The art of Khmer Shadow Puppetry Shadow puppetry in Cambodia is closely linked to those in Thailand and Malaysia and Indonesia. The Cambodians refer to this form of art as Lakhaon Nang Sbek, or simply Sbek Khmer. The Khmer people divide shadow puppetry into two performances: the Sbek Thom (Giant Puppets) and Sbek Toich (Small …
Sihanoukville’s beaches Sihanoukville is known to be Cambodia’s prime beach destination. During the weekends and public holidays many local people drive to the beach from Phnom Penh. They take on the four hours drive and nestle themselves on the beach chairs. Eating and drinking seems to be the most favorite activity. Most Cambodian people still …
The temples of Bagan Not that long ago we were able to cross out another one of our wishes that we added to our “bucket list”. Bagan stood high on that list. But to be fair, all of Myanmar is on that list. What we read and knew about Bagan was pretty much what everyone knows. There are about …
Angkor as it was meant to be Living next to one of the World’s most famous archaeological sites has its perks. One of them is that every once in a while we get to go out and admire the magnificent temples of Angkor. When we first visited the temples years ago it was all different. …
A great break in Ayutthaya While we visited Bangkok and had some time at our hands to do something new. We decided to hop onto a train. Trains in Thailand are remarkably convenient. They are cheap and fun. This train ride took only 2 hours from Bangkok and landed us in Ayutthaya, the ancient Kingdom of …
Wherever you go in Asia, parks always seem to attract people of all walks of life, doing all kinds of activities and socialize with others. In Vietnam people love to do Tai Chi, Ballroom dancing and chit chatting. China has remarkable parks where people, especially the elderly, daily work on a long and healthy life …
Ao Dai is Vietnam’s traditional dress and has become the official uniform for many of the women working in hotels, resorts, restaurants, offices and even high school campuses all over the country. The elegant and stylish dresses have made a positive impact on the image of Vietnam and many western tourists have added to their …
Or at least, it is not always a picnic… But this was a picnic and a remarkable one. After we visited the Great Lake nearby the town of Siem Reap in Cambodia. Our guide took us up to Beng Mealea. It was about 1PM so we were getting hungry. Before we decided to book this tour, …
Christmas is Asia… It sounds very far away from home but the people in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam have caught up with the Western traditions and are going all out to make sure that everyone feels the spirit of Christmas, even when temperatures reach 30 degrees centigrade. Hotels decorate their lawns, lobbies and even …
