Category Archives: cambodia

An Embarassingly Brief History of Cambodia: Khmer Notes no.3

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CIMG7509.JPG

Whenever I travel to another country, I have some guidelines that I try to follow.

First, I learn some basic expressions of the local language. It’s just arrogance to visit another country and not know how to,

  • greet people,
  • excuse oneself,
  • politely order food and drinks,
  • ask where the restrooms are,
  • thank them,
  • and say goodbye.

This, I believe, is the very minimum that a tourist should learn. Memorize them and try to pronounce them correctly. I usually have a cheat sheet that I carry around. Beyond that, I try to count to ten, say where I’m from, and learn what gesticulations I shouldn’t do. Continue reading →

At the Gates of Angkor Wat: Khmer Notes no.2

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skies over angkor wat

Most people who visit Angkor Wat don’t realize that Angkor Wat is more than just one temple, albeit the largest and the most fabulous one. Angkor Wat itself is an ancient city, with the temple at its center. And around it are numerous other ancient cities, temples and reservoirs. In fact the entire metropolis, sometimes referred to as Angkor (which means ‘large’ or ‘great’ in Khmer) is estimated to have had one million people, the first city in the world to reach that plateau. Continue reading →

The Accidental Tourist: Khmer Notes no.1

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sunset over bakheng 1

I have a list of places I’d like to visit before I die. It includes places like the Pyramids and The Great Wall, which are on many people’s lists. I also have places that are of more local interest like Mt. Baektu in North Korea, the legendary birthplace of the Korean people. And on the list are more obscure locales like the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and Cinqueterre, a small cluster of villages hugging the Italian Adriatic coast. And finally it includes utter fantasy like Antarctica and the Earth’s orbit. Continue reading →