I actually planned to see the Royal Palace, the National Museum and the famous Silver Pagoda today. But as it happened the former King of Cambodia, Norodom Sihanouk died of a heart attack today during a medical treatment in Beijing, China. And therefore all official buildings were immediately closed for visitors. So I strolled along the Mekong river and escaped the heat having lunch and a few beers at the Foreign Correspondents Club overseeing the promenade. Late...

Went to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum today. The former high school was turned into the notorious Security Prison S-21, a site of unimaginable cruel tortures during the 4-year reign of the Communist Red Khmer between 1975 and 1979. Even though that happened more than 30 years ago it is heartbreaking to walk through these rooms knowing what happened to innocent people there. It's a chilling reminder of how important it is to stay vigilant towards Communism an...

Unfortunately it's time to leave the ruins of Angkor behind. Took the bus at 8:30 back to Phnom Penh. The joy of taking a bus rather than a one hour flight back to the capitol lies in the fascinating observations of daily life you can make along the way. Much of life in Cambodia happens outside. So traveling on a bus is like an endless string of snapshots about the daily life of its people. You see people getting a haircut, children playing, women carrying al...

Booked a driver for the day and went into the Angkor Archaeological Park (400sqkm). First stop Angkor Wat! Wow! What a gigantic temple complex. One can literally spend hours there. Then I went on to walk through the even bigger complex of Angkor Thom, Bayon (9sqkm) and the famous Ta Prohm, the "Tomb Raider Temple" where they filmed the Lara Croft-movie. Got home exhausted. The humidity level is unparalleled! Buchte einen Fahrer fuer den Tag und fuhr in den Angkor...

Since I was glued to the fascinating "Gardens by the Bay" until late last night I only got about 3 hours of sleep before I had to pack for the airport. Got there at 4:30 and checked in with Tiger Airways again. As we took off I was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise. Arrived in Phnom Penh at 8 and organized a bus to Siem Reap. Ending up with a bus company locals use rather than the fancier tourist buses I was the only westerner and curiosity in the vehicle ;)The d...