Mississippi:

Meridian, Mississippi- The Deep South

Contract: 8 weeks Jackson Regional Medical Center

Fun Time Included:
-Company to relocate with.. sooo glad my mom is a teacher and can travel all summer!!






-Rodeo for my birthday- Happy #27 to me! 1st real bull riding I have ever witnessed! Fun!






-Skeet shooting with 2 shotguns and 1 was even camo colored! I hit the 3rd one so that was pretty good!


-Barbeque!!! Surprise, unlike the failures of my trials in Arizona and Texas.. Mississippi has multiple great barbeque places!


News To Me:
-Apparently if you are from North Carolina, in Mississippi you are considered a Yankee!





-Does anyone besides me not know what bush-hogging is?!?!
Hint: No bushes and no hogs involved!



-Apparently Meridian is not far enough south to have any good Cajun food. So sad and probably 1/2 the reason I choose to go there!
-No speeding in Talladega County... cops will catch you! Boooooo!


Overall... Meridian, Mississippi was a great experience thanks to my nice country neighbors and fun co-workers. If the people weren't nice... well there isn't much else around so good thing they were :o)

Battambong...

Soooo the 2nd largest city in Cambodia.... at first glance.... looks like it must not really be. It is a smaller rural city with very few tourist. Sarah and I decided to ride the 'sienic' river boat in from Siemp Reap. It was very sienic.. but with mostly the same view after the beautiful floating villages and house along the river... lots of naked little children yelling 'hello' as they bathed in the river! hehe! Still very cute! 7 hours later we arrive.... and oh where is the big city we had heard about?!?!? Seriously... we walked the streets for almost an hour trying to find a resturant to eat dinner at- Fresh Eats Cafe, very delicious and for a good cause if you go! Thank goodness we arragned a busy day with our tuk tuk driving from the pier for the following day.

BAMBOO RAILROAD- SOOOOO MUCH FUN!!! I mini cart just for Sarah and I to ride 20minutes down to the next station. Since there are only small carts if one is coming from the other direction (which happens frequently) one person must remove their cart from the track allowing the othe rto pass before returning on your way!!! hehehe! Soo much fun!! We got the view the coutryside of Cambodia- rice fields, farmers working, cows, etc. Very nice!!

Cabodia is the life for ME!!!

VISITING SARAH 101!!!

Sooo I have been in Cambodia for 1 week and let me tell ya... I LIKE THIS PLACE! I am visiting my sister Sarah who is currently living in Phnom Peng. She is taking me around the capital city, the largest city in Cambodia, to alllll of the nicest places!!! So far I have had afternoon tea and crumpets at a hotel lined in gold, got my toe nails did for the first time, been to fancy dinners with banana leaves making bowls and drinks with glass stirrers and chili, and rode around in fancy chart -aka TUK-TUKs. Which are the coolest little mini carriages all decorated differently and with fun little curtains... I take pictures riding them like every day!!!

And while I live in this live of luxury... my dinners are $9, ride $2, nails $3, and brunches $4, cafe and chocolates $5, etc.!!!!! I love this place!!!

Sarah does say- I really need to show you the real Cambodia... but I really love this one already!!!! hehehe!!!

Siem Reap...

Off on a another vacation while on vacation to Siem Reap- north of Phnom Peng and location of Angkor Wat ( the largest temples -period-)!!!!
While in Siem Reap Sarah and I decided to spend the extra money ($15/night) to stay in a actual hotel- not a hostel. We had a pool, breakfast included, even little sandals to use in the bathroom. Also mini toothbrush and toothpaste- which I think is a nice little common thing around Cambodia not was not present in Peru. For our nice hotel experience Sarah and I so how got suckered into watching sappy American movies each night and cried before bed- like the time travelers wife!! haha!
We did watch the sunset over the mountains sitting on top of a temple and watched the sunrise the following morning over Angkor Wat with its reflection in the ponds below! Amazing! I do love how the sun changes colors as it gets close the the edge of the earth sometimes during sunrise and sunset. Then- since we arrived at 600am we templed in up ALL day! Rented a tuk- tuk to take us from 1 temple, to the next, to the next, so on and so on.... Temples from sunrise until that evening. I saw Angkor Wat and its surround ponds and ancient entrances, temples with faces on each side of the rocks, temples with old stairs sooooo steep and narrow my foot didn't fit on, temples with elephants on the walls and circling the ground as tourists rode on their backs, temples with ancient cravings of battles and gods, and royal person at those times. Temples that had been crushed, and rebuilt, temples with trees growing right through and around them (featured in Tomb Raider with Angelia hehe). So many beautiful temples with each having their own special purpose and dedication reasons. Going back in time was soooo easy to do as you walk to ground of Angkor Wat and the surrounding area.

