One thing that has been consistent over the past few trips has been to leave the last few days of our trips for shopping. I find the selection is so much better in these larger cities than back home. As well, better prices are usually to be had. Bangkok would be no different. After a very uneventful trip from Siem Reap to Bangkok (we even rode to the airport in Siem Reap -- seven very easy kilometers) we settled into small guest house on Sukhumvit Road right next to one of the skytram stops. If I would have known how much shopping we were going to do, I would have parked us in the middle of Siam Center (shopping heaven). The big change for me on this trip to Bangkok (third in total) is that they ... read more

Are cycling days are now behind us. We arrived in Battambang this afternoon after cycling for the past three days. I know one little lady who is excited that the cycling is completed. ;-) She was complaining that 33c with 90% humidity is too much... The last couple of days have been our best from a cycling standpoint. We had the best roads today and yesterday with a wonderful tailwind - set up sail and ride. We were able to get to our destinations before 12:00 both days even though we had 100 km to cycle. I will miss all the "Hellos" from everyone, though. We really had some fun with that as we passed by the school kids cycling to and from school or the kids huddled underneath their homes waiting out the heat of ... read more

We had a lovely stay in Kampot over the past couple of days. This gem is on the coast of Cambodia and it has heaps of character with all of its old colonial buildings and river setting. After seeing what the French had done with Saigon, Phnom Penh, and Kampot, I must give them credit for laying out their towns and cities well. Big parks, big boulevards, and big roundabouts are all characteristic of French urban design from a century ago. This place, though, has so much potential. It reminds me of Antigua, Guatemala and Colina, Uruguay. The difference here, though, is that the redevelopment has just begun. The town will need some strict development bylaws to ensure it is redeveloped properly. Perhaps the UN can help out. If Cambodia was closer to North America, I ... read more

The visit to Phnom Penh was certainly one of the places I was most looking forward to on this trip, and I wasn't disappointed. Unlike so many of Asia's capital cities, Phnom Penh has a distinct character to it without all the buildup. There isn't a building over seven or eight stories in the city. That is certainly starting to change as Cambodia is one of Asia's fastest growing economies. As it is uniquely positioned between Vietnam and Thailand, Cambodia should grow by default. I certainly see this with the amount of tourists now including Cambodia along with Vietnam and Thailand on their travels. It was interesting, though, that there was very little truck traffic at the Vietnam/Cambodia border crossing. This is so unusual. I'm not sure why, but one of the reasons could be the ... read more

Another relaxing day is behind us in Saigon. After a day of adjustment, I used the early morning for some photo ops around town. This also gave Shauna an opportunity to catch up on some beauty sleep. We left the rest of the morning for sightseeing. We focused on three museums. By far the most interesting was the American War Museum. I saw this one on my first trip here, but the pictures and exhibits were just as powerful the second time through. The savagery and pain were so evident in many of the pictures -- a number of them would never be shown in the U.S. There was one picture where four U.S. soliders were standing in front of two heads decapitated from Vietnamese soldiers. The grin on the soldier's faces was chilling. Another disturbing ... read more