Cambodia

So... need to write more about the amazing jungle greens and deep blue skies and amazing waterfalls and elephant rides and bamboo rafting and white water rafting... all a part of the trek I did just outside of Chiang Mai, Thailand. Need to post pics too...

But, first I'll catch up on where I am now. I'm making this brief because I just wrote this and lost it once already. Anyways, I'm in Siem Reap, Cambodia where you can find the stunning ruins of Angkor Wat. Just got in tonight after taking a12-hour overnight train from Chiang Mai to Bangkok, then taking an early morning bus from Bangkok to the border and finally taking a bus from the border of Cambodia to Siem Reap. But, that last bus ride was more than 8 hours for just 150 km. The road in Cambodia is dirt, full of pits, crags and gashes. We bounced all over the place for nearly 9 hours straight. Crazy. Dry dusty roads. Wet soggy marshlands. People living in stilted shacks. Then... bam. Paved roads and five star hotels that cost $1000 a night (simply outrageous... I'm staying at a place for $6 a night). I'm traveling with an English bloke I met on the trek. We were planning on "jogging over to the Cambodian beachs," since it's the high season and the Thai beaches are insanely busy. Jog... ha. Anyway. We're finally in Siem Reap. Will check out the ruins. Then head down to Phnom Penh and finally to the beach at Sihanoukville.

I guess my plans are still to do what I came to do... get to everest. But, instead of hiking to base camp (which i've heard is just the world's highest dump), I'll do a trek to Goa. It's higher than base camp and gives an absolutely fantastic and unobstructed view of Mt. Everest. Fellow American clued me in to all this during the Cambodia travels...