When it rains in the wilderness, it rains.

Since being here, I have learned a lot.  One thing that I have learned is that things happen very last minute.  Most of the time, things aren't really planned, they just naturally seem to work out.  On Wednesday night, everyone started talking about the weekend, and what the plans were.  Knowing that we had a free weekend, we all wanted to take advantage of it, and do something fun.  However, it was Wednesday and since we don't have class on Friday, the weekend was quickly approaching, and we didn't have any plans.  Some people wanted to go to an island, but plane tickets were expensive, and knowing that we all wanted to stay close to Bangkok, but not stay in Bangkok (due to the recent events and craziness), a group of us decided to venture about 2.5 hours north of Bangkok to Khao Yai National Park.  The small group of us going bubbled into about 20 of us deciding to go and camp, hike, see waterfalls, and hopefully see some monkeys and elephants.  The weekend turned out to be a ton of fun, and something different then sitting in our room and going out at night. 

The weekend started off with a bang when I was sitting in bed at 11:30 on Thursday night, writing my mom an email outlining my weekend, when the power went out in C Building.  All day the power was going in and out.  Though it was raining, it wasn't monsooning.  Simply, the power structure isn't that good in Bangkok, so power outages are frequent.  Of course in unison, every girl on my floor screamed and went into the hall way with their phone flashlights.  What we all thought was going to be a 5 minute outage turned into hours of no power.  Of course that meant non of our phones were charging when a majority of us were going into the woods for the weekend, and worst of all, no A/C or internet.  Two ABAC teachers, and former Loyola students live on my floor.  Both of them came here for their semesters abroad.  We ended up all sitting on the floor of the hallway and talking. One of the teachers told us a scary story from his time here abroad about a ghost encounter he had in one of the stairwells.  All of us have heard that C Building is haunted.  I know there are stories, but haven't heard them yet, that is for another time and blog post.  Basically, we all talked to ease the pain of the heat and no entertainment from our laptops.

We eventually all went to sleep to have the power come on at 5:45 when we were all meeting to leave at 6:45 for the bus to Khao Yai.  We all planned the trip thinking it was going to be a short and simple ride.  The bus ended up taking 4 hours and then we all had to figure out how we were getting to Khao Yai since the bus dropped us off about 40km from the entrance to the park.  The two options were to rent a motorbike, or take a songtao a taxi like truck.  Moments from getting a mortorbike I decided not to seeing that I hadn't driven a car in more then a month, and had never been on a motorbike/moped let alone driven one.  This was a decision my parents probably love to hear, but one that I later regretted once I got to Khao Yai.  

 Once arriving in the park, the group of us that didn't rent motorbikes had to hitchhike to the visitors center to then hitchhike to the campground.  Hitchhiking in Khao Yai was nothing like hitchhiking in America.  Every single car that drove past us, stopped.  Some of them just to say hi, but most of them were more then willing to help us.  Families pilled into small Hondas stopped and tried to fit 4 more girls and their backpacks into their cars.  Like everyone says, Thai people are some of the friendliest, most welcoming people.  We ended up all getting into the bed of a pickup truck(something very popular here in Thailand and very illegal in the US) and found the campground.  All of us pitched tents and found a nice spot in the park to sleep.  One of the girls on the trip brought s'mores ingredients that she travelled high and low to find (marshmallows aren't a staple in a Thai diet).  However, once we gathered round and tried to build a fire, nothing really worked.  The air was too humid, and all the twigs were too wet.  It was enjoyable to watch, and attempt.  In the end we all enjoyed some raw marshmallows, Hershey's chocolate, and the Thai form of graham crackers, "sugar crackers".    By 8:00 we were all exhausted from travel, and without fire, the campsite was really dark.  We all knew that Saturday was going to be jam packed with activities, so by 9:00, we were all in our tents asleep.  

At 2AM however, I was awoken to a chopping sound.  One of the girls brought a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and apples with her.  We were awoken to the sounds of  a deer standing outside her tent enjoying the snack.  In our delusional state, non of us were scared of the deer, and the deer basically being inside the girls tent, we were all amused.  Some of the boys got out of their tents and tried to shoo the deer away.  The deer could have cared less about us, it just knew it was getting a tasty snack.  Going, we were all scared that monkeys were going to attack out tents, it ended up that deer were more likely to create issues.  

