[get thai'd! // you're talking to a tourist]

I'm back in Korea! It's strange, in a way, to be back in Korea, where everything is still different, but different in a familiar way. Anyway, there are many, many words and pictures to come about my trip (maybe, unless I get lazy), but meanwhile, here is my trip in Facebook status updates, or updates I meant to make, but didn't have access to a computer. (Hey Robin, maybe you're right about this whole Twitter thing.)

January 18th: Cait is in Cambodia. Say wat? If you get that joke, you know why I'm here. - When I told people I was going to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat, no one knew what that was, leaving me in spasms of shock, since I've wanted to see Angkor Wat for at least half my life.

January 19th: Cait climbed seven Khmer temples today - a new personal best for number of Khmer temples climbed in a day. - This combined two of my favorite things: climbing temples and crumbling ruins in third world countries.

January 20th: Cait got a new president for her birthday! - I couldn't have asked for more.

January 21st: Cait is stranded in Bangkok, ftw! - Continuing the theme of bad luck while traveling, my check card was stolen in Bangkok. All was well, I canceled the card before it was used and my Dad wired me money (long live Western Union), but it did mean that I was stuck in Bangkok for an extra day. At this point, I think I'm so jaded to travel catastrophes that they don't phase me anymore and my response to the whole thing was annoyance. People kept telling me not to worry and that things would work out, and I kept having to explain that no, this wasn't my upset face, it was my pissed off face. Seriously, man, can't I catch a break on my birthday.

January 24th: Cait rode a bike for the first time in like, ten years. - I rented a bike in Sukhothai and got lost in the Thai countryside looking for a Buddha statue, as one does. I have been lost in every country I've every been to, which is a source of bizarre pride.

January 27th: Cait is flying like a gibbon through the trees. - I did a zipline course called Flight of the Gibbons. I figured I could either see the jungle by hiking or by zipping around on wires like some sort of monkey. It was an easy choice.

January 28th: Cait is all wat'd out. - After two weeks in southeast Asia, I was quite tired of wats. There was one by my hotel in Chiang Mai and I didn't even notice until my last day.

January 29th: Cait finally got to ride an elephant! - I wanted to do two things in Thailand: laze about on a beach and ride an elephant. I never did make it to the beach, but I did get to ride an elephant. I also got into a splashing contest with the elephant. The elephant most definitely won.

January 30th: Cait is cold in her Seoul. :( - I showed up in Korea in a t-shirt and flip flops. The blast of cold air I received when I stepped off the plane was most unwelcome.

And one photo from the trip:


Sunrise over the Temples of Angkor. Taken @ 6:08 am on January 20th, my 24th birthday. One of the most spectacular sites I've ever seen and one I will remember for the rest of my life.