We were in Kep just for the day. We found the entire town to be pretty abandoned, except at the Beach area. Statues (Dolphins, Shiva, Vishnu, Crab, White Horse, White Lady): This town has more statues at roundabouts than any other we’ve been to. It’s actually a weird mix: the White Lady is wearing too…
N and I brought in the New Year at an Integral Yoga retreat called Hariharalaya. For five days and five nights, we ate vegan, avoided caffeine and alcohol, limited our usage of electronic devices, performed Asanas, meditated, lounged around, and met a lot of wonderful new people. N already gave a great summary of the…
A few of you were horrified by the state of sanitation in Cambodia. Though I’m too habituated to share your disgust, I can see how it might put you off the country. But you’d be missing some good things, like how Cambodians help each other. I have no idea what kind of taxes they have,…
The going rate for a one-hour massage in Cambodia is $5. Compared to Europe and North America’s $60-$120 averages, this seems amazing. And it is – to a point. What you can expect for your fiver: A masseuse with no certification and varying levels of training in massage, pressure points, etc. A massage table, usually…
The Idea I do a lot of trip planning, so I don’t remember what I looked up in late December to get to this blog post, about a yoga and meditation retreat. Reading about it, I thought the place sounded unusual: I found the authors’ recollections amusing and the whole idea hokey – so I mentioned it to B, hoping for…
We spent almost a week in Siem Reap, five days of it at the retreat. Angkor Wat: This is the famous temple of this city and this country: it’s even the central image on the Cambodian flag! They say it’s the largest religious complex in the world, actually. We didn’t go at sunrise, like many recommend, because we’re…
While we were visiting my parents before starting this trip, I picked up a new habit. I would eat fruit and vegetables without washing them first, claiming that the gunk on the outside would help prepare my immune system for foreign lands. I knew this was laughable, since US pesticides are much scarier than the rest of…
When a resolute young fellow steps up to the great bully, the world, and takes him boldly by the beard, he is often surprised to find it comes off in his hand, and that it was only tied on to scare away the timid adventurers. Ralph Waldo Emerson Occasionally, people who know about my travels…
We’ve spent a month total in this small-ish Cambodian town, staying in four different places along the way. Here’s how they compared: Mea Culpa We stayed at this hotel when we first arrived, based on a recommendation I read on a blog. It turned out to be a good one: we returned here for another…
Topsky Hostel: We didn’t stay here, but we did eat breakfast here, in the partially-open air restaurant. B had yogurt with muesli and fruit, as well as two eggs – gearing up for a long day of sightseeing. I had the Khmer fried noodles with beef, though I gave much of the beef and the egg on top…