Grateful 170

I'm grateful for: Purchasing plane tickets & planning travels! It's always hard to get myself to purchase plane tickets because that involves actually locking myself into plans. Being a noncommittal, go where the wind blows traveler means making definite plans for months in the future is never easy.

Whenever I manage to figure my plans out enough to purchase plane tickets, it's always a great day! Once the tickets are finally purchased, it's a good feeling - knowing adventure awaits and that the biggest part of the planning is done!

Today's grand achievement: 3 different flights booked & 2 months of travel planned!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 169

I'm grateful for: Local specialties like lok lak! What is lok lak? Wikipedia says: "Lok lak is stir-fried, marinated, cubed beef served with fresh red onions, served on a bed of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomatoes and dipped in a sauce consisting of lime juice,[7] sea salt and black Kampot pepper (tek merec).[8] It is the Cambodian rendition of the French-influenced Vietnamese dish Bò lúc lắc, but retains a distinct Cambodian edge with the dipping sauce tek merec, and the requisite garnishes of plenty of salad leaves, barely ripe tomato and sliced onions."

What do you really need to know? It's incredibly delicious! My favorite local specialty from Cambodia!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 168

I'm grateful for: The road less traveled! Many years ago, two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that really has made all the difference.

As is true in life, way has led on to way, and I've never come back to that same place, to the road not taken. However, I have found myself at many more points where two roads diverged. At every crossroad, I've had to make a choice, and all of those choices have brought me to this road.

When I first chose the road less traveled, I had no idea where it would lead me. I never would have imagined in my wildest dreams that it would take me to this road. But it has, and I wouldn't change a thing.

Here for your reading pleasure, Robert Frost's "The Road Not Taken"

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I marked the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 167

I'm grateful for: The Water Filter Team! I've had a great time working with these guys the last 10 weeks! During that time, we've built and painted numerous water filters, sifted and washed countless bags of sand and gravel, and delivered and assembled 85 water filters for families in need in 10 different villages!

Volunteering with the Trailblazer Foundation has been a wonderful experience, made even better by the people I've worked alongside! I'm really gonna miss these guys!

Pictured: Khath, Me, Sotheaross, and Vichet - wearing our Ray Bans (a goodbye present from me ^_^), ready to head out to Yeangtes village to deliver more water filters!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 166

I'm grateful for: Yeangtes' village chief! The water filter guys said that Yeangtes village, where we've been working the last 2 weeks, is the only village (that we work with) that has a female village chief. The guys seemed pleased that there was a female village chief and spoke highly of her saying that she was a "strong lady who has taken care of herself since her husband died many years ago." A woman who survives alone in rural Cambodia, not only survives but also thrives and becomes a village chief, is truly an inspiration to women everywhere!

It's not just that I'm happy to see a female village chief; I would love this lady regardless of whether or not she was the chief. She's the happiest, sweetest little lady you'll ever meet.

Despite her small stature, petite build, and the fact that she's getting on in years, she jumps in and out of the back of our truck all day completely unassisisted (and rather more agiley than I), accompanying us to all the deliveries. Furthermore, she's always right there helping out when we assemble the water filters, always laughing and smiling. And on top of it all, she even takes the time to feed us. Needless to say, it's a pleasure to work alongside her!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 165

I'm grateful for: Free food given to me by kind village chiefs! Today, instead of hitting up our regular roadside stand, we headed straight out to Yeangtes village where the village chief had prepared a meal for us! We were treated to rice, eggs, fish with a delicious sauce, and ice-cold water. A great way to start off a day full of water filter deliveries!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 164

I'm grateful for: Local specialties like amok! What is amok? Wikipedia says: "This is probably Cambodia's most well-known dish amongst visitors; there are similar dishes found in neighboring countries. Freshwater fish (or chicken!) fillet... is covered with an aromatic kroeung (pounded shallots, lemongrass, garlic, kaffir lime), roasted crushed peanuts, coconut milk, and egg and then wrapped in banana leaves (or cabbage!) and steamed until it achieves a mousse-like texture. Unlike the Thai, Lao and Malaysian versions of the same dish, it is not intended to be spicy but rather fragrant, zesty and flavorful.[4]"

What do you really need to know? It's delicious!