The next day we all woke up and decided what we were going to do.  The issue was that not all of us had motorbikes.  Khao Yai is a huge national park that is too big to bike or walk around, and there aren't any modes of transportation other then hitchhiking.  We all had to be crafty.  I ended up getting on the back of one of the boys bikes with another girl.  We were nice and tightly packed on the bike, but without our backpacks, it wasn't too hard.  Shoutout to JC and Elise for being an amazing mortorbike team, and getting to see everything together.  Our morning started with seeing Heo Suwat Waterfall.  It was beautiful, and looked like something out of a National Geographic Magazine.  We climbed a few meters down to the bottom thinking we could swim to find out we couldn't, but the photos we were able to take were gorgeous.  Adding to it was the fact that I never get to see waterfalls in the US, and seeing them naturally all over Khao Yai was amazing.  

We then decided to venture to the Visitors Center to find out about a group tour.  We split into two groups of 9 and got a three hour hiking tour of the park.  Going in I was nervous that my brand new Columbia hiking boots were going to fail me and give me blisters, but they were the best part of the trip.  After about 7km of hiking in the jungle, they were supportive, and with high socks, kept the leeches off of me!!  The hike was amazing.  We climbed through the jungle.  Over branches, under trees, up muddy mountains, through streams, and over bridges.  We ended at a watch tower where all we could see was open land and tons of green landscape.  It was absolutely stunning, and a part of Thailand that is so different then Bangkok.  

After the long and grueling hike, some of us ventured to Haew Narok Waterfall.  Haew Narok is the largest waterfall, and the farthest from the center of Khao Yai.  The drive to get to the waterfall was breathe taking.  Driving through Khao Yai on the back of a motorbike is unlike anything I have experienced.  Feeling the clean air hit your face, and looking around you and only seeing green trees and woods was amazing, and something that I wanted to experience in Thailand before I left.  

On our way to the waterfall, we were all stopped and told to turn around.  Eventually we realized it was because there was an elephant in the road.  All of us got super excited.  We all wanted to see a wild elephant, and sure enough we did.  It was mellow, and wasn't bothering anyone.  Eventually it found its way into the woods, and we ventured on, but not before we all took some photos and watched it poop.  The hike down to the waterfall was long.  It was 900 meters to 5 flights of some of the steepest stairs.  Eventually we made it down to see the waterfall.  It was huge and the water was so powerful.  The mist from the waterfall was hitting all of our faces as we attempted to take pictures.  

On our way back to get food, we saw the sunset over the grass lands, and one of the reservoirs at the park.  It was gorgeous and we decided to pick up food and go to one of the observation areas where we saw part of the sunset, and a family of monkeys looking for chips from the visitors.  

We arrived back to camp exhausted, and ready for bed yet again at 8:30.  We all "showered"(the showers were cold, and had some of the strongest water pressure ever) and got into our tents knowing that we wanted to get up early to leave.  However, we were all awoken again.  This time it was 11PM and it was pouring rain.  We all had a rain cover on our tents however, almost all of us couldn't sleep and got fairly wet from all the rain that was coming down.  The pouring rain was constant for 2 hours.  At one point, it felt like I was sleeping on a water bed because of the water beneath the tent.  It was an adventure to say the least.  

We all woke up before the sun to get our tents together, and to find a way back to Bangkok.  We arrived back tired, dirty, and ready for a hot shower.  Once we connected to wifi, all of us were bombarded with Instagram posts, and snap chats of all our friends back in Baltimore moving in, going out, and hanging out with their new roommates.  It is such a weird feeling being thousands of miles away, but feeling like you are there with them starting a new semester.  We are all living vicariously through them while they live vicariously through us here in Bangkok.

Good news, I finally booked something in advanced!!!  Myself and two other girls have our flights booked for Krabi, one of the many islands in Thailand, for the weekend of the 11th.  So many more adventures to come.

Love from a Girl Scout and world traveling camper,
Kate
xoxo

Photos will be up soon.

Photos from the first months of adventures to last a lifetime

So my mom has been telling me every time I talk to her to get pictures up.  So finally, I am doing it.

This is the Cathedral of Learning.  It is the central building on the Savarnabhumi Campus of Assumption University.  It is stunning from the outside and the inside.  

The reclining buddha is a very well-known site in Bangkok.  It is part of Wat Pho.  A reclining buddha is one that is at rest.  The buddha is at peace and about to enter a state of nirvana.  This one is so big it is hard to get a picture that encompasses the whole thing.

