Final

This will be my last blog
It is June 13th, sorry it took me so long to finish. I am home now :( We came home June 8th
The flight wasn't too bad, it only took 23 hours this time. Our flight left at 5:30 am and got back at 6:23 pm our time. Staying in the airport wasn't as bad this time, I guess since we didn't have to stay there as long as the last time. The food was not as good as it was on our way to Singapore....it doesn't seem like it has been a month since I was just in Singapore...

I really miss Asia, I am really glad to be home, but everything I did in Asia was life changing! What I saw, who I talked to, and just the whole atmosphere can never really be described to the fullest.

The rest of what we did in Bangkok was......
A lot of time spent in the city.
One day we took the water taxi to Wat Pho, where we saw the reclining Buddha, not what I expected to see.

We also went to Y&R which stands for Young and Rubicam, which is a company that works in advertising and public relations, as well as many other services.

On Saturday we went to the Chatuchak Weekend market and OMG it was huge! I got lost it was so big! But I did finish my shopping there!

We then went to the mall that was set on fire by the red shirt protesters, it still smelled like burnt paper. We also saw that there were bullet holes in the glass on the bridge to walk over top of traffic.

On a day where everyone got to do what they wanted all of the girls decided to go to a movie! And I know what your thinking, who goes to Asia to see a movie? Well we did, and it was a good experience because they movie theater was definitely different then ours. You can pay according to the seat that you want! The better the seat the more expensive. We saw Sex and the City 2, which we could all relate to since it took place in a different country and we were in a different country!

After being in Asia for a month now, I really got used to the heat. I really did not sweat as much as I did when we first arrived in Singapore.

I am glad to be home, I really do miss Asia but I think I miss the friends that I made more. I still haven't adjusted back to the time change....considering it is 6:05 am. I got up at 4:30 took a shower and decided to finish my blogging. But I guess it didn't help that I fell asleep at 8 last night.
Well I am sad to be finishing this blog but excited to have stories to tell people for the rest of my life. Thanks for following me on this journey.
Stephanie.

Bangkok

So if you read the title of my blog I'm guessing you know that we decided to go to Bangkok again!
Dr. Kennan said his contacts here said it was safe for us to come so here we are 3/4 days later!

The rest of the activities that we did in Siem Reap was Tonle Sap, the floating village in Cambodia. We didn't get to actually go onto the villages like they did the last time but it was still cool to see. We took a 2 hour boat ride to it!!
We also built a compost toilet for a family which was our service project...we laid the bricks down to make the base, the guys dug the hole for the waste to land, and we also built the walls of the bathroom out of grass leaves..I am not really sure how to describe it.
And how we got there was by an Ox cart...the experiences I have here have been amazing, out of the ordinary, and I am so glad I came!
We also went to Siem Reap's night market...it was pretty big and I got a lot...I got a gift for Hillary, my Mom, Sister, Dad, me....and a few other people! And I spent probably $22!!

Then we left Siem Reap on Thursday and took a horrible bus ride to Phnom Phen which was 5 hours with the bus driver honking his horn every 2 minutes!

We stayed at the Billabong which had a pool that we used both days we were there.
While we were there we went to The Kings Palace, S21, and the Killing Fields. It was soooo sad!
In S21 we got to go into the actually buildings that they kept their prisoners and there were A LOT of pictures. There were also a lot of skulls they had in cases that had bullet holes on the top of their heads.....

Then we took a 7 hour bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City, Saigon (Vietnam) and stayed at Madam Cuc's for a night. They split us up into 4 groups and we all stayed in different buildings which was strange.
Then we took a 2 hour plane to Bangkok and a cab ride to our hotel Suk 11, which is amazing! It is like a big tree house!
So far we have not done too much...except go to the MBK center (a giant mall) and go to the Tiger Temple yesterday!!!!!!!!
YEAH I got to hang out with tigers for a day!
We got our pictures taken with these HUGE tigers...and one of them hit me with their tail because I was too light touching them so it thought I was a bug or something....it really hurt!
We also got to take pictures with little baby tigers about 4 months old =]
and then we stood in a cage to watch the tigers of their chains playing in the water! It was crazy! I got a lot of good pictures but then my camera died...and I didn't get any of them playing in the water....but everyone else did so I'll steal theirs lol

We leave next Tuesday so less then a week left.
Today we are going t0 a Public Relations firm and we might go to Muay Thai which is a boxing arena that is really popular here!
This weekend we are going to the Chatuchak Market which is the biggest market in Bangkok...for all of those who know...you know how excited I am right now!
Ok well I am going to go eat before the PR firm so stay tuned!

