The Lost Temples of Cambodia-Beng Malea & Phnom Bok

Phnom Bok Temple

If you've been following along for awhile, you know that Jeremy and I love to experience out of the ordinary destinations while on vacation. Whether it's swimming with whale sharks, road tripping across the country, or zip lining through the jungle, one of our favorite parts of traveling is finding places or activities not commonly stumbled upon. 

That's why we knew that once we saw all of the temples at Angkor, we also wanted to travel outside of the city to the 'Lost Temples'. These temples give a true Indiana Jones feel as most of it has ben left in ruins, the forest taking back claim to what was once theirs.

The first temple we visited was about an hour ride outside the city of Siem Reap called Beng Malea. It was a massive complex that was almost completely destroyed and overgrown with moss and trees. You had to crawl under and climb over the rubble at certain points to make it back to the clear path that was made just for tourists such as ourselves. 

Along the way, we inherited a tour guide. Three to be exact, even though two were too shy to say anything. We didn't really ask for one per say, he just immediately attached to our side once he saw us. Now, I realize that it's somewhat of a scam but I figured what's the harm to have a cute kid show us around for an hour or so? Even though all he did was point at all the statues and repeat the words 'flower' and 'apsara dancer'. He tried.

My favorite part of the temples were the trees shooting out of the stone and the intricate detailed carvings that littered every inch of the temples. 

The second temple, Phnom Bok, was just a short thirty minute ride outside of the city and was even more desolate than the first. We were the only tourists there exploring the grounds of the temple that sat at the top of a large hill. These are the stairs that we had to climb to get to the top...in about 90% humidity. Go early in the morning if you want to not faint on your way up!

Even though this temple was the smallest that we saw, it was one of my favorites. How cool are the trees shooting up out of the rocks? I may be a little obsessed with the tree, rock combo. Just wait till you see our pictures from Ta Prohm.

Snail Mail Collective Partners + Everyday Happy Giveaway!

First things first. We have the next Snail Mail Collective Pairings up and ready to go! We had over 155 people sign up this month! Each month I love reading about your partners, seeing your tweets and the general excitement over meeting someone new. After all, I believe that's what blogging is all about. Not the numbers, not the hope of blogger fame, but the inevitable friendships that are made from people that were once perfect strangers. Click on the link below to find out who your partner for this month is!

Pairings are at the bottom of this post. Please take a moment to read the rules of this program and to figure out what to do next: 

1. The theme for this month is 'Back to School'

2. You have 72 hours to communicate with your partner. If your partner does NOT respond within 72 hours, please e-mail Chelsea at lostintravelsblog@gmail.com to be re-paired by 11pm PST on September 13th. Re-pairing requests will not be taken after this time.

3. You have about two weeks to get to know your partner. After that, your package MUST be sent by September 22nd. 

4. Your gift(s) should total no more than $5. Think small, but meaningful. Also, all packages must include a postcard (preferable) or a letter to your partner. Motivate them, tell them all the beautiful things you learned about them this month, and make them feel special!

5. Once you receive your gifts, we highly encourage you to write a blog post about your experience. Share what you gave, received, and learned through participating in the Snail Mail Collective and meeting your new buddy. At the beginning of each month, we will hold a link-up on our blogs (The Nectar Collective & Lost in Travels) where you can share and link-up your SMC blog posts. This way, you can see how people around the world interpreted the theme, learn about other cultures, and meet even more new friends!!

6. We did our best to pair you with someone from a different country. If your partner is from the same country as you, then we tried to put you with someone from a different state or region. If you didn't get an international partner, we hope you understand and still have a blast building a friendship with someone new! That's what this is all about, right? 

Snail Mail Partners

If you didn't sign-up for this round, but want to participate next month, look out for next month's sign-up form which will be posted on The Nectar Collective and Lost in Travels on October 1st. We'd love for you to join us!

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And secondly....Happy Tuesday Everyone!!  Today is a day to really be happy.  Today, my friends and I have come together to support our friends' (Erika and Melyssa) new project Everyday Happy - an ecourse to finding your happy, everyday!  We are so excited for them, the course and the lives that they will be reaching that we couldn't NOT put together a GIVEAWAY for all our our lovely readers.  We realize that some people would love the opportunity to participate in this course with these amazing ladies who are the coaches of this course, but may not be able to afford it financially.  We're sending one of you to participate in e-course FREE OF CHARGE!  Check out these 10 Reasons why you should enter this giveaway!

