Down a hundred miles of curvy, very low speed limit roads, we arrived in Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park just before lunch time. The volcano was very active, we were told, spewing lava sixty feet into the air. The Jaggar Observatory was a great spot to watch the lava. While there’s an official overlook down the…
HI – Day 4 – Hawi
A big part of our group wanted to check out Hawi, a town on the north side of the island that they had heard was known for their arts and crafts. As some of us wanted to do a hike instead, we compromised by finding a hike nearby. Pololu Valley Overlock had an impressive view…
HI – Day 3 – Snorkeling
We’re still not used to this time zone. We get tired early and wake up early, which isn’t quite conducive to adjusting to “island time.” Awake before the sun, we decided to find snorkel gear to rent, planning to arrive at the rental shop as they opened at 8 am. Boss Frog’s in downtown Kailua-Kona…
HI – Day 2 – Waterfalls, Hilo, and the Saddle Road
Our second day on the island, we planned our first adventure: a phenomenal 75 miles to the opposite side of the island to see Hilo and a number of promising waterfalls. All of our guide books wrote of the treachery of the Saddle Road, a road built by the military in the 1940s that, if…
HI – Aloha and Mahalo – Day 1, Kailua Kona, Hawaii
Phil and I landed in Kona around 8 pm local time last night, but after a long day of traveling our bodies definitely were reassuring us it was 11 pm back home. We learned quickly about “island time” with all the lines at the airport and rental car company, just trying to get to our…
HK and Cambodia – Day 8 – Time to REALLY Relax
Of course the day we sleep late, thunder and lightening during the night and early morning tuk tuk roaring past our hotel kept waking me up. However, being able to eat breakfast without chugging my coffee, made for a treat. In our last full day in Cambodia, we decided to take a cooking class for…
HK and Cambodia – Day 7 – Floating
With another early start, Jess and I were off to see the Floating Villages of Siem Reap. Driving through the country side, we got a bit of a taste of rural Cambodian life. Our tour guide explained that many hard working Cambodians get up at 3-4 am to start their day, fishing, farming, or building,…
HK and Cambodia – Day 6 – 49 Flights of Temple Stairs
I’m definitely giving my Fitbit a workout with exploring Angkor temples. The larger circuit of temples are less traveled by tourists, Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom drawing the largest crowds, but some of my favorite sites came from this day. We hired a tuk tuk driver, or cart driven by a motorcycle, to haul us…
HK and Cambodia – Day 5 – Angkor Wat
This is what the whole trip was planned around. Jess and I had learned about Angkor Wat in our History of Architecture class at the University of Kansas, and had wanted to see it ever since. Part of our fears was that if we waited any longer, the forests, tourism, or the decay of time…
HK and Cambodia – Day 4 – Siem Reap
We got an early start in Hong Kong, leaving at the same time that Grace was headed to work. We arrived at the airport very early for our flight so that we could attempt to figure out what had happened to Jess’s bag. Everyone we spoke to seemed to give us different stories about where…