I did it all for the Sihanouk-ie

Jenne Raub April 7, 2015

All travel, in a way, is a form of masochism. Why else would we fly halfway around the world, hoist a heavy bag on our shoulder, and submerge ourselves into unknown languages, customs, currency? Sure, after time a little cultural assimilation is natural; we find ourselves naturally dropping a "s'il vous plait" upon ordering, we know to politely queue (or throw elbows), we find ourselves no longer fumbling through foreign coins and cash, proudly prouding the right notes almost instantaneously.

Everyone's threshold for masochism is different -- that's why for some, two weeks in Paris can be long enough to send anyone longing for the familiar routines at home, and others are ready to get down and dirty checking out the hotspots of, say, Rwanda for months on end.

*Motorbiking around Angor Wat, Cambodia*

Don't fear the Siem Reaper

Jenne Raub April 5, 2015

To be perfectly honest, I can't say this trip has been exactly easy or even 100% enjoyable so far. In fact, I've felt a little discombobulated since getting on the plane on Monday -- first there was the whole last minute shuffle with the hotels in Bangkok, which I had no time to research, meaning I ended up in parts of the city I might not have booked. Siem Reap, while certainly amazing to be here to see Angor Wat, has also had its own set of annoyances and frustrations. To add to it, it's been amazingly hot (40 degrees celsius) and I've been majorly jetlagged. On one hand, I think we enter a trip of any kind with a lot of expectations of how wonderful and mind-blowing and fantastic it's going to be and usually are let down by something, whether it's less than ideal accomodations or the sights not living up to the hype. Add to that a world where we are not just constantly plugged in to each others' lives but also have a constant display of people who seem to be always having the best life/travel experience ever, and it's easy to compare our own regular time against the sheen of what's in everyone else's social media streams.

*All the world's a photo shoot: selfie-ing at the Grand Palace in Bangkok, Thailand*

Selfie on a Stick

Jenne Raub April 4, 2015

Greetings from Siem Reap, Cambodia. I made here yesterday unscathed, crossing the border at Poi Pet via bus. I'd read some horror stories about how bad the scene can be but thankfully some improvements have been made over the years, namely a Cambodian-run direct bus from Bangkok to Siem Reap -- up until a few years ago, you'd take one bus to the border from Bangkok, go through a myriad of hassles obtaining a visa, then have to take a tuk tuk to the bus station across the border to continue on with your journey to Siem Reap. Also they've apparently paved the road in Cambodia which means a faster trip all around.

I did it all for the Sihanouk-ie

Don't fear the Siem Reaper

Selfie on a Stick

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