Stephanie | Victoria | Erika | Kayli | Mal | Crystal | Chelsea | Amanda | Kenzie | Aukele

This giveaway could not have been possible without my amazing sponsors and lovely friends so please say hello to them and visit their blogs!!


Now on to the giveaway!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules:

1. Upon verification of winning and required entry, the winner will be
contacted within 3 days after the contest closes.

2. Winner must respond within 48 hours of the email, or another
winner will be chosen (please add 91dash@gmail.com to your address book).

3. This contest is open internationally.

Have an amazing day!!
Aukele

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Travel Tuesdays-Nepal

Just a little something to spark your wanderlust for the week.

via

“No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.” – Lin Yutang

Philippine Budget-How to Keep Track of a Budget on Trips+A Giveaway

There are so many different types of travelers and traveling styles. There are people who go all out on vacation and do not spare any expense. There are the budget travelers that try to get the most bang for their buck. And there are the backpackers who try to stretch their dollar as far as it will possibly go. There's absolutely no wrong way to travel, it's all simply based on preference and budget.

Without a doubt, Jeremy and I fall into the budget traveler category. We like to enjoy ourselves, will splurge from time to time, and try to overall travel comfortably. But for the most part we try to just get the best deal we can and save as much as we can. We figure that the cheaper we can go, the more we can see, longer we can go for and the more often we can go. Win win right? 

I have talked before how Jeremy and I have somewhat specific roles while traveling. He books everything from hotels to airline tickets, and I plan what we are going to do and keep track of the budget. I can be quite particular about this and actually have a notebook that I always carry with me while traveling. It's to write and document but also to keep track of our spending on a day to day basis. I fill in the sheets of paper like this:

DAY OF THE WEEK

Breakfast:

Lunch:

Dinner:

Snacks:

Entertainment:

Transportation:

Extra:

Then, each time we spend something, I put it in the correct spot. It doesn't take long and it's a great way to keep track of your spending. If we see that we're under our budget for that day, then we know that we have extra money to use towards something else, or do something extra on the trip. 

It's also a great reference for future trips. A lot of our trips recently have been around South East Asia. So if we save our detailed budget from Thailand (which we did) then we can pretty accurately plan our trip to any of the surrounding countries as well. 

So in hopes of helping some people out in their planning and budgeting process, I've decided to post our spending for each trip. Obviously from what we spend, you could easily spend a lot more or a lot less depending on your personal preference. Also, it's safe to say that depending on your starting point, plane tickets are going to fluctuate a lot. However, once you make it to South East Asia, you can stay pretty cheaply. 

Here was our total spending for our three day/three night trip to Moalboal, Philippines. The numbers include the price for both my husband and I. 

*I just had to share the $1 bike repair in the budget because I'm still in shock at just how inexpensive things are there!

Was this helpful for anyone? Would you like to see more of these?

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This giveaway is loong overdue! As promised, I have something to giveaway from a trip we took. And even though we had a short three days in the Philippines back in June, I still managed to find something to bring back and giveaway at the last minute!

On our two hour drive from where we staying in Moalboal, back to the airport, in Cebu City, we came across this small handicraft market. The owner has a small operation where she makes bags, placemats, baskets, hats and more all by hand. She told us that she actually produces some baskets that are bought by a company in Cebu City and then exported to Targets in the states. So if you ever see any of these baskets, please let me know! I quickly spotted this handwoven purse with wooden handles and thought that it would be a fun addition to any wardrobe. 

Enter below for your chance to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Rules

1. Open internationally. 

2. Winner’s entry validity will be verified by me and if an entry proves to be invalid, you will be disqualified.

3. Giveaway ends on the  14^th of September at 12:00 AM EST. Winner will be contacted by email no later than the 17^th of August. Winner has 48 hours to respond, if the winner does not respond, a new winner will be picked.

4. Please note that Lost in Travels Blog is responsible for the payment and shipment of won items but not responsible for any packages lost in transit. 

Someone showed up!

What a surprise.  Someone came for the bird tour at 8:30.  Only one person, but that’s better than nothing considering the time of year. 

So what did we see?  Not a whole lot, but the young eagles cooperated and were perched nearby to start the foggy morning. 

                               I did chase up a couple of marsh wrens, a common snipe, and an osprey.

I ended up the tour here at Flat Lake, so the gentleman could at least see the large gathering of trumpeter swans at their loafing spot.  Bird tours would be a lot more exciting to my way of thinking if they were conducted in May and June.