Now that my time in Cambodia is winding down, I'll post my other favorite local Cambodian specialty soon!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 163

I'm grateful for: Affordable fruit! I've been grateful for lots of different kinds of fruits in the last couple of months, but I'm also specifically grateful for how affordable fruit is here.

After living in Korea, where most fruit is really expensive, it's nice to be in a place where buying lots of fruit won't break the bank. All of these bananas, two mangoes, and a huge dragon fruit only cost me $2.50! Can't get much more affordable than that!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 162

I'm grateful for: Discounts! The friendly lady at one of the roadside shops I frequent was sorry to see that I broke my toe. To help me feel better, she gave me a discount on the dried jack fruit I got to go with my coconut. So nice!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 161

I'm grateful for: Local pharmacies that have everything I need to bandage up my poor broken pinky toe! Two boxes of cloth tape, two rolls of gauze, and "A No Bruzzy Gel" only cost me $5 - cheaper than going to the hospital for sure. Here's hoping my pharmacy goodies will help speed up the healing process!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 160

I'm grateful for: Fun times at the Trailblazer party! This is a picture of Sey manning the grill, cooking up some of the delicious food we had. Aside from great eats, there were lots of laughs and, best of all, dancing! Nothing says fun like a dance party! Definitely good times with great people :)

Special thanks to Chantha for driving his motorbike beside my bicycle so that I could see on the ride home!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 159

I'm grateful for: Having fun at work! Today, Khath and I were sifting small gravel for hours. To pass the time, we made a 100 riel (2.5 cent) wager on how many bags of gravel were in the wheelbarrow. I won!

After we finished our work, we created a new game - gravel baseball! I'm up at bat in this photo, and Khath's pitching. I was laughing so hard, I could barely see the gravel. It was great fun!

When we tired of hitting gravel with shovels, we had a dance party. Khath made up a duck dance; it was as hilarious as it sounds!

Pretty much I didn't stop laughing the entire day :) The end to another great week at Trailblazer!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 158

I'm grateful for: Unexpected days like today! I had no idea when I woke up this morning that professional photographers would be joining us on our water filter delivery today. To my delighted surprise, Karl Grobl and another photographer that he was teaching, Karen O'Hern, accompanied us to Yeangtes village where we delivered 6 water filters.

Karl Grobl is an award-winning humanitarian photojournalist. You can find out more about him and his work at: http://karlgrobl.com/blog. You can also find him on Facebook at: https://facebook.com/karlgroblphotojournalist.

Not only did I get to spend the day delivering and assembling water filters with the water filter team and  hanging out with photographers, but I also got to have my photo taken by the photographers to go along with an interview I did with them about volunteering at Trailblazer! It was a really fun day - even more fun than usual - especially for me, as I'm a huge photography aficionado :)

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Another fantastic TF Thursday!

Bike to work. Find out photographers will be joining us. Load water filters onto truck. Head to Yeangtes village. Eat at roadside stand en route. Meet with village chief and villagers. Watch Khath demonstrate how the water filters work on the "demo" filter Sotheaross and I built Monday. Head out to village houses to start deliveries. Pump water from wells. Assemble water filters. Photograph procedures. Play with kids. Bring hope to families. Repeat times 6. Hang out with sleepy cats. Chase butterflies. Eat with friendly villagers as the monsoon rains pour down. Ride in the back of truck down dirt roads headed home. Have pictures taken by professional photographers. Do interview about volunteering. Finish another great Thursday at Trailblazer!

