We love to write about all of the beautiful and interesting things we see in our travels around Asia. However, not everything in the world is so pretty and Asia is no exception. We wanted to share with you a sad article about the abduction and trafficking of women from Vietnam to other countries in the region like Cambodia.

Click here to read the NY Times article that was published just last month.

Reporter Nicholas D. Kristof has covered this issue as well as others extensively in several parts of the world and he has a page of video reports on YouTube.

One of Laos’s treasures which for the moment seems to be off the beaten path for large masses of tourists is Si Phan Don near the country’s southern border with Cambodia. We made the journey to Si Phan Don from Luang Prabang in the North by flying to Vientiane in the evening, staying overnight and flying from there to Pakse early the next morning. We then continued by bus to the main island of Don Khong. Our next destination was Siem Reap, Cambodia and, since I personally dislike backtracking while traveling, we wanted to find a way to cross the border and continue on by land or by river without taking the bus back to Pakse for the direct flight to Siem Reap.

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Deer and Monkey Go Head to Head over Bananas

We’ve uploaded some new photos from the Royal Palace of Cambodia, The Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary near Phnom Penh as well as our Boat trip to Chau Doc, Vietnam.

New Year’s Eve 2008 was not only memorable, it was one of the best I’ve ever had! I was excited at the thought of counting down in one of the first time zones to lead the rest of the world into the New Year. For this street party in the center of town there were no barriers, no velvet ropes, no prohibitive cover charges, no limited space and little to no security (nor any apparent need). Tourists, expats and locals were all welcomed to come, dance and celebrate in the streets. Moving your body to the top dance hits of years past brought a feeling of nostalgia, almost a commemoration of all New Year’s Eves that have come before. Despite rich and ancient histories, countries in Asia show signs of greatness still to come. Their populations are increasingly dominated by young people, often under the age of 30. This energy is contagious for tourists of all ages as they dance in this fountain of youth, feeling even younger as another year passes. It was a joy to see all the faces of other Asians around me, of those visiting from neighboring countries and from around the continent. People from around the world danced together, united by a sense of unlimited freedom highlighted by the pulse of the music and the sparkle of bottle rockets illuminating their faces. For just one night I didn’t need any excuse to smile, make eye contact and wish them a better year to come.

Vietnamese Side of the Cambodian-Vietnamese Border Near Chau Doc, Vietnam

After a quick breakfast we went directly to the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum where we received an emotion-filled education on the brutality used by the Khmer Rouge at this prison camp, located in the middle of Phnom Penh. It was a more powerful experience than our visit to the Killing Fields the day before and we’ve become inspired to learn more about this terrible period in Cambodia’s history.

At noon we boarded a high speed boat from Phnom Penh to Chau Doc, Vietnam. It was a beautiful ride down the Mekong River, passing fishing villages and other craft of varying sizes. After passing through both the Cambodian check point and the Vietnamese border control, we were officially in Vietnam once again!

Our evening in Chau Doc was relaxing and we took a cyclo to a floating restaurant on the other side of town. The mosquitoes are fierce in this town and after a long day of journeying we retreated into the air-conditioned hotel room for the night.

At 8:30am we were picked up by Monin, a tuk-tuk driver who was recommended to us. We drove 2 hours south of Phom Penh to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Sanctuary where we fed deer and monkeys who roam freely and ate from our hands. These and other animals, many of them wounded, like lions, tigers, bears, elephants and birds were rescued from poachers and are being cared for at the sanctuary.

We then went to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where 17,000 detainees of the Khmer Rouge were systematically executed. A glass tower of 8,000 skulls stands before an otherwise peaceful and scenic rural landscape as a reminder of the atrocities committed there.

Back in Phnom Penh we met with Charis and Stuart, both Americans living and working in Cambodia. They took us out to a cool, modern bar/restaurant called Metro where we dined on a variety of Asian tapas. A pleasant walk along the Tonle Sap River led us to a night market where fried spiders, beetles, crickets, larvae, and tiny birds are sold to be eaten. We ended the wonderful evening at a monthly dance party at Elsewhere, a beautiful garden venue with a pool surrounded by lush local vegetation and people sipping cocktails.

View of the Palace Rooftops from the Okay Guesthouse

After a dreamy breakfast at the BoddhiTree, we left for our new guesthouse with the promising name of “Okay Guesthouse”. Turns out it’s more than ok,we got a room on the 4th floor which was well worth the climb with our backpacks since we have a great view of Phnom Penh skyline.

We then started our tour of the city and saw the national museum, art galleries on 178 street, central market (Psar Thmei), royal palace and silver pagoda. Phnom Penh is really great and everyone is very friendly.

We decided late last night that we were ready to leave Siem Reap and continue on. Even though we didn’t reserve a seat on the bus to Phnom Penh, we were able to leave this morning and get into the capital around 2pm. We found a wonderful guesthouse called BoddhiTree Del Gusto, located in a French villa and are going to stay here for one night.

We’ve been in Cambodia for four days and have seen a few villages, towns and cities. All of them reveal a picture of a very poor country with a tragic past. Driving on dirt roads we often see children, farmers and animals that are all very thin, in the west we’d send them to a doctor immediately. Our tuk-tuk driver in Siem Reap, Tei, was telling us about the hard life of the Cambodian farmers who struggle to make a living and provide for their families who are often very big. In addition to the impoverished, we also see many people who have been wounded by landmines and are missing limbs, eyes or have burns or different parts of their bodies. Cambodia’s past is staring at us not only when we visit the landmine museum.

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We continued touring Angkor temples, this time driving further out to see Banteay Srei – “Citadel of Women” and Kbal Spean – “River of Thousand Lingas”. While climbing up to see the waterfall (more like a puddle during this season), we ran into a few friendly Cambodian students who were happy to chat for a bit and give us recommendations. After getting back to the city, we went to a wonderful French Cambodian restaurant and enjoyed the closest thing we’ve had so far to a fancy dinner.