Once again, in order to procrastinate projects in progress, I've been playing with a new (for me) website called Shuttercal. Actually, I found this website and created an account ages ago, then promptly forgot about it until I came across it again. It's a site that is meant for you to upload a photo a day, and the layout is calendar style. It looks quite nice, is free, and easy. I haven't fully explored it yet, but I spent some time uploading photos for January. I did cheat a bit and upload some scrapbook pages, and, since their creation spanned several days, I put them up in multiple copies!
One good aspect, for those of us who multi-task, is that you can embed photos from the calendar into your blog, so no need to upload a second time if you don't want to.
You can see my January calendar here:
http://www.shuttercal.com/calendar/tracylee/
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Something a Bit Different
After my very relaxing Saturday, we spent Sunday mostly lazing around and working on photo/video projects. But in the afternoon, I decided to go to a small New Year's Party that I'd heard about which was organized by MIRA, the Mishima International Relations Association.
While I don't usually participate in any kind of "international" event, I needed to at least warm up my motorcycle engine, and I thought that this would be a good way to meet new people and network a little. So at 1:30 I got on my motorcycle and rode to Mishima.
The party was held in a event hall in a hotel, and I was pleasantly surprised! It was quite a nice party, with a lovely setup, and a wide variety of people from all around the world. I met people from Columbia, Peru, and Iran as well as a few Canadians and Australians.
They even had a cool opening band:
All in all, a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.
While I don't usually participate in any kind of "international" event, I needed to at least warm up my motorcycle engine, and I thought that this would be a good way to meet new people and network a little. So at 1:30 I got on my motorcycle and rode to Mishima.
The party was held in a event hall in a hotel, and I was pleasantly surprised! It was quite a nice party, with a lovely setup, and a wide variety of people from all around the world. I met people from Columbia, Peru, and Iran as well as a few Canadians and Australians.
They even had a cool opening band:
All in all, a nice way to spend a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
A Relaxing Birthday
Yesterday (Friday) marked my 38th birthday. Since my birthday fell on a Friday, I decided to 'celebrate' by taking the day off and savouring some 'me time', which was wonderful. We then decided to have a quiet evening of pizza and a DVD, saving the real outing for today, when we did one of my favourite things - spending the day at a nice onsen (spa)!
We stayed close to home and went to Cha-me-no-Yu, part of the Gotemba Kogen resort. We arrived there at about 10:30 a.m. Upon arrival and 'check in', we were given a yukata set that we would then spend the day wearing around the buildings whenever we were not nakedly bathing in the big, deep, hot baths.
We spent the entire day there, having lunch at the Cha-me-no-Yu restaurant. When taking breaks from the bath, we just relaxed - swinging in hammocks, swinging in swings, sitting in massage chairs, or napping out in the nap room:
[caption id="attachment_1509" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="In an outdoor hammock after a bath"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1510" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="It's common to put your little towel on your head in an onsen"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1511" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Afternoon nap in the 'Relax Room'"]
[/caption]
While Brian merely rested his eyes a little, I totally fell asleep on the heated pad while listening to an audio book on my iPod. When I finally woke up, we took yet another bath before calling it a day and heading home.
We stayed close to home and went to Cha-me-no-Yu, part of the Gotemba Kogen resort. We arrived there at about 10:30 a.m. Upon arrival and 'check in', we were given a yukata set that we would then spend the day wearing around the buildings whenever we were not nakedly bathing in the big, deep, hot baths.
We spent the entire day there, having lunch at the Cha-me-no-Yu restaurant. When taking breaks from the bath, we just relaxed - swinging in hammocks, swinging in swings, sitting in massage chairs, or napping out in the nap room:
[caption id="attachment_1509" align="alignnone" width="450" caption="In an outdoor hammock after a bath"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1510" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="It's common to put your little towel on your head in an onsen"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1511" align="alignnone" width="480" caption="Afternoon nap in the 'Relax Room'"]
[/caption]While Brian merely rested his eyes a little, I totally fell asleep on the heated pad while listening to an audio book on my iPod. When I finally woke up, we took yet another bath before calling it a day and heading home.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Siem Reap and Angkor Wat
NOTE: At the bottom of this post, I've also included a "gallery" version of the photos. In comments, please let me know whether you would rather see the larger photos in context, or the gallery (which would be faster-loading). Thank you!
