Part 3 - India

Have any of you ever seen Slumdog Millionaire?  Well, keep that movie in mind while reading this...


Kate and Teresa in Agra



The first question, for 1,000 rupees:
Our first stop in India was ______________.

A.  New Delhi                                          C.  Bombay
B.  Calcutta                                             D.  The Bathroom

 After we left the Calcutta airport, we headed outside to find a taxi...and that is where the adventure started.  Travelers tip:  only use marked, official taxis...and the first person to approach probably isn't always the best to go with.   Unfortunately, we had to learn these things from experience.  Fortunately, we still made it to the train station, but only after a half-hearted attempt to steal our luggage, a few close calls with wandering cows and praying muslims, and paying a few too many rupees for the not-so-pleasant cab ride. 

The train station was packed!  Business men, beggars, and pick-pocketing children all lined the tracks.  God helped us out and a very nice Indian man showed us they way to our train platform.  When the train, arrived we were more than happy to see our names on the reservation list and got on board. 

Question number two for 10,000 rupees:
The train ride from Calcutta to New Delhi takes ____________.

A.  17 hours                                              C. 5-6 days
B.  about 20 minutes                                D.  your breath away

The train ride was exciting and we passed the time staring out the window at peacocks, camels,  monkeys, giant trash piles, sick cows, and people squatting on the tracks.  We also got free food!  We made the 1,000 mile journey in about 17 hours and were at our final destination, New Delhi.

We took a tuk-tuk to our hotel, took a cold shower (no hot water) and waited for our friend Kate to arrive.  She made it to New Delhi later that night, we ate some Indian food together, and called it a night.  We needed to be rested up to go see the Taj Mahal!

For 100,000 rupees, question number three:
On the way to the Taj Mahal, Kate got in a fight with _______________.

A.  Teresa                                    C.  A man and a monkey
B.  A shop owner                        D.  A piece of chicken

After a little bit of yelling and pounding on the glass by both Kate and the monkey, Kate convinced the man that she did not take a picture of his monkey wearing a dress and therefore owed him no money.  Our driver was glad we didn't let the monkey in the car, and we continued the drive to Agra...to see the Taj Mahal!!

The final question for 1,000,000 rupees:
The Taj Mahal is made of ______________________.

A.  White Marble                                    C.  Hopes and Dreams
B.  Cheese                                              D.  Alligator Skin



Our red booties required to enter the Taj

 The Taj Mahal is just as pretty as it looks in the pictures.  During our time in India, we never saw blue skies except while looking at the Taj.  It's an amazing structure that according to our tour guide took 20,000 workers 22 years to build.  There are precious stones covering both the inside and outside of the mausoleum.  The story behind it is pretty cool too.  The Taj was built by a king to fulfill his beloved wife's dying wish.  While dying in childbirth she asked him to build an incomparable monument to symbolize their love.  They are now both buried inside the monument.

After much excitement, we made it back to our hotel and had to make a tough decision.  We were mislead a little by our tour company and decided to cancel the next day's trip to Corbett National Park.  The drive to Corbett was much longer than we thought, and the time spent at the park much shorter.  If anyone takes a trip to India, we would not recommend going through Tour my India, they turned out to be misleading and a little sketchy.

Instead of looking for Tigers, we spent the next day with a friendly Tuk-Tuk driver.  We shared a meal at McDonald's with him and he proudly showed us around his city.

After India, we killed a day in Malaysia and then it was back to Korea.  What a trip!    

Part 2 - Thailand

Most people make the crossing from Cambodia to Thailand by plane, but we decided to be a little adventurous, save a few bucks, and journey by land to Bangkok.  After our taxi dropped us off at the Cambodian-Thai border, we walked through immigration and asked ourselves "where do you suppose the bus station is?" 

Bath Time!

After wandering around aimlessly and avoiding tourist scams, we spotted a bright orange backpack and decided to follow the foreigner wearing it.  Sixteen minutes later (but it felt more like 17) we were at the bus stop.  We thanked God for helping us out and got on a bus to Bangkok. 


"I like big butts and I cannot lie..." 



Here is the thing about the buses in Thailand...they don't really follow much of a schedule... So, 5 hours into a supposedly 3 hour trip (which would of allotted plenty of time to make our flight), we ditched the bus and jumped in a taxi instead.   

What followed was an expensive ride to the wrong airport, a nice Asian lady telling us we would never make it to the right airport on time, and a panicked cab ride across town in rush hour traffic. 



