PICTURES!! - Part I

Here are pictures from my trip to Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Hangzhou (China).

Of course you can alway go see my pictures at the following site using the room code: 27409

http://sarahinchina.snapfish.com/snapfish/

Sunset in Sihanoukville, Cambodia - my first day!

Swarms of children trying to sell us everything under the sun.

Jessica Boffey, Jessica McClendon, and me right before we began snorkelling!!

Where we went snorkelling around the island to the right. Our boat is at the end of the dock! I got very seasick (never happened before in my life) because we had to pass where two currents merged making very rough waters.

The closest I have been to the states in 6 months. Yup you guessed it, The US Embassy. We were yelled at to put the cameras away but not before getting a snapshot of "home". We figured behind the wall there must be a McDonalds and Starbucks!

The restaurant we ate at in Siem Reap called Dead Fish. Scattered, there were different levels and types of seating. The food was great! There were crocodiles, dancers, and shops inside the restaurant! It was a great atmosphere, and would be a hit in the states!

Angkor Wat early in the morning.

Me in front of the back of Angkor Wat.

We ladies in front of Angkor Wat.

Becoming one with the architecture of Angkor Thom!

The fun "bonnet" I found!! I feel like I should be home on the range!

Our Indiana Jones impersonations: Above = me

Below = J-Bo

On the edge of Ta Prohm.

Land mine victims that started a music group. The sound was very good!

It is good to see what can happen in people's lives and how they take certain situations and turn them good!!

Bangkok to China

Wednesday (Feb 13) I walked to The Grand Palace which also includes the Temple of the emerald buddha a very famous sight in Bangkok. It is actually funny because it is only about one foot tall. I then walked to Wat Po to see the large reclining buddha and took a ferry across the river to Wat Arun. After visiting so many temples in such a short time over holiday I was tired of looking at them. At Wat Po I had the lucky of running into John and Cheryl, the couple from new Jersey I met and ate with in Laos. It was great seeing them and catching up with them again for a little. I had now spent two days walking around Bangkok, seeing the sights, and shopping. By Thursday my knee was hurting everytime I was walking, so I took it easy Thursday and Friday. I stayed close to the hotel and walked up and down Khao San Road and the other streets nearby. Khao San Road is a major tourist street packed with shops and American restaurants such as Burger King, McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, and 7-11. It is quite a sight to see!!
Saturday I began my journey back to China. I flew from Bangkok to Shenzen. In Shenzen there was a layover for about 10 hours. A small group of us tried to sleep however at about 2:30am guards woke us each up and checked our passports. You know China, they like to know where everyone is at all times. Sunday morning I arrived in Hangzhou at the hotel where the Neelys were staying. I spent the next four days with the Neelys. Janet and I spent the days shopping, visiting West lake, walking, and at Starbucks. In the evenings the three of us ate dinner at one of the few western restuarants, even including Pizza Hut and another you can ask them about! I had a wonderful time sharing my experiences and life in China with them. It was a wonderful feeling to have family near again. I loved every minute of it! I wished I could come home with them and see each of you and was sad to leave them but I needed to return to China for the spring semester.
After another day of travels and spending a night in Wuhan with friends I returned to DJK. I have been trying to get back into the swing of things. When I first arrived home I cleaned like crazy and began unpacking. Saturday led to grocery shopping, as food is always a necessity! To the market I took my backpack so it would be easier on me and my knee for carrying so much food. We definitely noticed a price change due to the bad weather they had in China while we were gone. Sunday began more visits with friends to welcome each other back. Monday was the beginning of classes. I am already exhausted but am glad to be back!! I have already had a few visitors and it is only Wednesday! I have also gone to the clinic on campus for my knee that is still bothering me (two weeks later).The poked it as everyone does, noticed it was swollen when they compared it to my other knee, and gave me some kind of electro-therapy. So basically I was minimally electrocuted in China. I am supposed to go back tomorrow for more and possibly acupuncture or something with needles. We shall see how long that lasts!

Off to bed in China as you begin a new day!
Make it a blessed one!

...pictures added to blog - coming soon...

HELP JEREMY McGILL

Jeremy's medical bills continue to mount up even though his insurance has been used up. If you are able to help, your tax deductible contributions to the fund established to help with Jeremy's medical expenses can be sent to:
Freed-Hardeman University
ATTN: Jeremy McGill Fund
158 East Main St.
Henderson, TN 38340

If you have any questions about Jeremy's medical fund, please contact Burton Williams at FHU: bwilliams@fhu.edu .

