As temperatures rise across the country in anticipation of the *hot season (*insert your expletive of choice here), Phnom Penh’s electricity supplier is struggling to serve the demands of air conditioners and refrigerators across the city. Much of Cambodia’s electricity is generated by water, which becomes a scarcer commodity when it’s hot and dry like … read the full post

UPDATE, Tuesday, March 5: Electricity supply has now returned to normal in all parts of Siem Reap city, according to our various sources. *** UPDATE, Sunday, March 3: Lengthy power outages continue to affect most of Siem Reap, and authorities have not yet given any firm date as to when services can be expected to … read the full post

Travellers often worry about what to eat when they arrive in a new location, but considering how you eat can be just as important. Habits you take for granted could be offensive to those around you. Here’s our introduction to appropriate behaviour in a typical Cambodian eatery, whether it be a Phnom Penh restaurant or a … read the full post

In a perfect storm of royal mourning, sewage works and world leaders congregating in Phnom Penh, the usually slightly mad-cap affair that passes for traffic control in the city is being stretched to breaking point. There’s not much you can do except allow extra time to get to your destination, and keep a sense of … read the full post

You’re touring around Asia, having a whale of a time I hope, but fancy settling your travel-weary bones down in one place for a little while. It could be time to time out, sit back, breathe and reflect on everything that you’ve seen and experienced so far, the people you’ve met, the highs, and lows, … read the full post

Arriving in a city with bright electric lights and chic residents can bring the realisation that your attempts at handwashing have not been doing your grandma proud. Fortunately, Phnom Penh has a glut of laundries just waiting to take your crumpled bundle and turn it into a fresh smelling, beautifully pressed stack. Almost all guesthouses … read the full post

My father thinks I’m an idiot. This might be cause for concern if he thought that intellectual acuity had any function beyond enabling the exchange of smart-arsed ripostes over a game of darts, but fortunately he doesn’t. Indeed, his progeny’s evident feeble-mindedness is far from a flaw in his mind. My pride and I are … read the full post

A long time ago I waitressed at a posh restaurant in Dublin, the kind of place where the pandan chicken and monkfish in red curry sauce, though incredibly good, were of secondary importance to the hob-nobbing possibilities. This was where you went to see and be seen and, since it was offered, you might as … read the full post

Cambodia is a country that takes on your senses and gives them a thorough going-over, sometimes in a bad way, but more often in a way that leaves you aching for more. More sharp and fat scents of spice and jasmine as you wander down a random street; more gorgeous scenery in richly saturated colours; … read the full post