Cambodia

I recently took a trip to Cambodia , a place that has been on my bucket list for over five years. It entirely exceeded my expectations due to the wonderful people there and I think it came at just the right point in my travel timeline. Cambodia is a special place with so much history, and tragedy in its not so distant past. Despite the heaviness, Cambodians have banned together and chosen a path of peace instead of vengeance, something that is so admirable and rare in the current climate of the world. I learned a lot on this trip, and gained a new perspective on life. I hope it sticks with me for quite some time.

I’ll break down my schedule for you below.


November 30-December 2 -

Travel Days. Kansas City, to Dallas, to Los Angeles, to Hong Kong, to Phnom Penh, to Siem Reap.

Thank goodness I bought a SIM card for my phone in Phnom Penh because my pre-arranged taxi didn’t pick me up at the Siem Reap airport, so I used the Cambodian equivalent of Uber - Grab - to get a taxi to my hotel. I also met some really lovely girls who invited me to a cocktail making class with them for one of their birthdays. We also roamed through the night markets and found a bite to eat.



December 3 -

Today was full of temples and delicious food.

  • Angkor Wat

  • Pre Rup

  • Ta Prom

  • Bayon




December 4 -

  • Angkor Centre for Conservation of Biodiversity

  • Hike through the jungle, and carvings into waterfalls

  • Banteay Srei

  • Phare Cambodian Circus

  • Night Markets





December 5 -

  • Tuk tuk to the Floating Villages of Tonle Sap

  • Fly to Sihanoukville






December 6 -

  • Ferry to Koh Rong

  • Beach for the afternoon

December 7 -

  • Boat tour of Koh Rong

  • Dinner with new friends at an amazing Italian Restaurant

December 8 -

  • Ferry to Sihanoukville, then fly to Phnom Penh

  • Meet Globekick Crew

December 9 -

  • Royal Palace

  • National Museum

  • Central Market

  • Dinner cruise on the Mekong

December 10 -

  • Killing Fields

  • S21 Prison

  • Drive to Sen Monorom in Mondulkiri

December 11 -

  • Elephant Valley Project - Seriously such an amazing organization. Not only do they help working elephants retire to live out the rest of their life as naturally as possible, but they provide jobs and healthcare for people in the village, and provide education for some in the village. This place is a little piece of heaven on earth. If you can - visit their camps, (there is one in Thailand too!) or just donate any little bit you can spare. It is put to such good use. I cannot advocate more for this place. #letthemroamfree

  • See elephants bathe in the morning and afternoon

December 12 -

  • Volunteer in the morning to build a bridge

  • Elephant baths

December 13 -

  • Volunteer in the AM - almost finished the bridge!

  • Final Elephant hang time - more baths!

December 14 -

  • Drive from Sen Monorom to Phnom Penh - 6 hours.

  • Visit the Russian Markets

  • Farewell dinner with Globekick

December 15 to 16-

  • Fly back to the states: Phnom Penh to Hong Kong, to Los Angeles, to Chicago to Kansas City.

  • Let the jet lag commence.

PANAMA

I recently traveled to Panama with a group called Globekick. It was a wonderful experience and I met some really awesome people and did some things I never even thought possible, like living on a private island for 3 days. It was an amazing experience I will never forget!

My friend LeighAnna, (who I met in Australia) and I flew into Panama City a few days early to just relax a bit. We stayed at an all inclusive resort, which I had never done before.  We stayed at Playa Bonita Dreams. I would recommend staying there for a few days, but I would have gone stir-crazy if we had been there for a week or more. After that we met up with our Globekick group, spent a few nights in Casco Viejo, and then headed to the San Blas Islands. Below is a breakdown of my day by day sights with some visuals.

I didn't take as many photos as I would have liked to due to the salt, sand and sea and being afraid it would damage my camera and phone. I did buy a fake go pro, and it wasn't the quality I was expecting.

August 17 and 18 - Playa Bonita

  • All inclusive resort
  • Pool time and lots of food

August 19 - Casco Viejo

  • Met up with our tour group at Magnolia Inn
  • Wandered around Casco Viejo
  • Tour of Casco Viejo
  • Group Dinner

August 20 -

  • Rainforest Hike
  • Panama Canal
  • Authentic Panamanian Dinner

Here is a very poor time lapse I took of a lock draining, and a boat going through the Panama Canal. I obviously don't have a steady hand and would have done better with a  little tripod, or mount.

