A Brief Appeal In May, we spent 11 days and nights in Siem Reap and Angkor Wat immersing ourselves in the history and culture of all things Khmer. A true highlight of our time there was experiencing a performance of Phare, the Cambodian Circus. Phare is the world-class circus arts performing arm of Phare Ponleu […]
If Phnom Penh was my least favorite place in Cambodia (it was), then lovely Kampot was by many measurements my favorite destination. Yes Siem Reap was amazing and fun, but Kampot is a place to which I can see myself returning many times. Kampot is seriously chill. There are surprisingly several activities available nearby or you […]
EXPERIENCING ONE OF THE GREAT HIGHS AND ONE OF THE MOST DEPRAVED LOWS OF HUMAN HISTORY–ALL IN A DAY! Warning: Some photographs in this post and inclusive photo links are of a disturbing and graphic nature. It is not my intention to disturb you; however, they are essential to the understanding of this story. […]
There are many ways to see the Temples of Angkor. A little research before hand goes a long way toward saving you from “Temple Burnout,” heat stroke and exhaustion. Far too often we have seen the telltale signs of overwhelm in tourists who try to see it all in two or three short days. Sadly, they […]
Note: The actual sunrise was covered in part 1 of this story. In case you missed it, you can view it here. Leaving Angkor Wat, we had four temples remaining on our must see list. At Kimseng’s suggestion, we made a short fifth stop along the way at East Mebon, constructed in the 10th century and […]
After several days of working inward from the most outlying areas of the Khmer Empire, it was time to experience sunrise at Angkor Wat itself. Why not? I tried to not have expectations. “It will be crowded.” “We have to get there really early to have a chance.” “Many people who go end up […]
Angkor Thom is a large city of 9 km² within the enormous Angkor Archaeological Park which stretches over some 400 square kilometers. These numbers alone should give you an insight into the “temple burnout” of which many tourists complain after two or three days of trying to cram it all in (an impossible task). After a […]
Angkor Wat is a destination where a little research beforehand will greatly serve you. I have been wanting to come here for a few years, and yes, I did a lot of research! This series will hopefully make your time more enjoyable. I planned on staying one week in Siem Reap. We loved our guesthouse […]
A UNESCO Failure an editorial Here are some of the alternate titles I considered for this post: Racism Rears its Ugly Head in Cambodia (racism is always ugly). UNESCO: You really fucked this one up. World Heritage Site in a Border Dispute Whenever I research visiting a new country or region, one of the […]