Tara's Travels

So I've written about driving in Cambodia already, but that's just my daily commute on a little scooter. I've now gotten bored with that and want more speed and power so I'm graduating to the big leagues and ready to drive a motorcycle! Can you sense the danger lol?!?! Some people might think that Cambodia is the worst place to learn to drive a motorbike but I think it's one of the best since there are no rules here and lots of undeveloped dirt paths.... that's right most roads arent paved so I'm going dirt biking!! Yeehaaaw! The only problem is that I've asked everyone I know that drives a motorbike to teach me and of course they are always busy. Good thing I'm not one to wait around, and have decided to teach myself! So here are the steps I took of how to learn to drive a motorbike on your own in Cambodia. 1. Get up Monday morning and walk into the closest bike rental place (they are everywhere in Phnom Penh). 2. Ask to rent ...

Hello from Gili Air, Indonesia! This little island really is paradise, it is so small that any direction I walk I will be at the crystal clear ocean in less than 10 minutes. The local people, food and environment are all so friendly, tasty and breathtaking, I could definitely get used to living here.  But for my first trip, I have some friends visiting, and one of wanted to go visit Komodo Island to see the largest reptile on earth and has a venomous bite.... not really my cup of tea, but I like a good adventure! Unfortunately after researching the logistics we decided to make the most of Bali instead of island hopping the whole time, as they are further apart than we realized.  Bali was amazing, (another post to come), but then I arrived on Gili Air, and I could not escape these giant lizards! I arrived here on my own after my friends left and got a little bungalow among the palm trees all to myself. Well I sure wish that my friends were still with me now!...

I have been living in Phnom Penh a few years now and started to manage an apartment on Airbnb for my friend. I just took pictures and got it all set up on the website and it was immediately booked! I was so excited!! The apartment is clean and ready to go but I wanted to make a nice first impression to get a good review, so I picked up some fresh flowers and went to check that the cleaner did a good job before meeting my first guest in a few hours.  As I entered the stairwell, I realized the light was off, and when I got inside the apartment, none of the electricity was working! Oh no, I dont know how to fix these things in Cambodia.... there are no websites I can go to or phone numbers to call.... so I started flicking all the switches and even found the breaker box and was scared of getting electrocuted but I flicked those switches too. Nothing worked so I went downstairs to see if I could find someone to help me.  (Keep in mind that this is a Tuesday afternoon...

So I just got to Mondulkiri, a province in Northeastern Cambodia. I'm in the main city of Sen Monorom, not too far from the Vietnamese border and completely different than the Cambodian flood plain that I know. First impressions? Laid back hilly countryside. My initial experience here pretty much sums up the place; I wanted a scooter to go around town or visit the waterfalls so i asked my guest house manager and he said "take mine, can you drive manual?" I said yes which is a lie and he knew it, but that didn't matter. No forms and no lessons, he just gave me the key and i drove off... turns out I'm a natural ;) Down the road I realize that I forgot to get a drink before I left and I was pretty thirsty considering it's midday so I stopped for a beer. I didn't even have to turn off the engine or get off my scooter, just pulled up to a lady on the side of the dirt road and said "som bier muy" no hesitation that I am driving... just like...