I am writing this in the newly remodeled Phnom Penh airport in Cambodia’s capital city, and I have to say I have never seen an airport that is less representative of the city in which it was built. This airport, which was looted and destroyed in the coup just a few years ago, is now nicer and more modern than most airports in the States. As I sit here in big, comfy lounge chairs drinking a $2USD bottle water (which I would have paid 20 cents for just across the street from a woman on the corner) and a $4 Panini [View Full Entry]

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This is a story about the extremely violent mass murder of millions of men, women, and children...just a warning. Cambodia was a French colony until King Sihanouk declared independence in 1953. Sihanouk was very popular in the beginning and went on to create a socialist state, and around the same time cut ties with the US. This was a time when you were either on the side of North Vietnam and China…or the South Vietnam and the US. But his form of socialism was not very popular with the Khmer (Cambodian) people and the US-backed, anti-communist, Lon Nol, ousted him in [View Full Entry]

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As soon as I landed in Siem Reap I was reminded of the Dead Kennedy’s song from the 80’s. The song that pretty much said Cambodia was the last place on Earth you would come for holiday…and now, just 20 years later, the road to Siem Reap is lined with gigantic resort-style hotels for the wealthy tourists (mostly from Korea) who flock here all year round. It has been a dream of mine for quite some time to come to Cambodia to learn more about the atrocities that went on here not so long ago, but even more than that, to [View Full Entry]

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I got my hair cut by a hooker the other day. I don’t know why I always end up with interesting haircut stories when I travel. I walk into this “barbershop” and there are 5 girls sitting around. They probably ranged in age from 17-25. They were all very, very cute…and extraordinary friendly. I said I needed a trim, and so one of them sat me down and started cutting my hair. In the mirror that I was facing I could see the other girls trying to catch my eye and smile and giggle. After about 5 minutes another girl comes [View Full Entry]

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Learning to walk around the streets in the Old District of Hanoi is like learning to dance…the only catch is if you make a wrong step, or lose the tune…you’re dead on the road. When I first arrived I would stand on the sidewalk, looking across the road to where I wanted to go, for a good 10 minutes before getting up the guts to take that first step into the traffic. By the time I left, it was like instinct. I just put myself out there, the first step is always the hardest, and danced. It’s amazing how easy it [View Full Entry]

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I grew up in a generation that produced many movies about the Vietnam War…Platoon, Apocalypse Now, The Deerhunter, Born of the 4th of July, The Quiet American…maybe I just wasn’t paying attention, but these movies left questions unanswered. Exactly why we were in Vietnam, what the difference was between the Viet Cong and Viet Minh, why were the Vietnamese fighting each other, why did we extend into Laos and Cambodia, and why was the war so much more unpopular than the wars that came before? Well, I think I have the answers to a lot of these questions now…and th [View Full Entry]

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I just wanted to say thank you for all your comments and thanks for reading. But I guess sometimes it's hard to communicate through blogs...I just wanted everyone to know that Neal was completely kidding when he made the comment about pretending to be a backpacker. It was over beers and we were both giving each other crap about one thing or another. He's a great guy...and it was really nothing. It just got me thinking about how I'm a hypocrite sometimes...and that maybe I'm got as cut out for the rough stuff as I thought I was. There was a [View Full Entry]

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My month in Laos has come to an end; I head to Vietnam in the morning. I am real excited about Vietnam. Since I have been out here I have heard mixed reviews about the country, but after the extremely mellow atmosphere of Laos, I think I’m ready for something a little more fast pace. I am alone again, and that is a good thing as well. I had a great time with Neal and Claire, but we had our last night a few nights ago in the south, and I feel more adventurous now that I am on my own [View Full Entry]

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That hot shower that I raved about before…I had the equivalent in a meal last night. A huge, juicy filet of beef with a 3-pepper sauce with potatoes and hot bread. A nice bottle of imported red wine…I was in absolute ecstasy. It was the first time the people I am traveling with have seen me finish a meal…and I actually finished first. I swear I could’ve ordered a second steak and ate that one just as fast. The whole meal cost me $9USD. I swear I cannot spend more than $20 a day in Laos…it even makes Thailand seem expensive. [View Full Entry]

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3 farang walk into a Starbucks, an American, a Brit, and a German… Sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, but it’s actually a scene I witnessed this morning that made me realize that it is time to leave Thailand. I am not really sure of the nationality of these men, but I was sitting on a bus heading to the Golden Triangle when I witnessed three Western men walk into Starbucks pulling roller laptop bags. They ordered their coffee, sat down, opened their laptops and started working (the traffic light was that long!). It seriously gave me chills. I [View Full Entry]

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