After several days relaxing, swimming and walking along the beach, it was time to make our way to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor.
We took the night bus from Sihanoukville at 8 p.m. and arrived in Siem Reap at 5 a.m. It was not exactly a comfortable ride, but it wasn't awful, and for the price ($18 each), it was worth it.
We were, however, very happy to be permitted to check into our hotel immediately, even though the sun still hadn't risen, and to take a shower and relax before exploring the city. Our hotel, the Ta Prohm, was very conveniently located and more luxurious than we could have anticipated; and, especially after the basic bungalow accommodations on the beach, I was more than impressed with the hard-wood flooring, hot running water and cable TV.
[caption id="attachment_1500" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Our Room at the Ta Prohm Hotel"]
[/caption]
Siem Reap's main draw are the temples of Angkor, including the most famous Angkor Wat, located just a few kilometers from Siem Reap. After relaxing and having a light lunch in the city, we caught a tuk-tuk to the temples.
We had to stop at the gate to buy a pass, and as we knew one day wouldn't be enough, we opted for the $40 three-day pass. The temples are not close to each other, and we kept our tuk-tuk driver there to shuttle us from place to place; we then hired the same driver to pick us up at our hotel and to take us to and around all the temples for all three days.
[caption id="attachment_1489" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Angkor Wat"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1490" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Monks at the Temples"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1491" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Us at a Temple"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1501" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Our Driver, Tam"]
[/caption]
Siem Reap is a great city itself, and has more to offer than just the temples. When we got 'templed out', we spent some time dining at a variety of restaurants, shopping at the fabulous market with tons of shops, or just watching one of the fifty-two channels on TV in our luxurious hotel. We even took a Cambodian cooking class on our last day in town.
[caption id="attachment_1502" align="alignnone" width="452" caption="Old Market in Siem Reap"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1487" align="alignnone" width="346" caption="Brian Cooking up a Storm!"]
[/caption]
Alas, all good things must end. A mere four hours after this class, we had to catch our flight back to Tokyo (via Seoul).
[gallery link="file" columns="2"]
After several days relaxing, swimming and walking along the beach, it was time to make our way to Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor.
We took the night bus from Sihanoukville at 8 p.m. and arrived in Siem Reap at 5 a.m. It was not exactly a comfortable ride, but it wasn't awful, and for the price ($18 each), it was worth it.
We were, however, very happy to be permitted to check into our hotel immediately, even though the sun still hadn't risen, and to take a shower and relax before exploring the city. Our hotel, the Ta Prohm, was very conveniently located and more luxurious than we could have anticipated; and, especially after the basic bungalow accommodations on the beach, I was more than impressed with the hard-wood flooring, hot running water and cable TV.
[caption id="attachment_1500" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Our Room at the Ta Prohm Hotel"]
[/caption]Siem Reap's main draw are the temples of Angkor, including the most famous Angkor Wat, located just a few kilometers from Siem Reap. After relaxing and having a light lunch in the city, we caught a tuk-tuk to the temples.
We had to stop at the gate to buy a pass, and as we knew one day wouldn't be enough, we opted for the $40 three-day pass. The temples are not close to each other, and we kept our tuk-tuk driver there to shuttle us from place to place; we then hired the same driver to pick us up at our hotel and to take us to and around all the temples for all three days.