Not much else happened today.  As you can see, I sat outside with Emma this evening and enjoyed the remaining hummingbirds visiting the feeder.  I’ve been invited to return to Tamarac NWR next summer, so I have a little thinking to do.  I’ve enjoyed my time here, despite the ticks, mosquitoes, and deer flies.  The location also enables me to visit now and then with my kids and grandkids, so that’s a big pull to return. 

My duties next year would change since the renovated visitors center will once again be open, and the MN Breeding Bird Atlas work ended this summer.  Well, I’ve got some time to decide, but I’m leaning toward returning.  Maybe I can talk them into bird tours when there are more birds around.

I’ve been plagued today with a sneezing attack.  I get that every once in a while, but don’t know the cause.  I bet I’ve sneezed over 100 times today.  There’s just this tickle in my nose.  I don’t think it means I’m coming down with anything or allergic to anything, but it just happens some times.  Short but sweet tonight…

                                                                                THE END!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Lindsey Letters Giveaway!

it is the first friday of the month and that means it is time for my crush of the month giveaway! i have been so blessed by you and all my readers that it is time to give back! each month i giveaway one of my favorite things. today i am co-hosting with Chelsea of Lost in Travels to bring you two of my favorite Lindsay Letters prints - Whatever is Lovely and Be True (a $40 value!). i have been in love with Lindsay Letters ever since i first stumbled on her shop and have given many gifts from her shop (like this) as well as bought a couple gems for myself (like this & this). i want you to have the opportunity to find these pretties on your doorstep and be able to display them in your home!

YOUR CHANCE TO WIN!

this giveaway is run via rafflecopter with plenty of chances to enter! after a week has passed, one winner will be selected at random and announced! all entries will be verified, so please play by the rules! 

this giveaway is sponsored by the following wonderful ladies: Jess of Jess Vartanian, Samara of The Secret Life of Samara,  Elah Tree, Suzana of This Girl Loves, Leslie of A body that Won't Break, Ruth of Isn't that Sew, and Erin of Mr. & Mrs. Toews. 

if you would like to be one of the sponsors for the next CRUSH OF THE MONTH GIVEAWAY become a sponsor! you can find more information by clicking here and for 10% off advertisement options use code CRUSH at checkout!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Temps are still soaring

This has been a rather interesting week.  Monday was a holiday, Tuesday I was back to painting posts, and Wednesday I ran errands and visited Mr. Smith.  Then yesterday I was expecting some visitors.  A fellow Fish and Wildlife volunteer, and blogger, that I worked with a couple of years ago at Anahuac NWR, was making her way from the National Bison Range NWR to the Boundary Waters of NE Minnesota.  I had great plans for a wonderful tour of the refuge as she and a friend stopped by.

However, Marilyn and her friend, Bob, didn’t arrive until late in the afternoon, and they had very limited time to spend on their way to the Twin Cities.

So, I took them to see all of the trumpeter swans on Flat Lake, and then we made our way to the Ice Cracking Lodge where they treated me to dinner.    Thanks, Bob!

Today I thought I’d do some mowing around headquarters and the RV pads, but with the high temps and no rain that we’ve had for the last five weeks, there wasn’t anything to mow.  The grassy areas are still a burnt out brown, and are likely to stay that way until we get a nice amount of rain.

So instead I decided to prepare for the bird tour I’m leading tomorrow.  I needed to scout around the refuge for where I might take anyone that shows up to see some birds.

Despite there having been no strong cold fronts from the north, most of the little birds have left the refuge and headed south.  When a cold front approaches, the strong winds out of the north help the birds on their way.  The winds have been light or nonexistent at night, so the birds have left anyway as their internal clocks require them to do.

That makes a bird tour at this time of the year quite a challenge.  With the temps in the 80’s and 90’s, the waterfowl birds haven’t been in the mood to build up their fat supplies and begin their journeys south yet.  This refuge is a big stop over place for waterfowl from the north during migration, but none have arrived yet.

I did find a lone cedar waxwing this morning, but that doesn’t bode well for tomorrow morning.  Oh well, we’ll find some birds to look at.  I can always take folks to see the swans, and as a last resort I’ll bring them to my Hard Rock Bird Café to see a few hummingbirds, chickadees, and nuthatches.  I suppose it’s a good thing I can talk a lot about birds whether they’re around or not. 

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy