We didn't miss CNY after all...

For those of you who were concerned that we would miss Chinese New Year celebrations because we spent (part of) the holiday in Cambodia/Thailand (where many also partook in plenty of firework and parade and boozie celebrations as well)...

This is my French-Canadian colleague, Line,

and one of our secretaries, Shirley,

with 4th grade students as backup dancers.

They are singing in the style of Beijing Opera,

and were actually asked to share the performance

at the community's Lantern Festival, 

but Line was unavailable at that time, regrettably.

The general public would have ADORED a foreigner singing so well!

Well, in addition to the festivities pre-CNY break at AIAN (our school), we also got to participate in some of the closing festivities of post-CNY. You see, the CNY holiday typically lasts about 15 days prior to and 15 days after the lunar new year. Many Chinese nationals take up to a month off from work (sometimes even more, depending on their jobs). Chinese New Year fell on February 10 this year. We were in Cambodia. Even though we may have missed mega-celebrations, entailing fireworks that ceased to explode for an entire weekend straight, as well as some decorations and loud music, we didn't miss out on the closed businesses and shops (because the majority of Chinese nationals choose to travel and spend the time with their families). And we were welcomed home on February 16 to a fair share of fireworks... (see video below)

This weekend supposedly "concludes" Chinese New Year festivities. It is the Lantern Festival, as can be observed on Google (and described on Wikipedia). We were enthusiastically encouraged by surrounding neighborhood communities (Yulan, LiRen, etc.) to participate in the grand lantern parade and festivities last night. The celebrations consisted of: 

• Dragon Dancing, Lion Dancing, Snake Dancing, Lantern Parade: The Parade Route walked through entailed--
• Yu Lan Community, which is about two blocks away from our Li Ren apartment complex
• TangWan Ren Jia, which is the area in between Yu Lan and our apartment complex, crossing the Xin Da Lu ("Sheenda" Road) intersection and blocking traffic along Minshan Lu as we walked and danced slowly. (This was the point where we decided that Jett had had been on stimulation overload long enough; he can handle fireworks, but not banging drums, cymbals, loud music, scary costumes, screaming kids, AND fireworks all at once! I took him home. At least he got out again!)
• Li Ren Garden (our apartment complex)
• Sports Park, which are the basketball fields on the other side of the river that borders our apartment complex (the fireworks that were filmed in the above video clip with Jett sleeping were set off from that very Sports Park, as the basketball players were completely unfazed and carried on their game, while bombs were bursting all around them)

• Performance: The Yu Lan community had a stage (really, a red carpet) laid out in Sports Park for a performance of:
• singing (from both old and young, talented and, um, NOT. Off-key!)
• the Zumba-esque dancers who practice nearly every night in their jingling little skirts, withstanding the winter's cold and wind

• dancing crustaceans, fish, and a snake of course (since this lunar year is a Year of the Snake; last year was the Dragon)

• guards singing (I have a video of it, but it is too long or large or not in the correct format to post directly up here, I'm afraid)

• Floating River-Lanterns: Yu Lan Community prepared River Lanterns, passed around to each guest, to write hopes/dreams on papers to put in them, then the security guards floated them along the river (so that children and many hundreds of guests attending the event will not be in danger of falling into the river, as it is slippery after all the rain we received this week)

Setting lanterns afloat, down along the banks of the river

It was beautiful, clear scenery, with no breeze, which made the night air not nearly as frigid as Kari remembers the celebrations last year. (We had our cocoa spiked with Baileys, as well as hand-warmers to keep us warm as well!) The lack of breeze seemed to cause issues in the end, when, guards began to set the lotus/lily flower lanterns afloat on the river that borders our apartment complex in LiRen Gardens; I think it's called the Zhong He River? You see, without a breeze, the water is stagnant, and the lanterns didn't really float... away. They just stuck to the shore. The first guard to set a lantern adrift actually slipped and fell into the river! (Which is NASTY!) 

Even amongst the colorful plum tree blossoms,
Kari's red head still stands out! ;)

Today, Sunday, February 24, with two Chinese friends named Lisa and Fan (who are ladies who work part-time jobs at Cup o' Joe in order to practice and improve their English skills), we engaged ourselves in rigorous hiking of the Jiu Feng Mountain (pronounced like "Jew-Fung")... as did hundreds, if not thousands, of Chinese nationals as well. This weekend marks the end of the Chinese New Year month-long celebrations, so the Chinese jam-pack as many holidays and festivals into this interval of time that begins the onslaught of "Spring Festival" (which has a "Golden Week" of its own when the Tomb-Sweeping Festivals happen, during the first week in April this year). 