[caption id="attachment_1489" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Angkor Wat"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1490" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Monks at the Temples"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1491" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Us at a Temple"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1501" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Our Driver, Tam"]
[/caption]Siem Reap is a great city itself, and has more to offer than just the temples. When we got 'templed out', we spent some time dining at a variety of restaurants, shopping at the fabulous market with tons of shops, or just watching one of the fifty-two channels on TV in our luxurious hotel. We even took a Cambodian cooking class on our last day in town.
[caption id="attachment_1502" align="alignnone" width="452" caption="Old Market in Siem Reap"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1487" align="alignnone" width="346" caption="Brian Cooking up a Storm!"]
[/caption]Alas, all good things must end. A mere four hours after this class, we had to catch our flight back to Tokyo (via Seoul).
[gallery link="file" columns="2"]
Monday, January 18, 2010
Computer Projects
It is that time of year again. We always seem to upgrade or update our PCs right around now, and this year was no different.
The case that housed my desk top PC was a little old, the front headphone jack didn't work and I was also ready for a change of look. So, I picked up a new case on sale this week, and Brian and I planned to spend a few hours on Saturday just transferring cases before installing Windows 7.
What was going to be a half-day project turned into a one and a half day project in the end, and I still have concerns.
First of all, the case transplant took a little longer than planned, but we didn't really run into any issues. It just took time. And when it was done, it ran great.
[caption id="attachment_1484" align="alignnone" width="464" caption="Me swapping PC cases, still in my pajamas..."]
[/caption]
We then decided to install Windows 7 so I could have a dual-boot with Vista. Well, that's when we encountered tons of trouble. A usually trouble-free OS, the problems here were hard-ware related. My original hard drive is most-likely corrupt, as I now remember I had trouble with it last week. So, I couldn't write any new data to it.
After lots of trial and error, I decided to just nip down the road to buy a new hard drive. This turned into a 3.5 hour errand requiring I go a bit further than just down the road. Thankfully, I got a good deal on a new TB drive, and picked up a cheap motherboard for Brian's old pc.
We finally (FINALLY!) got the new OS installed on the new drive, but the pc did crash and give me the blue screen of death twice during the install.
Today we focussed on getting the system to recognise Vista, still on a separate (and corrupt) HD and dual boot. We finally managed to get the machine to dual-boot only by running the OS disk and choosing to repair my computer. By this time it was 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning!
With the big projects done, we took a break for a run. Coming home, we both got back into the computers: me, to start installing all my software, and Brian to swap out his motherboards before also upgrading his OS.
My concern remains however because my computer totally crashed again today, and I know it is hardware related. However, the only new hardware I've installed is the new disk drive...
I'm choosing to ignore the problem for now, because the alternative (another full day or more spent installing and customizing on yet another new hard drive) is not palatable at all!
The case that housed my desk top PC was a little old, the front headphone jack didn't work and I was also ready for a change of look. So, I picked up a new case on sale this week, and Brian and I planned to spend a few hours on Saturday just transferring cases before installing Windows 7.
What was going to be a half-day project turned into a one and a half day project in the end, and I still have concerns.
First of all, the case transplant took a little longer than planned, but we didn't really run into any issues. It just took time. And when it was done, it ran great.
[caption id="attachment_1484" align="alignnone" width="464" caption="Me swapping PC cases, still in my pajamas..."]
[/caption]We then decided to install Windows 7 so I could have a dual-boot with Vista. Well, that's when we encountered tons of trouble. A usually trouble-free OS, the problems here were hard-ware related. My original hard drive is most-likely corrupt, as I now remember I had trouble with it last week. So, I couldn't write any new data to it.
After lots of trial and error, I decided to just nip down the road to buy a new hard drive. This turned into a 3.5 hour errand requiring I go a bit further than just down the road. Thankfully, I got a good deal on a new TB drive, and picked up a cheap motherboard for Brian's old pc.
We finally (FINALLY!) got the new OS installed on the new drive, but the pc did crash and give me the blue screen of death twice during the install.
