With the grime of Phnom Pehn still sticking stubbornly to our shoes, we continued our journey north, this time in a relatively comfortable bus. Our destination was Siem Reap, the so-called gateway to the temples of Angkor Wat. There is much more to be said about the history and culture surrounding both the town and temple complexes than I have the time or space to get into. What you should know, however, is that the temples number over one thousand, Angkor Wat itself is just one such – though as the largest single religious monument in the world, it has given its name to the entire complex. The Angkor complex was the largest pre-industrial city, sprawling to roughly four hundred square miles.

The temples welcome about two million tourists a year, and it shows (you wouldn’t believe the pains I went through to avoid having my photos filled … Continue reading

The past few days the weather report has forecast, nay, promised me copious amounts of snow. Seattle has braced for the impending snowpocalypse in typical harried fashion. Yet with the exception of a few half-hearted flurries, the landscape of Seattle-metro remains bleakly, soggily normal. I take this as a personal affront since this thrice-cursed Asian plague refuses to let me get healthy, leaving me beached on the couch beneath a pile of blankets rather than being productive at school. A snow day would at least assuage my over-active-honor-student of a conscience. Sigh.

Update: Ask and ye shall receive! We woke up to a winter wonderland!

However. At least I can be productive on the blogging front, eh? So it’s on to the second installment of our Asia trip!

From Pho Quoc, we boarded a speed ferry to the mainland. Now, as you are all no doubt aware, as an islander … Continue reading