May 17, 2013 - The beach

Went to the beach for one night Worth the four hour bus ride. It was a good, if quick, respite from the city. Cool breeze, one crazy rain storm, good sunning weather this AM. Nothin' like a topless back rub on the beach with the sound of the ocean and Zac Brown blaring in your ears. The peddlers were relentless, pushy, and untrustworthy. Made you wanna hide out in the hotel after a couple hours of harassment. We are on the tail end! Back in the capital and just booked our posh hotel in Bangkok for the last two nights of our SE Asia tour!

May 16, 2013 - Siem Reap, Cambodia

From the comfort of your own home, organizing travel in far flung places, it is easy to neglect the reality of some of the choices you make. Like going on a bicycle tour in the build up to the wet season. We probably didn’t even check out the weather in Cambodia as we are only here for four days. It can’t be that different to the east coast of Vietnam can it? Well, we survived. And we’re proud of it. And it was pretty easy riding too. We loved riding along the top of the great wall of Angkor Thom with the huge moat on our left, complete...

May 11, 2013 - Siem Reap

Arrived in Cambodia today. Bridget's sister-in-law's family connection arranged a ride for us from the airport and a room at a very nice hotel. Sitting by the pool researching up for our trip to Angkor Wat tomorrow. 5/13/13 Two very hot days at Angkor! Rented $1 bicycles the first day, I'm pretty sure they barely got us there and back, they certainly protested a lot =) Saw some amazing temples, sweat gallons, and decided to rent a TukTuk for day #2. Much better but still blistering hot here. Enjoying the pool and A/C at our resort style...

Apr 7, 2013 - Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Sihanoukville Cambodia is a contrast between beautiful beach resorts with stunning white sand beaches and the simple rustic life of most of the locals not involved with the tourist industry. We visited the small rural village (I use the term “village” very loosely here!) of Puthuong, which had 500 or so residents scattered about the rice paddies and forest. The simple homes had no electricity or plumbing. They cooked over wood or coal in a very simple kitchen about the size of a closet in the States. The windows were mostly left over...

Mar 13, 2013 - Phnom Penh

March 10th bus to Phnom Penh, about 8 hrs Onto the bus at 7am, this time a beaten-up local bus, broken armrests, holes in the wall panels. We were just hoping that the engine was capable, as we have seen so many vehicles parked on the road with their innards spilled out, bleeding oil, with several mechanics working laid out underneath. We got talking with a young medical Dr returning to Phnom Penh, he wore a face mask throughout the journey. Nickie wished she’d got hers handy, as all around us the men, coughed, hacked up years of sputum,...

Mar 9, 2013 - Over the Border to Kratie

March 8th to Kratie, Cambodia We watched Mr Hom and his kids get the boat ready for taking us to Nakasang, on mainland at 8am and then to take Valerie and Micheal out fishing for the day. By 7.45 Mr Hom had not returned in his boat and we weren’t certain he would show up , so we made a very quick 6k sprint cycle on a potholed bumpy dirt road, to the top of the island to the boats. But damn , there were about 40 backpackers ahead of us in the queue being very slowly herded in an unorganised manner onto the boats. !! Pete spotted a flat deck...

Feb 19, 2013 - Phnom Penh

Cambodia Phnom Penh Once the called the Pearl of Asia the shine has been tarnished by the impact of war and revolution. But that is in the past and now Phnom Phen is an “in” capital in Asia. There is a variety of sights, smells and tastes to take in the capital city from the mind numbing trauma of the Tuol Sleng Museum to the hard bargaining of the city’s markets or the expensive boutiques, the tastes of Khmer food, and tropical drinks the city does not disappoint. With a limited time budget and a late night arrival we had to take in a...

Feb 6, 2013 - Cambodian Cooking Lesson & Toule Sap Lake

Paul, Lucy, Natalie and I walked to a restaurant on Pub street for our Cambodian Cooking class. First we were taken to the local market. It was crowded, noisy and lots of different smells. Our teacher bought some ingredients we wold need. We are making an appetizer, main course and sticky mango rice for dessert. It was so hot. At one point, I had to pound some of my chopped ingredients in a wooden mortar to make a paste. The kitchen was very small (only 4 gas burners) and so hot. We also learned to make flowers and birds our of carrots for...

Feb 5, 2013 - Angkor Thom

After breakfast and a short rest, we went to Angkor Thom. The day has become really hot. We try to stay in the shade when ever we can. Angkor Thom means "The Great City" in Khmer. It is famed for its fantastic central temple. It was a walled and moated royal city at one time. The surrounding wall has a sanctuary tower at each corner and 5 gates. Each gate is crowned by 4 faces of Lokesvara. There are 2 gates at the East wall. The South Gate has a causeway flanked by 54 gods (they smile) and 54 demons (they frown). Angkor Thom has 3 great...

Feb 5, 2013 - Ta Prohm

Ta Prohm was constructed as a Buddhist monastery. The jungle has pulled this temple apart. The roots of fig, banyon and kapok trees have cleaves massive stones in two. Sometimes the trees give way and grow over the top of the temple ramparts. Unfortunately, these ruins has been looted quite heavily in recent years and many of its stone reliquaries have been lost. The huge roots however, are very impressive. Some trees are being cut down to stop further damage. We got back late afternoon. Everyone was exhausted from the heat!

Feb 5, 2013 - Ankgor Wat

We were up 4 am and off to see the sunrise behind Angkor Wat. There were lots of people like us. Angkor Wat is a Hindu temple commemorating Vishnu. It is believed it may have been constructed as a funeral temple since it faces west which is in the direction of the setting sun and is symbolic of passing into the next life for a king. It is the symbol of Cambodia and was built in the 12th century using Khmer architecture. It is a 3-tiered pyramid with 5 towers which is thought to represent Mount Meru, home of the gods: a land of creation and...

Feb 5, 2013 - Angkor Wat

Angkor Wat Tuesday February 5, 2013 Day 27 of G We are bleary eyed and sleepy but all accounted for in the lobby by 5 a.m.  Everyone but Ray that is. He is only a few minutes late but pretty consistent with it. Our resident cynic Chris, will snidely say that it is the Diva in him. Of course he and Jon do have the heaviest suitcases of the group by a longshot Having said that, Ray is well worth waiting a few extra minutes for. We drive out to Angkor Wat with one short stop to get Greg a new ticket. It is pitch black out and we need torches...