The EKZ does SEA

Wow, I have been back for two weeks, and time is just flying by. Vacation was sheer craziness, which seems to be the story of my life however, this was more than normal. On June 10, after 15 months I left Kazakhstan for the first time and headed to Southeast Asia, an area of the world I have always wanted to travel to after having seen my Dad's photos from his time there 30 years ago (sorry to date you HP:). My sitemate's, Heather and Ryder, had finished their service in Peace Corps and were taking several months off to travel and relax before heading back to the states and we agreed to meet in Bangkok and backpack Southeast Asia together.

My vacation went a little like this:
At Angkor Wat I discovered that to "format the image" means my super cool high tech camera will delete all photos on the memory card successfully erasing all photos I had ever taken, I picked up food poisoning while in Siem Reap rendering me practically bedridden during my stay in Kuala Lumpur, then, due to my illness and my not caring whether I lived or died, I managed to lose a bag containing my camera charger, iPod, flash drive and cell phone on a train back to Thailand, after less than an hour in the sun without sunscreen I successfully burnt my entire body to a shocking shade of lobster red on Phi Phi Island, and finally in Singapore (thankfully Malaka was disasterless unless you count the fact I was hardly moving due to my really bad sunburn) the atm ate my debit card, leaving me stranded with 7 dollars.

Despite all of these catastrophe's, the trip was amazing, and I still managed to have a lot of fun (thanks HM1:) I ate mango and sticky rice while paddling through the floating market outside of Bangkok, explored the ancient ruins of Angkor Wat, admired the view of Kuala Lumpur from the bridge connecting the Petronas Towers, relaxed on the white beaches of Phi Phi Island, explored the backroads of Chinatown in Malaka, and finally, fell in love with cultural and amazing Singapore. I would love to someday return, to spend more time in each place and to explore the countries we weren't able to visit. It was a great vacation, I was able to spend time with my friends outside of Kazakhstan, and it was a much needed break. So in a nutshell: I love Southeast Asia!

To the EKZ: Tom: This is our favorite time of year for licking 35T ice cream cones on the benches of Kirov and strolling down the Strelka. While it isn't as hot this year and thankfully, we have water, I will miss those random moments. Enjoy the dinner parties:) Ryder: Thankfully my remaining pictures are intact due to the keylock, thank you, thank you! Whew:) Have a wonderful time exploring Cambodia, I will miss your Plov, it is still the best in KZ! Heather: Thank you so much for making the trip not only bearable but fun. I definitely am the most disaster prone traveling companion ever, yikes! Ust will never be the same without you, but I will wander the isles of the bazaar's and cherish the memories we have. I love and miss you all, Shasliva!

Another Sidenote: A huge thank you to the amazing people at Sherman & Howard (specifically the Tax and Probate department:) who gave me a parting gift over a year and a half ago, unknowingly funding this trip of a lifetime. Thank you so much for 5 amazing years, you will always be my favorite law firm!

Also, sorry, tried to upload pictures but it didn't work:(