Hotels from hell
MY room in Phnom Penh was the perfect setting for a horror movie. It was a small room at the top of the stairs, away from everyone else, dark and spartan with a...
Category: Cambodia
Music on the Mekong Express
Here’s an idea: Ride a bus in Southeast Asia if you want to be entertained. There’ll definitely be music (always too loud), and they might play a movie or two. If you’re lucky it’ll...
The Cambodia Landmine Museum
I knew the answer would be “No”, but I asked anyway. “Is Aki Ra here?” The lady at the counter smiled and shook her head. “No, he is out. Out clearing mines.” When I...
Why we travel
THE steps were so steep, my neck hurt just from looking up. The Swedish guy who had passed me earlier was climbing up on all fours, his skinny arms reaching out, looking very...
Motorcycle diary
I heard the motorbike rattling behind me before I actually saw it. The sound got louder and louder, which meant that I was being followed. The noisy bike caught up with me...
How to stay the same after your travels
1. Don’t mingle with the locals. Don’t chat with that old lady selling flowers at the market or the 12-year-old selling postcards by the road. Be convinced that the only locals you need to...
Landmine Museum, Cambodia
This is a bit grim, but I took this photo at the Cambodian Landmine Museum a few miles out of Siem Reap a few years back. I wrote about how I got to the...
This week’s photo: Spying in Cambodia
This was taken from outside my hotel room in Phnom Penh. It was my first night in Cambodia and I was about to go to bed when I heard what sounded like two men...
This week’s photo- Jayavarman and me, Cambodia
This was taken in Bayon, one of the temples in Angkor. The big guy is the Khmer king Jayavarman VII (1125-1215), whose face can be seen on towers and pillars throughout the temple. (There...
People at work
One of the best things about travelling is that we get to see how the rest of the world lives. People fascinate me; even when I’m at home, I love sitting in cafes just...