BANGKOK

So we arrived in Bangkok at 6am, still dark however, there were so many people up. Either they did not go to bed or they are very early risers, already eating at restaurants. I met yet another couple from Israel who helped me find a place to stay since they had been there before and it was dark. The hotel told me the room would not be ready until 10am. It was nearly 7 now. I dropped my bags in this little holding room they have for that and decided to listen to my stomach and eat something. The hotel I am staying at is right next to a very busy tourist street, Khao San Road, blocked at the ends for vendor and shops. They were already setting up. I walked around browsing for a bit and then saw it. On this street there is McDonalds (of course), 2 7-11s (they are all over the place about every two blocks literally), Starbucks (YAY!!), Subway (sandwiches), and Burger King.
I know everyone is thinking so you went to starbucks, but you would be wrong! I went to... duh duh duh... Burger King!! It is open 24 hours like McDonalds and 7-11. I had a whopper Jr. and fries at 7:30 in the morning and it was good!! I stayed in the AC (it is so humid and hot here even at 7am - it doesn't cool down at night) until 8:30 when I could exchange money. I checked email and then as I was walking back to the hotel a vendor asked if I wanted to buy fisherman pants - and I did!! I have acquired some interesting asian clothing on this trip. Clothing you are not likely to find in the states. Tasteful of course but a different style!
Anyway, I was finally able to go into my room at 10am. I showered and then headed to the hospital. What for you ask, to visit the "elephant man" and his "caretaker". I arrive at about 11:30 and stayed until 7:30. We just hung out and talked. Jeremy told me his story and how blessed he is to be alive. He has many stitches, cuts, and bruises. He is able to talk but movement is very hard and painful. Jeremy has come a long way. Lately he has been able to get up and walk for a little, nothing to straining. He asks for continued prayers. The hospital is wanting to discharge him however, there are some problems with the bill. His insurance has run out. Compared to the states it is not an extreme amount for being in ICU for over 2 weeks and the med center for 1 week. There is a fund set up at Freed Hardeman for Jeremy. They are trying to raise the hospital cost which is around 10,000. If anyone reading this would like to help I will put that information in another Post. He thanks everyone for the prayers!
That was how I spent my first full day in Bangkok!
Today I got up with the plan to walk to the temples in the various directions around me. After getting lost for 3 hours I finally found the marble temple, palace, zoo and a few other temples. I walked for over 7 hours. I must be getting old because I am hurting and it is only 8:30 but I am ready for bed!! I will give you a piece of advice - people are greedy and want money. I was told 3 times that specific temples were closed and I should go to the big biddha and take a tuk tuk for the low price of 20 Baht because it was far. After discovering the first lie, I became wary of trusting anyone eager to help that I did not ask first. One told me it was closed and I could not go in. I told him I just wanted to see the outside anyway! Little did I know that of course I could go int when I got there! Talk about frustration! Apparently this is a common scam. This just proves once again I am not another "dumb blonde".
Now here I sit showered, feeling better, yet still exhausted! Thinking back over today, it is remarkable to see how different another culture is yet also similar. I have to say I do miss the states and will be glad to come home and see all your faces! I will be very glad to see Janet and Adrian Neely on Sunday!! It will be a nice break and my own retreat!
Until then I hope Bangkok can handle me!!

Vientiane (Laos capital)

I stayed at the 4000 islands for only one full day. I left there last Friday night and met a couple, Cheryl and John, from New Jersey. After we arrived in Pakse (where we changed to a sleeper bus 5 hours later), we went out to eat. We had Lao hot pot. Similar to Fondue but it does not take as long to cook. We walked around the city for a bit by the river and talked. It was very nice, we even found out we had a mutual acquaintance. Small world. I am glad I met them and we were able to talk! The sleeper bus was definitely interesting. The sleeper beds were for two people so travelling alone was interesting. However, sleeper and bus, are two words the US should put together. They are actually quite comfy. I also think there will be no rest stop or public bathroom in the states that I will look at again and say, "oh no, I can't go there"! I have experienced sights, smells, and other things I will not even describe for you. Anyway back to travelling.
I arrived in Vientiane at about 6am. It was still dark. We, 2 British, 4 Australians, and I had breakfast together in a cafe downtown at 7 since hotels/hostels/guesthouses do not open until 8am. It was fun talking to other people from different countries. After getting a room, dropping my bags, and washing up I decided to hit the town. I walked around Vientiane and saw the many monuments and many of the temples in 8 hours. I think the Tuk Tuk drivers were amazed that a foreigner walked that much. Since there is not much to do in Vientiane and the bus for Bangkok leaves daily at 5 pm I decided to head to Bangkok Sunday evening.
Sunday morning I got on the city bus in Vientiane and headed to Buddha Park on the edge of town. It is famous for its lying down buddha. On the bus I met another American, Ashley, from Easton, Maryland. Once again small world. (all these people I am meeting - maybe I am more like my father than I thought!) We walked to park together and took pictures for eachother. It was fun to let loose with another girl for a little bit. The park was a lot smaller than we imagined but still worth going to.
Afterwards I went back to the market in town and bought some coffee of course! I also had the best lunch. I ate at JoMa's coffee and bakery. I had a slice of pizza and half taco salad! Yummy!!
Then I left for Bangkok. It was a double-decker bus with seats for overnight. I was on the top in the back row (basically the worst - five people crammed in the back). I had a large Thai man to my right and a broad shouldered Canadian (who reminded me of my good friend Joe Hampton). Basically I sat with my arms folded for 9 hours. It wasn't that bad, I did fall asleep that is until the AC vent above me began to leak water all over me. It was exciting and woke me up. The good thing is it was about 20 minutes before we arrived at our destination.
TO BE CONTINUED...
Coming Up...
Bangkok