Roasted Pidgeons at
the Chiang Mai Market

 Well, we made our flight on time and ended up in Chiang Mai, Thailand!

Now let's get to the good stuff...

We spent our time in Thailand volunteering at Elephant Nature Park, a sanctuary for abused and mistreated elephants who are free to roam and interact with volunteers as they please.  The whole day was spent feeding (they eat a TON!), bathing, and learning about Thailand's elephants.  It was sad hearing many of the elephant's stories and the techniques used in training and domesticating these wild animals so they can be used for work/tourism.  Being at the refuge completely changed our outlook and desire to ever ride an elephant.   



Elephants love mangos!



HOWEVER, the elephants in the park are definitely lucky and doing great in their new mountain home.  We will never forget them...and they better not ever forget about us!  



Mom and Baby





If you want to learn more you can go to elephantnaturepark.org, we would recommend anyone visiting Thailand to spend a day or two helping out at the refuge. 



The next day we boarded the sleeper train back to Bangkok, and caught a plane to India...


Part 1- Cambodia

We made it back from our trip! However...since it was such a long trip, full of many adventures and much excitement, we have decided to break it into 3 parts. 

Part 1- Cambodia



Our Hotel



The first stop on the trip was a quick layover in China...and let me tell you what, security is intense.  After a thorough frisking and complete bag check we were on our way to Siem Reap, Cambodia!



Flying into the Cambodian airport was definitely our favorite landing.  We flew over some floating villages, arrived just at sunset, and could instantly feel the warm weather.  It reminded us of a second honeymoon with the palm trees and hut-like airport.  Yep, we loved Cambodia :) 



We arrived at our hotel and it was MUCH more than we expected for $20 a night.  The staff were all friendly and welcoming and we woke up to a great breakfast.



Stilt Houses



We started off the day by traveling around 1 1/2 hrs. to a fishing village on Tonle Sap lake.  Most of the houses are built on huge stilts and since it was the dry season they were about 30 feet above the water.  We traded our car in for a boat, and traveled through the village.  The people who live here don't have much, but have learned to live off their surroundings.   



Some houses are built on sticks, others have bamboo attached to the bottom so the houses rise and fall with the lake.   We even saw a Vietnamese village that supposedly just floated up the river from Vietnam.  These villages were very colorful and even have a floating school and market!  



Cambodian School Kids



We ended our boat trip with a walk around the community and got a few minutes talking with some little kids in the village.  

Next, we headed for the jungle ruins of Angkor Wat!  We packed a lunch and told our guide we wanted to have a picnic.  He told us he knew of a perfect spot in front of Angkor Wat and would take us there... His "perfect" spot ended up being a restaurant outside of the temples, so we awkwardly ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on fine linen tables. 

At last, we headed into the temples.  Even the man with the ridiculous walking farts couldn't take away the beauty of Angkor Wat!  We spent the rest of the day walking through jungle ruins and exploring ancient temples.  Sadly, the day had to end.  We said goodbye to our awesome tour guide and headed back into town for dinner and a walk through the market.  We ended the night with a romantic Tuk-tuk ride.

The next morning we got up and headed by taxi to the THAILAND border...

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!

Fun thought...we get to see all of you this year!

Another fun thought....WINTER VACATION!

Oh boy do we have a fun trip planned! We spent New Years in Seoul with Kate getting travel vaccinations so we are all ready for the trip.  We thought we would share our itinerary so you can be thinking about us and praying for us as we venture off:

Jan 9th- Leave Seoul...quick layover in China and then head for Cambodia!
Jan 10th- Angkor Wat by tuk-tuk (motor-taxi) and Tonle Sap Lake by boat to see floating villages
Jan 11th- Begin travel overland to head into Bangkok, Thailand and then on to Chiang Mai
Jan 12th- Volunteer for a day at the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai
Jan 13th- Spend the day sight-seeing in Chiang Mai then ride a sleeper train back to Bangkok
Jan 14th- Fly from Bangkok to Calcutta, India!  Jump on a train to New Delhi. 
Jan 15th- Arrive in New Delhi and meet up with our friend, Kate
Jan 16th- TAJ MAHAL!!
Jan 17th- Corbett National Park- Elephant Safari through the jungle
Jan 18th- Jeep Safari to continue our search for the elusive Tiger...
Jan 19th- Head back to Seoul with a stop in Malaysia.

We're excited to share pictures from our upcoming adventure!