Cambodia: 2 Week Holiday to Thailand

Hello!! We survived our two week trip through Thailand! (We decided to skip Laos because our bank accounts were depleting rapidly). I have no idea where to begin to explain everything so I will give you guys the highlights and some pictures. We flew out of Phnom Penh on September 26th. We had a layover in Bangkok before we flew to our destination in Koh Samui. I was incredibly sick this day and quite miserable on the planes...and for the next couple days in Koh Samui, I spent most of my time in the quite LUXURIOUS (not) bathrooms of Thailand. It was definitely God's way of testing my patience and tolerance of challenge. Koh Samui is a beautiful island with some great beaches but the rainy season stole a lot of our sunshine! After a few days on Koh Samui, we took a ferry over to another island called Koh Phangan. We stayed in a beautiful resort with a big, warm shower and unbelievable view! I spent most of my time walking the beach, laying in the sun and reading. We went to the "Full Moon Party" and that was a great time. I met some Americans on the ride over to the other side of the island where the party was so it was fun to talk to them! It was a little strange to be talking about Husker Football and I heard the word "Creighton" for the first time in a month! After a couple of days on the island, we took a ferry back to Koh Samui where we caught a bigger boat to the mainland. We then had a 4-hour bus ride to Phuket and we arrived fairly late at night with tired bodies and hungry stomachs. We had some McDonalds when we arrived and one may assume that I would be really excited to have some "western" food but it was quite the opposite. All of the food in Cambodia and Thailand is so fresh and "natural". It was a little bit nauseating to go back to processed foods and especially fast food. We get fruit straight from the market and one morning in Cambodia, I saw the waitress walk across the street from the restaurant to a lady with chickens to get my eggs for breakfast. It’s a little difficult to go from that back to McDonalds! In Phuket, we spent a day on a boat tour to Phiphi island and that was beautiful. We were able to go snorkeling, visit three islands and play with monkeys. After another day in Phuket, we caught a quick flight back to Bangkok where we spent our first night in a terrible hostel! We should have known since it was only about $7 a night…but since we were exhausted, we spent one night there and then changed hotels after the first night. Bangkok is basically an Asian version of any big city in America and to be honest, we were quite disappointed. We did go shopping in a few markets, found some great restaurants and I spent one day in an AMAZING spa for a massage. It was very zen and the women that work in the spa were so kind and gorgeous! After a couple of days in Bangkok, we caught a 14 hour night train to Chiang Mai and this was my favorite part of the trip! We spent time at Tiger Kingdom and took pictures with tigers. The tigers aren’t sedated and since they were fed right before we came, it’s safe to touch them and be near them. We also spent a day in the Elephant Nature Park which was by far one of the best days ever! These elephants are rescued from abusive situations or they were abandoned. This amazing woman, Lek, buys the elephants from the owners and brings them to her “Elephant Heaven”. Go to elephantnaturepark.org to learn more about this wonderful woman and place. We were able to feed them and bathe them in the river. They eat whole pumpkins and watermelon, which I find fascinating! They’re big animals but they are so gentle and happy! On our last day in Chiang Mai, we visited a temple and had one last meal before our 14-hour train to Bangkok. We arrived at about 7 am and caught a flight back to Phnom Penh and it was GREAT to be home! We were back to the world of cheap food and drinks, friendly people and familiar surroundings. I was also very excited to have some clean laundry! Monday through Wednesday of this week is a Khmer holiday so we don’t have work and most of everything is closed in Phnom Penh so it has been a little bit quiet and lonely. A lot of the volunteers in my apartment went to the beach so it’s quiet around there. I will return to the hospital on Monday and I am anxious to get back to work!