Laos

We have finally arrived in Laos!
I will apologize now to my many mothers. I tried very hard to sit inside the trucks but for a (pretty normal sized) American female, blessed by God with child-bearing hips (hoping to use them one day!), there was no way I was going to fit in the 3 inch space they had saved me inside. The first truck was much better though, it had benches! The second truck we sat on the roof. It had a"caravan" type sitting area with a roof and a big metal rack on top of the truck and roof. We sat amongst the bags and about 13 other Cambodians. There were many foriegners taking our pictures and Cambodians waving, smiling, and giving thumbs up because we were on top (which is rare for foreigners). I felt like I was travelling in a caravanfrom the Bible; only this was a truck not pulled by horses. We were sitting n bags and some were hanging off the edge. It was great! Not nearly as dirty as being lower in the back of an open pick-up.
We arrived safely, went through the borders, and ot a "boat" (a fishing type) and went to the 4000 islands. The islands have only generators. They come on from 6:20 pm til about 11 pm. After that there is a bonfire. Generally people go to bed. We used the mosquito net, it got cold as the night went on, and I had the best sleep since we left Siem Reap.
Today I will go to the waterfall, enjoy a swim, and the sunset.
Soon I will be leaving for the capital, Vientiane, and from there heading to Bangkok.

Finishing Cambodia

Well, I have been in Cambodia for a total of two weeks now. We are finally trying to go to Lao (Laos - here more commonly Lao). The past three days have been quite adventurous. Saturday we hopped on a bus to go from Phnom Penh to Sen Monorom, another city in the middle of nowhere. First I must say the buses are not like in the states, large, air-conditioned, relatively clean. The buses are rinky dink, please let the air-conditioner work, please give me a real seat and not a plastic chair in the aisle, box of metal. Our bus was 5 hours from PP to Snoul, where we were told to switch buses. Our bus went about 15 km and stopped where another bus was on the side of the road. (I had guessed that we were switching buses because the other broke down and then we would wait for the next bus to come and take theirs, like they did ours.) I was correct!! The other bus eagerly boarded ours after we exited (some didn't even wait for us to exit) and we sat and waited. They tried to fix the bus for over 3 hours. We were sitting on the side of the dirt road from 3-6. The sun went down. So in the dark, in the middle of no where, with about 5 houses that had no electricity we were unsure of what to do. All of us passengers got together and worked it out that we would go back to Snoul. We had many different people - Indian, Swedish, French, Canadian, Cambodian, and American. In the dark some stayed, a few took motodups (motorcycle taxis), and the rest of us hopped on the back of a pick-up truck.
I will just say there was chaos while we found two guesthouses that luckily had enough rooms for us all.
Sunday, we were up to meet eveyone at 7:30am in front of the bus station to see if they had the bus fixed, sent another one, or would provide another mode of transportation. They said they would hire a truck to take us all. One truck!! So we did as the Cambodians do! This was a regular (old-style, 90's) pick-up truck. Inside the small cab was the driver and five people. On the roof was the driver's friend to help. Hanging on for dear life on the back was our baggage, boxes, and the other FOURTEEN of us that decided to continue our journey. It is definitely legal in Cambodia to ride in the back of the truck. The 6 hour trip dwindled to 4 since we did not need to stop and pick any one up. The frst half was pretty painful. I sat in the middle next to the Indian guy on a tire. It was so bumpy and crowded it hurt. The second half, daring, rebellious me (I know I will get comments from my many mothers about this!!), I sat on the edge of the truck! I was careful, have no fear. We made it with pictures to prove how dirty we were from all the red dirt clay. It was an experience none the less. We arrived showered (so much dirt) and ate dinner. The rest of our night was mainly filled with religious discussions and debate. We had some sure-fire topics going that had us very pasionate to say the least. It was enjoyable to end the night singing.
Monday (today), we just got back from our elephant trek! It was a great time. We left at 8:30 to get to the elephants and thus began our descent into the jungle. We climbed up the stairs and stepped across the head to sit in a basket on top. The basket was not very comfortable. When walking down the hill we thought we were going to roll right out. Up hill we thought we would fall out the back. We didn't. We made it safely. We were able to swim in the stream, eat our rice, fried pork, and lychees, hunt for the elephants after lunch, and bathe them. It was a once in a lifetime experience. We were a little concerned because of what happened to Jeremy but we were told they were tame and used to this. It was a beautiful jungle.
Tomorrow we will ride another truck back to Snoul (don't worry this time I told them I wanted a seat inside! ) so we can head to the Cambodia-Lao border. Pray for a safe trip again and ease of border crossing!

I will post pictures on snapfish after I return to China but the pictures will not do justice to what I have seen and experiencd here in Cambodia.

I have enjoyed my time in Cambodia. I have met many people - Christians, teachers, foreigners, and had the experience of a lifetime.
Now I look forward to see what God has planned for me in Lao!!

SAFE!!

We made it safely to this little town. It took us two days. It was an adventure I will write about tomorrow after the elephant trek as I have no time now to do it justice!
I pray for safety with the elephants tomorrow!!

Much love!