Only a few more days to go!

Hello from Cambodia! I definatly slacked on the updates the past few weeks. Yes, the internet is all over SE Asia, but it's a matter of finding a good computer and connection. I will update more extensivley when I get home, but wanted to write a brief overview of what we have been up to the past few weeks.

Vietnam ... We left Kuala Lumpur and arrived in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon) in the early evening. We stayed in Vietnam almost two weeks and did not get to do everything we wanted, but were kept very busy! We were only in Saigon not even 2 days because we were there last year. One day we took a cyclo around the city to the Reunification Palace, former US Embassy, Notre Dame, through streets and ally ways and some bonsai garden. It was a nice cool day and out cyclo drivers were really nice :)

We left Saigon on a 5 hour bus to Mui Ne - a wonderful little beach town in Vietnam. We went last year and just had to come back again! Last year we stayed at a lovely boutique hotel called Cham Villas and wanted to stay there again, but the prices went up and we decided to try another accomadation. This year we stayed at recently renovated Blue Ocean and enjoyed it just as much. They had a restraunt and pool there as well. We didn't do much in Mui Ne, but relax and figure out what we were going to eat for dinner that night (have I mentioned enough times how good the food is in SE Asia?! lol). After a few days at the beach we boarded another 5 hour bus and were off to Dalat.

The bus ride to Dalat was quite an adventure through the country side and mountains. It was a two lane road full of potholes, sometimes part of the road was erroded away and we were lucky if we got smooth pavement. The ride was quite enjoyable though because the cutest little Vietnamese boy sat next to us with his father. He was about 3-4 years old and when he boarded the bus hadhad the biggest smile and was full of excitement. Even though he didn't speak any English, he gave us a big thumbs up when he got on the bus. I shared some of my snacks with him and he gave me some candy in return. He and Aaron played shadow puppets with their hands. When we arived in Dalat it was quite chilly and got very cold at night -a huge change from the sweating hot beach we were at just a few hours ago. We were greeted by 2 gentlemen holding a sign with my mis-spelled name on it: "Caca Heggi". They took us to our hotel and invited us for a cup of coffee and tea, they asked for no money but offered to take us on a countryside tour the next day for only $20 usd each. They seemed like honest guys and ya gotta take chances sometimes. Thank goodness we did! We one of the best days of our trips with them. We spent the whole day on their motorcycles and had a wonderful tour of Dalat. Our guides were Yang and Ocean (Ocean is in the pic with me - I think he looks like my uncle Victor!) Some of the highlights of Dalat: Waterfalls, Crazy House, silk farm, coffee farm, flower farms, and just amazing countryside. Thank you Yang and Ocean for a wonderful time in Dalat!! So from Dalat we took a flight all the way north to Hanoi. If we had more time we would have bussed it all the way north and stopped in more cities, but that will just have to be done next time :)

In Hanoi we did the typical touristy things: water puppet show, visit the museums and Hao Loa Prison, hang out around the lake and the Old Quarter. The main reason we headed north was to see one of the "Wonders of the World" and UNESCO World Herritage site known as Halong Bay. We took a 2 day/1 night boat trip around Halong Bay. Being warned several times by fellow travelers, travel sites and travel books that you"get what you pay for" and after extensive research we decided on Colombus Travel and we boarded the boat (known as Chinese Junks) named the Pinta. It was a little on the pricey side, but we were extremely happy with the results - clean boat, wonderful food, and no rats! We sailed around the bay, saw a some cave, went swimming and kayaking. It was a great time and we met some other cool travelers as well :) We headed back to Hanoi for 2 more days and then we boarded a plane for Cambodia.

Cambodia... We arrived in Siem Reap to see the famous Temples of Angkor Wat. And man, they were amazing to see in person! These structures are 1000's of years old. Can't believe we were really there. Here's just a few pics we took around Angkor Wat. Enjoy...

We celbrated my 25th birthday in Siem Reap. Aaron treated me to a wonderful Camodiam BBQ dinner :) From SR, we headed to the captial on a 5 hr bus to Phnom Penh. PP is alot different then SR. SR is a bit more laid back, PP is a much bigger city more fast paced. We are staying in a nice hotel for only $20 usd a night, near the river. We went to the Genocide Museum (aka Killing Fields) and the S-21 prison sight one day. It was pretty hard seeing the images of the Genocide that took place here (I will have to write about it in another entry). We did the Palace and Silver Pagoda, central market and stuff. Sounds like the typical tourist I guess. But I want to come back, and see other part of Cambodia in the near future.