Honey purchases at the Jiu Feng beehive shack!

This weekend, in addition to the Lantern Festival, the Plum Tree Festival is being celebrated at Jiu Feng Mountain, thus drawing even larger mass-hoards of people to picnic, hike the mountain (at an elevation of 1630 ft), and enjoy the fruits of the scenery (many waterfalls, fruit trees, and beehives). I purchased some fresh honey from the beekeepers there (side story: in early winter (November/December?), Kari and I had biked the 20-minute ride from home up to the beekeepers at the base of Jiu Feng Mountain, but we were told that they were closed for the winter, and the shop was only open during the mornings of weekdays. So we were out of luck on getting honey any time soon, with our work schedules). I was very glad to get not only my fresh honey this time, but also a taste test of all the varieties of honey they had, as well as a translated education from my Chinese friends who had accompanied me!

View of Beilun from the top of Jiu Feng Mountain

Waterfalls galore

Though we knew it was going to be busy, we nevertheless decided to take Jett along with us, for the exercise (even after our two-hour long bike ride up to a nearby dam/reservoir, Xinlu'ao Reservoir, yesterday morning). But we also thought it would be good exposure within the context of a more hectic atmosphere; he needs to overcome the point of sensory-overload and learn to stay focused on the leash, our commands, and not freak out in noisy crowds. Though he only barks and would never bite (even around other dogs he's afraid of), he does get quite afraid and backs away or tries to jump into our arms for protection, even though he's far to large now to be carried for any distance. 

We didn't even know the three Chinese
people on the whole left half of the photo

We hiked for about two hours to get up the mountain, took lovely panoramic photos with our friends (as well as had the typical laowai "foreigner photos" taken OF or with us). Then we headed back down the mountain (whew--jelly legs from all the steep stair steps up and down!). Per usual, I received comments and many photos for being a laowai (I do believe that Kari and I were the only foreigners I saw the whole morning-excursion!), but all the more because we had Jett on harness-lead. It was great exercise and training for him, but he received his fair share of pats (Chinese-style, which involve a scared-sort-of touch-and-run on the top of his head; again, Chinese don't really quite understand the idea of domesticated dogs as pets yet). Jett was called (in Chinese and limited, broken English), "cute," "beautiful," "strange," "scary," and evoked many screams and skittish skirting around him on the pathways, from those unaccustomed to dogs (though there were several other dogs on the trails as well).

All in all, it was a lovely hike and good exercise, even with the crowds of humanity, getting to know more Chinese friends, learning more Mandarin, and having the opportunity for a good training sesh for Jett and us as his on-lead handlers, reacting to his behavior amongst a crowd... so it was a beneficial experience for all, I'd say!

CNY vacay conclusion and trip highlights...

Since my last post from Kampuchea (Cambodia)...

We got busy on our last day of the tour in Cambodia, which was fabulous (cycling about 100 km ~ 60 miles; I'll go into more details later). Then we went to Thailand after our six days in Cambodia. The end of that long travel day rewarded us with a beautiful sunset, Thai cuisine, rum and cokes at the side of a placid infinity pool all to ourselves, and skinny dipping under an umbrella of glorious fireworks, in the Bay of Thailand (whoops, did I just reveal that intimate detail to my entire blog readership!? It was a really lovely bathwater-temperature, hardly any waves, and so inviting, though that sand was obnoxious!). That's all to say, that in our couple days of R&R on one of Thailand's many beaches, exploring, and playing with elephants and fuzzling a tiger, I got lazy and opted to stop blogging. I did, however post little pictorial updates on Facebook, so I apologize to my Fb friendlies if anything that follows in this blogpost is repetitive.

So, I'll backtrack a bit and fill in some more details in summary of day two on the cycle tour of Siem Reap/Angkor Wat and ancient temples in Cambodia, which I believe I briefly blogged about while in Kampuchea... the cycling around in warm, breezy weather was great, getting to experience temples (including Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom communities), sighting elephants, and enjoying well-seasoned Khmer food on a dinner date (as well as classic cultural fish-coconut-curry soup for lunch!), and closing the night with a Khmer massage. Absolutely lovely. We were ready to get back on our bikes for another fantastic day of temple touring!

