"Do you want to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia? My mother tilted her head. "I've already seen it," she said in Korean. "No, you haven't. What do you mean you've seen it?" "Yes, I did," she said. Wait for iiiiiiiit. "On documentary!" Classic mom moment. Siem Reap I realized too late that passport photos are required to receive a Cambodian entry-visa. We entered without photos, but luck was on our side and we were charged an extra US$1/person on top of the standard US$20/person visa-on-arrival fee. (Note: We didn't exchange any of our US dollars as it's interchangeable with the Cambodian Riel. Along those lines, the US$-->Cambodian Riel exchange rate was ludicrous even for the expected, inflated airport rate.) Kong, our taxi driver from the airport, seemed reliable, so we agreed to use his taxi at ... read more

Back at the hostel . . . My coed room consisted of 5 bunk beds. I took one of the remaining bunks next to the door. Nimo had arrived at the hostel a day earlier than me. Evidently, the girl on his bottom bunk had enjoyed a wild fest of drunken, bunk-shaking, nocturnal activities. By the time I arrived, she was wretchedly sick and constantly heaving to throw-up in the bathroom. Another night when our dorm was quiet and asleep, I heard somebody tear open a loud bag of chips. Crunch, crunch. And then, as if a monster awoke inside of her, my bottom bunkmate chomp, chomp, CHOMPED. She must have used both hands to grab handfuls of chips to stuff her face – piercing, er, crunching the quiet night with her mastication. I couldn’t sleep ... read more

Raf made sure I was set for my next stop at Tangkoko Nature Reserve. I was reluctant to leave the warmth of great conversation and laughter at Cha Cha Resort (), but there always arrives a time to leave when you suffer the incurable pull of wanderlust. Raf and Reiko joined me in some comedic camera poses (I've kept my promise not to post them online), and soon I was waving goodbye from the boat. When the very kind driver picked me up, we talked about how my parents could handle me traveling as an only child and solo female traveler. He had an only daughter of his own whom he was obviously proud of and couldn't imagine letting her do such things. I explained that this was one subject where my parents, though probably worried ... read more

Part I Against many online reviews complaining of litter and plastic fish in this part of the Celebes Sea, I chose to go to Bunaken because of a trusted diver's recommendation. I've always found word-of-mouth or recommendations from good bloggers to be genuine and accurate guides even if different people draw diffierent conclusions about a place. Along those lines, I read through various Bunaken blogs to figure out my accommodation on the island, and chose Cha Cha Nature Resort based on laetitiaaroundtheworld's Bunaken blog. After this visit, I returned again. The following two or three blogs will be a combination of those visits. Reaching Cha Cha Nature Resort After contacting Raf and Reiko, the owners... read more

The sun is muted by the water into gradients of baby blue while darker sapphire obscures the ocean’s depths. I might be looking out for miles without exaggeration. Big turtles and white-tip sharks, one to two meters long, swim behind a hazy blue curtain, giving perspective on distance and visibility. I equalize my ears and sink lower, unable to take in every detail that vies for attention on the coral wall. Kaleidoscopes of fish flicker every which way. I'm in an otherworld on par with Dr. Seuss’s imagination. This is Sipadan, for the Big Stuff. If poetry takes physical form, surely, the ocean provides one of the most prosaic experiences. Sharp, crackling sounds travel through the water (4x the speed of sound in air). Every diver turns a different direction while trying to pinpoint the sound’s ... read more