I do wish I had a little more knowledge of the Buddhist and Hindu religion as a lot to the figures and cravings where beyond my knowledge. I can appreciate the time that has past the ancient feel for the area and the importance it did once have as the capital of the greater Cambodia area many years ago.

Visiting Siem Reap was truly a beautiful and fascinating experience that all people visiting Cambodia and/or Southeast Asia should allot time for :o)

KOH RONG ISLAND....

So my first vacation/ adventure in Camboida was 1 night to a resort called Monkey Island on Koh Rong Island. I went with friends who all had to return to work the next day. Once you visit paradise... well lets just say.. I didnt want to leave... Soooo I didn't. hehehe :o) I waved good-bye to the boat as it left the island with all my friends on it Sunday afternoon. I decided to remain in the bungalow... which I shared with Martinia- a girl a just met- for another night. Then... well I still wasn't ready to leave paradise after 3 days... so I relocated to the pier for another 4 days!!! I did kinda ruff it the rest of my time... to a dorm room with about 15 people, not hte most beautiful bathrooms, and the same lunch every day! thank goodness in this one case I was not the guy living there for 6 months. I decided since I was staying I could be productive and decided to take scuba diving lessons so now... yup Paris is scuba certified! Hahaha! Who would have thought!! Well... me :o) I spent Mon-Fri in paradise scuba diving on different islands off the coast of Cambodia! Sooo much fun and beautiful. I can definitely say I know why scuba starts in a pool because with un-perdictable tides and wave size it is a little difficult to learn scuba skills- like taking off and re-covering your mask- on days you are getting tossed in the waves and trying to stay in one location is a challenge for a newbie. Hehehe!! Soo muhc fun.. but I did actually leave the island on Friday to return back to Sarah's temporary home in Phnom Peng.

Oh.... paradise how I will miss you!!

Packing...

So I am leaving tomorrow morning and I have yet again coming down to packing an over-weight bag! I just wanted to mentioned that my bag is still fairly empty- at least 2/5ths or 1/4 empty. Sooooo I have decided I have become such a great packer thats its actually bad! I did not roll my clothes, air tight seal my items or anything! I would like to know why suitcase companies are allowed to make bags that are soooo big I can easily fill it with 100 pounds of stuff, when the limit is 50 pounds! Hahaha... so I now have a 1/2 empty bags where my belonging will all slosh around in my bag for my 28hr flights... fabulous!

Sum of the story... I think that suitcases should abide by the 'flat-rate' mailing idea... if it fits in my suitcase I should be able to bring it... so make bags the size we are allow to fill to the brim and smart packers get the benefit from it!! hehehe :O)

Headed to Cambodia...

Asia is in my sights!

I am leaving next Friday morning (on a 28hr flight assortment) to visit Phnom Penh, Cambodia for 4 weeks. This has been some really fast decisions to even go sooo I really have no idea what I am in store for. My sister, Sarah, and her boyfriend, Noman, have been living there since aprrox. Oct. so I have not had to worry much about planning as they will be with me and already familiar with the country. Minus a blip of delaying my flight 2 weeks and expediting my passport post- flight purchasing! But with my new passport in-hand.. all worrying is aside and my sights are set for an amazing adventure of a lifetime!!! :O)