Cambodia (part 1)

February presented the first opportunity to leave the country. We had to stay in Taiwan for 4 months in order to be eligible for health insurance. So, up until now, we’ve limited ourselves to exploring Taiwan (and trust me, we’ve not seen nearly as much as we would like to!!!). However, knowing that Southeast Asia is in our backyard, and the cost not only of the flights, but of the destinations themselves, is quite reasonable…we’ve been itching to explore some place exotic!

Now the hard part… WHERE TO GO??? The world is such a large place! Many people in Taiwan go to Thailand as a vacation destination, so I thought I’d start there; however, there were so many choices in Thailand! Do we go to the beach-part of Thailand, or the more outdoorsy part of Thailand? Where do we stay? Should I book a tour or try to go it alone? The choices were so intimidating and I was so afraid to mess things up (trust me, the role of vacation planner is not glamorous and can be quite stressful!) that I decided to go to a country with limited choices in terms of what to see and where to go….Cambodia!

We had heard that the temples of Cambodia were quite the sight to see, after all it WAS a 7th wonder of the world before the most recent votes came out (which, btw…don’t ask locals about…they’re still upset over the whole thing!). With a few recommendations on touring companies from some experienced world-travellers, I had a tour package which fit our budget and seemed an appropriate vacation to take as a family. Terry was excited that he’d REALLY have a chance to hone his skills in his new hobby, photography, and the girls were very excited that our itinerary included riding an elephant. I was just excited to visit some place COMPLETELY out of the ordinary for us. I think this is the most exotic place I could think of for our family to visit.

Getting out of Taipei would prove to be no easy task. About 5 days prior to our departure, both Terry and I started asking around to others about how early we should leave our apartment to catch a 9am flight. People who’ve lived here for quite some time all said the same thing…4 ½ to 5 hours prior…YIKES! 4:30 or 5am?? Are you KIDDING?!! Knowing that this would NOT be a great way to start our vacation, I booked us one night at a brand-new hotel right at the Taipei airport called ‘Novotel’. Our neighbors had told us about it and the rates were quite reasonable…when I say brand-new, I mean that the hotel opened in November! So, yup, we stayed in a hotel that was 4 months old. Brianna will tell you that this hotel has been her favorite so far. The décor was quite modern, and the amenities in the rooms were cute. The staff were quite friendly and the kid’s corner (which had a Wii to play with as well as a number of board games for the kids) was located QUITE conveniently next to the bar (THAT was some smart planning I tell you!! The architect/planner obviously must have kids!). It was the perfect way to start our vacation.

Personally, while I was feeling really excited, I was also a bit scared and nervous. I had reviewed the itinerary and was comfortable with the recommendations; however, I have to admit that I was scared! The few facts that I knew of Cambodia was that (1) it is a 3rd world country where the living conditions can be severe; (2) it is the home of Angkor Watt and some other temples; and (3) it is supposed to be VERY hot.

With the weight of worrying about the happiness of my family’s vacation resting on my shoulders, I tried to sleep. Thankfully for me, it had been an exhausting week, so I was coming into the night already tired. As I said, the hotel was brand new, so the accommodations were pretty comfy. With a solid 7 hours of sleep behind me, I woke up the kids and Terry and headed off for the unknown!!!

(I'll try to update the rest of the trip soon; however, there seems to be SOOOO much to catch up on that it may take some time!)