Grateful 157

I'm grateful for: Riding through villages on the back of motorbikes! Today, Sotheaross and I went to collect info from some villages. Since we weren't delivering water filters, we didn't need the truck. So for the first time, I found myself speeding down the dirt roads through the villages on the back of a motorbike. Fun times!

As we passed by all the sights that have now become customary for me - motorbikes loaded down with pigs, stilted houses and village shops, kids playing in the dirt lot of the local school, men on bull drawn carts, chickens crossing the road - I wondered what everyone else I knew was seeing and doing at that moment. It's odd sometimes to try to imagine that - to imagine what your friends and family are doing at that exact moment half a world away. It's hard to really imagine, to try to have your mind in two places at once. Whichever world you're not in at the moment always seems like a dream world.

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 156

I'm grateful for: Trying new foods like tamarind! Vichet said, "Here. For you." and handed me some tamarind. I had no idea what it was (& he didn't know the English name), but I ate it anyway. Sotheaross wandered by and said "Oh, it's tamarind!" which is how I came to find out what it was. Verdict: Delicious!

Note: Picture brought to you by: http://caribbeanpot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/tamarind-sauce.jpg

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 155

I'm grateful for: Reminders of home like finding the Simpsons on TV! It's always nice to have reminders of home when you're thousands of miles away.

While there are American movies and TV shows on every day, I hardly ever see a sitcom on TV in Asia (though admittedly I don't watch that much TV most of the time, so it's possible that I just never run across the sitcoms?). It was pretty surprising to randomly turn on the TV and hear the Simpsons theme song. Funny how a theme song can instantly remind you of home!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 154

I'm grateful for: Figuring out what song is stuck in my head! I've had the same song stuck in my head for weeks now, but I had no clue what song it was because I didn't know enough of the lyrics to find it on Google. It was driving me crazy.

Tonight, I finally heard the song again, and this time I retained enough of the lyrics to find out the name of the song. And the song is: "Welcome Home" by Radical Face.

Perhaps now it will become unstuck from my head, which simply means that another song will become stuck in my head. It's a vicious cycle.

Graphic by: Exploding Dog!
(http://explodingdog.com/title/songstuckinmyhead.html)

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 153

I'm grateful for: My favorite hiking pants (AKA traveling pants)! This photo not only includes my mom and me in a cave on Jeju Island back in 2009 when she first visited Korea, but it also includes my favorite traveling pants! Similar to the shirt I wrote about last week, I've had these pants for almost 4 years, and they've also gone on all kinds of incredible adventures with me in 9 different countries! Additionally, I've worn them on every single "travel" day during my travels in 2012 (i.e. any day I traveled between places), not to mention countless days in-between.

Recently, they started to wear down, but unlike the shirt, I couldn't bear to throw them away because I didn't have another pair of hiking pants to replace them with. I had no idea what I'd do once they tore up, as they're very convenient for days on the road, especially for days with lots of trekking involved.

This week they finally started to tear, so I struck out to find a tailor to patch them up. Lots of times, patch jobs don't work very well, usually because the patch job is not well done - just stitched around the very edge of the patch so that it's not very secure long-term.

Well, the tailor I stopped in (there are 5 or 6 on my street alone) turned out to be serious about the quality of her work, patch jobs included. She did not just stitch around the edge; she literally stitched every square inch of the patch!

I'm pretty sure these pants are going to be good for another 4 years at least! And how much did her quality workmanship cost? 2,000 riel AKA $0.50!

A huge thanks to that tailor! Long live the traveling pants!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 152

I'm grateful for: My Kindle! I was hesitant to get a Kindle because I love real books so much, but travel-wise it made sense to have one. And as travel goes, it's great!

Every time I read my travel guide on my Kindle, I'm reminded just how amazing it is to have a lightweight device that contains all the info normally found inside a huge, cumbersome book. Not to mention, I can carry many more novels than would ever previously fit in my backpack. And, to top it all off, I can buy new books even when there's not an English bookstore in sight.

