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Magical Angkor

CAMBODIA | Saturday, 7 Jul 2007 | Views [605]

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


Phnom Penh

CAMBODIA | Thursday, 5 Jul 2007 | Views [610]

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


I planted rice!

CAMBODIA | Monday, 2 Jul 2007 | Views [1234] | 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 Homestay

CAMBODIA | Sunday, 1 Jul 2007 | Views [1682] | 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


Champasak and 4,000 islands

LAOS | Thursday, 28 Jun 2007 | Views [540]

I stumbled on a jewel. I have not been to Angkor yet but to me, Champasak seemed like a slice of Angkor minus any people. It is set underneath a splendid mountain on 6 natural terraces and it overlooks the entire plain all the way to the river. There ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Dinosaurs and Disco music

LAOS | Tuesday, 26 Jun 2007 | Views [577]

Did you know that Lao had dinosaurs? Neither did I until I visited the dinosaur museum in Savannaket. Savannaket is a town South of Vientiane separated from Thailand by a thin stretch of the Mekong river. It is a town past it’s prime, with old colonial ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


On Lao time

LAOS | Monday, 25 Jun 2007 | Views [473]

This is a place were you cannot be in a hurry. Things take their time and if you rush them you will only get upset. Buses planning to leave at 20.30 and arrive at 1.00am, leave at 21.15 and arrive at 4am. They break down along the way, stop wherever ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Vientiane or Bright lights big city

LAOS | Friday, 22 Jun 2007 | Views [632]

Well…..not really! Vientiane is more like a sleepy little town that somehow still seems to have it all. Laos overall is so laid back it’s horizontal. It’s a mix of French architecture - it seems that all the French left other than the style of some ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Watching "Friends" in Vang Vieng

LAOS | Wednesday, 20 Jun 2007 | Views [567]

Vang Vieng is a little town between Luang Prapang and the capital, Vientiane. I got here on a bus that twisted and turned along a winding road that felt very much like being on a stormy sea. The distace is about 380 Kilometers and it took 6 hours to ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


My day as a Laos Weaver

LAOS | Sunday, 17 Jun 2007 | Views [606]

Catastrophe! Never again will I be able to bargain down anything in any market. Have you any idea the amount of time, patience and skill it takes to make anything? I know that we speak of handmade things and nod in deep appreciation but nothing beats ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Journey into Laos

LAOS | Saturday, 16 Jun 2007 | Views [532]

The first thing I learnt about Laos is that the currency is the Kip. Obviously people are pretty ashamed of that or they would not quote you exclusively in dollars. Initially I thought the equivalence was 1000 Kip to the dollar but eventually even ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Lek and the elephant conservation centre

THAILAND | Thursday, 14 Jun 2007 | Views [748]

Lek in Thai means little and it truly describes the lady I met today. However it only describes her physical size. It does not describe the size of her determination nor the extent of her courage. It certainly does not describe the size of the object ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Buddhism, meditation and my week in white pyjamas

THAILAND | Tuesday, 12 Jun 2007 | Views [981] | Comments [2]

I went to a meditation retreat for a whole week. It's a bit like committing your self to an institution....not that I would know. Wake up at 5 am and go to bed at 9pm, learning about meditation and Buddhism. Everyone walks around in what rapidly feels ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Addicted to massage and sugar

THAILAND | Sunday, 3 Jun 2007 | Views [704] | Comments [1]

I now know why Thai people smile so much. They are on a permanent sugar high. There is no dish that does not have at least a spoonful of it per person. Yes, even the curry or should I say particularly the curry. It's in the stir fries, the noodles, the ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


A night with drag queens, a hash expert and two sex obsessed North Americans

THAILAND | Saturday, 2 Jun 2007 | Views [685]

It was not as exciting as it sounds, but I bet it got your attention. Overall it was a quiet evening with drinks and some fascinating revelations. I always find it very surprising how fellow travellers have the capacity to reveal themselves to total strangers.... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Rain

THAILAND | Thursday, 31 May 2007 | Views [530]

There is a magic in the Asian rain. The magic of the exotic for those who do not have to live through it for months on end. It starts punctually every day and still manages to take you by surprise. It's a triumphant rain, a downpour that asserts itself.... Read more >

Tags: Culture


Cooking in Chag Mai

THAILAND | Wednesday, 30 May 2007 | Views [836] | Comments [3]

Although I have spent a day and some in Bangkok already, I guess my trip really starts here, in Northern Thailand. Quite an apt gateway for a quest. This is were all nomads converged in the past and will undoubtedly do so in the future. Caravans of Yunnanese ... Read more >

Tags: Culture


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