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All my bags are packed, I’m ready to go
I’m standing here outside your door
I hate to wake you up to say goodbye
But the dawn is breakin’, it’s early morn
The taxi’s waiting, he’s blowin’ his horn
Already I’m so lonesome I could cry.   – as sung by Peter, Paul, and Mary and written by John Denver

Maybe you’ve noticed but, I haven’t posted anything in over a month.  Well folks, I was on holiday over in Asia.  I along with three of my friends visited Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, and Thailand.  There was going to be an entire detailed blog dedicated to my trip, but you can check out the pictures on Facebook (presuming we’re friends).

I’ll give a brief summary of my trip and some observations I’ve made.  Hong Kong was a cool city, but it seemed as though if you were walking around downtown and walked 10 blocks and then walked another 10 blocks, you’d feel like you were circling back around the original 10 blocks.

That was a mouthful. Confused? As they say over in Asia, “Same same, but different.”

I guess you could say if I never visited Hong Kong again in my life; I’d be ok with that.  Malaysia was a pretty country, but other than hanging out with some wild monkeys and meeting some very cool and friendly people; I wasn’t that impressed.

Cambodia on the other hand is a country deep in rich history.  We stayed in Siem Riep and met a total of 3 Americans.  It was a gorgeous place with extremely friendly people.  Everyone walked around with smiles on their faces and were appreciative of any business you threw their way.  We visited what seemed like a zillion temples, including the big one; Angkor Wat.  This place was exposed to the rest of the world after the film, “Lara Croft Tomb Raider” was released in 2001.  Let me say, that I’ve been all over the world and I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything so extraordinary.

Another highlight of Cambodia was going down the Mekong River which known for its’ houses on stilts and homes built in the middle of the river.  Riding along in this boat, if you closed your eyes; you could imagine that you were being thrown into the movie, “Apocalypse Now.”  It was absolutely surreal. If we would have continued 8 hours up the river, we would have landed ourselves in Viet Nam.  Queue up the music to “Platoon” or “Good Morning Viet Nam.”

I’ll never forget our ATV tour through remote villages where we were greeted on the sides of the road by hundreds of kids waving and yelling hello to us.  We even got to see this forgotten temple that is usually covered by water during much of the year; due to flooding.

Our last stop was Thailand where we hung out on the tropical island of Koh Sumui. Flying in, the landscape from the plane reminded me of the movie, “The Beach.”  It was nice just to be able to relax, take in some rays, and enjoy a very rich nightlife.

After Sumui we had the final leg in Bangkok.  To sum up our few days there, check out this Youtube video

richardbrianpenn RBP's Thoughts