Cities & Culture

Our evening arrival in Hanoi was somewhat less than stellar, as we checked into our guesthouse to find the room barely larger than a closet (I had reviewed photos online, and it had also received excellent reviews). Now, we’ve stayed … Read More

We looked over our remaining days left in Vietnam, and determined that we were either going to have to skip visiting one of the cities we had originally planned, or our last couple weeks were going to turn into a … Read More

To travel through a large swath of Vietnam, we opted for the country’s affordable and scenic rail transit. We took Vietnam Railway’s Reunification Express from the southern town of Nha Trong, all the way north to Hanoi, stopping at several … Read More

As we evaluated our filling passports, we began to worry about the lack of blank pages available for the full-page visas required by our upcoming countries. When we began the trip, we calculated out what we would need, but failed … Read More

Foreword: The following narrative details some events of the Cambodian Genocide. I struggled a lot with what to write, how to write… and even if to write about the immense tragedy and what we saw. Ultimately, I decided to share … Read More

Undoubtedly Angkor’s most recognized temple, Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world and one of Cambodia’s most revered sites. Stretching 1.5 km east to west, and 1.3 km north to south, Angkor Wat covers some 200 hectares … Read More

Established as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992, Angkor, the ancient capital city of the Khmer Kingdom, is a sprawling expanse of about 400 square kilometers (154 mi2), just north of Siem Reap and southeast Asia’s largest freshwater lake, … Read More

After a pretty spectacular two-week stay in Laos, we headed southeast to Cambodia. Ultimately, we opted to drop back down into Thailand to cross into Cambodia, rather than our initial plan to take a bus through the long, southern portion … Read More

Upon arrival at our guesthouse, just across the river from downtown, we were greeted by an exceptionally hospitable and friendly staff, bearing huge glasses of freshly squeezed fruit juice. That’s as good a way as any to ensure our happiness, … Read More

Situated about 400 miles northwest of Bangkok, Chiang Mai is a city steeped in history and tradition. Chiang Mai was founded in 1296 as the new capital of the Lanna Kingdom (an Indianized state), and many hallmarks of the settlement … Read More