A Blonde With a Backpack

This past weekend, we had another 3 day weekend to celebrate the Queen of Thailand's birthday, so I took advantage of it and traveled to Cambodia for the weekend. Friday night I flew into the capital city of Phnom Penh. This city has has a rich history that is also incredibly dark.  In 1975, Pol Pot and his army of Khmer Rouge members overtook the city and pushed all 2.5 million residents into camps in the countryside. Pol Pot was determined to create a completely Communist society, devoid of banks, religious institutions, money, and education. He called this start of a "new society" Year Zero, as the start of a whole new societal make up. To really start anew, Pol Pot began to arrest intellectual, businessmen, monks, foreigners, and many other public servants. These people were rounded up, tortured for days on end, and forced to sign fake confessions of treason. This all happened at secret prisons across the country, including Tuol Sleng or S21, the site I visited. T...

Siem Reap was city number 2 on my Cambodia trip. Transportation was incredibly easy and cheap in Cambodia and I took a 5 hour air-conditioned minivan complete with cold water and wifi to Siem Reap. My time in Siem Reap was much less somber than my time in Phomn Penh, but I believe both cities were very meaningful in different ways. If you'd like to read about my time learning about eh Cambodian genocide, please see my post about Phomn Penh. Also, there are cows everywhere in Cambodia! They are all over the roads and caused many traffic delays during my van ride. I included a picture below of some of the cows perfectly lined up for a picture! The main reason I came to Siem Reap with my friends was to see the famous temple, Angkor Wat. This massive temple was originally constructed during the 12 century as a Hindu Temple, but over the years it has gradually been transitioned to a Buddhist temple. It is the largest religious monument in the world and is also a UNESCO World Herita...

A few weeks ago, I got to take an amazing weekend trip to Northern Thailand. Chiang Rai has so much culture, history, and outdoor beauty. Although we didn't get to go on the sunrise hike we originally planned because of severe rain and flooding, we still had an amazing trip. One of my favorite stops was the White Temple,   วัดร่องขุ่น.  The temple was originally built during the 20 th  century, but it deteriorated quickly. Work to restore the temple began, but was stopped because of funding. However, a local Thai artist heard about the dilemma and decided to completely rebuild it and fund it ALL! The artist built the temple to "be a center of learning and meditation and for people to gain benefit from the Buddhist teachings."  Blue Temple  The Blue Temple,   วัดร่องเสือเต้น,  was built by a student of the artist who created the White Temple. Although it is much less of a "tourist attraction." I ...