Here are a few of the questions from friends and family that I've gotten, as well as some of the answers so far... Hopefully this will save time. :)

When do you leave and when will you come back?

We're leaving on September 2, and coming home on September 22nd. I wish it could be longer but alas, husband, college and job await our return.

Why did you choose Thailand and Cambodia?

Why not? No, actually we were planning on going to Italy, but that never materialized due to the enormous expense of traveling there. It seems that everyone wants to go there, so the prices for everything (airfare, hotel, food, sites) are high. We could have only stayed about a week before I would have been picking lintballs out of my wallet instead of cash. Thailand has always been way up there on my list of places to see, and it just made sense once I gave up on Italy. In fact, now that we've changed gears, I am looking forward to this trip in a wholly different way than our trip to Europe. Check out sites about Angkor Wat online if you want to know why we want to see Cambodia. The idea of exploring Bangkok and then getting tanned on a Thai beach somewhere appeals to me. Plus, everything is extremely cheap there. We could easily stay longer if not for the aforementioned husband, college and job. I will abbreviate that to HCJ from now on for ease. :)

What's this about a graduation gift?

Yup. Sean graduated high school this year with tremendous grades. Over the years I've watched him grow into an awesome person, and here he is about to start college already. It'll be good to take a trip like this before he settles into a job and has kids of his own. Besides-- I also hope to be the super-coolest stepmom ever to take Sean on a trip we can always remember. I can say, "Hey, remember when you ate that huge fried spider and I nearly threw up?" and "Hey remember when we were walking in the Patpong district and..." Uhh.... nevermind about that one. :)

Isn't it dangerous to go there?

No. No more dangerous than being here in the U.S. The days of the Khmer Rouge are over and travelers (except in rare instances) only have to be concerned about things like drinking the water and avoiding petty crime. In fact, the people are said to be very friendly to Americans (which amazes me these days) and frequently want to stop a baraing (white person) and practice their english with them. In my mind, I'd rather go somewhere off the beaten path, and to do that you have to decide to do what other run-of-the-mill vacationers won't do.

You're going to Cambodia? Are you f*$%ing nuts? (Asked by my dear brother) :)

Nah, I'm not nuts. Really. What can I say...? My brother loves me. :)

What are you taking with you?

Most people I've talked to seem surprised to hear that we're only taking a backpack with us. What-- have I seemed high-maintenance in the past or what? Nah, I'm just determined for this trip to be about being mobile and seeing as much as we can in the time we have. Also the fact that we will be wearing shorts and tees every day means we just won't need to carry that much. I've just bought a 3000 cubic inch Arc'Teryx pack. It's going to be plenty big enough. I only want to carry what I need and nothing else. We also both have money belts that we will be wearing under our clothes for things like cash, travelers checks and of course our passports. From everything I've read, there really isn't much cause for concern, but we are taking precautions anyway since it is just Sean and I.