Our first night in Siem Reap all of us went on a pub crawl.  The pub crawl was $8 and included a tank top(featured above) and 5 free shots at the 4 different bars we went to.  We met tons of cool people. From Canadians, to Germans, to Aussies, to Irish, everyone was really cool, and thought we were crazy American students.

This is called a sala.  It is directly across from the Cathedral of Learning and it is gorgeous.  There is another sala on the Hua Mak campus that I can see every time I look out my big window in my room.  

One of the first days here we took a day trip to Pattaya.  Pattaya is a beach front town that is about 2 hours south of Bangkok.  We went to a cultural show where we were able to see elephants(above) and get photos with them.  The cultural show was interesting, and there were probably 300 school children there on field trips.

This is a garden that is part of Nongnooch Botanical Gardens in Pattaya.  It was stunning and massive.  

Siam Paragon is the Short Hills Mall on steroids of Thailand.  It is a massive mall that has nothing I can afford in it.  Right next door to Siam Paragon is Central World, another upscale massive mall. Diagonal to Siam and Central World is the Erawan Shrine where the bomb recently went off.  

After looking around the mall, a group of us ventured to a hotel near Central World called Centara Grand.  Red Sky is the sky bar that is at the very top of the hotel.  It is gorgeous and has beautiful views of the city.  Thats me being a tourist^^^.  Bangkok is known for some pretty cool rooftop pools and bars so I will be going to more hopefully!!!

This is papaya salad or as they call it in Thailand, Som Tum.  It is delicious and spicy.  Technically the dish is Esan, not Thai.  Esan food is known to be spicy, and comes from the area of Thailand that borders Laos in the northeast.

Getting into Cambodia was a struggle.  We literally walked out of Thailand and into Cambodia.  This is the sign that tells you you are officially in Cambodia.

This is Ao Phroa which is another beach on the "quiet" side of Koh Samet.  It was stunning, and had some beautiful, upscale resorts all along the beach.

KOH SAMET IS GORGEOUS!!

Me while I was being burned by the sun.  I am still peeling from it....

I climbed 5 flights of steep steps to see this view.  

Me and Angkor Wat.  

Pub Street is the center of tourism and fun in Siem Reap.  The entire street is bars, clubs, and restaurants.

In Koh Samet, we went to Naga Bar (above) basically every night.  It is a glow, paint bar.  It was fun.

I could look at this forever.

Right down the street from school is the Sports Authority of Thailand.  It is a huge complex with a soccer arena, track, and biking center.  I go to the track and run.  I think my heat tolerance is already higher seeing that I can get myself to run outside.

THE FIRST DAY OF JUNIOR YEAR AND MY FRIST YEAR WEARING A UNIFORM!!!  Uniforms are a sign of wealth and prestige here in Thailand.  You are more respected when you wear a uniform.  

There is a local night market right next to the Sports Authority.  This lady is the bomb.com  She makes coconut ice cream with sticky rice that is out of this world, and I don't even like coconut.....it is all so fresh and not too sweet, and it is 30 baht aka less then $1.

The first and probably last real cheese I will ever find in Southeast Asia.  We all splurged one night and went to a gorgeous dinner at the Millennium Hilton, one of the hotels that line the Chao Phraya River.  We spent 500 baht on the dinner, but I probably ate 5,000 baht worth.  It made me feel like I was back in the US.  I had parmesan(see above), avocado, chocolate cake, and salmon.  I didn't eat any rice or noodles.....

More of Wat Pho

Going to Wat Pho made me realize how little about Buddhism I know....

The head of the reclining buddha, as I said, he is huge so getting a good pic isn't the easiest.

This is a quick summary of 1 month.

xoxoxo

Loyola Loves Bangkok.

On April 27th, 2015 riots broke out in Baltimore, Maryland due to the arrest and subsequent death of Freddie Grey.  Riots and protests were started throughout the city, but mostly on the west side where Grey was arrested.  Everyone at Loyola sat and watched in complete shock instead of studying for finals.  All of our families, states away, reached out in panic.  Were we safe?  Was there looting and rioting near campus?  What was the security like on campus?  All of us contacted home saying we were fine, staying on campus, and watching it all unfold on the TV knowing fully that it was all happening just minutes away in the same city.

