Airports

So this is the last post... I've finally caught up with all my posts from my trip. During this trip we spent a fair amount of time waiting in airports. I counted them up and realized that I had 10 plane trips for this vacation. Some we longer than others, but I still had 10. While siting in the Taipei, Taiwan airport I decided to have a little fun with the panoramic tool on my little camera. I thought these shots were kind of fun.

Phuket

Other than our Thai cooking class and the boat trip to the Phi Phi Islands we didn't have any scheduled to do while we were in Phuket. It was kind of nice, because that meant that we had time to sit on the beach or by the pool, and enjoy the beautiful sunsets. Overall Phuket was beautiful, relaxing and a nice way to end our vacation.

Phi Phi Islands

So our next adventure on Phuket was a boat trip out the the Phi Phi Islands. They are located off the east coast of Phuket. The water is an amazing blue color. We did some snorkeling and saw some very colorful fish. Unfortunately I don't have an underwater camera, so the only snorkeling pictures I got were from above. We stopped at one of the islands were we had the opportunity to feed all of the monkeys there. The monkeys were a little aggressive, so I just stayed back and took some pictures. It was beautiful to see all the islands. We stopped in a little cove for lunch. It was very relaxing to spend the day out on the boat or on the beach.

Thai Cooking Class

After Cambodia a group of us headed down to Phuket, Thailand. Phuket is very different from Cambodia. Phuket is an island province located in the south part of Thailand. The island is basically covered with resorts. It was a wonderful end to our vacation. We got to relax in paradise. The first day that we were in Thailand we had a Thai cooking class that we had scheduled. The class was really cool, we learned how to cook a few different Thai dishes. The location of the school was amazing. It was located right on the beach in a cove.The first thing that we did was make curry from scratch. It consisted of grinding up seeds and peppers and other ingredients with a mortar and pestle. It was cool to see all the ingredients eventually end up as a curry paste. So with each recipe that we cooked, the teacher would show us how to make it, than we would get the opportunity to cook for ourselves. We made lots of tasty dishes. Coconut with chicken soup, spring rolls, a seafood salad, paneang curry, sweet and sour vegetables and pumpkin in coconut milk. One of the best parts of the cooking class was that we got to eat what we cooked. It was a fun little place to take a cooking class and I learned a few things. We'll just have to see if I can find some of the ingredients here in the states so that I can make the recipes again.

The Floating Village

The last place that we went to go visit from Seim Reap was out to the floating village. The floating village is out on Tonle Sap. Each year at the end of monsoon season (it typically ends in November) Tonle Sap has gotten four times bigger than it's original size. In order to not be uprooted every time the water they just created a village that floats in and out with the tide. Houses are made out of boats as are the stores and school. It was kind of interesting to see. We took a tour boat down the river out to the Tonle Sap. We stopped at a couple of shops. At one of the shops they had some crocodiles for us to see. They were a little scary, but I'm glad they were down below us.

Ta Prohm

So the last place that we visited in Angkor Wat was Ta Prohm. For anyone who is a movie buff (not me) Ta Prohm is the temple that was used in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. The temple is actually really cool. There are so many trees that have over grown on the temple. It's like the jungle is just growing over the temple. Unfortunately the trees are destroying the temple, so they are carefully restoring the temple. It was cool to see the way that the trees and the roots have grown into the temple. The trees are so large.

Kings Palace and Elephant Terrace

Our next stop was to the King's Palace and the Elephant Terrace. The King's Palace was one of the smaller temples, but it also means that it was a little less crowded. That could also be due to the fact that it was really hot and humid outside. Even though the temple was small it still had really steep stairs to the top. They even built a wooden staircase that was a little easier to climb, but they were still steep. I think that coming down might have been worse than going up. Even though the stairs were steep the view was always worth it. Over by the King's Palace was the King's Pools. They were originally built for the King's concubines to swim in. It might have been pretty, but I don't know if I would have gone shopping. We saw some people fishing in the pool. Actually over by the King's Pools our tour guide showed us a really cool plant. Our tour guide called it Shy Grass. When ever you touched the levels it wold fold back up (kind of like what happens when you touch sea anemones). From the King's Palace it was just a short walk over to the Elephant Terrace. The terrace has a hole bunch of elephants carve into the front. You can see how much they 'love' their elephants.

Bayon

After a short break to return back to the hotel and eat breakfast we were back out at Angkor Wat. This time we were visiting Bayon Temple. The first thing we did was those who wanted to ride elephants around the temple went for an elephant ride. Riding an elephant has not really been one of those things that I want to do in my life, so I was busy taking pictures of everyone else. Then we went to walk around the temple. Bayon Temple is covered in lots of large faces. One thing that amazes me about all of the temples that we is that there was so much detail.

Angkor Wat

The next morning we woke up early to head out back out to Angkor Wat. This time we wanted to catch sunrise over Angkor Wat. I guess you have to get out there early enough to get a good spot by the reflecting pond. I guess our location would have made a difference if there was actually a sunrise. Don't get me wrong the sun rose, but there was such a thick cloud cover that it just gradually got lighter and lighter. Once we'd seen enough of the sunrise we walked around Angkor Wat for a little while. Angkor Wat is the largest of the temples at the park and I think it's also the most restored temple. There are lots of really cool details on the temple. The temple area was so peaceful as the sun was rising. There was a light mist that hung over the jungle.