Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) Cambodia through Southern Thailand

Hello, hello again!
Let's see, where did I leave off? I believe it was in Siem Reap, Cambodia. I really enjoyed Siem Reap for many reasons. It was easy to navigate on foot, with a huge market in the middle and well laid out streets. The people there were great- very friendly and always had genuine a smile on their faces. There wasn't a big city feel at all, unlike Phenom Penh. There was a center there for the street children (which there are A LOT of unfortunately in Siem Reap). I visited the classroom there, played with them and watched them get their 'lice wash'. I wanted to volunteer my time there but it was unlike the shelters in Goa because none of the kids lived there and so they just dropped in occasionally for lunch and a quick wash and then they were out again begging or rag-picking. So other than playing with them for a bit, there wasn't much else I could do. A friend of mine, Chris from Scotland (who I had been travelling with since Vietnam) and I decided to rent bikes and ride to Angkor Wat to see all the temples. I think it was about 99 degrees that day and we had to stop pretty often to hide in the shade. It was pretty brutal. The temples themselves, built by the Khmer civilization in the 12th century, are truly remarkable. The only thing that put a damper on the experience was the tourists... specifically the bus loads of Japanese tourists. They were EVERYWHERE. Regardless, we saw a gorgeous sunset and temples galour. After Seim Reap, I caught the bus to Bangkok. That bus ride goes down in history as the worst bus trip ever. Besides the heat, the dust, the bumpy road and crapped conditions, it is notoriously a horrible bus trip, but to make it even more fun, our bus broke down. Not only did both back tires blow, but they only had one spare to put on. This took a good hour and a half, as we hacky sacked and waited on the road to get back in. You don't want to wander of the road because there are still many unexploded mines and bombs that litter the countryside. So after the spare was put on, we all clamored back on the bus, applauding the achievement of our brilliant drivers. The next problem occured about a minute later when they went to start the engine and it was dead. Out of the bus we go again for another hour or so! Finally, we get the ok and get back on the bus (no applause this time) and we go about 20 minutes and stop at a roadside repair shop. Everyone out again! This time it took about 2 hours because every time the reflated a tire, they would pop it. It took them awhile to get that right. In the meantime, I had a great time at a local shop with a family of Cambodians and some of the sweetest children I have ever seen. We finally got on the bus and what was supposed to be a 5/6 hour trip has now become a 15 hour trip. Chris and I arrive in Poipet (the cesspool of Cambodian/the world) and are rushing to cross the border and get on the last bus to Bangkok. We finally make it on and there were no more seats left for me, so I had to sit next to the driver in a foldout chair. I kept nodding off and didn't want to jeopardize the safety of the passengers by falling onto the driver, so I just crawled into the aisle and fell asleep. Desperate times... I said goodbye to Chris in Bangkok and headed south to Koh Phang Yang. I met up with a couple Canadians there that I had met in Vietnam. The island itself was beautiful, just as soon as you got out of Haad Rin, the Full Moon Party area. I rented a scooter and went up the entire west coast and watched one of the most amazing sunsets from a restaurant high on a hill overlooking the ocean. I left that part of the island the next day and went up the east coast to Haad Thien. It was beautiful there and the beaches were clean, quiet and lovely. I met a couple from San Fan, Zach and Rannie and a girl named Mary from Minnesota. I hung out with those 3 for the next week and had a blast. I left Ko Phang Yang for Ko Tao and started my open water PADI course as soon as I got there. My instructor's name was Jonas and he had done over 7,000 dives, so I felt like I was in good hands! I met a really nice Aussie named Elisha who was doing the course as well. Diving itself is an amazing experience and I can't wait to do it again here in Malaysia. You don't even realize how much is underwater until you are 18 meters down- it is simply another world. Elisha and I went snorkeling in Shark Bay too- I think we must have seen about 15/20 Black-tip Reef Sharks. It was great! I never thought I would ever swim with sharks, but there I was, not very far from them. They are docile sharks and are interested in fish, not us, so they just swim on by as if we weren't there. I met a large group of Germans in Ko Tao including a 'unique' guy named Chris (hi Chris!) and we hung out with them nearly every night. Germans and Sweds make up the majority of the tourists in southern Thailand- esp. Sweds! After Ko Tao, I went briefly to Krabi and then to Ko Phi Phi, a couple of the places hardest hit by the tsunami. You could see evidence because there was so much construction going on. I met a Canadian girl named Bailey on the ferry over and we instantly hit it off. We went on a half day snorkeling trip around the Phi Phi islands, including Maya Bay where the movie 'The Beach' was filmed. It was beautiful. Phi Phi itself was expensive and so after a few days, we headed to Ko Lanta, further south. The island is primarily Muslim because of it's close proximity to Malaysia. The two of us rented a scooter there and went cruising around looking for different beaches. I don't think either of us were truly impressed with the island since things were so spread out and you had to use a scooter to get anywhere. After a couple nights on Ko Lanta, I said goodbye to Bailey and headed to Penang, an island in Malaysia where I am now. It is a Muslim country and has a really interesting mix here in Penang of Malay, Indian and Chinese people. I like it here and wish I had more time to see more of the island, but I have to move on to the Prehenthian Islands on the east coast tonight!

Till next time~