On Monday night, myself and three friends were walking back from the local night market down the street from school when we all were bombarded with texts.  All of us were being contacted by our other friends who were in class wanting to know where we were, if we were safe, and telling us to stay on campus.  The four of us were clueless.  We had no idea what was happening.  We were still in bliss over the coconut and sticky rice dessert we had just consumed.  We got back to campus hearing that there was an explosion downtown in front of the Erawan Shrine.  We didn't know much, but we knew that it was fairly bad, and that there were deaths already.  That night we had a group meeting where we learned that 20 people were reported dead, and to stay close to campus.  

Clueless as to what exactly happened, we all turned on CNN and read articles on the internet.  We learned that the Erawan Shrine is a Hindu site of worship that is located close to Siam Paragon and Central World, the two largest malls in Thailand, and one of the hubs of tourism in Bangkok.  In many ways, Central World is the Times Square of Bangkok.  

On Tuesday, all of the elementary schools were closed however, ABAC was still in session.  We all went to class like any normal day as all of our parents and friends reached out making sure that we were all okay.  Unlike Baltimore though, this time we were 8,000 miles and 11 hours ahead making all of our families even more on edge. 

Another bomb went off on Tuesday.  However, this one didn't hurt anyone.  The bomb was thrown into the Chao Phraya River beneath the Taksin Bridge, near one of the docks where boats take tourists from the mainland to their hotels.  The Chao Phraya River is the main waterway that goes through Bangkok.  Along the river are all of the 5 star hotels, the Millennium Hilton, the Oriental, and the Shangri La to name a few.  All of these beautiful hotels make the Chao Phraya another central point of tourism in Bangkok.

On Tuesday night, we had another group meeting.  We were told that many of the people that were killed by the bomb on Monday night were tourists.  Chinese, Malaysians, Indonesians, and residents of Hong Kong were all killed.  However, not much else was known about who planted the bomb, or what their motives were.  We were told again to stay close to campus, and not go downtown or anywhere too far from campus.  Simply to be smart.

Over the course of this week, more details have been shared, and police are gaining more insight into the situation.  Thai police believe that it is a group of people behind the bombs, not just one person.  Initially, it was thought that it was an international terrorist attack.  However, after some more investigation, police now believe it was connected to people inside Thailand.  Slowly more details are becoming known, but as of today, nothing is completely certain about who the bombers were and their motives.  The scariest part is that there was months of planning for this to happen, and that the areas that were targeted were the big areas of tourism in Bangkok.  

All of our families have been concerned and reaching out to us.  However, as I sit here on campus and reflect, I think that the US has made it a much bigger deal then us here in Bangkok. We have all felt safe and been smart.  Being here, just like being in Baltimore during the riots, has had a very different feeling then how it seems to be portrayed by the media to my friends and family at home.  When the riots in Baltimore were going on, I knew that all of it was happening in my city however, it felt very distant.  The bomb that went off on Monday has felt very similar.  I know that I am in the same city as a bomb that killed 20 people however, I feel safe and comfortable.  I feel as if I am in a bubble inside a city experiencing dangerous things.  Continually, I think to myself how lucky I am to feel so safe among this craziness.  Through all of this, I have been able to feel safe because I am an American and because I am a student at a well known university in the city, and for that I am lucky and grateful.  

This article does a nice job in explaining some of the situation.  

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/security/663460/police-believe-at-least-10-behind-blast

Love love love,
Kate

I am a Junior in college....

In 4 days I will have been here a month, and I am officially a Junior in college.  That is terrifying.  This past week was my first week of classes. However, it really didn't feel like a full week.  We never have school on Fridays and this past Wednesday was the Queen's birthday which coincides with Mother's Day so we didn't have school.

My week started off fairly interesting when I was ready early for class (thanks to my uniform) and I decided to unpack my flip flops from Cambodia.  The last night in Cambodia was rainy and I had my Rainbow flip flops on.  Less then 12 hours after getting back to my hostel, we had to get on the bus to go back to Bangkok.  Since my flip flops were disgusting from rain and mud, I put them in a plastic bag and packed them.  I arrived back to Bangkok with less then 12 hours before I went to Ko Samet.  In a rush of unpacking to pack again, I threw the flip flops on my floor in the bag and left for the beach.  The first day of class I decided to finally unpack the Rainbows from Cambodia to find them covered in mold...it was pretty disgusting.  I asked around and googled to find out how to clean them.  I ended up getting a toothbrush and delicate hand/body soap and scrubbed them down.  It was an experience to say the least.  They really aren't the same, but I can wear them which is all that matters.  More adventures of learning how to travel....

