Welcome to Amman!
Or Philadelphia! No! We did not catch the wrong plane or think that Amman and Philly are the same city! Amman, was once called Philadelphia by Ptolemey II Philadelphius. Over the years the name changed to Amman – how you get from Philadelphia to Amman (as in the name), I have no idea. We arrived...
Israel and Jordan Itinerary
We visited Jordan and Israel in 2008/2009. Our journey started in Amman, Jordan from where we went to Petra. A highlight was a visit to Petra at night on December 31, 2008 – what a lovely way to start 2009! From Petra, we went to Wadi Rum and finally crossed over into Israel at the...
Missing Bangkok!
Every since we’ve come back, I’ve been missing SE Asia a lot! Recently, I chanced upon this video on one of the travel forums that I visit. I’m totally hooked! I miss Bangkok so much! They’re basically singing the official name of Bangkok which is: Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahinthara Yuthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat...
Homeward bound
Wednesday December 5, 2007, Bangkok, Thailand. Taipei, Taiwan. San Francisco, CA We got up early and had a great breakfast. Packed, checked out and got a taxi to the airport. When we negotiated the price (the standard is 400 THB from our hotel), the driver first wanted 500 THB. I told him, the standard if...
Bangkok Highlights
Bangkok Highlights: The good: River express boat rides BTS Skytrain. I love the way they announced the names of the stops. Views of Bangkok were nice Street food! Walking along Sukhumvit Erawan Shrine The feel of the city: Blend of asia and west. Tuk tuk rides (yes, I know it is touristy, but it reminded...
Back to Bangkok!
Tuesday December 4, 2007, Siem Reap Cambodia, Bangkok Thailand. Even though we were booked on a flight at 1 pm, there are many flights from SR to BKK everyday (all by Bangkok Airways) and we hoped to get onto an earlier one. We were at the airport at 7:30 am and were able to get...
Kompong Polok
Siem Reap, Cambodia (Notes from my journal) This was our last full day in Siem Reap. We kept this day largely unplanned and just wanted to see some of Siem Reap and, if possible, the Cambodian countryside. In the morning, we woke up and went to The Blue Pumpkin for coffee and breakfast. The coffee...
Cambodia: Day 3
OK, this is going to be long. Go grab a coffee! Dara was back as our guide today. The agenda for the day was to visit some far off temples, less frequented by visitors. The itinerary for the day was: Kbal Spean Bantey Srei Beng Mealea Rolous group of temples (Lo Lai, Preah Ko, Bakheng)...
Cambodia: Day 2
Siem Reap, Cambodia. December 1, 2007 (notes from my journal) I woke up to a stomach ache, but decided to take it in my stride. Dara was unavailable for the day, since he had to take a large tour guide out. Ponheary had told us that the temples we were going to see today did...
Phnom Bakheng
After Angkor Wat, we headed to Phnom Bakheng for the sunset. We’re not big fans of sunsets, preferring the sunrise to a sunset any day, but why miss a chance to view another temple. Phnom Bakheng is a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. There were two choices to get to the temple: an elephant ride...
Angkor Wat
After a quick lunch consisting of noodles and stir fried vegetables and a bit of rest at our hotel, we were ready to roll! At 2:30 PM, Dara was there to pick us up. As usual, he came five minutes ahead of time. Our destination this afternoon was the most famous of all Cambodian temples...
Angkor Thom
November 30, 2007. Siem Reap, Cambodia. (notes from my journal) We woke up and got ready fairly early because Dara, our guide, was at the hotel at 7:30 AM. We exchanged introductions and we were off in a green Toyota Camry. Our first stop was the ticket center, run by the Sokha Hotel Group (and...
