Southeast Asia Here I Come

It's that time again to head off and explore another part of the world. This time it's off to Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia for a little more than two weeks. It all begins with a dreadful day of travelling that will take me close to 24 hours to arrive at my final destination of Bangkok, Thailand. I depart Atlanta on Friday for a 15 hour direct flight to Seoul, S. Korea. I cringed just typing that. Than I have a connection for another 5 hour flight to finally arrive in Bangkok at close to midnight on Sunday.

That is when the fun begins. I will than spend the next couple of days exploring what Bangkok has to offer and hopefully getting some fantastic deals on custom made suits and shirts. After a couple of days in Bangkok, I head to Northern Thailand for a few days. I will be staying in Chiang Mai before heading off on a hike in to the mountains and a visit to the hilltribes. The hilltribes are a ethnic minorities who live in the Northern part of Thailand. They have maintained their simple way of life for thousands of years. I am extremely excited about visiting them as this will be a completely unique and interesting cultural experience.

After spending a few days in Northern Thailand, I head back to Bangkok for one night before flying out to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam where I will join a tour with 15 people with a company called Gap Adventures. They come highly recommended as friends of mine have travelled with them to Africa and South America. The tour will include Vietnam, Cambodia and finish in Thailand. One of the things I am most looking forward to is Angkor Wat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat.

Here is my itinerary for the tour:

Day 1- Ho Chi Minh City
Day 2- Chau Doc Travel through the Mekong Delta to the town of Chau Doc where there is time to take in the local culture and experience life on the river.
Day 3-4- Phnom Penh Explore Phnom Penh, beginning with the National Museum and adjacent complex of the Silver Pagoda and Royal Palace. After 1975, when Pol Pot and his henchmen grabbed power, Cambodia was thrown into an abyss of unspeakable violence and mass-murder. Millions of Cambodians perished during this time. Witness to this genocide are the Killing fields of Choeung Ek and the Tuol Sleng prison.
Day 5-7 Siem Reap/Angkor Wat Explore Angkor, the former capital of the Khmer kingdom and one of the wonders of the archeological world. Rediscovered at the end of the last century by French explorers this vast ruined city is becoming one of the most popular sites in Southeast Asia. Over 2 days, visit some of the highlights of this ancient capital, like the magnificent temple of Angkor Wat, the enigmatic Bayon within the walled city Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Preah Khan and Banteay Srei.
Day 8-9 Bangkok Head through the countryside of Cambodia to the modern kingdom of Thailand.

It should be a very exciting and unique trip. It will be unlike anything I have ever done before and I am so ready to get it started.

I will do my best to update the blog as much as possible. Personally, I enjoy it as it serves as a personal journal to help document my experiences.