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.

Warm Thoughts

It has been (and currently still is) insanely cold in Iowa. Colder than Antarctica, believe it or not. Since I can't leave the country at a moments notice to go somewhere substantially warmer near an ocean, I decided to randomly pick a folder of photos to go through. 

The folder of photos from August 2, 2014 happened to be from my FAVORITE walk in Sydney, Australia: the Bondi to Coogee coastal walk.  I hope these photos warm you up, as they did me.