Thought I'd update, just for fun...
My plane leaves in 25 days for China and I'm both nervous and excited! I don't speak a lot of Chinese so it might be kinda rough getting around out there, but I guess I still have 25 days to study.
My plane leaves in 39 days for Siem Reap, Cambodia and I'm both nervous and excited! I don't speak any Khmer so it might be kinda rough getting around out there, but I guess I still have 39 days to not study.
My plane leaves in 46 days for Bangkok, Thailand and I'm both nervous and excited! I don't speak any Thai so it might be kinda rough getting around out there, but I guess I can always get a phrasebook from Amazon.com.
Okay then... now for a brief rundown of each destination:
In China I will be staying for 2 weeks, mostly in Shanghai, but also 3-4 days in Beijing to visit the Great Wall and Forbidden City and other destinations. I'm also going to Hangzhou, which was recommended to me; it sits on a lake and I'll have to figure out what to do there. In China I figure I'll mostly just be doing the tourist thing: shopping, sightseeing, and the whole bit.
I'll be staying for 1 week in Cambodia, mostly in Siem Reap, but I'll also be taking a couple of days to venture off to Tonle Sap, the largest lake/wetlands in Cambodia. Cambodia should be the most adventurous of my destinations. I'll be trekking around in the jungle, visiting ancient temples and city ruins, and visiting the floating stilted village and crocodile farms at Tonle Sap. I also am planning to take a tour of the temples by elephant... should be exciting!
I'll be staying for 1 week in Thailand, mostly in Bangkok, but also in Pattaya for a couple of days. Pattaya has some really nice beaches, which will be fun, but won't require more than a couple of days. They also have an elephant farm or something like that I might do some more trekking by elephant. In Bangkok I'll probably just see all of the tourist stuff, take advantage of 5 dollar massages, and do a bit of shopping. I'm going to visit the Royal Palace, which is an amazing building (from an architectural standpoint). I might also take a cooking course there for a couple of days... we'll see if time allows it. August 15 I return to Shanghai for 1 and 1/2 days, and leave on the morning of August 17 to come back home to KC.
Wish me luck... I am hoping that this little vacation will be all it's cracked up to be. Like I said I have a lot to be nervous about; it's a completely different world over there, but I'm still excited and it should be a lot of fun. I'll be in KC until July 18 and my birthday is on July 12... Give me a call if you've got my number and want to hang out or something. Later. | 