With the start of school comes a sense of a routine and schedule which is nice since we have constantly been on the move and going places.  As Loyola students at Assumption University, we all live on the Hua Mak campus.  The main campus, Suvarnabhumi, is a 45 minute bus ride away from Hua Mak.  Almost all of us take classes at Suvarnabhumi on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  Since Suvarnabhumi is the "main campus", it is huge and bustling with tons of Thai students.  I am not even sure how many students there are at AU, but I would assume somewhere around 25,000 which is very different then the 4,000 at Loyola.  The bus ride and walking around that campus is exhausting, but going to that campus has allowed me to meet a ton of Thai students that are friendly and so excited that there are international students in their classes.  

At Assumption, all of the classes are taught in English, so all of the Thai students know some English to varying degrees of proficiency.  In my Society, Politics, and Economics class, I began talking to a Thai girl who was sitting next to me.  We talked all about the food that I was trying, Bangkok, and what I was doing in Bangkok and AU.  I told her that the one thing that I missed was dessert.  Dessert in Thailand isn't popular.  Thai people love brownies, cookies, and pastries, but no one really eats them. If you have dessert, it most likely is fruit.  She told me that her Granny makes the best desserts and that she was going to bring me some.  The next day in class, she walks in with a plastic bag filled with 5 pots of dessert!!!  The dessert looked like a birds nest, and ended up being a bread pudding ish flavor with egg flavored topping.  It wasn't very sweet, but it was tasty and free!!!!  All of the Thai students are so nice, a little shy, and love Facebook.  Over the course of just two days of classes, I made about 5 new Facebook friends.  

This past weekend was super busy.  On Friday, we took a trip down the road to the local elementary school, Khlong Ka-Ja.  Over the course of the semester, we are going to go to the school and volunteer with the kids.  When we all showed up, the kids went absolutely crazy.  All of them look at us like we are celebrities.  They look up to us and want to do everything that we do.  They are absolutely adorable, and getting to reach out to the local community and volunteering was something that I knew I wanted to do when I came to Thailand.  My group consisted of about 20 3rd graders.  We played the Thai version of duck-duck goose and Miss Mary Mack.  They were all so excited to see us and play with us even though we knew minimal amounts of Thai and they knew a few words of English.  

Friday was also the Feast of the Assumption.  Since we attend Assumption University, a Catholic university, there was a special mass and ceremony for the Feast on the Savarnbhumi campus.  What I find funny about attending a Catholic university in Thailand is that practically 90% of Thai people are Buddhist.  However, there was a large crowd for the mass, celebration, and reception.  After the ceremony, Father Kelly wanted to take us out to a nice dinner and show us a part of the city that we hadn't seen yet.  Everything with Father Kelly is decided last minute, but we are learning to just go with it.

We all ended up adventuring down to the Chao Phraya River where all of the 5 star hotels are located in Bangkok.  We all paid 500 baht for a buffet feast at the Hilton Millennium Hotel, one of the many hotels along the Chao Phraya.  500 baht is a splurge for us for dinner, but the food was unlike anything I have had since being here.  The two highlights of the meal was the "Cheese Room" where there were tons of different cheeses paired with bread, rolls, crackers, and fruit.  I had authentic parmesan and brie for the first time since being here, I ate at least 500 baht just in cheese.  I also had an avocado salad that was amazing.  When I spotted the avocado, my eyes grew to the size of them.  One of the fun things about these hotels is that you take a boat to them along the river.  At night, there are booze cruises and lights from clubs and bars lighting and lining the entire river.  At Hua Mak, there aren't many Westerners making it a more authentic Thai experience, however, when we ventured down to these hotels, we all encountered the first Westerners and foreigners since being here which was fun.  We all felt more like tourists on vacation then students.  

The next day, we all woke up early to go visit Wat Pho, one of the most recognizable sites in all of Bangkok.  Wat Pho is one of the six temples in Thailand that are considered first class royal temples.  Wat Pho is also known as the "Temple of the Reclining Buddha".  The reclining buddha is a buddha that is lying down in Nirvana.  The reclining buddha is HUGE.  You can't even get a good picture of the whole thing.  Wat Pho is very Thai.  The history of the temples is so sacred and old.  Going to Wat Pho made me realize how little I know about Buddhism, but that is why I am in Thailand is to learn about things that I know nothing about.

