travel beyond the obvious
As part of a group tour to Thailand, we booked an extension to Cambodia. Our group in Cambodia consisted of seven of us, with our own guide and driver. As a small group we had Read More …
Siem Reap, Cambodia, is one of the more disconcerting places I have visited. It is a city where the multi-million dollar hotels (with room rates to match) are surrounded by nothing but poverty. Busy side Read More …
We are in LA now, after about 24 hours in transit from Cambodia yesterday. Whew! But what an awesome trip. Thailand November 5 – We Are Off! November 7 Arrival in Chiang Mai In the Read More …
Travel planning details: Cambodia Visa requirements American citizens need a visa to enter Cambodia. Visas are available at the airport on arrival in Siem Reap. If you are arriving from Thailand, you can pick up Read More …
Lane and I would like to do some shopping. (I found the shopping in Thailand disappointing and am still hoping to finish off my Christmas list.) Choeun offers to take us to a crafts center Read More …
Choeun says there is one more temple we should see – he even promises it will be very different from all those we have seen before. While it seems hard to believe there could be Read More …
The temple at East Mebon sits in the midst of what was once a large reservoir built to provide water to a new city. At that time, it would have seemed to float above the Read More …
Our next temple is Banteay Samre’. This 12th century temple is not on the regular tourist trail and, for the most part, we have it to ourselves.The outside wall consists of tightly laid laterite blocks. Read More …
Now Choeun says we have time to visit a village. We stop at a spot with a mixed collection of houses and a large stand displaying merchandise for sale. This village looks much like others Read More …
Choeun tells us that this is known as the “Temple of Women” because it was thought that only women could create a temple so delicate and beautiful. However, he is quick to clarify that it Read More …
We again agree to an early start, but then lollygag in the restaurant until a little after 7. It’s nice to have a small enough group that we can do that. Choeun is eager to Read More …
We have made arrangements to join Dave and Carolyn for dinner at Meric, the swishy new restaurant located in the equally swishy Hotel de la Paix. I found it listed in Conde Nast Traveler’s Hot Read More …
We were supposed to climb Phnom Bakheng for a view of Angkor Wat at sunset, but Choeun’s warning that 3,000 other people may choose to do this today makes it sound quite unappealing. Instead we Read More …
The day is already visibly starting to come to an end when we reach the elephant terrace. I’m not sure why, but I’m still surprised how early the light starts to fade here. Because it Read More …
Unfortunately, we don’t get to see the rest of the ruins of Angkor Thom, but it does serve as a good warm-up to our next stop, the 12th century Bayon. At first I don’t really Read More …
We return to the park after lunch and pass Angkor Wat standing regally above it’s moat. There are blankets laid out along the moat and a few groups out enjoying a picnic. Choeun tells us Read More …
Our next stop is the late 12th century temple of Ta Prohm, which has been left in its “natural” state as an example of how most of the Angkor temples looked when “discovered” by French Read More …
We have agreed to start the day at 7 a.m., as Choeun suggests this will give us a bit of a break from the worst of both the heat and the other tourists. It’s easy Read More …