Ta Prohm

It's raining outside... blah. I can't complain too much, as there have been some nice days intermittently between the gloomy ones. However, this is the raining season in full effect, and it's not a lot of fun. It wasn't raining on this day. After the magnificent Bayon I ventured to the ruins of Ta Prohm. This temple is famous for the trees that have grown around the ruins, and it wasn't a letdown. Something that had impressed me in my previous ventures had been the sheer size of the trees. By my estimation, some of these trees are 100 feet tall if they're a meter. Seeing the massive trees that have grown around the temple made me appreciate the age of the ruins.
While I'm in the process of finishing this vacation, I'm simultaneously planning my next one. In two weeks the hogwan is closed for a week. I wanted to go to Japan, but it's peak season and the fares are ridiculously expensive right now. So like my vacation last summer, I've opted to travel around Korea. Also, like last year, I've opted to start my travels in Jeonju. Jeonju is famous for being the birthplace of bibimbap, which is something I eat all of the time. It's a dish consisting of rice, various vegetables, chili paste, and topped with a sunny side up egg. I was disappointed that I went to Jeonju last summer and didn't eat bibimbap, so I will rectify this mistake in two weeks. From Jeonju, I'll go wherever the guidebooks and buses, trains, or ferries take me... should be interesting.





I do have some rough ideas involving islands and mountains, but I don't want to give anything away. For now, the plan is to finish Cambodia, then get back to normal life in Korea. There hasn't been too much activity to report lately. Since I've come back from Cambodia it's been a period of starting over. There have been many changes in my life besides the discovery of Rome, and I'm now in the process of beginning a new chapter in my life... which is great! The saddest news is that my good friend Sacha left Korea. It's happy in that he left to marry his long time girlfriend and friend to me in her own right Shannon.
He is now in the United States and the couple will move to Australia (where Sacha is from) in October. I'm very happy for both of them and looking forward to visiting in Australia. Other than that, I also broke ties with my Uzbekistan soccer team. They just failed to pass the ball too often, and it was more frustrating to play than fun. So I joined with the local Suwon international team, who had been trying to recruit me for a while. I've not been disappointed in the least. They're a superior team and everyone speaks English as their first language. They're also a fun bunch of guys whom I'll be spending a weekend with in August for an out of town friendly.
By the way, that last picture is famous for being in the movie Tomb Raider, which was a deep and interesting epic based on the best-selling historical saga. Okay, it's a movie based on a video game, but the Cambodians will take what they can get. Look at the size of the roots! These trees were truly magnificent. I'm glad this isn't in America, because it would have been turned into a lumberyard a long time ago. Anyway, back to life in Korea. My good friend Pam had been gone for seven weeks and just came back to Seoul. I had the pleasure of hanging out with her and dining on Indian food Tuesday.
Aside from Pam, there's another key addition to Korea. My old friend Brett has decided to take the plunge and move from Missouri to Korea. He'll arrive today, I believe. Some old ties have been cut, some old ones have been re-united, and life in Korea carries on. As it rains continuously, I'm left to look forward to the next month where I'll have a vacation, a weekend with my new teammates, and old friends to share new experiences with. In the meantime, I'll continue to chip away at my Cambodia pictures. I'm thinking there will be two or three more entries, and then back to Korea. I hope everyone takes the time to enjoy the pictures throughout the unrelated text. This temple was truly fabulous, but there's not much of a story outside of walking around and taking pictures. Just to give an idea, however, the base of this tree (you can't tell from the picture) is easily 30 feet wide. Trees like this were everywhere around this temple. It's a real honor to have been able to see these temples in my lifetime, and I hope to see much more in the future.