So thanks, Kindle, for helping to lighten my load, while also increasing my access to books! Each time I put my pack on, I'm thankful for all the books I have inside that weigh virtually nothing thanks to you!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 151

I'm grateful for: Marking things off to-do lists! I'm a maker of lists. At any one time, I have multiple lists outlining all the things I need to do. The lists never really seem to end because as soon as something gets marked off, it seems something else is added.

Needless to say, this is not my actual to-do list because if it were, it wouldn't be empty. I did, however, mark many things off my to-do list today! Always a good feeling :)

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 150

I'm grateful for: Google! I can't clearly remember life before Google, and to be honest, I don't really want to. I use Google multiple times every day (unless I'm somewhere that Internet doesn't exist), but I really realize just how grateful I am for it on days like today when I'm researching all kinds of travel info.

I can't imagine planning my travels without the aid of Google. I often wonder how people survived on the road back then. Kudos to those first explorers that struck out with the original Google - AKA maps. While I respect them, I can't say I envy them. So here's to you, Google, thanks for revolutionizing the way we do everything, travel included!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 149

I'm grateful for: Self-designed salads! This French bistro that I frequent lets you make your own salads, which I think is pretty awesome. This creation has herb roasted chicken, feta cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, hard boiled eggs, sun dried tomatoes, bell peppers, and Italian vinaigrette dressing. It also comes with bread that they bake fresh every day. And, if it could get any better, tonight they gave me the biggest coconut I've ever seen. All in all, an excellent dinner!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 148

I'm grateful for: Favorite shirts! This is me in my favorite black shirt back in 2009. I've had this shirt for almost 4 years, and it has gone on all kinds of incredible adventures with me in 9 different countries! I'm very sad to say that it's seen better days, and I've now had to lay it to rest.

I don't usually miss shirts, but I'm quite certain that I'm going to miss this one. Thanks for looking great in lots of memorable travel photos, favorite black shirt! Things just won't be the same without you.

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 147

I'm grateful for: Friendly neighborhood restaurants! This is the closest restaurant to my hotel. It not only has cheap food but also the girl that works there is always so friendly. Every time I go in she smiles really big and says, "Oh I missed you so much! So happy to see you!" It's always nice to have a warm welcome :)

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 146

I'm grateful for: Enjoying free cups of tea while listening to the pouring rain! On a rainy day, there's not much better than a cup of tea - even better when the tea is free. It's great to stay at a hotel that has free tea available all day long!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Afternoon snacks

An afternoon snack from our favorite roadside stand in Svay Chek village!

This is saray, a tasty treat that consists of jelly topped with condensed milk and shaved ice. This particular flavor had some kind of pink beans in it. Verdict: Good stuff! Total cost: Only $0.12!

Water Filter Team vs The Mud

Pushing trucks out of the mud, just one of my many talents ;)

Despite an afternoon of continually getting stuck in the mud (thanks, rainy season), we managed to deliver all 7 water filters to Sambuo village! Go Water Filter Team!

Grateful 145

I'm grateful for: Delicious meals at roadside stands! All of this comes to the grand total of $0.60! Incredibly cheap and never disappoints - some of the best food I've had in Cambodia, or anywhere for that matter!

So what do you get for $0.60? A big plate of rice topped with pork, egg, and cucumber; soup; and a side of vegetables in chili sauce + free water. Such a great deal!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 144

I'm grateful for: America! No matter how far I travel or how long I stay away, America will always be my home - and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm truly proud to be an American. All countries have faults, America included, but there are so many positives that outweigh the negatives, liberty being at the top of the list.

So here's to you, America! I'm forever grateful for all the freedoms and opportunities I've been afforded simply by being blessed enough to be born within your borders. Happy birthday & thanks for everything!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.
(The 4th consecutive 4th of July not spent in my homeland.)

