I remember reading somewhere that the reason many older women go to the hairdresser so often is that, widowed and often neglected by family, it is their way of obtaining the physical human contact we all crave, no matter what our situation. This rather devastating insight is a sharp reflection of the fact that throughout … read the full post

It’s best known as a viewing point for sunset at Angkor Wat and if you’re fond of battling your way through the masses, all with cameras surgically attached to their faces or at a constant arm’s length from their body as though it’s in control of them and not they in control of it, then … read the full post

While some might argue that a large bowl of glistening French fries is the best accompaniment to any dish, sometimes it doesn’t quite do the trick. In fact, what might work best is simply a better view, and this can be hard to come by in Siem Reap. The colour green is said to create feelings … read the full post

Sopheap works in a Siem Reap hotel, perhaps it’s your one. He’s actually a partial owner of the hotel, despite his young age, and he’s working hard to improve himself, learn more and be more. He also works at an NGO. As he gives you some advice on what to do and where to go … read the full post

I recently discovered that German baronesses and French princesses can be counted among my forebears, which might explain why I’ve still never set foot in a KFC. It would have been better if the witches hadn’t apparently spent absolutely everything, leaving me with nothing but their tastes, but this is what I’m now stuck with: … read the full post

If even after Angkor, you think you might have room for one or two temples more but don’t quite have the cash to cover it, despair not. Within reasonably short distances of Siem Reap it’s still possible to find temples that are easy to access and not subject to a charge for entry. The nearest … read the full post

I was talking to an Irish nurse recently who was describing her two years spent volunteering in a provincial Cambodian hospital, living in a building beside the hospital with no television, electricity or fridge, no pizza, wine or cheese, no internet, pub quizzes or bags of Kettle Chips from the supermarket. No cappuccinos! As we … read the full post

Siem Reap offers plenty of opportunities to practise yoga, both for yoga-nuts and for first-timers, for whom the studios’ location far away from home may provide the perfect opportunity to try without running the risk for evermore of bumping into your classmates in your local supermarket, knowing that they know that you can’t chaturanga for … read the full post

A while ago, I wrote about where to go if you’d like to sprinkle a little good karma on your dinner or your bed by eating and sleeping at places that help to support NGOs or the people of Siem Reap. These included Sala Bai, Joe-To-Go, Soria Moria, and Green Star all of which I’m … read the full post

In Siem Reap, there is an area behind the Central Market that is easy to overlook and you wouldn’t have missed out on much in the past by doing so. But that is beginning to change. In between the two roads that run east from Central Market is a little half-road, fed by two perpendicular … read the full post