http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Bekah/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Bekah en-us Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:49:41 +0000 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 05:49:41 +0000 We had an amazing summer this year and I was not ready to admit that fall was on its way or more accurately had actually arrived. There were a few trips I still had on my list for the summer and the bike ride from Anchorage to Girdwood and back was at the top of that list. Easily enough I convinced my Tour De Beer Partner Chad to join me on a fine Friday afternoon post work. The Seward Highway http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Girdwood/blog-452571.html For the Labor Day weekend I was invited to go on a 3day backpackingcanoeing trip with one of my hiking buddies from last summer. The trip included a series of 10 lakes a ldquodifficult passagerdquo and a 22mile river. My eagerness for outdoor adventure is at its max. Fall is beginning to show her colors in sheets of red draping down the mountainsides and through the puffs of fluttering fe http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Kenai/blog-435627.html In the third week of June I made my first site visit to Napakiak nuhPAHkeyack. Napakiak is a rural ALaskan community located in the Western region of Alaska along the Kuskokwim River. I first flew in to Bethel which is a hub only about 15 miles northeast of the community. I took a small Cessna 207 that was packed full with 3 passengers the pilot all of our gear and what looked like about http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Napakiak/blog-411942.html Summer is here. It arrived with cool breezes and bright sunrises in the early mornings of May. Last summer the ice and snow didnrsquot melt from the Chugach Mountains until the earlymiddle of July. This year the sun has swept the mountains the rivers and streams run ramped with the eager thrill of melting winter. I started hiking up the snow banks on Flat Top the first week of May. The snow w http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/blog-402834.html The talk of this summer is the continuously cold weather overcast and rain. The few days when the sun breaks through the clouds and pours onto the pale skin of scattering ants people flood the parks the trails the water ways and highways. After a long winter of an average 5 degrees and 2 feet of snow the thick overcast as far as I am concerned is greeted just as warmly as any other summer http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Kenai/blog-333070.html Welcome to fall in Anchorage which is NOT the capitol of Alaska as several journalists have wrongly regurgitated in recent articles I have read. The leaves have already turned and the fireweed has bloomed and burned past its flame like color into a fluffy white fringe. Since mid September layers of snow have slowly been creeping down the sides of the Chugach Mountains as a constant reminder th http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Anchorage/blog-331601.html The grey of the ocean meets the base of the Chugach Mountains as they rise into pillars of ice and snow almost transparent against the dull white sheet of a sky. From the city their presence are always felt as they tower over buildings and peak into the city through the open streets running from South to North. The sun rises later each morning from the breast of one peak simply to fall a little http://www.travelblog.org/North-America/United-States/Alaska/Anchorage/blog-226932.html The intense responses and interest kindled by the blog from North Korea has brought me full circle into the realization that this is a living subject that needs to be updated on to see origional blog go to httpwww.travelblog.orgAsiaNorthKoreaKumgangsanblog53381.html. I have had many responses and many questions that have all left me not only grateful for this experience but also feelin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/North-Korea/Kumgangsan/blog-115965.html I was lucky to have the chance to see everything one last time to absorb the atmospheres to taste to food feel the sensations of empty Buddhist halls and the sparks of powerful memories. As I walked down the busy streets of Sinchon that had been my home for most of this last year all vivacity of the newness in this great place was last. In my awareness of cultural differences and recognition o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-95292.html For all of those I met in Korea this is for you. I Left Bangkok on Wednesday morning and flew back to Seoul after a short layover in Hong Kong. The last weeks have been ones of adventure of breathtaking temples torrential rain burning whiskey muddy schools spicy foods and smiling faces that shadowed tears. The thought of returning to Seoul was like the thought of returning home. Seoul i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/South-Korea/Seoul/blog-49185.html As our days in Thailand began to wheel down to an end we took time to hit the Islands. We actually went to Ko Samet an Island that still claims to have malaria though they took the sign down as to not frighten off the tourists. This time of year most of the tourists are Thai which can be relaxing compared to the over crowded beaches in the south. Ko Samet is also a national park but even econ http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Ko-Samet/blog-86966.html Our next stop was the grand Temple of Angkor. The day was becoming wet as we walked down the long sandstone causeway across the moat. The Moat was still other than the light tapping of raindrops that always fall lightly before a downpour. Once through the main entrance we went in through the gate that contained a statue of Vishnu. After stepping into the dark damp hall lit only with candles and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-84945.html Angkor ThomAngkor Thom is the great city of Angkor. It was built from 1181 to 1219 by Angkorrsquos greatest king Jayavarman VII. There are five gates or entrances to the city. All of them have long roads that cross the man made moat that surrounds the city. On each side of the road there is a large snake that is held by 54 statues. On the right there are 54 demons and on the left there are 54 g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-83285.html We awoke the next morning to the roaring fan ahead viciously swirling the cool nightrsquos air with the brutal heat that poured in through our guesthouse window. It was only 630 am when our day began. We met our English friend down the hall and went for coffee at guesthousersquos restaurant. Despite the heat it was quite a dreary day overcast but still dry. When we went to meet the TukTuk http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Angkor/blog-82571.html Jan and I found a bus from Khao San Road to Cambodia. We searched for the cheapest and most convenient route which ended up forcing us to spend an entire day traveling. They told us that it should take about 1214 hours and that the bus stopped on the boarder so that we could get a Visa. We left early Thursday morning and spent the first five hours on the bus to the boarder. Jan spent time readin http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-81251.html Sunday Night Jan and I took the night bus from Udon Tani to Chiang Mai. We had to first take an hour bus ride to Udan Tani from Nong Khai. We waited there for a few hours and had dinner. To our surprise we found this little crazy monkey that was the pet of the ticket seller. He enjoyed using our limbs as branches and jumping on our backpacks as though they were trampolines. Ok. I thought SO ma http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-West-Thailand/Chiang-Mai/blog-80923.html After being in Thailand for 30 days you are required to leave the country unless you have a visa. The price you pay for not doing so is about 15 dollars for every day you stay past your arrival date. This fine they collect on your departure of the country. Since a Visa can be quite costly for Thailand it is easier to buy a 30 day visa to Laos leave and come back. Some people call this a ldquo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Laos/West/Vientiane/blog-79203.html I was surprised to find out the first Friday that we had a four day weekend. It was Buddhist lent and the school was in Chaos getting ready for the ceremony that would take place after school. We walked around the entire village with several huge candles in the back of pickup trucks. We then all went to the temple for chanting and prayer. Here the monks splashed water on the kids as they went by a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nong-Khai/blog-76202.html Three weeks have amazingly flown by since my last entry. I moved from Nong Khai to Ho Kham village on the first of July and have been here since. Ho Kham village is about 110 kilometers from Nong Khai and is a medium size village. I have been Staying with the Pee family at their home only 5 minutes walk from the school. LIVING in Ho Kham for three weeks I feel like I understand Thai culture and li http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nong-Khai/blog-76172.html Driving into Non Khai was an exotic experience. The bus driver sent me on a Toktok The taxicarriagego cart with a man who couldnrsquot speak a word of English. He had no idea where he was suppose to drop me off. The Thai women who was helping told me he was just going to drop me off in the middle of town where I could find someone who spoke English and could ask them. I was oddly not too un http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/North-East-Thailand/Nong-Khai/blog-69790.html