Temples Galore!

Day two of the temple tour was a blast. Each temple is different and beautiful in its own way.

It was extremely hot today, so whenever I found a dark corner I quickly ran and sat down.

The tour guide wanted me to make a gun with my hand to shoot. I was so confused but I did it anyway. 

Beautiful carvings in the stone

 

 

Script etched into the wall of the temple

 

 

 The crew and Chong, our tour guide

I had fun today. It was a bit hot but overall it was a great experience. To me Siem Reap is way different than Phnom Pehn. Siem Reap has more architectural history with more countryside. Tonight I'm off to Sihanoukville to go hang out at the beach for a few days. Cant wait!

 

A few photos from lunch

 This is a traditional soup call Amok. This one is with chicken but they make it with fish as well. Very tasty

 

Siem Reap!!!

I made it to Siem Reap to meet up with my friends from home. I was really excited to join them while we are all traveling in Asia.

Here is a picture of where I ate breakfast the first day at our hotel in Siem Reap... not bad

Today we took our massive group and did a day tour of Angkor Wat. Beautiful ancient temples that have lasted the test of time. Some famous movies have even been filmed here as well. ( Indiana Jones and Tomb Raider)

Trying to find inner peace

There are many temples, each one having a different story to tell. I do not remember the names of all of them, but I will say that my favorite so far is the Angkor Wat temple.

There are 3 levels to the Angkor Wat temple and to go past the 1st level you have to wear a shirt that at least covers your shoulders and shorts that at least covers your knees. They ask visitors to do so as a sign of respect. 

 

On the entrances to the temple, you can actually see bullet holes where shots were fired during the Khmer Rouge civil war. Makes me wonder why was there bloodshed at a temple, but I have to remember how vicious the times were during the Khmer Rouge regime.

 

 

Jordan and I

My attempt at some artistic photos

 

Day two of the Angkor Wat tour will be tomorrow...

A few photos from dinner the other night

Boiled and fried dumplings made fresh? Don't mind if I do

 The boiled dumplings were the best and only $1.50 for 12!!!!!!!!!!

Caught Lois-Ann slippin... hahahaha

Phnon Pehn Day 2

The food here is unbelievably good, and made with simple ingredients.

 Delicious bowl of noodles at the Russian Market ( I don't even know what its called but it tasted amazing)

Me and the boys (Andrew and Zane (both Canadian)) enjoying our noodles. You can see how hot it was by the sweat glistening off my skin. That's right... I glisten

Shortly after the girls decided to do a little shopping and we decided to have a few beers in the tuk tuk while we waited. 

Overall day two was a blast. Found a nice crew of people to hang with, roamed around the city, had a few too many beers (cough cough), and eventually found our way to a pool to cool off at night. I can say this, life in Cambodia is not bad... not bad at all

Phnom Pehn...

The internet here is a bit sketchy so its been a challenge to update the blog. I did make it here safely. So far so good. Things got a little crazy here at the Top Banana Guesthouse on Saturday...

Not only did I drink, I actually soaked up some culture.

  This is Iris, getting ready to take a few photos (I hope I'm spelling her name right)

This is a quick look inside Wat Phnom temple

My first day was great, I met a couple of girls from Holland who were kind enough to let me tag along with them for the day. We rented mountain bikes and rode around the city, even though it was hot as hell outside. It was nice to have the company and to hear others stories. 

 

 

 

I was very surprised to see the reaction of the local people as I rode by on my bike. Their eyes widen with a smile from ear to ear. It was as if I was this foreign enigma and everyone was curious. It was very welcoming.

Surprise!!!

Got the chance to surprise my sister with a impromptu visit in Atlanta. Although my dad almost dropped the ball and told her, I was still able to pull of the surprise.  I updated her on my travel plans and of course she did the whole worrying sister routine. I politely rolled my yes and assured her I will be safe. My time here is short and I was glad to spend some quality time with her and my nephew before I depart. [ 5 more days by the way!!!!!! :) ]

I also took the opportunity to go on a hike through one of the parks in town. Absolutely beautiful views and wild life...

 Quick selfie with the family

View of the lake

A crane... stalking its prey

My time in Atlanta has been very relaxing; eating a bunch of different southern food, drinking a few adult beverages and playing with my baby cousin. Just what I need before I start backpacking and sleeping in foreign beds.

Saying my goodbyes. A lot harder than I thought

For the last few days I've been saying goodbye to a lot of my family and friends. I have been really lucky to have the people I have in my life. It's tough to leave the nest and fly out on your own, but now is the time to do it. I'm glad I have the support system here and wouldn't give it up for anything in the world.

I have also been eating out like crazy trying to eat all the food that I wont have in China. Of course I had to have some In n Out...

Had to go big one last time...

 

 

So... here I go

10 Days!!! The countdown continues...

Getting closer and closer to my departure date and the anticipation keeps building and building.

Its funny, yesterday I was at the golf course with good friend of mine (Gregg) watching our friends play in a golf tournament. We noticed this guy walking aimlessly but enjoying himself. He stops near us, as we were in awe of the talented girls playing, and decided to speak to us. We exchanged pleasantries and found out that he does in fact play golf occasionally. 

We then starting talking about his work at Pfizer and how he (Don) enjoys all the benefits.  Gregg replied with how he is still chasing the dream of being a professional golfer and how its a tough grind. When it came to my turn to share I froze. I didn't know what to say. I initially started with my time at Enterprise and then leaving to work for IBD. I even made the joke about how Pfizer likes to recruit from Enterprise because we (they) are expert sellers. (or so they claim)

Don then asked if I ever thought about doing pharmaceutical sales. At this point I didn't want to do the whole song and dance of get his card and not follow through, so I decided to be honest. I told Don that I was moving to China to teach English.

"You're moving to China!" Don said, "I lived in China for two years to study Chinese and teach English." My jaw dropped. My mind was completely blown. This changed the whole dynamic of our conversation. I had so much to ask, but as a young black man there was one question I absolutely had to ask.

"Did you experience any racism during your stay in China?" The reason I asked is because I had come across some articles from young black professionals in China claiming that they had experienced some form of racism. Albeit, this was in the late 90's and I'm sure things have changed. I asked just to be sure.

 He quickly responded, "No." He said that everyone he came in contact with was extremely nice and genuine. I was assured that I will have the best time of my life and to take full advantage of it.

Before we departed Don gave me a few places in China that I "have" to check out and I promised him that I will.

I am glad that I ended up speaking to Don because it showed me that you never know who you are going to meet and what they can offer you. I am going to take this as a lesson and apply it to being more open to meet people on my travels to Southeast Asia and my time in China.

Should be interesting to say the least...

Rainy Days

I'm sure most wont argue that rainy days in LA are the best, especially when there is thunder involved. Its a welcome break from all the sunshine. Part of me wants to go outside and jump in the biggest puddle and the other part wants to stay under the covers and just listen (I've been doing the latter of course).

Its odd though... how this downpour can organize the racing mind or even cause me to want to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard for the matter).

Sitting on my couch, listening to the thunderstorm outside, thoughts of the trip start creeping up. I wonder who I'm going to meet or how adventurous I am going to get with the food or even how do I make the most out of the country I'm visiting? How many times will I come home to visit? Do I want to come home? All valid thoughts I suppose.

I guess I'm just anxious to get on the road and answer all those questions first hand.

Seems like this thunderstorm didn't help calm my mind after all...