Today we focussed on getting the system to recognise Vista, still on a separate (and corrupt) HD and dual boot. We finally managed to get the machine to dual-boot only by running the OS disk and choosing to repair my computer. By this time it was 11:00 a.m. on Sunday morning!
With the big projects done, we took a break for a run. Coming home, we both got back into the computers: me, to start installing all my software, and Brian to swap out his motherboards before also upgrading his OS.
My concern remains however because my computer totally crashed again today, and I know it is hardware related. However, the only new hardware I've installed is the new disk drive...
I'm choosing to ignore the problem for now, because the alternative (another full day or more spent installing and customizing on yet another new hard drive) is not palatable at all!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Relaxing at the Beach in Sihanoukville
Another day and a half of riding, one more night spent on the road in the small town of Takeo, and we then found ourselves with time for a lunch break in the resort town of Kampot.
Here's Brian and Daniel, having a beer before getting a great rack of ribs at a popular restaurant called The Rusty Keyhole:
[caption id="attachment_1467" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Lunch at the Rusty Keyhole in Kampot"]
[/caption]
Aside from being world famous for the pepper, Kampot is a really quaint seaside town with a lot of restaurants and more. However, before we could blink, we were on the road again ready to finish our ride in Sihanoukville.
Once in Sihanoukville, we said good-bye to our bikes and our riding companions, and spent some time at the beach. Fortunately, we were not left totally on our own to find our way as Shiran (the other partner in Stray Dog Adventures) made us a reservation at La Casa beach bungalows on Otres beach, and he and Daniel then took us there on the back of their bikes.
[caption id="attachment_1470" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Our Beach Hut at La Casa Bungalows"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1471" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Sunset"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1468" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Chillin under palm trees"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1469" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Preparing for the sun"]
[/caption]
We spent about five days at the beach before catching the overnight bus to Siem Reap.
Here's Brian and Daniel, having a beer before getting a great rack of ribs at a popular restaurant called The Rusty Keyhole:
[caption id="attachment_1467" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Lunch at the Rusty Keyhole in Kampot"]
[/caption]Aside from being world famous for the pepper, Kampot is a really quaint seaside town with a lot of restaurants and more. However, before we could blink, we were on the road again ready to finish our ride in Sihanoukville.
Once in Sihanoukville, we said good-bye to our bikes and our riding companions, and spent some time at the beach. Fortunately, we were not left totally on our own to find our way as Shiran (the other partner in Stray Dog Adventures) made us a reservation at La Casa beach bungalows on Otres beach, and he and Daniel then took us there on the back of their bikes.
[caption id="attachment_1470" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Our Beach Hut at La Casa Bungalows"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1471" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Sunset"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1468" align="alignnone" width="360" caption="Chillin under palm trees"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1469" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Preparing for the sun"]
[/caption]We spent about five days at the beach before catching the overnight bus to Siem Reap.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
On the Road: Sen Monoram, Suong
After a second night in Kratie, we were ready to get back on the road all the way to Sen Monoram in the mountains of Mondulkiri province.
[caption id="attachment_1456" align="alignnone" width="463" caption="Ready to Ride"]
[/caption]
It was a long ride, and featured some more off-road than we'd experienced until that point. Though the conditions were really dry, our guide, Daniel, managed to find a deep patch of stealthy mud:
[caption id="attachment_1454" align="alignnone" width="466" caption="Quick Mud - Daniel Goes Down!"]
[/caption]
Once far away from any real cities, we had to rely on small road-side stands for our gas needs:
[caption id="attachment_1455" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Gassing Up"]
[/caption]
We made it to Sen Monoram without incident, and got lucky when this Guest House, which was more like bungalows, had some 'rooms' available for only $5 a night ($6 if you wanted hot water showers).
[caption id="attachment_1457" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Cute Phnom Meas Guest House in Sen Monoram"]
[/caption]
We spent two nights in Sen Monoram exploring the area, before getting back on the road and heading toward Prey Vang.
