Ebb and flow: life along the Mekong, part 3
The city of Angkor was made possible because of its proximity to the waters of Tonle Sap. This lake is the largest in southeast Asia, in rainy season being as long as 100 miles and…
Khmer art: capturing spirit in stone (updated)
Here, in Siem Reap, it’s the looming temples of the roughly 700 year Khmer period of dominance in Southeast Asia. In Italy, it’s churches. In France or Germany, it’s castles. These are the endless number of…
Cambodian dreams
One of our Cambodian guides shared his hopes with us, just as a Laotian guide did. (For that entry, CLICK HERE). His ambition came in four parts. First, he wanted to get married. Now in…
Off the grid
We'll be about 100 miles from Siem Reap for the next few days, camping amid Angkor ruins and at a pagoda in a mountain temple, so don't expect any more posts for a few days.…
Footnotes from Laos
As we headed to Cambodia, we put together a few remaining thoughts about the wonderful land of Laos. The Hmong tribe There are many tribal villages that have been resettled by the Lao government, and…
Back to nature at the Kingfisher Ecolodge, Xe Pian Laos
We’ve just stayed at the Kingfisher Ecolodge within the Xe Pian protected forest just about 50 miles from Pakse. It’s been a wonderful experience similar to one we enjoyed earlier this year, the Selva Bananito…
Time and timelessness: Traveling on the Mekong River, part 2
We’ve been moving southward in Laos, following the direction of the Mekong River, and we find ourselves once more spending many hours on its waters. Here at the southern end of the country, the river…
Street smarts
The snide way of starting this post…What’s more street smart than the average American 10 year old? Answer: any Lao village two year old child, or its chickens, cows and pigs. The not so snide…
Wat Phou, a preview of Angkor Wat
At Champasak, just south of Pakse, we saw our first Khmer temple complex ruin, a primer of sorts for the main event near Siem Reap, where we plan to hike and camp. The Angkor people…
Laotian dreams
One guide inLaos shared his aspirations with us by the end of our time together. In his early thirties now, with two children and the intention to have a third, he is aiming for a…