August 21 - To the San Blas

  • 4x4s through the jungle for 2 hours to the Guna Port
  • 1 hour boat ride to Tortuga Island
  • 30 min boat ride to Cocoabandera - home for the next couple days
  • Lobster dinner

August 22 -

  • Visited the local Guna village where we learned a lot about their culture**
  • Pelican Island with a lot of starfish
  • Obstacle course on beach

**I bought a fake go pro and used it to take photos while we visited the local village. I'm not happy with the image quality or the fish eye lense on my faux pro, but it is what it is.

August 23 - Last Island day

  • Goodbye to Island
  • Visited more popular island Perro Chico where you can snorkel a ship wreck
  • Hostel in Marbella

August 24 -

  • Mola shopping
  • Mask shopping
  • Back to room early to get ready for dinner and drinks in Casco Viejo

August 25 -

  • Hang around hostel until airport shuttle

 

This whole experience was different that I expected but it was a wonderful experience none the less. I met a lot of great people, and can't wait for my next Globekick adventure!

Palm Springs, California

Back in early November, I went to Palm Springs for a bachelorette party. I flew out a little early, and stayed later than everyone else so I could get some more sightseeing in done!

Thursday, November 2

  • Tahquitz Canyon
  • Village Fest

Friday, November 3

  • Joshua Tree National Park
    • Hidden Valley
    • Keys View
    • Skull Rock
    • Cholla Cactus Garden

Saturday, November 4

  • Palm Springs Aerial Tramway

Sunday, November 5

  • The Salton Sea
  • Bombay Beach
  • Salvation Mountain
  • Slab City

Monday, November 6

  • Mirage house in the desert palisades
  • Moorten Botanical Garden
  • Flew home (YES I have three out of the plane window photos. I like them all for different reasons: 1 - you can see the shadow of the plane. 2 - you can see the windmills. 3 - THE SKY.

Family Reunion in Boston, Mass.

Back in August I flew out to Boston for a family reunion. I'd never been to Boston before, so I was extremely excited to visit! Some of my family lives in Beverly, Massachusetts and they hosted most of the festivities.  What a beautiful area it was. Their house is absolutely gorgeous. They have restored it from being converted into 6 apartments. Supposedly President Taft used to come over to smoke cigars on the top floor and play pool - everything and everywhere has SO MUCH HISTORY! There have even been some movies filmed on their street. It is that beautiful! One night there were some fireworks over the water that is literally across from their house that just happened to correspond with the last night of our family reunion. Coincidence? I think not.  It was literally one of the best family reunions I've been able to go to! On the way home, I got to drive back with my dad! It was fun to do some site seeing with him.  What follows is a breakdown of what we did.

Friday, August 4th

  • Flew to Providence, Rhode Island instead of Boston because my flight was majorly delayed and I wouldn't have been able to meet up with family until after 9 PM.
  • Dad picked me up and drove from Providence to Boston. (THANKS DAD! <3)
  • Drove to Beverly to see the house, talk to family and have a pizza party!
  • Salem ghost tour

Saturday, August 5th

  • Peabody Essex Museum and roaming around Salem on a rainy day.
  • Sailboat with family and dinner at an old rail station converted into a restaurant.
  • Candlepin bowling after dinner

Sunday, August 6th

  • Boston Freedom Walk
  • Chicken and Lobster dinner in Beverly
  • Fireworks and goodbyes (official end of family reunion)

Monday, August 7th

  • Whale watching tour from Boston Harbor
  • Drove to Amherst, Mass. to stay with family

Tuesday, August 8th

  • Breakfast with dad and family
  • Saw the family farm that my grandpa spent a few years growing up on in Cattaraugus
  • Drove to Niagara Falls: both the US and Canadian side

Wednesday, August 9th

  • Niagara Hornblower boat and journey behind the falls tour on the Canadian side
  • Drove to Detroit through Canada

Thursday, August 10th

  • Henry Ford Museum - Greenfield Village and National Park movie

Friday, August 11th

  • Rouge factory tour where we got to see some F150s being put together and the actual Henry Ford Museum itself
  • Drove back home to Iowa.