The scenery on the journey was, for the most part, quite beautiful, and we got to see a lot of ox-carts (pulled by water buffalo), and other interesting modes of transportation. I can't imagine the balance involved below:
[caption id="attachment_1458" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Delivering the Goods?"]
[/caption]
Unfortunately, we couldn't make it all the way to Prey Vang before dark, so we decided to stay the night in the very small town of Suong (main street pictured here):
[caption id="attachment_1459" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Town of Suong"]
[/caption]
We would be spending just one more night on the road before finishing our bike tour.
[caption id="attachment_1456" align="alignnone" width="463" caption="Ready to Ride"]
[/caption]It was a long ride, and featured some more off-road than we'd experienced until that point. Though the conditions were really dry, our guide, Daniel, managed to find a deep patch of stealthy mud:
[caption id="attachment_1454" align="alignnone" width="466" caption="Quick Mud - Daniel Goes Down!"]
[/caption]Once far away from any real cities, we had to rely on small road-side stands for our gas needs:
[caption id="attachment_1455" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Gassing Up"]
[/caption]We made it to Sen Monoram without incident, and got lucky when this Guest House, which was more like bungalows, had some 'rooms' available for only $5 a night ($6 if you wanted hot water showers).
[caption id="attachment_1457" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Cute Phnom Meas Guest House in Sen Monoram"]
[/caption]We spent two nights in Sen Monoram exploring the area, before getting back on the road and heading toward Prey Vang.
The scenery on the journey was, for the most part, quite beautiful, and we got to see a lot of ox-carts (pulled by water buffalo), and other interesting modes of transportation. I can't imagine the balance involved below:
[caption id="attachment_1458" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Delivering the Goods?"]
[/caption]Unfortunately, we couldn't make it all the way to Prey Vang before dark, so we decided to stay the night in the very small town of Suong (main street pictured here):
[caption id="attachment_1459" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Town of Suong"]
[/caption]We would be spending just one more night on the road before finishing our bike tour.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
On The Road: Kampong Cham and Kratie
As a we wanted to spend a big part of this holiday motorbiking, we decided to hire a professional motorcycle touring company to rent the bikes and a guide. After some research, we went with Stray Dog Adventures (http://www.sihanoukville-cambodia.com/sihanoukville-businesses/new5/stray-dog.html). Run by two guys, Daniel and Shiran, this is a small but cozy operation. Daniel, a laid back, easy going American, was our guide for this trip which started in Phnom Penh on December 22nd and ended in Sihanoukville on December 30th.
Here is a map of our tour, which took us through Kampong Cham, Kratie, Sen Monoram, Suong, Takeo, and Kampot before arriving in Sihanoukville.
View Cambodia Trip in a larger map
Day one of the tour took us mainly on road (and a ways off road along the Mekong!), up to the town of Kampong Cham.
We were originally scheduled for only one night there, but the following day, Daniel was too ill with (violent) food poisoning to ride, so Brian, Chris (a fellow rider) and I took the bikes for a self-guided 90 km trip to Prey Vang and back. Kampong Cham was a really nice little town right on the Mekong - no problem staying a second night in such a nice place.
[caption id="attachment_1442" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Brian Crossing a Rickety Bridge"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1445" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Rest Stop"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1443" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Breakfast at Kampong Cham"]
[/caption]
By day three, Daniel was back in the saddle, and we made our way on a great dirt road along the Mekong all the way to the town of Kratie. Part of the journey required a ferry ride - bikes and all. This was, I was to later learn, just the first of many ferry rides we'd be taking on this trip.
Brian, Chris and Daniel:[caption id="attachment_1444" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Ferry Ride across the Mekong"]
[/caption]
As you can see, these bikes were really great - Brian got a Honda Baja and I had a Honda Degree (aka MD26). These are both 250cc big dirt bikes; they had great handling, and they proved extremely capable on all the off-road and bumpy bits we had to cover (although mine had a bit of trouble once in Kratie!).
