History has not been kind to Cambodia. Though a generation has passed since the violent genocide ended in 1978, when Vietnam invaded Cambodia, the country’s war torn image remains. During the Vietnam War, United States military began an aggressive bombing campaign in Cambodia, supposedly to disrupt activities of the Viet Cong working within the country. In addition to making millions homeless, this also garnered sympathy for opponents of the U.S.-backed government, and resulted in thousands of new recruits for the Khmer Rouge rebels. The Khmer Rouge officially took over in 1975 under the leadership of Pol Pot, whose brutal reforms would lead to over 1.7 million deaths. We arrived at Phnom Penh International airport on a budget flight from Bangkok. We had toyed with the idea of crossing the land border, but thankfully decided against it ... read more

What can I say about Thailand that hasn’t been said before? In 2007 Thailand received 14.46 million foreign tourists. It is a must-see destination and an essential stop on the well-trodden backpacker trail of Southeast Asia. It has something to offer everyone-culture, beaches, adventure, shopping, resorts, spas, and great food. The variety of tourists flavors are evident in the county-from the college crowd looking for a great party to retirees on a package holiday. Because of its diversity it is safe to say that everyone has a very different experience in Thailand depending on his or her individual tastes, so all I can really do is to recount mine. Like many other instances on the trip, our time in Thailand can best be described as random. We hadn’t planned on going at all, but since the ... read more

What a relief to be in Hong Kong! Our grand plan had been to take the train all the way from Xining to Guangzhou, possibly stopping in between. We initially chose this option not because it was cheaper, but because it would allow us to see more of the countryside, and to be honest neither one of us is a fan of air travel. Thankfully, we had both managed to remain in relatively good health in spite of Tibet’s altitude and somewhat questionably sanitary dining experience. However, when we pulled into the train station in Xining, Qinghai Province, I woke up to find my stomach in knots. Rather than brave another 48+hours on the train we checked into a hotel out of desperation. I had actually been to Xining before while en route to Western China ... read more

The second half of our journey through Tibet was as amazing as the first. We drove to Shigatse, Tibet's second largest city. A new highway had recently been completed linking the two cities. Though deemed modern by Tibetan standards it reminded me of a seldom used county road in Central Oregon, winding and twisting through canyons along the river, large cracks and potholes gouged into its surface from falling rocks. The scenery was absolutely beautiful. We first stopped along the Lhasa River to see where the water burials took place. Water burials are generally reserved for the children and the very poor. As opposed to a sky burial, where the dried-out body of the deceased is cut up and fed to the vultures, the water burial is relatively simple. The body is simply thrown (whole or ... read more

At the the beginning of our trip Craig and I had planned on visiting every single province in China, excluding those we had already been to during study abroad. Perhaps this wasn't the best goal, considering China is an extremely large country and traveling there can be very tiring (not to mention hard on the lungs). As you shall see, this plan was thrown by the wayside fairly quickly, though hopefully it explains why we ended up in Manzhouli-we were just hoping to check another province off the list. I am very thankful that this was our thought pattern at the time, because however demented our thought process may have been it proved to be a very interesting place. Manzhouli (population 150,000 give or take a few) is located in the Hulunbuir grasslands and supposedly is ... read more