Back in Thailand: Randomness from Koh Phi Phi and Railay

• Songkram is the wettest holiday: massive squirt gun fights in the streets, pails being emptied over you, and painted elephants spraying water out of their hoses. 
•  A hammock, a good book, water, and sunblock are all you ever need. 
• Bamboo Island lacks bamboo, Mosquito Island lacks mosquitoes, Shark Island lacks sharks, and the island where "The Beach" was filmed lacks Leo DiCaprio.  
• Beach parties on Koh Phi Phi consist of free buckets of vodka, beach-goers jumping through hoops of fire, and limbo sticks on fire. 

          ~ Stacy

Floating Village - Siem Reap, Cambodia

On Wednesday Stacy and I, on a recommendation, traveled to a floating village.  It was a ways out of town and cost a little more than we expected ( a good portion of the profits go to the low-income residents of the village), but it was well worth the trip. When we reached the dock we were a little confused as to where we were going; the water level is so low right now that we boarded a boat that was floating in  mud. We took the  river that then lead to the open water where the village was located.

It took about 8-10 minutes to reach the floating village of  3,000 people. They have a school, orphanage, and even a basketball court intermixed with the houses. The majority of these people are Vietnamese.  All the houses floating on top of bundled bamboo polls was quite the sight.  Some houses also had  pens attached floating in the water where chickens, fish,  and crocodiles are kept. They also have a good size boat where there is a tourist shop, fish farm, and crocodile farm. Stacy wasn't to keen on seeing the crocodiles in captivity.

It really showed how simplistic people can live. Some of the houses consisted of only a small rowboat with a straw shack built on top. Intermixed among the houses we saw children floating along in large steal bowls with oars. Overall, it was worth the experience and pretty cool to see in person.

~  Randi

10 Random Facts from Siem Reap, Cambodia:

1.  Free pool does not mean, as I was led to believe, a swimming pool.
2.  The buses play karaoke videos, which Randi actively and enthusiastically participates in.
3. Ankor draft beer at our guesthouse is only 50 cents!
4. The ladies here wear pj's during the day. Randi and I wish we'd brought ours to blend in better.
5.  Local fisherman offer Randi fish as a sign of affection.
6.  Despite the persistent shopkeepers claims, I  have no need for a wedding dress anytime in the near future.
7.  At night, on pub street in Siem Reap, the locals and visitors engage in tug of war and jump rope on the streets.
8.  Our favorite purchase thus far: sweat rags...I'm not joking.
9.  Randi and I spent the afternoon at an orphanage in Siem Reap. The kids were amazing! It's a good thing that Randi and I are both young, single, and without a large income because otherwise we'd want to bring a few kids home.
10.  Steep stone stairs are not compatible with dresses, especially if it's discovered that in the sunlight they are see-through.

~ Stacy

Angkor Wat - Siem Reap, Cambodia

The temples of Angkor, capital of Cambodia's ancient Khmer empire, built between the 9th and 13th centuries,  make up the world's largest religious building, Angkor Wat.  Angkor is the heart and soul of the Kingdom of Cambodia and a source of inspiration and national pride.  In 1908 restorations began on the monuments.  They cleared the jungle vegetation and rebuilt the damaged structures in hopes to restore the temples to their original grandeur.  Today each temple has been adopted by a country which helps to fund the continuous restoration.

Our three favorite temples: Bayon - which is composed of large stone faces, Taprohm - the jungle temple which is being taken over by nature and was the site of Tomb Raider, and Angkor Wat - the largest temple.

~ Randi and Stacy