Destination: Cambodia

Magical Angkor

Sat, 7 Jul 2007 | By celinexiaolin | Views [632]

You may have seen pictures, read or heard about the splendour of Angkor but nothing can ever prepare you for the actual site. It’s a mind-boggling combination of elegance and size, harmony and impact with modernity hardly interfering with it. Coming upon ... Read more >

Tags: Culture

Chance encounters

Fri, 6 Jul 2007 | By celinexiaolin | Views [599]

I would not have said anything about the people that I keep bumping into but today the unthinkable happened and therefore this merits being on the record. This is not “Casablanca” and I am not Ingrid Bergman but of all the people in all the places and ... Read more >

Tags: Friends

Phnom Penh

Thu, 5 Jul 2007 | By celinexiaolin | Views [640]

I like Phnom Penh, it’s got a vibe, something alive about it even though it full of contradictions. The royal palace is flanked by shanty town buildings and child beggars on the streets. The city has temples that are the birthplaces of Cambodian Buddhism ... Read more >

Tags: Culture

Burgers, Fries and Visa to Go

Tue, 3 Jul 2007 | By laurelmarshall | Views [975]

One of our primary reasons for coming to Sihanoukville was to get our Vietnamese visa. Apparently this is one of the two places in Cambodia, and one of the two places in the world, where you can get your visa at the low cost of $35 USD, in a record ... Read more >

Tags: Travel Tips

Stunning Beaches of Sihanoukville

Tue, 3 Jul 2007 | By laurelmarshall | Views [870]

Landlocked for far too long, we are in need of a strong dose of salt water and sand.  Sihanoukville delivers the goods.  On the southern coast of Cambodia, we are rewarded with crystal clear emerald water and white sand beaches.  We have plopped ourselves ... Read more >

Tags: Beaches & sunshine

I planted rice!

Mon, 2 Jul 2007 | By celinexiaolin | Views [1288] | Comments [1]

I planted rice! It is the highlight of my journey and I wish I could do more. It was at Don and Kreagh’s place. There was nothing much to do and I dared ask if it was possible. Sure enough the next day we trudged across the fields and got to a plot where ... Read more >

Tags: Culture

Cambodian Cuisine

Mon, 2 Jul 2007 | By laurelmarshall | Views [1240]

Several restaurants in Cambodia proudly announce on large signs in entrance ways, "We don't serve dog, cat, rat or worm."  We have seen some crazy things skewered and barbecued or fried up:  snakes, frogs, crickets, beetles, spiders... Despite ... Read more >

Tags: Food & eating

Cambodian Homestay

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 | By celinexiaolin | Views [1730] | Comments [1]

I am staying two nights with Don and his lovely Cambodian wife Kreagh on a small village outside Kampog Cham. This is one of those impromptu and completely unplanned detours. Part of an effort to find inspiration and experience new things. Ii found out ... Read more >

Tags: Culture

Familiar Sights from Cambodia

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 | By laurelmarshall | Views [1164]

We're enjoying our second pass through Phnom Penh.  We've chosen to stay near the riverside this time, and the city is a buzz with activity.  Ornate wats rise through the city, surrounded by parks and circled by monks clad in orange robes.  Groups of ... Read more >

Tags: Sightseeing

What really matters

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 | By celinexiaolin | Views [565] | Comments [1]

I spent the day cycling along the Mekong now finally in Cambodia. The people are just as friendly, the river wider and miracle of miracles 15km up the road from Kratie there are sweet water dolphins. They were beautiful and they were free and ... Read more >

Tags: Adrenaline

The Cambodian Strip-Mall

Sat, 30 Jun 2007 | By laurelmarshall | Views [2707]

Many enterprising Cambodians line the streets in highly touristed areas - each of the big temple/sites in Angkor, and on the streets of popular tourist cities of Siem Ream and Phnom Penh, into what we'll term as the portable "strip mall" or ... Read more >

Tags: Markets

Cambodia's Dark Past

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 | By laurelmarshall | Views [1206]

In history classes we'd learned a bit about Cambodia and some of it's peoples' struggles through civil war, famine, and the Khmer Rouge regime.  Nothing puts it into better perspective than being here, seeing the memorials, sights, hearing the stories, ... Read more >

Tags: Culture

Street Kids & SUV's

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 | By laurelmarshall | Views [1124]

"Buy me, sir," calls out the young Cambodian woman from her street vendor stall.  “No, buy from me,” shouts the one right next to her.  We've learned that nearly 50% of the Cambodian population is age 15 or younger.  It seems like that entire ... Read more >

Tags: Shopping

Gallery: Siem Reap to PP

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 | By lissaur | Photo Gallery

Amazing Angkor

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 | By laurelmarshall | Views [877]

It’s difficult to put into words, the astounding beauty and magnificence of the Temples of Angkor.  After having seen the temples, stupas and wats in India, Nepal, Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos, we had saved the Angkor in Cambodia, for the grand finale.... Read more >

Tags: Culture