Cambodia

Cambodia was tough. The magnificence of Angkor is overshadowed in my mind by recent tragedies.

The feeling first started with my arrival in Bangkok at the same time as the one-year anniversary of the tsunami.

Next I got my first glimpse of the poverty and desperation of Cambodia at the overland border crossing with Thailand. The flow of men, women, and children -- the majority working but some begging -- mostly toward wealthier Thailand was unlike anything I had ever seen.

The "major highway" to Siem Reap (the town near Angkor) was unpaved, dusty, and riddled with potholes. The country feels very undeveloped. As much as I loved Angkor, I disliked Siem Reap and the people in it who were constantly hassling me to try to get my business or begging (especially kids but also some land mine victims) -- much more intense than Shanghai and Hanoi put together.

After seeing the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh (site of the former Khmer Rouge S-21 prison) I know I should be more sympathetic. I haven't been to Auschwitz but I imagine the experience is similar. It is hard to believe what horrors took place in Cambodia during the 1970s and 1980s. Cambodia also suffered from US bombings during the Vietnam War. The people have endured a lot of trauma very recently.

On a positive note, I am glad I saw more of Cambodia than Siem Reap. I liked the people much better in the less touristed parts of the country. Phnom Penh was great and the beach at Sihanoukville was quiet and relaxed. Cambodia also serves up the best seafood in Asia.