Cambodia - it has been quite an experience here! It has been a bit harder for me to handle than Vietnam and China. I've seen beggars before and people with out limbs, but it's hard to see here and after you know hat the country has been through. They say the rich is getting richer here and the poor are only poorer. I've seen RangeRovers driving through the streets and I see a poor family with a naked baby bathing in the brown waters of the Mekong. Children as young as 2-3 years old trying to sell us things. You feel sorry for the kids, but are told that if we buy things from them they won't go to school. A beggar asks for money, but you feel that if you give him a dollar then you have to give them all a dollar. An elderly person sifts though trash for a meal, but if you buy them a meal you have to buy them all a meal. Then a teenager asks us to buy a water and when you don't they get mad and curse you in Cambodian. I did not know what to think when I saw a naked child 1-2 years old walking down the street with a bag of empty plastic bottles, no one even paying attention to him. I just watched him walk off into the distance. I'm full of emotion, guilt, and confusion. I know I'm just one person but I definately want to come back again someday soon I hope. Maybe do some volunteer work and teach in the future.

Well I have been on this computer for over 2 hours to fill you all in!! I will do more detailed entries when I get home and will put up alot more pics as well. Take care everyone and we will be home soon - headed to Bangkok tomorrow and catching our flight home from there :)

<3 Cara

Macau & Singapore

I've found some more time to add a few more updates about our adventures so far... oops, forgot my darn camera again though! I gotta stop doing that :(

Back to Macau - so after Hong Kong, we said by the Lindsay and made our way back to Macau by ferry. Aaron wanted to go there (he's the gambler). We got there a day earlier then our reservation at the Venetian so we opted to stay at a cheap hostel. It was definatly CHEAP! Pretty nasty actually. We stayed out as late as we could that night so we did not have to sleep there very long. That night I showed Aaron around the main city - the old streets, the ruins of st. Paul. We ate some wonderful beef gyro for dinner off the street - cheap and good. Of course we got egg tarts for dessert. We walked around the major casinos - Grand Lisboa, Wynn, MGM. We were exhausted and did not get a good night sleep at the hostel because it was nasty and some Chinese people were fighting all night. It was terrible. I hope we do not have to stay in a hostel like that again. We were up by 7am. We checked outta the hostel and got some breakfast and headed to the Venetian for 3d/2nights. We went from the nastiest cheapest place to the most luxurious beautiful casino in Macau! The Venetian was amazing. Aaron got a summer promotion which included breakfast, gondola ride and other deals. We also saw the Cirque Du Soleil show "Zaia". It was really good - I loved the music! We did not have to leave the Ventian because it had everything we needed. We spent our days at the pool, wandering around, relaxing, and Aaron did the gambling. From Macau we boarded a flight to Malaysia, but went to Singapore first...

Singapore - we got to Singapore by flying into Johor Bahru, Malaysia which is right over the border. It was cheaper this way. We then boarded a bus that took us to a bus station (that coast about 8RM = $1.50) where we borded another bus (2.5 RM = less than $1) to get to the border ir self. We got our passports stamped and then bordered yet ANOTHER bus (did not have to pay for this bus as long as you keep your bus ticket from before) to go into Singapore. It sounds a bit tedious but its not too bad and ALOT cheaper than highering a taxi to take you all the way through. We stayed in an area known as "Little India." It really feels, looks, and smells like a little India. We stayed at a mid-range hotel called the Madras Hotel, great location, clean. The first night we wandered around and had some Nepalese cuisine. Quite similar to Indian food with a few differences I guess, but I cant tell. It was really good but a bit spicy for me. We ordered too much food like we always do lol. The next day we headed to the city center and wandered around. Singapore really is a just a big city, but its clean and full of many different cultures that make it so unique. Chinese, Indian, Filipinos, Maylays...Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists. We took a little boat around the harbor and then boarded a double decker bus that takes you to all the major tourists attractions. It was a little pricey but we got to use it for 2 full days which made it worth the money. Some of the highlights of Singapore: The Merlion - symbol of Singapore; The Quays - pronounced "keys" where there are numerous restaurants and bars along the harbour; Sentosa Island - where Singaporeans go to relax; the Raffels Hotel - the most expensive and luxurious in Singapore, the Queen of England as well as David Beckham have all stayed here. It was a fun and expensive 2 days (the Singapore to US dollar is not a great exchange rate) but we made the best of it. Next we are headed to MALAYSIA...

