"I will move you to a room on a lower floor because I think you are a little bit old." The woman in the Phnom Penh guest house has no idea, none at all, that maybe she should find another way to suggest that she can move my fourth floor room to the second floor. She smiles sweetly and laughs, and I can only bless this perfect moment. It's been a tiring day. My sojourn to Phnom Penh to extend my visa was not a short jaunt. I left Chi Phat at 8:00 am with my faithful driver, son Savin, rolling by sugar cane fields in the morning light as we headed for Andoung Tuek. I waited nearly two hours and watched eight buses whiz by until mine stopped for me. No matter that I had ... read more

It is an important day here for the residents of the small villages comprising the bigger area around Chi Phat. Today the people vote for seven people to fill the positions that work for the Community Based Ecotourism Committee. This is the first election in five years. Voters have been informed of the election by their respective village chiefs, written posters, and loudspeaker traveling the roads by vehicle for the last two days. The positions include director, accountant, 2 positions for receptionist, mechanic and supply clerk, head cook, and booking agent. Voters are looking for the best candidates to lead their community forward as it grows as a popular ecotourism destination for thousands of visitors seeking an authentic jungle experience. The nine member election committee, with the assistance of employees from the Wildlife Alliance, have worked ... read more

I've made it to the inner sanctum, where gustatory delights are birthed in a small smokey womb--the kitchen. My Cambodian son Savin and his wife Srey Mom resisted my previous requests to help prepare food. But I finally triumphed, and now I sit on the slatted wood floor, peeling the crusts away from bongaong, river lobster. The small village of Chi Phat hugs the Piphot River. Fisherman harvest river lobsters from its placid waters at night when the water is lowest, using the light of a head lamp and a small pitch fork-like spear called a s'naw. I've cleaned shrimp at home, but these critters are several times larger and have beady big eyes and long stiff legs. Srey Mom shows me how to pull the shell away from the head, remove a pea sized organ ... read more

I have been eating meals at the headquarters office, where cooks fry and steam breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the guests who come to Chi Phat to experience this special place. All the ingredients they must buy fresh daily from the tiny market. Food items are seasonal and vary from day to day. Some days fish is available, some days it is not. The project here employs several teams of many cooks. The additional income gives them just enough so that their family members do not have to go to the forest to cut trees or hunt animals, thus supporting the goals of the conservation and reforestation project based here. The committee of community members tries hard to distribute the income gaining opportunities among as many people as possible. We get unusual breakfast items. The fried ... read more

The pink condom is 5 baht more expensive than the green one. And the toothbrush costs half as much as the green condom. That's what the sign says in the bathroom of my hotel room, where these toiletries are displayed. So begins my 2 month sojourn in Southeast Asia, my first overnight in a small hotel near the Bangkok airport. I'm staying here just one night before my flight in the morning to Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. Every trip starts in a similar manner: the excitement, the dreams, the expectations of adventure. The initial surprise of something a bit curious. Sorting out the money exchanging, packing and repacking the bag, trying to work out a system so that each little item has its own place in the bag, so that I don't spend lots of ... read more