Today we drove from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap. The guidebooks and drivers say it takes about four and a half hours. We took seven and a half! Cross this off the bucket list. The standard of roads tells you that we are definitely in a third world country. As your bones are reset over potholes and gravel, you're left wondering why massive high-end apartment complexes are being developed in Phnom Penh (and even one in the middle of nowhere) for people who can't affo...

13 December 2014 Today was cooler than yesterday, although still pleasant. Our first stop was the Royal Palace. The king was in as the Blue Standard flew over the private residence. We took a personal guided tour which was ten dollars well spent. The throne room was very impressive. No photos allowed and disappointingly no guide book or postcards for sale. The formal throne has nine layers above it indicating the nine steps to heaven for the monarch. There are ...

12 December 2014 Today was a particularly sombre affair. After breakfast we were picked up by Sam the Man and drove to Cheong Ek. The name sounds intriguing and mysterious. To over 8,500 Cambodians it was their place of death in the Killing Fields. Originally a Chinese cemetery, the Khmer Rouge used it to commit genocide. Intellectuals were the first target; that meant doctors, lawyers, professionals of all kind as well as anyone who wore glasses or spoke a for...

The journey to Phnom Penh via Hong Kong was ok - Cathay Pacific's Premium Economy was ok but not as good as Virgin or Qantas. We were late leaving Hong Kong (not Cathay's fault) and - for me - it seemed to make the journey longer than it needed to be. On arrival in Phnom Penh we navigated the visa and customs bureaucracy -$US30 per person. We were met by our driver Sam the Man, who has clearly spent too long with Australians. His business card describes him as D...

Over the last 25 years, I have visited Bali 5 times. On this sixth visit we are staying at the Swiss-Belotel Bay View on the hill overlooking Nusa Dua. The hotel is delightful, nice big rooms and the villa that Alister and Peter have is stunning. Staff are efficient and friendly in the typical Balinese manner. The stark difference is the remoteness. The cost of taxi / driver is not the issue. You do spend a lot of time in a car though. There's also the lack of s...