Bratislava, Slovakia

The train was waiting when we showed up on the platform. 

The train to....

Slovakia.

To be more exact, Bratislava.

It was a short little trip, literally just for a quick lunch, before getting on another train to the next country!

It was super rainy, but the rain was no match for an adventure.
A chat with a very helpful information desk staff person, a short bus ride, and a walk down 2 streets brought us to Slovak Pub.

After lunch it was another walk, bus ride and back to the train station for the next destination!

Shibuya and Sushi in Japan

Guys and gals, welcome to Japan.

The Shibuya crossing is one of 'the' things to do in Tokyo. It was made famous by Scarlett Johansson's coming out film Lost in Translation (fittingly, I watched it for the first time on my way to Japan) and mentioned in guide books left, right and center. 

It's actually really fun getting lost in the sea of people.
Very interesting just looking around at all the different fashion and hair styles.
(P.S. It's one of the fashion capitals of the world.)
The light turns green and it turns into a free for all for getting where you need to be.

Make sure you stop by to say hello to Hachikō right outside Shibuya Station while you're there as well. 

The story goes, Hachiko the dog, would wait for his owner, the human, outside Shibuya Station at the time of the owners train every day and they would walk home together. A year later the owner suffered a heart attack while at work and never made it to the station again. Hachiko came to the station every day for the next 9 years at the time the train was due to arrive to await his owner's return. A bronze statue was erected in memory of his loyalty.

Seeing that statue made me want a puppy of my own. So a pet shop was next up on the walking tour!

Check out the guy on the lower left! Makes me LOL every time I see that face.

Now Japanese sushi is something of a legend in most parts of the world. 
It being Shibuya, sushi was going to have to be the quick fast food kind today.

Push a few buttons, pick what you want, and patiently await as a little trolley comes zooming by with your order on it and stops in front of you.
Efficiency at it's finest.

Last and final stop for the night was a charity event for Fukushima earthquake relief at a place called Tokyo Salon. 

It didn't feel much like a charity event, more like a private party for kind of rich people. 

Exhausted from a full day, I planned my itinerary for the days to come and was off to sleep in no time at all.

Phuket 2014

Here's a little video I put together of Phuket 2014 so you get more than just the photos.
Enjoy!!

Let me know how I can make the next one better in the comments below?

It's the first video I've ever made so be kind.

Gold Hill, Dorset

Gold Hill is described as one of the most picturesque, romantic places in all of England.
I used Pinterest to pin all the things I wanted to see and do in England, then let Chris go through it and point out the ones that were feasible in our time span.
Can you imagine my luck, having a boyfriend from a place that's within a 30 minute drive of some of the greatest places in all of England?!

I gotta say, it is a pretty freakin' sweet view.

You can see for miles from the top of the walkway.
There's a sweet little garden there with benches to sit on too, but it was a little chilly in the middle of winter.

Gold Hill is in Shaftesbury, Dorset, a quiet, quaint, sweet town.
We were in a bit of a hurry doing last minute Christmas shopping so we didn't get to explore thoroughly.
We did however find a little church sale going on with lots of trinkets and all sorts of things on sale.

I'm almost through with photos of England, then onto Ukraine!

Cambodia: The Final Frontier

Going through my photos I realized I completely skipped over the photos we took when we went to Phnom Penh!!!

We didn't stay long, only a day.
We really wanted to go shooting bazookas but didn't have enough time.
Our bus trip from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh took about 8-10 hours (as opposed to the 5 hours we were expecting) so we lost a whole day.

[TRAVEL TIP: If you're pressed for time in a new country spend a few extra dollars and take a taxi or fly instead, this massively long bus ride cut our already short holiday even shorter.]

On our last day we woke up really early and headed to the Royal Palace so we could at least see something here.

The day we were there huge protests were going on so I'm not sure if we got to see the whole palace.
Some bits were off limits, though I wouldn't know if they're always off limits or not.

The Palace is a beautiful example of Khmer architecture.
A nice relaxing, cultural thing to do before an early afternoon flight.
[Though the temples of Siem Reap take the cake over this 10 to 1.]

TRAVEL TIP #2: Ladies (and men), make sure your shoulders and knees are covered when you go to this place.

This is really important when packing clothes for Cambodia!
You can buy some really funky, comfy (cheap) pants at the markets here that can keep you cool in the warm weather (as opposed to jeans which are thick and tight).

I had trouble finding any information on the dress code for this country so here it is:
Keep yourself covered up. (Both men and women)
No bare shoulders and no bare legs; people here are quite conservative and when you're on their turf you will do well to play by their rules.
Unless you plan on staying at your hotel the whole time you're here don't bother packing more than 1 pair of shorts and definitely no tank tops.
You're welcome.

I'm itching to fly off someplace again.
We have a huge trip planned next month... but I might sneak a shorter one off someplace before that!