On day three of our cycle tour (day five of our vacay), we went returned to Angkor Wat (the temple, not just the general region), to revisit the temple and it's third level ("Heaven"), since it was not open on Sunday, marking the Chinese New Year (CNY) holiday. Dressed in appropriate clothing that covered our shoulders and knees, we got a top-notch view of the surrounding area, and got to see the water lilies, their pink blossoms opened to the morning sun's rays. Gorgeous. Exiting on our own out the south entrance, we met up with Vireak, our tour guide, and Vannak, our driver, remounting our bicycles for the day. Off we went in the direction of Banteay Srei, visiting more ancient ruins of Hindu and Buddhist temples, learning how to harvest and make palm juice sugar-candies, and 

Angkor Wat and the lily reflection pool to its north.

observing Kampuchea's countryside 

alongside rice-harvesters in the fields as we biked by. After a picnic lunch, we further enjoyed ourselves, playing with local kids in the dirty, low waters of the dry-season Siem Reap River. Later in the afternoon, returning to the modern city of Siem Reap, we visited a silk art and pottery-carving training school and workshop, observing the intricate arts that so many disabled and underprivileged Khmer have been given the opportunity to learn and develop as a trade. After signing a bit with some of the deaf craftswomen, we moved on to a massive gift shop, displaying the handiwork. However, one of the highlights of the day that I should not neglect to mention was cooling off with a MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP ICE CREAM cone! Yes, you read that correctly. Mint choc chip. In Asia. Not green tea. Hallelujah! Never tasted such refreshment. We finished the day with a night on the town, enjoying cocktails and a Khmer dinner together. Not a bad day. 

...why skirts aren't allowed in "Heaven"
at Angkor Wat

Vireak explains Hindu stories to me amidst
the Banteay Srei temple ruins.

Playing in the Siem Reap River

It's mint ice cream!

In the morning, at 6am, once our van was push started (in REVERSE, might I mention), we were delivered at  a bus pickup (because "station" would be a gross exaggeration of where we caught this bus), and said our adieus and thank yous to Vireak and Vannak. The bus was at least 40 minutes late (said to depart at 7am), and decided to stop only about 45 minutes down the road at a convenience shop, for an extended period of time, for no apparent reason. We finally reached the Thai-Khmer border around 9:30am. We said, "Thanks, Kampuchea, it's been real," and headed through the logistical details of crossing this sketch Southeast Asian border into the Kingdom of Thailand.

Please click on this photo and zoom in
to see the morning treat we got to witness
while pulled over on the side of a Cambodian road,
on the way to the border

Right before the border of Kampuchea/Kingdom of Thailand,

we were getting our bus tickets exchanged for when we got the Thailand side. 

This torn banner portrays a statement that is not entirely truthful.

Try the slogan on the flipside:

"Tourism (also) contributes to the the advancement of exploitation,

distrust, sex and drug trafficking, injustice, pollution, 

and degradation of not only natural habitat and cleanly environments, 

but also washing away authentic culture, unique customs and language,

promulgating cyclical thinking of egotism, entitlement, and priviledged minority."

Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, does it?

Made it to Jomtien Beach, Pattaya, Thailand

Six hours later, having made it across the border successfully out of Kampuchea (the Kingdom of Cambodia) and into southeastern region of Ratcha-anachak Thai (the Kingdom of Thailand), with all body parts in tact, we arrived in Pattaya then by an aircon minivan, complete with ceiling fan. There, we were dropped on a street corner and had to figure out transportation to Jomtien Beach (about 5k further south on Highway 3), where we had hotel/resort reservations. We navigated our way to a large parking lot, where we communicated our need for a taxi, which turned out to be the back of a pickup truck with benches. Quite airy. We were nearly in warm, tropical heaven (as compared to coming from our present habitat known as Frozen-Over China) when we arrived at our hotel, with A/C, an infinity pool, the beach just meters away, with gentle waves lapping on golden sand, under the orangey sunset beams.

Other than the fact that that region of the world seems not to believe in towel racks, the people were friendly and full of smiles, the food was sweet and delicious (we renamed our food babies "Buddha bellies" in honor of the region's religious majority), and the drinks were cheap(er)... though not nearly as cheap as in Kampuchea.

Pad Thai done right!

The following day, we fully took advantage of a full day on the beachfront along the bay of Thailand: swimming in the sea, reading by/in the infinity pool, eating deeelish, authentic Pad Thai, playing with and helping a stray puppy (I think I'm gonna start an orphanage for stray pups in Asia one of these days...), and sampling a Singha Thai beer, receiving a therapeutic Thai oil massage, as well as doing a bit of exploring in the little town, and chatting with locals (employees and owners) of businesses for tourists in the area. And apparently we did not completely escape CNY fireworks in Thailand. There was an abundance of them set off right around midnight.

Our second full day in Thailand, February 14, we got stir crazy, so we arranged to go to the Nong 

Nooch Gardens (10km south of Pattaya, about 5k further down the road from Jomtien beach in Chonburi). In addition to seeing whimsical pottery and corn-cob displays, I realized another fanciful aspiration that will probably never come to fruition; I think I'm going to need to run away and join the circus, or at least become an elephant whisperer/trainer/co-entertainer, in my new-found love of the marvelously intelligent and kind, lumbering animals. We spent our Valentine's Day lovin' on some elephants and watching some traditional Thai shows of cultural dance, history, and art. That afternoon, we further enjoyed the Thai beach, food, and I had another massage (on the beach). Watching the sun set from the water, we breathed deeply and enjoyed the bliss.

Beautiful kitty

Valentines on a little love boat, made out of pottery.
(Pretty sure it wouldn't float)

Seussville?

Getting on the metro in Shanghai

On February 15, we left our hotel not too early, and were driven via a private service to the Bangkok international airport, long before we needed to be there for check in. On our layover in Guangzhou, China, about 6 hours later, we were welcomed back to the land of VPN and other less-mentionable attributes this huge country presents, when we walked into a wall of cigarette smoke, inside, and then, upon going to the bathroom, saw all the seats up, with footprints on the rims (Chinese women stand and crouch over toilet seats, based on a different style of porcelain throne that is less of a throne and more of a squatty-pit). Nihao once again, China!

In the sketchy hotel

Upon arriving in China around 8pm, we were out of luck as far as getting home to Beilun that night. No more buses or trains. Buying train tickets for the first train out the next morning, we resigned ourselves to looking for a hotel to pass the next 10 hours. Avoiding a typical Chinese scam (that's another story there!), we finally came to rest on a pokey-springed mattress in a death-box of a hotel room. But it's cool. We lived to tell. If we were ever on the Amazing Race, we would totally dominate.

Adventuring our way through yet another night in Asia, we essentially conquered every obstacle that stood in our path. Watch out, China! 

The next morning, Saturday, February 16, we had successfully boarded an 8:05am train out of Shanghai and back to Ningbo. In Ningbo followed the quickest, smoothest, best taxi ride either of us had ever experienced in our time combined in China! What a pleasant way to end the travels. 

On the train ride home

Beilun's cold winter sun greeted us, as did our newly-fixed Boba Jett pupperz (complete with "cone of shame")... On Valentines, we realized the irony of the day on which Jett is getting his masculinity taken away from him. Happy Valentine's Day, Jett dear, we're gonna snip your man bits now so you can't do any puppy-makin'. Sorry, pooch. Neutering in China is a pretty foreign idea; we have to fully explain  to Chinese people why, when after staring at him for long awkward intervals in elevators or while out walking him, we would ever want to do that to our dog.

Then we just had about 1500 photos to sift through, organize, and prioritize. 

Trip reflections:

Regrets-

1. Losing my most awesome rain jacket (shell to an awesome winter coat combo). Best. Jacket. Ever. I just hope someone who needed it far more than I is now very happily using it!
2. Having heat rash (oh, AND massive bruising spider and mosquito bites)

Highlights-

Elephants!

1. 

   The perfectly-timed jumpy jumpy photos, 

   taken by our guide Vireak on his first try.

   Though difficult, seeing and learning first-hand, with primary resources at the tips of my fingers, in Phnom Penh's museums more about the Khmer Rouge of the Pol Pot Regime, the killing fields, and other tragic recent history
2. Bicycling around thousand-year-old ruins of ancient civilization, and learning more about the region's deep history, rooted in Buddhism and Hinduism
3. Jumpy jumpy photos around Wonders of the World
4. Splashing in the Siem Reap River with Khmer children and non-verbal communication with them
5. The tiny, but ever-so-strong little Khmer girl who jumped on my back, straddling me, to give me the most powerfully glorious back massage
6. Elephants and tigers. Most especially being lifted by the secure grasp of an elephant's trunk
7. The wonders of Thailand: Pad Thai in Thailand, the Bay of Thailand, warm weather, fireworks, and a good friend to enjoy it with!

