Vientiane – Monks, Belgium Beers, and Prostitutes.
Vientiane, capital of Laos, is a bustling backwater that has a lot of the French Colonial charm while slowly moving forward into the modern era. Sitting next to the […]
Kong Lor Cave
I am sitting here, looking out over fields of lettuce, tobacco, and other crops. In the distance is a village at the edge of the fields. A water buffalo […]
Hidden Treasures Deep in Thakhek
Times are really getting tough for Mr. Boun Nong. He has a family to feed, a hut he needs to pay off, and nothing seems to be going his way. […]
Champasak and the Bus Ride from Hell
Leaving 4000 Islands was not easy, but Yvonne was keen to get moving, already the end of the trip was starting to weigh on us, months from now. We went […]
Island Hopping, Banana Suits, and Happy Shakes
Do you remember the old spy movies from back in the day, when the secret agent was desperately trying to escape a country. He had been badly wounded, and of course, he […]
Today is the Day for Saving the Boyd Theater
Well, the battle for the Boyd has been an insane, up and down battle, with two possible saves, and one really slippery downward slope that we are on now. We […]
The Mighty Mekong Dolphins
River dolphins are a very rare, and few places in the world have them. When I was fifteen I was lucky enough to see the rare pink dolphins in the […]
Bats of Battambang
One of the most amazing things we saw was a complete surprise on this little trip. At the end of our day trip, after a nice nap, we hopped back […]
Beyond Battambang
There are a lot of times when you travel you have one major focus for going to that area. Obviously you go to Egypt for the Pyramids, Peru for Machu […]
Thirty Day Challenge III – Past The Midway Point
Everyday in January I am going to do a drawing from life. The parameters I have set for myself is fifteen minutes minimum, on the sketch pad, with pencils, inks, […]
The Arts Are Alive in Battambang
Battambang is Cambodias second biggest city. It has all the charm of a large sleepy town, where everyone knows each other. We got off the bus and for a change […]
Siem Reap’s Hidden Treasures
I would feel a little negligent not to talk about Siem Reap a bit. I was not impressed when I first arrived; touristy hotels, restaurants, and shops. Not the Asia […]
Over 10,000 Hits, Thank You!
Little over a year of blogging, and I have reached over 10,000 hits from 93 countries and over 200 followers, so thank you very much. I could not think of […]
Mummers New Year 2014
New Years Day is normally a day of recovery for most people, the start of a New Year with the telltale headache and nausea after a dazzling night of festivities […]
Khmer Empires and Archeology Theives
Angkor National Archeology Park is so much more than just Angkor Wat. It’s a national park that stretches 400 square kilometers, encompassing part of the Angkorean Kingdom of the Khmer, […]
Happy Holidays 2013
The Mighty Angkor Wat
I am not kidding you when I say that this is the moment I have been waiting for the whole trip. It was when I picked up an old copy […]
Tonlé Sap Tipping Tragedy
So we arrived into Siem Reap late in the evening, after a long bus ride from Phnom Penh. We grabbed a tuk tuk and even made a deal with the […]
Help Rebuild Malapascua Island, The Philippines
By this time everyone has heard about the horrendous typhoon that hit the Philippines a few weeks ago. Malapascua was our home for over two weeks. It was probably our […]
The Killing Fields
Cambodia, home to over 14.8 million people, is best known for its famous ruins, Angkor Wat, but it is so much more than that. Starting in the early days when […]
michaelbencik.org 