Since the main reason why we made the trip out fell right in the middle of the scheduled trip, our time in Cambodia and Vietnam was really cut down much more than we all would have liked. With that, we were only able to spend a little over two days in Vietnam. After hitting a little snag with my visa at the airport, we finally made our way outside and were greeted at the airport by my mother and father in law, the older (but just as awesome) Kim and her husband Nick. After the short (and ridiculously cheap) cab ride from the airport to our hotel, we checked in, cleaned up and headed out to roam the streets of Ho Chi Minh City. After grabbing a quick dinner and some drinks at some restaurant that I obviously don’t remember name of, we were off to roam the streets once more.

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The following morning was an early one as we’d planned to make a little day trip out to Vung Tau. On the way out, I was able to capture some pictures (and video, which will be done in a couple of days… or whenever I get to it) of just how insane the traffic around Ho Chi Minh really is. Hundreds, if not thousands of people on scooters at every corner, some piled two, three and even four people high all! Some would say it’s controlled chaos but once you’re sitting in the middle of the street surrounded on every side with people coming at you from every direction, you’re glad someone else is doing the driving.

After a two or three hour drive, we finally reached Vung Tau and stopped to check out a couple of beaches before stopping for yet another incredible meal at a beachfront restaurant. We ventured to Front Beach, White Villa and a few other places around the city before making our way back to our hotel.

With a midnight departure on schedule, we figured we’d spend our final day around Ho Chi Minh City and the local market for a few hours before heading back to the hotel to shower and get ready for our flight out.

On our way to Japan, I was too busy dominating blackjack on our Korean Air flight that I lost track of time and we were at our next destination, Tokyo!

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The rest of my updates are coming soon, I promise!

With Kim mentioning about six hundred and seventy three times that visiting Angkor Wat was one of the things she’d always wanted to do, we figured we’d find a way to incorporate that into our trip to Asia. After finalizing our itineraries and booking our flights, the last thing we had to do was find a knowledgeable and reputable guide to take us around. After some searching, I came across Bunleat’s Tour Angkor Wat Trip Advisor page and after reading the reviews I contacted him and was booked within hours.

After our ten hour layover in Korea, we boarded another flight and made our way to Siem Reap, Cambodia. After a mission checking into our hotel, we were finally able to settle in and get some rest for our big day the next morning. Come seven o’clock, Bunleat and his driver met us in the lobby of our hotel and we were off. First stop, Angkor Wat!

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Next stop: Preah Khan!

After a quick lunch break, we visited Ta Promh… the temple where they filmed Lara Croft: Tomb Raider.

Lastly, we stopped at Bayon, my personal favorite after Angkor Wat.

After we’d visited all of the temples, we wanted to get an aerial view of Angkor Wat so we hopped in a hot air balloon and got this amazing view of the temple and all of the surrounding areas including the huge man-made lakes.

After a long day, we figured we’d finish the night with massages as well as dinner and drinks at the hotel. The following morning before we flew out, we jumped in a tuk tuk and headed to the local market.

Overall, this part of the trip was one of the main highlights for me. Having the chance to see something this old and this grand in person was definitely one of the most amazing things I’ve ever had the chance to do. If you’re ever planning a trip out there, I highly suggest getting in touch with Bunleat, you won’t regret it.

Just like last year, I was privileged enough to go Japan for work and this year we decided to make a full vacation out of it. Kim, as well as Warren and Rachel all made journey so there’s probably 3,000-plus pictures between the four of us combined.

We’ll kick it off with South Korea, our first stop for all of ten hours. After landing in Incheon, and scrambling for a good hour trying to figure out why our phones weren’t working, we grabbed some udon and caught the next bus into Seoul for a little shopping. Store to store, train station to train station, and whatever else, we managed to breeze through the ten hour layover and got ready to board another flight, this time to Siem Reap, Cambodia!

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Frosty the Snowman:

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Jingle Bells:

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Nine Little Candles:

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Up On the Housetop:

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Santa Claus Is Coming To Town:

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Jolly Old Saint Nick:

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Rudolph:

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Dreidel, Dreidel:

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