Will update again soon...

ENJOY LIFE! ~Cara

Finally an update!!

I finally have some computer time to update. SO much has happened since I last posted. Of course I forget my disk with pics, but oh well. Here's a little summary to catch ya up...

End of camp and the Olympic Games - The last 10 days of camp flew by! My kids were a bit more rowdy this time around. I had a few favorites, but my first session kids were the best! We did a lot of the same activities like the first session - we had a talent competition, around the world, and a drama night. We also had a foreign teachers vs. Chinese teachers basketball game!! It was 7 of us foreign teachers against like 10 Chinese teachers - so they had more subs. I got a damn good work out I'll tell ya that! haha... we lost 48-18... but we had fun that's all that matters right?! The Chinese love basketball and they are pretty darn good. One of the highlights during the last session of camp was watching the Opening ceremonies with the kids and the Chinese teachers. Lindsay and I bought Olympic shirts for ourselves and treats to give to the kids. We then went to a bar to finish watching the ceremonies. Even if people didn't have TV's, they were on the streets watching the ceremony. The streets were quiet and eyes glued to the TV that was sitting in the window of the restaurant or shop. You could really feel the Olympic spirit all over China, it felt like I was in Beijing right there watching it. Even though I did not make it to the games, I felt so blessed to be able to watch them in China. The Chinese were so proud to host the games and they did a wonderful job!

One of our last nights in Zhuhai a few of us teachers hung out by the Fisher Girl Statue - the symbol of Zhuhai. I had been wanting to see it and hadn't got a chance while we were teaching. We brought along with us two bottles of cheap liquor - "white wolf vodka" (the name just makes me shutter thinking back lol) and some gin (I don't do the gin!). We got some juices and mixed up some cocktails and had good conversation. It was a nice way to spend one of our last nights together. On the last night I got to hang out with some of my Chinese teachers and got to know them a little better. It was hard to hang out since they were the ones who watched over the kids at camp 24/7. I got there number and emails so we could hang out back in Guangzhou. We had some good times in Zhuhai :) I'll miss it.

Guangzhou - Lindsay and I headed back to Guangzhou on August 12th. We took the bus back with some of the campers. I was very excited because Aaron was already at the hotel waiting for me and Linds. We met up with Aaron at the Guangdong Victory Hotel on Shamian Island, right on the Pearl River. It was a very nice hotel, a little pricey, but I was happy to be sleeping in a nice soft bed with lots of pillows. Aaron was pretty exhausted form the flight so he rested up after lunch while Lindsay and I wandered around the city and picked up a few souvenirs. That night Aaron still wasn't feeling so well, so it was just Lindsay and I who went out. We headed to Baeiten Bar Street - right across form Shamian Island on the other sid eof the river. We wandered around with a 22oz. beer in hand while checking out possible bars that looked cool to hang out in. Then, one of our Chinese teachers called us - they were out at a club and wanted to meet up. So we had them tell the cab driver where to take us. We ended up meeting at some club pounding techno music. I don't mind techno, it just wasn't very good techno. Linds and I made the best of it though since we love to dance. We also played the "dice game" with the teachers. I have no idea what the Chinese name is, but its fun. Our last day in Guangzhou we wandered around some more and got some Papa John's Pizza. We had a craving, ok?! haha...in the evening we met up with a few other Chinese teachers for dinner at a nice Chinese restaurant. It was soo good! It was so nice to be able to hang out with our teachers before we left China since they didn't get to hangout with us at the camp.

Hong Kong - From Guangzhou Lindsay, Aaron and I headed to Hong Kong. We stayed in a hostel in the Causeway Bay area. An area full of shopping - actually I felt like there was shopping everywhere you go in Hong Kong. You can defintely feel the difference between Hong Kong and mainland China. Hong Kong has a good public transportation system and we took the MTR (subway) everywhere and walked a hell of alot! Our feet were pounding by the end of the day because we wanted to see as much as we possibly could in the 2 full days we had there. While were were there we went to a lot of the ho tspots: Victoria Peak, Lang Kwai Fong, Kowloon, and one of the many night markets. Lindsay left for the airport around 4:30am on our last day. I was a little sad to see my partner in crime for the last month leave, but I was so excited for the adventure Aaron and I were about to embark on!

Ok, time at the net cafe is running out! In my next blog I plan to hopefully have pics and updates: Back to Macau, Singapore and Malaysia!

ENJOY LIFE! <3 Cara

WOW Macau! Our 2 day break...

St. Paul's Cathedral...
Portuguese architecture in Macau...
Free tickets to the USA vs. Lithuania exhibition game before the Olympics!
Lindsay and I at the game... so close!

The Famous Casino Lisboa...

Hac Sa Beach (aka 'Black Sand Beach')...
Sneaking into the Westin Resort Pool..

*YAY pics finally!*

After the first session Lindsay and I spent our break in Macau. I think it has been our favorite experience in China so far. We just had a lot of fun!

Macau is known as the "Vegas of Asia." It was once owned by Portugal and was handed back to China in the late 90’s. It is changing rapidly with new casinos and resorts. Right now the Venetian Macau is the biggest casino in the world - three times the size of the one in Vegas! There is a Wynn and MGM Grand as well. We stayed in a hotel with out a casino and it was really nice for 630 Hong Kong Dollars (about $80 USD). We were just happy to have a soft bed with two pillows! It was also a short distance to a lot of the main attractions in Macau. The first night we walked around the main island of Macau. We passed through the famous Hotel and Casino Lisboa and the Wynn. Both VERY nice!! Didn't do any gambling though. We opted for a nice dinner - something NOT served on a metal tray like at camp lol. We got this REALLY good Portuguese steak and some chicken. We were stuffed by the end. We called it and early night so we could do as much as we could the next day. We were excited to sleep in our comfy beds anyways :)

The next day was one of the most eventful days we'd have in China so far. We woke up and got some breakfast at a place down the street from the hotel. We then headed to Hac Sa Beach on Colone Island. Hac Sa means "Black Sand." It's about a 20 minute bus ride from Macau City. It wasn't the nicest beach, but it was a beach and we were happy. We layed out and put our feet in the water. It's not a very big beach and we walked down the coast to the Westin Resort. We were originally going to just walk around, maybe grab some food. We ended up at the pool! It was sooooo nice and relaxing. I couldn't relax at first because all I could think of was getting kicked out but it all worked out. The British Olympic team was actually staying there and we saw some of the athletes, that was kinda cool :)

Then we headed back to the bus and spent the say going to the Macau Wine Museum (for the free wine at the end, but only one sample so that kinda sucked); ruins of the St. Paul Cathedral; roaming the old streets; shopping; eating egg tarts; getting lost and then finding our way back. We did ALOT of walking that day! We went back in the early evening to rest up for the night. We were going to go "all out."

After a good power nap, a few beers, we got all glammed up for the night. Who knew where the night would take us. We decided we wanted to see the Venetian - right now the biggest casino resort in the world I believe. Four times the size the one in Vegas. When we finally found our way in, we headed straight to the bar (who'd have guessed that?). We had planned to have only one drink then go check out the shops... plans changed. Turns out the USA Men's basketball team was staying at the Venitian playing a few exhibition games before the Olympics. A few of the sponsors who set up the gym equipment for them were chillin at the bar after the game. We ended up chatting for a few hours and got a few free rounds of drinks (lemon drop shots) and free tickets to the USA vs. Lithuania game the next night! Nice guys who really made our trip just over the top. Well we somehow stumbled our way back to our hotel and passed out.

We stayed at our hotel until we had to checkout the next day at noon. The hotel held our bags for us for the whole day. We spent the afternoon finishing up shopping and wandering. In the afternoon we headed back to the Venetian for the game. Turns out the tickets they gave us included a reception by invitation only, and we got to go! It was for all the sponsors. They had lots of pretty food and sushi! We were quite excited :-) Then we headed to the game, it was sold out. Had a great time cheering for team USA!! By the end of the game it was around 10pm, and we had to get back to the border to get back to Zhuhai by midnight. We figured a taxi would be easy....so did everyone else! The taxi line was insane! We had to walk out of the Venetian a few blocks down the road and we finally got one. We got back to our hotel, grabbed our bags and headed to the border. We made it in time (but we secretly would not have minded if we 'accidentally' didn't make it back in time hehe).

Interesting English Names

We have been compiling a list of interesting English names that kids have at our camp… I’ll add more as camp goes on :-)

1. Demon
2. About
3. Wason
4. Cake
5. Cool
6. Green Day
7. Milk
8. Mulk
9. Simba
10. Yo Yo
11. Chicken
12. Google
13. Red Alert
14. GoGo Can Sam

Zhuhai and the Summer Camp

Hello all! It's been awhile since I've been able to update :( I finally found some time to sit at the smokey internet cafe and write about my experience so far. As some of you know or don't know, I am teaching at a summer camp in Zhuhai, China. Zhuhai is located in the Guangdong Province in Southern China. About a two hour bus ride from Guangzhou. Zhuhai borders Macau and you can cross the border there. Zhuhai itself is broken up into three areas – Gongbei (we call it “big Zhuhai” the main city center and where you can cross the border); Jida (we call it “middle Zhuhai”); and then Xiangzhou (we call it “little Zhuhai). Our camp is located on a university campus, which is past little Zhuhai, it’s about an hour by public bus to get to the city center. We joke around that our campus is kind of like “Alcatraz” because it’s on a small island, over a bridge far from the city center. Our dorms where we stay are a just room with bathroom, hard bed, and a locker. We do have a TV but it only has one English channel. The bathroom is not the most glamorous - it is NOT a western toilet and the shower is right over it. We eat food in the cafeteria on a metal tray. The food is defiantly hit or miss – watch out for chicken feet and fish bones! But I’m dealing ;-) I don’t want to sound too negative, because it’s really not THAT that bad, it just takes getting used to.

The camp is set up by the New Oriental School. There are about 12 foreign teachers from all over the US and we are all teaching English here. The camp is set up into two, ten-day sessions. The kids range from 7-17 years old. We actually just finished our first session a few days ago and started our second session today. It’s been tiring but a lot of fun. The kids last session were wonderful and I was actually able to remember all there names! We each have about 50 kids, and teach half of them at a time. The morning is all English class. We try to make class interactive and fun for them. The afternoons are filled with fun things like a water splashing festival, water melon eating contests, it’s a small world, plays and other fun things. The water splashing was defiantly fun – especially getting back at the bad ones in class LOL. I was sad to say bye to the first session, and I hope this next batch of kids are just as fun. We had an opening ceremony yesterday for the second session camp, and just like we did for the last batch of campers, we had to do a little show. We did the “Cupid Shuffle” and taught them the dance. They really enjoyed it. The kids here in China really love to sing and dance, it’s really cute. We also have a great group of us foreign teachers that make it fun – both at camp and outside of camp.

*Will add pics when I am able to put them on*

Been here 5 days now....

Ni Hao!

I finally have some time to write a quick hello :) Lindsay and I arrive in Shanghai Monday evening. We were surprisingly not jet lagged at all! So we went out that night with out organizer guy. Somewhere in the French Concession area. It was a lot of foreigners, but fun. We stayed up til around 4am! Hey -when in China right?!

A little recap so far: Spent the next few days touring Shanghai - the Bund, Pearl Tower, Shanghai Museum. Then Hangzhou - walked around the west lake and checked out the Wushan Lu night market. We are now in Guangzhou and met up with the other teachers we will be at the summer camp with. We had a traditional Chinese dinner at a nice restaurant tonight - out first big fulfilling meal. Headed to Zhuhai in the morning!! When I have more time I hope to put up pics and details :)

I'm in a hot smokey Internet cafe right now and its starting to get to me! I hope to update more when I get settled in Zhuhai. Wan An!

~Cara

Really annoyed right now.... but only 2 more days to go til Asia!

I'm really annoyed with this blog right now! First off, it took forever to do my pics and then it freakin erased my entry!! Good thing I copied my entry before it got permanently erased. I'm trying this One more time, then giving up....

Hello all! Just wanted to post another blog before I get ready to leave on Sunday. I have been so busy with work and hanging out with friends and family before I leave. I've had SO much fun! It makes it a lot harder to leave, but I am so pumped for the adventures ahead! Since the soccer game the other weekend, I attended the bar crawl in Canton, had a BBQ over July 4th weekend, and just went to the Nats game last night (they won!). Dinner tonight w/ the girls :) I've had a great summer so far w/ everyone. I will miss you all!! Please keep in touch - I will check my email/blog comments as often as I can. The next time you read this I will be in Shanghi, China! One love ~Cara

Washington National's Game:

Canton Bar Crawl:

11 days!

So 11 more days til I leave the country once again... I'm getting pretty anxious and excited :) I will be sad to leave my friends again, but I'll be back in no time. Speaking of my friends, we have been keeping busy with happy hours, dinners, floating in the pool, picking crabs and just hangin out. A few of us went to the DC United vs. LA Galaxy game on Sunday... HELLOOOO DAVE BECKHAM!!! He was so hot - even from the nose bleed section! Oh yea I also saw Mamma Mia on Saturday - very good! I have ABBA songs stuck in my head now :-D

Tomorrow is the bar crawl in DC! Can't wait to catch up with Jexa up there :)

I'll leave ya with some eye candy - Mr. Beckham...

2 1/2 weeks to go!

Hello everyone! Just wanted to update the blog a little bit :) Things have been going so fast these last couple of weeks before my trip! Aaron's brother and his family were just in town, I went to the beach, and so many things are coming up before I leave. Somethings I'm looking forward to....

~Last kickball game
~Going to see Mama Mia in DC
~DC United vs. LA Galaxy (hellooooo Dave Beckham!)
~Canton bar crawl
~Stern BBQ
~Last day of work at the restaurant
~National's game

And between all that, I have to buy a new travel backpack, figure out what the heck I'm gonna pack in it, and buy whatever else I need for my trip. Lots to do, so little time! I'm getting anxious!! 2 1/2 more weeks!

Getting used to this blogging thing....

So the water in our area is all comtaminated due to a water main break - no work tonight! Woohoo - er, I need the money tho, oh well :)

I don't really know how to focus this blog, so it's just gonna be complete randomness - deal with it! One of the first things I wanted to share with everyone was this funny clip from the show "Big Brother UK." I love my sweets, but this Thai chick is crazy over freakin cookies! HAHA.

Asia update: I got some more info about where and what I'll be teaching in China. I'll be in Zhuhai which is in Southern China near Macau. Those of you who don't know what Macau is, it's basically the "Vegas" of Asia. I have a feeling much fun will be had there. I will be teaching kids ages 8-13 at a summer camp. It sounds like fun :) Also, just to give ya'll a heads up, here's my tenative itinerary:

• July 14: Shanghai


• July 17/18: Hangzhou


• July 19 - August 12: Zhuhai
  
• Hong Kong


• Macau


• Malaysia


• Vietnam


• Cambodia


• Laos
  
• Thailand
  

I'm pumped! And not to make you all jealous or anything... a little visual for where I'm headed this summer:

Hong Kong
Mui Ne, Vietnam
Macau Langkawai, Malaysia
Just a few places along the way I'm planning to visit :) It's starting to storm here, and I have to pack for VA Beach... so no updates for a few days. Peace ~Cara

The First Entry

I've been thinking about starting my own blog for the millionth time and decided to tonight. I love reading celebrity gossip blogs (http://www.dlisted.com/) as well as cooking blogs (http://www.cupcakeproject.com/), so why not start my own blog of randomess.

As most of my friends/fam know I am heading back to Asia in less than a month. I plan to blog here about my travels this summer. I tried to do a travel blog last year when I went to Asia and I only got one good entry - thanks to a shitty internet connection/computer at the school there. Hopefully I will be able to update regularly when I'm in Asia this year. I will be heading back to China to teach english at a summer camp and then I'll be heading to SE Asia. I'm excited to see what my travels will bring this year as well as how this blog will turn out :)