Siem Reap

So we are in Siem Reap and so far so great!
The time changed again but now it is only an 11 hour difference from back home.

The flight was only an hour from Kuala Lumpur and as soon as we got off and got our luggage we were picked up by our Tuk Tuk drivers! They are guys that work for our hotel that drive us around on motorcycles that have a cart type carrier connected to it that we sit in! It fits two a person so of course my Tuk Tuk buddy is KJ! Our drivers name is Sók (OK with an S in the front is how you pronounce it) he is soo nice! and he takes us where ever we want to go!

But yesterday was baaad we stayed the night in the airport. Got there around 11 p.m. and our flight was at 7 a.m. I did not sleep at all except for maybe a few minutes on the plane. And as soon as we landed we dropped our bags off and went to the temples. Its just non stop visiting places.

So far the place we are staying at is my favorite, The Villa! It is three girls to each room and three guys to each room then Dr. Kennan has his own room. (FYI only 10 people total are in our group) We get breakfast "free" and everything here is so cheap! Drinks - water is a dollar (all American money), soda is a dollar, beer is like 3.00 and so are other alcoholic drinks! And that is every where we go not just at our hotel! We stopped by this place to get drinks and KJ got change back which was .50 cents but instead of giving her American coins they gave her 4 500 dollar bills in Riel.

So far we have gone to a lot of temples: Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom which was really amazing!
One night we went to a concert for Kantha Bopha (a hospitla that is free for children and pregnant women that is in Siem Reap and Phnom Penh)
We woke up at 4:30 am to see the sunrise at the temples...it was incredible. Then we went and saw the temple where Lara Croft Tomb Raider was filmed! Next we are going to the landmine museum.
We also rode on elephants which was awesome! We sat in little baskets (Me and KJ) and went up a mountain...fun stuff!

We are not going to Bangkok anymore because of all the violence that is happening, like the red shirts burned a mall to the ground a few days ago according to the paper. So we extended our time here for two more days, so we are leaving Thursday, which is great because it gives us a few days to relax. Then we are going to Phnom Penh and after that Ho Chi Minh City and still going home June 8th.

Tonight we are getting $10 massages for 90 minutes.....(yea American dollars) I am telling you this place is fantastic! (and at our hotel they come to your room and give you a 60 minute massage for $16)

Except for the fact that every time we drive around in our Tuk Tuk's we see like kids on motorcycles, their will be some adult drive it and then the little child will be standing in the front, it's scary! OR there will be four people on ONE motorcycle and someone will be holding an baby in the back....i don't like it at all. Also every time we go out (period) the people try to sell us ANYTHING: bracelets, books, necklaces, scarves, purses etc. Its good but its annoying. "hey lady you want book?" ""hey lady you buy from me? You want a bracelet 10 for $1....$1.....$1"
And it is not just adults, it is little kids selling things to you, kids that do not go to school...it's sad.

But to let everyone know (mom) i bought a gift for my Mom today! I thought I would have gotten more things by now but we are going to the night market tonight so hopefully I will.

At our hotel we just sent in our laundry so i am awaiting for my clean clothes to come back folded nicely in a bag =]

I think that is all for now. I always forget something and add it back in later so re-read some of my blogs cause i add new stuff in when i remember a few days later. Ok getting ready for my $10 massage.....byyyyyyye!!

Finally Connected!

Hey

We haven't had any internet connection lately so let me cram everything into one blog right now, which may not be too long because I am paying for using the internet....
First, I am so glad I took that typing class in high school because my key board right now has all the letters rubbed off....

Ok we are in Taman Negara right now.... and we found a new way to travel....by boat!
We are on an island and there are no cars around us so if we want to go any where we just hope on our motorized boat and jet.

It took us 3 hours to get to our hostile by boat. It's 8 of us in one room and the other two in a room next to ours. Bugs EVERYWHERE and they are super sized. Must be something in the water. We eat on a floating restaurant every meal which is pretty cool and there are A LOT of cats here....a lot...but the food is pretty good, nothing out of the ordinary yet. All the juices are as fresh as can be. The orange juice we had this morning was like eating an orange, Fantastic.

Yesterday (Wednesday for us) we went on a nature hike....I died it was so intense! But the views were awesome! Then we went on a rapid water ride and got SOAKED. It's like if we jumped into a lake with all our clothes on. Then we went to an indigenous village were there were huts and people wearing clothes as dresses (which actually looked really good). We also got to use their blow darts they use for hunting! I have tons of pictures and videos but I can't upload them until after the trip...so about 3 more weeks!

