Iceland has deep democratic roots. The original Icelanders came to Iceland to get away from the Scandinavian kings. They lived isolated rugged lives due to the very geography of the island - not much arable soil, a very short growing season, fishing being the main food source and frequent harsh weather. Self-reliance is the motto. They made sure they didn't have a king or were subjects of Norway, Swedish or Danish kings. They even chose their religion demcratically. Since before the battle of Hastings and Magna Carta days, all Icelanders gather once a year at Pingvellir, their original open air national assembly, to decide their laws and celebrate life. On one such Alping, probably in the year 1000, (no computers back then, so no Y1K issues eh!), they democratically decided between paganism and Christianity as the ... read more

Jules Verne's "The Journey to the Centre of the Earth" was based here in the Snaefellsnes Penninsular, at a cave system in the Vatnshellir volcano which dominates the penninsular.... read more

I fly out of Siem Reap to Seoul on a Red Eye tonight. I'd planned on visiting the Angkor National Museum, but sadly, it's been sold to a for-profit business and prices have gone by 4 times. Looks like the Cambodian government is planning on selling more national treasures to (usually foreign) third parties. It's not as vile a crime as all the horrors that have visited this place recently, but selling the national heritage ... yikes. Even the killing fields in Phnom Penh are now run by a for-profit Vietnamese concern - that's one of the reasons I avoided going there. Even the die hard extreme right in the U.S. is not advocating selling the National Monument to MacDonalds ... can you just see the Big 'M' over the National Mall? Or the Lincoln Memorial ... read more

Went back to the Northern stretch of the main Angkor area, the only area I missed on day one, because of the bicycle tire blow-out. Well, after visiting Preah Khan, the largest of all the temple structures at Angkor, it was time for more vehicle trouble. The tuk-tuk stalled and would not re-start. Bad gas. The driver filled up with petrol near Banteay Srei, and the road-side Johnny-Walker bottles of petrol he bought must have been adulterated with water. After a little tinkering, the tuk-tuk started again, and I was back in Siem Reap, after another exhausting day. I'm eating as much as I can, and still continue to lose inches around my hips and waist. I really should have brought a belt, and not left it behind "to travel light". The Cambodian food is half ... read more

What an incredible story of the founder of the Cambodian Land Mine Museum - Aki Ra. He was forcibly recruited as child soldier by the Khemer Rouge, then at 14 years switched allegiances to the Vietnamese backed Cambodian Army fighting the Khemer Rouge, many of whom were his friends or relatives. He described being sent out to hunt for food with his AK-47 or M-16 and coming across his friends in the Khemer Rouge who were also hunting for food. He'd play with them at night and they'd end up trying to kill each other by day. After the fighting, he took on unorthodox de-mining work, often de-activating 30 or more mines per hour! He now runs an orphanage/school for child victims of land mines and funds those activities with his museum proceeds and donations. The ... read more