Like Kampong Cham, Kratie is a cute town on the Mekong, with great riverside dining and a decent selection of restaurants and guest houses. One big attraction in this town is the now endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins. We of course wanted the chance to see them, and we not disappointed.
[caption id="attachment_1446" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Irrawaddy Dolphins near Kratie"]
[/caption]
We again were only scheduled for one night here, but on the morning we were to leave for Mondulkiri province, my bike would not start. We tried everything - from draining the float bowl to eventually rebuilding the carb - but no dice. Finally, Daniel found someone, who knew someone outside of town, with a reputation as a big bike master. Sure enough, the guy got it working after soaking the spark plug in some industrial cleaning fluid and some other tweaks, but we'd already lost the day and so stayed in Kratie for a second night.
We stayed at Balcony Guest House on the first night, and it was okay. Not bad value - a cute room with hot water was only $6, so no complaints there, although I could have survived without the howls of mating dogs outside my window! For the second night, Balcony was booked, so we made our way down the road and stayed at a slightly more upscale but still affordable hotel that even had cable TV.
The next day we were ready to roll. We were on our way to Sen Monoram, in the mountainous province of Mondulkiri...
Here is a map of our tour, which took us through Kampong Cham, Kratie, Sen Monoram, Suong, Takeo, and Kampot before arriving in Sihanoukville.
View Cambodia Trip in a larger map
Day one of the tour took us mainly on road (and a ways off road along the Mekong!), up to the town of Kampong Cham.
We were originally scheduled for only one night there, but the following day, Daniel was too ill with (violent) food poisoning to ride, so Brian, Chris (a fellow rider) and I took the bikes for a self-guided 90 km trip to Prey Vang and back. Kampong Cham was a really nice little town right on the Mekong - no problem staying a second night in such a nice place.
[caption id="attachment_1442" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Brian Crossing a Rickety Bridge"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1445" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Rest Stop"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1443" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Breakfast at Kampong Cham"]
[/caption]By day three, Daniel was back in the saddle, and we made our way on a great dirt road along the Mekong all the way to the town of Kratie. Part of the journey required a ferry ride - bikes and all. This was, I was to later learn, just the first of many ferry rides we'd be taking on this trip.
Brian, Chris and Daniel:[caption id="attachment_1444" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Ferry Ride across the Mekong"]
[/caption]As you can see, these bikes were really great - Brian got a Honda Baja and I had a Honda Degree (aka MD26). These are both 250cc big dirt bikes; they had great handling, and they proved extremely capable on all the off-road and bumpy bits we had to cover (although mine had a bit of trouble once in Kratie!).
Like Kampong Cham, Kratie is a cute town on the Mekong, with great riverside dining and a decent selection of restaurants and guest houses. One big attraction in this town is the now endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins. We of course wanted the chance to see them, and we not disappointed.
[caption id="attachment_1446" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Irrawaddy Dolphins near Kratie"]
[/caption]We again were only scheduled for one night here, but on the morning we were to leave for Mondulkiri province, my bike would not start. We tried everything - from draining the float bowl to eventually rebuilding the carb - but no dice. Finally, Daniel found someone, who knew someone outside of town, with a reputation as a big bike master. Sure enough, the guy got it working after soaking the spark plug in some industrial cleaning fluid and some other tweaks, but we'd already lost the day and so stayed in Kratie for a second night.
We stayed at Balcony Guest House on the first night, and it was okay. Not bad value - a cute room with hot water was only $6, so no complaints there, although I could have survived without the howls of mating dogs outside my window! For the second night, Balcony was booked, so we made our way down the road and stayed at a slightly more upscale but still affordable hotel that even had cable TV.
The next day we were ready to roll. We were on our way to Sen Monoram, in the mountainous province of Mondulkiri...
Monday, January 11, 2010
A Day in Phnom Penh
We've been back home now for two days, and we've spent those days unpacking and sorting photos, while re-adjusting to the chillier weather of Japan.