That's all for now; it took me all week just to organize photos when I had the time, between being back at school and everything else in life. So that was the conclusion to one of the most awesome vacays taken to date. They just keep getting better. I feel so blessed.

Check out my Facebook photo album for my Chinese New Year holiday travels (apparently this is the public link to the album, which states, "You can use this link to share this photo album with anyone, even if they don't have a Facebook account. Anyone with the link will be able to see your photo album.")

Also, for the video tour of our trip, PLEASE visit Kari's blogpost. They truly encapsulate so much of the spirit of the trip that I would not be able to verbalize.

Biking Angkor Wat (day 3), Kampuchea day 5

Yesterday we saw Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat. Today we biked out to Banteay Srey (for a total of maybe around 100km today) to an intricate Hindu temple devoted to Shiva (god of destruction). The ruins were fantastic, and carvings ornate and exquisitely intricate.

A distorted panoramic from inside Angkor Wat.
Sorry the right side didn't align in the panorama app. (just ignore it)

We continue learning Khmer language... Akuun thom thom (thank you very much), Ta akuun (no thanks), and sousdei (hello), being some of the basics. I spelled them all phonetically as an English speaker would probably be most likely to recognize and pronounce them.

Stirring palm syrup to make little palm sugar candies.

After noon, we enjoyed a picnic lunch out the back of our support van, and then played with some local kids in the river... Splashing around and watching them jump off the bridge (the water was far too shallow for us though, twice their height).

We ended the afternoon with an art school, learning about the carving and silk painting that is practiced around this region. We also enjoyed some FANTASTIC ice cream... I found the first MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP I have tasted in a very long time (mint doesn't exist in Asia... The green tea flavor is deceptively disappointing.).

Now we are going to head out on the town for a bit.

A peek into our suite room
at our Seam Reap guesthouse

With our Khmer-Chinese driver, Vannak, and the presents he gifted us
because he was late on our second day of the tour, due to
celebrating Chinese New Year.

With Vireak, our tour guide.

Biking Angkor Wat (cycle tour day 2), Kampuchea (day 4)

We are about to head out from our hotel in Siem Reap, Kampuchea (Cambodia), for another awesome day of biking.

Arrival in Kampuchea (Phnom Penh to Siem Reap)

Khmer currency (and some USD, also accepted here)

Some things to note about Cambodia:

1. Nobody here calls it Cambodia. The name is referred to as Kampuchea.
2. The language, people, and currency (when not using US dollars) is called Khmer (pronounced Ka-meer (though some pronounce it "Kha-mare", in English pronunciation), but "kha-mai" by native "Kampucheans").
3. We are here during the dry season, which is November-April. The weather is warm in the evenings and mornings, reaching the 90s (Fahrenheit) around 1-4pm before cooling off again. It's humid. Almost muggy. 
4. The Khmer population (some of whom are of mixed Chinese descent) still celebrates Chinese New Year, in part (it is a lunar observance). So we did not totally skip out on all the decorations and fireworks.

We arrived to Cambodia on Thursday night, greeted by my friend Derek (Dom) from Whitworth. He is in the Peace Corps, serving in a provincial village on the southwestern side of the worlds larges freshwater lake, Tonla Sap (10,000 square km during wet season, shrinking down to a mere 3,000 during the lowest of dry seasons). He and another PCV (Peace corps Volunteer) met us at the airport and we all went out for the night. We spent the first night and following day (the 7th through the morning of the 9th) in Phnom Penh, the country's capital city.

We took in the sights, were taught much about the local culture--past and present. We went to the S21 facility, now a museum of the atrocities that were committed during the Khmer Rouge, close by to the infamous Killing Fields. What a somber, but educational day that was. All of my past knowledge of the country's violent history fell into place and was supplemented by that real-life visualization and meeting survivors and hearing personal stories. Everyone in this country has such a traumatic past. I could go into much more detail at another point in time. Having this basis of knowledge helps us really see Kampuchea through more than just a tourist's eyes.

"Abu"

We spent the late afternoon walking around, getting a taste of the city, walking down by the Mekong River and sitting there as the sun began to set, sipping wine and enjoying people-watching. We met the cutest little boy while relaxing, who was entertained my my iPhone for at least an hour. He took dozens of photos and got a kick out of skipping through my music. Kari named him Abu, because, we didn't get much more than little monkey sounds out of him, other than the fact that I correctly guessed he was four years old.

