I love the smell of DEET in the morning...

It's been awhile since our last post, so I thought I'd stop in and give a little update. We've been traveling around Cambodia for the past couple of days and have explored temples at Angkor Wat, ridden in an overloaded boat on the Mekong, wandered through floating forests and villages on stilts, and critiqued the mojitos (sp?) made in Siem Reap (and found them all delicious). It's been a fun and exciting time, but I'll let Emma tell you about all of that...

As many of you know, I traveled to Cambodia two years ago with Beast as part of a broader Southeast Asia tour. I was struck by many things on that first trip, but what I remember sticking most in my memory is dirt roads with potholes that could and did swallow anything smaller than a pickup, camo on everybody and everything, an 'anything goes' attitude towards currency, and a lurking danger from the 2-3 million active land mines still in the country. Basically, the country was still reeling from the U.S. bombing campaign of the 70's and the Khmer Rouge's disastrous social experiment and subsequent guerilla attacks. This time through much of this rawness is still present, but it's remarkable to see how much can be accomplished in 2 years. Roads are being paved, land mines are being cleared, tourism is becoming a legitimate industry, and development is everywhere. There is still a long road ahead, but a lot of progress is being made and the Cambodian people seem better off for it.

- Jon