Something that makes Thailand so interesting is that things that are legal in Thailand would never be legal in America.  To get to Wat Pho, we all got on the Khlong.  The Khlong is a boat that makes stops(more like pulls over) and picks up people.  If you ask anyone about the Khlong, the one thing that everyone says is how bad it smells.  The water way that the Khlong goes along is the sewer.  It is dirty and disgusting.  The boat pulls over, and you jump on even if there is no room....the experience of the Khlong was fun, hot, smelly, and very Thai.  If you come to Bangkok, riding the Khlong is a must and you avoid the traffic that never seems to stop.

Last night we were all planning on going to a foam party.  We were all excited to see what it was going to be like, and have some fun since Sunday is always our "free day".  We all figured out our outfits, most of us wearing a bikini with a coverup or a tank and shorts over it, ready to get wet and foamy.  Arriving at the club, we walked in to find no foam....

None of us were too upset since the club was still so much fun, but as we look back we laugh that we all thought and were dressed for a foam party, and there turned out to be no foam.  

Tomorrow is the start of the first full school week.  We are still testing out classes and trying to solidify the classes we are all taking.  My accounting class hasn't started yet and I am wondering how life will change once it starts.  The three of us taking it don't even know what day it actually starts.

We are all exploring the city and finding cool places and things to do.  Each day my bucket list grows a little longer.

Love 
xoxo

I'm going to post pictures in another blog post!!!

KO SAMET!!!!

For the last 3 days, all I have done is tan(more like burn), swim, read, eat, and party.  It is tradition on the Bangkok program for the whole group to go away right before the start of school to Ko Samet, an island off the Gulf of Thailand.

On Tuesday morning a big group of us got on a 3 hour bus ride to a ferry that took us to Ko Samet.    Compared to Cambodia, the traveling was a breeze, and fairly cheap.  Once we got to Ko Samet, everything became a little stressful.  None of us booked a room, so all of us arrived wanting to stay close to each other and not pay a lot for the room.  All of us ended up cheating the system and saving money by paying for a two person bungalow, but putting 3 or 4 people in the room.  We had to do all this without the owner knowing this and charging us more.  It was really stressful, and we were all so sweaty, but eventually it worked out, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful beach.  In my room there were 4 girls and one bed...but it was really cheap!!!  Welcome to study abroad.

The first full day we were there, we all went straight to the beach.  All of our bungalows were steps from white sand, and crystal blue water.  Immediately I knew I was going to get burned.  Being so close to the equator, the sun is so intense, and the water is so warm and calm.  All of us laid out on the beach and relaxed for most of the day.  Roaming all over the beach are stray dogs and cats.  They are kinda scary looking, and something that you wouldn't see on the beaches in New Jersey.  None of them are aggressive to the people on the beach, they are just pretty beat up looking.

Everynight we were there, all of us ended up at a glow paint bar right down the street from our bungalows.  Every surface of the bar was covered in paint that glowed under black light.  All of us painted our names on the bar and we painted on each other.  The bar was a ton of fun, and the three bartenders really liked the group of us.  They ended up giving us all happy hour prices basically all night long since we kept going back and spending a lot of baht.  All three nights were pretty crazy, but that is the reputation of Ko Samet.  Adding to the craziness was the fact that all of us were together.  In Cambodia all of us did our own things, but all of us were close together at the same bungalows, and at the same beach.  

The one issue with Ko Samet is that it isn't the most walking friendly island.  We didn't want to spend a ton of money on taxis so we ended up staying close to our bungalow the whole time we were there. However, the last day we were there, a group of us ventured to Ao Phrao, an area on the other side of the island.  The beach was gorgeous and had a much stronger current and waves then where we were staying, and the water wasn't as crystal blue.  All along the beach were beautiful upscale resorts that were very quiet and secluded.  We went to the beach and relaxed.  Though I don't think we were suppose to be there since we weren't staying at the resorts.  It was nice to go to another part of the island and see another, more quiet, less rowdy, and less touristy beach.  

Ko Samet isn't known to be the most beautiful island, but it is known for being fun.  We all bonded as a group and got closer.  We all came back to ABAC with sun burns, bug bites, friends with the stray dogs and cats, memories, and forgotten nights in Ko Samet.  

Monday school starts so we are all recovering and enjoying our own beds!!!  

With love from sun burns and itchy bug bites
xo
Kate

ALL ABOUT THE BUCKET LIST

I can now say that I have visited the largest religious monument in the world.