After a late night on the town, we were up and going early on Saturday morning to catch a 7:30 bus out of Phnom Penh, 6 hours northwest to Siem Reap. It was really a luxury bus, by my standards, with refreshments, the mandatory 1990s karaoke music videos, and wifi!!! Despite the lack of sleep the night before, aside from a 20-minute snooze, I was attentive and took in as much as I could of the Kampuchean countryside from out the window. I snapped many photos and contemplated comparisons to other countries I have experienced.

Khmer road sights

We arrived in Siem Reap around 1pm, and our guide Vireak, contracted privately through World Expeditions, met us with our driver, Vannak, whereupon we discovered that we had a private tour! (While booking through World Expeditions, our Tour Coordinator made it sound like we were part of a larger tour group.) This will be a fantastic few days to come!

On da bikes... day one!

TIC: split pants

On the bus still. Perfect display of the use of baby split pants... grandma gets the kid ready to pee on the bus. On the stairs. Right in front of us. Heat on full blast, the urine smell emanates from the floor. The best part is, we are still at the rest stop.

Ummm... Really, China? C'mon. We were on a 15-minute rest. You couldn't have anticipated that the kid would have to pee after being on a bus for two hours? Taken her off earlier to actually USE the proper facilities? Kari and I laughed hysterically while everyone else just looked on. Apparently they like the smell of urine for another hour...

This. Is. China.
(Too caught up in the moment at the time to take the picture while in action.)

On the road!

After a little mishap with some misplaced passport photos (she had them just a day ago, honestly! where could they have gone to?!) and having to take, edit, format, and run to school to print off more (thanks to the art teacher's color printer!), we caught a taxi and made it to the bus station in perfect time, as it was just boarding. Now we are on our way to Shanghai to catch a plane to Cambodia!! Kari will have to wait two hours until we are in Shanghai to have her coffee this morning...

CNY vacay travel plans

Just as an FYI, to all my faithful followers... my flatmate Kari and I will be embarking tomorrow on our Chinese New Year vacation. Our holiday adventures include the exotic locations of Cambodia and Thailand! Here's a short glance at the itinerary, if you care to follow us. I'm sure we'll be updating Facebook/blogging little statuses as we go, iPhone always handy.

Follow the Green Points along our Asian travels in the next 9-10 days!

Timeline:

Wednesday, Feb 6: 

Last day of school; I'm heading home to pack! Itineraries and info packets printed. Ready to go!

Thursday, Feb 7:

• 7am(ish): take taxi to Beilun, Ningbo long-distance bus station
• Take (7:40am) bus to Shanghai South Railway Station, metro/subway to Hongqiao (Shanghai) Airport (to arrive in Shanghai around 11:30am-ish)
• Fly from Shanghai to Guangzhou for a layover, then on to to Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Leave	Thu, Feb 7	7hr 5min Total time
Depart	Shanghai		China Southern Airlines 3538 Economy | Airbus A321 752 mi | 2hr 30min
2:45 PM	Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) | Terminal 2
Stop 1	Guangzhou, China Baiyun Airport (CAN)
5:15 PM	Baiyun (CAN)
Change planes. Time between flights: 1hr 50min
Depart	Guangzhou, China Baiyun Airport (CAN)		China Southern Airlines 323 Economy | Airbus A321 976 mi | 2hr 45min
7:05 PM	Baiyun (CAN)
Arrive	Phnom Penh
8:50 PM	Pochentong (PNH)

• Arrive in Cambodia around 9pm. Meet up with my friend Derek (who is a Peace Corps Volunteer about two hours south of the Cambodian capital city, Phnom Penh)
• Stay the night in Phnom Penh (PP), at a nice little riverside guesthouse/hotel, Phnom Penh City Hotel

Friday, Feb 8: Phnom Penh (PP)

PP exploration for the day, stay another night at the same Phnom Penh City Hotel

Saturday, Feb 9: PP to Siem Reap (for the start of a bicycle tour around Angkor Wat!) 

