RELOCATED...

I know it is a pain to always remember the links to your favourite blogs...mine being one of them I am sure...but I had to do.

I have moved...

And here is where you can find me now..

http://freckledfacesandfavouriteplaces.wordpress.com/

xoxo

Cambodia's Angkor Wat...

One of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, Angkor is a site to be seen. Located near Siem Reap I travelled to these amazing temples with G Adventures. The temples stretch over about a 400 square km area which contain several ruins of the Khmer Empire from the 9th to the 15th centuries. The most famous are the Temple of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom, the Bayon temple.

The first two photos are of the sunrise at Angkor Wat. Yes, the sunrise, which meant we left the hotel at approximately 5 a.m. and were back at the hotel for breakfast by 9ish. Needless to say it was a long day but so worth it. The next day we went to the sunset (pictured above). The entire group, about 15 of us, were exhausted but we thought, how could we miss the sunset on Angkor Wat. So we begrudgingly boarded the bus, minus one groupie who stayed back and rested at the hotel, and made our way back to the temples. Not sure if I mentioned in previous posts but I also have a fear of heights, and by fear I mean it can somewhat paralyze me, making the trek down or up difficult. Just ask my mom who tried to get me up to a beautiful site in Florence, I made it three quarters of the way up and yeah couldn't go any further. So anyway we arrived at one of the temples in which we were to climb to get the best view of the sunset. Oh, yeah, and this was about 3 in the afternoon because we were told if we didn't get there early we wouldn't be able to climb the temple. They only allow about 300 people every night to get a chance to see the view. So we climbed and because members of my group knew of my fear I was surrounded by support. Up to the top we went and wait a minute Angkor Wat is to the east of us, and the sun is setting to the west of us. Uhm...yeah it was then that we were told we were watching the sunset, in which we responded, yes but we assumed that when we are told we are going to watch the sunset on Angkor Wat that we will see the sun set on Angkor Wat, not just the sun setting and then Angkor Wat well is just there. Oh well it was an amazing adventure, one that I won't forget and it was all worth it. Oh and if you are a fan of Lara Croft or Tomb Raider, yeah these are the ones from the film. I was going to try my best Lara Croft move but I figured the camera wouldn't capture it quite like it should. 

Live and learn...

Awe....here is a post that I had written on my iPad a few nights ago but thought it was gone into cyber space...however once I got to my computer and a reliable internet connection, voila, the lost has been found...enjoy...

It's my last night in Thailand and I've spent the day doing absolutely nothing. That's right. Nothing. I stayed in bed right before the buffet breakfast ended, after which I came back to my room, sat on the Internet, messaged a few friends and family, and watched one of the only three English channels on tv.

I hauled my butt downstairs mid-afternoon and went for a dip in the pool. And literally it was a dip. I laid by the pool for a whole 45 minutes. Those of you who know me well, know that I'm not a sit around the pool doing nothing kinda girl, so I packed up my stuff and went to the restaurant for a snack. I ordered the prawn cakes with cucumber dip, thought it sounded interesting. And it was, but it wasn't the food that was the interesting part, it was once again my communication skills with the servers or lack thereof. So when my prawn cakes arrived, which were lovely by the way, there was no cucumber dip only a sweet and sour, chili and ketchup. So I asked the server if I could have some cucumber dip. After giving me an unusual look he called to a fellow co-worker and two of them came to my table to figure out what I was asking for. Between the two of them they both nodded their heads and repeated back to me cucumber. Awe...they understand. So a few minutes later the server arrives with a plate of sliced cucumber. Sigh. I guess my wishful thinking that I had finally learned how to communicate was in fact just wishful thinking. But regardless the prawn cakes were just fine with the sweet and sour sauce with a hint of chili.

After all was said and done it reminded me of a situation in Ao Nang at a restaurant where I had pointed to iced tea on the menu, the server shook her head in agreement and saw where I was pointing to on the menu and the next thing I see is a can of diet coke sitting in front if me. And just so you know the iced tea and diet coke were no where near each other on the menu.

One of the things I have learned while travelling is that even if a server or anyone who speaks a different language than you nods their head in agreement doesn't mean they understand. Boy have I ever been naive. Live and learn has a whole new meaning to me now.

And the journey continues...

I have been 'on the road' for 16 days now and soon it will be coming to an end. I am currently at Ao Nang beach in Thailand. Over the past 16 days I have been to Vietnam, Cambodia, and now at my final destination, Thailand, before I depart and head back to Malaysia. This trip has been a life changing experience...yes...kind of like eat, love, pray but different. I have met so many amazing people, seen such amazing scenery, landmarks, and learned a lot about the culture and history of these beautiful places, filled with beautiful people. Most of all I have learned a little more about me...who I am, who I want to be and what I want out of life. Travel has a funny way of opening our eyes not only to the unique destinations but into ourselves. I can't wait to re-experience my journey by the photos and memories I will hold dear to my heart.

Now, I am looking forward to the next destination...wherever that may be. Because the one thing I have learned throughout the last 4 months is that we all create our own experience, our own adventures no matter where in the world we are. We are the ones who get to choose how we want to live, how we accept life and how we look forward to the next chapter.

Good morning Vietnam...

I have arrived at my next destination.

Hello Vietnam.

Thankfully I made it to the hotel unscathed and got into my room, had dinner, booked a day tour all in a few short hours. I've settled in a few days before I will be heading out with a tour group, G Adventures.

So far I have visited the war remnant museum, China town, Thien Hau market, Binh Tay Market, Handicraft workshop, reunification palace, Notre Dame Cathedral, the general post office and City Hall. Day 1 complete.

