When the subject of Nicaragua comes up many people immediately think of the awful civil war that took place there during the 1980’s between the Sandinistas and the Contras. No doubt those were some extremely difficult times for the largest country in Central America, but unfortunately too many people still think of the place as…
Although I personally sometimes kind of cringe at the idea of going to a place just because everyone else seems to want to go there, Angkor Wat is definitely one of those international travel destinations that I genuinely believe any well-seasoned traveler should visit at least once in their lives. As Lonely Planet described it…
One of the best ways to experience another culture in a colorful and meaningful way is to attend a festival that is important to whichever country you are going to visit. This of course is true pretty much anywhere in the world, and Southeast Asia is no exception. Here are five memorable festivals that will…
As many of you know I’ve been working as the Director of Overseas Projects for a nonprofit organization in Austin, TX called WOWi – the Windows of Wonder Institute. Below is a story about the organization’s current project in Cambodia that I wrote and was published in Wandering Educators recently. We are currently looking for…
If you prefer a more ‘old school’ Thai beach experience, then you should definitely consider Koh Lanta. Here are some short video clips that I took of the place. This island has everything from basic bungalows to first class resorts. And since it hasn’t been overrun yet with development you can still find that Robinson…
Bali, sometimes referred to as the Island of the Gods, is a relatively small island in the middle of Indonesia, an archipelago of about 13,000 islands south of the Philippines and north of Australia. For anyone who hasn’t been there they may wonder, why do so many people like it as a travel destination and…
I recently received a question from a friend of mine that I have actually gotten from other people a few other times in the past. He and his girlfriend are planning an upcoming trip to Southeast Asia where they hope to visit a few places in Thailand and Vietnam. Since, like most people, their time…
For the uninitiated Southeast Asia may have a nice ring to its name, but other than that they may not really understand why they should consider traveling there. With so many other places in the world to visit, many of which they know much more about, why take a trip to this particular region of…
I enjoy all the various cuisines in Southeast Asia, but the food in Thailand is by far my favorite, probably my favorite in the whole world. So I have often wondered, how did the food there get to be so much more diverse and complex than the fare in nearby countries that have pretty much…
Vietnam is one of the hottest travel destinations in the world these days. According to the Vietnam National Administration of Tourism travelers from all over the world helped tourism grow there by an astonishing 34.8% in 2010! Its wonderful natural beauty, ancient traditions, and historical attractions are getting more and more attention of world travelers….
Last October while traveling in Cambodia my girlfriend and I met an extraordinary woman named Ponheary Ly. During the 1970’s the Khmer Rouge killed many of the country’s intellectuals and educators, including her father and thirteen other members of her family. Ponheary somehow miraculously survived, and later on she became a teacher herself, knowing that…
Of course no trip to Cambodia would be complete without visiting Siem Reap and the nearby temples of Angkor, but if travelers have the time they really shouldn’t overlook the capital city Phnom Penh, once known as the “Pearl of Asia”. And even though it has risen from the darkened ashes of war that took…
One of the reasons why so many people enjoy traveling to Southeast Asia as much as they do is because it truly is a photographer’s paradise. Even an amateur photographer armed with a decent point and shoot camera can easily get some great shots, because there are so many fascinating people, places and things to…
Myanmar is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and intriguing places in the world to visit. However, there is no denying that the military junta which has been in power since 1962 has committed countless human rights violations against its people and has prevented, at times through violent suppression, any sort of real political change…
Cambodia is a captivating country of historical extremes. In the heyday of the Khmer Empire of the 9th to the 13th centuries it ruled over much of modern-day Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. And its seat of power, the ancient city of Angkor, was the largest preindustrial metropolis in the world with a population of about…