We also went on a night safari....saw a deer and tons of bugs but since I am still sick my coughing probably scared all of the animals away :(

Today we did the Canopy Walk...very high up, soooo cool!
Now it is our own time to do whatever we want. After this I am thinking about either going back and laying down or maybe find some shopping...

We are leaving tomorrow at 9 a.m. going on our 3 hour boat ride back to land and going on a 5 hour bus ride back to Kuala Lumpur then sleeping in the air port and flying out to Siem Reap.

This is definitely my favorite part of the trip so far.

I got a gift for Eric here but I'm not saying what it is just yet.

Back where their are cars their are TONS of motorcycles around and they mostly drive on the shoulder....and then when some have little kids driving with them they kids sit in the front...but they are so confident in their driving I think they can handle it.

Also back in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where we stayed at the University of Malaya we went to the Batu Caves which had 272 steps if I remembered correctly, that you had to do to get into the cave. There were also TONS and TONS of these little monkeys that were all over the place, they would walk right up to people and tug on their clothes and even steal their food and drinks!
The first night we were their went to Petaling Street. It was so much fun! We got to haggle which is where I bought a purse (just to carry my stuff around in). The guy wanted to sell it to me for 165 Ringet but I got it down to 62 (which is $20 American) YES!

And the international phone that I bought back in Singapore doesn't work any where else...so awesome I wasted 58 Singapore dollars which is 30 American dollars.

In Kuala Lumpur we met Dr. Kennan's friend Lucy who was the nicest person ever! She took us every where we wanted to go and drove us around with her and her own car service (from work). And then when we had to get on the bus at 6 in the morning she was there to make sure we got on the right bus!!!!

She also took us to this Mosk (church - didn't spell it right) where we had to cover up our bodies so they gave us these pink cap/dresses with hoods to wear. that even the guys wore! Great you'll have to see the pictures later!

I have adjusted to the time difference which only took me like a day but I'm still tired alllll the time because we are always on the go go go!!!! And the weather is brutally hot!!

Ok well that's it for now. Who knows when I'll be able to post again, probably soon.

Byyyyyeee

Singapore

Its Saturday morning here (7:15 a.m.)-- still Friday night back home.

Everyone here is so nice! Yesterday we went to this mall in Singapore and when KJ and I were trying to buy food the food people could not understand us so the first girl spoke to them and told them what we were saying about the dumplings, and the second girl told them that we wanted soy sauce. It was really nice we didn't even have to ask they just helped us.

It is funny, I am guessing the people here have never really seen Americans because they watch us as if we were their own television show. One lady even asked if she could get her picture taken with our group! Then while we were walking a bus of people all waved to us as they drove by.

While I am still sick, coughing just as much as ever....I almost DIED in a store coughing to death! Then I didn't convert enough money at that time to buy cough medicine and eye solution for my contacts so I used my credit card =]

But then later when I wanted to buy an international phone my card wouldn't work!!!!!!!!!!
I realized that you need to buy a new sim card in every country you go to for the phone to work....

I even called my bank two weeks before we left and told them the places and the dates where we are traveling. I was mad. It is really hard to find a pay phone here and to get internet access. So I e-mailed my parents and asked them if they could call Bank of America and see what's going on...but I'll have no way of knowing if they got my e-mail or not or what happened since I probably won't check again until Monday.

But I did finally get to talk to Eric last night =] and my dad! I just really want a phone so I can call them whenever! So hopefully told when we go to see Dr. Kennan's friend I can buy a phone where he bought his.

We also went to the National University of Singapore and the cab driver that we took drove like a mad man! He went to fast and got so close to the other cars, sometimes I could not watch! The traffic here is so fast and busy all the time even when the signs says its safe to cross the street I still have my doubts lol. But overall this place is really safe, considering there laws are so strict.

We went to Chinatown also which is not like the Chinatown in Baltimore or New York.
One day we went to a really nice coffee shop in the mall and meet one of Dr. Kennan's contacts

We are leaving Singapore tomorrow and going to Kulua Lumpur, Malaysia and we are staying at the University of Malay in their dorms. I am excited to see how other colleges live!

Singapore has been a really good transition place for all of us to become more comfortable with being in different countries so unlike ours.

Ok well I guess I am going to go back to bed for a little while, I only got up to e-mail my parents so if you are reading this CALL MY PARENTS and tell them to check their e-mail! PLEASE!

