Emily and
I decided to utilize the month-long Christmas vacation away from Wharton to do
some traveling. We flew to San Francisco on Dec 15 to spend Christmas with her
parents. Then on Dec 27, we flew to Bangkok for the beginning of our Contiki
trip throughout Southeast Asia/Indochina. The trip is 14 days through Thailand,
Cambodia, and Laos - and then we are going to fly to Phuket for 4 days to enjoy
snorkeling, beaches, and massages!
Here is
our itinerary:
Dec 28 – Fly from San Francisco to Bangkok
Dec 29 – Bangkok, Thailand: Free day to roam around Bangkok. Went to Bahn Bat
(where they make the metal bowls for the monks), Wat Pho (with the largest
reclining Gold Buddha), Chinatown, got a massage, shopping at Bazaars, and then
off to the Patpong Market that night.
Dec 30 – Bangkok, Thailand: Canal river tour along the Chao Praya, Royal Palace
tour (including Emeral Buddha Temple), massage, and more shopping! That night
we flew to Chiang Mai.
Dec 31 – Chiang Mai, Thailand: Went to Wat Phra and saw hundreds of locals visiting
the temple before the New Year and were even blessed by a monk. We then
wandered the city visiting numerous Wats/Temples, massage, Thai Cooking Class
(SO FUN!), then off to the night market and rooftop bar with the Tour to bring
in the New Year in downtown Chiang Mai! Probably the coolest part was lighting
one of the lanterns that rise into the sky like a helium balloon! So
incredible! Goodbye 2011 and hello 2012!
Jan 1 – Chiang Rai, Thailand: We left Chiang Mai on a bus tour through the countryside to Chiang Rai. Once in
Chiang Rai, we visited the traditional hill tribe people, like the Akha,
Yao,Lanu and Karen (long-neck peoples) and learned about their culture. That
night, a massage and a night market!
Jan 2 and 3 – Laos Mekong River Cruise: We crossed the
border into Laos, and then took a 2-day river boat cruise down the Mekong
River. The scenery was incredible and it was humbling to see the amazing people
and the modest circumstances that they live in. It was amazing seeing small villages/huts, families fishing and riding in long-tail boats, and relaxing on the river. That afternoon we arrived in Luang Prabang, Laos. We visited a Buddha cave off the river, took a bike ride across town visiting numerous Wats/temples, and then hit the night market and bought some great souvenirs!
Jan 4 - Luang Prabang, Laos: We did an elephant ride through the jungle and rivers for about an hour. Afterwords we fed the elephants bananas and sugar cane. It was awesome - I was even allowed to ride on the elephants head for about 15 min and steer him through the jungle. We then went to a tubing/waterfall area where we hiked and swam.
Jan 5- Luang Praband, Laos: We woke up early to feed the monks. It is interesting, the Monks carry a metal bowl and each morning the local Laos citizens go and give them the food that they will eat that day. Afterwards, we took a bus to the capital of Laos, Vientiane. It is interesting how different Laos and Thailand are - Thailand a huge country with 65 million people, very developed and advanced, and then Communist Laos, only 6 million people, dirt roads, weak infrastructure, and humble circumstances.
Jan 6 - Vang Vieng, Laos - Amazing day today! We woke up early and went hot air-ballooning across Laos. I actually felt comfort in the fact that it was run by a Chinese company! Sunrise over Vang Vieng was amazing! We then rented scooters, drove for about an hour and a half through dirt roads and small towns, and finally found the Blue Lagoon - this beautiful water hole with a rope swing and a cave. Then we went tubing - which is famous among college backpackers! This is like Cancun spring break - with ziplines, rope swings, slides, and a lot of drinking. Actually, it is pretty dangerous, but luckily we weren't drinking! We made it down the river and had a great time!
Jan 7 -
Vientiane, Laos - We drove to the capital of Laos, and took a tour of the city. We hit a night market, had dinner, and enjoyed ourselves.
Jan 8 - Phnom Penh, Cambodia - This morning, we flew to Phnom Penh, and took a tour of the S21 prison camp (it was a school that the Khmer Rouge used as a prison). It was very humbling seeing where the 1500 prisoners lived and their photos. Only 6 people survived, and one of the survivors was there that we met. We then took a tour out to the Killing Fields, which has very difficult to see. There were mass grave holes everywhere, and you could see teeth, clothes, and other items that were coming out of the ground. For dinner, we went to a restaurant that is non-profit and helps street kids (it brings them in and teaches them to cook, serve, etc, so they can have skills and find jobs in the future). There, we were able to eat fried Tarantulas - pretty disgusting and chewy, but tasted like chicken.
Jan 9 - Siem Reap, Cambodia - This morning we flew to Siem Reap and went on a tour to the floating village people (Tonle Sap Lake). That night, we went out to the night market and got massages.
Jan 10 - Siem Reap, Cambodia - This was the big day -- we went out early to see sunset over Angkor Wat! It was beyong words- absolutely stunning! We toured the ancient temple, and then visited Angkor Thom, and the Tomb Raider temple. That night, we flew to Phuket, for a few days at the beach!
Jan 11 - Phuket, Thailand - We took a boat tour and sea canoeing in the Phang Nga National Park - going into caves where you had to lie down flat in the canoe because the top of the cave was so close!
Jan 12 - Phuket, Thailand - We took another tour back up to the Phang Nga National Reserve. We went sea kayaking through multiple caves and at night went into a cave that had luminescent algae that would glow in the dark! We saw bat caves, water snakes, and many more creatures. It was a great day!
Jan 13 - Phuket, Thailand - We took a day tour to the Phi Phi Islands. We snorkeled, swam in lagoons, fed monkeys, saw amazing beaches and had an amazing time!
Jan 14 - Beijing, China - We had a 10 hour layover in Beijing, and arrived around 7 am, so we decided to leave the airport and take a tour of Beijing. Unfortunately, it was pretty cold in China, and we only had our Phuket beach gear from Thailand. We were able to buy some warm clothes and hit the town. We went to the Forbidden City, then saw Mao in his mausoleum in Tienanmen Square. We were able to see Temple of Heaven before heading back to the airport. Fly home from Beijing to San Francisco back to the Bobster!
Jan 15 - Fly from San Francisco to Philadelphia - begin final semester at Wharton!
5 comments:
Wow! There are no words! We want to go to Thailand, too!
It's great to see a young family having a terrific time for the break - memories to keep for a lifetime!
Don't spend too much time on Khaosan Road with all the hippies! Happy New Year!
Hi Rob, Contiki here!
Great photo recap of your Contiki trip! We've selected your blog post to be featured on our official Contiki blog for our Weekly Buzz. Thanks for sharing!
Cool, cool, cool!!!! Always love hearing about your travels!!!
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