Grateful 143

I'm grateful for: The friendly fruit man with the marvelous mangosteens! Mangosteens are known as the "Queen of Fruit" for good reason! These delectable fruits are definitely worthy of desire.

What makes mangosteens so great? One person summed it up by saying: ”Imagine the best peach you've ever eaten, combined with a touch of passion fruit, a sliver of nectarine and a nip of lychee. Imagine a concord grape's sweet purple essence giving way to the clean leanness of a Granny Smith. Add a squeeze of lime, and a spoon of buttery brown sugar. Stir.” (Jarrett Wrisley : http://dohn121.hubpages.com/hub/The-Mangosteen-Queen-of-All-Fruits)

With all of this high praise, I've really been wanting to try some, but until this week my fruit man hadn't had any for sale. I finally saw some as I biked by yesterday, so I stopped to inquire about their price. He told me they were $3/kg. At the time, I thought that perhaps I could find a better price. I thanked him and continued on my way.

Today, I asked the guys at work what they thought the price of 1kg should be, since sometimes sellers swindle unsuspecting foreigners on fruit and the like. They said that they thought $3/kg was a pretty good price. The guys were interested to know for sure, so since Sey was already headed to the market to sell some of our oyster mushrooms, I gave him some money and asked him to see what price he could get.

Sey came back bearing a bag of mangosteens. And what price did he pay? $2.50/kg! I was super surprised that my fruit man was only marking the mangosteens up by $0.50. That's a really low markup for what we refer to as the foreigner tax.

Now knowing that I was getting a good price, I biked back to my fruit guy after work to get a kg of mangosteens from him. He was really happy to see me again and even threw in an extra mangosteen and some free dragon eyes (AKA longans) to make sure I knew that he was giving me a good price. Even though I knew for sure at this point that it was a fair deal, I was grateful for his gesture of good will :)

While I devoured my delicious spoils (yes, they were as good as that description above!), I decided to research what the price of mangosteens is in America. It turns out that mangosteens weren't even allowed to be sold in America until 2007; when they did make their debut, they were "sold at $45 a pound, which comes out to be about $11 a mangosteen!" (same website as above / Wikipedia). They're still rare in America today, but the price is down to around $9/lb.

Luckily for me, I can have this amazing fruit everyday - lowest price: roughly $1/lb! ($2.50/kg; 2.2lbs/1kg; $1.14/lb) Long live the Queen (of Fruit)!

Note: This picture is from: http://www.eantioxidantjuice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/mangosteen.jpeg. More mangosteen info can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purple_mangosteen

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 142

I'm grateful for: Fast laundry! The only thing better than fresh, clean, lovely smelling laundry is when the cleaners have your clothes ready a few hours later! This place washes, dries, and folds your laundry in just 3 hours. Awesome!

Oh and apparently my name is now Helin :)

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 141

I'm grateful for: Snacks at work! Today we had some passion fruit. Good stuff! Other work snacks have included longans, otaheite apples, and star gooseberries. Yay fruit!

Note: Once again, I didn't get to take a picture of the fruit because we were too busy eating. Photo from: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9xiiy8P3RoN6p0_1Sr63ECLE3V0KRX7ffY7YHTyB1ej99TT6adWRG0KeO6iAqAgNWebqhXlimTz0BULeUI52jSrmVk_ZwFHeMUKS-sGzefZbkFXgXQ0BGCf-bP6PYOi1miYvAfeGD7Bc/s1600/passion+fruit2.jpg

Siem Reap. Cambodia.

Grateful 140

I'm grateful for: Watching movies at the Siem Reap Film Society! It's been over 6 months since I've seen a movie in a theater, and though this isn't a proper theater, it's close. Not only is it a quasi-theater complete with a big screen, surround sound, AC, and comfy couches, but you also get free popcorn and drinks! All of this made for a great day at the movies and satisfied my need to go to a theater. Thanks, Siem Reap Film Society!

Siem Reap. Cambodia.