The temple complex at Preah Vihear is stunning. Not for the temple itself. No, that sort of grandeur comes from the behemoths of ancient architecture at Angkor Wat.
At only a mile long, Preah Vihear is dwarfed by the towering faces of Angkor, but they say sometimes it’s not the destination it’s the journey, and in this case it’s the truth.… Read More
The Khmer Rouge exploded on Cambodian culture like a nuclear bomb. Twenty years of freedom from France had created a bohemian pearl on the Mekong river. Film, music, art, all thrived under the mercurial playboy, Prince Norodom Sihanouk – nurturing them slowly back to life after a hundred years of French imperialism.… Read More
It’s 3am in Phnom Penh, and the street children have only just finished their soccer game beneath my window. I guess if you have no place to go when the street lights come on you just get to keep playing.… Read More
The road is a blur.
Mountains, rivers, and endless jade-green rice paddies whip by at 70 clicks an hour. Pause to slowly work your way through a herd of water buffalo and then punch it.… Read More
Three months in and the strangeness of Asia has not gotten to me in the way I had figured. Sure, they call limes lemons, eat dog, and drink beer with ice, but at the end of the day that’s not enough to trigger the homesickness I had prepared for.… Read More
As far back as I can remember, I’ve always wanted to be a gangster.… Read More
Continued from ‘Easy Rider’
The plan was vague, but the ingredients were all there; motorcycles, asian-chicks, questionable meats. I had no solid plan of attack, little bankroll, and no wingman (or wing-woman, I’m an equal opportunity adventurer and as far as I know menstrual cycles don’t have the same effect on tigers as it does bears).… Read More
Bangkok Thailand, wretched den of vice and iniquity.
Even for those who have never been it conjures images of leering sex tourists and neon drenched prostitutes hanging lazily from the railings of go go bars.… Read More
One of the earliest memories I have of my father is a bedside chat at about the age of 8.
In it he outlined the paths that one’s life can take and how they are often vast and varied. That over the course of a man’s life he may try his hand at many things, some successful, others not.… Read More
Responding to his ad in the middle of the night I found my revolutionary-looking friend, Mr.Ulyanov, was staying only a block away. … Read More
Vietnamese coffee could be used as rocket fuel.
As I write this I can barely keep my caffeine addled fingers steady enough to type and yet they’re so good I’ll probably order another one. A carryover from the French occupation (1859-1954)… Read More
Never trust a fart in southeast Asia. Wish I’d have heard that little gem sooner.
They say you’re never more humble than when, as an adult, you shit your pants. Well ladies and gentlemen, I stand before you today as humble as the Buddha himself.… Read More