I am sitting in my room at ABAC having just gotten back from my first weekend trip to Cambodia.  Specifically, I travelled to Siem Reap to see the Temples of Angkor.  I must tell you that the whole weekend trip was planned in basically a day and a half.  With very little notice, I travelled with three other girls from Bangkok to Siem Reap.  We journeyed by bus from the port authority of Bangkok, 4 hours to the Thailand/Cambodia border, to get back on the bus and travel 3 more hours to Siem Reap.  Crossing over the border into Cambodia was one of the most eyeopening experiences I have ever had.  Unlike flying, we were dropped off on the side of the road to then figure out what to do.  We physically had to walk from Thailand into Cambodia something that I will never forget.

As soon as we got off the bus men were swarming us telling us to follow them to get a Visa for 1500Baht.  We knew that we paid for our visa using USD not Baht so we knew something was fishy.  A couple from London on our bus also knew something was weird.  Together we were able to maneuverer through the insane streets of the border and find out where to go to get the correct Visa.  These men were trying to scam us to spend more money then what we should have.  The process of getting the Visa and walking around the border made me feel like I was in Iraq.  It was so hot, the roads were dust covered, and there were people walking and riding bikes and motorcycles everywhere.  The experience is unlike anything in the US.

Finally making it to Siem Reap was so rewarding.  We got off the bus and was able to get a Tuk-tuk, the taxicab of Cambodia, to help us find a hotel to stay in.  We got our room with 3 beds and a private bathroom for $6 a night (welcome to Southeast Asia)!!!!  We went out to explore the area that night and we stumbled upon a pub crawl.  It turned into a Loyola reunion.  Almost all of us decided to do the crawl.  Siem Reap is filled with Westerners.  It is filled with young backpackers who are travelling through Southeast Asia.  The people I met at the pub crawl were some of the coolest people.  I met people from Britain, Australia, South Africa, Germany, Ireland, people were from all over.  Some were on vacation while others were volunteering at schools in Siem Reap. 

The next morning was an early wake up call.  At 5AM our took-tuk driver picked us up to go see the Angkor Temples, and specifically Angkor Wat at sunrise.  Angkor Wat is simply indescribable.  It is massive, ancient, and like nothing else in the world.  The day was really cloudy so there wasn't much of a sunrise to see, but the experience and physically being there at that time of the day was an experience that I will remember forever.  We then walked all around Angkor Wat taking pictures and taking it all in.  With our pass we were able to see 4 other temples.  We saw Angkor Thom, Ta Prohm, Bayon Temple, and Baphuon.  Each of them were gorgeous and all different in the way that they were constructed and what they symbolized.  All of the temples look like something out of an Indiana Jones or Mummy movie.  The way that these temples were built is so unique and so symbolic of the time period they were built and the history of Hindu and Buddhism in Cambodia.  

Siem Reap is fairly small and the main area is really fun and Westernized for all the toursits.  The Main Street is Pub Street, a small street that is jammed packed with backpackers from all over the world.  The street is lined with restaurants, bars, and clubs that serve french fries and beer for $.50.

Going to Cambodia was a huge learning experience.  Not only was it my first independent travel while abroad, but Cambodia is very different then Thailand and Bangkok.  Cambodia is an extremely poor and corrupt country.  The way that tourists are treated is crazy.  In a way, you feel like you are being harassed.  The tuk-tuk drivers, the people on the street, and the vendors at the big Night Market right near Pub Street are obsessed with your money, they are aggressive towards you.  They will walk with you and follow you until you buy things for nothing.  The US Dollar has a very different value to Cambodians.  Cambodia showed me how safe I feel in Bangkok and at ABAC.  The people look at me differently, and they show more respect towards me as a foreigner.  

I have no regrets going to Cambodia, and for my first indpendent travel, it all went fairly smoothly.  Going to Cambodia is something that not many Americans can say they have done, and I have.  I saw a new side of traveling without my parents.  I met so many young people who are traveling and seeing the world before they go to school and start working.  It was a new view on travel and the way people travel.  The idea is to pack a huge backpack, get on a bus, find a hostel, go explore, and meet cool people.

Tomorrow, I leave for Ko Samet, an island that is part of the Gulf of Thailand.  All 38 of us are going to relax and have fun in the sun before classes start next Monday.  I'll share about my first real Thai beach experience soon!!!

Love from a girl with a growing passport,
K
xoxo