1/10/13


I am happy to report that Mike is back from the hospital and in fine form. It turns out he had an intestinal infection, which manifested itself in multiple, nasty ways. I'm so thankful he's back home (after you get used to living with someone in a space, it's very lonely being by yourself!) and that it wasn't more serious.

Here is the first batch of photos from our trip down south. We were in Siem Reap, Cambodia for four days. While planning our trip, we discovered that Cambodia is a bit of a difficult country to travel around as they have no train system, night buses aren't recommended, and flights are very expensive. So we decided to only visit Siem Reap and spend the rest of our time in Vietnam, where it was easier to move around.

We stayed at Happy Guesthouse which was a fantastic experience. It was absolutely the best place we stayed our whole trip. The guesthouse set us up with a fantastic driver who took us to numerous temples and anywhere else we wanted to go. By the end of our stay, we were a bit templed-out and spent a lot of time by the pool down the street from our guesthouse. So what, we were on vacation! :)

We really loved our short time in Cambodia. The food was delicious, the people were so friendly and for the most part, most Khmer spoke excellent English (coming from Korea, this was a pleasant surprise!).

Next up: the dreamy island paradise of Phu Quoc...

35 comments:

  1. Wow, it looks like such a beautiful place, and those children are just gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  2. so beautiful, janis & mike! i can just feel the humidity...also, cool pants/skirt, j!
    i seriously cannot wait to go someday.

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow, gorgeous photos!
    what lens do you use?

    xo the egg out west.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we switched it up more this trip than we have in the past. we sometimes used the 24-70mm f/2.8 L(even though it was annoying to lug around), sometimes 50mm f/1.4 and sometimes the 85mm f/1.2 L.

      Delete
  4. Wow! We'll have to Skype and let you tell us some stories! The pictures are amazing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I'm glad your husband is well and back from the hospital.

    These photographs are stunning. I'd love to visit here!!

    xo,
    http://blog.sisiliapiring.com


    ReplyDelete
  6. good to hear your husband is ok now!!
    and wow, i am really really impressed about these photographs!! they are just soo good!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Great to hear that he's okay and that you guys were able to find good hospital facilities! Was it a travel-related thing? Stomach issues have always been my least favourite part of traveling.

    Anyway, your photos are pretty and it looks like you had a lovely time. Take care!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. yes, the doctors think it was travel-related, but obviously difficult to pinpoint. who knows, he may have got in south korea!

      Delete
  8. whoooaaaaa. what great experiences you two are having!

    ReplyDelete
  9. gorgeous photos! I cannot wait to see your Vietnam posts! I have yet to venture out to the country my father grew up in.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh neat! yes, i'm looking forward to posting them! :)

      Delete
  10. The photos are absolutely magical! I'm glad your other half is home and well.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh goodness, these photos made my heart swell. I agree with Mackenzie, I cannot wait to go back. I am so happy that Mike is out of the hospital and doing well. I am also so happy that you got to experience these amazing places! If you ever return to Cambodia, you should visit Phnom Penh. It was my favourite place in all of South East Asia. It is such an impossible city that broke my heart because it has been through so much hardship but it is really beautiful to see how the people persevere with thankfulness, love and appreciation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we were really struck by how the people were so kind and friendly, even after going through so much.

      we flew into phnom penh, so we were only there a few short hours before he headed up to siem reap. if we had had a few more days on our trip, we would've absolutely loved to check it out more.

      Delete
  12. So beautiful! And I'm so glad Mike is better!

    ReplyDelete
  13. nicely done. you have instilled a huge desire to travel now ;)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. well if you ever make it to south korea, we would love to meet up! :)

      Delete
  14. i love the first picture, and the picture of the hot air balloon. it looks so magical/like eternal sunset/sunrise! beautiful. good to hear mike is feeling better!

    ReplyDelete
  15. so beautiful Janis! that country is something remarkable.

    ReplyDelete
  16. These pictures are absolutely magical!! This makes me SO excited for our trip to Thailand (I know, different country but travel time all the same).

    ReplyDelete
  17. amazing!! these are all places i never knew i wanted to visit until seeing them through your eyes. what an experience you two are having!

    three cheers for poolside vacations and an on the mend husband!

    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  18. These photos are stunning! I've always wanted to go to Cambodia, now I want to go even more.
    And I'm glad Mike is okay now ^^

    ReplyDelete
  19. Hi! I love the picture with the sun on you. Seriously looks like a saint having some sort of beatific vision!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I love Cambodia! The old temples are like walking around a dream! Plus the children there are to die for! I seriously need to adopt a Cambodian child someday. I love your pics!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I can totally identify with temple fatigue. By the end of my teaching contract in Europe, I was pretty sick of visiting cathedrals. Is travel in S.Korea/around Asia pretty expensive?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. south east asia is very reasonable for travel (except for flights in cambodia!). south korea is more expensive, but the cost of taxis, buses and trains are still a lot cheaper than in north america. hotels in south korea are usually cheaper too, but food and entrainment is about the same as north america.

      Delete
  22. Wow! What absolutely beautiful photos! I'm glad that Mike is back in good health :) Stay safe and have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Stunning photos! This brings back so many memories. Can't wait to see the rest - and glad Mike is all better!

    ReplyDelete
  24. Wow!! Amazing pictures of one of my fav countries!! You captured it perfectly!
    And cant wait to see the pics from Phu Quoc, loved it there!!
    Hope Mike is feeling better....
    x

    ReplyDelete
  25. Absolutely stunning photos! Glad to hear that you adored Cambodia so much!
    Definitely do come back and ramble around a bit more :)

    ReplyDelete
  26. LOVE. love love! and i am so happy to hear mike's better! xx

    ReplyDelete
  27. yay for cambodia! so many beautiful familiar sites! did you stay at happy guest house via my recommendation? we stayed there and LOVED it! so fun!

    ReplyDelete

thanks so much for writing! i love hearing from you!

xo