Next on the agenda is the Cu Chi tunnels located just outside the city. The Cu Chi was an underground village during the war which has over 200 kms of tunnels located at Ben Dinh.

And in these few short days I have already fallen in love with Pho soup...so far I have tried both chicken and beef. Both are delicious and a must try when in Vietnam.

Looking forward to joining the group tomorrow night and meeting a few people. Maybe I'll even find a few friends who I can drag around after the sun sets. These evenings in could get old.

R n' R in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Kota Kinabalu, or as many locals call it KK, is a magical destination and is known around the world for being one of the best diving locations. Wish I liked diving. 

I love going to KK just to get away for a few days to lay on the beach for some rest and relaxation, do a bit of shopping and visit some of the local eateries. Just before Christmas I paid this tourist destination town a visit alone, but this time I had my trusty side-kick, Ridley, with me.

We arrived late on Friday night and stayed at Ming Gardens, a new four-star hotel complete with a large restaurant, a gym, spa, pool, lounge and bar. Saturday morning we enjoyed a buffet breakfast that had everything from sushi to scrambled eggs, followed by which we headed to the new shopping centre where we spent a majority of the day. 

We had decided prior to the trip that we wanted to have a spa day. We checked out the hotel spa to which we thought was a bit over priced. So, following our shopping excursion we started to check out the local spas. Ridley's aunt and uncle had recently visited one in KK but couldn't remember the name, however they did know the location, beside Starbucks. The hunt was on. We visited few different spas before we settled on one, which was not near a Starbucks. Actually we didn't even find the Starbucks until the night before we left. But we were determined to have our feet pampered. Ridley has never had a foot scrub, pedicure, manicure or well any spa treatment, ever. I on the other hand have and know what to expect. Both of us were taken to the back room and were instructed to sit in what were very comfy chairs, ok I thought to myself this isn't too bad. Then the young lady and her mother came into the room each carrying a large plastic bowl filled with water. Ridley and I stuck our feet in the water and that's about when we should have said thank you and left. The tool kit came out next and to be honest it looked like these tools had not been sanitized. I started taking deep breaths and telling myself, it's ok it will all be ok. And then they started scrubbing, and scrubbing and scrubbing. Poor Ridley's feet took a beating and at one point the mother, daughter teamed shared tools, and that's when I pulled my foot out of her hand and shook my head no. So there we sat not sure what to do but texting back and forth telling each other that we were doing it for the little girl who's mother was scrubbing my feet and grandmother was scrubbing Ridley's feet and hoping that our money was going into her college fund. What an adventure and so far nothing unusual has sprouted on either of our feet, I think we will be safe, or here's hoping anyway. 

You would think after the foot experience we would learn. But for some reason we didn't, because before even leaving the building after our infamous foot scrub, we are stopped by a different spa and in we went. I, however, went for the full one hour body massage and foot reflexology rather than any pedicure or manicure. I figured it was safer having someone rub my back and feet than dig or scrub with some unsanitized tools. Yeah, wrong again. At one point during this said massage I was once again thinking to myself it will be ok, I will survive but I wasn't sure if I would get out of there without any bruises. Ridley on the other had decided to do the pedicure, manicure and full body massage because it was cheap. Yeah and basically they trimmed his toe nails and finger nails and called it good. I had to explain to him that it was not a pedicure or manicure by any standard. Together we have quite the misadventures. We are starting to believe that it is just the way its supposed to be, but hey it makes for great stories to tell.

Since we had such a large breakfast we skipped lunch but once supper time hit we were starved. We went on the hunt for the new Welcome Seafood restaurant in Asia City. Ridley's sister recommended we visit this restaurant which opened last December. And, yeah, despite our best efforts we couldn't find Welcome Seafood. Even after we were stopped by a salesman trying to sell us some rings which we declined, he then went on to ask us, "You look like you are lost, can I help you?" We explained we were looking for Welcome Seafood, he then pointed in the direction where we were to go, and we still couldn't find Welcome Seafood. Sigh. This is Ridley hijacking Shelley's blog to tell you all how much I love this girl and how awesome she is...now back to your regularly scheduled program.By this time one out of the two of us was getting a wee bit cranky and we ended up stopping at the first decent looking restaurant for a bite to eat. With our bellies full we headed back to the hotel to retire for the evening.

The next day was pool day. We headed downstairs after another buffet breakfast where we layed by the pool for the morning and early afternoon. By 2 p.m. we were checked out and headed to our next destination, the Pacific Sutera Harbour Resort. We stayed at this particular resort last year and we knew it had its own private beach so off we went for our last night of misadventures. The rest of the day we relaxed by the pool and near the beach at the resort and later went for supper at Grazie, an Italian restaurant. To our surprise this was the second Italian restaurant in Malaysia that we would visit again. We shared a pizza and pasta dish, both of which were amazing ending out trip in KK well worth it despite our sore feet and muscles. 

Weekend get-away...

And...I am back...again to Kota Kinabalu. But this time with Ridley, which means it will be much more entertaining than it was before Christmas when I came by myself. It was about one year ago that we were here last and stayed at the Pacific Sutra Harbour, complete with its own private beach, pool, swim up bar, golf course, and marina. This time we are staying at Ming Garden Hotel which is a wee bit closer to the downtown core, which also mean closer to the mall for me. 

View of the hotel, Pacific Sutra Harbour we stayed last year.

Last years attempt at taking an action shot...
apparently we need to practice our jump shots.

Sutra's pool with view of the sea.