Jeju-do Island, South Korea

Travel Dates:  October 12 ~ October 18, 2014

A trip to South Korea with two other ladies?  Sounds a bit out of my league, but Amy Lee needed to get out of China for her Chinese visa so why not???  We headed off late Sunday evening and arrived in South Korea in a hurricane forecast.  Even though it rained most of the night, it had cleared up in the morning except for the wind.  Our first stop was the beach.  I had brought a swimsuit for some wave crashing, but the current was strong and the waves were huge.  Not to mention that the water was freezing.  Too cold for me for sure.  

The island was beautiful.  We did a lot of hike and sight seeing.  Korea food isn't my favorite so I snacked on a lot of junk food.  We stayed at a couple of hostels (guest houses).  It was my first experience staying at one.  the managers were very helpful and got us on the right bus everyday.  Amy and Connie Richardson were amazing navigators.  I didn't bring much to the table except some entertainment.  It was a great trip and we really had a good time.  Thanks to hubbies (Donn & Vernon) that stayed home and worked.

We logged 12.56 miles today ~ over 30,000 steps. 

Me trying to do my hair and keep my flat iron plugged it.  Small room & bad outlets.

A trip to Jumbo Village for an elephant show.

Amy rode a real elephant.  I posed on these elephants.

A wonderful day at the Teddy Bear Museum.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Travel Dates:  September 28 - October 6, 2014

Visiting Cambodia is an experience that will live with us forever.   The Cambodian people are as warm and welcoming as any we have ever seen.

The Angkor Night Market (on Pub Street) was founded in 2007 with the prime mission to restore and preserve traditional Khmer handicrafts while alleviating poverty and improving the lives of Khmer people.

 

 Practically anywhere that you go in Cambodia, you are sure to see Buddhist monks dressed in colored robes. The monks are highly respected within society.

• Women should never touch a monk or hand anything to them; even the monk's mother may not do so.

• If a monk is seated, you should sit also before starting a conversation.

• Do not touch a Buddha statue and ask for permission before taking photos. If you do take photos, drop a small donation in the box. (I should have read these three rules before I approached the monk for a picture.  Thank heavens I didn't touch or hand him anything.)
  

  

  Hopefully I wasn't sitting too closely!!!

 Our main source of transportation was a tuk tuk.  We went almost everywhere for $2-$3.

 

We also hired Souphar for the day to drive us when we visited the temples.

Our quad adventure tour made me giddy.  We rode through rice fields and traditional villages led by a super fun guide.  We also stopped at a crocodile farm and saw tons of crocs.  Best part ~ it started pouring on our way home.  The dirt roads became giant puddles of fun.

Our goal was to have either a body massage or foot massage every day to revive our bodies and legs from walking so much.  We found a great 30 minute foot massage for $3 USD.  

Cambodia is known for its beautiful old temples.  We saw the following amazing structures:  Angkor Thom, Angkor Wat, Ta Prohm (Tomb Raiders), Bakong, Preah Ko, Beng Mealea, and Banteay Srei (red temple).  As we left the Angkor Thom we saw a lot of monkeys just hanging out.

Angkor Wat Temple.  Our first stop. 

Kamppong Phluk Fishing Village.  We rented a boat and traveled for about 45 minutes to reach the village.  It is unique as it is all surrounded by water.  All travel there is done through a boat. 

Last stop for the trip was at the Happy Ranch Horse Farm which is an international-horse riding stable.  We rode through villages, rice fields the Buddhist temple.

Donn on Stormy and Kathy on Popeye.

Restaurants indulged at:  La Creperie Bretonne, Triple K Angkor, Blue Pumpkin, Dakshin’s, Belmiro’s Pizza, Viva Mexican Restaurant, The Warehouse and Srey Koulen (a little country-side place that had the best vegetable curry).  The hotel had an amazing breakfast buffet as well.  It was nice to have eggs and bacon for breakfast every day.

Khmer Cooking Class Fun