Back in the USA

We're back!  After a looong travel day-night (Bangkok-Tokyo, Tokyo-Seattle, Seattle-Denver), we finally arrived home.  We are terribly jet lagged again - hence the early morning post MT - a night's sleep consists of 4-5 hours bad sleep, tossing & turning, and then giving up...but it's a small price to pay! 

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The sparkling new Bangkok airport is amazing - it houses a Gucci, Ferragamo, Chanel, Dior, Armani, Bulgari and numerous other luxury brands interspersed with sushi bars, antipasto bars & chic cafes.  Not a bad place to spend a long layover - FYI.  

It was really hard to be at Narita International and not see Tokyo - I so wanted to ditch our next flight!  Japan is definitely on our wish list...  

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It was a wonderful trip and we have so many fun and interesting memories to cherish.  We have a few more photos to share, so please check back in a few days!  

  

Laa kawn (Good-bye) Phuket

Views from the plane

Money Matters

Vietnam

$1 = 16,000VND (dong)

The dollar-dong exchange was fabulous: withdraw $100 from your bank account and you're a millionaire. I think the smallest denomination we saw was about 200VND, which is basically worthless.

Cost of steaming bowl of pho bo: 20,000VND ($1.25)

Truly the breakfast of champions!

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Cambodia

$1 = 4,000 riels

Where we were, in Siem Reap, dollars are widely accepted. Restaurants prices & entrance fees are in dollars and the ATM's we used dispensed dollars as well. However, when we purchased anything in dollars, we usually received change in riels.

Cost of personal tuk-tuk driver for an entire day: $12

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Thailand

$1 = 32baht

Cost of full day moped rental: 200baht ($6.25)

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Seeing Regan pose as a street merchant on the streets of Hanoi: priceless!   

Nutt's Inn

John & Regan

Pretty nice digs at John's in Rawai, Phuket.  Thank you again for having us!!  

Ko Phi Phi, Thailand

Ko Phi Phi Don is a small island located an hour and half ferry ride from Phuket Island. We arrived in Phuket a few days ago and have been staying with our Trinity friend, John Nutt.

Preferred form of transport: the long boat.

A three hour tour: snorkeling! Our long boat captain took us to Ko Phi Phi Leh, which was the setting for the movie The Beach.

There are lots of colorful fish swimming around Regan - if you enlarge the photo you might be able to see them.

The Thais & Cambodians love my fair skin...

Our Phuket host, John Nutt. The rumors are true: he really is a Thai fighter, bounty hunter & local real estate mogul plus he sings a mean Mustang Sally. (Those photos are fabulous but they are not on our camera...stay posted...)

Beng Melea

Photos of Beng Melea, which has not been restored. It is remarkable to consider the work that archaeologists undertake!

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En route to Beng Melea we stopped at a Buddhist pagoda. I made a small donation and was blessed by one of the monks.

Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat is truly amazing. It has multiple levels of galleries, the first level contains exquisite bas reliefs. We would love to post more photos here but it is just taking too long!

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On our second day we visited Beng Melea, which is located 70km outside of Siem Reap. This temple was an interesting contrast from what we had seen the day before because it has not been restored. Many parts of it lie in ruin or have been overtaken by the jungle; the roots of giant, centuries old silver cotton trees climb over the structure, breaking through walls. it's really incredible! Apparently The Bayon was in similar shape when it was discovered by French archaeologists; it was subsequently pieced together like a jigsaw puzzle. Angkor Wat also was not discovered as it stands today, it has been restored.

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We will post more photos later...