Our Cambodia trip, as I mentioned, was really awesome. We did more on this vacation than we sometimes do, opting for adventurous riding, relaxing beaching and historical site visiting, all in various parts of the country. In order to not overwhelm readers with too much writing and too many photos, we are going to post in several 'installments'!
Today: Installment One, Phnom Penh
View Cambodia Trip in a larger map
We did not spend much time in the nation's capital, having only one full day before leaving on our motorcycle tour. But that one day was enough to give us a little taste of a city that is truly a marvel of contradictions. Bustling markets and quiet riverside walks, street traffic with tuk-tuks (motorcycle 'taxis') and Mercedes', luxury hotels and thatch huts...
We spent our day shopping at 'The Russian Market', about 4 km from our hotel. To get there, we took one of the most popular modes of transportation - a 'remorque-moto', also known as a tuk-tuk.
[caption id="attachment_1435" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Moto-remorque Phnom Penh "]
[/caption]
We then made our way, also by remorque-moto, to the trendy riverside area, where we took a boat ride along the Mekong. One side of the river featured the lovely Phnom Penh skyline, the other, little riverside huts/homes.
[caption id="attachment_1433" align="alignnone" width="432" caption="Longtail fisherman Phnom Penh Skyline"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1436" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Tracy across from Phnom Penh"]
[/caption]
[caption id="attachment_1432" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Catchin rays Tonle Bassac Phnom Penh "]
[/caption]
You can't see it in the photos, but the boat ride was in quite a large boat, big enough for at least 30 people, but which we essentially rented for an hour for $10, and it was, we felt, an hour well-spent!
Our Cambodia trip, as I mentioned, was really awesome. We did more on this vacation than we sometimes do, opting for adventurous riding, relaxing beaching and historical site visiting, all in various parts of the country. In order to not overwhelm readers with too much writing and too many photos, we are going to post in several 'installments'!
Today: Installment One, Phnom Penh
View Cambodia Trip in a larger map
We did not spend much time in the nation's capital, having only one full day before leaving on our motorcycle tour. But that one day was enough to give us a little taste of a city that is truly a marvel of contradictions. Bustling markets and quiet riverside walks, street traffic with tuk-tuks (motorcycle 'taxis') and Mercedes', luxury hotels and thatch huts...
We spent our day shopping at 'The Russian Market', about 4 km from our hotel. To get there, we took one of the most popular modes of transportation - a 'remorque-moto', also known as a tuk-tuk.
[caption id="attachment_1435" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Moto-remorque Phnom Penh "]
[/caption]We then made our way, also by remorque-moto, to the trendy riverside area, where we took a boat ride along the Mekong. One side of the river featured the lovely Phnom Penh skyline, the other, little riverside huts/homes.
[caption id="attachment_1433" align="alignnone" width="432" caption="Longtail fisherman Phnom Penh Skyline"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1436" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Tracy across from Phnom Penh"]
[/caption][caption id="attachment_1432" align="alignnone" width="430" caption="Catchin rays Tonle Bassac Phnom Penh "]
[/caption]You can't see it in the photos, but the boat ride was in quite a large boat, big enough for at least 30 people, but which we essentially rented for an hour for $10, and it was, we felt, an hour well-spent!
Saturday, January 09, 2010
Home from Cambodia
We are back from our Cambodian Travels! We biked around to lesser-known towns, on road and off; we stayed with no electricity in a shack on a beach; and we visited one of the most impressive historic temples I've yet seen.
And perhaps most impressive, we've been mostly disconnected from the Internet and telephones the whole two and a half weeks - hence the lack of blog updates!
However, we are now back and are sorting through our photos and hope to post more this weekend. So stay tuned...
And perhaps most impressive, we've been mostly disconnected from the Internet and telephones the whole two and a half weeks - hence the lack of blog updates!
However, we are now back and are sorting through our photos and hope to post more this weekend. So stay tuned...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)