P.S. thank you to my cousin who got on fb and read the message I sent her! buut then she got off....lol

Arrived

Finally in Singapore! 2:51 a.m. (12 hour difference)

The plane rides were soooo long!! There was the one to Minnesota that was about 2 hours, then we had a 2 hour lay over. Minnesota to Tokyo was about a 12 hour flight....then we had to rush to our gate for Singapore from Tokyo as soon as we got off our plane for a 7 hour and 4 minute flight. The last flight wasn't so bad we had TVs for each seat and we got to watch any more we wanted! I watched It's Complicated (loved!) and I started to watch Dear John, but we landed before I got to finish it.

Through all the flights they feed us sooooo much food! It was actually really good food, there were salads, shrimp cocktail, tea, beef and rice, chicken, sandwiches, and lots more.

Then we got our luggage, it didn't take too long. Then we bought our calling cards and I called my parents and Eric =] (only my dad answered)

It stinks because I can't seem to get WI FI anywhere for my iTouch....

Now I am at the hotel -- Sleepy Sam's, which is a hostel. All the girls are staying in one room with bunk beds and all of the guys are staying in a common room with other guests.
I'm not really tired which is bad because it is 3:00 am in the morning but after this I'll probably just try and go to bed.

I'm a little home sick but that's probably because I haven't done anything or talked to anyone back home except for my dad. But thank you to my sister for letting me use her watch (which I wear ALL the time) and to my mom for letting me take her iTouch (even though I don't use it as much as I thought I would).

The worst is that I have a COLD! I have been sneezing, coughing, and blowing my nose the whole day(s)!!

At least there is Facebook chat! I am talking to Eric right now =]

KJ is blogging too and Dr. Kennan is on the computer and I'm pretty sure everyone else went up to go to bed. I just hope I can adjust to the time difference soon.

Ok well I guess I'll try and blog again tomorrow!!

Good morning for me and good afternoon to you!

So close....

Today was a good day. I bought a dress and three shirts! I may not bring any of them to Asia...but I can still wear them after Asia!

The stress of packing is making me break out! Everyone keeps saying what you bring, your going to have to carry....and I am one of those women who OVER packs (even for a weekend home). I have changed the luggage I'm bringing twice....it would be nice to be a guy right now and not care so much what I look like.........ppfft.
I HAVE to be prepared! I know I can buy things when I'm over there....but if I can have them before I go over there it's even better!

Sad note - I was going to get the Droid for the purpose of using it in Asia...but it cost a lot of $$$$ to even use Skype over there....I was looking forward to it for about two weeks (maybe just one) then we go to the Verizon store and BAM my dream was crushed. It really will suck not having the luxury of having a cell phone to use at any moment I choose...
Sad note 2 - we (rentals and I) dropped my sister and my niece off at the airport today for their trip to California...I only had like 4 days with them...now i'll be gone for a month and my niece (1 years old) will forget who I am AGAIN

Asia is soooo close and I'm am getting more nervous and scared then excited. I'm 20 years old and I am scared to be out of the country without my parents! lol
I guess I was like this before college too but I got over that.

So I leave on Wednesday and get there Thursday at 1 a.m. (when I went to passport health to get my shots I found out that if you are on a plane as long as I will be, you can actually get blood clots from sitting too long....)

Ok I've run out of things to talk/complain about.
Until next time
Me.

First Thought

This morning I woke up and it was the first time I was actually excited about going to Asia, then of course the feeling turned into worry. Worrying about what I'm going to pack, what if I die, what if I lose something, what if I get lost, kid napped (and don't try and tell me that doesn't happen because people get taken all the time...watch Hostile and Taken)!?

And my roommate is actually the one who got me on the crazy notion that the plane is going to crash (knock on wood it doesn't). I have been on tons of planes before so I'm not worried....but it's going to be a 24 hour flight....right.

But all in all, it's pretty amazing I am getting this chance to study abroad in Asia! I've always wanted to go to Taiwan (because my mom is from there) but this is as close as I'll get, and I'm OK with that. Good thing that I am going with my friend (the roommate who freaked me out about the plane crashing!!!!!!) because I get scared a lot by the thought of going to a place that is completely different from the U.S. and as long as she is going I'm sure I'll get over it.

Who knows if anyone will actually read this...but maybe it'll be like that movie Julia and Julie (yes I make a lot of movie references). I guess I'll write all of my blogs as if I am writing to someone.

I am procrastinating from doing work so that's all for now.
Me.