days and then head to Thailand with my partner in crime, Miss Nancy Koch. The day after I got home from California, I stopped in the the Killington Deli and told Nanc my plans, and right then and there she decdided she wanted to come and travel Thailand with me. A few days later the plane tickets were bought and it was settled, she would be my travel buddy for three weeks. After Thailand, Nanc will head back to the U.S. and I will be meeting my family in Cambodia for 5 days. From there, they will head to Vietnam and I will be on my own for about six weeks traveling through Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos. I will then head back to HK for a week with the fam before I head home on June 10th.

Nanc and I are headed to New Jersey tomorrow to stay the night with her family down there. We will be headed to JFK Tuesday morning and the plane is scheduled for departure at 12:50 PM. Woohooo! We are going to make sure that we are prepared for our flight with plenty of nips, tylenol p.m., and a book for when we aren't busy drinking/sleeping :) You have to find ways to make a 15 hour flight go by quicker than it seems right?? We have a 3 hour layover in Beijing, which I have been told by multiple people is the biggest airport they have ever been to. I was also told by my Aunt that not many people speak english and to bring commonly used airport phrases in Mandarin Chinese. That should be fun!

The flight from Beijing to Hong Kong is just under four hours and if our flight is on time, we will be landing in HK around 9pm on Wednesday the 3rd. With the 13hr time difference, 13 hours will be magically disappearing from our day...My Aunt is amazing and has arranged a car to pick us up at the airport to bring us the 40 minutes to their house. We just have to look for the men in the green jackets holding a sign that says, "Ms. Dayton." Thanks Jeannette! You have probably saved us from what could been a two hour trip tyring to figure out which cab to take and then telling them your address in Cantonese!

I will post again once we have gotten settled on the other side of the globe!

Photos: Here we go!

sadayton28 — Mon, 31 Mar 2014 08:15:00 GMT