• Take an early bus (Mekong Bus line) from PP to Siem Reap (7:30am) (~6 hour trip)
• Transfer shuttle between bus station to hotel in Siem Reap (around 2pm)
• Begin bike tour around Angkor Wat, Day 1: On arrival in Siem Reap you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Today we cycle along Siem Reap River through lush scenery past Chreav Village to Tonle Sap Lake. This is an excellent opportunity to see how the people of this once sleepy village live. We can observe life in the Khmer stilt villages from the banks of the river as the local fisherman count their catch and prepare it for the markets. Back on our bikes we cycle down the backroads to visit Prasat Wat Athvea Temple before returning to Siem Reap town. (Cycle approximately 30kms) 

Sunday, Feb 10: Day 2 bike tour: 

Cycle around Angkor Temples and to the Rolous group
After breakfast we will set off along what is known as the Angkor short circuit. We will visit stunning temples such as Ta Prohm, intentionally left with huge forest overgrowth. This gives the temple a mystical air and every corner you turn presents you with another photo opportunity. We also cycle along the Eastern gate of Angkor Thom before exploring the famous Bayon Temple. The Bayon temple has 37 free standing towers each with 4 carved Buddha like faces oriented towards the cardinal points. This is a great temple to visit as the local monks in their saffron robes frequently come here to meet tourists and practice their English. After relaxing for lunch, we will visit the splendid temple of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is breathtaking with its 5 main towers rising 65 meters from the ground. Depending on the time available to us we may have an opportunity to cycle to the lesser known Rolous Group of temples built in the 9th century before returning to our Siem Reap hotel. (Cycle approximately 35kms.)

Monday, Feb 11: Day 3 bike tour: 

Full day cycle to Banteay Srey Temple
This morning we start out early for our largest cycling day to the exquisite temple of Banteay Srey. Banteay Srey, also known as the Ladies’ Temple, has some of the finest displays of carvings in the whole of Cambodia. The carvings here are said to be so delicate that only a lady could have carved them. The cycling route to the temple takes you past beautifully lush scenery of rice fields and sugar palms through small Khmer villages and is often the highlight of many peoples cycling journey. (Cycle approximately 70kms.)

Tuesday, Feb 12: Day 4 bike tour: Trip concludes in Siem Reap

• Shuttle transfer to bus station (around 5am?) to catch a bus out of Siem Reap, to Bangkok
• Bus (departs @ 6am) to Bangkok (~8-9 hour trip)
• Bus switch at the Cambodian/Thai border?
• Arrives at some unknown station, “Bangkok Khav Sun Road Station (Hang Tet bus) around 3pm. It'll be an adventure trying to figure out public transport to get ourselves to a bus station that will successfully connect us on the next leg of our journey...
• Figure out bussing transport from Bangkok to our beach destination (in a little town called Jomtien, just north of the larger beach city, Pattaya). It should be about a 2-hour bus ride north, out of Bangkok and up the coast.
• Lodging: Casuarina Jomtien Hotel. Yeah, we're excited. 

Wednesday, Feb 13-Thursday, Feb 14: spend the day in Jomtien/Pattaya area

Beach & exploring!

Lodging: continued stay at the Casuarina Jomtien Hotel.

Friday, Feb 15: return to China/travel day

• Leave Jomtien beach area (by bus?) to get to the airport by 10am for check in. We'll figure it out when we get to Jomtien, having local recommendations for best transport.
• Fly back to Shanghai (Hongqiao) out of Bangkok. Itinerary:

Return	Fri, Feb 15	7hr 10min Total time
Depart	Bangkok		China Southern Airlines 358 Economy | Airbus A321 1,047 mi | 2hr 35min
11:55 AM	Suvarnabhumi Int'l airport (BKK)
Stop 1	Guangzhou, China Baiyun Airport (CAN)
3:30 PM	Baiyun (CAN)
Change planes. Time between flights: 2hr 15min
Depart	Guangzhou, China Baiyun Airport (CAN)		China Southern Airlines 5308 Economy | Airbus A321 752 mi | 2hr 20min
5:45 PM	Baiyun (CAN)
Arrive	Shanghai
8:05 PM	Hongqiao International Airport (SHA) | Terminal 2
Flight 5308 Operated by CHINA EASTERN AIRLINES

• Take (8:30pm (or 10:30pm)) train back to Ningbo from Shanghai, depending on when we get in, or figure out alternative bussing or taxi pick ups in Ningbo or Beilun, upon arrival. This leg of our journey will be the least of our concerns, as it involves travel we are familiar with.

Here's to a long week of adventures! Keep us in your thoughts and prayers! Thanks!