Feels on Wheels Blog — Feels on Wheels

When I was in Svalbard, my roommate and a few outdoor guides told me that if I wanted to see the Northern Lights I should visit the Lofoten Islands, and after doing a quick search on the archipelago in northern Norway, I was sold! The blog 68 North was really helpful in helping me sort out the general geography and terrain of the island, and if I had more time I think I would have been much more invested in finding more of his hikes and hidden spots! It was hands-down the most beautiful place I’ve ever been and I can’t wait to go back in the summer time when the cold might not be so completely biting and there would be more time for hiking — the 7 hours of quasi-daylight was limiting.

TravelRoxanne RoblesDecember 7, 2016norway, lofoten islands, lofoten, hiking, mountains, archipelago, travel, photography, valle, valle scholar, university of washingtonComment

Valle Diaries: Thanksgiving in Sweden

My housemate Andy and I were the two people from the US living in the international dorm this year. We tentatively made plans to host a Thanksgiving dinner in our dorm the Friday after Thanksgiving was celebrated in the US, since Sweden doesn’t get a 4-day weekend! We were blown away by the enthusiasm, support, and culinary prowess of my housemates from all over the world!

TravelRoxanne RoblesNovember 29, 2016Comment

Valle Diaries: Karlsvik Gård and Tønsberg

During my time in Norway I spent time with my friend Tine at her family’s farm and event center outside Tønsberg, about an hour southwest of Oslo. Apparently, Tønsberg is Norway’s oldest town! She was so incredibly hospitable, and her home was so gorgeous! PLUS her dog, Scott, is hilarious and cute as all get-out. He even has his own couch with his name on it.

TravelRoxanne RoblesNovember 22, 2016norway, travel, tonsberg, karlsvik gard, waterfront, farm, art gallery, hiking, weimaraner, valle, valle scholar, university of washingtonComment

Valle Diaries: Svalbard

I ventured to Svalbard, at 78 degrees north in mid-October in search of the Northern Lights and some arctic adventure! Sunrise: 9:49AM Sunset: 3:43PM Yeah… You read it right… Only a handful of daylight hours, and that was when I was there in mid-October. Right now in mid-November the sunrise is 11:44am and the sunset is 12:44pm!!! It made me really sleepy, not to mention the freezing temperatures and hiking all day; so I was hibernating like a polar bear when I wasn’t hiking on glaciers!

TravelRoxanne RoblesNovember 16, 2016norway, travel, svalbard, glaciers, tundra, polar bears, valle, valle scholar, university of washington, hiking, mountainsComment

Valle Diaries: Barcelona

My best friend from high school told me in early September that she was going to be in Barcelona for a conference in early October. Since I was still finding my footing in Sweden (I would never find it), I told her I would find a flight and meet her!

TravelRoxanne RoblesNovember 10, 2016Comment

Cambodia: Chi Phat Ecotourism

Chi Phat was incredible, even though I came down with a fever the night before we left. I didn’t tell the professor because I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to go on the trip.

TravelRoxanne RoblesJune 22, 2016cambodia, chi phat, tourism, eco-tourism, travel, asia, southeast asiaComment

Cambodia: Living Arts

In a little over an hour, viewers are treated to Apsara (nymph) dance which was performed in the courts of the Angkor Empire, as well as dances from the ethnic minorities in the provinces. After the Khmer Rouge murdered many Royal Ballet dancers, the intricate and precise movements of this style and dance were recreated from carvings at Angkor Wat!

TravelRoxanne RoblesJune 20, 2016khmer dance, cambodia, cambodian national museum, dance, apsara dance, cambodian dance, artComment

Cambodia: Land Mine Museum

The museum serves as the headquarters for several NGOs dedicated to demining Cambodia, which still has thousands of land mines and unexploded artillery in the countryside. The explosives effect rural lives every day. Cambodia having the greatest number of amputees in the world, attributable to these devices that have lingered underground from violence related to the Khmer Rouge, and the US carpet-bombing of Cambodia during the Vietnam War.

TravelRoxanne RoblesMay 25, 2016travel, cambodia, aki ra, cambodian land mine museum, vietnam war, land minesComment

Cambodia: Angkor Temples

No trip to Cambodia would be complete without a visit to the incredible Angkorian temple complex outside Siem Reap. The temples were started by Khmer King Suryavarman II in the 12th century, and are a contemporary wonder of the world and UNESCO World Heritage Site.

TravelRoxanne RoblesApril 25, 2016cambodia, travel, asia, temples, angkor watComment

Cambodia: Pagna's Architecture Tour

Architect and the program’s local coordinator, Pagna, took us on an architecture tour via cyclo (one-person cycle-seat contraptions) to orient us to the City’s historic and cultural past.

TravelRoxanne RoblesApril 16, 2016cambodia, phnom penh, architecture, architecture tour, khmer rouge, historyComment

Pagna's Architecture Tour

Our local coordinator and architect, Pagna, took us on an architecture tour via cyclo (a one-person cycle-seat contraption). Phnom Penh was colonized by the French around 1863. Prior to that, residents of Phnom Penh were doing just fine living on elevated or floating homes along the Tonle Sap River. After the annual floods, homes would be rebuilt or repaired from the lightweight and locally-available materials.

Roxanne RoblesApril 16, 2016Comment

Cambodia: Phnom Penh

I signed up to be part of the UW College of the Built Environment’s inaugural program in Phnom Penh. Six graduate students of landscape architecture flew out for spring quarter 2016 to conduct community-based outreach and design with an informal urban community called Pongro Senchey. Our first week involved a lot of orientation to the country, city, culture, language, and our host university.

TravelRoxanne RoblesApril 4, 2016cambodia, travel, phnom penh, asia, southeast asiaComment

First Week in Phnom Penh

We made it back to the bustling, dusty, smoggy capital of Phnom Penh. There are a lot of challenges here, Cambodia is home to the most NGOs of any country in the world. Institutionalized violence has left huge scars on the country and its physical and cultural landscapes. Conversations about history, landscape, architecture, art, and planning inevitably involve a distinction of before-and-after the cultural cleansing of the Khmer Rouge.

TravelRoxanne RoblesApril 4, 2016cambodia, southeast asia, asia, travelComment

Arrival in Cambodia: Kampot

March 23rd I took off for Phnom Penh to spend the term with professor Ben Spencer of the University of Washington, and five other graduate students in landscape architecture (more about that later). After landing, and going through the oddly casual Cambodian visa and customs procedure, I dropped most of my baggage at the professor’s house and hit the road with two other students for Kampot on the Preaek Tuek Chhu River. It is a more rural city and province known for their pepper farming!

TravelRoxanne RoblesMarch 30, 2016cambodia, southeast asia, travel, asiaComment